Friday, August 25, 2006

Welcome to the Family!

It's official, Grayson is now our son under the eyes of the law. The court hearing for his finalization was this morning and we now have the documents to happily say he is our little boy. The judge was wonderful. He had obviously taken the time to read our paperwork because he knew about our wedding (which had been discussed in our homestudy) and he knew we wanted a more "official ceremony" documenting Grayson's finalization. As a result, he said the hearings are usually conducted in the judge's chambers, but since we had wanted something more formal, he had arranged for our hearing to be in an actual courtroom. He talked about how unique adopted children are in that a family chooses to love them even after getting to know them and learning all about them. He also talked about how especially unique adoptive parents are and how special the family relationship is. We were very touched by how much the judge truly seemed to care about the whole process. After the formalities, we were able to come up behind the bench to take a few pictures. We then went to pick up the official documents proclaiming the adoption.

By the way, Grayson is also taking a few steps. He started this morning at my parents' house and has taken a few more since we've been home this afternoon. All in all, it's been a wonderful day!!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Nine Month Update

So Grayson turned nine months old last Thursday and Mom and I went shopping the next day to find clothes that will fit him in the fall. He's already starting to outgrow his 12 month clothes and I don't want to be stuck with nothing for him to wear as it starts to get cooler. Plus we're heading to Colorado in September and where we are staying for the first few days only gets up to the 60's during the day, so the little guy is going to need some warm stuff to wear. Since fall weather is unpredictable in Maryland, he's also going to need some shorts that will fit, so I was hoping to find some good deals but didn't have too much luck. I did get a few cute outfits and Grayson wore one of them at the Adoptive Families and Friends (AFF) annual picnic on Sunday. I've included a few pictures. Oh, and by the way, I am now working with AFF on publicity and outreach (my mother will be happy to know I am using my Masters Degree) so if you are interested in joining, please let me know. It's a great way to network with other adoptive families!!



Tuesday, August 15, 2006

They Tell Me It Counts

On August 5th, toward the end of Heidi's birthday party, I reached my finger into Grayson's mouth and finally felt it...his first tooth!! After months and months of slobber and chewing, he was finally cutting a tooth. A couple days later, we could see it peaking through. I hadn't planned on counting it as "his first official tooth" in his baby book until the thing came in completely, but according to my sisters, you record it as soon as you notice. So, I'm counting it. You can barely see it in the pictures, but if you look really close (and I mean close), Grayson now has a tooth on his right side of the bottom gum.



Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Nine Month Appointment (A Little Early)

Yesterday I called Grayson's pediatrician to schedule his nine month check-up. Since they had a cancellation, they said we could come in today even though Grayson won't be nine months old for another two weeks. He did very well, he only cried a little when they gave him his Hep-B shot, and we got his new measurements. He now weighs 22 pounds, 8 ounces (88th percentile) and he is 29 inches long (75th percentile). No wonder he's barely fitting into some of his 12 month clothes!!