Rachel playing the piano

This is one of the video's of Rachel playing the piano a couple of weeks ago.

Hair cut

I finally gave Rachel a little hair cut this morning. I can't believe how much she looks like a 'little girl' now. Those baby looks are long gone now :( And yes, I actually did cry a little bit this morning after I cut her hair - just because I can't believe how different she looked..my baby girl is growing up (and let's be honest - it's the hormones, too - I cry over everything - just ask Ron!)

Here's a picture from this morning...


In other news, her front tooth is officially out now. Yay - I can actually write it in her baby book! ha ha I can't remember if I mentioned anything about the tooth in my last post or not. Funny that she got her top tooth first but I don't care - she HAS A TOOTH NOW! YAY!!!! Her cheeks have been rosy over the past few days and she's been warm/feverish a couple of times, too - maybe she's getting more? I'm not getting my hopes up - one tooth is good for now!

Lately Rachel has become to attached to her dolls. She carries them all over the house and even burps them! (so cute to see). I brought up her baby furniture for her dolls and she's been using it. I can't believe how realistic this stuff is. The stroller folds just like the one we have for Rachel. There is also a carseat, a highchair and a playpen. She loves to take her dolls for walks in the stroller and when she eats, her doll has to be in the highchair beside Rachel. Too cute.

Other than that, things are going great and our little munchkin is becoming quite the little girl. She is saying more and more words every day...it won't be long now before she's talking our ear off. Lucky Ron - two women like that in the house! ha ha

Wow - it's time for an update!

So much has happened over the past few weeks...I don't even know where to begin.

I'm back to work and enjoying it. I thought it would take a lot longer to get adjusted to being a "working Mom" but it's really not so bad...especially on payday! ha ha Seriously though, Rachel still sleeps so much during the day that I don't feel like I'm missing out on a lot. I'm home by 3:15 usually so I get to spend some quality time with her before Ron gets home around 4:30 and then after dinner we get to play with her until bedtime (still at 7pm). I do find though that the days go by a lot faster - I honestly didn't think that was possible. Another good thing about me being back at work is that Rachel gets to spend some quality time with her grandparents. Grandad comes over every morning at 6:30 until 9ish. Then Grandma takes over until I get home from work. Oma comes down every Wednesday to spend the day with Rachel as well so she's really lucky to be able to spend that kind of time with her grandparents. Plus, she's so excited when Ron & I get home from work - it really just makes your day to see that little smile. It's a tiny reminder as to why we're doing what we're doing.

The pregnancy is moving along quickly, too. I can't believe I'm already at the 'count down' stage. Only 18 weeks to go until my due date! I have another doctor's appointment next week and I can't wait to hear the heartbeat. This baby seems to be more active than Rachel but then I wonder if I just don't remember her being like this. It's amazing the things you forget - just in the course of a year and a bit.

We broke down and bought a new vehicle at the end of August. We have been looking for a few months but just couldn't agree on anything...or we didn't see anything that we 'loved'. I was having a hard time with this whole 'car payment' thing - I haven't had one in years and with me going on maternity leave again in January, it was something that we really needed to take into consideration. The last thing we need is a huge car payment. We finally decided on a 2008 Ford Escape and we LOVE it! I do miss Ruby, my little red rocket, but it was time to face the music - I needed a more 'family oriented' vehicle...the two door car had to go but I was NOT ready for a mini van :) Rachel seems to enjoy the new vehicle as well - she can see more now. We also put her car seat behind the driver seat now instead of in the middle since we'll be adding another carseat in January. We went to a carseat clinic at the beginning of January and they told us that Ron did a great job installing it. We figured it was best to get it checked out since it was a new vehicle and things have changed in cars over the years as far as how you install a carseat. So now we're good to go - we know our little Rachel is in there safe & sound.

