Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Forever Family

It's official.

We went to court this morning to finalize our adoption.

Jayden is officially stuck with us forever. ;)


From the moment we got to court, Jayden was busy charming everyone. In the waiting area he was walking around and dancing. He loved the marble floors. He reached down and touched the floor a couple times. He seemed so happy to be there. Everyone that walked through commented on how cute he was.

My Aunt gave him a kitty stuffed animal, which he loved.




In the courtroom the judge said it was okay to let him walk around because he was not in the mood to sit. He ended up starting up a game of peek-a-boo with the judge. Then he was blowing him kisses! The judge even blew him a  kiss back. It was so funny. He was walking around the courtroom like he owned the place.

My parents and my Aunt came with us. It was so nice to have them there celebrating with us. Then right after we left court, I checked my phone and there were so many tweets and texts and love from all over. We are so grateful to have had so much love and support through our adoption journey. Jayden is so loved.

We went out to breakfast with my Mom and Aunt after we left court.

Then we went home so Jay could take a nap.

Later in the afternoon Jen from This Is More Personal and her wonderful husband came by for a visit while they were in town. It was so special to have one of Jayden's twitter Aunts be part of the big day. Jen, like so many of Jayden's twitter Aunts, has been a huge source of support throughout our adoption journey.

We then met family out at a restaurant for a celebratory dinner. I love times like this because it's such a big reminder of how loved Jayden is. And he did so well! Court and two meals in a restaurant...all in one day...and he did amazing! Especially since he only had one nap and dinner was close to bedtime. His favorite part of dinner was sitting next to Grandpa. He was copying everything Grandpa did.

I've known since the moment I met Jayden that he was my son, but I don't think I realized until today how much finalization meant to me. I thought I would be able to put those feelings into words in this blog post, but I really can't express the full range of emotions I felt. I spent a lot of today thinking about our journey that led us to today. Everything we went through before Jayden came into our lives. I mostly thought about how lucky we are. After 11.5 months of parenting Jayden, it still feels surreal sometimes. And I don't think I realized until today that I have been holding my breath this whole time. Kind of waiting for the floor to drop out from under us. But, it didn't. And it never will. This is forever.

Like our lawyer said to us today, now we just need to worry about living happily ever after. :)

25 comments:

  1. As a new twitter follower, I've not been there throughout your whole journey, but I just have to say it again - CONGRATS!! What a huge day! He is SO adorable and I <3 his suit. Happy forever family!

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  2. Congratulations!! I am so, so happy for you and am even a little teary eyed here. Forever families are something else!! oxo

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  3. That court hearing seals the deal, just makes everything feel complete. I know so well how that feels. Until this finalization day, you are just prone to still worry. I am so happy that you had such a great day. You deserve it. I am so happy for you, Adam and Jayden. Congratulations on becoming a forever family. Such a blessing!

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  4. Lisa, that's wonderful!! My Aunt and Uncle have been trying to finalize their adoption of their little girl for 5 years, she's now 7. Hopefully this September, at least that's what we hear. Fingers crossed.

    Congratulations!!

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  5. I am so incredibly happy for you huys! Happy forever family day!!

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  6. Aaaaaaaand now I am crying! I am so unbelievably happy for you all! <3

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  7. I'm so happy for you! I've been following you for a LONG time and I've completely enjoyed watching Jayden grow. Thank you for honestly sharing your life with us and I look forward to seeing more adorable Jayden photos! :)

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  8. *sniff* Wonderful! I LOVE the outfit. You have to frame that photo.

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  9. YAYYYYYYY! So happy for all of you. Congrats!

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  10. TEARS!!!! I LOVE that you had a judge as wonderful as ours was. I know they generally really enjoy doing adoption finalizations because it's one of the few happy occasions they get to preside over.

    I am so very happy for you guys. It only gets better from here as you settle in with that comfort of knowing no one can ever - EVER - take your baby boy away.

    We love you guys!

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  11. Congratulations and Happy Adoption Day!! I know you've waited so long for this. You deserve it!

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  12. you have no idea how happy I am to read this. The words "living happily ever after" struck me hard...you deserve to live happily ever after. You deserve to have Jayden as your son forever and ever. You deserve this and so much more. I am so thrilled that he is officially your son now...

    He is an amazing kid and you and Adam are amazing people too. I cannot wait to see Jayden grow up with y'all. I cannot believe he has been in your lives for the last year. He was the perfect child for you...I'm so blessed to be part of this journey. <3 you so much.

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  13. I'm in tears, so very happy for you!!! Congratulations, Lisa! So happy your family is finally official!!!

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  14. I'm incredibly happy for you guys. Congratulations!!!

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  15. Awww! I love this post! I also love it when a judge is this awesome. Happy day for you and your family! Congrats!

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  16. I love his outfit and sounds like it was a day to remember!! Congratulations!

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  17. YAY YAY YAY! Congrats, I know you've been waiting for this day and I'm so happy for you all!

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  18. I am crying like a fool for you all. So happy you are officially a forever family. He is so darn cute! Glad everything went well.

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  19. Beautiful post. So happy for the three of you!

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  20. Well now I'm crying. :) Soooo happy for you guys! What a beautiful post.

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  21. Sorry I'm just getting over here to the actual blog, but I celebrated with you on twitter! :)

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  22. Yay!! Happy finalization! You were always a family, now it's official.

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