four year stats

Rachel had her four year doctor's visit today.  Most of this is rather unexciting news, but I want to keep track for posterity's sake...

She's 39 1/4 inches tall, which puts her in the 45th percentile for height.  Last year she was only in the 25th percentile!  She's grown three inches since last year at this time.

She weighs 33 1/2 pounds, which also puts her in the 45th percentile.  Again, last year she was in the 25th percentile, and before that, at her 2 year visit, she was only in the 5th percentile (and let's not forget before that, when she was below the chart!).  The doctor is thrilled with her growth, and so are we.  She's right where she should be (though, how she's managed that with her current picky eating practices, I'll never know!).

She had to get three shots.  I didn't know what to expect, so I hadn't told her about it beforehand, but after the doctor told me, I passed the news along to Rachel.  She said, "Oh no!  It's going to hurt!"  And when the nurse came in to do them, she was a little scared.  But she barely said "Ouch!" and didn't cry a bit.  She hugged me with one arm while the nurse put them in the other and was such a trooper.  She complained before I put her down for her nap that her "boo-boos" hurt, and pointed to her bandaids on her arm, but that's all I've heard about it. 

She chatted away with the doctor and the nurses and had a grand old time.  I'm glad going to the doctor is such a fun outing for her!  Her only complaint on the way home:  "Mommy, they forgot to take my temperature!" 

tickets

Here's a story I forgot to write about in the birthday post. 

My grandpa sent a card along with my mom when she came for Rachel's birthday.  So when she was opening her presents, she also opened the card from her great-grandpa.  When she opened it, four one-dollar bills fell out, since she was turning four.  She got really excited and said, "Wow!"  My mom asked her what they were, as she picked them up. 

"TICKETS!" she replied, excitedly.

"Tickets?" we all asked, trying to control our laughter. 

"Yeah, tickets!"  she said.

She was so excited....but had absolutely no idea what they were.  Grandma explained that it was money (she's never received money before, nor does she ever see me use money, other than a penny to ride the horse at Meijer every now and then....I always use my debit card to pay for everything!).

Then she was even more excited, when she found out it was paper money.

"Mommy, we can buy GROCERIES!!!" she exclaimed.  That had us all rolling on the floor.  I told her that we wouldn't use her money to buy groceries, but that she could go to the toy store and pick out something that she wanted with her money.  She liked that idea.

The next day we were getting ready to go pick up her cake for her party.  She said, "Mommy, we can use my money to buy it!"  Bless her heart.... I explained that Mommy and Daddy would buy her cake and she could save her money for something she really wanted for herself.

She finally decided that she wanted to buy a horn for her new big girl bike--a princess horn for her princess bike. So last week she and I went to Toys R Us to find one.  They only had two, and they were black, and they didn't work.  She was so disappointed.  But then she spotted a princess bell.  I was against it at first, and told her we should go to another store to look for a horn, because she's never been successful at making the bells ring on her own, and I didn't want her constantly asking one of us to ring the bell for her.  But I got it down and had her try it, and sure enough, she was able to make it ring on her own.  So we bought it (after walking around the store looking at everything else, with her telling me she was going to buy this and that too--I had to expain over and over that she only had enough money to buy the bell and we weren't going to buy any of the other things).  She had 79 cents left over, after using her money and the gift card they send you for being in their birthday club. 

She said, "Where's my money?" once the cashier took it. 

I showed her the change and said, "This is what is left after we paid the man for the bell."  She was a little confused about how her paper money became coin money, but she was excited about the coins.

As we walked out of the store she saw the Winnie the Pooh ride on toy they have out in the front.  She has always wanted to ride it, but we've never let her.  She said, "Can I use my coins to ride Winnie the Pooh?"

It was her money, so I told her she could use it for whatever she wanted, and that's what she wanted.  She put in her two coins (it was 50 cents to ride it) and it started moving and playing the Winnie and Pooh theme song.  I don't think there's ever been a little girl so happy to ride that thing.  She smiled and laughed her way through the whole ride.  It was well worth the 50 cents, just to see her so happy to use her money on something she wanted so much.  And the fun continued after we got home: I put the bell on her bike and she rode down the sidewalk ringing it over and over as she rode, making up a song about a princess bell.  She is completely thrilled with it. 

So thank you, Grandpa, for making my girl so happy with her four TICKETS! 

birthday fun

Last Friday, Rachel's birthday, was a full and fun day celebrating my girl. 

-She helped me make cinnamon rolls for breakfast (helping me means actually helping for about two minutes, and licking a spoonful of whatever dough/batter/icing there is for the rest of the time I'm busy making whatever we're making "together").

