Hayride
Monday, September 20, 2010
picnicking
Yesterday was our church's fall picnic. It's a huge affair with tons of people and things to do. Tons of food, too, but we didn't get over to eat until almost all of it was gone or really picked over. :(
Hayride
Pumpkin decorating
Cotton Candy
Face painting
Pony ride!
Hayride
Sunday, September 19, 2010
swinging
4:30ish-7:00 is the roughest time of the day at our house. Rebecca wakes up from a quick cat nap during this time and then is pretty fussy until she goes to bed at 7:00. We try lots of things to try and pass the time with her. Yesterday we tried this for the first time.
She didn't smile, but she didn't fuss, either, so it must not have been too bad for her!
Not to be outdone, her sister also wanted to join in on the fun.
She didn't smile, but she didn't fuss, either, so it must not have been too bad for her!
Not to be outdone, her sister also wanted to join in on the fun.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
no news is good news
I haven't written much lately because I don't have a lot to write about, but things are just fine. Rachel's loving school. Her favorite thing is that they have show and tell on Fridays--she didn't have it last year and she loves figuring out what to take. Her teacher tells them whatever they bring in has to start with the letter of the week, so the first week was F, and she chose to take in her kissing frogs. The next week was M and she chose (after much deliberating) to take a movie...Mary Poppins. This week is B, and she immediately knew she wanted to take one of her Care Bears--her current obsession.
My favorite thing is that on Fridays we get a paper that tells us what they learned about that week. We never got anything like that last year, and I feel much more informed this year. It's hard to get much out of Rachel or to always understand correctly what she's trying to tell me.
My least favorite thing is trying to fit Rebecca's morning nap around taking and picking up Rachel. She is often ready to go back to bed around 8:15 or 8:30, but I have to keep her up until a little after 9 when we finally get home from taking Rachel. That often means 30-45 minutes of fussing and crying from a sleepy girl, or she'll catch a brief nap in the car on the way there or back, and then get mad when I put her down for real in bed. I wish there was a way around it, but oh well. I think that's the lot of the second child. I was a stickler for making sure Rachel's naps were at home and in bed, but that can't be the case with Rebecca, because our life is busier now and we're often on the go in the mornings.
I think Rebecca's been going through yet another growth spurt, because she's been eating a TON the last several days and sleeping really badly. But what's happened in the past during a growth spurt is a few rough days and then a few days of really good sleep, so I'm hoping those days of good sleep are not far away!
Rachel's current favorite things are Care Bears (she's seriously obsessed!!), listening to stories on CD (I've reserved a million at the library in the last few weeks!), and doing puzzles with Mommy. She's always loved puzzles, and is good at them, but she goes through phases with them. Sometimes she doesn't want to do them at all, but right now she wants to do them all the time, but she wants me to help her--even though she can do them herself. She's now doing around 65 piece puzzles. I don't think it'll be long before she's ready for the 100 pieces. She has a hard time doing the edges, though--she'd much rather do the center part, so I often put the outside edges together and she does the inside. I always thought the edges were the easy part!
And the books on CDs are the greatest invention ever. She plays in her room for an hour at a time sometimes, just listening to them over and over while she plays. I think she likes them because they keep her company. She doesn't like being by herself for long, otherwise.
Rebecca's current "favorite" things, if you can call them that, are her hands. She chews and chews and chews on them. I can see some little teeth below the surface on the bottom of her gums, so we'll see how long it'll take for them to poke through. She's been drooling like crazy for about three weeks or so. She's now able to grab her toys that hang down. She still hasn't been able to grab her feet, though she likes to stare at them when she's sitting up on my lap.
Last week Rebecca went to the physical therapist for an evaluation about her feet (and the fact that they turn in so much). She said we'll keep an eye on them (I'm supposed to call her next month to tell her how they're looking, and then go in again at 6 months and 9 months), but we don't need to do any therapy right now. I also found out that I'm quite delinquent in giving her "tummy time." The therapist told me she's supposed to be on her tummy for around 4 hours a day by now. WHAT????? She's hardly even awake 4 hours a day! Needless to say, she's not on her tummy even close to that much (unless you count the hours she spends sleeping on her tummy....but shhhhhh... I didn't tell you that, because she's not supposed to be sleeping on her tummy!), but I have tried to be better about making sure she gets some more playtime on her tummy as well.
