Lately

Rachel and I have been staying inside quite a bit lately. The weather decided to suddenly revert back to winter, so we just turn up the heat and chill indoors. Here are some pictures of our latest goings-on.

Water, Water Everywhere
A couple of weeks ago I decided to let Rachel experiment/play with water in her high chair. I set her in, pulled up her sleeves, and dumped about 2 cups of water in her high chair tray and let her go at it. The kitchen floor needed a mopping anyway. :)

Happy as a clam

She soon figured out how to push the water off the side of the tray.

She got a mohawk from Mommy with some of the water

I love the concentration. It's so fun to me to watch her learn.

Splish splash


Oh Cucumber, How I Love Thee
Mike gave Rachel a slice of cucumber a while back while I was out, and said that she loved it. So I tried it out again, though I was wary about it because he said to leave the skin on. Turns out that a cucumber slice is actually a three-in-one: food, teething ring, and toy. It's Rachel's new favorite thing - she sort of eats it, sort of plays with it. One slice can keep her occupied and happy for at least twenty minutes. We have to watch her towards the end though because she'll manage to break the skin of it and try to eat it all.
Happiness is... a slice of cucumber.

This is the middle stage, where she pokes her thumbs through the center and revels in the squishiness.

Cucumber grin. This one cracks me up. It was at the end when she managed to bit the slice in half and get the one half in her mouth just right for this winner smile.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'
Rachel is now an expert roller. She can get from one end of the living room to the other in less than 30 seconds by just rolling wherever she wants to go. She'll also scoot along on her back sometimes too. Her favorite places are the DVD racks, where she will occupy herself by happily pulling down all the DVDs on the lower section, the stereo equipment (she turned on the sound one yesterday and then turned it to radio), and the carbon monoxide detector that's plugged into the wall (Mom doesn't let her stay there, that button makes a loud noise!).

One second, gnawing on a block...

Two seconds later, en route to the stereo

Rachel's First Bruiser
The other night we were watching a movie, and Rachel was standing up on the living room floor, supported by my hands on her thighs. She suddenly decided to bend at the waist, which sent her head first into the little box that holds her blocks. Thankfully, she hit her cheek, not her eye, and ended up with just a little bruise. She only cried for about 15 seconds (that's Rachel for ya) and then was perfectly happy again. I, on the other hand, was worried and sad for much longer than that. :(

This is a couple of days later. I know, it's not even bad, but it's the first time she's gotten hurt like that, so I'm worked up about it.

And last, but not least, just a picture I took this morning before she got changed. Check out those blue eyes!