Playgroup at the Children's Museum

Our playgroup met this week at the TotSpot at the Children's Museum.  This area is designed for kids from birth to 36 months.  Rachel enjoyed crawling around, playing with the other babies and all of the toys.  I am sure we will be going back again soon!

Fun Weekend

Last weekend, we enjoyed having Grandma Kathy in town to visit for Wes' birthday.  Granny was also here visiting her friend Mary and Wes' Aunt Diane was visiting friends in the Woodlands so we got to see them as well.  On Saturday, we visited Mary and saw cousins Laura and Allison and their mother.  Rachel had a great time meeting all of them.

Rachel was sick for the first time last week  (just a few days after her first stay in the church nursery) so she was not quite herself on the weekend.  She was a trooper and seemed to enjoy herself through the visit and lunch.  On the way home, she let us know that she had had enough and needed some rest.  Fortunately, she was back to her normally happy state by Sunday.

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday so we went on a walk to Dry Creek for brunch and then on to the park.  Rachel enjoyed the swing as usual and got to try the slide for the first time.  She really enjoyed that as well.

Time to Stand Up

This week, Rachel has improved dramatically in her ability to stand herself up. She particularly enjoys being able to get out whatever toy she wants from the toy basket.

She also enjoys pushing her walker toy short distances - she is still working on this skill and often gets distracted trying to play with the toys on the front.

Today, Rachel was having so much fun playing that she refused to take a nap. She must have worn herself out, though, because she eventually fell asleep when she was playing in her jumper.

After her nap, she was back at play - enjoying her music table.

Jumping Bean

Wes made a video of Rachel jumping so you can get a better idea of how much fun she has.

Eight Months

Rachel is now 2/3!  We had a fun eighth month with Rachel with the excitement of the holidays.  She is still doing quite well and gets more mobile everyday.  We finally put up the baby gate this week so she does not try to crawl down the stairs.

One of Rachel's favorite things to do these days is to stand up.  She will spend (relatively) long periods of time just standing and playing with her toys.

She also still loves to jump in her jumper (and anywhere else she can find someone to help her jump).  It is kind of hard to capture it in a picture so this is the best I could do.

One of her other favorite things in the world is her big sister kitty Maya.  Whenever she sees Maya, she gets a big smile on her face and sometimes tries to chase after her.  Maya is a very good sport about escaping from Rachel and sometimes she even lets Rachel pull her ears and fur a bit.

Last Trip to the Zoo of 2009

The week after Christmas, we just relaxed at home and enjoyed some free time.  We had plans of getting lots of things done around the house, but not all of it was accomplished.  We did, however, make it to the zoo one final time for the year.  The weather was really nice and Rachel was excited to be there (wearing a new outfit she got for Christmas).

Rachel has started to pay a lot more attention to some of the animals.  She is really watching the birds and the fish because they are colorful and move around.  The fish are still her favorite.

The baby elephant playing with his ball did not get much of a reaction; neither did the kookaburra eating a mouse.  Rachel just smiled through it all and relaxed in her stroller.

Christmas in Dripping Springs

After leaving Utopia, we headed to Dripping Springs to visit more of the family.  We enjoyed spending time with everyone there.  Rachel especially enjoyed playing with her cousins Taylor and Ethan.

Having had a few experiences with presents by this point, Rachel seemed to have figured out where the good stuff was.  She spent a lot of time trying to get into some packages that were for her while waiting for everyone to get ready for the gift opening.

She was not really sure what to make of the snowman that showed up during the white elephant exchange.

The day after Christmas, there was a big family gathering and Rachel got to meet a lot more relatives.  She enjoyed being the center of attention.  She also liked watching the guys play football and playing with the dogs.

Christmas in Utopia

A few days before Christmas, we pointed ourselves to the West and drove to Utopia.  We had a great time visiting all of the family there and enjoying the outdoors at the ranch.  Rachel enjoyed spending time with her Grandma Kathy (a.k.a. Grammy).  Rachel got to meet a lot more cousins and to see all of the aunts, uncles, cousins and various other relatives that she already knew.  It was fun to see everyone.

Before Christmas, we visited Granny's house and Rachel got to take a picture with a lot of the youngest cousins (and one with Granny, too)

Uncle Travis gave Rachel her first guitar lesson.  She did very well - she used her pacifier as a pick.

There was more time for visiting at Granny's house after the Christmas Eve service.  Rachel's stocking was hung up to wait to be filled for Christmas morning.  They were hung by age so she was at the very end.

Granny's Christmas tree was up and ready for Santa (and everyone else) to bring lots of presents.

On Christmas morning, we were all up bright and early to have breakfast and see what Santa had brought.

After enjoying his new drums, Jonathan and Grandma Kathy helped Rachel see what was in her stocking.

Rachel received a lot of lovely gifts for which she is very thankful, even though she does not express it well yet.

There was still some more time on Christmas to play with cousins and meet Wes' grandfather.

Christmas with Oma and Opa

Rachel's first Christmas was an exciting and very busy time!  The week before Christmas, we made some sugar cookies that Wes took to work.  Rachel did not get to try any yet, but she did enjoy playing with the cooking cutters while watching us work.

The real celebrations started with a visit from Oma and Opa the weekend before Christmas.  Rachel was very happy to see them again.

Rachel enjoyed playing with the tree and was a good sport about wearing her Christmas outfit, hat and all, for the present opening fun.

Rachel (and her parents) appreciate all of the nice gifts that she received.  The most exciting part was probably the tissue paper, though.