Today the boys had to go to the Kremenchuk police station to be “scanned” for their passports. This basically involved taking a photo of each boy in the police station, where they would create an electronic file for each boy that would be transferred to Kiev and Poltava to verify the passports for both boys.
We took clothes to the orphanage for the boys to wear, along with snowsuits. We brought clothes in size 18 months and 24 months. The 18 month clothing was a little big for Conner, but snug on Cooper, so I think Conner will wear a 12-month and Cooper will wear 24-month. The caregivers helped us dress them (Cooper wasn’t very patient with this!)…I’m not sure they’d ever had real clothes on (they have always been in pajama sleepers when we’ve visited). We brought soft house-shoe booties for both boys since Cooper has club feet (and wont’ fit in regular shoes) and Conner isn’t walking yet. Well, Cooper’s booties fell off within a few minutes, but Conner kept his on. They were SO CUTE in their clothes and snowsuits, all bundled up. They wore OshKosh overalls with plaid shirts underneath. Of course the caregivers had them keep cotton shirts and tights on under their other layers. 
Both boys were sweating by the time we reached the police station!
To our knowledge, the boys had never been outside the orphanage (most likely not even outside of their groupa/room)! We were a little concerned about how they’d react to this new experience, but both boys did really well, especially considering they’d never seen trees, snow, cars, strangers, nor had they ever felt the cold air, felt the bumps of potholes in the roads, sat in a vehicle. So much to experience outside those orphanage walls!
Neither boy got car sick, although Conner had lots of burping and tummy gurgling, he never vomited, praise God!!! Cooper was quite vocal most of the time, but he never acted fearful, so that was good.
In the car/taxi, Cooper wanted to sit up tall on Matt’s lap so he could lick see outside the window. Conner was a calm little cuddle bug, perfectly content in my lap, relaxed as can be.
At the police station, the boys waited patiently for their photos to be taken and paperwork to be completed. Cooper loves to be played with (tossed in the air, tickled, etc.) while Conner prefers to sit calmly and observe everything going on around him. Both boys LOVE to throw their hats on the ground. Well, throw ANYTHING on the ground for that matter! They just think it’s hilarious to grab ANYTHING and quickly toss it onto the ground and giggle.
The passports are supposed to be ready for pick up Tuesday, Tuesday, Feb. 28. Please pray this happens on time! Our awesome facilitator was able to get us an appointment at the US Embassy Feb. 29, with confirmation that the boys’ visas will be available the afternoon of March 1, IF AND ONLY IF everything goes according to schedule here in Kremenchuk/Poltava with the passports.
Cooper wanted two hats.
Nope, just one hat, Daddy’s hat.
On second thought, maybe no hats would be best.
FYI, Conner’s hat is a 3-6 month, while Cooper’s is a 4T!
The boys’ appointments were smack dab in the middle of their groupa’s nap time, but both boys held up really well, even though Conner appeared to be quite sleepy. We were very proud of both boys. After all of the paperwork was finished, we returned the boys to their groupa, where the caregivers immediately undressed the boys and put their orphanage clothes back on. They totally knew what they were doing. I had been wondering if we’d just leave the boys in their new clothes, but apparently not. We hugged and kissed the boys goodbye, then went back to our hotel for the night.
Because our dinner last night consisted of this (see video below)…loud music that kept us from being able to converse with one another, we opted for room service tonight. We didn’t realize they offered this for the same price as dinner at the restaurant. We enjoyed our room service (I had chicken Kiev and Matt had an omelette), and we’re looking forward to visiting the boys tomorrow.
Ahhhhhh, room service!
Nighty-night!
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