And that's what's going on in my neck of the woods.
My favorite thing is that on Fridays we get a paper that tells us what they learned about that week. We never got anything like that last year, and I feel much more informed this year. It's hard to get much out of Rachel or to always understand correctly what she's trying to tell me.
My least favorite thing is trying to fit Rebecca's morning nap around taking and picking up Rachel. She is often ready to go back to bed around 8:15 or 8:30, but I have to keep her up until a little after 9 when we finally get home from taking Rachel. That often means 30-45 minutes of fussing and crying from a sleepy girl, or she'll catch a brief nap in the car on the way there or back, and then get mad when I put her down for real in bed. I wish there was a way around it, but oh well. I think that's the lot of the second child. I was a stickler for making sure Rachel's naps were at home and in bed, but that can't be the case with Rebecca, because our life is busier now and we're often on the go in the mornings.
I think Rebecca's been going through yet another growth spurt, because she's been eating a TON the last several days and sleeping really badly. But what's happened in the past during a growth spurt is a few rough days and then a few days of really good sleep, so I'm hoping those days of good sleep are not far away!
Rachel's current favorite things are Care Bears (she's seriously obsessed!!), listening to stories on CD (I've reserved a million at the library in the last few weeks!), and doing puzzles with Mommy. She's always loved puzzles, and is good at them, but she goes through phases with them. Sometimes she doesn't want to do them at all, but right now she wants to do them all the time, but she wants me to help her--even though she can do them herself. She's now doing around 65 piece puzzles. I don't think it'll be long before she's ready for the 100 pieces. She has a hard time doing the edges, though--she'd much rather do the center part, so I often put the outside edges together and she does the inside. I always thought the edges were the easy part!
And the books on CDs are the greatest invention ever. She plays in her room for an hour at a time sometimes, just listening to them over and over while she plays. I think she likes them because they keep her company. She doesn't like being by herself for long, otherwise.
Rebecca's current "favorite" things, if you can call them that, are her hands. She chews and chews and chews on them. I can see some little teeth below the surface on the bottom of her gums, so we'll see how long it'll take for them to poke through. She's been drooling like crazy for about three weeks or so. She's now able to grab her toys that hang down. She still hasn't been able to grab her feet, though she likes to stare at them when she's sitting up on my lap.
Last week Rebecca went to the physical therapist for an evaluation about her feet (and the fact that they turn in so much). She said we'll keep an eye on them (I'm supposed to call her next month to tell her how they're looking, and then go in again at 6 months and 9 months), but we don't need to do any therapy right now. I also found out that I'm quite delinquent in giving her "tummy time." The therapist told me she's supposed to be on her tummy for around 4 hours a day by now. WHAT????? She's hardly even awake 4 hours a day! Needless to say, she's not on her tummy even close to that much (unless you count the hours she spends sleeping on her tummy....but shhhhhh... I didn't tell you that, because she's not supposed to be sleeping on her tummy!), but I have tried to be better about making sure she gets some more playtime on her tummy as well.
And that's what's going on in my neck of the woods.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Thursday, September 02, 2010
'Rachel-y'
My husband has been in Peru since Saturday, so Grandma has been here helping out. (She left this morning to go see my brother and his wife, but she'll be back in a couple of days to help some more, so I'm only a single mom for a day and a half or so, thankfully!). The other night my dad called to talk to my mom and he must've asked, "How's Rachel?" My mom's answer: "Very Rachel-y!"
So what does Rachel-y mean?
*talking non-stop from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep
*boundless energy--running, skipping, or dancing from room to room all day long--the girl is in perpetual motion!
*endless enthusiasm and a zest for life like none I've ever seen!
