A Few Sprinkles Short of a Sundae: Happy Gotcha Day

December is my favorite month. I know I've said that before, but it really is.

Earlier this month we celebrated SB's 4th birthday. That day also happened to be the 2nd anniversary of the day we learned about Mac.

And today marks 2 years from the day we brought him home. It's his "Gotcha Day." Most adoptive families celebrate Gotcha Days like a birthday, but since Mac has a birthday, gotcha day and adoption day, I didn't want to over-do it too much (especially since we don't exactly celebrate SB's coming home day or conception day or anything like that!).

But we do want to celebrate it, so we'll do something small and special today for him.

I will never forget following Amanda up to some terribly run-down little trailer that stunk to high heaven (seriously, we had to toss all of his clothes because we could not wash the stench out of them). Inside was a quiet, sad little boy in a walker.
We were told he never cried - we later learned he didn't know HOW to cry.
He had a double ear infection and bronchitis (which cleared and never returned, I think it was because of the smoking in that house).
He didn't smile for weeks.

But he was ours. After an hour at the foster parents' house we left for the DSS office to sign the paperwork. I still carry our pre-adoption paper in my wallet. Then they told us to take him home.

Much like when we brought SB home, we were at a loss as to what to do with him. He was 10 months old, so we knew he had to have things he liked to do - but we knew nothing.

The first year was rough. I will admit it. First I didn't know how to have 2 babies - SB had just turned 2 and Mac was almost 1. Then 3 months later the custody battle began (and dragged on for 18 months!).
Then everything with the allergies started. Mac was tested for everything from celiac disease to Cystic Fibrosis. It was a very scary time for us.

2010 was a much better year with us! We finally found our groove as a family of 4 and got all the food issues down. The adoption was finalized and now we celebrate our sweet boy being home for 2 years. It's an exciting day for us!

Here are some pictures of Mac over the years: