In Utah, you can finalize a baby's adoption when she is six months old. Since Amanda turned six months old recently, we have been looking forward to this. We had to have more background checks and three post placement visits with our caseworker to meet all of the adoption requirements before this could happen. The first post placement visit actually took place before we moved to our new house, while we were still in our rental. We were so thankful that our rental house was adequate to meet adoption standards. Yes, there were boxes everywhere, but the caseworkers didn't really care about that. Mostly for home visits, they want to see that you have a safe room for the baby--with a crib or bassinet. They also check for things like medications, cleaning supplies, and anything else that could be dangerous, to be sure that they are stored out of reach of children. So, it's not really difficult to pass, but it can be a little intimidating to have someone going through your house inspecting it all.
Last week, we went to court for the finalization. We were told to "dress appropriately for court." I looked on a few adoption websites to get some idea as to what people wear to court. In big cities, it's more business attire. I read that in some small towns, everyone, including the judge, just wears a nice shirt and jeans. In Utah, it seems that most people wear their Sunday best. Amanda had a new purple dress to wear, and it was kind of funny because we all decided independently to wear purple to match her.
We met up with our lawyer and caseworker for a few minutes before going into court. We had a few documents to sign. Then we went into the courtroom. Some family members came along. We were happy to have grandparents there to sit with Daniel and Benjamin. Our lawyer presented our case and had the caseworker take the stand to testify on our behalf that we had met all of the requirements to adopt Amanda. Then our lawyer asked us some questions, but we were allowed to remain seated with Amanda at the table near the front of the courtroom. Mostly he asked us how we were doing having Amanda in our family and whether we were prepared to take on all of the responsibilities of having Amanda as our daughter permanently. I got all choked up when I had to speak, but I think that was understandable considering how emotional the whole experience was. We're so happy to have Amanda as our official daughter and little sister!
Amanda looks a little solemn in all of the pictures. She was really well behaved in court. Our caseworker said that a lot of the babies cry the whole time because they get bored of sitting there. Amanda is just generally a sweet, happy baby.
Here are some of the family members who came to court with us. My mom came too, but she was taking the picture. After court, we went out to eat to celebrate. Daniel and Benjamin told everyone at the restaurant that we were all dressed up because we had just finalized our adoption. It was a happy day for our family. It was only the first in a week of Amanda celebrations, though. I'll write more about that next time.
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