and baby makes three. 

The Gang: Lisa and Mike McCall, Adrienne Connolly, Tracy Stannard, Inna (interpretor) Mike Stannard, Jim Connolly and Robert. 

Borscht(sp?) and Russian Salad. 

Montys anyone? 

Male cigar bonding. 

When in Rome... 

Farewell to Kokshetau

Today was difficult. We had to say paka, paka to Ryan for two weeks. We had such fun and he was all smiles. When we brought him back to his group he was all smiles for his ladies and we left with that memory of him. Going home is bittersweet. We will depart Albany on March 11th to complete our journey to Kazakhstan and finally have our "Gotcha Day". The day we break Ryan out and he's ours forever.
If travel plans go according to schedule, we should be home on Tuesday night. If anyone is looking for Robert on Wednesday here's a hint: Lunch at Smokey Bones (pulled pork sandwich),
5:01 pm - 19th hole for cold Budweiser, followed by an appearance at The Lighthouse for an Admiral Steak Sandwich with garlic mayo. Thursday he starts Lipitor.
Last nights celebration was fit for a Russian Czar. The Connollys invited us all to their apartment and Maria, the women who helps them, cooked a phenominal dinner of traditional Russian favorites. There was a salad with peas, ham, egg, carrots and yes mayo, that was very tasty. Maria also made borchst (sp?), a vegtable soup with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The final dish was called Montys. The Russian version of a chinese steamed dumpling. Excellent! After dinner the Fathers retreated to the kitchen for some new father cigar bonding.
We head to Almaty tomorrow and on the plane home on Tuesday. We will send our final post from Almaty with photos of the big city. Paka, paka.

It's a women's world.Robert,Prosecutor,Amy,Ministry of Education,Judge,Babyhouse Director.

A day to remember...

It was an interesting start to such an important day. If we believed in signs we might have crawled back into bed. First the shower broke, you can't appear in court for a momentous occasion without bathing right? So we improvised, and made it work. Amy gets to wear actual girl clothes today, a skirt, heals etc. Being used to clodding around in snowboots, she almost takes a fall heading down to the lobby by getting her heal caught in the hem of her coat. Saved by her husband, the MAN. We arrived at court at ten, waited for the prosecutor and started the hearing at 10:15. Robert has to do the majority of the speaking, he is the MAN of the family and therefore the leader. That being said, the Judge, Prosecutor, Representative from the Ministry of Education and the Director of the Orphanage were all women. It was to be a simple process, speech, support of speech, a few questions, confering, and then the decision from the Judge. However, after the speech and support, we were grilled by the Judge, the Prosecutor, and the Representative from the Ministry of Education. Then there was some document confusion, things that were signed by a previous Governor didn't match the dates signed by the current Governor. We didn't even know they had Governors. A half hour hearing turned into an hour and a half. Murphy's Law all over the place. But that's ok -- We prevailed.
The petition to grant the adoption of Maksim Rhysov was granted and his name is now legally and forever RYAN BANAN MURPHY. HE'S OURS!!!!!!! !!!
Nothing could change this from being the best day of our lives. Not even having to push our driver's car out into the street because it wouldn't start. Not even mid-way in our 1 hour commute back to Kokshetau when said car refused to move any further. Not even when the tempature is -21* c and you are standing outside a brokendown car. Not even. We made it back without further incident and we are heading out to celebrate with two other couples whose adoptions were granted today.
Many thanks for the words of comfort, support and prayers that came our way through this whole journey.
Paka, paka, from Dad and Mom.

Artsy mirror shot of the boys. 

He doesn't look comfy but he sure can sleep. 

I'm not sure why mom is eating these, they don't taste so good. 

Had a little party with my home boy. 

Too much excitement for an 8 month old boy. 

Ryan turned 8 months old today

My how time flies when your having fun. Today was a great visit marking another milestone. Ryan crawled two steps into his mom's arms. I guess he realized he was turning eight months old and decided it was about time to move some distance. I think he plans on skipping the crawling thing altogether and go straight into walking. We played around to celebrate and then he promptly fell asleep. Too much excitement and we didn't even have cake.
Our thoughts are preocupied with our court appearance tomorrow. Speeches are written, clothes are pressed (yes, real clothes tomorrow - no sweatshirts or long underwear) and we think we are ready to go. We should be done by 1 pm or so and then off to have our first official visit as parents. We can't wait.
The pictures will speak for themselves as shameless plugs for the cutest kid ever. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow, paka, paka.

