California Beach Bums

We like the beach when it's foggy but we love the beach when it's sunny. Julian's been working on growing out "surfer hair" and he made a "surfer necklace" in kindergarten and wears it around the clock.

Rachel loves to roll around in the sand. She has a lot of fun until sand gets in her diaper.

Gabe is quite the boogie boarder and beach comber. His never ending quest for the perfect piece of sea glass has us all spending far too much time hunched over searching the sands.

One Year Ago This Week...

One year ago this week we were matched with a baby girl waiting in an orphanage in China. Xiao Xin Jin's face was revealed to us in only 2 photos but we fell in love with her at once. This week also marks 1o+ months she's been our daughter... that means she's been with us longer than she was ever without us. She is healthy, happy, and loves her forever home and family. Here are some "before we met" photos...

and "after she joined the family" photos. She's made leaps and bounds socially, physically, cognitively and emotionally. She still is stubborn and curious but in all other ways she is a very different child than the one we met in China. What a difference some time and opportunities can make to one little person.