The change of a name......

I'm so out of synch with writing this blog that I feel like I should start with confessional......it's been 2 months since my last blogging!  A lot has happened over the past two months.  I have such good intentions of writing about it all but then I dream of sleep and that dream tends to over-ride any good intentions I have.

Two big events have taken place over the past few weeks.  Firstly Katie is now legally adopted and is able to use our surname.  We had a ceremony in court last week where we met the judge and Katie was given an official certificate stating her new name.  We tried on the judge's wig etc and had a good (if slightly formal) time.  We started the day with a visit to a nearby sealife centre so that Katie could visit Nemo, Marlin and Dory, which she loved and raced around at olympic speed.  After the ceremony we went out to lunch to celebrate.  It was a surreal sort of day really.  One of the clerks in the chambers was quite emotional which was so sweet and I found myself quite teary as a result.  Katie had a lovely day and won everyone's hearts with her smile and interest in everything going on. We have been trying to decide on a suitable adoption day present for Katie.  Because the event was hot on the heels of her birthday we feel we can delay giving her the present.  I think we have decided on a little charm bracelet which we can add to each year.  We thought it might be nice to buy charms that reflect her age so that they gradually mature over the years, giving a portrayal of her growth over the years.

The second big event (well actually it was before the ceremony) was Katie's 3rd Birthday.  What a party it was!!  There were around 52 people there in total including 23 children.  We hired out a local leisure centre's soft play area with a big bouncy castle.  We had food for both the children and the adults and myself and Lindsey spent the night before baking tons of gluten-free cup cakes which were delicious!!  I was a bit worried that some of the older children might find it all a bit juvenile but they all had an amazing time.  We invited Grandma and all her family down which was lovely.  Katie had a huge Hello Kitty birthday cake and looked gorgeous in her pink and white party dress.  She had more presents than should be legally allowed and she loved every single second of her birthday.  The day was a resounding success.

All the excitement seems to have impacted a bit on Katie and her behaviour has nose-dived a bit at the moment.  She also has the most awful head cold which seems to be bringing out a real little monkey in her at the moment.  She is definitely 3 and getting very good at it.  I've recently completed a parenting course which is proving very useful at the moment although I am trying not the sweat the small stuff!! (no mean feat for a Taurean I can tell you!).  Hopefully it is just one of many of life's little "phases" and we will soon be looking forward to the next little phase she has to offer us!

Looking back to this time last year.  We were just bracing ourselves for our approval panel and wondering what the future was going to hold for us.  I still can't quite believe that we are now a normal family and that I am no longer working but am a full-time stay at home mum.  How on earth did that all happen?

TTFN xxx