We can't get enough of these pictures. 

Ready for sleep. 

Hey Maddie, remember this chew toy is mine. 

Boo is my favorite game. 

Let me taste another book. 

Teething Troubles

Ryan was out of sorts today, a little cranky in between big beautiful smiles. We susupect that more teeth are on the way. He is drooling up a storm and his shirts (yes all four of them) were drenched. We dissolved two teething tablets in a capful of water and he drank it right down. That seem to do the trick as he promptly went to lullaby land. We just can't get enough of those sleeping pics. Just too cute. Robert was glad to see he was wearing a more manly shade of gray today - closer to the Raiders' silver and black.
We wanted to show you pictures of yesterdays bowling tourney but photos were not allowed inside the venue. Being so new to Kokshetau, the groovy black lighting must be kept top secret.
We are now back at the hotel after a big lunch of Chicken and Beef steak (one dish) and fried lamb ribs. Doesn't that sound good? Actually it was good. Now holed up to wright our speeches for court on Friday. Sveta will interpret and fix any gaffs we might make. Robert, being the MAN, has about two pages to recite, I, the lowly female, only agree to support my husband in asking to grant the petition for adoption. I know my place here. It should all be final at 1pm on Friday, keep us in your thoughts...Paka, Paka.

Two fingers are better than one thumb. 

A dentist in our furture? 

Teething sucks! 

Blackmail Material.  

Too much hat and too much sweater. 

WWF here we come. 

Man enough for pink

Fashion in the babyhouse obviously isn't a priority, but somedays it's a little disconcerting to see our beloved son appear in the more feminine hues of PINK. The women who take such wonderful care of Ryan just grab for the next four layers to apply to the unsuspecting child. They understand Ryan is above worrying about such matters and is very sercure in terms of the man he is to become. This all makes some good blackmail material when Ryan is older. Not only will we have the prerequisite naked baby shots, but some girly clothes photos as well.
Fun was had by all in the Kokshetau Bowling Center today. Bowling is somewhat new here and we pretty much showed them how it should be done. It was a great time and we each got a free pair of socks for playing. Actually, we think they don't clean the shoes just hand out new socks to each player. A little weird but it all worked out well.
Tomorrow we work on our speeches for court on Friday, so no playing tomorrow. Enjoy the picks of Ryan in Pink. Paka, Paka.

Weather not fit for man nor beast...

Today was COLD and WINDY. The kind of cold that makes your face feel like a pin cushion after being outside just two minutes. The driving was interesting, blowing snow, very high winds and our driver Aleksander doing 180 (kilometers that is) passing everything in sight. The funniest part is Aleksander blows right by the Stannards driver on the highway yet NurSultan always manages to beat us to our destination. Oh well, it's the soviet way.
The visit with Ryan was great as always, fun and playful until 1:00 then he slowly melts into nap time. We got to meet with the Pediatrician today who didn't have alot of information. Ryan has only been here since January 24th so she just went through the medical file to date. Nothing we didn't know about already. He was pronounced in good health. We also got to see him eat lunch. In addition to his formula and cereal, he has an afternoon snack of mashed potatoes and ground beef. All the makings of a good little irishman. How we will duplicate that once he is in our custody is another story. He loved it, actually he loves all food except for Cherios. He doesn't seem to get the fun of them yet.
We are still on 6pm curfew so we ventured to the cottage for a late lunch/early dinner. It was a menu reminiscent of home. Roasted chicken, corn and cheese potatoes with side of wild boar stew. Nursultan shot a wild boar (has gross pictures to prove it) and shared a jar of it. Believe it or not it was quite good. Yesterday we had Shashliki, our new favorite food. It is the Kaz version of shish kebab made from pork, chicken beef or horse. We opted for the chicken and pork and ate alfresco at the Shchuchinsk outdoor bazaar. You tend to eat very fast when eating in the elements. Very fast.
Our social calendar seems to be filling up - bowling tomorrow and a pool tournament on Wednesday at our hotel. WOW, what excitement, don't you all wish you were here. Our court date is just four days away and counting down for our return trip home. Paka, Paka.

Good driving conditions are essential while traveling at 180 kilometers. Go Aleksander! 

Sleepy time.