Hair Cuts & Dental Visits

When we arrived at the boys’ groupa this morning, there was a lady in the room giving another boy a hair cut.  We realized that today was hair cutting day for the boys’ groupa, so Matt and I discussed whether or not we should have them cut Cooper and Conner’s hair.  I’ve heard many stories of children who have been adopted from orphanages who are completely terrified of having their hair cut due to traumatic experiences with hair cuts in orphanages.  Most orphanages keep the children’s hair (both boys and girls) buzzed to prevent lice infestations, so hair cuts are done quickly with so many children to line up and buzz.

 

We prefer buzz cuts on boys anyway, so we decided to ask the hair stylist if she would go ahead and cut our boys’ hair.  We felt watching this experience here in Ukraine in their groupa where they’re accustomed to hair cuts would give us an idea of how our boys will react to future hair cuts.

 

We were so pleasantly surprised by how well our boys did!  Neither boy squawked much, they both sat still and waited patiently while the stylist buzzed their hair.  The stylist wanted to leave a mullet for both boys, but we showed her Daddy’s buzz cut, as well as photos of our boys back home who have buzz cuts, and she reluctantly obliged.  That kind of made me giggle because it was perfectly fine for the rest of the orphanage kids (boys and girls) to have buzz cuts, but since our boys are now part of our family, they naturally assumed we wouldn’t prefer buzz cuts.  Oh well, we love the buzzes the boys got, and hopefully the boys will continue to tolerate hair cuts as well as they did today!

We played with the boys in the playroom until lunch time.  They have a new inflatable bounce “castle”, which wasn’t very bouncy, but we tried it anyway.  Neither boy knew what to do, even with our assistance, but one day, we’re sure they’ll love bounce castles!

 

We enjoyed lunch at the brick oven pizza place (Italiano Vero) with our new American missionary friends, Jennifer and Jon.  They helped coordinate dental visits for our boys for teeth cleanings, so after lunch, we headed back to the orphanage with our translator friend, Sergei, to pick the boys up and take them to the dentist.

This picture has nothing to do with my post, but this bare bush caught my eye outside the orphanage today.  It has berries on it, and somehow it stood as a metaphor for life in this cold, barren place.  Life.  So grateful God has kept our boys alive, even in this cold, barren place.  Our berries on the bush.

 

I’ve heard from many people that dental care in Eastern Europe is phenomenal and inexpensive, so we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity for Cooper and Conner, especially since they’d be able to understand the language here and not be thoroughly confused with English-speaking dentists in the US. 

Waiting patiently at the dentist’s office.

The aquarium in the wall at the dentist’s office.  Cooper much preferred the TV!  That boy sits silently, mesmerized by the TV (no matter what is showing), but as soon as the TV goes off, he squawks.

 

Both boys did great at their dental visits, although Cooper has a lot of cavities and gingivitis, according to the dentist.  Conner’s teeth looked healthy.  The dentist gave us a prescription for a liquid to rub on Cooper’s gums to help the inflammation and gum disease.

Conner waiting patiently for brother to finish with the dentist.

We’ve been really amazed by how well the boys are doing on outings.  They haven’t gotten car sick or vomited at all (knock on wood!), and they’re handling lots of new stimuli really well.  We’ve also been surprised to see several Ukrainian people reach out to our boys to talk to them, smile at them, etc.  Since most, if not all, children with Down syndrome and other special needs are kept in institutions in Ukraine, most Ukrainians don’t ever see special needs children in public.  I was concerned that our boys might get ugly stares, but, so far, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the kindness people have shown us.

We just feel so very blessed that God chose to bless us with these precious treasures, and we pray others will see our boys as the amazing masterpieces of God that they truly are.

Boys 1st Excursion!

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!

First time outside the orphanage.

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.

 

First time in a car/taxi!

 

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.

Cooper giggling with Daddy at the police station.

 

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.

 

Our very loud dinner at Hotel Kremin Restaurant. :-)

 

Ahhhhhh, room service!

 

Nighty-night!

First Visit in 23 Days!

This morning we went to the notary to sign the official petition to take the boys to America.

 

After signing the petition, we got to visit the boys!!!  We were so excited to get to see them again.  23 days is far too long to not visit or have any contact with them.  Here’s the video from our first steps into the boys’ groupa/room:

Footage from our first steps into the boys’ groupa after 23 days of not visiting.

 

The boys remembered us!!!  Cooper immediately crawled to us, and Conner began making noises in the play crib.  (Conner doesn’t usually make sounds!)  Both boys hugged us tightly.  Having their fingers wrapped around our necks melted our hearts.  Oh how we love these precious boys!!!

 

 

 

We only got to visit for about 10-15 minutes, but it was so worth it, no matter how short the visit.  The boys felt so light after being home and lifting Selah and Kiefer.  They literally felt like we were lifting play dolls, not 6-year-olds.  I’m so curious to see how much they weigh.

 

Here’s another short video I took as we sat with the boys in their groupa for our short visit.  We had an appointment with the orphanage director, so we had to hurry with our visit, but it was just so good to hug and love on Cooper and Conner.  So blessed by these sweeties!

Cooper and Daddy reuniting after 23 days of not visiting, sitting on the couch in the boys’ groupa.

