1st Post Placement Visit Done, 2 to Go

Last week we had our 1st post placement visit with our social worker. She met with us for close to an hour. She wanted to know how we were all adjusting and what we feel is working in our routine and what we feel is not. With one visit behind us we now have two more to go over the next 5 month. Here in Virginia the adoption is not final until 6 months after we return home and have 3 visits from our social worker and they say we are fit parents and the child is happy. Once all that is approved we can go to court and "re-adopt" here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Once we are able to complete the process we can move on with our lives as a family. We have a lot going on, I have mentioned before in a previous post that my job as I know it will not exist in the very near future, if I want to stay with the company, on the merchant side of the business we will have to relocate to Seattle. Until the re-adoption is final we can not completely move, that is if a job offer comes my way in the new structure.

Last Saturday we attended an Asian Cultural Event in Bethesda, Maryland. It was a Dol celebration for two little boys who are cousins. They graciously invited adopted families to come experience the 1st Birthday Celebration (Dol). It was a great experience and the food was terrific. Later in the day we also attended the 7th birthday party for our friends Andrew and Michelle's son Dylan. It was an Indiana Jones themed party, Andrew created a snake pit in the back yard and hid a treasure for the kids to find. They all had a great time.

Next weekend we are going to head home to Connecticut so Carter can meet the rest of the family. He has already met his grandparents from both sides but he has yet to be introduced to his Aunts and Uncles, Cousins and Great Aunts & Great Uncles and a host of family friends from both sides. My grandmother passed away a year ago this week, Carter would have been her 6th great grandchild (the 5th boy). She would have gotten a kick out him, she loved babies, always looking at the shape of their heads, she loved C-Section babies because they had perfect shaped heads. If she was still with us, in the state she had been in the last few years of her life she would have laughed at Carter and and just smiled. Writing this bring tears to my eyes, just picturing it and remember her near the 1st anniversary of her passing is a little emotional.

We'll update again after our trip to Connecticut, I think the dogs are looking forward to us giving them some time at home with Chris (our dog/house sitter), give them back their space. -John