Santa

Every year the best, most genuine Santa visits the Lakes' kids on Christmas Island. Rachel, now 7-mos., was just happy in Santa's arms. Julia had a nice chat with him. Madi is so over the whole Santa gig.

Rachel is into everything; gates are going up on the stairs & cabinets have been secured. She pulls up to stand every chance she gets.

I think I scared her last night with my game winning celebration outburst/dance. Yes, my Longhorns waited until 1 second was on the clock to beat Nebraska and return for another shot at the national championship.

Rachel on the move at 6 months

Rachel is now 6 months old & she is full of personality and on-the-move. She's been crawling for a few weeks & now pulls herself up to standing any chance she gets. She just learned to clap & is thrilled with herself. She is not much interested in her toys anymore & has a liking for my cellphone, laptop, power cords, and dirty flip flops. We really have to watch her now. Stair gates & baby proofing of cabinets commences this weekend. Her sisters keep her entertained and happy.

October Fun

Rachel is now 5 1/2 months old. She's about 17 lbs and has her 2 bottom teeth peeking through. She is such a happy, good baby; we continue to drag her everywhere....basketball games, softball practice, UT football gamewatch parties, camping. She is trying really hard to get the movements coordinated to crawl; she's in the position, but just doesn't know how to move her arms out in front of her. Instead, she flops to one side and gets around quite handily by a series of rolls. She sits up straight and strong & is now eating veggies & fruits from her highchair. She seems disinterested in her toys these days & more interested in getting into other things...she's quick to grab your plate at the table, reach for your glass as you get ready to drink, pound my laptop keys while I'm trying to type. She loves to destroy anything paper...newspaper ads, magazines, stuff I'm working on. Yesterday morning I captured a classic moment with her engaging with her reflection in the mirror.

Last weekend we road-tripped it to Bisbee, AZ where we did the Bisbee1000 stairclimb and toured the Queen Mine. Rachel hung tough in the baby backpack; slept through the whole race.

Madi and Julia both had stellar report cards and parent-teacher conferences for the 1st quarter at their new school. Madi is still playing basketball & Julia just started a softball league and Brownies. Now that it's getting cooler they spend a lot of time riding bikes and scooters with their neighborhood friends. They are excited for Halloween & candy madness, of course. Madi will be ladybug & Julia, a she-pirate; this contrast is typical of their personalities.

Catching Up to Do

Yikes, has it really been 2 months since my last post? Rachel is now 5 months old, sitting up on her own & getting ready to crawl. She amuses us with her growling, squeals, and babbling chatter. She likes to grab the dog's ears, and everything she comes into contact with is brought to her mouth for a taste. We just started feeding her pureed veggies and rice cereal. Her bright, beautiful smiles just make our day! We go on lots of walks; she always falls asleep. She attended her first Texas Exes game watch party. We drag her everywhere; she is such a good baby.

Madi and Julia are busy with homework, basketball, softball, and Brownies. Now that it's finally getting cooler here all the neighborhood kids are hanging out here at the house & playing, racing scooters, and riding bikes.

see this video of Rachel waking up...