One year anniversary

Today is our 1 year anniversary of GOTCHA Day. That's the day we took physical custody of Nathan.

The picture to the left is the first picture we ever got of Nathan. It was his referrral picture. The picture to the right is the first Nathan and daddy picture. It was the first time Keyoor held Nathan on Gotcha Day.

In honor of that, I posted pictures of Nathan from the past year. I posted Nathan's referral picture, his Gotcha Day picture, and various pictures throughout the year. You will see from these, what a difference nutritional food and a loving home environment make in a child's life.

On Gotcha Day Nathan was 15 months old and wearing a size 9 months. Today he is 2 years old and wearing a size 2T. He is healthy, active, social and most of all loving and generous. He goes through many of the issues other adoptive kids face, anxiety issues and anger issues. We patiently work through them.

It hasn't been an easy year for many reasons, but being mommy and daddy to Nathan has made it the best year.

This picture won a grouchy kid radio contest

The picture above is Nathan enjoying summer. The picture below is typical cuteness.

This is Nathan dressed as his namesake Lord Krishna for the Mundan ceremony.

Here is Nathan all dressed up for his birthday. Nathan turned 2.

And here is my big boy now. This was taken at Easter when my sister Rina and her hubby Randy visited. Nathan loves Randymasa (aka Uncle Randy).

Love will make a child grow, said Nathan's pediatrician.  The proof in the pictures.

-Rajal

Happy Anniversary to Me and my Hubby

April 12th was mine and Keyoor's 13th wedding anniversary.  It was such a special one because Nathan was here with us.  I remember all the years on our anniversary we would say next year we will have a child. And next year would come and still no child.

Last year on anniversary we travelled to India to pick up Nathan. It was actually our 12th anniversary and as the clock struck midnight to usher in the 12th of April, we board a plane to bring our baby home. Even now, a year later, I'm tearing up while writing this. What a magical experience that was. (more on that in my next blog entry)

But this year, being home with our son, that was by far the best. We sat on the sofa and told Nathan all about it, how we spent our anniversary on the plane last year, how we prayed each year to have a child, and how God answered our prayers with the most perfect child.

Nathan was destined to be ours. I think that of each of our adoption group friends and their children. If you see each child and their parents, you know that it's a perfect fit. It's amazing how these children take on the looks and mannerisms of their parents.

The other day, Keyoor's mom called and wanted to know if Nathan likes to walk around the house signing. Oh yes and not just around the house. The other day we were in Kohls (where I love to shop for everything especially Nathan's clothes) and Nathan is singing while I change his diaper in the restroom.  Back to Nani. She said Keyoor did the same when he was that age. It's a bit scary sometimes how Nathan is exactly like Keyoor. One of the childhood stories I always here about Keyoor is that he loved to ride his bike super fast.  Nathan doesn't know how to ride a bike yet, but Nathan runs so crazily fast that we can barely keep up with him. The other day we went to the lake and Nathan ran a good portion of the 3/4 mile round of the lake. Tiny legs but boy can he run.

Court Process Continued

I just wanted to provide more details on our day in court.

We finalized Nathan's adoption in Sacramento on March 15th. The court day went smoothly. Our appt was for 8:30. At exactly that time, the bailiff called us into the courtroom. We sat a few minutes and
then were taken to the Judge's chamber for the proceedings. The Judge was so nice. He offered Nathan some m&m's and therefore Nathan was happy as could be.

The judge reviewed the India documents and asked for Form 210 and 215. Never asked for Form 230. Then he signed the forms and made his declaration that it was in the best interest of Nathan to be adopted by us. Nathan clapped and shook the Judges hand.

Amazing what a 2 year old can comprehend. I think my son knew what an important day it was because on the plane ride back to Kansas, he hugged and said "I love you mommy."

After the proceedings were over, we took pictures with the Judge and then waited for the copies of the order. By 9:00 we were all done.

What a relief it was to finally be done. It took several days for it to sink in. Since June 2007 this has been my whole life. Adoption is long expensive journey filled with thousands of pages of paperwork and so much government bureaucracy.  It however is so worth it. For all those days I thought the process would never end, on March 15th it finally ended for us. Nathan is legally our child.

Afterwards, my mom sent Nathan the cutest card. It said, Congratulations Nathan on becoming a US Citizen, you can now be president someday. I have the card posted to the refrigerator so I can read it everyday.

I know finalizing the adoption is just a formality, but it is such an important one. Because until that was done, we were only known by the government as his legal guardians. Now we are known as his legal parents.

Since it's tax time, I have to add, there is an adoption credit but you can't claim it until you finalize the adoption. So we miss out on it in 2009 but we will be able to claim it in 2010.

Once I find the cord that connects the camera to the computer, I will be able to post some pictures of the ceremony. It's somewhere in the 70 plus moving boxes in our storage area.

If I haven't said so already, Thank you to all those who shared this long journey with us. We couldn't have traveled this road without your support. I hope you always remain a part of our lives, especially Nathan's life.

Rajal