November 24

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Thanksgiving is not recognized in Kazakhstan as the Quaker influence in this part of the world has yet to catch on. We had a very nice visit with Olesya again today. More and more she seems to know us and is comfortable in our presence. She took about a ten minute nap in Kim's arms towards the end of the visit. She did not have much interest in the juice we offered her, but the main feeding time is just before we arrive at 1500. Aida mentioned that another family that used to visit during the mornings has completed the process and left today so it is possible we will have our time slot switched. What ever time we go is fine as we are able to maintain a high degree of flexibility in our daily calendar.
While Olesya was not too clear on the concept of Thanksgiving, she definitely knows what comes the day after. It is clear to her that Nebraska will go the way of all things Big Red and just fade away. Unfortunately, the satellite feed will not be picked up at the baby house since kickoff is in the wee hours of the morning.
We didn't celebrate by eating turkey, but instead eating something Turkish. My new favorite food, besides corn on pizza is durum. Which is like a Turkish burrito. I'm not sure what they do to the meat, but it is seasoned nicely. We'll see if I can figure out how to make one by the time we get back to the states.
We have many things to be thankful for this year. Today was also the day that we heard little Olesya laugh for the first time. Just like everything else she does, it was absolutely perfect and wonderful. She laughed when her tummy was tickled and she laughed when I was flying her towards her daddy. We also enjoy sharing our visiting time with Karen and John because they can share their tourist experiences with us since they have been here about a week longer. We look forward to sharing our insights with others who will be coming after. Did I mention that Olesya is just wonderful and perfect?!