the famous bathtub shot ;0))

Yes, Annabelle...Yannik had to endure the same treatment at your age...tons of pictures since you are so darn cute.

Comme tu es belle, Annabelle!

So many cute poses to choose from!

Our new family picture

Notre belle petite fleur

Her first picture...a "blooming" little girl!

The Hamburgler!!!!

Mine...all mine! The eyes say it all....;0)))

Annabelle's first hamburger

Gee...what do you do with this thing????

Visiting friends...Petro style!

De nouvelles amies!

The girls!

Being outside is so much fun

It was so cold in Petro...too much so to really get out and have some fun. I'll always remember Anna, her nose to the window, pointing outdoors and being stuck indoors at the baby house because of the cold weather... It's so mild here...and such nice snow...we're taking advantage of it!!!

You've got to wear shades ;0)

Maman...maman...finally got my own pair....since you won't share yours with me! (HMM....perhaps because a pair of prescription glasses cost more than the $50 pair I got in Petro)

Our little valentines

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Our First Month Anniversary

Yesterday, Feb. 12th, marked the one month anniversary of Annabelle being in our custody! Wow, time flies by...it feels like forever. We can't get over how much changes we have gone through and how much progress little Anna has made in the last month. We celebrated by going to our favorite pizza place, Pizza Delight (no more Pizza House!)....and it was a hit. During the course of supper as we were laughing and teasing each other, I felt we were finally a family...not four people travelling around the world or trying to get accustomed to each other...just a typical family having a nice celebratory supper together... ah.....feels good!

The Mad Hatter

This morning, Annabelle and I went to Walmart to pick up a few necessities, during the course of which Annabelle misplaced her beautiful Russian hat. Blame jet lag...or new Mommy syndrome... I panicked and had the service people page the employees to find "her special hat"... The service people must have thought... who is this crazy woman talking about a special Russian hat. I kept telling them that is had been purchased in Kazakhstan and was a keepsake for my daughter. Thank you Walmart employees...within 5 minutes, the hat was found and returned to its precious owner....I felt foolish but happy ;0)) Cindy, Yael... you can relate... those Petro hats are irreplaceable!!!

Hmmm... housework is fun!!!

I left her help me out... bad decision! Lesson learned....putting stuff inside the drawer is a lot less fun than taking it out ;0))

The foodie!

It is a pleasure to watch you eat everything on your plate, Annabelle! Plus, you're quite the comedian as well...gives dinner theatre a new meaning ;0)

My littlest helper

Helping out....or not ;0)

Discovering Toys R Us!

Our dearest little one...she didn't run to the dolls or even the princess stuff...but straight to the food...or what she thought was food... Poor thing when I explained that they were toys. Don't worry...she did eventually get a REAL snack for being so good.

hmmmm...bread sticks!

Poor Anna....until we find out if she is truly allergic to sugar, her snacks are quite limited, she remains cheerful with whatever food is presented to her ;0))

Artistic endeavours

More paperwork!

Ahhhh...thought this part would finally be over...but it's not. Today, we had to apply for medicare, social insurance number, maternity benefits and yes...getting my driver's licence renewed since it had expired!!!

Back to the grind...more or less. We are still struggling big time with the jet lag. The four are us are getting us at 3-4 am and then falling asleep at 6 pm....Hopefully things will settle by the end of the week. At least the suitcases are unpacked...though everything is all around the house. For those visiting, please forgive the mess... I put stuff away and then turn around, and it's back on the floor thanks to my little helper ;0)

Ah...good to be back home DESPITE the paperwork!!! Feels somewhat surreal... Sven and I drove around town yesterday running errands, getting our cherished Tim's coffee, vsiting friends at work, enjoying the mild weather!!! and life in Kaz seems so far away...

It's good to be back....but a little part of us is still in Kaz!!! (ah ha ha... or at least our biological clocks are still on Kaz time!)

Guess who made it back to Canada as well?

Annabelle was pretty happy to rediscover her Kaz zebra 0))) Glad he made it back safe and sound too!!!

Jet lagged but happy

We slept all afternoon on Sat. and Annabelle woke up very "happily" at 2 AM...wish I could say the same....This is what we have been up to: not much settling in as Anna is busily finding every corner of her new surroundings. Yannik was the happiest kid yesterday since he met up with his close friends and neighbours for all afternoon...he couldn't stop talking. He is also "getting acquainted" with what Santa had left behind...so you can imagine the chaos at the house right now... thankfully my parents are here helping us out... thanks mam and papa....we appreciate it!!!

Some pics as we TRY to settle in....

