Today, Bailey came to our house to live full-time, capping three months of transitioning that included several drives to Winthrop where he lived with his foster family.
The state requires a transition period, during which we were able to gradually introduce ourselves to him, and him to us. He latched on immediately, began calling us Mumma and Dadda from the start, and has always called our home his own. He came to our house a few times, for overnights. And a couple of weekends.
Because of the ease with which everything has gone, we were able to speed up the transition.
He will have to live with us for six months before we can legally adopt him. A state requirement. But as far as we're concerned, he's ours now.
Corrine served a brunch for everyone - Bailey's foster family and their adopted son, who is Bailey's biological brother. Corrine's parents came, as did her brother and his family. All of our kids - except Ty - were here as well.
The coming days, following Thanksgiving break, will be a process of getting him into a school. We have a meeting with the local school district about the details on Tuesday. His is a peculiar case that needs the assistance of special education in order to meet certain developmental needs. We are treading in unfamiliar waters here. As his new advocates, there are more questions than answers. What does he really need? What should he be getting? How do we ensure that he's not treated just as a source of income for the local school district?
It's an ongoing education for us. But what isn't in life? We're ready to tackle it, that's fir sure.
The state requires a transition period, during which we were able to gradually introduce ourselves to him, and him to us. He latched on immediately, began calling us Mumma and Dadda from the start, and has always called our home his own. He came to our house a few times, for overnights. And a couple of weekends.
Because of the ease with which everything has gone, we were able to speed up the transition.
He will have to live with us for six months before we can legally adopt him. A state requirement. But as far as we're concerned, he's ours now.
Corrine served a brunch for everyone - Bailey's foster family and their adopted son, who is Bailey's biological brother. Corrine's parents came, as did her brother and his family. All of our kids - except Ty - were here as well.
The coming days, following Thanksgiving break, will be a process of getting him into a school. We have a meeting with the local school district about the details on Tuesday. His is a peculiar case that needs the assistance of special education in order to meet certain developmental needs. We are treading in unfamiliar waters here. As his new advocates, there are more questions than answers. What does he really need? What should he be getting? How do we ensure that he's not treated just as a source of income for the local school district?
It's an ongoing education for us. But what isn't in life? We're ready to tackle it, that's fir sure.
We're in now, baby!!!
ReplyDeletebeautiful boy...wonderful blessing. Congratulations to all of you!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all of you! What a wonderful post for Thanksgiving week :))
ReplyDeletehow amazing! i commend you for opening up your hearts and welcoming him into your lives and home. he is a very lucky little boy. congrats!
ReplyDeleteBoy, Yaya would have loved to snag that red-haired cutie pie... Happy for you! Your family is gorgeous; loved those pics :)
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