Poodles, bears, and dancing

We had a cooped-up-in-the-house sort of a day on Friday--doing some experimenting to see if Nathan will agree to a nap schedule. (He will not, apparently.) So Rachel got to wear whatever the heck she liked. She opted for a poodle-skirt ensemble not at all fitting the weather around here. (Thanks, Grand-Merr, for the fun outfit!) Pretty cute--and note that there are even poodles on her socks!


And we baked Bear Bread to pass the time. (It's a "recipe" from her High Five magazine--thanks, Nana!) That was loads of fun--especially putting in the raisin eyes! (Alas, my grown-up tongue thinks they taste like decent white bread. Fortunately, Rachel is not possessed of a grown-up tongue and thinks they are quite a treat.) The little one she's gazing at is crafted of the lump of dough she kneaded all by herself.


Then there was the dancing. Rachel has gotten some books about ballet from the library lately, and she sleeps every night under her ballerina blanket (made by cousin Abby--thanks, Abs--it's a big hit!). We have frequent recitals that involve twirls (She has to hold a toy in one hand as she spins--it's like she already understands torque and enjoys messing with the centripetal force.) and plies (These mostly masquerade as squats.). Of course, these performances require much applause and throwing of pretend flowers. It was actually a request for a tutu that precipitated the wearing of the poodle skirt. Anyway, after dinner on Friday, we had a dance party in the dining room. Rachel invited Nathan to dance and showed him some moves--no room for the Holy Spirit in this hug!


When his partner ditched him on the dance floor to head to the pink kitchen (Any former students of mine who read this blog will recognize this as a single replacement reaction.), Nathan was inspired to strut a few moves of his own:

Yes, we were stuck in the house, but we had rather an exciting day, wouldn't you agree?

Quotes From Our Daughter III

This is a little while overdue, but several weeks ago, out of the blue as we were driving somewhere, Rachel intoned,

"I am all about trains!"

Stage one of her public transit brainwashing is now complete.

Quotes From Our Daughter II

Apparently, Dad needs to learn to read more carefully. Last night as we were reading I'm a Big Sister, a certain favorite these last three months, I read the following:

"Baby's too young for ice cream."

Rachel responded "Little."

Is is not uncommon for us to leave out words as we read for her to complete, but since I had not omitted any words, I was a little confused. She repeated herself, and I realized that the actual text read,

"Baby's too LITTLE for ice cream."

Somehow I can hear the laughing from my parents even as I type this.

Rachelisms

Rachel's linguistic skills continue to develop at a rapid pace. Just recently--I'm not sure exactly when this happened--she stopped referring to the person who delivers the post as a "mail carriator" and started calling her a "mail carrier." It was cute while it lasted, which is why I want to remember some of the other cute things she does, like pronouncing words like pile and smile exactly as they're spelled: pi-leh, smi-leh. She also says "Mommy, pick me up!" just as we would, but then she says, "I want to be uppah!" as though up is a different word when it's used that way. And perhaps the cutest is what she calls her little brudder. His name is Nafan. And if we call him Nafan, she corrects us: "No, Daddy, it's Na-fan. Na-fan." She can hear the difference but not pronounce it herself. For all that, she is a stellar communicator and amusing company.

A jovial fellow

Nathan is a really happy little guy. A right jovial fellow. He smiles and laughs a lot of the time, and if he could speak the words his face seems to express, getting dressed would go something like this: Really, Mom? You're going to put my arm in my sleeve? Wow! No way--the other arm, too? This is a hoot! And now you're going to snap my sleeper? You are just too much fun! He seems very socially aware, which is fun--and it gives Big Sister some reinforcement for all the attention she lavishes on him.

We've been busy

Lots of fun at our house lately! Rachel and Daddy made an awesome snowman. It was too cold for packing, so they had to pile!

Nathan has begun sleeping better--or, at least, he had begun sleeping better, before a stuffy nose sent him back to square one. He especially likes sleeping in his car seat, and we don't argue with what works!

Good old family cuddles keep us warm and entertained.

Rachel and Gigi are definitely girls of the 21st century--they sat next to each other and talked to each other on the phone. Gigi is also a multitasker--she can talk and drink simultaneously.

Nathan has fallen in love with his big sister. Just look at the way he looks at her!

Gleria (sic)

I mentioned last time (which, I know, was ages ago. Perhaps you wonder what I'm doing with all my time. I'll just say: barf, poop, smothering prevention, and picture books and let your imaginations fill in the blanks.) that Rachel is becoming quite a singer. Well, I guess you knew that if you saw the snip of her singing into the faucet, which still makes me laugh. Here's an opportunity to observe how her talents are growing. She really took a shine to "Angels We Have Heard on High" at Christmastime, perhaps because at church we jingled bells during the Gloria part. She's quite a sponge for lyrics lately--she suddenly knows the words to many songs--but still no melodies. Enjoy the Gloria without any melody--it makes for a very looooooooong first syllable! The hat helps, too.