Oh, those Prestwiches!: Back in the New York Groove

It's been awhile, friends, and I'm not going to lie...

With a new baby, adoption proceedings, work, and a husband in school and working... I just couldn't face One. More. Thing. The "thing" being this blog. Sometimes, when things get tough, even writing (a lifelong passion) is more than I can handle.

That being said, I'M BACK...Back in the New York Groove. (Oh, come on...Kiss? Anyone?)

On October 30th, we were finally able to finalize Riley's adoption, three months and some change after we brought him home. Since we announced it to our families and friends, we've been overwhelmed with congratulations and also with some questions, so I thought I would answer a few here:

1.) You had to go to court? Why? : EVERY adoption requires you to go to court. The process all starts with a lawyer and paperwork (a Termination of Parental Rights and Consent to Adoption that birth parents sign), but you have to file that paperwork with the court and eventually go before a judge. The judge basically verifies that the process was handled legally and in the best interest of the child. In our case, we had a few more steps, and court was a slightly longer process.

2.) What happens now? : Once the judge signed off, the court put in a request for a new birth certificate for Riley. It will list us as his parents, so we will have that as proof of our right to make any medical decisions for him that might be necessary throughout his childhood or enroll him in school...Stuff like that.

3.) Is it permanent? Can someone take Riley away? What about the "horror stories" on the news? : It IS permanent. Riley is part of our family forever. Nobody can take him away from us. PS: In most cases, people refer to the highly publicized Baby Veronica case. This was a special set of circumstances involving a law that only applies to children with Native American blood (and only certain tribes that enforce the law).

And just to round things out...Here's Cheeks on Halloween yesterday!