Thankful for...

Today, as I wait for the action to begin, I am reflecting on everything I have to be thankful for! Of course I'm thankful for the little girl this blog is written for...and her Daddy and her grandparents/great-grandparents and her Aunts and Uncles...and everyone who has enriched her life.

Everyday she surprises me, makes me proud, encourages me, and fills me with JOY! Now, don't get me wrong....she also frustrates me and makes my blood pressure rise (Derek says I have to be honest!) But the truth is, the first sentence occurs more often then the frustration!

As she grows I, as well as others, have noticed that she is becoming a little mini-me. She has spunk (no, I will not say attitude!), dramatic personality, and sweetness all rolled into one very complicated little girl! But, never fear, I see her father in her too! She comes up with silly comments/remarks for people, can tease and play jokes with the best of them, and thinks and questions just like her Daddy! AND she will wake up silently, sneak into our bedroom, put her cold little right in the small of my back, and GIGGLE when I jump...now if that isn't JUST LIKE DADDY...I don't know what is!!

I LOVE to listen to her talk. It is truly a window into her mind that we are finally just beginning to open! She will finally say people's names. It is important to her that we discuss who is going to be wherever we are going. She is memorizing every name of the kids and people at daycare, all of her cousin's names, and she is getting MUCH better at saying her own name! She plays pretend with her dolls and talks about everything they are doing, "He go potty." "You come to my house?" and lots of "OKAYs" She gets VERY frustrated when Mommy or Daddy do not understand what she is saying on the first try! She will slap her legs and say, "Nooooooooo" with some sort of growl! When you finally get it right you get a sarcastic sounding YES! Did I mention that she is ALWAYS right??? She will ask me what something is and if I answer wrong, I am informed (LOUDLY!)

A favorite from the other day: Daddy went out to get something from his truck. He was already back in, but Raychel hadn't heard him. She came out of her bedroom and told me she was going to go find Daddy. She walked out of the kitchen door and Daddy scared her! After jumping she yelled, "Daddy you scared me!!!!" (He REALLY got her this time!) LOL Then she hid around the corner and tried to scare him!!

She wants a red pig, a tractor (big one), Micky Mouse cup, Dora socks, a blue toothbrush, books, candy, and cake from "Anta!" We are working on her initial S and F sounds! She is super excited about Christmas this year and we haven't even put up the tree yet!

I love to hear, "I love you Mommy. I love you Daddy" So sweet! Raychel gives the BEST hugs, sweetest kisses, and gives the most special looks!! She warms my heart, OVER and OVER! She will tell you NO when you ask for a hug and just when you walk off or move away she will come running with a grin on her face! (see...just like her Daddy!)

She gets LOTS of compliments when we are out in public. People notice how well-behaved and polite she is. And, usually, they are RIGHT! She walks with me, pushes the cart through the grocery store, and helps put items on the counter to buy. She is VERY concerned with how neat and tidy the stores are. She will pick up items from the floor and put them where they belong and even straighten out candy bars so they are going the same way with the top up! Many customers have watched her and been impressed! They all want to know if she is like that at home, well...umm...sometimes but usually not!

Someone else we are grateful for is Sara! She has done a WONDERFUL job with Raychel!! Not only is she her daycare provider but she is her Sunday School teacher too! Raychel LOVES going to Sara's. She usually runs up the steps and gives her a hug, forget MOM...I've got Sara! Many days I have to carry her to the car because she wants to stay there and play! WE are thrilled to have Sara in our lives and Raychel is blessed with a wonderful lady who truly cares about her.

Raychel knows all of her colors! She points out things everywhere, "Look, a purple truck!" or "I want that red (whatever)" The Parents as Teachers lady came in October and we played sorting games and she left information about how to help Raychel with her colors: pointing them out in public, asking her about them, etc. Yeah, she already knew them and does this herself! Sure am glad she read the instruction manual for herself before she was born!!! I think they lost it somewhere during the delivery, so Mom and Dad are stuck without!

