Making Muffins

On Wednesday morning, Rachel helped me make banana muffins for breakfast. She watched me pour the mix in a bowl, break the egg, and add the milk. She helped me stir the batter and then wanted to help me put the batter in the muffin pan. What a big helper she was. She loves to cook in the kitchen! She also loves to eat her muffins, yum, yum!

Where Did September Go?

September is a week and half from being over and I haven't blogged since August! Life has been busy. Rachel and I started back to Weekday School at the beginning of the month. We go 3 days a week this year, last year we went 2. It's been great being back in school. It has provided a lot of structure for us. Rachel really enjoys going, in fact her teacher wrote today, "Rachel has been busy talking on the phone, taking care of babies, and singing today." Sounds just like my Rachel.

UPDATES ON RACHEL

Rachel is growing like a weed. She is talking pretty good and is now running everywhere she goes. She enjoys being outside and going on walks. She loves to play with baby dolls and walk around with a purse and cell phone. She enjoys singing, she has quite a list of songs she knows. She also loves to be in the kitchen when things are being cooked and she will often want a chair to stand on so that she can help stir or just look on. She is certainly becoming a two year old and her favorite words of late are NO, STOP, MINE, I DON'T WANT TOO, and I DO IT! But this too shall pass, right?

UPDATES ON WES AND LIZZIE

Well, there is not a whole lot to update. Wes is still working harder than ever. Business seems to be good, we are so thankful for work and a job. Like I said earlier I'm keeping busy working at my church in the Weekday School program 3 days a week. I work with two year olds. It's a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot. We're still living with my mom. She seems to like us being here and we enjoy living here. Things have gone very smoothly. We will probably start the dreaded house hunting in the spring.

Enjoy the pics and videos!

Making funny faces with dad.

Rachel loves to look at our blog. She thinks she's pretty funny. She's laughing at the time she was playing with the milk jug in the kitchen with Wes.

Rachel likes to eat corn on the cob and pickles!

Rachel loves to splash in the tub! Her daddy loves to encourage her to do so ;)

Rachel has always liked books. Her favorite book right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? She can almost recite it with me.

Lazy 5 Ranch

We took all the kids to the local zoo today. The Lazy 5 Ranch was wonderful!! The kids had the best time. We got there first thing in the morning. The weather was cool and perfect. We hopped on a wagon ride that took us through the 3 1/2 mile trail to see all the animals. We were given food to give to the animals and told how to properly feed them. The animals would walk right up to the wagon and wait for food. They were so close to us you could count their eyelashes. The ride lasted about an hour. They also have other animals and birds in a viewing area so we went to see them. Afterwards we played on the playground and had a picnic lunch. We were all tired but the kids did great and it was all worth it. Highly recommend the Lazy 5 Ranch for all ages.

Monkey Joe's

Well, last week we spent time with Wes' family and this week we have spent time with my family. My three nieces and one nephew are in town. We've done a lot of fun things together and have enjoyed every minute of it.

On Wednesday, we went to Monkey Joe's. Monkey Joe's is for kids and is a fun-filled inflatable play center! We jumped, and jumped, and jumped! The kids loved it and had a blast.

My Rachel (19mo.) and Catherine (4 years old).

Sophia (2 years old)

Ryan (3 years old)

Caroline (6 years old)

A Day With the Panthers

Last weekend was the Carolina Panthers Fan Day. Aunt Kim, Alyssa, Wes, and Rachel went uptown to see some of the scrimmage game. Rachel loved clapping whenever an announcement was made. Wes said Rachel did great! By the end of the morning, Rachel was give out. Check out the pictures from Dad and Daughter's Day Out.

Rode Trip

Last week I went on my first rode trip with Rachel. We went to see Nana, Pops, Aunt Kim, and Alyssa. Rachel did pretty good in the car and I only had to pull over once to get the sippy cup that had fallen on the floor. The rest of the time it just had to stay on the floor. :)

Rachel loved playing with her cousin Alyssa and Nana's cat, Whiskers. We had a great time and we're looking forward to visiting again at the end of the month for Wes' 10 year High School Reunion.

Alyssa helps Rachel play with felt boards.

Rachel loves Whiskers, I don't know if I can say the same for Whiskers loving Rachel.

A Day of First

Today was the first day in a while where Rachel and I didn't have anywhere to go. It has been nice to sit in the house and do nothing. A few days ago I found a recipe for play dough, so I thought today would be the perfect day for that. My mom used to make play dough for us all the time as kids but this was my first attempts at making play dough, and it was easy. I mixed up the play dough and then let Rachel play with it. It took her a while to get in to it but she finally did.

No-Cook Play Dough

Ingredients: 4 c. flour, 1c. salt, 1 3/4 c. warm water

Directions: Combine the flour and salt in a bowl; then add the warm water. Knead the dough for ten minutes. Keep the dough refrigerated in an airtight container until you're ready to use.