July 27, 2007

We are back on line!

For the past two days we have been unable to post... This was Taylor's reaction when she found this out...


Blogger gave us a message that said they had received warning that someone had tried to spam our blog and that it needed to be cleared by a real person. So now that that is finally cleared up we can post again! Sorry again folks for the inconvience. We do love to be able to post pictures and get comments, it helps us with our time here!

Wednesday was a tough day, as you can tell from the picture above. Taylor was not feeling well and so she just wanted to be held. She always seems to enjoy the mirror though. All we have to do is go and sit in front of it and she smiles and giggles like crazy! But if we were not distracting her, she would cry. It was so sad and cute and pathetic all at the same time.

Yesterday was a better day. Taylor was all smiles and seemed to have an overall good demeanor. Taylor, even though she does not like tummy time, has begun to show some interest in pushing herself using my arms as stable weights! This is great! Soon she will hopefully be standing! We were able to meet with the doctor and discuss Taylor's health and we were told that she has a minor, let me repeat that so y'all don't freak out, a minor cold, and is currently being treated.



Below is Annette and Marwan's daughter Kate. She is the room kleptomaniac and was caught stealing Taylor's toys! Kate is literally 2 weeks older than Taylor! What a size difference!



At the end of the day, Taylor, her daddy and I went outside for a walk and she was very tired. For all you Taylor fans out there, this is an in action shot of Taylor yawning... one for the memory books!


Today was an interesting day. So let me start by saying that Tony and I ventured out shopping on our own and found these really cute onesie. We thought they would fit but when we tried them on today there was no growing room. I guess Gulsana will have to take us to the store to exchange them. So, instead we originally had her in a comfortable onesie and then doctor came in to weigh her. When Tony brought her back in she was dressed in pants and a long sleeve onesie! My goodness! I guess we should be buying some pants too!
The good news is that she now weighs 5900 grams! This is 500 grams more than last month! So she now weighs about 13.02 lbs! This is great! As you can tell, poor Taylor was not happy with the amount of clothes...

However! She became very smiley and happy when her "boyfriend" Matthew came to play. Matthew is Jennifer and Michael's son and they look so gosh darn cute together!

Overall, the week has flown by, with nights out with friends and being able to relax and get ready for court! We had another movie night at Annette and Marwans, and we met up with Mike and Jennifer there as well to watch RV. Tony and I swear that the funniest part about seeing movies with them is Annette's reactions to things! Last night we met Annette and Marwan at a place on the river for some beer. This has become the staple here in Astana. Efes beer seems to be the best! We were also able to meet a woman from Canada who is now living in Astana for her husbands job at the Japanese Embassy. She was very nice and has even offered to take us out around town! Tonight we all met for pizza, well originally for pasta but we could not find the place! But all went well. Good food, great conversations and great friends! I have to admit that I hope to be friends with the three other couples here - Annette & Marwan, Jennifer & Michael, and Maren & Peter - for a very long time. I hope that our children grow up knowing of one another and the experience we went through together to adopt them! Sorry guys, I know you are probably reading this thinking, goodness... but it is true!

Three more days till court!!!!!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello Maegan, Tony and Tylor!
I hope you are enjoying yourself. I am very happy for you. Every morning the first thing I do when I come to work is check out my families blogs. I hope to see you here some time (or go to MI since I have a lot of families there).
Tatiana

Debbie said...

Glad to see you are back in business we missed seeing the Taylor Van Sant family update every morning. I love the new pictures, Taylor is very expressive. She seems to be doing fine gaining weight and all. I think it is great that after all is said and done you will keep in contact with the other families. You have a connection with them that others can't touch all your experiences in Astana.
Things seem to be moving right along. How long after the court date will you be cleared to come home? I know there is a 15 day waiting period from the court and then all the paperwork you have to file to be able to take her from Kaz to here.
Miss you guys hugs to all and we will talk to you soon
Love Debbie

Stacey said...

Woo! I finally get to feed my Taylor addiction! I can't say how much I missed hearing from you guys! The three of you have become the first things Deb and I talk about when we get to work! Yippee that Taylor's putting on weight! Only 3 more days till court! Hopefully the time moves along really fast after that (although I know you do have to stay in Kaz for a certain number of days). Good Luck in Court if I don't get a chance to write before than! You will all be in my thoughts and prayers!

Anonymous said...

Patti and I have missed your blog these last few days! Like many folks here, it's a main topic of conversation at our dinner table as well. Thank you for sharing Taylor and your experiences with us! Although we are still kind of nervous about being so far away from home for so long, reading your blog has made us feel much more comfortable!

Thank you,

Brian

Anonymous said...

Maegan and Tony, Glad you are back on-line again. Sounds like things are really going well. I enjoy following your blog so much. I remember Grant used to sit in front of that mirror and just stare and the kid staring back at him! We still keep in touch with those families we met while there. It is nice when we reminisce about old times and meeting our children.
Best wishes,
Heather (mommy to Grant from Astana and homegrown Allyson)

Snoopy 1 said...

WELCOME BACK FELLOW BLOGGERS!!!!!!
Hey all how are you all doing? I love all the pictures! they are great! The shot of Taylor with Snoopy is too cool, I am glad you like it Taylor! Everyone looks like you are all feeling well. It sounds like you have all too do between visits with Taylor and the people are very nice and are working together to help you and everyone through the adoption stuff.
Well it's a long enough message as always our prays are always with you they have NEVER STOPPED! The Very Best Of Luck In Court On Monday! Now comes the waiting game tell court!
Love To All

Snoopy 1 said...

WE MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!!! :(
HUGS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarah and Andy said...

Yay! You are back online! I love your blog; you guys do an awesome job. Taylor is too cute! We received our LOI today--woohoo, and are figuring out flights. We will definitely have to meet when we are all back in the states. :)
Sending thoughts and prayers your way!
Sarah

Anonymous said...

I am glad to see that you are back online. I missed seeing Taylors smiling face. I miss seeing how much she has become like you Mae. Thats why I like her. I can't wait to see her first hand. Miss you guys. Come home soon

Mom & Dad VanSant said...

Yeah! you're back!!. So glad the problem with the blog is resolved. Taylor just keeps getting cuter & cuter every day. One thing you can sure say is that she's not camera shy. You guys are doing such a great job with your blog. It is very entertaining and every day I cant wait to see what you come up with next. Good luck on Monday (court day). Dad & I will say prayers that all goes well. We love you & miss you!!
Mom & Dad

Sharon said...

Hi Maegan & Tony, I'm Sharon in San Diego and found your blog on Kaz Yahoo groups. I already have 1 boy from Kaz (june 2005 from Ust-K) and will be heading back to Uralsk in Sept for baby boy #2. I am so enjoying reading your blog and seeing the pictures of Taylor and your visit. I have borrowed a lot of your blog widget tricks for my blog - so thanks. Thanks for sharing. Best!

The Cook said...

I missed your blog so much. We love the two couples we were in Karaganda with and one came out this past weekend for a visit. It is so awesome for Sophie to have that friendship. Where are you guys from in Michigan? Maybe we can get together some time when you get home. We are 30 minutes north of Chicago but we stor our boat in Holland, MI.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing this.