*constant talk about princesses and Care Bears (her current passion)
*imaginative stories and role-playing
*talking with her hands, using signature 'Rachel-isms' in her speech
And here's a new Rachel-ism to add to the collection....tonight she was across the room from me and she said, "Mommy, I'm going to blow tickles at you!" So instead of blowing me kisses, she was blowing me tickles, and I had to laugh when the tickles reached me. What an imagination!
I said to my mom the other night after she coined the word, 'Rachel-y,' "I wonder what we'll consider to be 'Rebecca-y' in a couple of years!?"
So what does Rachel-y mean?
*talking non-stop from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep
*boundless energy--running, skipping, or dancing from room to room all day long--the girl is in perpetual motion!
*endless enthusiasm and a zest for life like none I've ever seen!
*constant talk about princesses and Care Bears (her current passion)
*imaginative stories and role-playing
*talking with her hands, using signature 'Rachel-isms' in her speech
And here's a new Rachel-ism to add to the collection....tonight she was across the room from me and she said, "Mommy, I'm going to blow tickles at you!" So instead of blowing me kisses, she was blowing me tickles, and I had to laugh when the tickles reached me. What an imagination!
I said to my mom the other night after she coined the word, 'Rachel-y,' "I wonder what we'll consider to be 'Rebecca-y' in a couple of years!?"
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
say cheese!
We had Rebecca's three month pictures taken today. She wasn't very cooperative AT ALL! She wouldn't smile (though she was FULL of smiles at home before we left!) and she kept chewing on her hands, so I was constantly pulling them down away from her face so the photographer could take her picture. Rachel wore this same lavender dress in her three month pictures.
Rachel was thrilled when it was her turn to join in the fun. She looked great in all of them, but Rebecca wasn't smiling in a single one. Oh well. She's still my cute baby girl!
I love my sweet girls!
Rachel was thrilled when it was her turn to join in the fun. She looked great in all of them, but Rebecca wasn't smiling in a single one. Oh well. She's still my cute baby girl!
Friday, August 27, 2010
three months
But, because she's not a newborn anymore, she's sleeping through the night! (At least for the last three nights--7pm-ish until 5:30am-ish...with a "dream feed" at 10 pm, where I feed her in her sleep.)
So here's my smiley girl at three months old.
Oh, how I love my sweet girl!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
first day back
She was thrilled (and not shy at all this time when she walked in!).
It sounds like it was a great day and the year is off to a good start.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
the lake
Grandma and Grandpa live near Lake Erie. One night after dinner Rachel got to go to Lake Erie with Grandma and Grandpa (Rebecca and I stayed home because she was alternating fussing and sleeping). Rachel had a great time!
One of the days we went to a children's resale store. They had a ton of halloween costumes out. One of the things I found while looking through them was a Mulan outfit. Rachel loves the movie, Mulan, and goes through periods of obsessions with all of the various princesses, including Mulan. Mulan's dress isn't one you can find in the stores--I've only seen it at the Disney Store once, and it cost a small fortune. Well, Grandma bought it for her that day at a fraction of the cost, and Rachel couldn't have been happier! (She's decided that she doesn't want to be a vet or an astronaut or a teacher anymore when she grows up. She wants to be a Chinese Princess and live in China.)
Here's our Chinese Princess.
One of the days we went to a children's resale store. They had a ton of halloween costumes out. One of the things I found while looking through them was a Mulan outfit. Rachel loves the movie, Mulan, and goes through periods of obsessions with all of the various princesses, including Mulan. Mulan's dress isn't one you can find in the stores--I've only seen it at the Disney Store once, and it cost a small fortune. Well, Grandma bought it for her that day at a fraction of the cost, and Rachel couldn't have been happier! (She's decided that she doesn't want to be a vet or an astronaut or a teacher anymore when she grows up. She wants to be a Chinese Princess and live in China.)
