We've heard a lot about you

 Introductions went quite smoothly where we first met him, then over the next few days played a bigger and bigger role in his daily routine as procedure dictates. This culminates with foster carers dropping him off at our house one day when we look after him all day, give him dinner, occupy him and finally get him ready for bed then to take him home to FC's and put him straight to bed there. Next day we're there for him waking and pick him up in his nightwear to drive back to our's and do the full day with him from breakfast, getting him ready, spending the day with him through lunch, nap, dinner and bedtime routine before taking him back again. Then next morning it's FC who gets him up before we arrive to meet her and social workers and take him home to our's for good. Yes, so he sees us for almost two whole days then is back with foster carer so he thinks we only had him as he was on holiday.....

On the first meeting with him: we'd seen plenty of photos of him and heard so much about him, probably as much as there is to know about him at this early stage in his life, but there is nothing that could prepare us for the moment we went into FC's house and he appeared from round the corner. There he was, in 3D flesh more lovely than he looked in his pics (and believe me, that's saying something). I don't know, maybe it's his personality that you see in the flesh, but our Paddington there, the boy we've been planning our future with as part of our family, right in front of us, was the most amazing sight I'd ever witnessed.

Forgive me,  it's been about 9 months since my last update of this blog

It's difficult to keep a blog going when it's about something like this when there are such long periods of nothing happening. Then you're so happy when something does happen you're buzzing too much to update

So, quick update. We had our approval panel back at the end of July which we got through. This was followed by the highs and lows of trying to get a match. A couple of aborted suggestions, largely through questionable decision-making from social services. These were a 3 year old boy and a little girl who was 2, both of whom were lovely little kids (from the information we had, at least). An older boy of 4 was suggested but he turned out to be apparently unsuitable for various reasons, though we didn't end up seeing any real details on him. It was during this time we decided we'd prefer a child at the ounger end of our range, 2.5 to 5, and another little boy was suggested as a possible match who was actually not even two.I know it's difficult to not be swayed by the picture on the report, but he is the cutest little thing. We talked about him between ourselves and decided he would actually be a great match so went ahead with the process to adopt him. We got through matching panel for him so we had a lot of work to do round the house to make the place suitable for a toddler. To be honest, that wasn't radically different to what we needed for a kid a year or so older.

And that was the next part: progression towards matching with this new Paddington.

10 reasons to adopt that social workers don't want to hear you say

Obviously we want to have a child because of the joy it brings and stuf, but there are reasons you might think of that you probably wouldn't actually want to tell a social worker

1: I want a child so I can justify getting a dog

2: I'm doing it so I get shit loads of karma Nectar points. After this I'm sure to come back as something really cool like a dolphin and be a good half way along the route to Nirvana (if you're into that stuff)

3: Someone's got to look after me when I'm old and decrepit

4: An adoptive child might be more attractive than my own and may get sort of lucrative child modelling contract. It sounds cruel, but with some of the thinking of our current government and some of the ideas floating around the Republican candidates in the US, any of whom who could be leader of the "free" world, it's got to be better than making them clean chimneys.

5: Lurking round Toys R Us, playing with toys I want and not looking like a paedophile*

6: I can't be arsed to demolish the child's play house we have in our garden

7: It's going to force me to curb my potty mouth around the house

8: I eventually get someone to do chores round the house. After a few short years I need never pick up a lawnmower again

9: Hot chocolate at bedtime, seeing 3D Pixar films, getting all sorts of stupid kids cable channels, cartoons and sweets. Lots and lots of sweets. Real sweets like sherbet lemons, Kola Kubes, and Matlow's finest like Swizzles, Refreshers and Drumsticks. Not sure what the kid's going to have, mind

10: Christmas, Hallowe'en, Bonfire Night, Easter, birthdays. Actually, sod it, since one of the things we have to be is how sensitive to multiculturalism we are as a family, we'll also celebrate Eid, Divali, Hannukah, Chinese New Year, St George's, Patrick's, David's and Andrew's Days American Independence Day, Singapore National Day and May Day. Basically, any excuse to eat shit loads, give presents and have a good time.



*The "P" word is definitely one that I think will set off alarm bells in social worker's heads, whatever the context