We're Walkin'

Well, I think it's official, we have a walker! Rachel's walking improves every day. In a matter of days she has become more stable and is walking longer distances. She's doing great. She's not quiet ready to go on a walk yet but I'm sure it won't be long. Enjoy!

Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, Wes and I woke up early scooped Rachel out of bed and went back over to my Mom's for Christmas morning with my family. It was pretty wild with all the grandchildren. Five children ages 6, 3, 3, 2, and almost 1. We had a big time opening gifts and eating a great breakfast, thanks to Jackie and Steve. Rachel got a baby doll from her Grammy, a walker/stroller from her aunt Jackie, and a Grover (stuffed animal) from her aunt Carol that she loves. She's sleeping with him tonight actually.

We left Moms and came home and started cooking for Wes' family. They were coming Christmas evening. We cooked through the afternoon, ate dinner, and opened presents. I have never seen so many gifts for such a little girl. Wes' aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents spoiled her rotten. She got books, toys, even a pool for the lake. We had such a great time seeing Wes' family all together. We were especially happy to have Wes' Uncle Jay, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Pat. Wes was very excited that everyone was able to come. He talked about how much fun we had for days. It really made his Christmas to be with everyone.

Rachel got a push toy from Santa and a Grover from Aunt Carol.

Catherine got her first board game, Candy Land!

Sophia got a Dora bike helmet and Ryan got a Spiderman.

Rachel with her baby from Grammy and stroller from Aunt Jackie.

I broke out my china for Christmas dinner.

We had steak, twice baked potatoes, corn, lima beans, peas, cranberry-apple bake, and rolls. YUMMY! Wes did a great job preparing the steaks.

About to open presents.....yea!

Rachel with her mountain of presents. Got to love the whites of my eyes!

Exhausted from opening presents.

I guess all the fun is over now. Anybody want to take down my Christmas decorations?

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a whirl wind! I can't believe it's already come and gone! We went to my Mom's house for lunch and a family get together. It was nice to see everyone especially some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins I haven't seen in a while. Jokes and funny stores were on the tip of everyones tongue. I loved it when someone would say, "I have a joke... now let me see if I can remember how it goes." You knew these jokes would be pretty funny.

After lunch, Wes and I dashed back home, and before we knew it, it was time for the Christmas Eve service at church. The service was wonderful, I can't say enough about it. There was singing, scripture readings, and a candle lighting. There was no childcare so Rachel got to sit with us through the service. She was loud at times but she made it through.

When we got home we were beat. We put Rachel to bed right away, she was so tired. Wes and I went down stairs and opened our gifts from each other. He got some work stuff- new tool belt, sunglasses, a new Gerber, etc. and I got a craft table! I've been needing one because the card table that I use, that someone brought home from a dumpster is falling apart. :) SO, I was really excited to see a NEW (still in the box :) craft table. It was kind of special for Wes and I to open our gifts before the hustle and bustle of Christmas Day. I think this might become our new tradition.

Rachel and her cousin Caroline. Isn't it funny how big babies heads are?

Rachel and her great aunt Doris.

About to get into trouble with Grammy's Christmas Tree.

By the way, this tree was decorated by Wes and our two nieces Sophia, 2 years old and Catherine, 3 years old. It was some tree!

Thrill Seeker

Wes is the main one who gives Rachel her baths at night. He does a super job and really enjoys it. After the bath he puts lotion on her, brushes her hair, and gets her dressed for the night. They often play together right after the bath. Tonight, I joined in on the fun. We have said for many months now, that Rachel will probably be our dare-devil child. She loves a good thrill. Wes' certainly knows just how to give a big thrill. He jumps out from around corners and beds and screams as loud as he can. Most of the time I'm the one that jumps! Rachel jumps and laughs like crazy. I thought I'd show you a short clip of this. Welcome to our family evenings. :) Sorry for the backside shot. :(

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Going Bananas!

I went out the other night and left Wes' to fed Rachel her dinner. I had laid out a jar of carrots and a real banana. Rachel has had bananas before and loved them. Well, Wes gave Rachel her carrots and then cut up the banana for her. She ate the whole banana! Wes and Rachel were very excited about eating bananas and bananas were EVERYWHERE! I'm in the process of reteaching some eating habits like we don't touch our hair when we're eating. :) Rachel was taken to the bath right away and cleaned up. I think these two had a blast! I'm kinda glad I missed it. ;)

Rachel sharing her bananas with Wes.

A very stuffed Rachel.

Happy Birthday Wes!

Today we celebrated Wes' birthday. Rachel and I planned a birthday party for him at a local restaurant in town. It was really casual and a lot of fun. So many people came to wish Wes a happy birthday. We really are lucky to have such good friends.

I cannot say enough about my husband Wes. What a wonderful man he is. Rachel and I love him more and more every day. He is a gift from God and we are so thankful to have him for our very own. He keeps us smiling and laughing.

Wes' birthday cake was made to look like a double cheeseburger.

I bought Wes and Rachel matching T-Shirts that say, "I'd rather be dumpster diving." Those of you know Wes well, know that we will never be broke. By the way our daughter is going to be a complete HAM!

