Guardianship Council Day!

Well, this morning we were picked up at 9:45 to visit the baby house for the last time this trip. We're going to miss him soooo much! Obviously we have lots of pictures (way more than what's on the blog) and plenty of video that we will cherish while we're away. Caleb was very active and talkative this morning. He kept saying, "Dadadadada!" When I told him to say "Mama" he would click his tongue like I taught him to do. By the end of our time, he was wiped out and fell asleep.

Caleb has eyes that are similar to Brad's. We say that Brad's are a combination of green and brown. Depending on what he wears, sometimes they look more green, sometimes more brown. Caleb's are like that, too, just a little bit lighter.

We were dropped off back at the hotel after going to the baby house, but we walked to the store. We bought some snacks...bread, sausage, etc. for lunch. We came back to eat and watch a movie.
At 3:45 we were picked up for Guardianship Council, which as it turns out, is in a building about a hundred yards from our hotel. When we first got in the building, it was very hectic. Then we went up the the room where it was to be held. Apparently, this GC isn't just for adoptions because there were about fifteen other people there for it, and we're quite sure they weren't adopting! Once we were inside the room, our nerves calmed. There were five people on the council... one male, four female. They asked us a few questions and it was over very quickly. We have their approval to go to court! They just asked that we be sure to tell Caleb about the country where he was born.

We came back to the hotel and paid up through the night because we are leaving Taraz for Almaty by car Tuesday morning at 8am. Our driver we are familiar with will be taking us, so we are comfortable with him. At one point, we thought we would have to take a taxi, and that made me a little nervous! We think the drive will be about 6 or 7 hours! Yikes! Our translator gave us a paper that has phrases in Russian and English for us to point to, if needed, like "Please stop" or "I need a bite" or "We need a toilet" etc. I thought that was a cute idea. Of course, we also have our Rus/Eng book. Our coordinator in Almaty has booked a hotel for us by the airport because our flight leaves Wednesday at 8:10am.
We ate dinner at the hotel with Rod and Kym, a couple from California, who are adopting a little eighteen month old girl. Their first day with their daughter was our last day with our son...for a little while, anyway. Finally we began packing our things and getting ready for our long trip home.

"MMMmm, apples and bananas are yummy!"