She also knows how to count to three, four, six, eight, and ten! It depends on how many she chooses to count to at the time. The other day she was at Daddy's work, counting the cans of cleaner, dusting the tops, and turning them the right direction. Daddy said she is hired!

Raychel LOVES books. She wants to be the teacher and read them to anyone who will listen! She holds them just like a teacher, so everyone can see the pictures! She will curl up behind the couch and go through a huge basket of books; reading and talking about everything she sees!

Yep, my little girl is amazing...OF COURSE! =) I know I'm a little biased, but that is my right as a parent!!! She is magical and special beyond belief! Thanks for reading my random notes today!

10-10-10

This sounded like a good day to post! I think a top 10 list is needed for 10-10-10!!!!

10. Puppy! Raychel got a puppy and named it COOKIE. This had made for MANY difficult conversations about the cookies you EAT and the cookie you PET! She LOVES Cookie. Getting a dog has changed her in many ways. She now has someone else to think about, not just her. She helps take care of Cookie. She feeds and waters her, comes out to help give her treats for going potty outside, and yells at Cookie to get down or stop. She has had to learn to keep her toys OUT of Cookie's reach. She is very conscious of this and has lost very few! She prays to God, "Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, and Cookie." everyday.

9. Potty Time! Raychel is starting to get a little interested in the Potty! We have had a few successful Pee and Poops on the potty. She is so excited about it and talks about it constantly. One day a man was walking out of church service and she proudly proclaimed, "He go poop, Mommy!" I assured her he wasn't, which made her repeat her statement louder! She comes in to check on Mommy and gives her a "Good job, Mommy! You pee! YEAH!" Recently she checked out 2 Potty books...I'm hoping she starts working that way very soon! Mommy is being patient and not pushing her! She is too strong-willed to even be encouraged!

8. Outside Play! Playing in the sandbox, running up and down the sidewalk, drawing pictures, and reading books are some of Raychel's favorite things to do outside! I think she would spend 10 hours a day at the park or just playing around outside. She plays pretend, taking orders in her play house and delivering imaginary food to your door. One night she crawled in the mini van Daddy is selling and pretended to escort us all through town. She "buckled" us in and took us everywhere we wanted to go! She is willing to get dirty, REALLY dirty...which is new too!

7. Growing! Raychel is NOT listening to her Mommy and Daddy...she is growing and growing FAST! She is in the 99%tile for height and 88%tile for weight (as of her 2 year checkup) Since then, she is STILL growing! We are in 3T and 4T clothes...quickly growing into size 9 shoes, too! Everyone thinks she is 3, no sorry...we are closer to 2 then 3! Her curly hair is growing too! I love her hair, even if she looks raggedy sometimes (okay, a lot). It matches her personality, funny and cute...and little messy! HA I haven't had it cut yet, not really sure if she would sit still long enough to cut it.

6. Eating and Cooking! We have retired the high chair to the basement and she has gotten her very own stool up at the island! She is very proud of herself for eating with Mommy and Daddy. She has been eating at tables for a long time at day care, but was never quite ready to give up her high chair at home! Trust me, I tried to convince her to switch long ago! She opens the fridge by herself and gets her milk, cheese sticks, or grapes. She picks out her own yogurt, looking at the pictures and muttering to herself, "that one, no, this one...no...okay!" She LOVES to stand on her chair and help Mommy cook. She pours, stirs, and "reads" the recipe too! She just keeps getting better. I think her favorite part now is getting out the ingredients for Mommy. She knows where most things are kept in the fridge or cabinets! She puts things away too!

