Another Update...

Can I just tell you how funny Rachel is! She is so comical and all we do is laugh at everything she does. We will probably pay for it later! LOL! If I'm holding Rachel, Jake will come up and say do you want to come to me and Rachel will violently shake her head no while laughing at the same time. She thinks she is so funny and of course, we do too!

We attended the Living Hope Reunion this weekend and it was a lot of fun. This was our fourth annual reunion with Living Hope and our very first time attending with Rachel. She caught everyone's attention, especially because she was the youngest and newest one there. She looked so adorable in her blue Chinese outfit. Rachel's smile just captures everyone's attention. We started the weekend off at the hotel last night with a movie and snacks. Jake thought he was too big to watch Happy Feet. We pretty much just networked with other adoptive families and caught up with those we met last year during the reunion. Saturday afternoon we went to the Homewood Suites where we enjoyed a picnic and Jake played in the hotel pool. Saturday night was a banquet which was held at St. Helena's catering hall. The food was delicious and hot, which is unusual for buffet. Following dinner, we got to enjoy some Chinese culture with a Chinese school performing traditional Chinese dances for us. We really enjoy watching these little girl's perform for us. Rachel was tired at this point, so daddy fed her a bottle. She did very well considering it was way past her bedtime. I just love seeing the kid's each year and seeing how much they've grown over the year.

I think I may have found a way to put Rachel down for bed/nap without any hassles. Normally as soon as we walk toward her room, she starts crying. I would pull her shades down, kiss her and say night night and then leave, even if she is still crying. She would cry for about 5 minutes or so and then fall to sleep. But sometimes it would take longer and me going into her a room a few times to calm her. Two nights ago, I started staying with her and talking to her softly for a minute or two until she isn't crying at all. I would rub or pat her back or bottom and tickle her face softly while I softly talked to her. She will smile at me and then I would say night night and walk out and close her door behind me. I don't hear a peep out of her! YES! I think I found the secret. This is only taking a minute or two of my time, but she is completely calm when I leave her room and she doesn't fuss whatsoever! Now I just need to train Dave. LOL! It's the small things that make us happy.

My mother in-law called me last night to inform me of a friend's father dying. This young lady has a special place in my heart because she tried to help us get pregnant (before we knew God wanted us to adopt Rachel) by donating her eggs to us. The weird thing is that I ran into her last week while having lunch with another friend. She was so excited to tell me that she got married in May. She did mention that her father had cancer, but was doing very well and was in remission. Well, he died two nights ago and I am so sad for her loss. Her family is so close. She has a son who is very close to his grandparents. Please keep Becky and her family in your prayers.

Today is Wednesday, July 3rd and we just came back from visiting my Aunt Marge. She reminded me that I haven't seen her since January! I'm a horrible niece. I wish she lived a little closer. 35-40 minutes isn't horrible, but it seems hard to go all that way sometimes. I promised myself that I won't allow that much time to by again without seeing her. She got to see Rachel in person for the first time. Rachel wouldn't let Aunt Marge hold her. She was already upset to begin with when I sat her on Aunt Marge's lap, so hopefully Aunt Marge won't take it personally.

Before going to visit Aunt Marge, I took Jake to get highlights in his hair this morning. We made a deal last fall that if he made all A's in school, I would allow him to get highlights. Well, I guess we know how he did in school. It was so fun watching him get the highlights. Jake was loving it and he informed me that he is "officially a chic magnet!" First of all, I didn't even know he cared about girls paying attention to him. Where in the world did that come from???! LOL! I don't think I'm ready for girl's yet. The girl doing his hair used a cap and pulled his hair through. Jake was in agony with the pulling. I know it is painful because that is what I used to have done before they started using foils. Of course I took a ton of photos. I really like the highlights and the longer length hair. They cut a little more off than Jake wanted, but his hair grows so fast. It took a little bit for the longer length hair to grow on me. I think the longer hair makes him look a little older and I'm not ready for him to grow up yet. I think I want him to stay young! Check out the pictures above. I know Jake really likes the highlights. Hey, if all it takes is to get him highlights to get good grades in school, I'll bite!

My friend, Heather, came over yesterday with her daughter, Abby. We had so much fun spending time together. Our daughters are only 5 weeks apart and they were so cute together. They would pull and poke each other and stare. They were pretty similar in their size too. I thought Rachel had big feet, but Abby's feet were just as long. Abby has the most amazing big blue eyes, just like her two brothers, Dylan and Josh. Rachel has her first little girlfriend! LOL! Heather invited us to her pool tomorrow and we are taking her up on her offer. I'm looking forward to it and I know Jake is too.

After swimming tomorrow, we are going to my sister's because her town is having a fireworks display. Not sure how Rachel will do with that. I know a lot of babies get scared with the loud bangs. Hopefully she won't get too freaked out.

We are truly amazed everyday of the new things Rachel picks up on. She can now clap her hands! When we praise her, we clap our hands and she mimics us! When Heather and Abby were visiting yesterday, I saw that Abby could use the claw grasp and put food into her mouth. Last night after dinner, I put gerber bites on Rachel's tray and she was using the claw grasp and putting the puffs into her mouth. I was so excited that I jumped up and down yelling and scared the living day lights out of my poor baby! LOL! She realized I was happy and started to laugh too. She isn't 100% consistent, but she is totally making progress. She is trying really hard to pull herself up when she is close to the couch or chair. I would love to see her crawl first, but I'm not sure.

Rachel got a new swing which we hung from the swingset in the back yard. She absolutely loves it! I stopped her to take some photos of her and she was not happy and started to have a temper tantrum. Oh yes, this girl does have a temper when things don't go her way.

Please, don't stop posting comments just because we are home from China. We love getting them and reading them! I cherish each comment and they all will be included in Rachel's Life Book.

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