Rachel is quite the little toddler. Everyday she learns something new. She's doing really well with her sign language and I'm amazed at how much she understands when we speak to her. She's talking a lot more - still just a lot of noises but she does say 'duck' now which is funny. And everytime she hears a dog bark, she has to bark, too! She can meow like a cat, quack like a duck and moo like a cow, too. She "jumps", dances and loves to look at you through her legs - as she is bent over with her head on the floor. It's really cute though when a song comes on the radio that she likes - she immediately starts to dance. If we're in the car and the song is more to Ron's liking, she will do the 'head banger' move - where she sits in her carseat and literally just bangs her head and laughs. If it's a softer song, she will sing and put her arms in the air. She recently discovered how to open our pantry and she will bring the cookies to you and say 'mmmm'. She is infatuated with her belly button (it's an outtie) and she knows where her nose, leg, toes & eyes are. She loves to comb her own hair after her bath and she helps get undressed as well. This age is so much fun - I really think a newborn is going to be boring! ha ha Rachel still goes to bed at 7 every night and usually sleeps until at least 7 the next morning. Then she has a 2 hour nap in the morning as well as a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon. The kid loves her sleep...let's hope her brother/sister does as well :)

Her latest obsession is the piano. She was playing it on her own tonight (usually I sit with her) so I actually recorded her for awhile. I really need to upload that to You Tube, in addition to getting some pictures up here, too! Blogger still doesn't like me enough to let me add pictures whenever I want. I think it's just our computer but I don't know - it's frustrating. I'll have to bring my laptop home this weekend and upload some.

At any rate, everyone is doing well in our household and we've been keeping busy. Oh my goodness - it seems like every weekend there is something going on. But that's ok - it keeps us out of trouble :)

That's about all the time I have for an update now. It's past my bedtime - yes, it's sad that it's only 9:08pm and it's past my bedtime but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Stay tuned for another post this weekend...I promise the next update won't be another month from now!

Happy First birthday Rachel!!!

Just a quick post to show everyone how cute Rachel looked eating her cake

52 weeks ago right now....

...I was in labour. Heavy, intense labour. I wanted an epidural but they didn't get it done in time....I needed to push. I only pushed for 15 minutes so I can't complain but I'm telling ya - those were 15 tough minutes!!! In the end, it was totally worth it though!

So, it's 8:40pm and I'm enjoying the peace & quiet. Ron & his brother Mark went out to Delaware tonight to watch a car race. Rachel has been in bed since 7 and I've been running my ass off (if only that would really happen). Tomorrow is the big party and I can't wait! We are expecting just over 20 adults and there will be 7 kids. So far, it looks like the weather is going to hold out for us. The sky right now is a beautiful pinky-orange colour so here's hoping it'll be nice and sunny for us tomorrow!

Linda & I worked on Rachel's birthday cake today. I must say that I'm very impressed with the way it turned out...if only Blogger would cooperate and let me upload a picture! UGH - so frustrating!

Anyway, I think it's time to go grab a cup of tea and RELAX for awhile :)

Rachel walking on video

I do apologize for the poor quality of this video - it was recorded tonight in our living room and I didn't think to turn more lights on. On top of that, I was using our digital camera since it's much easier to upload those videos! ha ha

Rachel in the pool

We had a very busy day today but it was fun! We went to buy more paving stones so we can make a walkway from our man door (garage) to our driveway. It's been one of those things that we've wanted to do for awhile and since the grass is DEAD, it seems to be the right time to do it. After that we went out for lunch and then stopped at the Ford dealership to test drive an Escape. It seems that my two door car is just not practical anymore and I have finally come to grips with that. Yes, it has taken awhile to accept that fact but hey, I'm there now and that's all that matters, right? Anyway, I need to get back to work first before we buy a new vehicle so that's a discussion for another day. After our test drive, we went to my parents place and we went for a swim at Wayne & Lennie's. The pool was awesome - 88 degrees!! Rachel finally got to test out her new little chair float we got her awhile ago and she loved it! It was so cute to see her kicking her legs to make herself move around. Wayne took some pictures so I thought I'd post a couple here. Oh - the only reason why I can post pictures right now is because I'm using my Dad's laptop. Now that I know I can post pictures elsewhere I'm going to have to try to figure out what the heck is wrong with our computer.

Ron, Me, Rachel, Mom & Dad.

