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!!!