- Spasiba Trina...the stroller is a hit... Spasiba ma tante Marguerie..so was the cutest pink teddy. Annabelle loves playing mommy!!!
- Can you say tired!!!...but happy and comfy.... ah, life on the couch with the two cuddliest kids ;0)...Who cares if I only had 2-3 hours of sleep.
- Thanks Trina for the warm homecoming...we're so blessed to have friends and neighbours like you... we missed you guys so much!
- a good roast beef dinner for the 2 month Petro vegetarians!!!!

Some pics from the journey home

Pictures with Yael and Jean Christophe.... Eating our first hamburgers in a LONG LONG while, Anna sleeping throughout the 9 hour flight... Anna meeting Sven's parents... Anna home opening presents... Will post more very soon.

Annabelle is officially home!

Hmmm...though not in her bed ;0)) Must say, she loved her room, but the prospect of staying in there by herself was a little too much for her. I was so exhausted that I didn't notice that both kids climbed in with us. Our flights went overhall much much better than I could have hoped for. On the first, our dear friends, Yael and JC, were sitted next to us...what are the chances!!! Annabelle complained loudly when the plan was descending. I learned my lesson for the second... and she slept the entire 9 hour flight!!! What more could I have asked for....except that she wasn't too tired when she got home at midnight;0)) Too much excited stuff to take in.

The NKaz NB contigent was at the airport to welcome us back hom... What a wonderful surprise. Thank you so much guys for making Annabelle's home coming so special. We can't wait to get together and get the kids to play with each other.

When we got home, my parents had cleaned the house and had prepared a little celebration...Christmas, birhthday, homecoming , all were all thrown together... just like it would have on Dec. 25th... an Acadian reveillon!!!...complete with meatpie...and yes birthday cake for Yannik and me ;0))

Anna seems to like her new surroundings... I imagine that she will be exploring for the next few days. I am so happy that she got to meet both sets of grandparents, Sven's in Toronto and mine here. She keeps nodding her head and saying da da (yes, yes)...so she must agree that this is all good ;0)))

Thanks to our city guide and new friend!

Many thanks, Zhanara, for making us feel so at home in your beautiful city and for taking such good care of us. We had lots of fun discovering Astana and bring home many fond memories...and really funky souvenirs thanks to you!

Thanks also to Murat, who travelled to Moscow yesterday for us and delivered not only our precious entry visa for Anna,but also a beautiful traditional Russian dress for her.

I love this picture of the girls...especially of sweet litlle Annabelle, who "struck a pose" for the camera ;0)) Yes...she's a hoot....

WE ARE COMING HOME!!!!

Yahoooo!!!!! No more paperwork....everything in order.... We are packing!!!!
For those who are interested:

FROM TO CARRIER FLT/CL DATE DEP ARR ST
---- -- ------- ------ ---- --- --- --
ASTANA FRANKFURT LUFTHANSA 649 S 05 FEB 10 510A 620A OK
NONSTOP MEAL FLYING TIME- 6:10

FRANKFURT TORONTO LUFTHANSA 470 S 05 FEB 10 130P 425P OK
NONSTOP MEAL FLYING TIME- 8:55

TORONTO FREDERICTON AIR CANADA 8960 S 05 FEB 10 915P 1159P OK
NONSTOP FLYING TIME- 1:44
OPERATED BY-JAZZ

It should be quite a party Friday night as it will be lunch time for us... Mom...hmmm... a good meatpie perhaps?... I can't wait ;0))))

We also hope that Sven's parents will be able to meet their new granddaughter at the Toronto airport as well if the weather cooperates...We will keep everyone posted. We will have our cell phone once in Canada.

Now....more packing!!!!

To satisfy Lynne's curiosity ;0)

Here is a photo of the famous Eurasia across the apt. It's great... so much stuff....a tad overwhelming... reminds me of the Iceberg complex, but supersized. It has two buildings. It's rows and rows of shops...but not like a North american mall. I wish I had taken pictures of the inside as well.

Anxiously waiting for news from Moscow...stay tuned!

What we know at this hour: The plane was on schedule and Zhanara's husband was at the Embassy at 10 am (he had until 11 am to get there)....No other news....we should know later on this evening whether Anna was granted her entry visa....Hearts are racing as you can imagine....

So...what does one do to pass time when you're excited and nervous....? You go souvenir shopping with Zhanara (and had great fun!) and then go play at the shopping centre hopefully one last time before leaving.

Doesn't Kaz have the cutest toys!!! We love them... am so happy that we managed to get one of those little donkies/zebra toy to bring home. That one will never be sold at the local yard sale...it's a keeper ;0)

We'll post the minute we get news... In the meantime, I am hopeful and will begin packing again. I'll post our itinerary when it is confirmed... I think we arrived in Toronto around 4:30 pm on Friday before catching our flight to Fredericton at 9:00 pm.