New Favorite Album

We have been listening to "Use Your Words" by Jeremy Plays Guitar. I think everyone who has kids should get this album. It is fantastic. It has a groovy beat, and the lyrics are great. I am a bit bias because I went to grade school with Jeremy. But seriously, usually when someone tells you they know a guy in a band that you have to check out, the music usually really sucks and is NOT appropriate for children. Probably some Aerosmith or Creed covers and a few badly rhymed originals or whatever the burnouts in college bands are playing these days. Yep, this music is nothing like that. It is like a Shel Silverstein poem merged with a They Might Be Giants sound.

Bringing Back the Blog

After a week of losing my brain and realizing so few of my random comments or one-sided conversations hit the ears of adults, I decided it was necessary for my own sanity to bring the blog back. Well, that and I recently purchased a new MacBook which has inspired me to be more productive. My previous laptop sucked too much time from my life. Now I have some time back and I have decided to share my wealth by bringing back the blog for all those friends, family, and strangers who actually have an interest in what happens in Rachael's world. Rachael is almost four, and looking at the old posts made me sigh with a bit of nostalgia. So many people would look at my frenzied face when she was a baby, and say, "oh, it goes by so fast...enjoy every moment". 

That is so true. The other day, Rachael and I ventured to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview. I didn't take a camera, so there is no evidence of our field trip, but we had a great time. Rachael hugged me and said, "Mommy, I love you. I had such a great day." After I got a little teary eyed, Rachael quickly started to tell me how to drive and to turn on some princess music already. So, the sweet moments are fleeting. They emerge between those moments that your baby takes each step to become themselves; independent, stubborn, weird, creative, and silly. Sometimes your beautiful child will stop to say she loves you. Other times, she will say, "Mommy, did you fart?" while waiting in line at Target. Sigh. Motherhood. I wouldn't trade it for all the dignity and respect in the world, I guess. 

Dancing Queen

Toddler Rachael is a big girl. Wearing princess pull-ups. Well, she is adamant about the pull-ups, but not so consistent on the potty use. Here is a video of some of her best moves to her favorite dance party song by Lily Allen. She rocks out every time its on the stereo. I love her dance moves!

Easter Egg Hunt

This is a three minute or so video of the family and Rachael's egg hunt at my parents' place. My grandma, Aunt Susie, Uncle Gene, and Aunt Judy are also around for the fun. Enjoy.

I want to ride a bike

So we haven't been keeping up with Rachael's blog very much. I attribute this lapse in good modern parenting to the fact that Rachael has stopped taking consistent naps, and she of course is a very high energy toddler. I also have become addicted to facebook, so I spend most of my computer time wasting away in the blackhole that is facebook. Rachael has been talking so much more. Her current favorite games are "hide from the dragon" and "run, run, run, c'mon, mommy, run!". Dragons have found their home in her imagination, and they are the topic of many conversations like, "Mommy, do dragons poop?". Today, she put on Mike's bike helmet as he was getting ready for a bike ride, and today's video shows our conversation about "her bikes". I figure she will be RAGBRAI ready in a few years at this rate.

December Days

December has flown by! As you can see from the picture, Rachael has turned evil, and since she has a developed a thirst for blood, it has been harder to keep up with the blog. Like most vampires, she rarely sleeps at night. Her usual time to finally give up the fight and surrender to the sleep is about midnight. This is a new development which has Mike and I both exhausted. Our Christmas was wonderful, and we were treated to a visit from Harold and Marjean earlier this month. When I am less exhausted, I will add some anecdotes. Now, I am hoping to break in the new Whirley Pop my dad bought me for Christmas and watch some mindless TV. Of course, it is after midnight, so I should probably just go to bed.

Pumpkin Patches...

Here are some pictures from our trip to the Didier Farms pumpkin patch this fall. We went with a group of families from Mike's class at Kellogg. We enjoyed a hayride, pony rides, wagon rides, and a petting zoo. We got a few pumpkins too. Rachael loved the petting zoo. She ran up to each animal and enthusiastically crouched down and said in her friendliest Dr. Doolittle voice, "HEL-lo!". She loves her animals.

Big girl bed...

Rachael has moved into her big girl bed. These pictures show her napping on the floor while we finally break down and change her crib into a toddler bed. She had been refusing to fall asleep in her crib for a few weeks. We would let her fall asleep on the floor and then move her into her crib. It seems a bit ridiculous, but sometimes parents are slow. Well, we dug out the tools and instructions on how to take the one side off the crib, which, of course, is not rocket science. Rachael is now happily falling asleep in her big girl bed, and rolling out onto the floor across the room each night. We are always surprised where we will find her in her room when we wake up. We have put a body pillow on the floor, so when she rolls out, it doesn't even seem to wake her up.

