Here she is!

Meet Ba Shu Ting, soon to be known as Rachel Shu-Ting (or "Ting Ting").

These photos were taken in July, when Rachel was about six months old. At that time she weighed 18.7 pounds and was 24.82 inches long.

Ting Ting has been in foster care since she was one day old. The referral report describes her as healthy, and it's no wonder -- we are told she eats six times a day. Mostly she drinks milk "with glucose, bone-strengthening powder and cod-liver oil as supplements," but she also sometimes eats steamed egg or fruit paste. At six months, she's described
as "very lovely and active."

The report says, "she is a sensible child, not crying frequently unless she is hungry or has a wet diaper." That does seem sensible, doesn't it? It says she "loves to play with kids older than herself" (whew!). "When seeing little kids dancing she will also learn to do so," it says, so Brandon is getting ready to teach her some of his moves. When she is happy "she will clap her hands and kick her feet." It says she is trying to stand. "She loves to move around in the walking-assisting-cart," we learned.

And she's already taking after her Daddy: "With toys in her hand, she will try to observe them carefully as though doing some research." (Watch out, Uncle Jerry! She's going to be in your garage looking for help with some broken-down piece of electronics held together with Band-aids).

This is their translation of her name: "Ba is the first character of the ancient name (Ba Ling) of her birth place -- Yueyang County. Shu Ting means to hope that she will have a comfortable environment and a beautiful mind when she grows up."

We won't know our exact travel dates for a few weeks, but we're hoping to spend Thanksgiving in China. Just think how thankful we'll be to pinch those chubby cheecks!

Meanwhile, I'll be at Costco stocking up on bone-strenghening powder and fruit paste.