5. Coloring! We still love to color. But, we also know our colors now. She can say and identify: Black, White, Purple, Orange, Blue, Red, Pink, Gray, Brown, Green, Dark Blue (Mommy wore Navy Blue one day and she didn't know what to call it!), and Brown. She knows yellow but won't say it for me! It is funny because when she WANTS to she will tell you all of her colors...when she chooses not to tell you...she will call the color something totally opposite of what you are asking her to say. Blue is RED...Black is WHITE, etc. SILLY GIRL! She was so excited tonight because she found her purple crayon...she came running in, "Look Mom, PURPLE, Go CATS!" At church Daddy sent her to the back to give her offering (after they skipped us). He told her, give it to the man in the red shirt. She proudly walked back, but found the wrong red shirt! He told her it was the NEXT red shirt! She found him! LOL

4. New Daycare! We moved to a new daycare. She is the youngest at this daycare. She is LOVING the big kids and learning so much!! Ms. Sara is sooo nice and patient with her! She has learned to take turns, sing, pray, and be more respectful! All of these things Mommy tried to teach her, but Ms. Sara is SOOO much better at it then I am! LOL (Isn't that the way it goes?) We have less behavior issues at home, even though she still acts inappropriately at daycare (sometimes). She is TWO! =) That is okay with me!

3. Letters! She is teaching herself her letters. Her first letter was "C". She tells me, "C is for Cookie and Cats" "Cookie is my best word!" She finds C's on EVERYTHING: Mommy's shirt, her conditioner bottle, yogurt, books, etc. Mommy bought her a Fridge Phonics game and she loves to push the button that makes it play the ABC's song. She can sing several of the letters now. When Mommy sings with her, "Hushie Mommy!" So...I'll just sit back and let her teach herself!

2. CHEESE! Our little girl finally smiles for the camera, but its a HUGE CHEESY smile! Sooo cute! She says, "CHEESE!!!!!" and matches it with a smile! She will say, "Mommy I cheese!" (Meaning she will smile for the camera right now!) This weekend, out at the Pumpkin farm, she would say CHEESE and then not look at the camera but giggle (knowing she was being a pain!) I am just excited that she WILL smile for the camera!

1. Talking! OH my, we have really gotten good at talking. She talks in sentences MOST of the time now. She tells Mommy and Daddy, "I love you, ____." She will repeat about anything you say, today's favorite repeat was "caffeine". She asked me why we were going to the gas station and I told her Mommy and Daddy needed caffeine! She has funny comments, "To Puppy" (Like, talk to the hand...when we discipline her she doesn't want to hear it...so she tells us to tell it to puppy!) She talks about pee and poop, a lot! She will say, "Hi" to someone and then say, "I Hi him!" to me...in case I didn't notice she told someone HI! She screams out, "Daddy WORK!" as we drive by! In church she says WAY TOO MUCH! She will ask, "All done?" in the few seconds of silence between the end of the song and the next person talking. One day a little boy was baptized, she said "He wet Mommy!" We are never really sure what she will say next in church! She is very witty and clever! She is quick to respond to situations with words-she doesn't have to stop and think as much anymore! She answers questions on the TV, sings songs and dances, whines, complains-tells me, "My neck hurts, Mommy!", tells me about funny stuff she sees, recounts events from the day or weekend, and is quite tickled at her abilities to communicate with everyone!

I could list 100 things...1000 things....a million things! She is a joy, keeps us on our toes, and definitely the BEST thing to happen in our lives so far! We are proud to share her with you!!!

Happy 10-10-10!!!

Time goes by so FAST!

Wow...has it really been that long since my last post. You know, the truth is, we are having so much fun with our little amazing wonder that is Raychel, I forget to tell you all about it! I log it on Facebook, I email, and I call people...but I forget to blog! Ooops! I definitely don't want to stop blogging!

Raychel had an amazing birthday party with amazing friends and family! We went through the zoo, played at the park, and hung out at the house for dinner, presents, and cake! She was/is totally spoiled!!!

Daddy made a request for a list of Raychel's favorites.....

5. Taking a walk or going on a run with Mommy (and even better if Daddy is there too!) She says, "Mommy, I go walk?" or "I run Mommy?" She has ran over half a mile with Mommy on the track. She will also enjoy mile long walks around the neighborhood, navigating as she goes. One day she took us on a walk to our church's playground...guess she wanted to play! She did not stumble upon this, she has walked me there before and was saying, "play, play" as we walked! She loves to take her dolls for a walk in their stroller too! However she is very OCD and we have to move all dirt, grass clippings, seeds, and sticks out of the way so her doll has the smoothest ride possible!

