Two-year-old Mikysha Stoner, right, laughs as she lies next to her friend, Linda Melendez, 4, outside Family Court on Friday. Mikysha was one of 35 children whose adoptions were finalized Friday. Photo by John Locher. Rochelle Stoner holds 2-year-old Mikysha as the toddler watches her new father, David Stoner, say the words that legally make them a family. Photo by John Locher.

David and Rochelle Stoner were called "Daddy" and "Mommy" by 2-year-old Mikysha the first day she moved into their house.

It was three months before Steve Meyer's adopted toddler finally called him "Papa."

On Friday, the two girls who lost their first parents to crime and drug use were officially adopted by their new fathers and mothers, regaining what had been wrested from them at such an early age -- a family.

"Every kid in this world needs love," said Stoner, 60, after becoming an adoptive father for the second time in his life. "They need to be brought up in a home by people who love them."

Meyer, 44, also believes that. Clark County has a multitude of children either in foster care or up for adoption. That's why he and his wife, Cindy, took in Alexis, 2, and her brother Dylan, 4.

"Their biological parents are both meth addicts," Meyer said when asked how the young pair ended up in his care. "We didn't want to split them up."

Clark County Family Court judges created 26 new families Friday, with 35 children placed in permanent homes. The mass swearing in of new parents marked National Adoption Day and was used by county officials to highlight the increased need for more adults willing to step into that role.

Susan Klein-Rothschild, director of family services, said Clark County now has custody of 100 children who are legally free and in need of new parents. Another 2,000 children are in foster care. The need is greater than available resources, Klein-Rothschild said.

"People have these myths that they need to be perfect families," she said.

That's just not so, she said. You don't have to own a home to be eligible adoptive parents. You don't have to be a stay-at-home parent. Single people can adopt children, Klein-Rothschild said. And gay and lesbian individuals are also welcome to apply.

Only married couples are allowed to adopt children together in Nevada, she said, but any individual can apply for consideration. The need for all kinds of families is great, the family services director said, and Clark County needs a variety of adults to fill the gap.

Klein-Rothschild said the most important qualification for anyone seeking to adopt is an ability to provide a child with nurturing, safe care.

"We want to get the word out so we can get all our children placed," she said.

Adoption Day turned the family court corridors into a riot of well-dressed children waiting to officially belong to someone.

Mikysha, minutes away from becoming part of the Stoner family, giggled when asked who her mommy was before throwing her arms around Rochelle Stoner. Being in Judge Lisa Brown's courtroom while her new parents were sworn in made her antsy -- she wasn't interested in the words that guaranteed her support, protection and inheritance rights from the couple.

A smiling bailiff with a basket of dolls proved an effective distraction for the toddler, who was eager to show everyone her new toy while the Stoners finished saying the words that legally bound them together.

"I got a present," Mikysha said, waving her new doll in the air as family friends snapped photos. "Cheese!"

Porsha Stoner, 16, sees a lot of herself in her newly adopted sister. She also remembers the day the Stoners adopted her 11 years ago. There was ice cream, she said, and her mother skinned her knee when she fell in the park. But more than that, she remembers the feeling of finally belonging.

"When you take in a child for adoption, whether they're old or young, they finally get love and caring," Porsha said. "You never feel lost."

Information on adoption is available from local family services at two numbers: 1-888-423-2659 or 455-0181.

Clark County District Court Judge Nancy Saitta, who came to the event to congratulate the new families, hopes that people make the call. After she jokingly issued a court order calling for families to mark Nov. 18 annually with a special treat, she told parents why adoption was such an important cause to her personally.

"I had the privilege of being adopted many years ago myself," Saitta said. "It made a difference."