Baker extraordinaire

Here's a picture of Rachel with her purse. (We were doing so well, for a few days, of taking photos on the non-Elmo shirt days, but here we go again!)

If it occurs to you that she looks a little pale, fret not for her health. Our rosy little girl was just helping me bake bread. In this case, helping meant scooping out a teaspoon of flour, then eating it out of the measuring spoon. She exhaled into the flour at one point, and it all blew back into her face. Pretty funny, actually. She's also good at shaking the pan to coat it with flour, pouring the measured ingredients into the bowl, and licking the spoons. Quite an aspiring baker we have!

Rachel's purse

Rachel has a darling straw purse (Thanks, Mrs. O!) that she likes to carry around. Sometimes she brings it with her to church, where invariably someone asks her what she has in it. Then comes the amusement when she opens up the purse and starts taking out rubber ducks. There are four of them who normally inhabit the purse--the Mom, the Dad, the Yellow Baby, and the Purple Baby. (There are several other rubber ducks, but they don't usually live in the purse. Not sure if they're unrelated or just don't fit.) Really, though, the contents of Rachel's purse should not come as any surprise--what else would be in a little straw purse? The duck family "fits nicely" (as Rachel is fond of saying), and you never know when you'll need your rubber ducks at a moment's notice! One morning, not long ago, the ducks spent some time outside the purse, and each of them received a special party hat. It was quite a rollicking good time.

In other news, Rachel has been practicing lately for her upcoming role of "Big Sister." She visited Cousin Jack last week and got a chance to bounce his chair. (We're all lucky he didn't get catapulted across the room as she experimented with just how much force was needed.) Jack seemed to enjoy the kisses Rachel bestowed on him.


Rachel is also learning a great deal of independence, which will be a big help in the months to come. For example, when I told her the other day that we'd be leaving in a few minutes to meet our friends Christy and Gigi at the market, Rachel got ready all by herself. I laugh every time I look at this picture, but she was indeed ready to go! She must have learned the overpacking from her father--I don't usually bring a bucket, a backpack, and an insulated bag with me to the market!


An update on the pronoun situation: The other day when I laid Rachel on a counter to change her diaper, I asked whom she saw in the mirror. She looked at it for a moment, then proclaimed, "It's me!" She's got the first person! (Next stop: linking verbs.)

Pronouns and belly shots

Rachel is really coming along in her understanding of the parts of speech. (Our practice of diagramming sentences in chalk on the patio is really helping, I think. Really, is there any medium besides chalk appropriate for diagramming sentences?) She's great with nouns, verbs (playing fast and loose with conjugation, but all things in time), adjectives, even adverbs. (I asked today if a magnet would stick to the storm door and she tested it and informed me that it "stick nicely.") She's recently begun using articles, though only when they are necessary to make her point. Yesterday she told me, "Like chip." I said, "You like chips?" She said, "No, Rachel like a chip." (She's so dainty--instead of saying she wants something, she tells me she would like it. I guess that's how I usually phrase it, too. Nothing like seeing your own behavior in a mirror to make you more aware of it!) Prepositions appear, too, from time to time.

But pronouns, pronouns, ah, pronouns. They are tricky, partly because they keep switching meanings on you! on me! on you? Rachel does use pronouns--she'll occasionally tell me "I see..." whatever she sees. (The I sounds more like "uh" when she says it, but she enunciates it very distinctly.) But she thinks you is her own personal pronoun--she uses it to refer to herself. And me is Mommy's own personal pronoun, except when it's Daddy's. She fell on the floor the other day and announced, "You okay!" She tells me she's "puttin' ponytail in my hair" as she gathers my hair in her hands, or says "I eat" when she sticks a spoonful of cereal in my face. Developing a sense of identity and comprehending English syntax at the same time--no easy task!

Several people have asked how I'm carrying this baby compared to the abdominal torpedo that Rachel was. Here's a side-by-side, 30 weeks both times: (Black shirt is Magellan, pink shirt is Rachel.)

Looks pretty much the same to me. Feels pretty similar, too, except that I think I'm tireder and a little achier this time, which could have something to do with the amount of time I spend getting onto or off of the floor or pushing a stroller these days, compared with two years ago. Still loving it!

One more morsel of cuteness: Rachel and Daddy made blueberry pancakes on Saturday--and brought me one in bed, so I would know what I was missing! When I came downstairs, this is the sight that met my well-rested eyes:

Aren't they adorable? (Note also the absence of visible boxes! We are making progress in getting settled in--hooray!)