4. Sleeping! Yep, she is a great sleeper! She goes and goes and goes until she HAS to stop! LOL Raychel has been sleeping in her big girl bed since the middle of May. She does a fabulous job of staying in bed and staying in her room until she calls for Mommy to come get her in the morning! She has really gotten into the "summer"schedule...sleeping from 8 pm to 9 am! Mommy LOVES sleeping in too, so this is great! She takes a 2 hour nap that you can almost set your clock to. She will tell you when she is tired, agree that she needs to go to bed, and begs for Mommy to read her a book before bedtime! "Book please, Mommy?" I say, yes...pick out 3. She picks one, "two", picks out another one, "two", and picks out a third one, "two"! Well at least she knows how many 3 is, even if they are all TWO! LOL EVERY number is TWO!

3. Playing Mommy! She is a Mommy to several dolls. Most of her dolls are named Mommy....but tonight one became Daddy! She said, "Hi, Daddy" and then tickled him...messing with him just like Daddy would play with her! LOL She feeds her baby dolls bottles, takes them for walks, throws them down when she is frustrated (working on this one!), and gives them the BEST hugs and kisses!

2. Coloring! Oh my, this girl LOVES to color. She scribbles and fills the entire page with color, usually just ONE color...unless Mommy asks her if she would like to add another color! She picks out pages to color, brings them to Mommy to remove from the book neatly, and then gets busy! She puts her colors on the table, moves them to a basket, stuff them in her purse, and shoves them in the trunk of her riding toy...they are VERY important to her! She also loves drawing on her magnetic drawing boards. Tonight she drew Mommy, Daddy, and Me (Raychel-she will not say her name). She actually drew circles and made eyes inside the circles and pointed to each one, telling me who they were. Then scribbled lots of other things around the person! The other thing she likes to draw are shoes....yep, she is all girl!

1. Talking! Wow, she is really starting to talk more. She is a smart little girl! Today at daycare they were reading a Mother May I book and it had a sentence about cookies. She picked that up and ran with it, asking "May I have a cookie, please?" Much to her surprise, cookies were the surprise for snack. After being rewarded for her awesome sentence she asked again and again! LOL She says fun things like, "Come on, Mom" or "Away!" (arm motions included for both) "I too" (meaning me too!) and "I two!" She pops out random sentences in her frustration of looking for something, "Where did it go, Mom, where did it go?" "What was that?" "Who is that?" "I dunno" (with the cutest little shoulder shrug) She trys to copy things she hears on TV..."O'Toodles" (Mickey Mouse) or "Map" song (Dora) and typically giggles before ever finishing! She will randomly yell, GOOO!!! or STOP Dad! It is funny because the first thing that comes out is "Stop, Mommy...she remembers it's Daddy bugging her and says, "No, Daddy", like she is correcting herself. You can't leave out, "I help" which means both the literal meaning and "I do it (all by myself)!" There are MANY, MANY more...can't list them all! Fun to watch her vocabulary change everyday!!! =)

Summer!

Today was the first day I kept Raychel with me because I was actually going to be home and ENJOYING summer! What a Busy couple of weeks. I finished school, set up for bible school, prepared for an interview, taught bible school, GOT the teaching job, and packed and loaded up my classroom in Manhattan.

What has Raychel been up to? She went to bible school and kept the nursery room volunteers hopping as she tried to escape, ran around outside, and was a super helper picking up! She really enjoyed going to the church and was exhausted by 12:00 each day. She has spent other days at day care playing with a few new kids. She seems to get along well with them!

At home, Raychel has been living in timeout! She goes into time out for hitting, saying NO, and throwing tantrums...usually! We have become VERY tough and consistent with her...she is one strong-willed little girl! Good thing Daddy is JUST as tough on her as Mommy, she KNOWS she can't get away with acting however she wants! When she is not acting like a 2-year old..she really is quite adorable!

