big move

I tried to move Rachel to a big bed tonight. We've been prepping her new room for a week and a half, and after her nap today, she and I moved her toys and clothes, and played there for most of the afternoon. I've been talking it up, and she seemed excited.

But she's happily asleep in her crib now, after a brief attempt at the big bed. She changed her mind quickly when I got up to leave her there, and she didn't even stay long enough for me to make it out of the room. Poor, abandoned Rachel. I felt horrible for even trying, because she seemed pretty shaken up by the whole experiece.

Oh well...I guess we'll revisit this idea in a few more weeks.

rachel 2.0

Today is our big girl's birthday! It's hard to believe how fast these last 2 years have gone by, and it's even harder to remember what our lives were like before our first pride and joy showed up. She has changed our lives in so many wonderful ways that we couldn't have predicted...we've even said we wish we would have started having kids sooner. I would not trade my current job for any job in the world!

For milestone-marking purposes, here's a list of a few of Rachel's best tricks and catch phrases:

• thinks she can reach anything if she stands on her step stool
• ends most phrases with "oooKAY?"
• finds "buggies" everywhere, and walks us through the process of disposing of each bug (even those that end up being a little piece of fuzz)
• enjoys being copied ("do dis, Mommy, do dis.")
• has a great imagination (yesterday, she made a train with her blocks, and it went through a tunnel I had made, which I intended to be a house)
• with a damp cloth, she will clean everything
• loves to "wash" dishes
• helps with laundry, including folding
• has finally grown hair long enough for a tiny sprig-like pony-tail, which she has suddenly deemed a necessity, driving her to tears when it comes out
• suddenly enjoys testing limits, including, but not limited to, grabbing at faces and hitting
• is quite good at jumping, a skill she has been perfecting for several months
• pulls out all the stops to show off for familiar friends and family, leaving her hyper for the rest of the day
• definitely favors her left hand. the world will seem so backward to her.
• appreciates chit chat--i often get this request (especially in the car), "Mommy, talk."

I may add more later, as things come to me. Rachel's big birthday bash is Saturday afternoon, with just the family. I am excited for her!!

ponytails, sprinklers, foam houses, and school

Rachel's hair is really getting long[ish] now! At least, it's long enough for her to complain when it drapes into her eyes. She has even requested a bow once or twice! A couple times this week, I was able to convince her to let me put her hair in a little ponytail, right on top of her head (it's the only option so far). We never made it out anywhere with the ponytail, but she wore it around the house for as much as an hour at a time before yanking it out. Progress, still!

It's been so so so hot this week that we haven't wanted to venture outside much (well, I haven't wanted to, but Rachel probably wouldn't have minded). Our [new] grass is even beginning to turn brown, so Jarrad hooked up the sprinkler yesterday. for some excitement, we slipped on Rachel's swimsuit and sunhat, slathered her with sunblock, and headed outside to enjoy the fun. Rachel couldn't decide how she felt. She mostly wanted to be held, so I ran with her through the sprinkler several times, and then Daddy did the same. She did walk around by herself some, but it was usually short-lived. She went back and forth from squealing with delight to saying, "no no no water, no water." Such fun!

non-toy toy of the day

Jarrad bought some new doors for our laundry room area, and Rachel loved playing with the big pieces of foam packaging. Her favorite was when we propped it up like a little tent, with the tissue paper from the box draped on top to add to her privacy. What fun!

first homeschool project

I am really looking forward to teaching my children, whether we ended up choosing to homeschool or not. I think I would LOVE to homeschool, though. Here Rachel's first 'official' project. We worked on this collage together. We flipped through magazines, and Rachel told me which pictures to cut. We then gathered all the little pictures, and she told me where to glue them on the paper (with a little guidance from me). When we were all finished, she was SO proud! She kept saying, "Daddy love it." I told her we were making it so Daddy could hang it up at work, but she wouldn't give it to him. She was excited to show him, but she would not let it out of her sight. She likes it to hang on our dishwasher (our fridge doesn't take magnets). I'll have to admit, I was pretty proud too.

silly little one

Rachel (pointing to Mommy's shirt and pants): Change clothes.

Mommy: No, Rachel. Mommy isn't going to change clothes.

