at le beach

We've had a busy few days getting ready for our beach trip. We arrived late Monday night, and Rachel got to experience the beach for the first time Tuesday morning! Of course, she loved it. She enjoyed the breeze, she waved at everyone who strolled past, and she walked right into the ocean. She has agreed to wear a hat every time we've gone out, and she doesn't even seem to mind when we turn her around and redirect her away from the water. She finds tiny seashells to hold tightly in her hand, and she just walks and walks and walks. Her hat makes her have tunnel vision, but she doesn't care. Jarrad's whole family is here, so there are lots of eyes and hands to help with Rachel, which makes it almost like a real vacation for a mommy! It's so much fun watching Rachel discover new things, and there's a lot of new discoveries for her here.

Progress Report

As usual, Rachel did really well our first day here. She hardly used any diapers (2 I think), and she didn't fuss when we wanted her to sit on the potty. Today, it's back to the same potty struggle. She's even made a habit of not going poopy on the potty sometimes! She's been doing so well with that for more than 3 months, so I don't know what is going on. I can tell you this, though: it's frustrating.

cute moment

NaNa made this little shirt for Aunt Mamber, who wore it at the beach when she was about Rachel age (Rachel's birthday is just 4 days after Aunt Mamber's!). Since GiGi already had a picture of Aunt Mamber on the beach, she decided to take a picture of Rachel in the same shirt, and then a picture of Aunt Mamber with Rachel. Won't that be cute in a frame?

non-toy toy of the day

I was sure that her non-toy toy here at the beach would be seashells. But I'm afraid there's a non-toy toy that will always take the prize: shoes. Thanks to PopPop for showing her how to "wear" shoes like this.