Potty Training or Potty Playing

However you want to look at it, Raychel has gone pee pee on the potty twice now!!!  I put out the potty seat 2 weeks ago and by the end of the first night she used it all by herself!  I asked her last night (2-6-10) and she said yes and went immediately after sitting down.  I am NOT going to push her or make her sit down and try unless she tells me "YES" when I ask if she needs to go.  I know she is still very young!  I am proud of her for doing it two times!  She tried to make it two other times, but Mommy was too slow in getting her there.  Her diaper told me that she just went though...so I think she is starting to figure out some things!  I am hoping to work with this summer, since I can be home with her! 

Mommy's Little Helper and Daddy's Little Sweetie!

Raychel is growing up so fast. She amazes me every day at how much she understands, what she wants to be able to do, and what she actually does! She is saying so many words now and can really communicate just about anything she wants or needs.

She LOVES to help me and spends each weeknight sitting on the kitchen counter helping me make dinner! She holds measuring cups while I fill them with liquid or dry ingredients and only dumps them when I ask her too. She stirs both hot and cold ingredients! (I use a long spoon and she holds the very end on the hot stuff and I hold her above it, so no harm is done!) She taste-tests a little of everything and whole lots of some things...cheese tops the list! She gets upset when her creation goes in the oven and she can't eat it immediately.. She says, "Awww" like she is just devastated that her hard work is disappearing.


I give her towels to clean her table, the floors, walls, or other areas with! She loves scrubbing things. We do dishes together and she puts her feet in the sink and scrapes food from pans that I have already cleaned! She also used the scrubber to clean the walls around my sink! LOL This picture was from winter break. We filled the sink up and let her play in the water. She was taste-testing the water too! We were both wet from head to toe...it was VERY FUN!

She also helps by putting her laundry in the dirty clothes basket, picking up her toys, putting everyone's trash or dirty dishes away, and cleaning up her tub toys! For some reason she thinks that trash (like paper bags or boxes) go in the hallway on the other side of the baby gate. Perhaps that is because the recycling is at the other end of the hallway, she is definitely on the right track with her choices. If the trash is food related, i.e. the wrapper from a burger then it goes in the sink! Wendy's may not keep her employed if she washes the burger wrappers and reuses them! One night Derek and I ate dinner after her and ate in the living room while she watched a show. We were done and she came to get our plates, stacked them, and carried them out to the kitchen and dropped them into the sink! Thank goodness for Corelle, no breaking involved! We find many things in the sink that she thinks need to be cleaned! her pretend dishes, random toys, and wrappers! Oh and she is better about bringing in her things from the car then I am! Yep...when she feels like it, she is quite the little helper! Other times, well....she IS just a kid! =)

It makes it fun to have a little helper around the house, however it is challenging to find what SHE can do at times! Usually she is happy with ANY little tiny thing she can do! She knows that if she wants to help, she has to listen and be good...so it certainly makes for happy and easy-going evenings!
Picture from the first snow storm. Raychel's first thought about the cold and snow was....I'M COLD, this is WEIRD, LET ME GO BACK IN! Now she loves to get her snowboots on and head outside!

She is becoming quite the little Daddy's girl! She asks about him all the time and is TRUELY ecstatic when he is home or comes home. One week I had 3 meetings on 3 different days after school, meaning Daddy picked her up from Daycare. After the first two days I told her that I would be picking her up...she said, "Dad?" and I said, "No, ME!"...she said, "Awww...." I explained that he would be home when we got there and that pleased her enough she responded with an, "Ok!". The next day, when I told her that Daddy was picking her up again...she waved her arms FRANTICALLY while yelling, YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! He is definitely the "preferred" daycare pick-up person! Perhaps that is because Daddy has done MANY fun things with her when he picks her up! Most recently he picked her up and they went sledding in the park. He brought her snow boots and hat and they went down a real hill several times! Our old daycare was closer to the house (about 3 blocks away) and he would walk to get her and pull her back in the wagon, let her drive her Go-Kart back, or just let her run back. HE IS A GREAT DADDY!!!!




Just a picture from the backyard! I wasn't there when they went down the hill! She loves to be pulled around too!

A fun week

I enjoyed a few extra days at home with Raychel. After 2 days snow days, she developed a fever associated with teething. She always runs a high fever for 2-3 days when she is teething!

