Holt Children’s Services Seoul, South Korea:  If Zander’s adoption taught me one thing it’s that no two adoptions are the same.  Previous experience provided me with a clear understanding of the sequence of events which was most useful but everything else from there on was a welcome surprise.  For starters, when I showed up a half hour early Zander and his foster family were already in the meeting room.  For a split second I thought I must have gotten the time wrong.  At my last shoot the Robert’s I waited together for over forty minutes in anticipation, anticipation I thought I would be able to capture again.

Little Rob was a calm, collected, and a little shy, he understandably needed time to warm up.  Zander was a ball of energy zinging around the room, full of smiles and curiosity.  He went up and kissed his adoptive parents within the first few minutes of meeting them.  My last shoot was very emotional, many tears were shed, parting was visibly difficult for everyone.  The only time Zander didn’t have a smile on his face was when the doctor, two nurses and the social worker were all huddled around peeling a Band-Aid off of his arm.  And it wasn’t just me, the Holt staff all seemed floored by just how quickly Zander seemed to be taking to his new parents.  Of course, parting is always hard and while Zander probably didn’t fully grasp what was going on his other families did.

I’ll always remember the way Kendall described adopting a two year old to me, “It’s like going from 0-70mph in one second”.  Having a two year old myself, I can only imagine what a ride it is.  It’s good to know Zander is able to get all that energy out on the Hall’s large acreage.