Rachel: Mm hmm. Change clothes. Mommy change clothes.

Mommy: No, Rachel. I'm not going to change clothes right now.

Rachel licks Mommy's shirt.

Rachel (pointing to wet spot on shirt): Mommy change clothes.

mountain oasis

Jarrad and I were invited to a wedding over the weekend, which was conveniently located just minutes from PopPop and Uma's house. We had a lovely couple of days. Rachel ran PopPop and Uma ragged, and, likewise, Rachel was run ragged, too. PopPop and Uma live in the mountains, in the most perfect spot in the best little neghborhood, with a little duck pond right in the middle and a big creek running right under their bedroom window. They've carved out a little oasis behind their home, with a deck and a small garden, and a little pebble yard. It looks like it's right out of a magazine, and it feels like a vacation every time we go.

While there, Rachel fed ducks, watered flowers, went for a ride on the paddle boat, and went to a party in PopPop and Uma's neighborhood. What fun!

non-toy toy of the day

Although PopPop and Uma have some toys they've bought for their house, and although we brought toys with us, Rachel spent most of her time playing with the box from the portable crib PopPop and Uma bought for Rachel's visit. First, it was a bed. Rachel requested a pillow and blanket, and pretended to snore, holding Sleepy Elmo and Blanky tight. Then, it made a the most wonderful house. She invited all her friends (stuffed animals) to join her, and then threw them all out again. She moved everyone in and out many times, even at times demanding that they individually ask permission to enter (she sometimes answered, "no" to their requests, to which her friends responded with dramatic crying, delighting Rachel. She picked up each one, hugged, patted its back, and declared it, "happy" before tossing it in the pile with the others). It then became an empty sandbox of sorts, when she asked to take it outside to play in the pebbles. Uma gave Rachel several containers--bowls, cups, and spoons--and Rachel had the time of her life, sitting in the box, pouring pebbles, serving pebble soup, and sipping pebble tea. Later, the box became a sliding board, and each of her friends (stuffed animals) got a turn sliding down to Uma and PopPop. Rachel cackled, and eventually convinced Uma to let her "slide" down too. By the end of our time there, the box was completely worn out, as I'm pretty sure everyone else was too.

happy mommy's day

Jarrad and I have long sworn off non-holidays like Valentine's Day, but there's something a little special about Mother's Day. I guess it's because there's just something special about a mommy. I think I have the best mommy there ever was. She taught me to take care of myself and to think for myself. She taught me to view the world through the Truth, and to filter everything--everything--through that, regardless of whatever is popular at the moment. She taught me that God doesn't change, and that I can trust in that timeless Truth, and in His son, Jesus Christ, who was the Truth, in the flesh, fulfilling the prophesies of hundreds of years before.

I pray that I can be that kind of mother to Rachel. I don't want to just love her. I don't want to just teach her to enjoy life. I don't want to just make her well-behaved. I want her to follow the Truth, and to value truth, and to live out truth in her life by trusting in Christ. I know I can't do any of this, but praise God that I can trust in Him to lead me through it, and to show me the way amidst the many mistakes I have made and will make.

I love being a mommy.

strange moment

On a less-serious note, Tia Milli came for a visit this weekend, and witnessed Rachel's wit at its best. In preparation for bedtime last night, we escorted Rachel upstairs and sat her on the potty, where she went poopy, as hoped. She looked down and commented, "poopy in there." We agreed with her. Then, Rachel got a sly grin on her face, and she said, "eat poopy." "What Rachel?" "Eat poopy!" she repeated, grinning. "Eat POOPY??? Eww Rachel!" Delighted at my reaction, she repeated her new catch phrase several times, and then she put her fingers to her mouth and made munching noises, then swallowed, and showed us her tongue, saying, "all gone." GROSS. I tried to explain to her that these are things that boys usually talk about, not us girls, but she just kept repeating, "eat poopy."

While most of Rachel's vocabulary includes imitations of my own vocabulary, I can assure you that I have never--never--said, "eat poopy." That is a Rachel original.

I love being a mommy.

cinderella

Rachel cooks.

Rachel shops. Rachel does laundry.

Rachel sorts Daddy's coupon spoils.