By the time the weekend was over we were both more than a little ready to get out of the house! We spent Saturday shopping for Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma. I think she had fun!

Raychel as a reindeer. We tried to dress up like Santa and his reindeer. We were desperate for something "new and different" to do!

She also started kissing Mommy if she accidentally hit me. We were reading books, laying on the floor, and she reached for a book and then swung back to give it to me...hit me right in the face (OUCH!). She leaned over and kissed me...said, "uh oh! Mommy? mwahh!" Later she thought if she hit me, she could kiss me! So she would tap me on the head with a toy and then kiss me! I explained to her that she didn't have to hit Mommy to kiss Mommy! LOL She stopped hitting me and kissed me about 5 more times! She can be SOOO sweet!


She learned how to say "BOO!" We have played peek-a-boo for a LONG time, but she never tried to play back until this weekend! So fun! She covers her face with her hands or a blanket and says, "Boo" in this low, deep tone! She, of course, cracks up laughing if you pretend to be scared! Tonight, going to the grocery store, she disrupted my thinking with a "Boo" that did actually scare me and we both laughed!
I have been taping all the kids Christmas shows that usually come on when she is going to bed and we watched many of them while we were home. I am trying to help her understand what all this stuff is! She knows who Santa is now and if you ask what he says, she will say..."HO!" We may need to add in the other 2 HO's there...but too cute!

Last night I wrapped presents and put them under the tree. Boy do I wish I had a camera ready to go when she woke up! She came out and noticed the presents immediately! She stared at them, then squatted down to get a better look, and walked around the tree squatting occaisionally to get a good look! I left for a minute and she brought a present to me! She was less than thrilled when I told her she couldn't touch them! But, she hasn't touched them since! Now, when I'm taking a nap and Dad is in charge...she touches the ornaments and everything! Tee Hee....at least it was one she could touch! Note the picture below! Normally she does not mess with the tree. She closely observes the tree several times a day, walking around it about 1 foot from the tree! She is doing a great job, I just knew we would have to have a baby gate around it...but no! =)

We have a Baby Einstein video that she loves to watch. There is a reindeer puppet that pops out of the box and she was yelling, "BOO!" at it tonight. At the end of the show all the characters go to sleep as they play, Silent Night. Santa comes into the picture and puts his finger on his lips and shhhh! As we were going to bed and I was telling her goodnight, she leaned over and put her finger on her mouth and shhhhhushed ME! LOL

She has also taken an intrest in going to the potty. I really don't think she knows what to do when she gets there, but STILL! =) She has a book with baby words in it. One of the pages is about the potty. She points to it, signs "bath", and runs to the bathroom door. The sign, "bath", now means...I want to brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, and take a bath! LOL She goes in and puts the potty seat on the potty. I take off her diaper and she is happy to sit for a minute! The first time we went, she said... "POOP!" Wouldn't that be great? She hasn't done anything...but you have to start somewhere!

We have been trying to take pictures all weekend for our Christmas card! She is bound and determined to NOT smile for the camera! It took both of us to get a picture! She has a great poker face... DARN KID!! Soo cute and I can't capture it to remember it FOREVER!

New words this week....BOO, poop, HO (Ho-Ho), and farm.

December pictures...so far!

Do you like this fashion statment? These are her shiny black boots with heart-shaped lights on them.

Working on her laptop!

Our attempt to get a picture in front of the tree...she doesn't sit or stand for long.

Taking the one and only ornament off the tree that she can touch. It is a stuffed, red apple that says #1 Teacher...here she is saying, "Mine!"

Another great fashion statement!

This one is the best...no need for tights when you could just wear Daddy's socks!

Ready to go out and play in the snow!

A sled ride... it was a little scary!

November pictures

Raychel is a happy little girl! We even get to catch some of those smiles on camera once in a while! She is not a big fan of the camera!

On her shirt...chocolate! She laughed so loud she drooled it all over! LOL

This is her Princess Jeep! WAY TOO BIG for her but really cheap and she loves to climb in it!

She has to stand to drive it, but has driven it a few feet!

Raychel and JJ! He is so good to her!

Raychel playing in her new big girl style room! She has a table at her height, bean bag chairs, and pillows on the floor for comfortable reading. She loves to play in there by herself, like a big girl!

Coloring...she loves it...especially with a pen! She was on a mission to run away from me with her pen...she just knew I would take it! LOL

Coloring at Thanksgiving.

