Claire, Flirt Extraordinaire

We changed our visit time for our last few visits from 2-4 to 10-12. Since we’re sharing Asel with Eric and Alecia, we thought it would be easier for all of us if we visited at the same time as them. So after we fed Claire this morning (a bottle and something that looked like gravy…she repeatedly spit it back out until I finally gave up), we went upstairs to the music room where the Barbees were visiting with their son, Andrew. Andrew could quite possibly have the most squeezable cheeks I’ve ever seen. He is just getting over an ear infection and has a new tooth coming in, so the poor guy has had better days. Claire was pretty entranced by him (and his spiffy new toys) and his daddy. If she couldn’t see them, she would squirm and wiggle until they were finally in sight. Then she’d kick the charm into overdrive. I think Claire is going to be boy crazy just like Aunt Lesley.

Since the music room was easily 85 degrees today, we decided to take Claire outside for a stroll around the babyhouse. During our visits, one of her favorite things to do is stare out the window, so we thought she’d be excited about being outside, but she seemed to get a bigger thrill out of chewing on her giant snowsuit. Everyone loved her giant pom pom hat and had to squeeze the pom pom as they went by (knitted with love & a touch of Auburn spirit by Aunt Manda).

After the visit, we met Asel and the Barbees at the Eurasia Market for some lunch and shopping. We went to the Russian restaurant where we ate when we first arrived…the one with the incredibly loud and horribly inappropriate music. Today it was just Beyonce, but it was still horribly loud. The Barbees found some Astana postcards just like what we’ve been looking for (and we thought we were the ones who were supposed to show them around!), so we finally have those crossed off our shopping list. We’re holding off on the rest of the shopping until we get to Almaty because we’ve heard that there’s a better selection and better prices there.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to meet with Claire’s caregivers and the babyhouse doctors about what kind of formula she’s used to and what her general routine is. After our visit, we’ll go shopping for formula, baby food, and whatever else she needs to make the big transition on Thursday. I can’t wait to bust her out!