after waiting 256 days (that is 8 months, 13 days), we became the legal parents of Declan!

officialour original court date was august 19th, but due to circumstances beyond our control or understanding, our final adoption hearing was rescheduled to today. while the state laws of indiana require a 3 month period for the finalization of our adoption, the state laws of nevada (where dexwas born) require a 6 month waiting period. so we’ve been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this day to happen for us.

 

 
waitingand when we arrived on time for our appointment, we learned that we’d have to wait some more. 2 hours in fact. 2 hours in a stuffy hallway with an 8 month old and a 17 month old was interesting (our morningstar family entourage).
add in a 4 year old, an 18 month old, a 3 month old and a 4 month old, and it was amazing there weren’t more meltdowns. and that was just the hallway. there were even more babies and children in the actual waiting area for the court room. all during naptime!
i was so pleased by the good behaviors of our boys. despite the waiting, the warmth, the boredom & the hunger, dex & jake did great!

joyfulwhen it was finally our family’s turn in the queue of 6 final adoption hearings, it lasted all of 15 minutes. a few questions posed to jon & i about the adoption process and then the judge approved our request. YAY! oh, and dex was a amazing during all of the proceedings as well. we are greatly blessed to have a wonderful son with a joyful disposition.

and now at 8 months, he’s so fun to be around. yes, there’s been some rough fussy phases that we’ve endured. but once he’d made it through the developmental struggle, the fussies hibernate for a few weeks. some of the fun things he’s learned or currently learning:

  • crawling (when he chooses to make the effort)
  • standing using something for leverage
  • attempting to feed himself
  • just starting to wave hello or goodbye
  • cruising along our furniture in really short spurts
  • eating more non-pureed foods – his fave is pulled pork
  • sleeping from 8:30-9:00 pm until 7:30-9:00 am
  • playing independently for a longer period

    • standingand that’s just the things i can recall at this point!

    thank you family & friends for joining us on this journey. we’ve appreciated your support & prayers during this time, and we know how loved we all are. We are the happy, blessed parents!