Halloween

Halloween was a great time for us all. Rachael dressed up as Wonder Woman. She loved climbing up the steps of each house and saying hello to our neighbors. She didn't care about hte candy too much. She just liked meeting everyone. She still thinks we are trick or treating when we go out for a walk. She hasn't grasped the concept that you only knock on your neighbors' doors for treats once a year. The rest of the time its just a bit creepy. We did really enjoy meeting our neighbors. There were some amazingly decorated houses around here. Rachael and her best friend Ana are getting ready to head out trick or treating in this video. They are both really spazzy(and adorable). This is a common playdate for us. Ana's mom Mara, who is about 8 months pregnant, is refereeing the chaos. Enjoy.

Summer's ending...Rachael's growing

Rachael has been getting bigger and bigger. She is recently very focused on taking turns, putting her shoes on, and playing ring around the rosy. She also has started taking a toddler gymnastics class which is probably going to teach her how to successfully catapult herself out of her crib. We have had an amazing summer and we are off to Seattle and Portland for a visit with Ganna, Goomba, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Lee. Mike will be running the Portland marathon.

Super sweeper

Here is Rachael helping sweep the kitchen. She loves to make a mess so she can help clean it up. We have created a monster...a monster of frantic cleaning...she must take after the Van Gilder side...the genes I didn't inherit.

Random Cute Pics...

Here are some random pictures from the last few months of summer. She is bouncing at her daycare funfest, playing at the beach, and walking with her Goomba. It is hard to imagine that time has flown by so quickly. I remember a year ago Rachael was just learning to sit up, and now she won't sit still! Enjoy!

New tree

Here are a few pics and short video of Rachael helping take care of our new tree. We recently improved our backyard by pulling out some ground cover and putting in grass. Our old tree was dead, so we replaced it with a cute little lollipop crabapple tree. Rachael had fun watching the handymen work building our new deck and improving our backyard space. She stood at the back door watching, waving, and saying "ell---ooo" over and over.

Rachael Lately

Here are some pics of toddler Rachael lately. She has been very busy creating silly games like "feed Cookie Monster a mouth full of Kix cereal" and "try on Daddy's bike helmet". As Rachael and life get busier, the blogs get shorter. But, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here you go! Enjoy.

Rachael's Daycare Funfest

Rachael had fun at her daycare's yearly funfest/ picnic. She enjoyed a pony ride with her Goomba. Here is a picture of her! It is hard to believe she is only 18 months old....She also had fun bouncing around in the toddler "bouncy castle" which included a pirate ship and inflated dolphin for her to bounce on. More pics will be added later I am sure.

Ganna and Goomba are visiting until Tuesday. We are going to a Cubs game on Sunday.

Life gets busier and busier...

Rachael is growing so fast! She has transitioned to her new room at daycare, and is such a big girl. In the last few weeks she has hit many milestones. She is trying to talk more. She does the "toddler" slide all on her own at the park. She can go down the big curly slide with help. She rinses her own hair in the bath by lying back--- a major milestone for a little girl who refused to get her hair wet at all without screaming... She loves to wave and say, "hi" to everyone in the neighborhood. We have been having a fun summer so far.

Here is a video of Rachael rocking out. She loves to dance.

Rachael Pretends

Lately, Rachael has begun "pretending" more while playing with her toys. She also does very silly things that make us wonder what goes on in her amazing little mind. For example, she likes to climb into boxes, baskets, and her step stool and fill the space around her with her fisher price animals. All of them. She will point to any stray animals that didn't make it in with her and once they join her, she will climb out and dump them on the floor. The game starts over. She also loves to "pretend" that each little animal is going to sleep by lying them down on the floor. They also eat from a toy that has little bananas in it. She is learning her animals. She can usually pick out the right animal when I say, "where is your lion, giraffe, panda bear, etc.". She likes to trace our house numbers in front with her finger, and we talk about how we live at 609A and neighbors Tiff, George, and doggie Kiki live at 609B. She traces their numbers and says, la la la BEEE ba ba Beee. I guess she knows the letter b. It does begin her favorite words, "ball, bubble, balloon..." Here is a video of her climbing in her step stool and feeding her animals some bananas. Notice she makes a little eating sound for them.

Early Heckling

Rachael warms up her heckling technique. Later she tries to spell out Podsednik you're a bum with the crowd, but even grown-ups can't spell Podsednik very well...It was a beautiful day in the left field bleachers at Wrigley.

Cubs Game!

Rachael (and her parents) ventured to a Cubs game against the Rockies on Sunday. First off, if you haven't been following, the Cubs have had the best record since like 1908. Seriously. They finished their homestand on Sunday an amazing 7-0...

Rachael had a great time. We sat in the left field bleachers with our usual group of regulars. Before the game, she got a souvenir ball from the grounds crew. In the 6th inning, she finally caught Alfonso Soriano's eye with her adorable face and Soriano shirt, and got yet another souvenir ball. (She got her first one from Soriano last June 16 at her first game.) She enjoyed the game until she passed out moments after getting that ball from Soriano. It was almost like she held out until she got it before giving in to a nap! She slept right through the seventh inning stretch until the end of the game.

Her are some pics and video of her big day at Wrigley Field.

Running and screeching...

Adorable, but, yes, it is a video of Rachael pushing her school bus and screeching with glee. Advil, anyone?