We have a "Toddler"

Well, the 'baby' days are over I would say. Rachel is walking! I can't believe how just a week ago she was still only taking a couple of steps and now she's walking everywhere. Last night she was walking up and down the hall and from the kitchen to the family room with no problems. She will even stop while she's walking to regain her balance and then continue on. Way to go, Rachel!!!!

One year appointment

Rachel had her one year check up yesterday and everything seems great! She is 29 inches long/tall and not quite 21 lbs (20lbs 14oz). She's hardly gained any weight since her last check up but she has grown a few inches so that's good. The rest of her checkup was fine and she goes back on the 16th to get her one year needles. The good news with that date is that Grandma will have the pleasure of taking her to that appointment since I'll be back to work!

Speaking of back to work - I have one week left. ONE WEEK! And let me tell you - it's going to be a busy week at that! I have a hair appointment on Tuesday (cut & colour), Rachel gets her pictures taken on the Wednesday, then on Thursday I have a pedicure scheduled and then Friday we take Rachel to see Dr. Jain in Cambridge to see if he knows what these brown marks are on her legs & chest. Then Saturday I'll be busy all day getting ready for her party on Sunday! Sunday will be a BUSY day but I expect it will be a blast, too. A perfect way to end my year off work. *sigh*

Rachel is doing very well with her 'walking'. She takes between 8-10 steps now on her own and she's standing for considerable amounts of time, too. It's just so weird to look over at her and she's standing all by herself. She's definitely not a baby anymore! I'm still hopeful that she'll be walking by her birthday. Everyday she seems to get more and more confident.

I think that's about it for now. We're hoping to go to the Hot Air Balloon Festival this weekend downtown. It seems like we'll have to wake Rachel up early in the morning to see them take off though (they take off at 6:30am). They also take off at 6:30pm but that's cutting it too close to her bedtime and we have learned the hard way that she needs to be in bed by 7:30 or else we pay the price (she's overtired and cries and whines - just not worth it). We'll see what happens though - getting up early is going to be tough..buuuuutttt, I guess I'll need to get used to that. UGH

Official First Steps!

Over the past few weeks, Rachel has been taking a couple of steps here and there on her own - mostly from the coffee table to the couch. However, yesterday we were in St. Catharine's visiting Lora, Owen & Ashley and she took 4 steps in the middle of the room! How exciting!

When we got home, Ron & I tried to get her to take more steps by herself and she did! We actually got it on video as well so I'll have to try & upload that to YouTube one of these days after I edit the video (It's way too long). She stands on her own for quite awhile now as well. I'm thinking she'll be walking by her first birthday for sure! YAY!!!!!!

Pictures! FINALLY!!!!!

Rachel should be waking up from her morning nap any minute so I'm going to keep this short & sweet. I'm just so excited that I can finally upload pictures again!


This kid of ours is just plain crazy sometimes. A few weeks ago, this is how she drank her bottle before going to bed. Yes, that's right - Ron is using his head to balance the bottle for her!

We went to the new Bank of Montreal Grand Opening in our subdivision on Saturday and Wendel Clark was there signing autographs. I'm not a huge Leafs fan or anything but when I was first pregnant with Rachel, I had won tickets to a Leafs game so we bought this little onesie while we were there. Rachel is about 4 months old in these pictures that we had Wendel sign for us...

Below is my new 'favourite' picture of Rachel making her funny face. I know she's mine but I still think she's the cutest little thing!!

And finally, her 11 month pictures from the studio. Nancee wasn't around this time so Rob did the pictures but they turned out pretty good.

Rachel is very close to walking on her own but not quite there yet. I didn't want to encourage her to walk - I wanted her to figure it out on her own but now that I have less than 3 weeks at home with her before I go back to work, I really want her to walk! ha ha We'll see - a lot of new things happen on a daily basis so I guess you never know.

Other than that, I'm just getting ready for her 1st birthday party. I made all the invitations a couple of weeks ago and they went in the mail. I've figured out the 'goody bags' and actually, they're all done and sitting on the dining room table (thanks to my Mom for helping me) and I've figured out the menu as well so now it's just a matter of baking the cake and decorating it and then the party itself! I think it will be a wonderful celebration...and then the next day I go back to work! Wow!