Lainie and Raychel! They scooted across this window sill until Raychel fell off the end! LOL...She got up, went to the other end, and looked at Lainie like she did something wrong! LOL Silly girl!

Raychel riding on Great Grandma D's tractor planter! She just barely fits!

We went to the airport to greet Santa. He flew into Clay Center on Black Friday.

Hi Santa....she did shake his hand...but I think she is still trying to figure out who that guy is!

Helping Dad put up the Christmas tree!

Wow...neat-o Dad!

This one is next Dad! GIVE ME THAT CAMERA!!!!!!!!!!!

Silly shots!

Halloween pictures!

After lots of searching for orange pants/duck legs, Daddy found a pair of light pink sweatpants that I dyed orange. She did NOT like the hat, but eventually decided it wasn't that bad and wore it most of the night. She LOVED collecting candy and caught onto the fun really fast! We pulled her in the wagon because we couldn't get shoes in her web feet but she walked up to all of the houses and didn't seem to mind! She did not enjoy the pumpkin carving this year. She loves playing outside and played for hours while Mommy raked the yard! It is so nice to give her a little space to explore and know that she will listen when you say stop or no....so she remains safe! =)

I have noticed...

that my posts have significantly decreased since she has been walking! LOL Maybe that is because I am chasing her everywhere and by the time she goes to bed, I'm pooped! She is running everywhere now and is MUCH taller/can reach everything...so I'm jumping even more! Oh and did I mention that she CLIMBS??? Yep, on everything! She also dives off couches...sometimes into bean bags and sometimes into end tables and onto the floor. I have managed to upload pictures to Facebook as it seems FASTER...so I hope you have kept up there!

What is happening with our little Raychel Joy? Oh my goodness, there are so many things I don't even know where to start. She is becoming this wonderful, joyful, ornery, sweet, loving, fun, and fantastic little person! Did I mention ornery? Her Daddy and I adore this little angel!

She sleeps...very well. She still takes 2 naps for a minimum of an hour and a half, but more typically 2 hours or more! Just like her Daddy there! That and she runs and moves CONSTANTLY when she is awake, so she has to recharge often!

She runs, very fast. She LOVES to be chased by Daddy and Grandmas and Grandpas! She runs around and around the island and the kitchen/dining room area. She likes to hide from you and jump out...she laughs, giggles, and shrieks the whole time. She will hide on the other side of her crib and try to crouch down low enough so you can't see her!

She climbs on everything. She throws her whole leg up, instead of her knee, on couches, chairs, table tops, and even her crib. She likes to stand on the couch, walk around, and always gives the "you caught me" look when Mommy says, "SIT DOWN!". She climbs up and down steps, on her own. She also can climb in and out of the car and her car seat.

She talks....a lot! Her favorite word, currently, is PUPPY! It all started with a puppy that she spent some time with at Thanksgiving. She likes little dogs and continually says puppy! Her day care has a small dog (puppy to her) that she plays with all day. Maybe her Mommy and Daddy will get weak and buy her a small dog to have as a companion! She also loves the word, "MINE!". She takes anything and announces to the world that it is now HERS! Oh and she also recently started with, "BOO". She has a Peek-a-Block with a chick hatching from an egg on the inside...you push the button and the egg opens further and she yells, "Boo!" Other favorites are...done, Mommy (which is usually repeated continuously), Dawn (her day care provider), up, down, on, off, cat, dog, out, go, Daddy, ooohhhh, uh huh, uh ohhh, yes, eat, all done, try again, cow, duck, and more. She has several 2-3 word phrases that she uses. She does not say, No...amazingly enough...but she does shake her head NO! =)

She is so serious. I think she is thinking all the time. She is a smart little cookie. She counts to one! She stacks blocks and puts one down and says, "One" and then looks to me to count the rest. She twists open bottles and cups, stacks things, and finds matches. She loves to play with food containers and cups. We have tea parties and make things with her pots and pans. For Christmas we are giving her my Strawberry Shortcake kitchen that I had growing up. I am sure she will LOVE playing with that!

She is also giggly. Did I mention ornery? Daddy has taught her how to lift the back of my shirt and put her cold hands on my back...which of course produces shrieking from both of us. She can be very ticklish behind her knees, armpits, collar bone, tummy, and toes. She likes to act like she is going to do something she is not supposed to do and then giggle when we tell her no or stop.

