February, already?

Ok, has it really been nearly 2 months since my last post? That's lame, but then again, I have 3 official followers; so I'm not letting too many down.

I turned 42 this week, but the real highlight was that Rachel started taking independent steps and walking at 9 1/2 months. She carefully takes few steps, arms outstretched like Frankenstein, before plopping back down on her bottom. Another new trick is shaking her head "no".

She seems to enjoy her new daycare with her other 8 baby friends, but her face still lights up when Cara comes to visit. Her grandparents enjoy watching her every Monday; I get to feed her everyday on my lunch hour.

Rachel loves being outside in the yard and on the swings at the Lakes Kids park. She also loves bathtime. She now has her 2 top front teeth and 3 on the bottom, with a 4th breaking through now. She loves books, eating crushed ice, and emptying cabinets.

Julia keeps Rachel entertained with her silly antics, and Madi provides lots of gym time for her. We spent a good 6 hours in the basketball gym this week as Madi's team won the a tournament on the Salt River Pima Indian Reservation.

Both Madison and Julia are doing great in school. Besides completing their PACE projects on Germany and Spain, Madi is now working on her Gerald Ford report, and Julia on her Olympic Snowboarding project. On MLK Day, the girls went to neighbors collecting shoes for Soles for Souls for victims of the Haitian earthquake. We also put a box at the clubhouse for a week. They delivered 67 pairs of shoes. They also had their annual orange juice stand on Super Bowl Sunday, grossing $35. They seem to keep busy with friends, sports, schoolwork & riding RipSticks every day, but still find time to fight.

Christmas 2009

We had a nice, warm Christmas here in Tempe. Kids were thrilled to have a new trampoline tarp, Rip Sticks, PJs, gift cards, etc. Rachel got some cool toys and cute clothes.

Rachel is now 8 months old. She is now standing up from a squat & trying to balance. She's a quick crawler & likes to cling to your legs. Can't get her to clap anymore, but her side-arm wave is in vogue and she's repeating "uh-oh". She started a daycare this week & seems to like all baby friends there.

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.