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.