She is very good at feeding herself. She uses a fork and a spoon very well to scoop her food. Unfortunately she also likes to play with her food and if Mommy is not watching it gets dumped, launched off the high chair, or squished and swished across the room! She loves her veggies (broccoli, lima beans, and peas are among her favorites), pasta, grapes, bananas, raisens, and chocolate covered plums! She has a VERY BIG SWEET TOOTH! She loves chocolate and suckers...too much! LOL

She loves her dolly. She pushes her around in the stroller, feeds her, hugs her, kisses her, and snuggles with her. She also loves shoes and slippers. She tries to put them on herself and sometimes succeeds, but mostly brings them to me and says, "On Mom."

I could probably keep going, but I've probably bored you all by now! That is okay...I will have all the memories for later! =)

How to take care of "Doll" by Raychel and a few notes from Mom

First: Throw her into the stroller and PUSH!!!
Second: FLIP her over and OUT!

Third: Give her a hug and catch a little of your favorite show.

Third: Complain to someone about how much work this is!

Fourth: Drop the baby in the laundry basket to be washed.

\]\Fifth: Inspect baby. Sixth: Put baby in basket, so you can have some alone time.

Seventh: Take the airplane for a trip into town.

Eigth: Try on some fuzzy purple slippers.

Ninth: Try them out while you take a trip to the salon. Busy Moms need great hair too!

Tenth: Decide the left slipper is NOT for you. But the right one is quite nice.

and Finally: Watch some more of your favorite show. The baby is okay, right...afterall she is in the basket!

This whole episode took place one after another, like she was really on a "mission" to do all of these things! I wish I had the video camera charged, it would have been hilarious to share!

Raychel has quite the personality. She gets very excited about some things and extremely frustrated within seconds if something doesn't go her way. I think I've taught her to be neat as she picks up after herself whether she dropped food or toys. Don't get me wrong, our living room still gets littered with toys but sometimes she determines that some things MUST be put away and NOW! She has a lot to say and can be very loud if she chooses!

She loves climbing on everything! This is dangerous for us...cause she has very good balance, so she tries to go HIGH! She is able to climb our front steps without holding onto anything. She will use the hand rail more often to help herself up the steps.

Raychel has said a few phrases: "Go see Dad!", when she wants to go to Dad's 2nd job at the apartments, "I try 'gin (again)" when she tries to do something and then fails, "where Dad?" especially in the morning when it is just her and I, and "Hi (insert person or cat here) (Mom, Dad, JJ)". Sometimes it sounds like she says other things but I'm never quite sure. These sayings are very clear!

Just recently she learned how to laugh at things and thinks everything is hilarious. Daddy and her have many special games, but one is to chase each other around the kitchen. While I was making dinner the other day they chased each other giggling around and around the island for 5 minutes solid! It was sooooo funny. I wish I could have gotten the video camera to record those giggles...but I knew as soon as I would leave to get it she would stop! OH SO FUNNY! In the bathtub the other day she figured out how to throw her water balls at me. They are like fabric covered sponges that are ping pong ball size. She loves to squeeze them out! Then, she threw one when I wasn't looking, started giggling, and I did too...totally caught off guard! SILLY GIRL!!! She did this several more times, especially when I wasn't looking, and we both left the bathroom with wet hair!

She changes SO much everyday it is almost impossible to recolect all the funny little things she does when I'm late in posting things! LOL I'll have to stay up to date as I know I want to remember all her "funnies"

State Fair 2009

Our day started of really early, as we headed to the Post-Wide garage sales on Fort Riley. On the list...18-24 month clothes for this growing girl! JACKPOT...we found a LOT of very cheap and very nice clothes and a few toys. By the time we were done and headed to the fair, this was the sweet little girl in the backseat! We HAD to have this picture. This is how Raychel sleeps, with the blanket around her neck. Even if she is laying on ther stomach in her crib, the blanket is wrapped around her neck. She is so funny!

She is a little more awake now, as we start through the fair. She was a little confused with all of the people and happenings around her!

We found a giant sock monkey and HAD to take a picture! She reached over and touched the monkey gently...oops....the eye wasn't attached!!!! LOVE her reaction, the photographer didn't even know it happened but the camera caught it!