Tonight, while reading a book, it asked her "What is your favorite time?" She said, "When Mommy is home. When Daddy is home!" Awww..she is a super sweetie! Who wouldn't want their Mommy and Daddy home with them?

She gives the BIGGEST and the HARDEST hugs EVER! She gives hugs to everyone and MANY hugs are given throughout the day! She loves to tell everyone HI and BYE...with waves and smiles! She catches the eye of MANY people on the street or in the store!

She still LOVES PUPPIES! She has a puppy at daycare and will almost always tell you that her favorite thing from the whole day was the PUPPY!!!!! Maybe we'll find a puppy/dog for our home one day! We are still looking for what we HOPE will be the perfect little dog!

She LOVES to swing. She swings on the big swings and will swing for as long as you will push her. She used to not like swinging for more than 1-2 minutes at a time!

Raychel has been having fun with water this summer! She has been out to her cousins sliding on the redneck water slide and playing with her flower sprinkler and splashing in the pool. She has been helping Mom and Dad outside with the landscaping and car projects in the garage! She picked out the flowers for the front yard and helped plant the morning glory flowers that are now growing up over the arch.

She makes me laugh and take deep breaths all at once! She was yelling in the store, I whispered to her to be quiet and she YELLED BACK-WHAT MOM??? Oh my...silly girl! We have been reading together for more than an hour on most nights! She crawls into her big girl bed and we read, cuddle, and giggle together until Mom realizes it is WAY past her bedtime! She will randomly grab my face and kiss me or stop and wrap her arms around me in the middle of a book!

She has also been coloring ALL the TIME! She has gone from making single line drawings to scribbling and filling or coloring in pictures on the page! It is SOOOO funny...she calls letters, "I". So she will write, scribble, and make other marks while constantly saying I-I-I-I-I...So funny!

I love summer as I get to spend more time with her and we get to do some fun things. Next week she turns 2!!!!!! She has been practicing say, "I 2" and showing her thumb and pointer finger (like an L) But, if you ask her how old she is she will almost always respond with NO! LOL, we think that works too!

Weekend Fun

Last weekend Raychel went on a "Date with Dad". This was an event sponsored by Parents as Teachers (PAT). This picture was taken when they were ready to leave for their "date". They had fun playing with a variety of toys (kitchens, puzzles, books, ride-on toys, etc.) and eating a donut hole and milk breakfast over at the grade school. Daddy's comments included how she was definitely the most energetic kiddo in the group whizzing from one activity to the next. She was even taken out by a little girl on a tricycle as Raychel ran right in front of her. They had a TON of FUN!

This weekend, after garage saling all morning, we went to BIG TRUCK day. This event was also sponsored by PAT. They had a full sized school bus, a shorter bus, police car, fire engine, ambulance, tactors, street cleaner, utility truck, and a semi.

This is Raychel on the BIG school bus, the first BIG thing we climbed in. Deer in the headlights???

Climbing into the BIG, short bus!

Sitting next to the lucky bear who gets to ride on this bus!

Planning to take the bear out and set him FREE!

Her cousins were there exploring as well. They had fun going into several of the trucks together. This was the city utility truck.

I drive it by myself now, MOM....

Adjusting the spotlight, shining it on those bad guys! Raychel in the police car. She even found the police officer's fountain drink, grabbed it, and almost had the straw in her mouth to take a drink!! Oooops! "Parents arrested at BIG TRUCK DAY for letting daughter steal Police Officer's soda pop!"

Let's try the fire truck!

The semi was pretty big, don't you think???

Hey, what's this?

Daddy DID IT!!! He rang the bell and she LAUGHED!!!!! The fire chief came around the truck and said, "OH no, they found the bell!" I told him DADDY DID IT! Before we left, several other children FOUND the bell too!

We couldn't be NEAR a playground without a time or two down the tornado slide! Daddy says, "BOO!"

After nap time, Raychel played with one of our garage sale finds! She got Barbie dress up high heels! She wears them ALL over the house and was terribly disappointed when Mommy said she couldn't wear them to the store! She can even jump and run in them...Mommy can't even do that!

