know when to walk away

I think we've found Rachel's magic bedtime! I shouldn't make such claims yet, though, because it's only been three days. Rachel went to bed at 8:25pm Friday night and woke up at 7:00am Saturday. She was in bed at 8:30pm Saturday night and woke up at 7:30am Sunday. She missed her morning nap because of church, and her afternoon nap only lasted 1.5 hours, so I didn't feel bad putting her to bed at 7:30pm Sunday night. Our sleep was interrupted this morning because our really old smoke alarm, which is stationed just outside Rachel's bedroom door, malfunctioned at 5:30am. It scared Rachel--she was screaming and shaking, so confused. I held her tight and rocked her while Jarrad cut the wires to make the terrible horn-like noise stop. As I rocked her, she collapsed her head on my shoulder and went right back to sleep once the alarm was disengaged (she never lets me rock her to sleep anymore!). I put her back in her crib and she slept until 8:10am! I got up and did a few things before she even woke up. It was almost 9:00am when we ate breakfast. It felt like vacation! I wasn't sure if I should even try to put her down for a morning nap, but she started acting tired, so I put her down to sleep at 10:00am. By the afternoon, she was almost back on her normal schedule, though her afternoon nap was only 1 hour. She was in bed at 8:15pm tonight, so we'll see if the trend continues.

We've had a lot of visitors in the last few days. We saw MiMi and Poppy on Friday, GiGi on Saturday, our friends Nick & Stacie Saturday night, our church Community group came over Sunday night, and my friend Shawna (pic) came over this afternoon.

Progress Report

I thought I was giving her too much credit at first, but Rachel has definitely learned that she can use this potty stuff to manipulate me. Let's just say she knows when to hold 'em, knows when to fold 'em.

On a happy note, Rachel actually used her "On-the-Go" potty when we were at the mall this afternoon. Her diaper was dry when we got home! I was so proud, and she seemed to be too. Maybe I should use that potty when we're home, too.

cute moment

Rachel gets so silly right before bedtime. Last night and tonight, she was really giggly, so, when I carried her to the crib, she arched her back into a little backbend and laughed. She started this a few days ago--for whatever reason, she arched her back when I was holding her, and I responded by saying, "WOOOOOOAH, Rubber Band!" She thought that was funny, so it's our newest game. It's especially funny to her at bedtime, and the best part is that she stretches out her little neck, making it so kissable. It must be a ticklish spot because she laughs and laughs. And I put her in her crib, and she falls right to sleep. Good baby!

Here's a video we took tonight at dinner. Rachel had been playing peek-a-boo, but we couldn't convince her to do it for the camera. She thought we were pretty funny trying, though. At the end of the video, she says "bib." This is also how she says "shoes." I think it is so...creative I guess...and cute. Ha!

non-toy toy of the day

Friday afternoon, we met MiMi & Poppy at the mall, and MiMi really wanted to buy Rachel some shoes (her sandals are almost too small!). We figured out that the smallest Crocs fit her now, so we went all over the mall looking for a pair. We couldn't find any! So today, I took Rachel to a different mall and bought her some Cotton Candy colored size 4/5 Crocs! They are too cute, and Rachel is extremely excited. She played with her new "toy" until bedtime.