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Sick and then some .................

Right before Easter Rachel came down with a somewhat nasty cold, a few days later daddy came down with it and a few more Audrey and about the time everyone else was on the mend, mommy came down with it and it didn't go away but turned into bronchitis. Why did mine go into bronchitis ? Well, my guess is that my total lack of sleep while everyone else was sick and while I was sick due to Rachel teething, being sick and staying up at least 1.5-3 hours every night might have had something to do with it :( After 1.5 weeks on antibiotics though I am happy to announce I am human again and the girls and daddy too. Unfortunately though, yesterday Audrey caught another sneaky bug and ran a 102.3 fever last night and into today. Fortunately she seems like she's rebounding well today and her fever has broke.

Due to all the illness, our Easter was definitely not the most memorable but the girls did have a great Easter at home after Audrey and I returned home from Church. Audrey was able to go on an easter egg hunt at church but Alex and Rachel stayed home since they were both pretty sick.

Saturday, my sister and her husband and his parents and brother and nephews all came for a visit to celebrate our nephews birthday. We all went to Chuck E Cheese and it was crazy lol. After about 2.5-3 hours of complete chaos and very loud noise, I found myself standing in a long line with Audrey holding our receipt for 117 points towards some unknown prize. After nearly a 20 minute wait, Audrey announced she would obtain 2 tootsie roll pops and a small round container of sparkling lip gloss. I told you it was competely insane, but Audrey thought the whole ordeal was quite worthwhile ;-)

Lastly, Right after Audrey Rachel and I were almost completely well, we made a very long treck to Etowah TN to have outdoor professional pictures made (late Easter Pictures). The trip was an hour and 15 minutes each way which I didn't realize when I scheduled the session. Long story short, it was not a good decision on my part and by the time we got there the girls had a major attitude problem. The woman who took the pictures thought that they were so bad she gave me a CD with them on it for free lol. That is how bad they were !

I'll post a few of those pictures and some others as soon as I can.

Things I love about being a family of four now ............................

Last night after we ate dinner, there wasn't anything left and we were all full but were asking if there was anything left. I can remember when there were always leftovers ............ I love empty pans and happy chubby faces with rosy cheeks.

I can remember my Grandma (mom's mom) always loved to cook for us when we came to visit and she would make an obscene amount of food and feed us until we could hardly move. I also remember wondering what in the world made her so happy about us all "pigging out" until we were miserable .......... Well last night I think I finally Got it ! She was alot wiser than I gave her credit for :-)

I love looking in the rear view mirror and seeing the two girls laughing and giggling knowing that they will always be each others "Best Friend".

I love that I am never caught up on the laundry and that I have become an expert in organic stain removal ;-)

I love it when I'm rocking Rachel in the glider chair in her nursery and Audrey comes in hugs her sister tight, says "I love you", and tells Rachel that she will be in the next room if she needs her.

I love it when we all load up in the Van to go to visit family and stop at Mcdonalds half way, Exit 70 Nashville. Our Mcdonalds visit is usually fast, furious and a lesson in surviving toddler eating habits but it sure makes for great memories lol.

I love that Audrey's Clothes can now become hand-me downs.

I love that I can't remember the last time I was ever bored or wondered what my purpose in life was !

There are many more things I am loving about being a family of four now, but I'm too pooped to think of them now.

Trip to KY visiting Nai Nai & Papa and Rae & Grandpa

We just arrived home yesterday evening from a wonderful visit with both our families. We are fairly exhausted but thankful for how well everything went ! I am very happy to report that this trip went much much better than our trip home at Christmastime. Rachel actually slept in her crib and slept through the night until 6am. 6am was a bit early, but such an improvement that we didn't mind at all. Also, Rachel played with Audrey outside most of the time we were home and had so much fun. Her legs look like she has been in a war because she's still is developing coordination and falls alot but she really didn't seem to mind. She will take some hard falls and just get up and act like nothing happened. She really is our "little tank" ;-) Audrey was a great Big Sis as always and helped take care of her Lil Sis during the trip. She is growing up on us way too fast ! The pictures in our slideshow are of two Bubblefests we had with my parents and Alex's parents. At Alex's house, the Breeding Clan came for a visit and a great time was had by all. We are really looking forward to our next visit home; the difference a few months can make is amazing.

About the Past 6 months, Attachment & Bonding , other Adoption issues .......