That's all for now. Hopefully Blogger will cooperate on a regular basis now and I can get back to posting more often!

Blogger is really pissing me off!

I've been trying to upload pictures for HOW long now???? Still can't - it just craps out on me and I'm beyond frustrated now! It may be time to look for a new home for my blog.

I took Rachel for her 11 month pictures this afternoon. She was a little ham for the camera. It wasn't our regular photographer but Rob did a great job so I can't complain. There is the cutest little face on one of the pictures - I can't wait to get them back tomorrow...but then again, who knows when I'll be able to post them here??? It's great that they have all of their photo packages on sale right now at RCSS....$10 off each package - you can't go wrong!

In other news, Rachel has attempted to climb the stairs...but she fell down. Poor thing - now she won't go near them. I guess that's a good thing for now though. Other than that, she's still crawling everywhere and cruising the furniture or even the walls now. She loves to walk behind her one little toy - the music was starting to drive me nuts though so I was a bad Mommy and turned it off! ha ha Rachel doesn't seem to mind so far. She's quite entertaining with her piano now. The other day she was standing at it, playing away while kicking her one leg out. It was hilarious! The faces that she makes while she plays crack me up as well.

I made Rachel's birthday invitations last Wednesday night and put them in the mail on Thursday. We are planning on having her party on the actual day of her birthday since it's a Sunday. We were going to have it on the Saturday but with us having to go to Cambridge on that Friday for her dermatologist appointment, I don't know how long we'll be and then I'd be doing all of my running around Saturday morning before the party. I want to make the cake myself, too so by having the party on Sunday, that gives us all day Saturday to run around and do what we need to do.

4 weeks today & I'll be back at work. Unbelievable! I am ready though - the change will be good. As some of my friends have said 'Work is like a vacation' :)

In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy this AWESOME weather we've been having...and my naps! ha ha

A lot of catching up...

It's been awhile since I've posted here - we've been super busy and I just haven't had the time to post an update.

Rachel is one little busy girl now - she's into EVERYTHING! She crawls everywhere, she's cruising around the furniture and getting comfortable enough that she only uses one hand to support herself now. She LOVES walking around with her one little toy and she's even having fun with her 'ride on' toys. It's cute to see her move her little legs to get the toy moving.

We took Rachel out with us on our anniversary. We just went to Jack Astor's for dinner but she had a blast! Of course they had to sit us near the bathrooms so everyone that walked by stopped to smile at her or make a comment....and Rachel LOVED the attention.

We had a busy long weekend. Ron & my Dad finally put up the swing set we got for Rachel. We were playing with it on Saturday morning and Rachel was having a blast. It was too hard to use the slide though - she needs to gain more muscle control and balance for that but the swing is definitely a hit! On Sunday we went over to my parents for a bbq. It was great to see everyone - basically the Christmas Eve crowd - and we had a blast. Then on Monday we went to visit Mark, Sally & Luke in Bayfield. They are borrowing a friends trailer for the week so it was nice to visit & relax. Rachel was a bit of a bully around Luke because he's not crawling or moving around yet. She would go up to him and take his toys or try to crawl over him, etc. I guess this is her chance to do that now because one day he'll be doing that to her, I'm sure! :)

I've tried to upload pictures but Blogger is not cooperating right now. I'll have to try again later.

Crawling, crawling, crawling...

Rachel is officially crawling now. I honestly didn't think she ever would because she's figured out how to roll everywhere and that seems to work for her. However, yesterday she started crawling more than the 3-4 steps (not sure what to call them) that she had been taking until now. She's into EVERYTHING now. Ron & I quickly child proofed the house last night but I'm sure there are things that we didn't think about moving...and once Rachel figures those things out, we'll fix them! :)

It was a decent day today - although it was a bit windy. Nice & cool. Poor Rachel has a cold again though. I'm hoping it only lasts a couple of days like her last one.