This was definitately another Saturday of fun with our little girl!

Fun-Fun-Fun

Today we spent a fun day as a family, doing a little of this and that together. These are just a few FUN highlights!

At the park Daddy became the tickle monster, sticking his arms through holes of the play equipment and tickling! They had been looking through the holes and saying Hi, so this surprised her! She jumped back and said, "HURT"! We'll just substitue that with...SCARY DADDY!!! LOL

Daddy taught Raychel how to make our dandelion population more dense! EVERY kid HAS to know how to help out the dandelions! Moms all over the country would be so disappointed if they didn't receive those beautiful yellow flowers picked by their loving children....RIGHT? She doesn't know how to produce enough wind to blow them off, so she devised another plan! She blows with her mouth and flips it with her hands at the same time! The result...VERY CUTE! I think dandelions are going to grow out of her hair as most of the seeds land there, making her hair fuzz that much fuzzier!

Raychel has been dancing, but I never dreamed I would get her to dance for the camera!!! While making dinner this song came on the radio...I had never heard it before and quite frankly wasn't paying much attention. Raychel started dancing and I thought it was all too cute. We came into the living room, unfolded laundry and all, to film the dancing. Later, while watching the video, I heard the song! If you can't hear it, the lyrics include, "I'm AWESOME!"

Raychel is such a FUN little girl....laughing, running (WAY TOO FAST/MUCH), whining, complaining, throwing fits, dancing, hugging, kissing, being ornery (LIKE DADDY), climbing on everything, and constantly talking.....we love her so much!

Growing up...so fast!

Raychel is getting so big! She is talking a LOT more. She says things like "What's wrong?", "I help!", "I wanna go home!", "tickle, tickle", and lots more! You never know what she is going to say next! She says multi-word phrases several times a day now, which is so fun!

The other day we had an entire conversation. We were in the car and I had to pull over for an ambulance. She said, "What's that?" I told her it was an ambulance. She asked, "Why?" I said they were going to help someone with an ouchy. She said, "They hurt?" I said yes. She said, "They help?" I said, yes the ambulance will go make them feel better. She said, "Oh, good!" She amazes me!

We are working on her not saying "MINE!" all the time. She says it a lot at day care and when we are with anyone else. When we are home there is not anyone to take her things so we don't hear it too often. I know that this is just a stage she is going through, but that doesn't mean we have to let her do it constantly. I talk to her about not saying it and how she will get timeout if she does say it and that seems to help right now. Hopefully we will continue on that trend. Her day care provider is following through with her and she went from saying it 300 times a day to about 3. Okay, so the 300 might be an exaggeration...but not a very big one! She did the same thing when she learned how to say NO...she used it constantly. But, with a few days of timeout and talking...she stopped!

Raychel reached up and tickled me! She says, "tickle, tickle" and then I tickle her back...she giggles and giggles and finally says, done!

Tonight we played at the park. She LOVES to play in the sand! She fills buckets, dumps them out, and digs again. At home she doesn't have sand in her sandbox yet so she plays with dirt in the flower boxes. When she gets dirty she says, "Oh my" and brushes it off till she is clean again! LOL

I Wanna Go Home

Aww....after her, "NO!  I don't wanna go home" she switched it up tonight.  We ate dinner at Uncle Jay and Aunt Linda's house.  She finished and got down to play.  As she walked past me she says, "I wanna go home!"  Awww....she just wants to be home!  Who can blame her for that!  Visiting others is fun, but home is BEST!

 

She said the same thing the day before when we finished playing at the Wamego park.  She said, "I go home Mom!"  Can you tell it was after 7:30 and she was EXHAUSTED! 

It just surprises me when she throws out a sentence like that.  It seems to come from out of nowhere.  But, I'm sure I do say that to her a lot.  "Let's go home" and other similar sayings! 

Enjoying this sweet little girl and all of her special moments!  So FUN!  Now, we better get some pictures of this sweet little girl...she is growing again!!! =)

What did you just say?

