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...

Back to School & Rachel's almost 4 months old

Swim team and the lazy days of summer gave way to preparing for school to start & one final camping trip. Rachel is 15 weeks old now, full of smiles, and speaking her own language. She's bulked up to nearly 15 lbs., loves to stand with our help, and is grasping and bringing toys and fingers to her mouth. She has taken a casual liking to her thumb.

Camping adventure took us to Strawberry, AZ and Fossil Springs. Rachel was a trooper on the 8 mile hike, safe in her daddy's Hip Hammock. The girls had fun on rope swings over the water.

Madi is so happy to have her braces off. She has a beautiful smile & now just has to keep up with her retainers.

Last week several Lakes families spent 9 hours at the Grand Resort Water Park. Kids had a blast. See Rachel all tired out in her bikini.

Today was the first day of school and our first day at Ward Traditional Academy. Both girls like their teachers & are excited for this new experience. Our neighbor, Matt, also made the switch to Ward, as well as a few friends from our previous school.

Mark turned 40 on Sunday. The ol' man's got some grey, but other than that, you'd never guess.

Temps dropped below 105 the other day which got both Mark and I out for spins on the road bikes. My bike, of course didn't recognize my big butt which hasn't ridden in 10 months.

4th of July

Rachel is now 11 weeks old. She is delighting everyone with her smiles and little "conversations" with herself. She's very vocal when she awakes in the morning. We are now have her pukies under control even since I removed all things dairy from my diet. Rachel jumped into the 90th percentile for weight & height at her 2-month check up. She is getting so big and strong; she really focuses on people's faces & objects now; she is grasping--she loves to hold her burp rag. She went to see the new Harry Potter movie with us yesterday; slept through the whole thing.

We had our last swim meet yesterday. Thank goodness, as the heat is taking its toll on all of us parents who aren't swimming when it's 95 degrees at 7:30am. Madi took 3rd in butterfly and Julia took 2nd in breaststroke. This season Madi has turned her worst stroke into her best--butterfly. We love the Lakes Swimteam season as it gives us a chance to spend so much time with people in our neighborhood. From all this, I have found a caregiver for Rachel. Her "pool nanny", Cara, will be taking care of her when I return to work in August. Cara is dubbed the pool nanny because she would hold Rachel everyday at swim team practice. "Where's that baby" is her favorite line.

We escaped the heat for a week and drove to Telluride, Colorado for the 4th of July. We stayed with our old friend, Dave Johnson. It's a beautiful little town with an awesome traditional 4th of July parade and celebration in the town park. We enjoyed the best fireworks show I've ever seen, a day trip to the hot springs in Ouray, hikes to waterfalls, walks down Main Street, and, of course, the cool weather. A big thanks to Dave for putting up with us 5 for a week.

We just celebrated Julia's 8thh birthday with the usual, a pool party. We had ice cream sandwiches and bobbing for apples in ice water.

Madi gets her braces removed tomorrow. Both girls are excited to start their new school. I'm so grateful to have this summer to spend with them.