Our BUSY little "Bee" Pictures

Doing School with her Siblings

Helping Mom clean out her pantry

Helping Mom with laundry

Having a snack
 

Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Fun in the Sun

We finally had a beautiful sunny day and Rhylan had her first experience on the swing with her brother Cameron and cousin Naomi! I think she likes it as you can tell from her beaming smile!!

Two months Home with Rhylan

Whew!!!! The time has flown by and Rhylan has changed and grown SO much!  She has gained about 5 pounds and grown about 3 cm in length!!  She now identifies many objects as "hers" and will greatly object if you try to take it away Ha!!  She is quick to scold and pout her lips at you if something doesn't please her.  She makes sure to greet every member of the family in the morning and if you fail to notice her she will shout until she gains your attention and then beam her beautiful smile your way!!!  In addition to high fives she likes to bump fist (a greeting her brothers and sister taught her.)  If she's in the mood, she will now also give kisses, it's the sweetest!! She now walks very well and sometimes "runs" to keep up with her siblings, babbles and says words like; dog, cow, don't, hot, duck, mama, dada, yes, look, knows where her ears, nose, and belly are, and takes great care of her baby dolls (she will bounce it up and down, kiss it, and even gave it a drink from her bottle, soooo adorable!!)  She loves, loves books and seems to prefer books on animals.  She has had her nails painted by her sister, had popcorn and took over the bowl, and her first photo shoot at Edda's.  We had her outside on one of the beautiful warmer days and she got to experience the trampoline, which she LOVED too!  She now stands at the window and points and yells because she wants to go outside and play on it!  She still loves cell phones and  all electronics and you should see her little fingers run over the screen!! Her brothers run to higher ground as she comes near and starts demanding their i-pods, i-pads, etc. funny sight!!  I still at times am amazed that she is here and I always look over her crib at night with thankful thoughts to my Heavenly Father and her birth mother.  Not a day goes by, that I do not think of her "China mom" and the sacrifices she made twice to choose life for her child;  first by giving birth and second when she left her, for reasons we do not know, at a location where she would be found and cared for.  I do not judge her for I have never been in her "shoes" and had to walk that path,  but I hurt for her and pray many times for her that she may have peace.  Rhylan is SO cherished, loved, and adored and AT HOME!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!  Every good and perfect gift comes from above.  James 1:17

Rhylan squeals with delight when her brothers push her in the car

Our little angel

The famous "Rhylan lip pout"

Feeding her baby a bottle

Our Bethany Travel Group

I wanted to post some pictures of our AWESOME travel group!  We had the BEST group and have formed some friendships that we hope to continue.  In many ways it seems like such a long time has passed since the trip and other ways the time has flown. We miss the families!!
 Rhylan is now 17 months and gets into EVERYTHING!!  I know I have mentioned this in the past...but it is definitely worth mentioning again.  She continues to be a joy and always finds new ways to make us cheer, smile, and laugh!!  She is starting to say more words like look, up, hot, and of course dog (her favorite word now)!! We had our visit to the Riley International Adoption Clinic on Monday and the appointment went well.  Rhylan had a 20 minute blood draw (not kidding or exaggerating here) and we are glad that is behind us!!!

Our Travel Group

Our chaotic "red couch" pictures!!!

Rhylan in aqua dress

Celebrating one month with Rhylan

We have now had our precious baby girl for one month!!! In many ways it seems we have had her for longer and in some ways the time has went by so quickly. She makes life fun and exhausting at times too. She has now started fighting sleep because she is afraid she will miss out in the action...so we have had to let her cry herself to sleep, which thankfully she goes to sleep rather quickly because it is SO HARD for me!!! She loves the dishwasher and the vacuum ha!! She also loves to help with laundry by pulling out the clothes no matter wet or dry. She is getting better while we do school but loves to "destroy or empty" everything in sight. She still enjoys to eat but is getting slightly pickier, she does not like applesauce ( unusual for a baby??) She enjoys her sister's room ( all the dolls) and loves to play hot wheels with her brothers. She ALWAYS wants to keep up with her siblings and I even captured a cute picture of her playing swords with Braden! She continues to be a precious gift to us!!

Four tired kids in Hong Kong

Am I cute or what?

The many faces of Rhylan

Many Firsts

Rhylan has been making big progress in walking!!! She is now taking several unassisted steps and loves the attention!! She loves hearing us cheer her on and boy she is the center of Attention! She delights herself and will clap her hands and then fall on her butt!!! I had forgotten how delightful baby accomplishments are!! She is also now totally at home, which means she gets into EVERYTHING, especially during school time. You can follow the Rhylan path because she leaves nothing untouched!! Ugh!!! Big sigh!! Today she pulled out the movies, went thru the flash cards, and need I mention more? She has also been trying a variety of foods. She had a cucumber today that she wasn't to sure about but ate it because it's food... And she plain loves food!! She loves the little pull along doggy in the pictures. Madisyn tied it to the walker and she thought that was great. She blows kisses and loves to make cute clinking noises with her mouth. She also really just noticed our dog, Carly. She squeals and points when she sees her outside the window.  She also thinks the snow is great and will hold her hand out to touch it as it falls down (very cute). She is getting very good at making her squeaky shoes squeak! Ha!! Oh well as you can tell she  continues to be a delight and we love and adore her more each day!!! Enjoy the pictures, she is always moving and it's hard to catch a shot!!!

First Sunday at Church

We have had a wonderful, busy weekend with family and friends! The Cooks had a welcome home Rhylan party and the kids had a great time sledding down their huge hill. It was fun to introduce Rhylan and see her interact with children her age. We also took her to church this Sunday for the first time. She was welcomed into our church family with open arms and SO much love, we are thankful for this wonderful church family that we have!!!
She continues to do well and we are so glad to have her home with us! Love to all!!

Rhylan all ready for church