Nancy Bohnsack rocked to and fro gently as she held 1-year-old Gavin Diffley close to her chest. Placing her head near his, she hummed a soft, soothing tune.

Around this tranquil scene outside Room 124 of Sacramento's William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Court, eager families waited for their turn to seek the judge's final approval on adoption papers.

Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles held balloons, flowers, soft toys and cameras. Young children weaved around the adults, running, squealing, playing.

Wearing dark-blue pants and an argyle vest over his long-sleeved shirt, little Gavin was about to legally become Patrick and Karen Diffley's son and Bohnsack's grandson Saturday, National Adoption Day.

The cherubic Asian boy, who came to live with the Diffleys in March, has already charmed his new family. A bevy of his cousins – all of them little girls – fussed over him, hugging and humoring him, while an aunt recorded them on a video camera.

"Oh, we are getting a lot of loving," Karen Diffley teased Gavin as his 4-year-old cousin, Sidney Bohnsack, gave him a hug.

The Diffleys know only a little about Gavin's background. They were told authorities removed Gavin from his mother soon after his birth because she had tested positive for drugs.

The family adopting Gavin has a tradition of adoption.

Patrick Diffley is adopted. Patrick's younger brother and two younger sisters – one of whom is African American – are adopted. Karen's older brother, Kevin Bohnsack, who attended Saturday's event, is adopted.

"We have a lot of adoptees in our family," Nancy Bohnsack said. "So, it's just a way of life for us."

Patrick Diffley, a construction manager, said being adopted never bothered him and gives him a more accepting outlook.

Patrick and Karen Diffley also have a son, Ian, 4, whom they adopted after trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child.

Patrick Diffley said he has come to terms with knowing that his adopted children are not going to look like him.

"I look at my nephews and can see my brother's eyes and ears, and realized that wasn't going to happen with me," he said. "But I just roll with it and take everything in stride."

Looking to his father as a role model, he said, "I hope I can be to my kids what my father was to us."

Ian has cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders that the Diffleys discovered three months after they adopted him in 2004 from Tennessee.

Since the private adoption would take another few months to finalize, the couple could have returned Ian.

"We could legally," Karen Diffley said. "But we couldn't in our heart. He was ours when he was placed in our arms at 17 hours old."

On Saturday, sitting in a wheelchair beside his parents as they signed papers in front of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Peter McBrien, Ian welcomed his younger brother into the family.

"Gavin, I find it in your best interest to grant this adoption, and I grant this adoption," the judge said.

About a dozen family members and friends inside the courtroom applauded.

Gavin and 55 other children adopted on Saturday are among the 300 in Sacramento County's foster care system who have found permanent homes this year, officials said.

National Adoption Day was started 10 years ago to clear a backlog of adoption cases in the court system nationwide, said Laurie Slothower, spokeswoman for the county's Child Protective Services.

The day continues to be celebrated for its significance and to encourage people to consider adopting children from foster care, Slothower said.

"This is a happy beginning for kids who have been through challenging experiences and who will finally have that happy home that they've been dreaming of," said Laura Coulthard, director of the county's child welfare services. "It's a very emotional day. You see these connections."

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.