the transition

we worked out a transition plan with the social worker. i wanted to take bonding leave for as many weeks as possible before mid-august. the social worker wanted to see how comfortable the children were with us before commiting to a date. we decided that we would see them as much as we possibly could in the next few weeks so they could move in by early july. we visited them on weekends at their foster home, spending mealtime and bath time with them. our son hated baths then, i tried to help the foster mom give him a bath but all he did was scream. my partner had it easier with our daughter, she loved bathtime. we made a plan to bathe them together and have lots of bubbles and bath toys... but i'm jumping ahead. we took them for afternoons to various parks and play areas. we had to stay in the county. we would pick them up at school and spend the afternoon with them, then bring them home for their nap. we bonded quickly. we also had to get their room ready during this time, which meant cribs, clothes, toys, sheets, blankets, books, car seats, etc. we registered online and notified our friends and families. we also went to an appointment with the audiologist. since both kids had several ear infections as babies and since our son still seemed to have hearing difficulties. our daughter had a much better attention span for the testing. results were poor for both kids. they would need to be retested once they were in our home.
it was on one of these afternoon trips in the car, with the kids in the back, that we first realized how lucky we were that they found us and that we found them, that we they were our family and we were meant to be together.