[BlessedBe]

A week before DS turned 13 months - we finally finalized his adoption. It was a wonderful moment with friends and family there with us and afterwards, when we were having our pictures made with the judge, DS was hamming it up for the other people in the court room and had them all laughing.

As we were walking out of the court room a lady said to us, "Thank you so much for bringing him." LOL!

The most emotional part for me was signing my name in the mother section on the certificate of birth.

I didn't realize just how much the finalization would mean to me. He couldn't have been any more ours than he already was - but, that last piece of the process showed others legally what was already in our hearts.

It was beautiful.

[NJNative]

Our son was 20 months old when we finalized, in the very same courtroom, with the very same judge that had handled our custody hearing when he was 10 months old. Well, J was the hit of the show!

It was a closed courtroom, so only the three of us, the guardiam ad litem, social workers, and our lawyer were there. We sat down to start and my son decided to stroll around the jury box . I got up to get him and the judge waved me off -- said, "He's fine, Mom. Let him explore." So during the course of the hearing, which took only 10 minutes, he visited the judge in his chair, checked out everyone at the tables and plopped down in a juror's chair. They loved him!

I must say he looked so cute that day, in a little white outfit with sailboats on it in red and blue, white knee socks and white sneakers.

The judge was SUCH a nice man and so was everyone invloved. Made it sooooo special!

[StorkWatcher]

Congratulations! I remember also feeling that although it didn't make us feel any differently about being a family, it was very nice to be finished with the paperwork and jumping through hoops.

Our judge was also a big teddy bear of a man who was SOOo nice. He had Pooh and Tigger figurines sitting on his bench.

One of the workers in the courthouse who rode the elevator down with us asked us if we were adopting. W e smiled and said yes - he said, 'Congrats. I figured - we love Tuesdays (or whatever day it was) here in the family court. It's adoption day and sure beats people contesting over wills!

[crick]

Congratulations on your finalization!!!

[rjsmom]

Blessed - congratulations!!!!!!!!

We go for DD at the end of the month. I think that I am more nervous for it than I was with DS.