Mama's Dress

My mom did a great job of keeping a selection of my baby clothes that I could use when I became a mother.  Over the years I have cherished these clothes.  Now I can cherish pictures and memories of my baby Rachel in those outfits.  This is one such dress.

I LOVE this smile.

And I LOVE these eyes.

Rachel is delightful.  She is learning new things every day.  She has recently discovered her tongue.

She is becoming a master of "patty-cake."

And she is learning to use sign language. She loves signing "dada." She has a great sense of humor and likes to tease her Mom and Dad. We will say, "say mama." She will get a grin on her face, make the sign for dad and say "dada." We will do it over and over again. "Say Mama." "Dada." "Say Mama." "Dada." "Say Mama." "Dada." But, when she is in distress she will say and sign "mama."

Lilacs

Last year we took pictures of Rachel with our beautiful Lilacs.

It seemed only fitting to do it again this year.  (Incidentally, this was 2 days before the snowstorm.)

Rachel loves, loves, loves to be outside.  She also likes to be barefoot and explore the way things feel on her feet.

She decided that we all should smell the lilacs.  Rachel smelled them...

 I smelled them...

and Zoe smelled them.

Then she decided to taste them.

I can almost see the cognitive wheels turning in her head.  "What should I try now?"

"I wonder what happens when you scrape the flowers on the ground."

I love watching Rachel explore and grow.  What a wonderful year it has been.

It Snowed

It snowed.  On May 24th, 2010 it snowed.  Doesn't Mother Nature know it's supposed to be spring bordering summer?  On the flip side I was able to get some cute shots of Rachel.

  

She wasn't quite sure what to do with the snow, nor the grass for that matter.

I don't know if this was a cry of fun or a call for help.

Is catching snowflakes on your tongue a natural instinct?

Too much fun for a Monday morning in May.

May 12

Rachel was her cheerful self.  Good Morning!

She practiced drinking from her sippy cup instead of her bottle.

You must always stay hydrated.

I wasn't feeling well so I was going to take pictures of all the messy rooms in my house.  But, I felt inspired after taking this picture.  I've shown pictures of reclaiming the kitchen in blogs gone by.  So, wouldn't reclaiming the kitchen today show how a stay-at-home mom's life is one continual round?

I cleaned like mad for 35 minutes and felt tons better.

Rachel and Zoe have taken to being under my feet at all times.

So, like so many days, I corralled Rachel and let her watch Baby Einstein (Baby Noah).  I relegated Zoe to her bed.  Now I could open the dishwasher without anyone "helping."

We had nachos for lunch.

Rachel practiced her cosmetology skills on her dad.  Her ideas extend to her own hairstyles.  She doesn't think she needs to keep her bows in her hair. 

The Young Women's Organization had a fundraising spaghetti dinner and auction.  I put together a package of scrapbooking supplies for the auction.  The supplies ended up going for $10. 

Doug made 2 pounds of his famous candied almonds.  They sold for $36.

Dinner was great!  Rachel was thrilled that Trinidee shared her breadsticks.

Rachel tried to bid at the auction.

When she wasn't taken seriously she gave up.

I mean really gave up.

We bought a cool pre-made accordion scrapbook, a superman cape, some odd toys, and a kids toy tunnel.  It was great helping the cause. 

We hurried home, fed Rachel and put her to bed.  She was exhausted and so were Doug and I.

Rachel's First Airplane Ride/Texas Adventure

 

Baby...Check.

Car Seat...Check.
Diaper Bag...Check.
Laptop Bag...Check.
Purse...Check.
Carry-on Luggage...Check.
Already Tired Mom...Check. Check.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

7:00am  Doug had us all safely to the airport.

7:30am We boarded the plane.

8:15am Take off.
8:25am Rachel fell asleep.
10:40am Rachel woke up.

10:55am airplane lands in Dallas.

(I was spoiled.  There were 2 open seats next to me.)

 

When I landed I found out that my sister, Melinda, and my Mom were stranded on their way to pick me up.  So, like any good supermom, I...

gathered up my checked luggage.

strapped the baby to my chest.

found the bathroom.

freed the baby long enough to change her diaper.

procured relatively quiet corner by baggage claim.

fed Rachel formula, applesauce and baby snacks.

called my husband.

kept the baby from licking the floor.
gratefully greeted my Dad when he arrived an hour later.

Rachel and I loved being with my family.  We went out to some great restaurants and shopped at the local outlet stores.  But, mostly we stayed home and hung out with the family members that came and went.  It was wonderful and relaxing.We spent time with...

Granddad South 

Grandmother South

Uncle Mike

Aunt Tessa

Mikie, Catie, Evie, and Frankie (Mike and Tessa's kids.  Frankie not pictured.)

The first night we were all together Mikie kindly shared part of his giant carrot with Rachel.  I took it away and told him that she couldn't eat it because she didn't have teeth.  He promptly stuck his finger in her mouth.  She chomped down.  Shocked, he yanked his finger free, came over to me and confused exclaimed, "You said she had no teeth.  But, she bit me!"

Aunt Melinda visited everyday.  Aunt Nan and Erika (pictured) and Sydney visited almost as often.

Uncle Gary (aka the pied piper) took Rachel on a small adventure to see the pond.

Rachel liked Arial, queen of couch climbing dogs.  Arial liked Rachel, from a distance.

Doug and I used skype every night to keep in touch and have family prayer and scriptures. Rachel missed her dad so much that she would crawl over to me, lay her head on my lap and say "dada."  At that point I would bring up skype on the laptop and call Doug so she could see him.

Meanwhile, Doug was busy at home.  He had the privilege of baptizing his niece, Hannah!

And, he took pictures at Bethany and TJ's wedding open house.

Before I was ready it was time to go home to Salt Lake and the life we left behind (May 2, 2010).  

The staff at the DFW airport security was amazing!  They had a lady there that helped me get everything in the bins for scanning.  She stayed with me until we were completely done with the diaper bag search and everything.  Then she found us a cart for all of our baggage.  It was heavenly!

Rachel and I spent a little time watching airplanes at the Dallas airport.

Then we boarded our plane.  We scored one extra seat so she could use her car seat.  She only slept for 1.5 hours so I spent the other hour or so helping her watch Baby Einstein on the laptop, entertaining her with toys and giving her baby snacks.

We had a lot of fun.  But, we were both thrilled to see Doug (dad) and to be home.