Pioneer Day

Every July 24th Utah celebrates Pioneer Day. Our little town of Bountiful is celebrating with 'Hand Cart' days this weekend. Rachel took her first Pony ride! After that we cooled off with some ice cream since temperatures were over 100 degrees. Despite the heat, Mom pulled the whole family around for ten miles in a hand cart, just to relive the experience of our pioneer ancestors (OK, maybe it was ten feet).

Something About Mary

Now that Rachel sees Mom taking care of baby Carson, she wants to take care of a baby too. Along comes Mary, a doll she received from Paul & Amy for her first birthday. Mary gets the same love and care that Carson does, and Mary has gone through stages of development just like Carson. Just after Carson was born Rachel was breast feeding Mary, burping her, changing her diaper, and swaddling her. As Carson's care evolved, so did Mary's. When Carson started playing with the 'baby toy', so did Mary. As Carson started drinking from a bottle, so did Mary. And now that Carson is playing with toys, Mary get more than her fill of toys.

Smiley Little Guy

Carson's latest nickname is Smiley since he is full of smiles and has the cutest smile in the world (OK, maybe we are a little biased). Incidentally, his first nickname was 'Car Key' since that is what Rachel first called him.

Playtime With Rachel

At some point almost every day Rachel will reach for her basket of Little People characters. These are just the greatest little toys made by Fisher Price - I think Mom likes them as much as Rachel. We have the farm, the airplane, the schoolbus, and various other extras. Our collection seems to grow weekly since Mom cannot resist these little critters when we are out shopping.

Another of Rachel's favorite activities is 'cooking'. This involves going into the kitchen and taking all reachable bowls and tupperware out of the cabinets and onto the floor. Then she uses dried rotini pasta (which I gave her) and Play Doh as ingredients to mix, stir and pour. I think she's going to be a good cook because somehow she manages to get every dish dirty! When we ask her what she is making the answer is usually either "Mac and Cheese" or "Shephard's Pie", two of her favorite dishes.

Carson Reaching

One of Carson's favorite toys is the Gymini. Rachel refers to it as the 'baby toy'. Carson lies down in the toy and has a wonderful array of colorful toys to look up at. This is also where Carson gets his 'tummy time' since there is lots to see underneath too.

Just recently he started reaching for the objects hanging above his head. He seems to favor the monkey, probably because it has the most limbs to grab. Rachel loves to lie next to him and bug him while he's in the baby toy. She also loves to put her doll, Mary, in the baby toy, and even give Mary some tummy time.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog! The purpose of this blog is to share our family events and photos with our distant relatives and friends.

It is now July 2007 and we have been living in Utah for eight months now. Wow, how time flies. The most recent addition to our family, Carson, is now three months old and growing like a weed. Just this week Carson slept through the night for the first time - two nights in a row!! Let's hope this continues!

Rachel is 20 months old and is talking like crazy, she seems to learn new words and phrases every day. She is very interested in her little brother and loves to give him hugs and kisses. She also likes to read to him.

We're looking for comments from other Moms and Dads about two things. When to transition Rachel to a toddler bed, and when to transition her out of the high chair and into something else (booster seat?). We're debating whether we need to buy two cribs and two high chairs. Since Rachel and Carson are only 17 months apart, I'm thinking we will need two cribs but I'm not sure about the high chairs. Please submit your comments, we would love some input.