While the past 6 months is still fresh in my mind, I just wanted to mention some of our experiences, trials and tribulations we had after Rachel's adoption. There is a reason that I rarely updated our blog after October of last year.

When we received Rachel in Chongqing in July of last year she automatically smiled her best smile and went to both Alex, I and Alex's parents without the slightest anxiety or fear and this was just fine with us after experiencing Audreys screaming fits on "Gotcha Day" in 2004. Because Rachel was just turning 10 months old, we just assumed we had been blessed with an "easy" baby. When we received Rachel in China she was literally the perfect child, she slept through every night; she never fussed unless she was hungry; and I hardly remember her ever crying. Once home this behavior continued for about two months and I remember thinking that I didn't know what all the fuss was about handling two. This was no more difficult than having just Audrey.

In late September the "easy baby" was no more. Suddenly, as if a tornado had hit, our little Rachel became this very emotional, very demanding, and constantly upset child who seemed unpleasable (She cried most of her waking hours and her feet rarely hit the floor). To make matters worse she went through about 4 months where she would reach out to just about anyone (strangers or friends), especially if she wasn't getting what she wanted from mom or dad. I don't think I have ever been so humbled in my life. Rachel would act like she was the happiest child in the world when we were out in public, but the second we were in the car or at home, she would come unglued and scream and cry unless she was held continuously. I finally came to the realization that we had some serious issues that needed to be addressed. I started reading as much as I could about bonding and attachment as well as other adoption issues. I just focused 150% on Rachel and her needs and tried not to let my emotions come into play as much as possible. Initially, when Rachel started "pleaing for help", I wasn't there for her like I should have been. I just couldn't believe that our "perfect child" was now completely out of control and I felt helpless for quite some time. Even after I realized what some of Rachels problems were and had found ways to help her, I still wondered if she would ever bond the way that Audrey had and if she would ever trust and love me the same way......

I am here to tell you now that she has and the transformation in Rachel is nothing short of miraculous. She will now hug me tight whenever she can and calls for me whenever she is feeling insecure or just needs affection. Until the past couple of months, Rachel didn't wan't any affection unless it was on her terms and usually she just wanted to be carried around but not hugged or kissed. She will now play independently or with her sister rather than needing to be held constantly and she just appears to be so much more secure. She has also developed "stranger anxiety" over the past two months and I have never been so happy about anything. After almost 7 months home Rachel finally realizes how loved she is and that she can let her guard down. She also gets along wonderfully with her big sis now and they are pretty much inseperable. We are truly blessed.

March 2007 Photos above...... I will post more about whats going on with us asap !

February News

February wasn't a bad month at all except that both the girls had colds which is never fun. Rachel had a yucky cold when we visited the TN aquarium which is why you don't see her or Alex in any of the pics. Alex volunteered to stay home with her while Audrey and I went with my sister, her husband, son and his mother, father, brother and two nephews (adopted from Russia). We had a wonderful time and we were definitely all wore out by the end of the day. On Presidents day, I took Audrey and Rachel to a playdate with several FCC families and the girls had a blast. At this point Rachel still wasn't walking very well so I ended up holding her alot but she still seemed to really enjoy herself. neither of our girls have a shy bone in their body. Their motto truly is "the more the merrier" ! Audrey started writing some letters in February and was very proud to show them off; hence the picture of her holding the piece of paper with several As and an H. Needless to say, I was sooo excited to see her letters since in the past when I've tried to show her how to write some letters she showed no interest at all.

Still Catching Up January 2007

Ok, brief synopsis is that in January we were still recovering from December ;-) Audrey took the stunning picture of Alex and I and I had to post it because we never get our pictures taken together except for post placement visits ! See myspace for that rare family pic. Audrey went on a playdate with quite a few girls from our local FCC chapter and had cupcakes, see above photo for demo of how much she enjoyed them or at least the frosting. Despite the semi frigid temps, we did manage to get outside a bit and let the girls play. We played with sidewalk chalk which I don't think is exactly a great winter activity but there were no complaints from Rachel or Audrey ! Lastly, Rachel is climbing all over everything even if she isn't walking very well. The girl really knows how to get where she wants to go. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it, at 15 months she is already throwing temper tantrums, getting noodle legs, and mimicking epileptic seizures at the first sign she isn't going to get here way ;-) We are sure in for one wild ride lol.

