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!!