-She played in her room FOREVER, and was having such a great time that I decided not to go ahead with my plan for heading to Toys R Us, and to let her play instead.

-We took a trip to the grocery store because she wanted to "help" me make the cupcakes I was planning on making during naptime, and I had run out of cupcake liners.  While we were there I got her a princess birthday balloon, which she then carried with glee all around the store.

-She "helped" me make cupcakes (just as much as she helped me make cinnamon rolls).

-We headed to Red Robin for lunch with friends to celebrate the birthday girl.  She was so psyched for the waiters to sing "Happy Birthday" to her (she remembered it from last year), but this was the look on her face when they did:

because it wasn't the regular "Happy Birthday" song, but their own version.  The first thing she said after they left was, "I fink that was a wittle bit diff-went."  But she had a great time sharing her ice cream with her friends:

-During her nap, Grandma and Grandpa arrived.  When she came downstairs after her nap she spied a big box of presents they had brought with them.  Daddy had just gotten home from work, so she opened the presents, along with a couple from us (we saved most of them until her party the following day).

-She got to choose what she wanted for dinner.  She said mac and cheese, but as soon as we got to the restaurant she changed her mind to pancakes.  When they learned it was her birthday they put extra whipped cream on her pancakes.  What a lucky girl!

-We came home and sang happy birthday to her and she blew out the candles on her cupcakes.  She loved it all.

-She got to stay up late and play some of the games Grandma and Grandpa had given her: Cootie and Hi-Ho-Cherry-O.  It was a happy day.


Saturday morning she woke up and said, "Mommy, you're supposed to tell me Happy Birthday!"  I told her it wasn't her birthday today, but it was her party day.  She was satisfied with that and couldn't wait.

Grandma, Rachel, and Mommy went to the store to pick up her cake.  She was so excited to come home and put the princesses on it (she got the princesses the day before as a birthday present, and I told her they were for putting on her cake for the party).

The party began a little before lunchtime.  The kids (Rachel and five of her cousins) played outside for as long as possible before coming in for pizza).

After lunch and more playing Rachel opened her presents.  It was such a beautiful day that she opened them outside.  She was thrilled with everything.  Her favorite was Tiana's blue dress (third picture below).  She'd been wanting it and talking about it forever.

We were most excited to give her the big girl bike.  She'd been talking about wanting one for quite awhile and we were sure she'd be thrilled with it.  But as soon as she saw it she burst into tears and said, "But I want to ride my old bike!"  We don't understand what that was about, because she soon cheered up and was excited about riding her new bike, but it kind of put a damper on our excitement of giving her the bike.  Not to mention the damper of me pinching her chin in the strap of her bike helmet, causing her to start crying all over again (and me crying too because I felt so bad for hurting her....and because I'm pretty much an emotional, hormonal wreck at this point in pregnancy!)

While everyone else was playing outside some more, she wanted to play inside so she could wear her new Tiana dress.  We told her she could try it on and show everyone.....but then she played outside some more, without the dress.

Finally it was time for cake.  She loved having everyone sing to her and laughed the entire time.

She had a great birthday.  I can't believe my little girl is four.


(And for those of you who are wondering....34 weeks down, and only 6 weeks left!  This baby is coming SOON!!!!)

my sweet girl

I'm working on a post about her birthday weekend, but it's taking awhile because of the all of the pictures.

In the meantime, enjoy the picture I had taken of her this morning.

four!

My sweet birthday girl,

Where has the time gone?  Didn't you just look like this yesterday???

Last week I read this letter I wrote to you last year on your birthday, and I thought to myself that so much of it still applies this year.  In many ways, you haven't changed a lot since then.  And yet, you're so much more grown up this year at age four than you were at age three. 

*You still love playing outside, but this year you are so much more independent in your playing.  You climb up and down on the playset with such confidence, can swing by yourself (though you'd rather have Mommy or Daddy push you higher!), and ride your tricycle up and down the sidewalk as fast as can be while Mommy or Daddy watch, instead of walking alongside you (this year you're getting a big girl bike for your birthday, and I can't wait to see your face light up when you ride it up and down the sidewalk instead!).

*You're still a chatterbox!  You say the funniest things and make Daddy and me laugh all the time.  

*You're still a princess fanatic--probably even more than you were a year ago.  Your favorites change from day to day, but you're completely in love with Tiana and The Princess and the Frog at the moment.  Your love of Thomas isn't quite what it used to be, though you still enjoy playing with your train table every few days.  But you'd much rather play princess or a game or color pictures these days.

