Happy 7th Birthday Rachel

I knew tomorrow would be busy with the birthday party celebration so I wanted to go ahead and make a post to our birthday girl who will turn seven on September 26th.

It is so hard to believe that our first child is going to be seven tomorrow. Time surely does fly. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was teetering as close to 200 pounds as I ever hope to be while awaiting the birth of our first child.

And, even though Rachel is seven tomorrow, she still loves her blue blanket....her comfort object. Of course, Anna never misses an opportunity to get a good pot shot in so she some times jokingly calls Rachel "Linus" (as in the character from Charlie Brown).

Rachel's favorite color is still pink and she still says she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She loves animals. We can't even let her watch shows on T.V. where it may show a lion hunting antelope because it upsets her to see any animal harmed even if it is for the great circle of life. She truly has a compassionate soul except for where her younger sister is concerned. The more misery she can create for Anna, the happier she is (and vice versa); such is sibling rivalry.

I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced. She declined. She says she wants to wait. I wondered if she would want to since Anna did this past summer. But, she really has no interest and we are in no hurry for her to grow up so that suits us just fine.

She's very particular about her clothes now. They have to fit just right and be comfortable or she isn't interested. Looks are important but function, comfort and fit are more important.

She is still thriving with her school work. Her ability to read is remarkable. She grabbed my copy of Reader's Digest and was reading a story out of it a week or so ago. She saw the cover which mentioned a shark attack. And, since animals grab her attention, she found the story on her own, began reading it and then proceeded to tell me about it.

I've posted a picture from each year of her life above. The last one was taken a few months back when she went to a photography studio with our babysitter. I didn't buy the photo but downloaded an image of it (hence the watermark "zazzle" is still on it). But, all photos give everyone an idea of how much she has changed over the years. I'll post her new seven year portraits and birthday party pictures later. The one below was taken this month of her after she got her hair cut.

We are so proud to call Rachel our daughter. Thank you, Rachel, for making us parents. You truly are a blessing to us.

Happy 7th Birthday!

We love you!

From Mom and Dad