Grammy's April Visit

Grammy was here for a week in April to see her grandchildren. We had a great time playing outside when the weather permitted. And we had fun taking the kids to Discovery Gateway, their favorite children's museum. Grammy and Rachel had fun 'reraxing' and reading together on the window seat. And Rachel was using the phrase 'goodness sakes!' by the time Grammy left (one of Grammy's favorite sayings). We hope she can come back soon.

Easter

Rachel and Carson had lots of fun Easter morning when they woke up to discover the things that the Easter Bunny had brought for them. Rachel loves stuffed animals so she was thrilled to find two large stuffed bunnies among the Easter treats. Fortunately she was willing to share one of them with Carson.





The Easter Bunny also brought Rachel a puzzle since lately she has had quite an appetite for them. Carson got a helicopter toy, and they both shared an Easter basket full of chocolate goodies.



Carson hasn't started walking yet but is getting very close. He does not like to sit still for a minute so his attention span for toys is very short. He is more likely to be digging through kitchen drawers and cabinets than playing with toys. Here he is standing over the tupperware drawer (a new favorite) and I love the shot of him 'tasting' the microwave. That one is priceless.

Carson's First Birthday

Happy Birthday Carson! Its hard to believe Carson is now one year old, how time flies. Rachel and Mommy worked together to make Carson's birthday cake and Daddy made the frosting. Carson seemed to enjoy it tremendously, especially since this was the first time he had ever tasted cake. Rachel helped him blow out his birthday candle.



Rachel enjoyed helping Carson open his presents and was very eager to share all his new toys.







Carson loves to play with balls and he got two new ones for his birthday. Here he is enjoying his new toys.

Winter Wonderland

Last week there was a touch of spring in the air, but yesterday we had yet another snow storm and this morning we woke up to a winter wonderland in our back yard. What a gorgeous day! I've given up on short, frequent blogs and will now attempt longer blogs about once a month. Its amazing how much Rachel and Carson can change in a month, so I hope you will indulge my longer blogs.



Carson loves to look out the window and is constantly pulling himself up to the windows to look out. Here he is taking in the scenery while Rachel mimics him.



Carson has traded in his military style crawl for the more traditional crawl up on all fours. He can really get around and is amazingly fast. I can't take my eye off of him for a second!







Carson's new favorite activity is opening the kitchen cabinets and spilling the contents onto the floor. Fortunately we have locks on most cabinets and he knows which ones he is allowed to play in. At least it keeps him occupied while I fix meals.



Rachel continues to love stuffed animals almost more than any other toy. She loves to make a big pile of them and pretend to sleep. She also takes care of them with her play doctor set and occasionally one will even get a band aid.



John caught this precious photo of Rachel sleeping last week when she was a bit under the weather. She normally would not sleep through someone walking into her room (she is a very light sleeper) but last week she was extra tired and seemed to sleep through anything.



Phew, that was a long blog. If you are still with me I have one more milestone to share. This past month Rachel started saying "I love you Mommy" and "I love you Daddy". Hearing those words come out of her mouth melted my heart and almost brought tears to my eyes. One of those treasured moments of parenthood.

Jan 2008 Visitors

Rachel and Carson were lucky to have some fun visitors last month. Grammy was here in mid-January for a week. She and Rachel had lots of fun playing 'store' from the window of Rachel's little house.

Grammy also had fun getting to know Carson more. Initially Carson was reticent of the new face, but he soon warmed up to Grammy and before she left she got to experience a Carson hug. There's nothing like it - his little arms wrapped tightly around your neck, combined with an open-mouthed, slobber-filled kiss!

In the latter part of January we got a visit from "Uncle-Pete-Ant-Jen" (all one word in Rachel's vernacular). For most of the winter our snow has been too powdery for a snow man (I'm sure this draws much sympathy from those of you in New England), but Uncle Pete managed to put together a snow man for Rachel and she just loved it. Her first snowman!

Had to slip this photo in of Carson climbing on our big stuffed dog. He just loves this dog and laughs every time he plays with it. So precious.

Fun with Play Doh

One of Rachel's favorite Christmas gifts is her Play Doh Doggie Doctor set. We've had lots of fun squishing Play Doh out of his ears and mouth, and molding Play Doh band-aids, and giving Play Doh shots. The third picture below is her Play Doh sandwich that she made for Daddy. This is the face she makes when we ask her to smile for the camera, so cute.

Carson Standing

Crawling was fun for a little while but now its more fun to stand up! Carson is pulling himself up on everything and is amazingly strong. He loves to play with Rachel's kitchen set since he can pull himself up to the counter now. The other day when he was playing with the cabinet doors in the kitchen set Rachel cautioned him, "Be careful Carson, its very hot!". I guess she has heard Mom say that a few times.