Christmas 2006 was ...... well maybe a little challenging (understatement). Since it was a couple months ago, I think the memories are already fading. In a nutshell, it was not too fun. Rachel showed us that she truly does not adapt well to change and needs her routine desperately. While we were in KY for the holidays, she screamed bloody murder every night until we put her in the bed with us and then she still didn't sleep great. She also wanted to be held every waking moment and would melt down if her feet hit the floor. She had just started walking before Christmas (at 15 months) so she wasn't walking great anyway but at almost 25 lbs, she was quite a load to carry all day. And this post wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention that her digestive tract was totally out of whack our entire trip . . . . lets just say "it wasn't pretty". We did have wonderful visits with both our families though despite the challenges so I will post a few pictures here. Audrey and Rachel are 2yrs 3 mo apart in age, so it was nice that many of their Christmas gifts are ones they both could play with. The most popular Christmas gift and possibly most annoying one (constantly plays loud music) ;-) was what I now pleasantly refer to as the "Mermobile". See posted Pics.

Experience with Myspace.com

Well after finally finding a little time to update our blog, a friend told me about myspace.com because she had started using it at the recommendation of one of her friends. The main appeal to me was that I can upload video files and a nice little family slide show to music FREE. There are some major downsides to the site though which I'll go ahead and mention. While it is nice to have millions of people on the network, it can also be annoying because many weirdos will want to be added to your friends list or solicitors for get-rich schemes. I also did not find their blogging interface to be very appealing. Thus, I am going to continue to update our blog here because it's a much better blogging system and I already have our blog here. When I am able to update myspace.com with any new pictures or videos, I will make sure to post it here.

Audrey at Gymnastics Center

Audrey started taking gymnastics in late August of this year and she has made amazing progress for such a short time. Audrey is in the light pink leotard in case it's hard to tell. There are a few pics from her class in late November above and there are a couple more pictures on the pictures page of our home website http://audreyandrachel.com .

Thanksgiving and Latest News

We recently visited KY (left Wednesday afternoon and returned Sunday evening). The girls did amazingly well during the trip. It took 7 hrs just to get there (normally takes 5). We had a wonderful visit with both our families. Rachel was held by someone practically the whole time we were home so we are having fun getting her used to sitting on the floor since returning home hehe ;-) She also cried and screamed each night we were in KY when we put her in her crib at Nai Nai's house. Rachel definitely knows the difference between our house and theirs. Once she would get to sleep she slept fairly well but she sure had a hard time going night night. When we came home, it was so cute to see how pleased Rachel was to be here. She went to sleep Sunday night without the slightest wimper and did last night as well. We are still having some issues with her sleeping later than 6am so we have started cutting back on her naptime during the day which is helping. We've all had a nasty cold/sinus infection over the past month so it has been a little rough but we are finally all rebounding I believe. Santa Claus is finished with shopping so now all there is to do is decorate and look forward to his visit ! I will post a few pictures from our thanksgiving visit and more on our family website.

PS. Rachel took 3 steps with daddy yesterday so we are getting close to walking but not quite there. She turned 14 months on Nov 21st so we've got to be close to her walking, don't we ?? ;-)

About Halloween and a very late post

Audrey and Rachel celebrated Halloween at our local MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) fall festival, at their mother's day out program and Halloween evening with Mommy, Ms. Faith and Mr. Mike (Alex was in Chicago on business). At just under 13 months, Rachel was amused by the whole thing but clearly not as excited as big sister Audrey. I will post a few prized pictures here as well as more on our family website http://audreyandrachel.com .

Latest news

Rachel has finally tapered off on the teething and pooping all the time. I know, TMI, but that has been our life the past 3 weeks. We are again, finally, sleeping through the night and not going through 3 outfits a day so life is good ;-) Rachel and Audrey are getting along great now and we couldn't have hoped for a better relationship between the two. Rachel is still pulling up on everything and gaining more balance everyday so it won't suprise us if she's walking in the next month. I uploaded a photo slideshow today with alot of recent photos of the girls. It's on our website http://audreyandrachel.com . The slideshow is on the video page. Hope you enjoy !

ps. Audrey is currently working on her first science project. She is growing seeds that we've placed between two wet pieces of papertowel in a ziplock bag. She is really obsessed with them sprouting and always is making sure they are still wet and in the sun. Today they have actually started sprouting so she is quite pleased!

