anecdote or two

Rachel and I have been recovering from our busy busy weekend. Suffice it to say that we've been visiting and shopping and babysitting and cooking and eating and aiding for four days straight, so it's been nice to just be home and take it easy some. Due to the busyness, my housework has also been neglected, so I've been playing catch-up on my chores, too.

cute moment

Is Rachel too young to be a smart aleck? Yesterday, I was cleaning up all her little pretend food, and I asked her several times to help me put the food in the container. Little Miss Smartie Pants danced and pranced around, giggling and procrastinating. I handed her a plastic piece of fruit and told her to put it in the bowl. She laughed and put the fruit in her mouth. She looked at me and shook her head, the fruit dangling between her teeth, and then she bent down and released it into the container. I felt compelled to say, "Don't be smart, Rachel," and then realized that she probably had no idea what I meant by that...or did she?...

Rachel and I were sharing a pear the other day, and, as I usually do, I ate off the peel and then held it in front of her so she could take a bite. On this particular day, Rachel was not interested in eating the pear. But she laughed, and then she reached out and hugged the pear to her, rocked it back and forth, and said, "baby."

Lastly, Rachel has quiet time almost every morning for 30-45 minutes, or until she seems restless and ready for some company. I put her in her crib with some stuffed animals and books, and, more recently, I've started allowing her a toy or two. The first day I let her take her puzzle and pocketbook and piggy bank, she played and played and played, perfectly content for almost an hour. Then, all of a sudden, she fell silent. Curious, I went to check on her. She looked like she fell asleep mid-motion, so of course I had to take a picture or two...

non-toy toy of the day

PopPop and Uma came by for a few minutes over the weekend, and they brought Rachel a festive singing and dancing ghost. He is pretty cute, and he's been singing and dancing almost non-stop since he arrived.