the final visit

We had our final visit today before picking up the girls on Saturday. The visit went well, with Dasha taking her first steps on her own for us. She is developing so fast. Looking back at pictures we took in Dec., she is really changing. Both girls came to us with big smiles on their faces, and appear to be more and more comfortable with us each visit. It had been 6 days since our last visit, so we didn't know what to expect today.

MaryEllen went with the girls to get their passport photos today while we were in Achinsk. It went well, but both girls were a little scared to be in the car. I hope this will make it a bit easier when we leave in the car on Saturday. We had some nice play time today as well, and when it was time for Sasha to go she looked back with tears in her eyes. I think she is falling for us as well. Hugging her first thing when we saw her today felt so right.

Today was very cold, -30c, which is -22f. Too cold to go out and do much, so we hope one of the next two days is warmer so we can go to the outdoor mall one more time. We need to buy diapers, food, juice, etc. to be ready for Saturday. Yesterday our translator took us to two malls, one a huge complex with nice stores, food court, bowling, and cinema. Then we went to a Chinese mall, where every booth was something from China. It was even run by Chinese people. Wierd to see Chinese Russians. We didn't buy anything, except pizza from Sbarros. Stores have prices much like the U.S..

Many of our new friends are leaving today and tomorrow morning. It will be sad to see them leave, but we look forward to meeting new friends this weekend, and of course spending lots of time with our daughters:) I think we will wait until we get the girls to post new pictures (without bows). Thanks for all the comments.