BabySafeHaven
11-29-2003, 05:41 AM
NEW YORK
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/43226.htm
TOT'S YEAR OF JOY
By MARSHA KRANES - New York Post
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(PHOTO)
BABE IN ARMS:
Mom Karen cuddles with Baby Sarah, who was adopted last year after being
abandoned by her birth mother.
November 29, 2003 -- Baby Sarah is walking, just starting to talk, and always
busy keeping her mother, father and five big brothers entertained and
entranced.
Hard to believe that, 22 months ago, she was officially known as Baby Jane Doe
- an infant abandoned at birth by her homeless mother.
These days, the honey-haired, hazel-eyed toddler picks out toys and treats for
herself when she shops with her adoptive mom, cheers at her brothers' football
games and scribbles on their homework, gives the two family dogs too many
snacks, and spends her visits to her dad's office at the water cooler, filling
up cups for his co-workers.
She's an adorable, free-spirited youngster, thriving on the warmth and
affection of her loving family in a Syracuse suburb.
The Post first wrote about Sarah last December, when she was adopted just
before Christmas by the foster family that had taken her in when she was 3 days
old.
The Post checked up on her this week as she celebrated her first Thanksgiving
as an official member of her new family.
"It's really great - she's definitely part of the family now," said her
lawyer-mom Karen in a phone interview that was occasionally interrupted by
Sarah dialing on an extension.
"She's so young and exuberant. My husband Paul says she's our bright spot."
Middle brother Mike, 12, agreed. "It's fun to watch her dance and talk. She's
brought a lot of fun to our family."
Sarah is "definitely spoiled," acknowledged Karen, who asked The Post to
withhold the family's last name.
Karen said she finds it "wonderful, amazing how different she is [after five
sons, who range in age from 7 to 16]. She already has feminine tastes, and
she's not even 2.
"She loves dresses with little flowers and all sorts of frilly things. She
carries her dolls around like they're her babies and tries to feed them with
little bottles. She has a little kitchen set and pretends to cook."
But she also "runs around in a tomboyish way" and enjoys "throwing a ball
around and playing hide-and-seek games."
Karen said the family had a lot to be thankful for when they celebrated
Thanksgiving at Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Paul's home in upstate Endicott,
near Binghamton.
"We're especially grateful that Sarah's mother chose to give birth to her, and
that the state Abandoned Infant Protection Act was an option for her," she
said.
Sarah was one of the first children abandoned under the state law that made it
possible for mothers who abandon their newborns to avoid prosecution if they
leave them in safe hands.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/43226.htm
TOT'S YEAR OF JOY
By MARSHA KRANES - New York Post
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
(PHOTO)
BABE IN ARMS:
Mom Karen cuddles with Baby Sarah, who was adopted last year after being
abandoned by her birth mother.
November 29, 2003 -- Baby Sarah is walking, just starting to talk, and always
busy keeping her mother, father and five big brothers entertained and
entranced.
Hard to believe that, 22 months ago, she was officially known as Baby Jane Doe
- an infant abandoned at birth by her homeless mother.
These days, the honey-haired, hazel-eyed toddler picks out toys and treats for
herself when she shops with her adoptive mom, cheers at her brothers' football
games and scribbles on their homework, gives the two family dogs too many
snacks, and spends her visits to her dad's office at the water cooler, filling
up cups for his co-workers.
She's an adorable, free-spirited youngster, thriving on the warmth and
affection of her loving family in a Syracuse suburb.
The Post first wrote about Sarah last December, when she was adopted just
before Christmas by the foster family that had taken her in when she was 3 days
old.
The Post checked up on her this week as she celebrated her first Thanksgiving
as an official member of her new family.
"It's really great - she's definitely part of the family now," said her
lawyer-mom Karen in a phone interview that was occasionally interrupted by
Sarah dialing on an extension.
"She's so young and exuberant. My husband Paul says she's our bright spot."
Middle brother Mike, 12, agreed. "It's fun to watch her dance and talk. She's
brought a lot of fun to our family."
Sarah is "definitely spoiled," acknowledged Karen, who asked The Post to
withhold the family's last name.
Karen said she finds it "wonderful, amazing how different she is [after five
sons, who range in age from 7 to 16]. She already has feminine tastes, and
she's not even 2.
"She loves dresses with little flowers and all sorts of frilly things. She
carries her dolls around like they're her babies and tries to feed them with
little bottles. She has a little kitchen set and pretends to cook."
But she also "runs around in a tomboyish way" and enjoys "throwing a ball
around and playing hide-and-seek games."
Karen said the family had a lot to be thankful for when they celebrated
Thanksgiving at Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Paul's home in upstate Endicott,
near Binghamton.
"We're especially grateful that Sarah's mother chose to give birth to her, and
that the state Abandoned Infant Protection Act was an option for her," she
said.
Sarah was one of the first children abandoned under the state law that made it
possible for mothers who abandon their newborns to avoid prosecution if they
leave them in safe hands.
