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.