We stuck the eye back in place and decided this was the safer way to take the picture! LOL

Then, we entered the kiddie discovery area! Raychel LOVED playing with the different grains (wheat, beans, sunflower seeds, etc.)!

CHEESE!!!!!!

Look Mom...I'm a bronc rider! LOL...okay maybe not a bronc rider, but a cowgirl for sure!

Daddy and Raychel took a ride on the train. Notice her hands behind her head. This is how she rides in her car seat too! LOL

She loved the train...HI MOM!!!!!!!!!

We had supper with Nick and Crystal! Nick worked at his office's booth for the evening, but was allowed a lunch break!

Derek was just THRILLED to take this picture, huh??? LOL

This was the BEST part of our whole trip! We let Raychelplay in the splash park before we went home. This is a giant sunflower with several different types of fountains that pop up and down randomly. Some come straight up, others have three rings of water.

She thought this was WONDERFUL after she realized we were going to let her get wet.

It was hilarious to see her stick her face in, like.....water, where did you go? Then it would pop up and hit her in the face. She was scared and would go running for Daddy. She got a hug and would run right back out!

This was the big fountain in the middle! Raychel looked but decided that she didn't want to attempt that one!

GOTCHA! Water in the face!

After getting wet in the fountain a diaper and clothing change was in order. We headed to the petting zoo before leaving for the evening. She was interested until the VERY first animal we COULD bet was more interested in NIBBLING her!!! She was way too scared to touch anything else, but did want to stay and look!

They had a baby zebra, giraffe, and other fun animals for the kids!

Shoe fetish!

She has a shoe fetish! Not sure how she became so obsessed...
Check out this ensemble! LOL Gotta love the monkey PJ's and black patton shoes!

I LOVE THESE SHOES!!!!!!!!

They make me happy!

BAD MOMMY AWARD....Okay, just BUSY award!

Daddy and Raychel at the Zoo at the end of August! (Yep...it's been a while since I've posted...sorry!)
We had to take a "text" break...She LOVES Daddy's phone.
This is one way to help Raychel leave the zoo...she likes it too!

She was just learning to climb...this one was a little too high!

Ahhh...this I can climb on!

Daddy and Raychel checking out the wolves!

Look Mom...I can climb up on the little wall!

Up I go!

MONKEY!!! The monkey was looking right at us...Raychel thought that was pretty neat!"DUCK!" Well...something like that...they are all ducks to her!

Finger painting FUN!

Raychel tried finger painting. She likes to paint with pudding and yogurt, so I thought...hey, how about paint? First dip....WHAT was that?

This is kinda cool Mom...you want to try it??

SMEAR...

OOOhhh...what is all over my hand??? (Not to mention her head!)
MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get me outta here!! This stuff is terrible, yucky, no good, disgusting, and down-right gross! By the way, those feelings came right after a smiling painter was designing her masterpiece!

Missing My Raychel!

School is underway...the past few weeks have been hard for Raychel and Mommy. Raychel is starting to adjust to day care again, she has some good days and bad days still. Last week she spent one day home with Grandma Sherry because day care was closed, two days at day care, and then one day with Dad and one day with Grandma Sandy because she was running a fever! So...we never seem to be consistant enough to get into a schedule! Hopefully THIS week will work! =)
Raychel has learned how to get on and off of her toys and loves being pushed around the room. She is starting to figure out how to push herself, doing it right now by accident!

LOVE my stroller! I love riding in it and climbing in it! She will get stuck many times, sticking her feet in small spaces and we hear an, "Uh, uh, uh....Mom!" before we come to help! LOL

Raychel got M&M's one day when Mommy decided she needed a little chcolate...pretty soon she was HOOKED! Ooops! This is the "duck" face...see that bill? That is chocolate smeared all over her face!

ME WANT THE CAMERA!!!

I am getting ready Mom...just let me brush my hair and we can go!! She is such a girly girl!

Reading, reading, reading. She loves to learn the signs or sounds for objects in her books. Then, she will sit and read them and use her signs or make the sounds. She is so fun to watch...SPONGE!!!!

Way too LONG!

Wow, it has been WAY TOO LONG since I posted last! Raychel and I had so much fun over the summer that I forgot to update along the way! This little girl continues to amaze me and brighten every moment of my day! She started back to day care this week and it has been quite traumatic for both of us...we peel her off of me, give her to day care, and Mommy and Raychel cry. Raychel cries most of the day but Mommy has to be a BIG girl and get all of her work done! I am hoping that this will stop soon....We are back 5 days tomorrow and seeing a few positives! I know she will get used to it, just hard to go through the process! BE STRONG RAYCHEL!!! One day Mommy knows that she will wish you still wanted me as badly as you do now...

