The Little Things

I was just chatting with Mindy and she mentioned that she loves hearing about all the "little things" that Rachel does. I realized that I love all those things too and I don't want to forget about them. So this post might read more like a journal entry than a compelling, succinct blog post, but for Mindy and other blog readers who love hearing about Rachel, these little things are more like big things. :) Oh, and I got carried away, so it's kind of long, just to warn you.

Words
I'm not really sure when Rachel is supposed to start talking, but right now her primary vocabulary consists of one real word and one made up word. The real word, of course, is "no", but she always says it in a string, usually of three. "No no no" Anytime we're doing something she doesn't like (getting dressed, preventing her from climbing something) she'll unleash a chorus of 'no's at us. The other "word" she says sounds like a combination of "dish" and "this" and she uses it for practically everything, usually accompanied with pointing at something.

Where's Your Nose?
Rachel can point to her nose and hair if we ask her where they are, but only if she is absolutely focused, and only if we ask one or the other. If we try to ask her where her nose is after she's already shown us her hair, she's overloaded and can't figure it out. I think it's because I don't remember to practice with her much, so she forgets.

Imitation
On the other hand, Rachel is superb at imitating what we do. She can turn on the vacuum, she tries to use a spoon (and is starting to get the hang of it), and tries to plug cords into outlets (which she never can because they're all baby-proofed). She'll even take keys or screwdrivers and try to use them for their correct purpose. She is a visual learner all the way.

Hide and Seek
Mike discovered a couple weeks ago that Rachel loves to play hide and seek. We can run and hide and call for her to come find us and she'll come running with a big grin on her face, which gets even bigger when she finds us. We have to hide in the same easy to find places though or she gives up. :)

Outside
Rachel loves going outside. She willingly lets me put on her coat, hat, and mittens, and knows that when she gets a coat or sweater put on that it's time to go out and will head for the garage door. She's still not sure about snow though and doesn't want to touch it.

Climber
Ever since she's been mobile, Rachel has been a climber. She loves to scale the couch, and will climb up on the top of the back and leap down. She can climb in and out of her high chair. She's also discovered she can use the chairs to climb up to the dining table, which we don't want her doing, since it's quite a fall. I have to push the chairs away from the table every day (all day) so she can't get up. If I leave a chair on the tile, she'll push it up to the table to climb up. So if you ever come to our house during the day, that's why all our dining table chairs are in the living room instead of at the table. :)

Walking
She's becoming expert at walking, and I think running might even be looming on the horizon. She loves it when we play the "walk fast" game, where we take her hands and walk really fast with her across the living room floor.

Food: Our Nemesis
Some days, I honestly don't know how Rachel isn't starving to death. She eats very little at a sitting, and she's SUCH a picky eater, and will clamp her mouth shut if we try to get anything new in there. We have a few staples: milk, yogurt, mac and cheese, fruit snacks, and some cereals. Everything else is hit and miss. Oh, and oatmeal cream pies. Yeah, she's a health nut. *eye roll*

Christmas
Rachel will sometimes walk over to the Christmas tree, point at it, and say her "this/dish" word, meaning "Mom, turn on the tree lights!" Most of our ornaments, and all our fragile ornaments, are on the top half of the tree. The bottom half is usually bare. I don't even try to stop her from pulling stuff off, it's a battle I'm not picking. She also loves having the fireplace on (it's gas) and will point and say her word at the switch until we turn it on for her. I put a couple of wrapped gifts under the tree, figuring she doesn't know about opening them so it shouldn't be a problem. Yeah...she figured it out. They're gone until Christmas now.

Baths
Rachel love bathtime. We'll let her stay in there and play til she gets wrinkled or the water is cool a lot of times because she's just so happy there. She especially loves to look at her reflection in the emergency drain thing because it's really shiny and almost at eye level. She just looks at her reflection and laughs and laughs. But she hates getting water in her face, so we save the actual washing until the very end of the bath. Although Daddy figured out that if we pour water over her and then immediately cover her face and do a "peek a boo!" she doesn't mind it anymore. Daddy is also really good at putting Rachel to sleep. We call these things "Daddy Magic."

Dance Baby, Dance!
Rachel will dance to any semblance of music. Dancing involves bobbing her head back and forth, shaking her hips, and an occasional squat. It's so cute. She also loves the glo-worm Mindy gave her before she was even born, and will push the spot to make it play music and then hold it while she dances. Sometimes she gives the glo-worm kisses too. Very occasionally Mom or Dad will be granted a kiss too, but only on Rachel's whim. Asking for kisses gets us nowhere.

I'm sure there are a ton of other things I'm forgetting, but that's probably enough of a novel for now. Some days I seriously don't get much done just because I want to play with and watch Rachel as she does all her silly and cute little things. She's so fun to run around with and tickle and laugh with. Her smile is infectious. It's impossible to be sad or upset when she smiles her big grin at you. She adds so much joy to our lives that I can't even describe it!