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!! =)

Trying to Harvest with Grandpa

Today we went to "try" and harvest with Grandpa! Our day didn't go exactly as planned, but neither did Grandpas, Grandmas, Uncle Jays, or Daddy's day!!! WHAT, you are asking, happened???
Well...after nap time we headed to find Grandpa in the field. He was not moving.... :( The combine kept getting clogged and wouldn't feed the wheat through correctly. He made several calls and before we knew it Grandma, Mommy, and I were on our way to get parts for Grandpa. Uncle Jay and Daddy were heading to Abilene to help Grandpa put on the new parts! Around 10:00 that night, everyone got to go home and Grandpa tried to harvest again the next day!

Oh well...I thought it was pretty hot, pretty scary, and pretty BIG anyway!!! Maybe Mommy will take me back on another day to "try again"!

I learned how to drink out of a straw!

We have been trying for about a month to help Raychel learn how to drink out of a straw. So, Daddy comes home today, drinking a BIG cup of water, and gives it to a very interested Raychel. She sucks it right up and starts hauling it around the house, drinking it!

Daddy is proud of the fact that HE taught her how to drink from a straw. I say, if you think its that easy then I'll let you POTTY TRAIN TOO!!! =) LOL

She carries it around the house now! She is a hydrated little girl!!! =) WATER is YUMMY and it is EVEN BETTER out of a straw!!!

I GET TO RIDE GOING FORWARD!!!!

Daddy got her car seat turned around to face forward! This is Raychel discovering her new view! The first picture she is like...MOM...why is the camera here?!?!?!


THEN...she discovered there was something different!!! She threw her arms up and shrieked!!!
It may have been 100 degrees outside, but she was HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY!!!

Mommy turned around and snapped another picture from the front seat. Needless to say, she LOVES her new "view" of the world!!!

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Raychel's first birthday party was AWESOME!!! =) After spending all morning on Friday creating and making 2 cakes and 72 cupcakes and spending the evening decorating, we were ready!!! =)

Fortunately or unfortunately, it was raining outside! Fortunately because it meant that her Grandpa S and Uncle Jeff could come as they couldn't be in the field harvesting and unfortunately because we couldn't party inside and out! So, we crowded together (all 22 of us) in our living/dining room and PARTIED!!! =)


This "MONKEY BUSINESS" all started when Grandma O made Daddy Derek a sock monkey (on the right) when he was a little boy!

This is Derek, receiving his sock monkey!!


He LOVED his sock monkey too!!

Around 26 years later, Raychel Joy met her sock monkey.


She LOVED her sock monkey from the very first time she met her!

AND....6 months later...on her 1st Birthday, we celebrated...Sock Monkey style!!!

This is her sock monkey cake! All designed, cut out, and decorated by Mommy! Cocoa Krispies make the wonderful brown monkey, everything else is yummy frosting!

This is RAYCHEL's CAKE to eat and destroy on her own...see later pictures! =)

These are the mini cupcakes, most of them anyway, that our guests enjoyed with ice cream on a very sultry and rainy day!

Raychel and Mommy with her Monkey Cake and her Raychel cake!

Close up of the birthday girl before the party started!

Spending some time with my Grandma S!

Enjoying a Daddy Hug before the party started!

BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GIRL!!!

Eating my lunch, while Great Grandma S said HELLO!!!

Grandpa S had to say hello too!

Everyone else ate their lunch while she played. They enjoyed chips, fresh veggies from Uncle Jay's garden, and deli sandwiches. Everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch!

Aunt Alaina came up from Texas for my party too!!

Just checking out all my "LOOT"! Later she would open presents (although she was getting WAY tired), we tried!!!

She did like the pretty bow!

This is a gift from Grandma O. It is a sock monkey quilt with many family memories and important events surrounding the monkeys!

After a tiny melt down during presents, she snuck away to a somewhat quiet kitchen to check out one of her new toys!

Then....we sang and lit the candles!!

SHE GRABBED THE OPEN FLAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were all trying to help her blow them out and instead she grabbed them, putting them out! She was not hurt, just shocked!!! Aunt Linda has it all on video and I'll add that clip later!

She checked out her cake and was very "girly" about tasting the treat!
Finally, she started dipping her fingers in, pulling them out, and licking them off!! Well, that is one way to do it!
Once she was on a sugar high, she started flinging her hands...sending sprays of frosting across the room!
It was WAY past nap time when the ice cream came out! She may look tortured here, but in fact she begged for Daddy to share his ice cream with her and used the little bit of energy she had left to slurp some of the sweet treat!

Hugs goodbye to my party guests and then she crashed for about 2 hours!!!

At 5:00 we had our friends and their children over for ANOTHER party! We sent the "boys" out to BBQ and the "girls" entertained the kids inside. We had a living room full of 7 kids under the age of 8! =) We had a blast all evening long, but we were so busy we forgot to get the camera out...DARN!!!!!