{"id":194651,"date":"2019-02-02T15:35:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T21:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=194651"},"modified":"2019-01-31T16:11:30","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T22:11:30","slug":"video-stepdad-adopt-forever-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/video-stepdad-adopt-forever-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Little girl asks stepdad to adopt her: ‘You are my forever home’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last fall, Leonardo Avila had a surprise waiting for him on home plate when he pulled into Veteran\u2019s Park one night. His stepdaughter, Alessandra, held up a sign that read, \u201cPapi, you are my forever home. Will you adopt me?\u201d Moved to tears, Avila immediately said yes, and earlier this month, the adoption was made official. The emotional moment was caught on video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Avila told CBS42 that he has had a bond with Alessandra since she was a baby and he first started dating her mother, Angela. He said, \u201cThe first time I held her [Alessandra], she legitimately felt comfortable with me. It came naturally, like she just fell into my arms; it\u2019s like she belonged there all along.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ: Empty nesters adopt five siblings: \u2018It was important that we kept them together\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After a month of paperwork, the father and daughter now share a last name. Alessandra said, \u201cIt feels good, but it also feels normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avila posted on Facebook<\/a> the day after the adoption was finalized to share his perspective. He wrote, \u201cA little over 7 years, I was introduced to this lovely little girl. I was so nervous because I wanted prove to so many people, including myself, that I can be a good father. There was no book on \u2018How to be a great step dad\u2019 that I could of [sic<\/em>] picked up and read, so I focused on just being a great dad.\u201d<\/p>\n