Excited Toddler Yells ‘Dad!’ After Judge Reads Adoption Decree

Tyler and Mandi Palmer tried to conceive for years with no luck. The couple from Perrysburg, Ohio both have also had through some tough times. Tyler had served in the U.S. Army and suffers from severe PTSD while Mandi had a string of health-related issues due to her Crohn’s disease.

Writing to LoveWhatMatters.com, Mandi explained, “We tried for years to get pregnant but soon came to realize that it wasn’t going to happen, nor would it be safe for my body to sustain the miracle of pregnancy due to my illness. We were heartbroken and quickly found ourselves seeking other ways to grow our family and become parents. Because of the health battles we’ve been given, we weren’t the type of people to just ‘throw in the towel’ and let our dreams of becoming parents get shattered.”

“We knew we wanted to pursue adoption in some form and it was then that we kept hearing our local counties cry for help with foster care. The same week that we were licensed, we also received our first phone call to pick up our baby boy, Hunter.”

“Talk about a whirlwind of emotions! We quickly ran to Target and purchased the necessities (car seat, clothes, baby blankets, diapers, food, etc.) we needed to bring our baby home.” Mandi added.

Tyler and Mandi took the little baby home with them at just 8 days old. Soon, the couple formed a connection with the baby boy. “It became obvious that Hunter was more than just our first baby. He was our ‘medicine’ and both of our reasons to fight the health battles that we have been given. He truly became our ‘why’ in life.” Mandi said.

In no time, the couple decided to legally adopt their little boy. “Our adoption worker worked so hard to get paperwork finalized so that Christmas of 2017 would be our best yet. And goodness, it surely was the best ever! December 18, 2017, was the day Hunter officially became a Palmer.” Mandi revealed.

However, it’s what happened in court when the adoption decree was read that was the highlight of the whole process!

“After the judge read the adoption decree and presented his new legal last name, 16-month-old Hunter looked at my husband and said, ‘Dad!’, and then clapped.” Mandi recalled.

“We’ve learned that there’s a rainbow at the end of every storm and we’re so thankful we kept the fight. He is our world and our reason to keep fighting these battles. My husband said that there is no medication to help his PTSD quite like having his son take our last name.” She added.