She was a little buggar for me last night. Ron was at a First Aid/CPR course last night and again tonight from 6-10 so that means I had the pleasure of putting her to bed both nights. Usually I say goodnight to her, she gives me a kiss & hug and then Ron puts her to bed. However, since he's been at this course, I had to put her to bed as well. She didn't like that idea so much. She freaked out last night and was screaming and crying. I tried to calm her down by rubbing her back while she was in her crib - not so much. I cuddled with her on the rocking chair for awhile but as soon as I would put her back in the crib, she would freak out. I really don't think it helps that she has a cold. Anyway, tonight was a little better - she freaked out at first but by 7:30 she was sawing logs. Last night it was around 8:40 when she finally fell asleep!

I don't think there is anything else to report....still waiting for the swings to go up! Hopefully this weekend!

10 month pictures

It's hard to believe when you look at these pictures that Rachel was a little devil the morning we had them taken. She didn't want to sit still - she wanted to move around everywhere, roll here and there, etc. But we did manage a few cute shots...

What a little lady, eh?

I love when Rachel wears hats.

Looks like she's ready for a big trip!

Nancee did this picture especially for Ron. Rachel gave it to him today in a frame for Father's Day - he was pretty excited and wondered when I had it done. If only I would have thought about it - I would have taken in his toy chain saw and had her picture taken with that. Maybe next month. I'm always trying to think of new things and at this point, it's getting to be more difficult.

I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted here. It's been a busy one - Rachel & I went out for lunch with my friend Mark this week. OMG, Rachel LOVED him - she's such a flirt with the boys! I took a picture of them with my cell phone but I haven't uploaded or emailed it to myself yet - one day soon, I hope!

Yesterday we spent the day in Pontypool (just outside Oshawa). My Aunt & Uncle were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary so it was great to see everyone! Rachel was sooooo good - I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know she's a good girl but that's usually because she gets her naps and follows her routine. Her routine was shot to shit yesterday basically! ha ha She had a little nap in the morning - almost an hour - before we left and then she was pretty good in the car. I mean, considering it's a long drive (over 2 hours), she was good. Ron & I have come to the conclusion that she's quite happy having the back seat to herself - she doesn't really like to share it with anyone else (we were with my parents yesterday). When she's on her own, she sleeps in the car or just plays quietly - not so much the case with other people in the backseat. Anyway, she stayed awake the whole time in the car and then when we got to my cousin's house, there was way too much going on for her to take a nap. She didn't make strange with anyone and was smiling & laughing the whole time. At one point I took her for a little walk thinking that might put her to sleep. Not so much. There were a lot of new things to look at! :) She finally did have a little nap around 6:30 last night. It was adorable the way she fell asleep - with her hand on her ear (her ear was actually folded over - guess we were too loud! ha ha)

And finally, today we celebrated Father's Day...here's a shot of Ron & Rach relaxing after our nap this afternoon :)


I'm hoping that tomorrow we can pick up the swing set for Rachel. Ron has First Aid training later on this week for 2 nights so we won't be able to get it then. I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway :)

Pictures from this week

It's been a busy week but of course I managed to take a ton of pictures. I really need to slow down with the pictures but there are some days where I just can't help myself...ok, maybe 'most' days :)

She is always in a good mood when she wakes up. Her shirt says '4 GET IT' :)

This week has been a hell of a week when it comes to bedtime for Rachel. Actually, bedtime is fine - she goes down with no problems but then about an hour or so later, she's crying. When we go up there - she's sitting up in her crib. It's almost like she doesn't know what to do. The good news is that if we bring her downstairs she just wants to sit still (which is a nice change) and she'll cuddle with Ron. This is from the other night when they were watching the hockey game.

Such a girlie girl in her dress with her legs crossed. I just love it when she sits like this and plays - it's too cute!

Hmmmm...wonder what's in here?

Oh....LOTS of fun things like Daddy's blank DVD's! AHHHHH!!

I love this little outfit...and of course she's showing her leg!

