December 16

When we first got to the baby house, Olesya was sleeping. They woke her up and brought her out to us. We got to feed her porridge and juice again. I am getting better at feeding her quickly just like her caregivers do, so she doesn't get as angry with me as she did the first couple of times I tried to feed her. As soon as we put Olesya down on the blanket, she got up on all fours and started rocking. She was very pleased with herself because she managed to scoot backwards. She was smiling a lot. Since she had already taken a nap, she stayed awake for our whole visit. Toward the end of our visit, we fed her some warm milk. She fussed a little when I took the bottle away from her, but she drank the whole thing, so there was nothing more to give her. It's nice to see that she's a healthy eater. Also during our visiting time today, we were invited back into the room where Olesya sleeps. She has a very nice wooden cradle with several blankets in it. There is netting over the top that they pull over when the babies are sleeping. We took several pictures with Olesya in her bed.
Today is Independence Day in Kazakhstan. The square was all blocked off to cars. There were slides, jumping castles, camel rides, carriage rides, a train, singers, and booths selling food and drinks. The camel ride sounded amusing, but we wouldn't have been able to figure out the cost, so we just took a picture of the camel instead.
Since tomorrow is our last visiting day and a travel day, this will be our last update from Taraz. Once we get home, I will send another update to let everyone know we arrived.