Superhero Photos

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One of the nicknames that we have for Lydia is "little tiger" (which is pronounced "si lofu" in Mandarin and Cantonese). Here she is demonstrating her roar.

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This stuffed animal is one of Lydia's favorites. When she wants to rest briefly in the living room, she will place her head on it, using it like a pillow.

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Lydia loves to smell, kiss, and snuggle with her stuffed animals.

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Here comes superhero Lydia!

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One of the English words that SiowFong taught Lydia was ear. Although Lydia has not yet said the word, when her mom asks her where the ear is on the toy dog, Lydia will point to the ear.

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Superhero Lydia is getting a little tired of carrying her big dog.

Within the last two weeks, Lydia has been demonstrating her strength by picking up and carrying around her big stuffed pink toy dog from FAO Schwarz, a large toy store in New York City, that Luis and Patsy Seuc gave to her in late January.

Above are some superhero action photos of Lydia that were taken on the evening of February 24, 2007 in a six minute time span shortly before she went to bed.

Court Photos

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(from left to right): Ma Wee, SiowFong, Commissioner Eric Watness, Lydia, and Tom

photo was taken by Karen Nakagawa

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(left to right): Lydia, SiowFong, and Karen Nakagawa

Corridor just outside the Ex-Parte Department

Lydia Is Re-Adopted !

March 2, 2007 (Friday)


Re-Adoption: The Final Chapter

In order to fulfill all of the paperwork and procedural requirements of state law so that we could successfully re-adopt Lydia, adoptive parents must make three trips to the county’s superior court.

SiowFong and I made our initial visit on February 1, 2007 to file a stack of papers, including the following: a notice, a case information cover sheet, a petition for adoption (with copies of three notarized documents from China), a petitioner’s sworn statement (with attachments of our homestudy and its supporting paperwork), and a motion, declaration and order directing filing of a post-placement report. About two weeks later, on February 16, 2007, I returned there to file a note for motion docket to set up today’s hearing and another petitioner’s sworn statement (with attachments of our first post-placement report). Today, the last of the three visits, was the final hearing for the adoption.

Not wanting to be late and knowing that it had been raining all morning, we arrived at the Ex-Parte Department around 12:50 PM, which was about forty minutes prior to the official proceedings. Outside the department are several wooden benches, and we waited there. (I also went outside briefly to photograph the building’s exterior.)

About five minutes before our 1:30 PM hearing, Karen Nakagawa, the volunteer family law attorney who assisted us with the process, arrived to greet us and to familiarize herself with our Sony camcorder. (I had spoken with her earlier this week to ask her some last questions about the hearing and to invite her to the event if she had any interest or free time. She immediately agreed to attend this special occasion in our lives since she had some other business at the courthouse, and she even offered to videotape it for us as videography and video editing are two of her favorite hobbies.)

Compared to other family law matters, Karen informed us that the adoption hearings take top priority. As 1:30 PM approached, a throng of about twenty people gathered at the door of the reception area. (I likened it to the crowd that assembles outside Costco each day shortly before it opens its doors to the public.)

When the doors opened at 1:30 PM, she hurried with the masses into the reception area, off of which are three small courtrooms. Knowing exactly which commissioner would hear our case, she headed into one of the three, introduced herself, and spoke with the bailiff about our situation. SiowFong followed Karen while I stayed with Ma Wee in the reception area. A few minutes later, Ma Wee, Lydia, and I entered the same courtroom, and we discovered that we would be the first hearing of the afternoon. Shortly thereafter, the courtroom door was closed since adoption proceedings are private and sealed.

When the commissioner entered the room and sat at his desk, and the bailiff announced, “All Rise!” After he had seated himself, the commissioner stated, “You may be seated.”

With Ma Wee watching and with Karen videotaping, the commissioner then called SiowFong, Lydia, and me to the bench. He first asked us SiowFong and me to raise our hands and respond to this question, “Do you both promise to tell the truth?” Following that, he stated that he had read our adoption documents and asked us a series of questions, beginning with our identities, continuing to our lifelong commitment to provide for Lydia’s emotional, physical, and financial well-being, and ending with our reasons for adopting Lydia. Thereafter, he congratulated us and signed two more court documents, the findings of fact and conclusions of law and the decree of adoption to finalize the adoption.

After the official proceedings concluded, he invited us and Ma Wee to pose with him for pictures, which Karen took for us. About a minute or two later, we quietly filed out of the courtroom.

While Ma Wee and SiowFong were feeding Lydia and changing her diaper, Karen took over the administrative tasks to complete the process. First she photocopied the documents that the commissioner had just signed so that we would have extra copies. Then she guided me to the clerk’s office to file them, and she make certain that our copies were certified with the court’s seal as well as date and time stamped. At the clerk’s office, two other forms were filed, including an adoption data card for the state’s department of social services and an application for adoption registration from the state’s department of health. The former helps the state track adoptions and is mainly used for statistical purposes. The latter is much more important to us because the information on this form goes directly to the state’s vital statistics department and will be used to produce Lydia’s certified birth certificates.

Karen and I then returned to the corridor outside the Ex-Parte Department where Lydia, Ma Wee, and SiowFong were waiting. After a few minutes of conversation and some picture taking, Karen said goodbye to us. The whole process was completed within a half hour.