Really Rachel!

We waited a full 7 months before we touched our little one's noggin. Having her wee little head shaved for so long, we wanted to let it grow as long as possible. And grow it did in ALL directions and ringlets on the bottom. So cute. The time came to even up her locks so I could only take her to someone I knew and completely trusted, Miss Melanie! She's my hairstylist...so if you ever need a super best-ever referral, Melanie is it. Rachel sat in my lap the whole time, because those big chairs still intimidate her; anything remotely clinical means crocodile tears. The results was a cutie bob. Yay! Thanks, Melanie!

We were all over the place January to and from the farm for Christmas and seeing Denise's brother for the first time in six years. Rachel got lots of playtime with her cousins. Is there a playground we have not conquered yet? And with January came a lot more independence...like peeling her own oranges. Oh no, don't even try to take that orange from the little darling. Ahhhhh, the 2s are coming :o)

Our first Christmas as a family of six was CRAZY and SPECIAL all at once. We spent Christmas at home this year visiting family in January. Rachel got to enjoy the local sites and sounds of what Christmas is like in Texas. She had no problem figuring out how to open presents. The girl is a pro at finding a seam and ripping it open. Seriously, there is no seam this girl can't find on anything to open..that's why she can't hold anything in the grocery store cart! Tee hee we laugh but for me to pause and look up at the ornament we have from Shaohannah's Hope from two years back, it's a reminder of each Christmas spent wondering and waiting about our 4th child.

In early December a good friend of ours, Rob, met us in Grapevine to shoot at a local botanical garden for our first family pic. I think we got 2 shots with everyone looking...wouldn't have it any other way.

I vow, I vow, I vow to blog now! I mean my mind can only remember so much as these kiddos grow! First things first...where we last left off was Thanksgiving. Rachel had her first Thanksgiving ever on Papatoe and Nana's farm with her family! It rained a lot this year and there was a big pipeline going in, too which made for some fun viewing by a toddler. Rachel tried everything from cranberries to ham to pumpkin pie. Let's just say she liked the turkey and Nana's sugar cookies. They are the best those cookies.

November is officially National Adoption Awareness month. Often asked why we decided to adopt and why China. Every time our response is simple. God. I recently heard "a whisper to the soul"...for me, that's a great way to say it. Most people get that, but some don't. That's OK. I was reminded of the childhood song "This Little Light of Mine". One verse goes "hide it under a bushel, no, I'm gonna let it shine". It reminded me to freely share our story. We don't have to tuck it away now that Rachel is here. We would be remiss not to share. So we'll be shiny. I see it in the faces of Elizabeth, Simon, Noah, and Rachel every day.

Rachel clings to her new pajamas. Bought some warm fuzzy jam-jams for her with duckies. When she's not wearing them, she's cuddling them like her blankie, or rather, her "mi-mi". So her latest new word is "duck!" Rachel likes a lot of things. She loves shoes. Hers, ours, yours. She loves socks. Hers, ours, yours. She will leap at the chance to try on a sock or a shoe...but not at the same time. Oh no, they must be enjoyed separately. Rachel also likes her voice. In fact as we go around the dinner table each evening asking Noah, Simon, Elizabeth how their day was, Rachel babbles non-stop until we ask in the same tone and form, "Rachel, how was your day". She smiles a big cheesy smile and says 'goo!"