Finalization

[sal_amanda]

The adoption is officially finalized.  We survived an extra long car ride to Cincinnati.  Oh, the joys of travelling with two small children.  We got to the courthouse a little early and Nora was wired.  When we finally got into the courtroom with our lawyer and the magistrate, Nora was just off the wall.  She didn't want to sit with us and she didn't want to sit at all, really.  She kept switching seats and running up to the witness stand and the judge's bench.  At one point, the magistrate mentioned that she had read in the home study that Nora was shy and cautious in new situations, but that she wasn't seeing that.  It was both funny and horrifying.  Henry, on the other hand, fell asleep.  

This is the closest we'll get to an actual vacation this year so we stuck around.  Had my birthday at the Newport Aquarium just over the river in Kentucky and went up to my friend Jackie's place, where we had stayed at placement, for dinner and amazing homemade cupcakes.  Then another lengthy trek home.