Twelve

In spite of appearances, I have not forgotten about "12 on 12."  I just decided to take a couple of months off and start again in January.

Dear Old Santa

Rachel, Doug and I attended the 2010 Ward Christmas Party.  Rachel loved coloring while she waited for her food.


But the main event, for the children, was the visit of Santa Clause.


Rachel wasn't sure she liked the man in the red suit.


She began signing "mom" almost immediately after being plopped on his jolly lap.


When it was obvious that mom was not going to save her she began to sign "dad."


She may not be smiling.  But at least we got one good picture before we saved her from St. Nick.

Baby 3 Update

On November 15, 2010 we went in for our routine 20 week ultrasound.  No matter how many times you see your child on ultrasound it is still a miracle.


Doug and I were conflicted on whether we wanted a boy or a girl.  It would be fun to have a little sister for Rachel and we have all of the girl clothes and things.  But, it would be fun to have a boy.  So we went into the ultrasound with no expectations.  When we saw boy parts flash across the screen our hearts skipped a beat and we grinned at each other.  The technician didn't have to say it.  We already knew.

It's a boy!
(Image censored for content.)


We were happy to see his little feet,


his head and hands.


We were thrilled beyond belief to see his bright white straight bones
 

and hear his strong heartbeat.


He was wiggly and made it difficult for the tech to get clear measurements.  She also announced that I had a low lying placenta.  She says, "It's nothing to worry about at this point.  But they will want you to come back in a few weeks."  I, of course, went home and looked it up on the internet.  I realize that was not the wisest course of action.  I began to worry that we'd have horrible complications.  I am grateful for priesthood blessings and the power of prayer.  I am no longer worried.

We go in for our followup appointment tomorrow.  I can't wait to see our little boy again.

Accessorizing

Rachel LOVES accessories.  It doesn't matter what they are.  Mittens, hats, bags, bracelets, hair bows or glow sticks, all are fascinating to her.  It's all fun, at least, until they break or mom takes them away.

More Pictures from the park

Doug and Rachel assisted me in taking pictures of our friends in the park.  During the small moments we captured some pictures of us too.  These are our spoils.

Sauced

This morning, as I told Rachel the breakfast menu of Cheerios, milk, and applesauce she began repeating, "sauce, sauce, sauce, sauce, sauce."


Then she began smiling and saying "hi" to her reflection in the spoon.


So, the question is...  how sauced is she?
 

Snack Time?

Is it snack time or nap time?  Maybe both.

18 Months Old

NOTE:  This post is in no way meant to be a comparison to other children or to be bragging.  We just want to document Rachel's developmental progress.

Rachel turned 18 months old on October 21, 2010.  Frankly, it's hard to believe how fast the time has gone.  Some days have been longer than others.  But the weeks and months have flown by like a dream.

She had her 18 month doctor visit last week.  She weighed a whopping 21 lbs (7% for age group) and is 31 inches tall (29% for age group).   Our little angel received 2 more immunizations.  Plus, she endured her first blood draw.  It took 2 phlebotomists, 2 NICU nurses, 1 NICU doctor, and 1 loving dad an hour to get the necessary blood while I cowered in the waiting room.  I have horrible veins and tend to go into shock when faced with needles.

The tests all came back negative by the way.  She is not anemic and currently shows no signs of Celiac Disease.  She has been exceptionally healthy so far.  We hope her life continues that way. 

Our little "Ray Ray" is our "Ray of Sunshine."  She loves giving and receiving kisses, tickling and being tickled, singing and being sung to.  She loves water in any form -- baths, showers, spilled liquid, whatever.   She thinks chasing Zoe is the funniest thing in the world.  And running after Zoe is the only time we are guaranteed she will laugh.


She likes to walk, run, climb stairs and spin in circles.  She has not discovered climbing on furniture to get to things and we have not encouraged it.  She likes it when her dad tosses her in the air and spins her around really fast.  She likes to visit her dad's office and bounces on the guest bed pillows while watching "Signing Time." (Doug's office currently doubles as the guest room.)

Rachel is an impressive girl.  She is so smart that it scares us sometimes.  Her vocabulary (complete with sign language signs) includes: flower, bear, dog, cat, bird, duck, mom, dad, eat, more, milk, hat, car, bike, blanket, bath, star, shoes, play, please, thank you, help, share, moo, quack, banana, cheese, train, book, doll, baby, bunny, amen, Jesus, water, fish, and butterfly.  She also says "uh oh" which comes out as "ooww" when she drops something.


She recognizes and names some basic shapes like star, square, circle and triangle.  She can point to her (or your) eyes, nose, mouth, ears, legs, toes, fingers and belly. 

She adores music.  She likes to do the actions to the songs:  Itsy Bitsy Spider, Book of Mormon Stories, The Wise Man and The Foolish Man, My Hands Upon My Head, Popcorn Popping, If Your Happy and You Know It, I'm A Little Teapot, and others.  She dances if I turn on the radio or she hears a theme song on TV.  She conducts any singing group she sees (in person, on TV, and sometimes even the radio).  Her favorite TV shows are "Signing Time," "Play With Me Sesame," "Baby Einstein," and good old "Sesame Street."

 

She loves going to Nursery at church.  She sings the songs, loves the treats, coloring time and play time.  She is mostly unafraid of new people and places.  This bravery is sort of surprising when both her parents were painfully shy children.  In public she often waves and excitedly says, "hi" to anyone that will pay attention to her.   She talks all the time.  We just wish we could understand the many stories she tells.

She loves to be outside as much as possible and encourages us to go on adventures by saying "car, please, car, please."  She is a fun pal to take most anywhere.  One of our favorite things is holding her hand as we walk to and from stores.  However, if you let go of her hand you will be chasing her across fields or parking lots.

She is an excellent sleeper and has been since she was 2 months old.  Every night we look at pictures of Jesus and have a prayer.  She hugs us goodnight and goes to bed.  She usually takes a stuffed animal (Ellie the Elephant or her Teddy) to bed with her.


Our biggest struggle currently deals with food.  She doesn't reliably drink her milk now that we've stopped using bottles.  Sometimes it can be a real fight if we aren't careful.  It's difficult, bordering on impossible, to get her to eat meats or vegetables.  She seems to have issues with the texture of food.  She doesn't like a lot of candy (yipee!), but she LOVES ice cream, chocolate and prune juice.  Yes, I said prune juice. 

She loves "girly" things.  She likes to wear dresses.  She adores accessories like hats, bracelets, shoes, necklaces, mittens, bows and such.  

Sometimes she exhibits a temper and dramatically throws herself to the floor.  It is so cute that it tends to make us laugh.  It's really difficult to discipline her through the laughter.  Often when you put her in time out she gets such a kick out of the "time out chair" that it isn't a punishment.  It changes her mood though and that's all that matters I suppose.  

Doug and I are totally in love with this little girl.  We can't imagine our lives without her.  She brightens the darkest of days and brings us a depth of joy we never knew before.  Yes, she can test our strength, fortitude, will and patience.  She wouldn't be a kid if she didn't do that.  We are truly blessed to have Rachel in our family.