73rd Month

6 years old! It is so hard to believe that Rachael is 6 already! Since Daddy is in New Jersey already, and the house is on the market, we decided not to have a party, but just had Bill and Karen, Kay, and Terry over for cake and ice cream. Since we didn’t have a party, Rachael was allowed to have Morgan come spend the night the night before her birthday (Rachael’s first sleepover). They had a great time.

We found out this month that Rachael is going to have a baby sister in July. Rachael was very excited, saying, “We can play My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop together!”

Rachael said goodbye to her teacher and all her friends at C.C. Wells, taking cupcakes to share with everyone. Rachael is very sad to be leaving C.C. Wells, and even sadder that we won’t be taking Keiko to New Jersey with us. Keiko found a new home so that she can stay in Virginia. We headed to New Jersey on Easter Sunday; luckily schools in New Jersey were also on Spring Break the week after Easter, so Rachael has a little time to adjust before she has to start school.

74th Month

Rachael started Kindergarten at her new school (Walter C. Black) the beginning of this month. Kindergarten here is only half days, which might actually make the transition easier for Rachael. On the first day of school, she made instant friends with a little boy (Nicholas) who actually turned out to live just two doors from us. A day doesn’t go by that they don’t ask to play with each other.

Rachael has started wearing glasses, just for seeing distances. Of course, she chose pink and sparkly frames. She looks very smart and very grown-up in them.

Daddy took Rachael on the train to New York City, where they met Uncle John and Cousin Travis at the Central Park Zoo. Rachael had a great time, and now loves New York City.

 Rachael's 75th Month (May '08)

Rachael’s favorite new pastime is going to brewpubs with Daddy. Daddy has a lot to visit now that we live in a new area. They took the train to New York City again, and Rachael got to go up the Empire State Building. She has adjusted quite well to our move to New Jersey. There are many kids in our neighborhood, so she has made a lot of friends. Our driveway is often full of kids.

76th Month

Rachael got to spend a week in New York with Cousin Travis this month. She absolutely adores her cousin and her Aunt Emily. She cried when Daddy went to pick her up—she did not want to come home, and claims she did not miss her brother at all.

77th Month

Daddy took Rachael to Philadelphia where she got to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. She now has a new interest in history, and wants to know the history of everything.

Rachael’s baby sister, Susanna, was born on the 14^th. Rachael came to see her in the hospital, but was a little hesitant to get close to her. Once everyone got home, though, she took to her like the great big sister she is. She is a big help to Mom, fetching things for her, and helping Liam when Mom can’t.

Rachael got to spend a long weekend in PA with Grandma and Grandpa this month. She had a fabulous time, and burst into tears when Mom and Dad showed up to bring her home.

78th Month

Rachael has become the little sight-seer with Daddy. They went to New York and took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

Rachael also spent a week at choir camp at church. Every day she would come home saying she wasn’t going to go back, but then Daddy would convince her to go for one more day. Needless to say, she ended up going for the whole week and ended the week saying she had a great time, and wants to go again next summer.

79th Month

Rachael started 1^st grade at Walter C. Black this month. She is actually in a program called MAP (Multi-Age Program), in which she is in a class with both 1^st- and 2^nd- graders. They do some things together and some separate.

Grandma Mel and Pop Pop came for a visit this month, and took Rachael and Liam to Lee’s Turkey Farm, where they went through the corn maze and picked apples.

Karen and Kay came from Virginia for a short visit—it was great to see them.

80th Month

Rachael has begun a 10-week after-school program called Mad Science. They spend an hour each week doing science experiments and learning science basics. She loves it.

Rachael dressed up as a Southern Belle for Halloween.

Rachael has begun singing in the choir at church, and is very excited about the play they will be doing on Christmas Eve.

Rachael has also begun gymnastics classes. She took to it right from the first class, and absolutely loves it. She doesn’t seem afraid, either. Mom watched her at her first class, running towards the vault, and she just jumped on the trampoline and went right over. It was great to watch her.

We had a great Thanksgiving, with Maw-Maw and Pots, Aunt Emily, Uncle John, and Cousin Travis all coming here. There was a lot of energy in this house, but it was nice to have family around.

82nd Month

Rachael is very excited for Christmas, and loves the fact that we have already had snow a couple times, and may even have a white Christmas.

Well, it wasn’t white for Christmas, but it was cold. We had a great Christmas, with Grandma and Grandpa coming to visit from PA. Rachael got all kinds of cool stuff, including binoculars and an Easy-Bake Oven from Grandma and Grandpa.

83rd Month

Rachael continues to love gymnastics and reading. She can fly through chapter books in no time. She really likes Magic Tree House and Magic School Bus books.

She had her first case of strep throat this month, and of course it happened on the weekend we decided to remodel the kitchen.

We had another visit form our friends from Virginia, Kay and Karen. This time, Karen brought her granddaughter, Kate along, who used to be good friends with Rachael when we all lived in VA. Rachael had a great time with her.

Aunt Emily, Uncle John, and cousin Travis came for a visit, too. January and February saw a lot of visitors for us, and March looks busy, too. January and February saw Rachael lose several teeth, too.