Day two of the night time siege - running out of ammunition and morale is low. The resistance held out for a couple hours last night before it was quelled. The battle was fierce - but no casualties yet.

Last night I made dinner at John and Mary Lou's apartment. Turns out that the stove is labeled in degrees Celsius - so cooking the food at 325 probably explains why there was smoke pouring from the oven and the meatloaf was black on the outside after about 30 minutes. It was good in the middle though and we ate most of it. Ava Aruzhanna is doing great - in the baby house she was very subdued, now she is kicking and laughing, and almost sitting up (In the baby house, the little ones spend much of their time slouched in strollers, so they do not get strong backs or legs). She has also gained some weight already and looks healthier.  

After a few hours of sleep, we have had a quiet day. This morning Mary Lou and I went Christmas shopping at the Tsum - it is a three-story mall that houses hundreds of vendors. Poor Andre (our driver  - but not "Andre the Driver" from Uralsk) carried bags and translated and waited (and waited and waited) while we visited every shop in the place. The souvenir themes include models of the Yurt (traditional tent of the Kazakh nomads), the camel and the horse, Kazakh warrior stacking dolls (complete with several wives), bright patterned embroidered vests, pillow cases, and wall hangings, camel wool purses and slippers, and jewelry and figures made from Amber. After I had spent all my money (and 8800 in borrowed Tenge from Mary Lou), we stopped at a market and bought meat-filled pastries, and spicy Asian salads (I will miss this food), and met Steve and Adios at Mary Lou and Jon's apartment for lunch. This afternoon, Benjamin Aidos and I hung out while Steve ran some errands.

Benjamin is becoming very comfortable in the apartment. He is very busy moving from room to room. He is running and dancing (this is the first time we have seen him do anything but walk) and he loves to help (and pretend to help) with house work. He will set the table, wipe windows, hang laundry, pretend to wash the floor and sweep. I think this is mostly what he observed adults doing at the baby house. Benjamin Aidos is almost always very pleasant, but he has a stubborn streak (which is good to see when I think about it abstractly - but at the time is annoying). When we tell him 'no', 'nyet', and 'zhok' ('no' in Kazakh) he often holds on to a prohibited item tighter. When we take the object away, or remove him from the scene he is very offended (and a bit embarrassed, I think) and cries. He is also sensitive and will cry if he thinks we are angry with him or if we speak too strongly to him.  But he is an easy child during the day; he does so try to please us.  And when he smiles, he lights up the room.