 

We spent the afternoon completing more paperwork.  Many of you have asked when we’ll get to take the boys out of the orphanage for good.  The answer would normally be right NOW, but our boys are in a little different situation due to their high risk of refeeding syndrome.

 

Refeeding syndrome is best explained HERE, but, in a nutshell, our boys can die in a matter of 3-5 days if we introduce different foods/nutrients/calories into their diet without close monitoring with blood tests and the assistance of medical personnel trained in refeeding syndrome.

 

We don’t know the exact weights of the boys, but they’re both severely malnourished.  They are both 6-years-old, but the size of 12-18 month olds.  Conner is the smaller of the two boys, and he probably weighs between 12-14 pounds.  Cooper probably weighs around 20-24 pounds.

 

Because both boys are at such high risk of developing refeeding symdrome, our pediatrician recommended we keep the boys at the orphanage until the very last minute to reduce the risk of refeeding syndrome.  Any change in the boys’ diet can cause refeeding syndrome, and death can occur rapidly (as well as seizures and other issues), so the less change in their diets before we get to the US (where we have medical care to deal with this) is best.  Our pediatrician is working with our local children’s hospital  and nutritionist to develop a care plan for both boys once they’re in the US, but for now, the safest place for the boys to remain is in the orphanage where their diet will remain the same and be consistent with what they’ve known for 6 years.

 

As hard as it is for us to leave the boys in the orphanage when they could be with us, we know this decision is in their best interest.  Of course it’s in our nature to want to feed the boys healthy food and do what we feel would nurse them back to health, but in reality, what we want to do would most likely end up killing them!!!  Isn’t that crazy?!?!  To think that feeding them healthy food could give them seizures and heart failure boggles my mind, but knowing this is truth helps me feel peace in leaving the boys in the orphanage until it’s time to go back to Kiev to get the required medical exam and visit with the US Embassy to receive approval and visas to travel.

 

So, for now, we will continue to visit the boys twice/day at the orphanage while we wait for their passports to be processed and available for pick-up.  We’re told the date we’ll be able to pick up the passports is Tuesday, Feb. 29, the day we’ll spring the boys from the orphanage, pick up the passports, and head to Kiev.  We’ll have to spend 3 days in Kiev, then the boys should have visas to head back to Texas!  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, praise the Lord!!!

 

Please keep the boys in your prayers that they would not have issues with refeeding syndrome, that their transition would be smooth, and that we will be united in Texas as a family SOON!!!

 

Thanks for your prayers, support, and encouragement!

Final Trip, Day 2

We slept well last night, our first night in Kremenchuk.  We’re staying at hotel for this final trip, which has a restaurant (and breakfast is included in the stay), so we woke groggily at 8:30AM (Kremenchuk time…8 hours ahead of Texas time) and got ready for the first day of the final paper chase.

 

Our hotel is directly across from Lenin Square in Kremenchuk.

We went to the hotel café for breakfast, and were surprised to see how much food came with the various options.  We could select from three options, each with a variety of items we would not normally find on a breakfast menu in the US.  Things like caviar and cabbage salad (cole slaw).  We opted for option 1, which included fried eggs and bacon, among other things.  I don’t care for eggs much, so I gave mine to Matt (who said they were superb).  I like my bacon crispy, and this bacon was pretty much raw.  I asked them to cook it more (using Google translate), and the waitress seemed really confused.  Either they don’t eat crispy bacon here or Google translate told her something other than what I intended.  Needless to say, the cook attempted to cook the bacon again, but it still wasn’t really cooked when the waitress delivered it.  Oh well.  I purchased a Snickers bar on our way out instead.

 

That’s bread, butter, cheese, and red caviar that came with breakfast Option 1. 

 

At 10:15, our favorite driver, Sasha, came to pick us up, along with our translator (our facilitator’s husband), Denis, so we could start on the required first steps on the final journey toward bringing our boys home.

 

 

The first step was to get both boys new birth certificates, listing us as their parents.  We stopped at the Kremenchuk City Hall to get Cooper’s birth certificate (he was born in Kremenchuk), but had to wait a few hours because the chief was gone (and only the chief is authorized to make these changes). 

City Hall décor. 

 

Shortly before 2PM, Cooper’s new birth certificate was ready, so we headed off to Poltava, Conner’s birth city, to get his new birth certificate.

 

Matt and I snoozed during the 1.5 hour drive to Poltava.  Our bodies don’t yet know what time it is!  The process was much faster in Poltava, and after waiting in the car for about an hour, Conner had a new birth certificate, too.  Yippee.

 

Then it was off to the tax office in Poltava to apply for passports for both boys, which only took another hour or so.  Then back to Kremenchuk where we ate yummy brick oven pizza for dinner.

 

Now we’re back in our hotel room.  We didn’t get to see the boys today since we were gone all day, but we’re hoping tomorrow will allow us time to visit them.  (We are only allowed to stop by the orphanage during set visiting hours.)  Our translator needs us to do more paperwork at 9:30AM, which we’re not sure how long will take, but we’re sure hoping to head over to the orphanage after that.  We’ll keep you posted!

 

PS  Selah slept through the night last night and Sawyer no longer has fever.  Hallelujah!  Thanks so much for praying for all of us and supporting and encouraging us.  We’re so grateful for you!