Rachel's Going to be a Big Sister!

Hey Friends! We wanted to announce that Rachel is going to be a big sister!
We are expecting a baby girl November 4th!

Rachel became an honorary park ranger at the Rose Parade Float Display

She is taking super great naps 2-3 hours

ALL her idea. The necklaces, the bracelet, the headband, the shopping bag

We got a Socal Resident Disneyland pass - she got to take a walk with Mickey!

Valentine's Day 2016

Mother's Day with another one on the way

@ Mommy's favorite treat: Copa Vida

Completely her idea to pose like this

She is obsessed with meeting the characters

Drove up to Mammoth for a weekend

Riding the gondola

Easter 2016

Santa Barbara Zoo - That's a giraffe + the ocean

She calls this "Santa Claus"

Getting her Frozen on @ Abby's bday party

All (kitties) aboard!

We took a roadtrip to Joshua Tree and went hiking

Family Pic in Joshua Tree

A reprieve from the desert @ the pool

Caloway's 3rd birthday @ Annenberg

Parents in San Diego

Family picture in Temecula @ Erin & Kellen's Wedding

The incredible view from the house we stayed in Temecula

The whole family went to Legoland

Rachel fit right in with her cousins

The closest to a professional picture since our wedding

Rachel saying goodbye to her best friend at school

Father's Day 2016 - Dada went surfing

Palos Verdes

We played int the sand/ocean while Dada surfed

Rachel - 2 Years and Beyond...

I trust the last time I posted was too long ago to remember, so let's just capture this moment in time and not even attempt to catch up. 

Currently, Rachel is 2. She is in school. I am working part-time at my church doing accounting. Justin is at Vision Fund, now doing mergers & acquisitions. We are still at Los Angeles, soaking up all it has to offer. Also giving back though, leading a community group, Justin is on the steering board for the non-profit mercy and justice organization for our church, and indirectly, Rachel is giving back by saying "hello" to strangers she passes by on the street.

A little more about Rachel: She is speaking in full sentences now. She says things like, "But I'm not ready" and "I love snow". Today she told her first joke. She was drinking milk, but she mooed instead. So she combined it and yelled "Moooolk!"

She loves her Little People farm animals. She lines them up on the stairs and leads them in song. She can sing all her ABC's, count to 20 (misses 4-6, but that's okay), knows all the words to "Cast all your cares". 

Overall, she is very similar to how she was as a baby: giggly, gentle, and sweet. Here are some pictures of us from the past 6 months. 

Rachel's 2nd birthday party - "Hewwo Titty" themed

the night the red moon was showing we drove up to a high point in LA to watch

celebrated my bday in  August

18 month update

Happy Easter to all!

As I type, Rachel is curled up like a ball laying on the floor watching Daniel Tiger because she is teething 8 teeth!

What she has been doing recently:

- CLIMBING: She will climb benches, couches, YOU...at the park, she likes to find ledges to straddle and pretend she is rocking back and forth like a horse. 

- TALKING: She loves to babble, but also says some words. These days her fave words are "balloon" ("boon"), "Dah" ("cat"), "doggie" ("da doh"), "bye bye", "bear" ("bay"), "banana" ("nana"), "up", "down", "shoes" ("shhh"), "ball", "egg" in Chinese, "no", "yes", "please" (ssss), "Apple" (bappo), etc

- NOISES: she started roaring like a lion, quacking like a duck (daddy's fave), mooing like a cow, barking like a dog, and tweeting like a bird 

- NETWORKING: as soon as we are out the door at target or TJ's, she is saying hi and bye and giving smiles and waves. She looks like she will be an extrovert

Here are pictures from the past 3 months

Passed out with Hello Kitty (thanks auntie Jeannie)

Visits to Faraway Friends: you can live in the same city, LA, but that doesn't mean much when there is traffic-- so it is a special occasion when we make the trek or vice versa to spend time together!

Rachel met Bentley for the first time in Torrance

Explored the Fullerton a Arboretum with the Wang family

We rode the train at Descanso Gardens with the Talbotts

In March, we had many visitors from out of town:

Uncle Geoff was in town from Baltimore! We stopped by Santa Monica for a literal minute

Not pictured: Sarah and Nick came from Austin. The reason why there is no picture? I came down with a stomach bug (not as cute as it sounds) and was lying in bed for two days straight as Sarah watched Rachel and kept us alive.

Dan, tina, Steffy, and the kids made a pitstop in LA to see us. It was a mini miracle that we got a table at Din Tai Fung on such short notice 😛

Valentine's Day- we made it a family day and went to Disneyland. Rachel rode the teacups for the first time and had no reaction whatsoever! She loved Dumbo, the parade, and Mickey Mouse

Here are some shots with Rachel's friends

Little sofia and Abby

The Ou's

Caloway and dog friend Otis

Kaylee 

Gavin and Wesley

A few of our Community group bebes

Rach is a morning person

Rachel sends Texas her love!

Rachel says "chill out", y'all. It's all good. She loves to sneak in when I'm grabbing something from the fridge.

See ya next quarter!