I painted her toes yesterday! The first foot was easy to do but the second one - not so much. Thank goodness the Wiggles & her Cheerios kept her entertained while I did it :)

Rachel has been the sleeping queen today. She slept from 9:30 this morning until noon and then from 2....well, she's still sleeping and it's almost 5pm. I'll be waking her up soon though! I just can't believe she was sleeping this way this afternoon though - doesn't look comfortable at all!!

More milestones

Yesterday I was eating my breakfast on the couch and Rachel was playing on the floor. She was rolling around and having a great time when all of a sudden I noticed she was sitting up. I second guessed myself because I was SURE she had been rolling around...but then she was sitting up? Yuppers - she has figured that out. It amazes me how one day she doesn't do something and then the next she's doing it like she's always done it :)

She is soooo close to crawling. She's got the position for it figured out but then she just decides to roll around instead. I'm ok with this...really, I am!

Any chance she gets, she's grabbing your hands and she wants to walk. She will stand on her own but only for a second or two - then she realizes what's going on and she falls down.

The other big thing - she's figured out how to open the doors on our entertainment centre. She's opened them before but I don't think she really knew what she was doing then. However, now she's a pro and by the time you get over there, she has the cabinet half emptied! Same goes with our coffee table - she LOVES the baskets. She pulls out the middle basket on the lower level and just throwing her bibs & washcloths everywhere.

I'm sure people wonder what I do all day - I chase after my kid who can't crawl or walk yet but man oh man, when she gets near something she shouldn't be near, LOOK OUT!!!! I swear all I do is clean up after her!! :)

Small things....

...amuse Rachel while we eat breakfast :)

This picture was taken a few weeks ago when we were out for breakfast one Sunday morning. Rachel was totally content to play with this creamer the whole time we ate our breakfast.

The quality of the picture isn't the best since I used Ron's cell phone to take the picture but it's not too bad either. He finally remembered to email it to me yesterday on our drive home so now I can finally post it.

I will hopefully have a post about our weekend in a couple of days...maybe tomorrow?? For now, it's time to go relax & spend some time with Ron since Rachel is sound asleep.

Rachel gives kisses now

When you ask Rachel to give you kisses now, she puckers up...sort of :) She makes this face...

and then you hear the little pucker noise. It's quite cute. I have it on video - I'm just too lazy to upload it to You Tube right now. Maybe on Sunday I will.

We're off to Oshawa tomorrow for my cousin's wedding. It should be a hoot - really looking forward to it even though I'm the desiginated driver (still have my cold & the thought of drinking on top of that is just not a pleasant thought). Hopefully the weather is nice tomorrow because they are getting married right by the water.

We are hoping to relax on Sunday - well, we'll be driving home on Sunday morning I'm assuming so hopefully we can relax on Sunday afternoon :)

Have a great weekend!

Have a great day!

I just had to post these pictures...I think the outfit is just adorable...well, and Rachel too, of course! ha ha

Fun day today!

Rachel & I met up with Sally & Luke today to have some lunch & then go to Springbank park for a nice long walk. I thought we were meeting at Westmount Mall...but apparently it was Masonville. OOPS! Anyway, so while I was waiting for them at Westmount, I put Rachel in one of those cars that move around. SHE LOVED IT! She wasn't sure about it at first but about 5 seconds into it, she was enjoying herself. I'm so glad I had my camera with me...

I scooted over to Masonville Mall after I realized that's where Sally was (and after calling a few people! hehe) and we had some lunch there. The kids just looked at each other and yammered away. It was cute. Then we headed to Springbank...it was a beautiful day and the park was very busy! We had a great walk...really long but it was great. We were out there for a good couple of hours. Here's a picture of the kids during our washroom break...at least Luke is smiling. Rachel has her 'stunned' look on her face.

I just had to post these pictures of Pho & Silvia. I think they are just gorgeous wedding pictures (they have many). These were taken awhile ago when they were in Taiwan.

Such a cute couple...and in real life, they are even more adorable! I just love seeing people in love - it's such a great feeling!

Pics from yesterday...

