J.J. and Raychel

Raychel has FOUND the CAT! Poor kitty! LOL JJ is being VERY good! I think he finally gave up on this little kid leaving like all the other ones have done in the past! He must think she is here to stay...duh!?!?! Raychel CAN be kind of gentle...but she has grabbed ears and eyes and PULLED! Now she will spy JJ when we are trying to rock her to sleep and she will pop up and lean in any direction to SEE the cat! She has also gotten to play with friend's dogs! SHE LOVES ANIMALS! She wants to touch them and even smiles when they lick her!

Hold on tight JJ...she will be crawling soon!!!!!!!!!

I love Daddy!

WHEEEEEEEEEEE...... Raychel and Daddy have lots of fun playing together! She really does seem to like being upside down! Look at these two....I'm not sure if Raychel wants to KISS him or hang him by HIS feet! LOL

Extreme Home Makeover

Today we headed to Chapman to check out this "Extreme Home Makeover" project! Is there a baby in there Daddy? They are building a home in Chapman, Derek's hometown, after a tornado destroyed a large majority of the town 5 days before Raychel was born in June.


Here, Raychel is enjoying a little time with Great-Grandma Deines. Grandma Deines and Derek's Aunt and Uncle both live in Chapman. Thankfully, their homes were not damaged as badly!


This is Mommy, Raychel, and the Extreme Home Makeover house! It is one block down from the house Daddy lived in when Mommy met him in high school! This house sticks out in the neighborhood. It is BIG and brand new, compared to everything surrounding it.


It is hard for Daddy to go back home and see his town after the tornado! All of the schools were destroyed and some have been torn down already. So many houses that he used to deliver papers to on his route are flattened. He didn't really have time to put "grasp" it all as Raychel was born so soon after the tornado!

The show should air as a 2 hour special on January 25th, one day after Daddy's birthday!

Need a smile???

Raychel is 5 months old...she is growing sooo fast! We are having so much fun! Last night she was playing on the carpet and I came up from behind her and said "Boo!" and she just started laughing! Oh, it was sooooo funny! I think I watched this 12 times last night, laughing along with her each time! So if you are having a bad day and just need a smile, check out this clip!


In this picture, Raychel is playing on Daddy's lap! She loves to sit with him, while he is working on the computer! On this night, she had a "crinkle" book (her absolute favorite) and was playing "Drop that book!" with Daddy! She would play, play, drop on the floor....OVER AND OVER AND OVER. Daddy didn't like the game as much as Raychel did...hmmm, I wonder why!

AND, there it goes again....Down, Down, Down to the ground!

More Daddy Pictures and One of Mommy too!

This is a picture of Mommy at 5 months old! See, I liked the chairs too! And isn't it a lovely gold chair?

So, when she DOES get more hair...will it be THIS white?? Wow, Derek....really had white, not blond, hair! He also loved his sock monkey! Currently, Monkey-as he affectionately named it, is living in Raychel's room!

This was Derek in a LARGE bowl. His Dad would put him in the bowl and they would slide the length of the house! Derek remembers this clearly (yes, even at that age) and can't wait to do this to Raychel! Mommy is not so sure...

Thank you!

Raychel received this beautiful Purple and White (KSU) handmade sweater from our friends George and Judy. We went to visit them last weekend, to take this picture. We even talked about one for next winter! =)

Thank you Judy for the beautiful sweater! It is so warm and just the PERFECT size for her!

I look like my DADDY!!!

Playing

Playing!

Playing Peek-A-Boo with Mommy!


Eating my fingers and playing with Daddy!

Look what I found? I guess they are making a HUGE billboard of her in town!

Okay...I'll tell the truth now! www.photofunia.com just made it LOOK like that was happening!

See, here is another one:



Just one more!

Things that make us laugh...

1. Raychel! Oh, of course they are all about her...these are just things we can't catch in pictures!


1. When she eats oatmeal: She gets all excited and opens her mouth and her head/mouth lurch forward ONTO the spoon. Oatmeal squishes EVERYWHERE, but in her mouth!

2. When you change her diaper and clothes: She LOVES to be naked! She starts kicking her legs and thrashing about with a BIG smile on her face! Both legs go straight up and slam back down onto the changing pad at the same time. Then she STRETCHES and I think she becomes 5 inches longer when she does this. She found out the other day that this is NOT good to do when she is laying on the kitchen island getting ready for a bath, the wood is NOT as soft as her changing pad. OUCH! But, she laughed anyway and did it again!