Rachel's First Birthday

Rachel's first birthday has come and gone. It's hard to believe that she is a year old already ! We just wish she could have enjoyed her birthday more. She is currently in the middle of a nasty bout of teething and cranky would be an understatement for her temperament the past couple days. I went ahead and made her a batch of White cupcakes with strawberry frosting (big sisters suggestion ;-)) . Rachel liked seeing the cupcake and the burning candle but wouldn't even try a bite of her cupcake. Needless to say the rest of us didn't have a problem with the eating them ! Rachel is doing great other than her teething. She is waving bye bye and trying to say it. She is saying mama and dada. She is pulling up on everything and trying to walk so it won't be long until she is. Here is a picture of Rachel with her Birthday cupcake. I'll post more as soon as I can.

What's New ? and Yes I'm ashamed I haven't posted in a month !

I am quite happy to report that we have settled in amazingly well and we actually have somewhat of a routine. Audrey and Rachel are truly sisters and have that wonderful love/hate relationship already. Audrey definitely has her moments when she is not very nice to baby sister but for the most part we are really proud of her and she seems to be enjoying having a sister more than not. Rachel has been a really easy baby and we just can't believe it ! Or, maybe Audrey was just such a difficult baby that any other baby seems easy hehe. Regardless, we love both of them for who they are and not how much trouble they are ;-)

Developmentally Rachel is doing wonderfully and she is now pulling up on all our furniture and standing. It' s so hard to believe that a month and a half ago, she wasn't even that steady sitting up.

Audrey is doing awesome too. Although she is killing us on a daily basis with her pleas for independence and her temperamental moodiness, she is the light of our lives. She just started gymnastics and has her 2nd lesson tomorrow so we are excited about that. So far Audrey just loves it and she can't wait to go back.

We are also doing MOPS again and it has been a Godsend for me. Audrey and Rachel have wonderful caregivers while we meet and the moms there are the best. I can't say enough good things about the program!

Our house is messy and I can't keep up with the stickiness or the laundry but we are happy anyway ;-)

Last, but not least, and Becky if your out there, don't post about this lol ! I reactivated our family website again so I could post videos/slideshows etc on a larger scale and post more pictures without worrying about space. So, once again, you can click on the link on the right to go to http://audreyandrachel.com . I no longer have dropshots.com since that was just for video and pics. I promise I'm going to quit playing musical websites haha ;-)

Please do go to http://audreyandrachel.com though and go to the videos tab and you can view the slideshow I made the other day with some of the pictures since we've been home with Rachel. The ones taken at the playground were just taken a few days ago.

I'll try to post more frequently as I'm able and hopefully I'll be able to make some videos or slideshows with our pictures and footage from our China trip.

Our Cutie Pie - Looking back ....

When I look at Rachel now and see her on a daily basis, two things really strike me from her update from China that we received with her referral information. First, it said she had a ready smile that would bring us much joy and happiness. I can certainly vouch for that; she smiles constantly and grins showing us her 4 beautiful teeth. Alex has affectionately started referring to her as "Beaver" ;-) Secondly, it described Rachel as having many facial expressions. I have never seen a child make so many adorable faces and show such expression. It really makes us feel good to know that Rachel's caregivers really noticed Rachel and what was special about her.

Sisterly Love and Sunglasses

I came downstairs the other day and found Audrey had put her heart shaped sunglasses on Rachel and Audrey had on her Dora glasses. I of course immediately ran and grabbed the camera and took these priceless pics !

Swim Trip with the Girls Last Week

Last Tuesday I ventured down to our neighborhood pool with the girls. I think it took us longer to get ready than the time we actually spent at the pool. What is humorous is that Rachel decided it was nap time so she took a bottle and passed out when we got there. Audrey and I let Rachel sleep in her stroller while we went swimming for about 1.5 hours. Eventually we will get Rachel in the pool ! ;-)

Pictures of Rachel at Xiushan orphanage between Referral and Travel

The pictures above were taken by the staff at Xiushan SWI with the disposable camera we sent with Rachel's carepackage after we received her referral. There were quite a few photos but I will just post a couple here now. I will post more on dropshots.com (see link on right for Audrey and Rachel Pics) tomorrow or I may post one or two more here.