What has Raychel been up too? Playing, reading books, saying new words, connecting animals and their sounds and saying those sounds, walking up to 6 blocks at a time, running, giggling, playing on the piano, stacking and nesting blocks, eating grapes-watermelon-green beans-peas-carrots-broccoli (just a few of her very favorite foods--gee, wish I could get her to eat something healthy!), switched to milk, left the bottle behind (July 20th), dressing up with necklaces, watching Barney, playing chase and peek-a-boo with Daddy, growing hair (little curls in the back too) and sleeping all night long.



Funnies and surprises:

Mommy was taking a nap one afternoon and Daddy and Raychel were doing laundry. She spied Mommy when they went to get hangers and the race was on....she would run to the door and Daddy would block her. She would laugh, run across the room and try again...eventually she decided she would sneak around through the kitchen to Mommy's door! Smart little girl...there is more then one way to beat Daddy! Her reward: Waking up Mommy!

I really did cut her hot dog up in little pieces! She grabbed the whole thing and took her own BIG GIRL bites! :P

One day at Grandma S's she got excited upon seeing a picture of all her cousins. She pointed to her only boy cousin and said, "Riley" just as clear as day! She REALLY likes Riley. She watched him show his pigs and cheered/clapped when he won Reserve in his class/breed! Then, she found a picture at our house and tried saying "Jackie" (his sister). I'm sure the rest are next! I think she loves all her cousins!

She waves and says HI to EVERYONE we see at EVERY store we go too! And she says it like she is SOOO EXCITED to see them! LOL Such a fun age!

She gives the BEST hugs and kisses. If she can't reach you to kiss you, she will blow one or make a kissing noise and lean towards you! She is very loving! So much so that one night when Mommy was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, she came running over and where I usually move my head back there was a wall...so she left a bruise on Mommy's cheek! Mommy cried...Raychel didn't! =)

Tonight, in the bathtub, she used her bath tub markers and wrote a letter J. I didn't think anything of it...its just a mark, right? Then, she says.... J!!! I wrote another J next to it...she looked at it and said...cat! (Our cat's name is JJ!) WHAAAATTTT?????? Was it an accident? I have no idea!

Pancakes are her favorite breakfast food. She held up the pancake the other day and said, "Good, Mom!" Then, stuffed a huge bite in her mouth and giggled!

Her animal book is her favorite book. She is learning the names, sounds, or signs for many of the animals. Earlier this month she lost her book for a few days (err, Mom ruined it and we had to buy a new one). We picked up a new one and she refused to let go of it, even fell asleep holding onto it on the way home!

Playing peek-a-boo and chase are her favorite activities. Daddy and Raychel play chase all over the house (especially around the doors of the kitchen and through the living room) and around the kitchen island. I HAVE to get them on video...hopefully soon! =)

Itsy-Bitsy-Spider is her favorite song. She CAN do all the actions, but rarely shows anyone but Mom. She will always do the "spider" part though and giggles when you sing it to her!

She learned how to push her wooden duck and musical push toy around the house. You would think that she is copying Mommy vacumming, but the reality is that she is TERRIFIED of the vacumm and Mommy does that when she goes to bed! =) She was VERY PROUD of herself for learning how to do that!

We were getting ready for bed one night and Raychel was busy with her visor. I asked her what was on her hat and she replied with, "MOO"! (Yes, it was a Cow visor!)

Raychel was standing in the bath tub one night....holding onto her hand I told her to sit down...about that time she wiped out and went down...laughing she said, "I DID!"

She received a dress as a late birthday present. I put it over her head and she pranced through the living room. Later I asked if she thought she was pretty in the dress, she looked down at it, back at me with a big smile, and said, "YES!"

As you can see she is a handful of FUN...a true JOY in our lives! =) We LOVE watching her grow up and never grow tired of sharing all of her developments!!

12 Months Old!!!

Okay, I know she is almost 13 months old...but thought I better share some of the things she is doing now!!

--Running: she really gets going now although she still stumbles and falls when she goes too fast!