Raychel has really started talking this past week. She says MANY phrases now and they just roll off her tongue, usually leaving you thinking...what did you just say?

Last week she was walking around while I was cleaning. She came over to me, handed me a toy, and said...."I need help!" Oh, Oooooookkkaaayyy....sure honey! I took the ball off the sticky velcro paddle and handed it to her! She signed, "Thank You" as she ran away!

Later I was putting dishes away and she came over, took a dish out of the dishwasher and put it on the counter, "I'll help mommy!" Oh, SURE....umm....thanks!

It was getting closer to bedtime and she says, "Where is Dad?" I said, "at work", and she says, "Oh."

Last week she got a few new outdoor toys and has enjoyed playing with them! Then, it snowed...on the last day of winter! On the 2nd day of Spring she opens her blinds and looks out at her toys, covered in snow, and says, "Oh, WHY?" The tone was PERFECT...she was in complete distress! LOL

Later that day she was reading a book about animals in the forest building a snowman. On one of the pictures a little bear cub was climbing up the snowman, pushing on the snowman's middle! She said, "OH NO!", and came running to me. She laid the book down, pointed at it and said, "Oh me, oh my....MOMMY, OH MY (pointing), HURT!" I tried to explain to her that it was okay and the snowman was not hurt! The bear was HELPING the snowman! She still carried the book around all day, opening it and saying..."oh my!"

Then, today, at the park I told her that we needed to head home. She replied, "No, I don't wanna go home!' My daycare provider happened to be there with her kids and heard her repeat, "No, I don't wanna go home!" So, I KNOW I didn't imagine it! Geeze, KID! Where did you pull that sentence from? I was just a little surprised by this one!

I LOVE watching her grow! It makes my heart smile to hear her sweet little voice tell me her thoughts! Even if some of them are NO..I don't want to! I LOVE hearing those precious thoughts!!!

This crazy little girl!

Our sweet little Raychel is really growing up! She is slowing learning how to behave, just as Mommy and Daddy are slowing learning how to help her achieve “good” behavior. She really is a great listener and usually chooses to do the right thing. She will spill water and stop to run to the kitchen to get her towel and run back to clean up her mess! You know if Raychel says, “Uh-Oh”! and you aren’t there…she just made a mess. Before you get to her, she is usually cleaning it up. I love how she answers questions and actually knows what you are asking her. She never answers yes…only “Uh-huh” and “NO!'”.

She LOVES to wear Daddy’s hat. So, Daddy found a hat just for Raychel! She loves to wear it everywhere, take it off and on, and say, “HAT” constantly! Mommy as well as multiple stuffed animals and the cat have to try on the hat as well!


This is an actual smile! Something we NEVER get from Raychel! I asked her to smile and SHE DID! She colors in her tub at every bath time! She really enjoys coloring and is starting to learn her colors too. We go through 3 stoplights on our way to daycare every morning. She has learned that red means stop and green means go…oh, and yellow means, “UH-OH”. One day I was stopped at the light and thought I heard sirens, I wasn’t paying close attention to the light. All of a sudden I hear, “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” and looking up the light had turned green! LOL

This smile was even cheesier! Love, love it!

Last week Raychel pulled out some books that she hadn’t read in quite a while. Before going to bed, she opened them again and asked, ‘What’s that?” I told her and then started asking her questions, “Where is the Panda?” We went through 3 books and over 70 kinds of animals in photographs and cartoon versions and she identified every single one! WOW…to say the least Dad and I were impressed! She LOVES animals and has always been interested in reading books about them. It had been so long since we had seen those books that I wasn’t even sure if I had told her what each one of them was. She also made the sounds of about 5 of them and signed 3-4 of them as well. It was a very proud moment for Mommy and Daddy! I was so happy that Dad was there for it, he is almost always there when she goes to bed but has to work so much he sometimes misses fun things! ONE day we will pay our bills and set our family up for a great life, a dream for both Mommy and Daddy! We are so happy he is working so hard for our family!