Thank you to all our friends and family who came out on Monday night to celebrate. Wes and I really appreciated it and hoped you had a fun night.

Beach or Bust

This past weekend, we went to the beach to be with Wes' family. We celebrated Wes' birthday, did some shopping, and went to a Christmas show. We had a lot of fun. The weather was sunny and mild.

We took Rachel to the beach to play for a little while. We made sure to take lots of pictures. This wasn't Rachel's first time at the beach but it was the first time she actually got down and played in the sand.

We went to the Alabama Christmas Show. It was a large production lasting 3 hours. I was a little nervous to take Rachel but she actually did pretty well. She clapped and laughed through some of it then she slept for the other half of it.

After the show we went home for some homemade lasagna and cake. Wes' mom did a great job with the birthday meal.

While I went Christmas shopping with Wes' mom and sister, Wes took Rachel to the playground. This was her first time on a playground. She seemed to love it and Wes was pretty excited about it too. He took lots of pictures.

Soaking up everything

Rachel is learning like crazy these days!! We've noticed now, that she is understanding lots of words we say. She knows the word dance and will bounce up and down. She knows the word George (her monkey) and will go and get him. She knows the words shake, kiss, love, bye, night-night, and of course no. These last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun watching her learn knew things. It's hard to comprehend that Friday she'll be 11 months old. Where has the year gone?

Besides words, Rachel is entering a new phase in eating. She's starting to eat some table foods. She's had bananas, carrots, and pancakes (no syrup :) She really likes the bananas. This is a video of Rachel eating table food carrots for the first time.

Rachel is walking more and more every day. Her confidence is really growing and she's starting to stand up and take a few steps on her own. Walking is not her main mode of transportation yet, but I can tell she really wants it to be. Wes and I were both climbers when we were little and now that Rachel has learned to climb our stairs I think she will follow in her parents footsteps. Saturday, she climbed up the entire flight of stairs. She doesn't know how to go down the stairs yet and we are always right there when she's climbing.

Rachel's emotions are starting to show more. She starting to be very loving with her toys. She gets excited when she sees people she knows. She loves to laugh and smile. Rachel also can get her feelings hurt when you tell her No, she'll usually throw a little tantrum. Isn't it amazing that I didn't have to teach her how to do that? I thought I would leave you with one last video from Rachel. Kisses!

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent lots of time with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We ate a Thanksgiving lunch with my family here in town and then headed to the mountains to be with Wes' family for Thanksgiving dinner and weekend. We had a great time eating and seeing everyone. Rachel enjoyed being the center of attention at both houses. She really enjoys being with people and watching everything they do. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thank you to all our family who cooked wonderful meals.

That's One Small Step for a Little Girl......

"What's Rachel doing new these days?" This is the question Wes and I hear all the time. Rachel is really moving. She can crawl pretty fast. She's pulling up on everything she can get her hands on. She uses the walls, doors, furniture, etc. to hold onto as she walks around. She stands by herself at times. She's starting to take small steps everyday. She's starting to get stronger and braver everyday. I have a feeling she'll be walking just in time to play with the Christmas tree. :)

Rachel takes a few steps on her own.

Is Neutral Really Better?

Well, we painted our bedroom today. It took us about 4 hours and 2 coats of paint. Our bedroom was a dark purple and we changed it to a neutral sand color. The room is so bright now with this lighter paint color. We feel like the walls are so bare now that the colors gone. What do you think? Better purple or neutral?

Before

After

Rub-a-dub-dub!

Rachel's favorite thing in the whole wide world is bath time. Mainly because her daddy gives her her bath. They scream and splash and go crazy during bath time. She loves chasing her toys and splashing. You can walk away pretty wet after bath time with Rachel.

What a face! Notice it's wet from splashing.

Splash, Splash, Splash!

Rachel about to stand up in the tub, this is a big no-no!

Crazy girl!

Calling All Cowgirls!

We were in town this weekend, yeah!! We met several friends for dinner and lunch, had a jewelry party and watched TV. I still can't figure out where the weekends go. They just fly by. Hope your weekend was a good one.

Wes' Obama joke

Wes came home last night with a joke. He made this all up on his own! This joke is a play on words see if you get it.

If Obama wins president it will be an OBAMANATION.

See this joke can go two ways. If you like Obama then it's an Obama-Nation. If you don't like Obama well then....I think you get it.

Weekend in Apex

This weekend we headed back up to Apex for a wedding. We had a busy day Saturday. We went to the wedding and then that night went to a surprise party for a family friend. Rachel was passed around and entrained all day Saturday by family and friends. Amazingly, she stayed in a pretty good mood the whole day. It was a fast weekend but we had a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures and videos from the weekend.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Aunt Kim, Rachel, and Cousin Alyssa

Nana and Rachel at the wedding.

*******DANCING QUEEN******

Rachel loves to dance! She danced all day Saturday with different people.

Daddy and Rachel dancing on the dance floor at the wedding.
By the way Wes was in this wedding as a groomsman. This wedding was a casual one....no tux, just suit paints, shirt, and tie. He also had to wear Hushpuppies (shoes).



Pop's and Rachel cuttin' a rug!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from one chick to another!