New York State has confirmed it: Ben is officially or son. The adoption ceremony was brief and to the point. We sat across from the Judge as she explained the papers we were about to sign and then we signed them and we then took some pictures and then we were done.

Ben was his usual exuberant self, but as we sat down to begin the ceremony, he suddenly grew apprehensive and decided he would be safer sitting in the viewing area with George and Michele. But it was over quickly and he was soon back to cracking up the deputies and clerks.

After the excitement of the initial (Chinese) adoption, this one felt a little bit anti-climatic. Next step is to apply for US citizenship, then we should be done helping make Ben "official."

Now, we get to concentrate our attention on adopting our next child, whom we plan to call Christopher.