It's Official

Dear Micah,
You weren't with us today in the courtroom because it was your naptime, and after your recent performance at our favorite Sunday brunch restaurant, we've learned not to mess with the nap. We were there for a very important reason -- to complete the process of making sure I have all the legal rights and responsibilities of being your mother. Of course, it changes nothing. I'll still be the same woman who has been feeding, cuddling, reading, bathing, and shopping for you. But somehow, it was momentous, too, when the judge asked your daddy why I should be your mother and he said "Because she is. Because we wouldn't have a child if it wasn't for her." The judge asked daddy about my moral character, and he vouched for my honesty and integrity." Good thing the judge didn't ask me too many questions, because I started to cry as soon as we got in the courtroom, and all I could muster were simple answers with my voice cracking. "Because he's my heart and soul" is what I would have liked to have answered. We were lucky to have a judge who really "got it" that you came to be my son immediately, that no one else considers you to be her son. In 9 minutes it was over, and the record states, "In the matter of the petition of Stephanie KB for the adoption of a child Micah Gabriel S, it is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that the Final Decree of Adoption for the child is hereby granted, and that the child shall be and is hereby entitled to all rights and privileges and subject to all obligations of a child pursuant to statute."

I wonder if you have any idea of how ridiculously loved you are? It isn't just your daddy and me, though we spend most of our free time these days watching you toddle around with your little gorilla gait, exploring and showing off your newest skills. It isn't just your grandparents, either, who seem watch you with a special sort of pride reserved for the youngest grandchild. It seems like everyone you meet seems a little enthralled by you. You have such a gentle way, such a happy smile, and eyes that lock into connection with others. Kvell, kvell, kvell, we are proud of you beyond measure, for these traits lie within you, not through anything we've done as parents.
What's been most excitely lately is watching the pride you take in your own accomplishments. This week I bought you new "big boy" shoes, not the soft slippery type shoe you'd been wearing up until now. At first, you acted like we had poured concrete around your feet, and that we had played some horrible trick on you, but after one day of wearing them, you're walking so much stronger and you want your shoes on immediately on waking up, even if I have to put them on over your pajama feet. Today, when I brought you home from daycare, I let you walk up the front walkway instead of carrying you, and instead of going inside you walked to your stroller and demanded to be taken on a walk. It was the first time we say you really express an opinion on wanting to do something. It seems like you make a new amazing discovery every day. A few days ago it was the moon, today it was mommy's bubblegum. I guess what really makes me your mother is being so excited to see you learn and grow, becoming a real person in your own right.