--Talking: she is babling and holding conversations with herself, her stuffed animals, and other people!

--Reading: she requires that someone read books to her all the time now! =) Okay, maybe she doesn't require it because if you don't or can't read to her she will read it herself. She has a favorite, "Happy Baby Words" book that she has been known to look at for a 1/2 hour by herself! Yep...she likes her books! She goes on duck hunts too and will find every book she knows has a duck in it, find the duck, proclaim, "DUCK!" loudly, throw it down and find another! SILLY GIRL!

--Going on walks: Raychel and I go for walks down the sidewalk! She makes it about 2 blocks down the street before she gets tired! We even made it to the end of the block, over to the alley, and back up the alley to our house agian! She is happy if she is outside and moving!

--Stacking blocks: She started stacking blocks now. She stacked 3 of them before knocking them down!

--Helping me cook: She LOVES to watch and even more thrilled to dump stuff in to help me cook. I have to hold her when we make meals now and she seems so proud to eat anything she helped with! I can even sit her on the counter and she will watch, without grabbing everything!!!

--Eating big girl food! She has finished all her baby food and I do not dare buy anymore! She gave up on baby cereal too, so we are exploring a whole new world...breakfast food!!! She LOVES it! She also discovered she likes cooked broccoli and watermelon! Oh, we are also 100% off formula. She has been drinking milk for a couple weeks now. She LOVES it and drinks more milk then she ever did formula! Now, we have to figure out how to get her to drink it out of a sippy cup!

--Whining: Yep, that's right, I'm sharing something less positive!! However, she is a good listener. She used to bring a book to me and instantly whine to be picked up and when she found out Mom wouldn't pick her up if she did that she quickly stopped. Now I get a nice hands in the air and an UP MOM! She still whines while waiting for a bottle...we are working on that! =)

--Answers questions and talking appropriately: We ask, "How are you?" and she will reply, "Good!" or Do you want to do or eat _____?" and she says, "Yes!" When she sees someone she will say, "Hiiiii!"

We are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN this summer!!! I know it's only July 8th but before I know it, it will be Aug. 8th and I'll probably be dropping her off at day care and working at school by then!!! =( Hopefully many more fun days to come before that day arrives!!

4th of July Fun

On July 1st and 2nd we went to visit Great Grandma T in Horton, KS! Her birthday was July 1st! Raychel had fun running around her house, playing with the ducks by the lake, and eating pizza and cake with her cousins!

On July 3rd, Clay Center had their 4th of July celebration! We went down to check out some of the festivities. Unfortunately a storm stopped our fun and they continued their party on the 5th of July! Raychel sporting her cousin's hat!! =)

Mommy and Raychel at the 3rd of July-4th of July celebration!!! Maybe we are related! LOL

We headed to Wamego for 4th of July again this year! We had fun eating at Toto's Tacoz for lunch, touring the car show, and watching fireworks! OH and there was Nick's awesome smoked ribs and brisket for dinner! Raychel preferred the watermelon, but she did eat some brisket!

Before heading out for lunch Daddy and Raychel went for a ride on Nick's new lawn mower! Raychel thought it was prettty cool, just a little loud!

Here she is signing, EAT MOM!!! So, we ended our lawn mower expedition and headed for lunch!

This is the Deines family from 2008 and 2009 in front of the same vehicle at the Wamego Car Show! Daddy worked on this car and we are still waiting to find the owner! Maybe next year!!

Do you think she grew, just a little??? LOL Unfortunately Mom and Dad don't look much different!

Raychel at the car show, sporting her hat! Rain was threatening and it is hard to talk her into the hat when the sun is not out! So...it went by the wayside quickly!!

We got lost at the car show and found a playground instead! It was so cute, she ran up to back side of the General Store sign and bent down as if she was asking..."May I help you?" Of course, Mom didn't have her camera out that time. She wouldn't hang out on the other side of the counter again!

She walked through the tunnel going from Mommy to Crystal and back again!

I bet she will be jumping up there next year instead of waiting for Mommy to help her crawl up!

We left the playground when she grabbed a wasp. We are thinking that she got bit but not badly because there wasn't any swelling, her thumb was just a little bit red.and she wouldn't let me touch it. She just held onto her thumb! Poor little girl! She was brave though. She didn't cry, just shook her hand and got scooped up by Mommy! Gee....first she grabs the flames on her birthday candles, then she grabs the wasp that lands on the toy she was playing on...we really need to teach that girl what to touch and what to look at!!!

