Looking back - July 23rd, 2002

It really started on the 22nd, but I'll get to that.

We had been back in Atlanta for a couple of months. Cydney was 18 months old when we got back and we moved into a Corporate Apartment while we were selling the house back in Dallas and looking for a new home in Atlanta. I was 3 months into the new job, Ilene was adjusting to telecommuting, Cydney was going to daycare for the first time while we interviewed Nannies and oh yeah, Ilene is 8-9 months pregnant!

We found our home and are at closing on Friday, July 19th. The moving vans are sitting outside the house at 4:00 PM as we finalize paperwork. The un-packers are there, family is there to help and then as the hour approaches 5:00 PM the computers at the real estate facility go down. We are stuck, papers can't be finalized and the deal is not complete. Fortunately, the seller saw Ilene's condition (did I mention she is now almost 2 weeks late and it's the middle of JULY IN ATLANTA) and let us move in over the weekend and let us finish closing on Monday morning. Awesome, only hitch, we are also inducing labor on Monday, ASSUMING it doesn't happen over the weekend! Fortunately it did not and we closed at 9:00 AM on Monday the 22nd and were checked into the hospital around noon.

Now, Rae is a second child and all signs pointed to a quick delivery...yeah right. We learned early on that Rachel will do what Rachel wants to do on her time. She was finally delivered shortly after midnight on July 23rd, 8 lbs. 7 0z. and full of spunk came Rachel Morgan Wolchock. Naming Rachel was important and difficult for me. I lost my father the summer before and it was important for me to honor him in the naming. As some may know, in general, those of the Jewish faith will name children after someone deceased. We seriously toyed with Madison, as my father's name was Matthew but I was not comfortable with the nickname of Maddie for personal reasons. It was also important for me to incorporate my father's sister as she passed away when I was 13. So we had an R, for Ruth and the M for Matthew to play with. We came up with Rachel Morgan, or as she is known to me and a very SELECT few as Rae Rae.

It has been a wild six years. The world we live in constantly changes, but 'love remains the same'. It's hard to fathom that six years from now she will be preparing to become a Bat Mitzvah, six years from that she will be 18 and leaving the house and so on. The one thing I know is that I will always be the best father that I can be to both her and Cydney.

Here are some pics of Rae Rae over the years...enjoy.