3. When she is sitting up: She was playing with a new toy last night and sitting up. She was so engrossed in the toy, she forgot to remember to sit up and S-L-O-W-L-Y tilted sideways until she fell completely over. (Mommy was there to catch her, of course.) When she fell she got this, "Whoa, wasn't I just sitting up?" look on her face.

4. Baths: She MUST have grown this week. She takes a bath on the counter next to the sink. Her head has never reached the bottom of the cabinets before. She discovered the silver bread box next to the bath tub (ahem, it has always been there!) and leaned over to touch it. She went to sit back up and bumped her head on the bottom of the cabinets. Her forehead wrinkled and Mommy laughed. As soon as I laughed, she squealed in delight. LOL

5. Flying: When she sits in her bumbo, her arms go straight out like she is flying. We are trying to catch video of this one...she reminds me of Dumbo flying with a BIG grin on her face.






6. Waking up: I laugh now, because I'm sure for the rest of her life it will only get harder. I go in every morning to wake her up saying, "Good morning Raychel, rise and shine!". SOMETIMES she rolls on her side, stretchs, groans, and curls back up to continue sleeping. Most of the time she doesn't even move! Don't forget I'm talking LOUDLY, the light is on BRIGHT above her (and she is on her back), I repeat myself over and over, and she has been asleep for anywhere from 6-10 hours. She is sooo much like her Daddy!! Once she is getting dressed, she is wide awake and typically talking up a storm! Maybe she has some of her Mom in there afterall!

7. Talking: This girl will tell you everything she knows 25 times and not skip a beat. She talks when she is awake and she talks when she is asleep. She rarely cries at night anymore. She just "tells" Mom that she is up and playing or wants a bottle. Her talking gets more and more "serious-toned" and that lets Mommy know that she really wants a bottle! She even woke Daddy up one night, she talked so loudly and for such a long time! Now, THAT, is really a feat! =)

8. LAUGHING and SMILING: She spends almost ALL DAY AND NIGHT laughing, giggling, shrieking, and smiling at someone or something! She is truly a JOY!

9. List is continuing to GROW!!!

What a BEAUTIFUL Day!

Raychel was baptised this morning at the First United Methodist Church. It was an absolutely perfect day. She was perfect, the weather was perfect, and we were blessed to have our families and friends here with us to celebrate the day!

Raychel was so happy during the ceremony. When the actual baptism was occurring (i.e. she started getting wet) she didn't seem fazed by the first 2 "handfuls" of water. By the 3rd handful, she was getting soaked all the way through her onesie under the dress and she started crying. She settled down immediately and was quiet though the announcement of her Mommy and Daddy joining the church and prayers. After church we loaded up all of the food and headed to the park! Zoo Park, here in Clay Center, was the perfect place to spend a beautiful November afternoon. Our family and friends helped to celebrate the day. We feasted on BBQ roast beef sandwiches, fruit salads, baked beans, relishes, pigs in a blanket, and LOTS of desserts! She enjoyed all of the extra attention today and came home in the afternoon and crashed on the floor. She woke up briefly, to be moved to her crib, and has been there for almost 4 hours so far! I think we tuckered her out! She was sooooo good all day long, sweet baby girl! We would like to say thank you to everyone who was able to attend our special day and to those who were there in spirit! It was a super special day for our family and we were thrilled to be able to share it with everyone!

Confession...and baptism post 1

I take too many pictures...LOL! BUT...the good news...I learned about http://www.photoshow.com/ Now you are alll in trouble! I get to show TONS of pictures AND add captions! It is so fast and easy, I'm sure to post HUNDREDS more pictures now!

Today is Raychel's baptism. We are up early playing and watching PBS kids (they have great shows EARLY in the morning). The cake is all ready to go, the house is clean, and lunch just needs to be warmed up! It was a long day yesterday, to say the least, but I'm sure today will be great!

I'll post the cake! Please remember that I had 2 crockpots, the oven, and a 73 degree day that melted my frosting! (I was so sad to see the edging on the bottom lose shape and run together) By the time I got to the letters Raychel needed Mommy and she was sitting in her bumbo, ON the same table I was working on! She was flailing her arms (like she was flying or trying to take off) and hitting the tray of her bumbo! So, every 2-3 seconds there was a bounce, bump, and SHAKE on the table! Challenging, to say the least, but she was having fun during her flight!

Halloween