Back to School

Our "big boys" have gone back to school. Sniff, sniff, sob, sob. Where did the summer go? They wore cool shirts that Grandma Jeannine made for them for their birthdays. Rachel was happy in this photo but soon became sad when she went looking for her brothers in the house after they had left.

Our Little Harvest

Jeff installed a few garden boxes for us to plant a summer garden. So far we've enjoyed Gabriel's corn (always wear Roman armor when harvesting corn), Julian's cucumbers (he's doing something silly with his lips in the photo) and Rachel's Teddy Bear Sunflowers. We're still waiting for the tomatoes and yellow bell peppers to ripen.

Fun at the county fair...

We had a good time at the county fair this year. The boys are old enough to go on some of the rides.

We all had a great time looking for our entries. Julian won 2 blue ribbons- 1 for his art (bottom left in the photo) and 1 for his Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Cake (Grandma Jeannine's recipe).

Gabriel won 3 blue ribbons- 1 for art, 1 for a craft project and the big blue one for his "Cookies N Cream" cake. Our family also entered the Scarecrow contest. We made a "recycled robot scarecow" out of recycle junk from around our house and grandma's basement. We were thrilled and surprised to win "Best in the Division" and actually won a small monetary award. Now the scarecrow will grace our own garden. Rachel's highlights were the shuttle bus ride to the fair and the roasted corn on the cob.

Our boys in the Sunday funnies...

This comic strip really "hit home". The liopleurodon is actually one of Gabriel's favorite prehistoric creatures. The comic strip is "FoxTrot" by Bill Amend. Click on the photo to read...

Where did June go?

Whoosh... are we mid-summer already? We ended June with a family celebration for Julian's 6th birthday. He was very excited to receive a special light saber and Indiana Jones action figures. He's a big boy now but he still loves to dress up in costumes and go on backyard adventures.

July 4th was so much fun. It was Rachel's 1st July 4th as a U. S. citizen. We are very patriotic so we marched (more like strolled) in the Push Em Pull Em Parade, BBQed with friends and family and the boys stayed up to see the fireworks.

All 3 kids are taking swim lessons and Gabriel is less than thrilled to be in the advanced swim class that takes place in the super cold competition pool. But he puts on a happy face and braves the frigid water every day.

It's amazing just how many new talents our boys teach Rachel.

Happy summer to all!

Blueberry Picking

We went blueberry picking at a local farm. Even though it was pretty hot, the kids had fun eating, picking, feeding the farm animals and riding in the wagon. We picked about 3 pounds of blueberries but only arrived home with 2 pounds. Hmmmm.

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.

Our Life in Recent Photos

Gabriel and Julian both did a great job in our church's annual musical. Rachel got to try out her first bikini during our heat wave. She kept poking her tummy with her finger and giggling.
On Jeff's birthday (May 25th) Pastor Overton guided us through Rachel's baptism. Baptizing a toddler is not an easy feat. But Pastor Overton remained patient and kind even when Rachel pulled his ear piece out of his ear. Rachel wore an off white, satin, traditional Chinese, dress we had bought for her in China.
Rachel still won't let anyone but mom or dad hold her. Cousin Elyse got in some snuggle time when Rachel was very unconscious.
Rachel running on the beach after the baptism.

She's Officially Ours

Third in line for the throne,

she's officially in her forever home.

Rachel had her "day in court". Judge Coleman led us through all the legal stuff with humor and patience and lollipops for everyone. We had a small celebration at a local park to celebrate Rachel's official welcoming. It was such a relief to have all the paperwork done... signed, sealed and delivered. BIG SIGH!

Photos: Our family with Judge Coleman, Rachel's Good Luck Dragon cupcake cake (Rachel's sitting on the ground behind it) and Rachel playing in the sand box with her friend XuXu (also recently adopted from China).

Presenting... Julian as "Baby Bear"

Julian had the wonderful opportunity to play the role of Baby Bear in his kindergarten play. He is very proud of his efforts and we're certain he'll soon be up for an Oscar.

Fun in the Sun

We've recently had some bouts of very hot weather. It was a little sampling of summer. All 3 kids love water play and Rachel got a chance to model some of her swimwear. Notice that Rachel's popsicle is on the ground under the bench... uh, oh.

Rachel's Words

New parents are always so anxious to have their babies start talking. Just remember "new parents", once they start talking they never stop (and most of their communication is spent ordering you around). Rachel is learning and producing words at a rapid pace. She used to sign everything but now she prefers to let herself be heard. We miss her hand signs (she was so cute when she'd be using her little hands to convey something to us). But we know other little girls and we know how they LOVE to talk- even when they're the only ones listening. So "good bye" hand signs and "hello" constant chatter.

Rachel's words to date:
Mama
Dada
Juju
cheese
yea
no
more
bubbles
apple
moon
wah-wah (water)
nanana (banana)
go
Ramah (grandma)
dip dip
Elmo
hat
shoe
rock
noodle
hot
hi
bye
wow
ice
bah bah (bottle)
keys
ow
cracker
flower
mouse
meow
ball
no poo poo (even when she clearly reeks)

Video For You to Enjoy

Colette received a video camera for her birthday. We spent her birthday camping with friends. So here's our first attempt to add a video to our blog. Enjoy... Rachel as Tweety Bird with big brother encouraging her performance.

Happy Spring!

Rachel had been carrying her Easter basket around all week. She just kept putting empty plastic eggs in and out of it. We found eggs in shoes, pots and pans and trashcans all week long. Needless to say she was thrilled to wake up Easter morning and actually find good stuff in her basket. We celebrated Easter at church then Grandma J's house for the big egg hunt and brunch then home for long naps then to the pool for pizza dinner (it was hot here). We are all still recovering from our Sunday.

Cousin Colin brought over Smudge the bunny for some extra Easter pets.

We made a great attempt to get all the cousins to smile at the same time for the annual photo with Grandma.

Start Your Engines...

The boys had a great time at the YMCA Pinewood Derby. Even though no one in our clan placed this year, Gabe and Julian were happy they got to bring home a display stand. Our only setback occurred when Hazel the beagle chewed up their cars just after their first paint application. The YMCA gave us replacement kits and they rushed to complete them in time. Rachel preferred to sit on the tracks instead of quietly watching the races. Jeff was more involved this year and seemed to take his Nation Chief duties very seriously. It was a fun morning.

Ode to Food...

Our adoption social worker asked us for some photos of Rachel doing the things she likes best. We agreed that her favorite past time is eating. Our theory on her "love of food" is... the food in China was so bland that now she savors food with flavor and even some spice. She ate teaspoon after teaspoon of salsa at a restaurant the other night. Her favorites are: noodles with marinara, salmon, cheerios, yogurt, carrots, barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese and Sunchips. It took many repeated attempts to get her to eat dairy products but now she loves yogurt and string cheese and they don't seem to effect her digestive system anymore. So here are some photos of our little gal doing what she likes best...