Rachel is in a really cute phase. If you hold out your arms to her, she runs to you. Her sense of humor is really developing; she teases and giggles and laughs at the drop of a hat. And she loves to dance!
My mom made the purple tiger (okay, I see that they’re zebra now) pants. She’s got some great pajama pants tips!
On the off chance you’re wondering, she’s growing. She turned 19 months last Thursday, and she visited the doctor recently and she’s 22+ lbs and 30+ inches. She seems even bigger to me!
We were worried about her language at her 15 month appointment, when she didn’t even say “Mama” or “Dada.” The doctor said to wait until 18 months to see if she started talking. And she did! She has about 15 words now, including [always whispered] “titititi” (tickle), “h’ow” (hello), “buhbuh” (bubble), and “deydis” (there it is).
And best of all, she picked up another word in the middle of her exam. Hayden tried to take the toy she was playing with and Rachel declared, “MY!”
Rachel loves to wiggle and shake. The other day I watched her waggling her head all around. “I love your dancing,” I told her.
She smiled, and either blew me a kiss—or signed thank you.
Rachel’s middle name is Diana; she’s named after my mother. Growing up, my mother had a nickname she absolutely hated: Banana Cake. (I only tell you this in the strictest confidence. Do NOT use this against my mother.)
Rachel doesn’t really talk. For a couple days, she said “Out” a lot. She has managed to hold onto “Uh ohs!” whenever she sees something on the ground. But her signs are really picking up. She’s gotten really good at Thank you, and also learned please, apple, baby and:
Checking things off my to do list (like this post!).
Putting the kids to bed early-ish.
That Rebecca’s hair will grow. (See last picture.)
Potty training! (And being done!)
Finishing off the cookies we made last night—no more temptation.
Left overs and Ryan reheating them.
Tuna salad sandwiches with celery, making me think of my mom.
Hayden including his sisters in playing with his blocks. And his blogs. But more about that next week.
One day—it was a Friday, but that doesn’t matter—there was a little girl—and that does matter—learning to use the potty. And as she sat on the potty, she perched her fingers on her knees, with her pointer fingers out.
“Dees are my wobots,” she informed us. So these are Rebecca’s Robots:
(Her hands. Also note the plate of shredded cheese, which is pretty much all the child will eat for dinner.)
Her robots talk and help her do all kinds of things (being her hands). They love their mommy robots (my hands) especially.
Some cute things Rebecca has said lately:
Teese neveh wive in cups! Teese wive in bowws! (Cheese never lives in cups! Cheese lives in bowls!)
Wohwa’kates: roller skates
Yeh weww: yeah, well (at the beginning of a sentence)
Beebee: I’m not even sure what the exact translation of this would be (baby?), but it’s something she says a lot when she’s playing with Pinky, her stuffed animal. It’s either what she called Pinky, or what Pinky calls her. Or maybe both.
And some more:
Another favorite game is MontahINK! (Monsters, Inc.) Rebecca is Suwwy (Sully) and Pinky is either Boo or Mike ‘Akow’ki. I’m usually whatever Pinky isn’t, though sometimes Rachel gets that honor. Hayden has played Mike and Wannaw (Randall). Once I was even Wannanoos (Mr. Waternoose).
Her hair, obviously, spends a lot of time in her face, so today I did this (she cried, but she’s come to accept it):
I’m not really thrilled with how I did, but cutting my kids’ hair too short is something I’m good at.
What do you think? What are you grateful for? Isn’t Rebecca pretty much the best little girl in the world?
This weekend two of my sisters came to visit me. Jaime interviewed my kids (well, the ones who talk) and their answers were revealing. Rebecca’s interview was an especial favorite. The highlight is definitely 1:32-1:55.
Happiness. We all want it. And yet it seems to elude us the more we think about it.
I think that it’s really easy to overthink happiness. Happiness is a choice, an attitude, but mostly for me it means focusing not on myself and what I want to do, but what I know is most important: my family.
This was a big take home lesson for me a couple years ago as I thought about how to choose happiness:
Choosing to be happy does not mean that we will automatically be happy all the time. It doesn’t mean we always choose whatever might make us happy right this second.
Choosing happiness means we choose the things we know are most important for our long term happiness. . . .
Choosing happiness means doing what I may not want to do most right now—it means choosing the thing that I know is right for me, what’s important in the long run.
My conclusion is something I still need to work on: “Choosing happiness means choosing my children. It doesn’t mean that I am completely subjugated or I have to ignore all my own needs—but when I take the time to really work at being a mom, the whole family is happier—including me.”
We don’t have a way to upload our regular videos right now, but I got this one with our still camera (hence quality, shakiness and silence) today. As a reminder, she’s 5 months and 10 days old:
She’s got that lateral motion down. Forward is . . . a work in progress.
MamaBlogga: mom's search for meaning is devoted to helping mothers find encouragement, empowerment and fulfillment in motherhood. It's written by Jordan (MamaBlogga), a professional blogger and, more importantly, mother of three. You can read more about MamaBlogga's mission.
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