*You still love letters, and this year you've learned to write your name.  Just the other day you asked me, "Mommy, what letters spell dog?"  I said, "Why don't you tell me?"  So you said the sounds, "d...d....d.....o....o....o....g...g...g."  So I asked you what letters those were, and you told me, "D....O....G!"  You're well on your way to being a reader.  You're also counting much better than you were a year ago.  You can count up to 14 without any mistakes, but have a little trouble getting from 14 to 20, but you're learning quickly. 

*You are such a social little girl, and love people.  You ask me almost every day, "Where are we going today, Mommy?" because you're so anxious to get out of the house and into the world with other people.  You love preschool, and every day when you walk in the classroom your classmates get so excited and yell, "Rachel!  You're HERE!"  You love them, and they love you.  Every couple of days you say, "Mommy, I have to tell you something."  When I ask what you need to tell me, you say, "I like everybody!"  And it's so true!


This past year has been a hard one for your Mommy, but you've taken it all in stride and become a much more independent little girl because of it.  You help Mommy whenever you can and are such a good girl.  You're also such a happy girl--enthusiastic and excited about every day.  You fill my days with such joy and laughter.

This next year has some very big changes in store, and though you're super excited about being a big sister soon, I know you really have no clue just how much this little sister will change your little world!  In the past week or so it's just started to hit me that these are the last weeks I'll have with just you and me, and I've been sad and nostalgic about it, trying to savor every last bit of it.  For the last four years my life has been almost completely about caring for, playing with, and teaching YOU, and in just a few short weeks, that will all change.  I know that I'll still do all of those things, but now I'll have to figure out how to do all of those things plus care for, play with, and teach your little sister, too!  And unfortunately, out of necessity, her needs will have to take prescedence over yours sometimes, and that will likely leave you disappointed and sad at times.  I hate the thought of making you feel that way and don't want any of this to change who you are.  But I know that with time we'll all figure it out together.  That's why I'm so glad you've become so independent in the last year--putting your clothes on, going potty by yourself, washing yourself in the bathtub, cleaning up after yourself (sometimes!), and on and on.  You're such a big girl and a cheerful helper, and I know that you'll be a huge help to Mommy in caring for your little sister.

I can't wait to watch you become a big sister, and know this will be a year full of both joy and change for all of us. 

I love you,  my sweet four year old.  Happy, happy birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Easter pictures

Her first time dying easter eggs was a great success.  She loved it!

Easter Morning

She got a princess kite in her Easter basket.  We went to the park to fly it.  She was ecstatic.  The wind was perfect and she even got to fly it all by herself part of the time.  It was a beautiful day.

We had an easter egg hunt in our backyard for her after she woke up from her nap.  She had a great time.

SPRING!!!

Actually, it's been more like summer the last few days.  A record of 81 degrees Thursday, and yesterday it was 85!  I broke out the few items of maternity capris, shorts, and short sleeved shirts I have, and it's exciting to have something different to wear, after wearing the same four pairs of pants and seven or eight shirts for the last several months, even if it IS maternity clothes!  (I actually have a ton of summer stuff that generous friends have given or loaned to me, but sadly, most of them don't fit, so I'm pretty limited in what works).  I'm not complaining....I'm still excited to have different clothes to wear, and especially for the beautiful, warmer weather that allows me to wear them!

So with the warm weather means LOTS of playing outside.  To say Rachel loves playing outside is a huge understatement.  She'd rather play outside than do just about anything, I think.  We've been outside every possible moment these last few days.  She comes in for her bath at night dirty and scraped up and oh so happy!  What does she do outside all day?  Bike riding, swinging, sliding, climbing, soccer ball kicking, bubble blowing, leaf raking (we have a big oak tree which sheds its leaves in the spring, so she and Daddy have been raking those up this week), rock collecting, cloud gazing, pirate pretending, t-ball hitting....and we haven't even broken open the sand box yet!  She's having a great time.

I'm FINALLY feeling better this week and have been able to be out and enjoying it, too, though I'm reaching the uncomfortable pregnancy stage of waddling and feeling like my skin just can't possibly stretch anymore, especially in the evening, after being up and around all day long.  How can it stretch for 8 more weeks?  I can't imagine.

Today was a busy day....my brother's neighborhood has a monsterous Easter egg hunt every year, and I took Rachel up this morning again (she went last year, too).  She had a great time collecting eggs and playing with her cousins.

Then I had a baby shower to go to (not for me....for a friend who is due a week before I am).


After dinner we colored Easter eggs. It was Rachel's first time, since Easter has always been right around her birthday and coloring eggs has always kind of gotten lost in the shuffle. I only boiled six eggs because I knew we wouldn't eat very many, but she had a great time (pictures in another post...they're on a different camera and haven't been downloaded yet)

And while she's up in the bathtub right now, the Easter Bunny just stopped by and put her Easter basket together!  She'll be an excited girl tomorrow morning.