Talking to Raychel

It is very fun to have conversations with Raychel.  She understands more then you think she might!  She was being a "toddler" at day care taking some of the kids toys and pulling hair.  I talked to her about being a good girl and told her she couldn't do those things because she wasn't a mean girl!  I told her that several days in a row and she hasn't done it since.  I will ask her if she had a good day, if she was a good girl and she will answer..."uh-huh" enthusiastically.  If she didn't have a good day, she will either say "NO" or make this low disappointing groaning sound!  I have tested her answers by asking Ms. Dawn and she verifies it as true each time! LOL  Every once in a while she gives me the silent treatment and will refuse to answer any questions that I ask!  She sits in her car seat with her lips pursed together and pretends to ignore me.  I will continue to ask questions and say silly things until this little grin/grimace comes across her face and then she breaks out into a giggle!!  She can't stay quiet for long! 

 

I have asked her, "Are you a baby?"...."NO!"  "Are you a big girl?"....."NO!"  "Are you inbetween?"...."UH-HUH!" 

 

One day, in the car, she was screaming and whining and yelling "NO!"  I started asking her questions to see what she would say "NO" to!  She answered all of my questions with a "NO!" until I asked her, "Are you trying to be difficult?" and she responded with a great big, "YES!!!!!"  Either a really good time to change your answer or?!?!?!?! LOL

 

When she learned the word, NO, she (of course) used it all the time.  We told her she couldn't tell Ms. Dawn NO and she couldn't tell Mommy and Daddy NO when we told her to do something.  One night she did that and I put her in timeout...she was not a fan, of course.  About 10 minutes later I told her to pick something up and she turned and said, "N--"..."UH-HUH" and picked it up! LOL  I love that thought process!  I want to tell Mom, NOOOOOOOOOOOO but, oh yeah....I'm not supposed to....so I guess I'll just do it! 

 

She also sometimes answers NO because that is the word she wants to say, but not the right answer.  So we ask her, "Do you want to go take a bath? (HER FAVORITE) and she says, NO and then there is a pause, cute smile, head tilt, and a "UH-HUH"!  Other times she stops  mid-NO and changes it to a yes!  We get these looks from her like, why do you try to trick me!!! LOL

 

She is quite FUN!!! =)
 

 "When you become a mother... You are no longer the picture, You become the frame."

The Little Helper!

Raychel has been cooking with me for about 3 weeks now.  She helps almost every single night and is frustrated when I have dinner made (frozen meals) or there is not much she can do to help (like breading chicken).  She carries all the ingredients from the cupboards or fridge and puts them gently on the counter.  Then I put her up on the counter where she helps me measure, stir, and prepare the entire meal.  She holds measuring cups until I tell her to pour them, she sprinkles cheese to cover the entire casserole, and dumps contents of cans.  She has become quite good at dumping without spilling or dropping the cup/can into the mix!  She has only spilt 2 times...very tidy cook, unlike her mother! 

 

She helps me put away dishes too.  She stacks all the tupperware, cups, plastic bowls, and her plates.  She finds the ones that match and puts them together.  Then carries them to their proper home and puts them away neatly.  She actually rearranges things if they don't go in straight!  I let her stand on the counter and put the high stuff (plastic only) away and she LOVES it!!!  When we do dishes she is in charge of putting the silverware in the holder.  She sorts it out and places it going the correct direction.  When all the dishes are in there she pushes the racks in, shuts the soap dispenser, and closes the door. 

 

Is she a neat-freak??? Okay, MAYBE...but she LOVES IT! 

 

We have been asking her to pick up her toys and she does this nightly and at least twice a day on the weekends.  Previously, we didn't always ask her to do it because Mommy was tired and just wanted to get her to bed! LOL  She knows where everything is and sets things straight and neat.  Even her little horse and giraffe figures have to be standing up on her table! LOL  She normally does all of this when we ask her, the first time.  Sometimes she puts things away after she is done playing with them!  She did that all day last Sunday!

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!