We had a busy weekend again. Silvia & Pho got married on Saturday so we spent the day in Toronto. Rachel got to hang out with Auntie Linda - and she was a good girl *phew* Everyone at the wedding was asking where Rachel was. Rybeca just couldn't believe we didn't bring her to the wedding. It really would have been too much for Rachel - she loves her little schedule and she needs to follow it so it's much easier to leave her with a babysitter. Of course we would have loved to have her there but at the same time, it was nice to enjoy a day/night out. At dinner time, Aidan was a little upset and poor Rybeca didn't get to enjoy her meal. I leaned over to her and said 'Now you know why Rachel is at home' - we both just giggled and Rybeca totally understood at that point.

It's hard to drink a glass of water when Rachel is around - she always wants some! Of course, I don't mind but I'm waiting for the day when we have company over and she wants some of theirs! ha ha I'm sure they won't want Rachel's slobber all over their glass :)

Just playing around...toys everywhere....AHHHHH

She's getting better with this walking toy but she still doesn't want to walk with it. She prefers to just stand and play.

One of the best investments ever...this little musical chair keeps Rachel entertained for HOURS! Honestly!!!!

Have a great week, everyone!

Using the spoon by herself

I don't think I need to explain these pictures...as you can see, we had a bit of a mess with the green beans. Rachel had fun though & needless to say, she went straight into the tub after dinner & the tray went right in the dishwasher :)

One note about her hair - she had it in a pony tail all day and I took it out just before dinner - I had fears of green beans drying on the elastic and having a hard time getting it out later on.

Rachel clapping her hands

I finally caught this on video tonight before she went to bed...

82 days....16 hours....35 minutes...

....and I'll be back to work. 82 days! EIGHTY TWO DAYS!!!

I'm actually ok with this. I mean, I'm a little sad because it's a lot of fun being at home with Rachel but I honestly do miss work. I was in the office today doing some visiting at the new building - it is soooo nice. It's great to have everyone in the same building and even on the same floor! I think the new office has me a bit excited about going back...it will be fun.

Until then though, I'm going to enjoy the 82 days I have left at home with my little pumpkin!

Rachel's bathroom

Linda & I painted Rachel's bathroom this weekend...FINALLY! I've only been talking about painting it for a few months now! :) It's a little brighter than I expected but it's really fun and that's what it's all about, right?

Rachel checking out her new bathroom - with Auntie Linda

We hand painted bubbles on the wall - just for something fun! They turned out a lot better than I thought they would.

After we finished painting, Ron, Rachel & I went to the green house and bought some flowers. Ron planted most of them when we got home - we still have to do the pots & planters but that's ok. If the weather is nice next Sunday we're going to do it then.

Another busy weekend is over. We spent Saturday in Windsor helping David & Andrea move. On our way back into London we decided to go see Shrek the Third since my parents had Rachel over night. It was an ok movie but not as good as I was expecting.

Time to go crash on the couch...

Visit with Owen & Ashley

Rachel & I went to St. Catharine's (well, Thorold to be exact) to visit Owen, Ashley & Lora. We had a good visit, even though it was short but we will hopefully see them again soon.

Gotta love the 'open mouth' look, eh?
Owen was helping Ashley open up her birthday gift

I LOVE Ashley's face in this picture - as if she's saying 'TA DA'

Lora had this walker for Ashley & Owen when they weren't walking yet so we tried Rachel in it yesterday. She really liked it so Lora said we could borrow it. When I put Rachel in it last night, she just moved herself to the dishwasher and then talked away to her reflection. It was too funny. Unfortunately we have a lot of carpet in our house so Rachel will only be able to use this in the kitchen area or the basement...or even outside I guess. She's doing really well walking if you hold on to her hands but she doesn't quite get the fact that when she walks with a toy she needs to move her legs! :) I think the walker will help her with that. The good news is that we don't have any stairs for her to fall down (we have a door to our basement).

9 month pictures

Rachel was in a great mood for her pictures this morning and I'm quite pleased with the results....

I think this next series of pictures are my favourites...

I'm so glad I decided to take the chef stuff in with me. They had the pot already there but the rest of the props are stuff I had here at home. I can't remember which picture from the chef series is up at the store right now - she printed one of them and put it up right away. Too cute!