New Day - New Attitude - New Apartment
We are missing our daughter Lainey today and would love to get a big hug from her. She is in good hands with Shin-Shin. I am including a picture from one of her favorite familiar places in Almaty, the see-saw at Mad Murphy’s restaurant. Olivia was asking about you Lainey and wanting to know where you were and to say hello.
Andrew continues to bond well. Saturday when we went to his room to get him at 10:00am his caregiver was holding his hand and letting him walk to the door where we were standing smiling at him waiting. He was waddling toward us when she paused to get his hat from a cabinet. As soon as she stopped he looked up at her, made a face, and then looked back to me and immediately started crying. He was mad that she stopped and he was letting her know that he needed to get across the room now, to us. She retrieved the hat and as soon as he was making forward momentum again he stopped crying as quickly as he began.
Another good sign was that he started trying to make friends with the other families today. He caught the attention of one of the Spanish moms and offered her his toy. She stopped and he would offer his toy, she would take it and then offer it back and he would take it from her and do it all over again. After she returned to her group Andrew grabbed Stacye’s hand and led her over to another family where he wanted to play the same give and take game with another mom. Once he got the mom’s attention he looked at Stacye for a sign of permission before he would offer her the toy. This is the first time he has been extraverted with other folks and on top of that he wanted Stacye to say it's okay, go ahead and play. We are pretty excited that he has bonded so well.
Today we moved to the apartment from Hotel Almaty. Hotel Almaty has made our stay fairly pleasant. I would say it is a 3-star hotel. The room rates are decent (compared to most hotels in Almaty) if you are below the sixth floor. Above the 5th (our floor) has been remodeled and appears to have all of the modern amenities. A couple of recommendations for someone deciding to book here, I recommend requesting a South facing room but check the price, south facing has a beautiful mountain view and I am not sure the cost is the same. The noisy café on the North side (the side we are on) is a tough neighbor to live with. The wedding party Friday night went on until midnight and then there were fireworks. The music was amplified loudly and it just rolls up the building and directly onto our patio. We are on the fifth floor and it felt like we could join the party from our balcony. The music was a very loud but not awful. It was a blend - like “The Wedding Singer” meets “Fiddler on the Roof” and let me tell you these weddings are festive. I would book here again if the stay was short, plus the complimentary breakfast is good. Just be ready for hot tea not coffee.
Another couple is staying at Hotel Astana which sounds like similar accommodations but I do not know how the per night cost compares. They were complimentary, saying it was a quiet and they like the café on the first floor and room service. However it is not as centrally located, so taxis will likely add to your cost. It sounds like a good option if you are bringing kid(s).
Andrew continues to bond well. Saturday when we went to his room to get him at 10:00am his caregiver was holding his hand and letting him walk to the door where we were standing smiling at him waiting. He was waddling toward us when she paused to get his hat from a cabinet. As soon as she stopped he looked up at her, made a face, and then looked back to me and immediately started crying. He was mad that she stopped and he was letting her know that he needed to get across the room now, to us. She retrieved the hat and as soon as he was making forward momentum again he stopped crying as quickly as he began.
Another good sign was that he started trying to make friends with the other families today. He caught the attention of one of the Spanish moms and offered her his toy. She stopped and he would offer his toy, she would take it and then offer it back and he would take it from her and do it all over again. After she returned to her group Andrew grabbed Stacye’s hand and led her over to another family where he wanted to play the same give and take game with another mom. Once he got the mom’s attention he looked at Stacye for a sign of permission before he would offer her the toy. This is the first time he has been extraverted with other folks and on top of that he wanted Stacye to say it's okay, go ahead and play. We are pretty excited that he has bonded so well.
Today we moved to the apartment from Hotel Almaty. Hotel Almaty has made our stay fairly pleasant. I would say it is a 3-star hotel. The room rates are decent (compared to most hotels in Almaty) if you are below the sixth floor. Above the 5th (our floor) has been remodeled and appears to have all of the modern amenities. A couple of recommendations for someone deciding to book here, I recommend requesting a South facing room but check the price, south facing has a beautiful mountain view and I am not sure the cost is the same. The noisy café on the North side (the side we are on) is a tough neighbor to live with. The wedding party Friday night went on until midnight and then there were fireworks. The music was amplified loudly and it just rolls up the building and directly onto our patio. We are on the fifth floor and it felt like we could join the party from our balcony. The music was a very loud but not awful. It was a blend - like “The Wedding Singer” meets “Fiddler on the Roof” and let me tell you these weddings are festive. I would book here again if the stay was short, plus the complimentary breakfast is good. Just be ready for hot tea not coffee.
Another couple is staying at Hotel Astana which sounds like similar accommodations but I do not know how the per night cost compares. They were complimentary, saying it was a quiet and they like the café on the first floor and room service. However it is not as centrally located, so taxis will likely add to your cost. It sounds like a good option if you are bringing kid(s).
posted by mom pup, pepper. @ 8:08 AM
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