Here's our Chinese Princess.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
home sweet home
We're back! Grandma's house was lots of fun, but it's also nice to be home. My husband is home this week and then he leaves again on Saturday for a missions trip to Peru. What a world traveler, huh? This time Grandma is coming to us to help! :)
Rachel starts school on Wednesday! I can't believe the summer is over, but I'm rather glad it is, to tell you the truth. It's been a summer of very little structure, since our sweet Rebecca came along and flipped our routine upside down! I'm looking forward to getting into a new routine and figuring out how to make all of this work. I gave myself a little break this summer from figuring out a routine, since it was pretty impossible with a newborn, but she's kind of falling into a sort of routine now, so I'm excited about having some structure to our life again. I don't quite know how I'm going to get us all out of the house on Wednesday morning by 8:40 with breakfasts eaten and clothes on, but somehow I know I'll manage and it will get easier as the days go on. This year she'll be in school three days a week instead of two. She can't wait to go back and I'm looking forward to it, too. She needs the social interaction (and I need the quiet!). I'm excited about hopefully getting some things done on those mornings while Rebecca is napping (now here's hoping that she takes some good naps!).
Tonight we went to the "Meet the Teacher" night. Her teacher, Ms. Lesa, is the mother of a student I had for two years when I taught at the school. I loved Courtney, her daughter, and had a good relationship with Ms. Lesa as well. I'm happy that I know her and feel comfortable with her, and hope that Rachel has a great year in her class. On the way there Rachel told us all kinds of things she was going to tell her teacher, but as soon as we walked in, she was shy and wouldn't say a word. She warmed up a little bit as time went on, and eventually started talking to Ms. Lesa a little bit. I'm sure by next week Rachel will be talking her ear off! I'm just hoping that she learns to be quiet when it's time to listen!!
I'll try and post some more pictures from Grandma's house later this week.
Rachel starts school on Wednesday! I can't believe the summer is over, but I'm rather glad it is, to tell you the truth. It's been a summer of very little structure, since our sweet Rebecca came along and flipped our routine upside down! I'm looking forward to getting into a new routine and figuring out how to make all of this work. I gave myself a little break this summer from figuring out a routine, since it was pretty impossible with a newborn, but she's kind of falling into a sort of routine now, so I'm excited about having some structure to our life again. I don't quite know how I'm going to get us all out of the house on Wednesday morning by 8:40 with breakfasts eaten and clothes on, but somehow I know I'll manage and it will get easier as the days go on. This year she'll be in school three days a week instead of two. She can't wait to go back and I'm looking forward to it, too. She needs the social interaction (and I need the quiet!). I'm excited about hopefully getting some things done on those mornings while Rebecca is napping (now here's hoping that she takes some good naps!).
Tonight we went to the "Meet the Teacher" night. Her teacher, Ms. Lesa, is the mother of a student I had for two years when I taught at the school. I loved Courtney, her daughter, and had a good relationship with Ms. Lesa as well. I'm happy that I know her and feel comfortable with her, and hope that Rachel has a great year in her class. On the way there Rachel told us all kinds of things she was going to tell her teacher, but as soon as we walked in, she was shy and wouldn't say a word. She warmed up a little bit as time went on, and eventually started talking to Ms. Lesa a little bit. I'm sure by next week Rachel will be talking her ear off! I'm just hoping that she learns to be quiet when it's time to listen!!
I'll try and post some more pictures from Grandma's house later this week.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
fun at Grandma's
This week Daddy is in California climbing a mountain. The girls and I packed up and moved to Grandma's house for a week. Rachel's having the time of her life and Rebecca is her usual "cute-but-not-a-good-napper" self. And I'm getting some extra sleep because Grandma is getting up with her at 3:30 or 4 AM when she wakes up. (Unfortunately Rachel has been waking up a lot, so I'm still not sleeping all night, but I'm appreciative of the extra sleep!!)
Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to here....
New Dress Up Clothes!
Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to here....
New Dress Up Clothes!
Swimming!!
Little Sister watching the little swimmer....
Little Sister taking a bath in the SINK! (look at those ROLLS!!)
Science Museum! (She had a BLAST!--the firetruck was her favorite, can you tell?)
And my first attempt at a video....I've never had success inserting them before.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
school
Rachel was playing school....here's her class.
Where else can you find a cowboy, princess, sheep, wonder pet, several bears, and a cricket all in the same class?
