Beach Trip

Becky, Grant, Rachel and I went to the beach last week. It was cloudy and cold the entire time, but we still had a really good time.

I would tell Rachel to go surfing and she would hop on the boogie board and dance.

Grant was so happy to play and dig in the sand the whole time. He really didn't like the water too much.

Rachel loved the beach. She wanted to run out into the waves and be in the water. She didn't like when the seaweed touched her feet and would lift them over and over until she could get it off of her.

It was pretty cold, but she didn't care.

She wanted to be independent and play in the water by herself.

She doesn't quite have the balance yet though and would get knocked over.

Quite the pose.

We filled that bucket almost halfway with rocks. She was really enjoying collecting different rocks.

Rachel got a bit of a sandy face. This picture doesn't quite do it justice...but it was nothing compared to Grant.

Nope, those aren't freckles. Even though the poor little guy had sand in his eyes, it didn't seem to stop him.

Rachel Meets Gran

Rachel finally got to meet her Great-Gran Molly. Bryce's mom just got here from New Zealand and got to meet Rachel for the first time.

They are chillin on the couch watching some TV.

The girls all went to the mall to do some shopping and eat some lunch.

Rachel wasn't quite passed out, but was definitely tired.

Sea World...Again

Rachel got to meet the Sesame Street characters last week at Sea World. When they were dancing on the boat, she was dancing along with them.

When she actually got to meet them, she was a little unsure and so mommy got to be in the photo too! She wanted to touch them and kept petting Elmo when he would put his hand out for her, but she didn't want to take a picture by herself with them. I think she still did a really good job!

Rachel loved the Shamu show. She was dancing and watching them the whole time. She was reaching for them even though we were pretty far away. I took her to 3 shows that day and Shamu was by far her favorite.

Play Time with Kitties

Rachel has been enjoying playing with the cats a lot more recently. She loves her kitties. She gives them hugs all day long.

She also plays "fishing for kitties" with them as you will see in the video and thinks it is hilarious. She is playing with Sarabi and gets mad when Kitten comes in and grabs it.

Mission Bay

Becky and her family went camping at Mission Bay and Rachel and I went out and joined them.

I wasn't sure how Rachel would react to the water and sand, but she absolutely loved it. I couldn't drag her out of the water.

She was absolutely freezing, her lips were turning purple, and she was shaking, but she didn't care. What fun!

Sea World as a Family

We had a good family day today. We went to Sea World, just the 3 of us.

When Rachel eats something that she likes these days, she says Mmmmm and makes this face.

We went and saw the Pets Rule show and there were lots of dogs in it as well as loud music that Rachel was dancing to.

"Look at the buppies, daddy!"

She liked the feel of the ice wall after the hot show, but wouldn't keep her hands there too long.

This walrus was really putting on a show. He kept doing circles in the same spot and then would go up to the top and splash around while he was making noises with his mouth the whole time. He did it over and over again. Rachel was a bit nervous of him and wouldn't get too close.

She had a great time in the kid zone.

She spent most of her time in this area and was surprisingly steady on her feet. The ground is squishy and jumpy, so I was really impressed she stayed on her feet as much as she did.

At the end of the night, she was sporting mommy's cool glasses. She sure does think she is hot stuff!

She Sure Does Love Dogs

We went to another teacher's house yesterday for lunch. She has 2 Golden Retrievers. Normally, Rachel is a little nervous at first with animals, but she jumped right in with these dogs.

They played catch. If the dogs came up to lick her, she would put her hand up in their face and they would walk away. I think that she really liked that she had that control and it made her feel safe.

We had a great lunch with great friends and Rachel really loved running around and touching everything in the backyard.

15 Month Doctors Appointment

Rachel had her 15 month doctors appointment this week. She was 22.9 pounds (50th percentile) and 31 inches tall (60th percentile). She got 3 shots this time and took it like a trooper. The next morning, the poor thing woke up with a pretty good fever. The good news is that she doesn't have to get any shots on her next visit.

While we were waiting for the doctor, I gave Rachel my phone and put music on. When the doctor came in, she was saying that all doctors appointments should come with a soundtrack. It was a nice little distraction for Rachel.

After her appointment, we went to Tim's parents house to BBQ for lunch and go swimming. She played with a feather with Nana and had such a good time. She even caught it a couple of times as it fell to the ground.

Getting ready to go swimming.

All ready, let's go!

She loves the pool. She had such a good time in the pool and got mad when we made her get out. I definitely need to take her back again soon.

Another Little Friend

My long time friend, Jamie has a niece, Christine, that is a couple of months older than Rachel. I went over to Jamie's Moms house last week and the girls had such a fun time playing together.

Rachel absolutely loves playing with other little kids. I have been trying to get her together with other little kids as much as possible and she really seems to be enjoying it. There we 2 balls to play with, but they preferred to play together.

Weekly Play Date

Becky and I decided to make it a point during the summer to get together once a week. This week we went to the Wild Animal Park. I know I go there a lot, but we have passes and it is a free way to spend a day and have a good time.

There was a drum station set up for the kids to play and Rachel had a good time banging on them. She got right in the middle of the circle and hit away.

She was running in the petting zoo (didn't her mommy ever tell her not to run in the petting zoo???) and shortly after this she tripped and the poor thing did a face dive and ate a bunch of dirt.

Here she is petting the buppy (right now all animals are puppies or buppies) and Grant watching her.

Grant didn't hesitate very long before he started petting the deer too.

The were really cute playing in the log. They were sliding down the sides, cuddling and laying on each other, and of course posing for pictures.

When Becky took Grant out, Rachel was worried that he left his hat behind.

They were so cute playing with the animals. Grant never wanted to leave. In the video, he was growling like the animals.

Woodland Park

After seeing a post my friend Marie made, I decided that Woodland Park looked like a lot of fun, so Tim (yes...I said Tim) and I took Rachel to the park last week. I don't do staying at home all day very well (and neither does Rachel), so I am always looking for places to go with Rachel. Our condo is just so small and so we both go a bit stir crazy.

She had a lot of fun on the slide. I think it is her favorite thing to do at the park.

She so desperately wants to be a big girl and climb everything possible.

She kept sticking this piece of a bush/tree into her hair and every time it would get stuck in her pig tails.

We walked down to the pond and fed the ducks graham crackers. We didn't have any bread at home, so I figured, "Why not give graham crackers a try?"

4th of July Weekend

On Saturday, we went to Tyler and Lacey's house for a BBQ and to celebrate Tyler's birthday. Here is most of my family. Lacey's family was there as well.

EJ trying to give Rachel a hug and Corinne is making sure he doesn't knock her over.

After he blew out the candles, Lacey gave Tyler a birthday kiss.

Tyler opening presents.

We had to leave because Rachel was so tired. She fell asleep pretty quickly after we left. I love the pouty lip!

On Sunday, we went to Tim's parents house. Rachel loves playing in her sand and water.

"Happy 4th of July everyone!"

She played some baseball with daddy and Tim's friend Will played outfield. I don't think that Will is ready for Rachel's awesome baseball skills.

See, what a great player!