We went back to Nick and Crystal's house for a nap. She wasn't too interested in napping, but did snooze for about 45 minutes! She was up and running strong again and we left to see the parade (sorry, no pictures). She LOVED the parade! She liked the little cars and the horses, OH and the people giving out pretty red, silver, and blue necklaces! The parade was at 6:00, so she was getting hungry. She sat on my lap and munched on spaghetti noodles and ham during the parade, a little unique but defintely yummy for her! After the parade we ate OUR dinner! Nick smoked ribs and brisket, YUMMY!!! Raychel ate an entire bowl full of watermelon...more then I could eat! I think she likes watermelon!! =)

About 9:00 we decided we needed Ice Cream and headed into Manhattan! Raychel was still awake and playing happily!!! (SURPRISE!) We stopped at K-Mart and she ran all over the entire store....literally!!! There was no one there but us, so she didn't bother anyone! We hurried back for fireworks!!

She loved the fireworks, that or they scared her really badly!!! She had ear plugs in, thankfully, as we were pretty close to the action! She would start to turn around and hide, but then just HAD to watch that stuff in the sky! She made it 25 out of 30 minutes, enjoying the last half in Daddy's lap! Then, she popped up and climbed onto my nap and went to sleep! Yep...she slept through the Grand Finale!!! Silly girl!

She slept all the way home (even being moved in her car seat from one car to the other) and then went straight to bed here, sleeping for 10 hours!!! Mommy needed the sleep too, so I was thrilled!

Helping Daddy!

Saturday night she helped Daddy fix the lawnmower, well TRY to fix the lawnmower. We found out later that it is not fixable, so now it is for sale...but it is our friend's mower and they already got another one, so it is all good!
She grabbed two of Daddy's wrenches and tried to help him fix the mower! Then, she climbed up on the mower (Mommy put her on the seat). She thought that was GREAT!!!

She also enjoyed running around the yard and stepping UP and DOWN the single step along the sidewalk in the back yard! No, Mommy didn't know she was going down but we saw the whole thing! She slowly took one foot of and while it was falling down, she brought the other one with it...so it was almost like a jump off the step! She landed like it was NO BIG DEAL and continued walking to help Daddy! Going up, she holds onto the garage and simply steps up!

NEW TOYS!!!

Raychel got to try out two new toys! Daddy found a table and chairs on eBay for her birthday. We spent her birthday "cash" to purchase this new toy! Both the tables and chairs are adjustable and may fit her for at least 5 years!!!

This is her first touch of the "new thing" in her living room!

She gets to sit at the table....OH...COOL!

This is pretty awesome Mommy and Daddy!

No, its REALLY AWESOME...I LOVE IT!!! =)

Later, she colored a picture WHILE watching TV!! She is multi-tasking already! She scribbles on one side of the paper, flips it over and scribbles on the other side. This repeats until both sides are sufficiently scribbled upon!!! =)

Raychel also tried out her new pool! She thinks its pretty fun with all the toys attached to it!

Hi, Giraffe! (which she said while reading a book with a giraffe in it).

Checking out the toys on the pool!

I like to garden and swim at the same time!

RAYCHEL TV!!!

We got a new-to-us entertainment center, but it is sitting in the middle of our living room because Daddy's co-worker has a bigger one that would suit us better and he is looking for a smaller one, so will trade for our new one!

While it is sitting in our living room, Daddy found a new favorite TV show! It's RAYCHEL TV!!!!! He LOVES to watch RAYCHEL TV! She fits just perfectly, another cm taller and she would hit her head!!!!



She is crouching down, giving Mommy a silly smile!!


Now we watch RAYCHEL TV every night! Sorry, but it is only available in OUR living room! Currently, no cable networks have picked up the show...we are not sure why!!!

Playing Dress-Up

Raychel spied her Halloween costume while Mommy was putting away clothes today. She said, 'That-That-That"...in other words, Mommy...I want that, give it to me, put it on, and let me run around and play in it! =) Wheww...good thing I understand her so well! LOL

She kept reaching back for the wings....not quite understanding what they were!

See...I told you she LOVED drinking out of her new straw cup!

What are these things anyway???

She also enjoyed coloring in her new BARNEY coloring book, while dressed as a lady bug!! =)