Sunday, August 08, 2010
a Rachel update
So I haven't written much about Rachel lately. Here's what she has been up to as of late....
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
...and then talking some more. Every so often she takes a breath. She doesn't stop to eat (we have the same conversation at dinner every night: "Rachel, you need to stop talking and eat your food!") or even to use the bathroom ("Rachel, you need to stop talking and go potty."). Is this my child??? Anyone who knows me well knows I'm often about as quiet as they come. I guess maybe she took it upon herself to fill in the silence. There is no longer ANY silence in our house!
I guess she talked this much before Rebecca was born....I just didn't notice because she was the only one I had to pay attention to. Now that my attention is divided, I find her talking to be just too much to take in sometimes.
She's been obsessed lately with listening to stories on the CD player in her room. It all started with this:
A friend of mine sent her one of these Tag Reading Systems. She LOVES listening to the stories (she now has four of the Tag books and listens to them over and over). Then another friend of mine sent her this:
She sent both the book and the CD. So Rachel started listening and following along--over and over and over! So the last time we were at the library, I looked for some books on CDs. I found the Bearenstain Bear stories and she's spent countless hours up in her room this past week listening to those stories over and over again. Since she's enjoying it so much, my next quest is to find a chapter book to read aloud to her--I'm thinking of starting with Stuart Little. I looked up books to read aloud to preschoolers and that was one I found listed in a couple of places. Anyone else have any other suggestions?
Rachel is a character with an imagination that runs wild. She pretends and pretends and pretends all day long. Lately she's been playing a lot with her dolls and stuffed animals. She's particularly taken with her Care Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear. She goes almost everywhere with us (and then sits in the car while we're in the store or wherever it is we've gone). She and Love-A-Lot Bear (and sometimes her other dolls and animals) play school, doctor, babies, princess, and all sorts of things together.
I love my crazy girl.
(And her little sister!...who is the one who is REALLY supposed to be sitting in that chair!)
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
talkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalkingtalking
...and then talking some more. Every so often she takes a breath. She doesn't stop to eat (we have the same conversation at dinner every night: "Rachel, you need to stop talking and eat your food!") or even to use the bathroom ("Rachel, you need to stop talking and go potty."). Is this my child??? Anyone who knows me well knows I'm often about as quiet as they come. I guess maybe she took it upon herself to fill in the silence. There is no longer ANY silence in our house!
I guess she talked this much before Rebecca was born....I just didn't notice because she was the only one I had to pay attention to. Now that my attention is divided, I find her talking to be just too much to take in sometimes.
She's been obsessed lately with listening to stories on the CD player in her room. It all started with this:
A friend of mine sent her one of these Tag Reading Systems. She LOVES listening to the stories (she now has four of the Tag books and listens to them over and over). Then another friend of mine sent her this:
She sent both the book and the CD. So Rachel started listening and following along--over and over and over! So the last time we were at the library, I looked for some books on CDs. I found the Bearenstain Bear stories and she's spent countless hours up in her room this past week listening to those stories over and over again. Since she's enjoying it so much, my next quest is to find a chapter book to read aloud to her--I'm thinking of starting with Stuart Little. I looked up books to read aloud to preschoolers and that was one I found listed in a couple of places. Anyone else have any other suggestions?
Rachel is a character with an imagination that runs wild. She pretends and pretends and pretends all day long. Lately she's been playing a lot with her dolls and stuffed animals. She's particularly taken with her Care Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear. She goes almost everywhere with us (and then sits in the car while we're in the store or wherever it is we've gone). She and Love-A-Lot Bear (and sometimes her other dolls and animals) play school, doctor, babies, princess, and all sorts of things together.
I love my crazy girl.
(And her little sister!...who is the one who is REALLY supposed to be sitting in that chair!)
Friday, August 06, 2010
finally!
I told you she could smile....and now I finally have photographic evidence! (Along with evidence of why the doctor said she should be eating less....look at those cheeks and double chin!)
Enjoy my smiley girl!!
Enjoy my smiley girl!!
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