Congratulations to the Jolie-Pitt family. Although the adoption was probably already official, it's nice to have the re-adoption in the U.S. It makes getting copies of birth certificates much easier.
We had a nice family dinner with the grandparents when we re-adopted our son, who was already officially adopted from Russia.

Are they able to legally adopt the children together since they are not married or is she adopting the children and adding Pitt to their name?

That is fantastic news :)

My son, who is almost 11 years-old now, was exactly 4 months old when his adoption became finalized. We went the day before and bought matching kaki pants for him and Daddy from the Gap to where to wear to court. After the adoption was finalized, the three of us went out to lunch with my son's birthmother to a nice Italian restaurant.

When the second parent adoption was completed for our daughter, my partner and I celebrated with lunch with my sister and her daughters. Then we spent the rest of the day together, stopped by the park and even took a family nap.

In response to Shell's question: I don't know what the Jolie-Pitt family did, but I do know that you can add another parent when you re-adopt in your county courts after an international adoption. I know an unmarried couple that did that after only one of them had officially adopted from China (this was before China had banned single parent adoptions.)

Big lunch with family and our child's birth relatives. It was a very festive time. The court ceremony was short and joyous, with a little bit of emotion. It was wonderful to hear that we were legally our child's parents, though we knew months earlier when we were chosen by his birthmother.

Re-adoption in the states is popular given the child gets a birth certificate issued in his home state.

That's fantastic news! I'm so happy for the whole family! :D

We went to eat at McDonalds the kids choice. They all got happy meals. DD was two by the time we finalized so she got to pick. Go figure thats what she wanted. My friend got them all sister bears too. It was sweet.

Congrats to the Jolie-Pitts! I agree with Paula, and I am even going to go one step further and say that I am pretty sure that both Angie and Brad did what Paula said. Shortly after Shiloh was born, Brad's rep confirmed that he had offically adopted Mad and Z. Therefore, I assume that he did the same with Pax.

Wonderful news, so happy for them! A lot of families celebrate the anniversary of physically taking custody (family day) and adoption anniversary. In our house it was a special cake, a special meal out or their choice of menu at home, some balloons, a family card a family activity (like swimming, bowling, hiking) and looking through photos!

When my best friend's adoption was final for her daughter (who was four at the time) everyone got together and had a HUGE "Beth-day" party (her name is Elizabeth) and we've celebrated her Bethday every September 8th since.

I have 4 adopted children and each childs adoption has been different. My daughter was 12 when her adoption day came. We went out for brunch and she actually wanted to go back to school for the rest of the day. She said she already knew in her heart she was mine so what did it matter that a judge agreed.

My next adoption was a set of brothers I had fostered for 18m when their adoption day came. We invited all our friends and family to court-it was packed!! After, because the boys were ages 3 and 2, we all went to Chuck E. Cheese for a big party.

My last baby I brought home from the hospital and knew from that day he was mine. On his adoption day, a week from his 1st birthday, we invited a few friends to court and after went out for lunch. His was only a week away from Christmas so the holidays were that much more special.

I just wish more people would look into adopting children in America from foster care. There are so many wonderful, beautiful kids and babies who need good homes.

tori- I see your point, but from what I've heard, it can be very difficult to adopt from the foster care system. Also, as far as Angelina and Brad adopting any kids from the foster care system (I know you weren't talking about them specifically, and I am mentioning this more for other people who may wonder why they haven't adopted any kids from right here in the U.S.), I have a feeling that Angelina probably wouldn't be allowed to given her past mental history.

CelebBabylover, I seriously doubt you know exactly what Angelina's past mental history is. Sounds to me like you read a lot of tabloids. Unless you either have worked for every adoption agency in each of the 50 states or have done extensive research on every agency in the 50 united states then you do not know who is allowed to adopt and who is not. For the record, both my sister and cousin have adopted children from Massachusetts and South Carolina respectively and their pasts would make Angelina look like a sane nun. People do grow up and get their acts together. It's not unheard of you know.

As a social worker who has worked for two decades in foster care and adoption, I can verify that there are problems with adopting your foster children, but many, many children are adopted via this route who would otherwise never have had a stable home and a family of their own. The problems come up while the child is still a foster child and not yet freed for adoption. If his birth parents are able to take him home, the foster parents have to give him up. This can be devastating for the foster parents who have become attached to the child and love him as their own; but until the birth parents voluntarily surrender their parental rights, or until their rights are terminated by a judge on the grounds of abuse, neglect or abandonment, the child is still theirs and the foster parents have no legal standing.

Once the child is free for adoption, however, the situation changes radically. In New York State, the foster parents usually have the right of first preference over any other adoptive applicants who might want to adopt the child. As soon as the child is legally freed either voluntarily or by the court, the foster parents can move ahead with the adoption application. It usually takes six months to a year before the adoption is finalized, but it's very, very rare for the birth parents to successfully appeal and reclaim the child once a judge has terminated their parental rights.

The bottom line is that being a foster parent is one path to adoption, and sometimes a very successful path. Just be aware of the risks. Foster care is considered temporary; adoption is permanent.

To CelebBabyLover:

That's an incredibly vicious and snarky comment about Angelina's "past mental history". She has no documented history of any mental illness, criminal activity or anything else that would cause any foster care or adoption agency to turn her down as an unsuitable applicant.

By her own admission, Angelina was a wild child who had a lot of issues. She did what most wild children do sooner or later: she grew up and got her act together. She and Brad Pitt are devoted parents to their four children. The children are loved, cherished and well cared for. Any American adoption agency would have no hesitation about placing a child with them.

Speaking as a social worker who has worked in foster care and adoption for more than 20 years, I'd place ten children with Brad and Angelina before I would place one with someone as narrow-minded and judgmental as you seem to be.

Judy- I didn't mean to come off sounding "snarky". In fact, I think it's awful the way the tabloids (which, in fact, I refuse to read. I do sometimes look at the covers of them in stores, but that's it. The Internet is where I end up hearing most of the stories that end up in the tabloids. Not because I want to, but because a lot of sites aren't nearly as considerate and careful as CBB is, and post stuff from the tabs without bothering to get it confirmed or denied first) keep talking about her supossid past history (for example, a few tabloids accused her of taking drugs while pregnant with Shiloh), and Angelina happens to be someone I really admire.

All I meant was that I know that she was a "wild child" at one point. Also, I have heard other people say that they don't think Angie would be able to adopt from the U.S. given her, uh, history. I was simply repeating what they said. I, too, would gladly place 10 children with the J-Ps if I were a social worker!

I guess what I should have said is that I wasn't SURE whether or not Angie would be able to adopt in the U.S. :)