Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Trunk Or Treat

For the second year in a row, we went to Trunk or Treat with our friends next door. There are about 15-18 cars for Trunk or Treating, and it didn't take long before Rachel knew exactly what to do. When she approached a person at their car, more often than not, they gave her extra candy because she was so darn cute! In addition to the Trunk or Treating, there are about 10 different game booths that when played, earns you even more candy! Rachel did pretty darn good at some of the games. Heading to the car, holding very tightly on to her bag of candy.

Preschool Parade

Following Hannah's parade at school, Rachel, Mommy, and Gramma went to see Cousin McKenzie in her Halloween parade at preschool. It was fun going and being a part of the special event as this is the preschool that Hannah went to for two years and is also the preschool that Rachel is already on the waiting list for for next Fall. It was nice seeing and saying hi to Hannah's old teachers. They also enjoyed getting to see Rachel, as she was just a baby and wasn't even walking when Hannah said her goodbye to preschool.

Rachel loved this Motorhome, as did Hannah when she first started attending this preschool. It was hard to tear Rachel away from it. Next year's Halloween preschool parade will be tons of fun with McKenzie, Rachel, and probably even Haylee participating in it!

Anyone Need a Nurse??

Saturday, October 28, 2006

2006 Edwards Air Force Base Airshow

Today we went to the Open House and Air Show at Edwards Air Force Base. It's about a 2 hour drive from our house, and with that said, it's a strong possibility that the girls will be getting individual DVD players that hang over the headrest for Christmas, for long car rides such as these.

I think it's safe to say that Rachel probably didn't enjoy the airshow. The flyovers and demonstrations were extremely loud and sometimes frightening to her, as determined by the way she clutched onto you as they flew overhead. She did, however, manage to take about an hour nap in her stroller despite the noise.
The U.S. Army Parachute Team - The Golden Knights
Heading to the car.

Having had a beautiful, bright day, the evening sky was just as beautiful.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Disneyland with Jonathan

Today we went to Disneyland with my friend, Cathleen and her son Jonathan. Jonathan and Rachel are buddies from the nursery at church. And what was so special about today's trip, was that it was Jonathan's first time to Disneyland! Jonathan has become quite a fan of Mickey Mouse because of cartoons on The Disney Channel, and when Jonathan came face to face with Jonathan, he opened his arms right up for Mickey to hug him. It was so cute. The kids, and us moms, had such a great time. It was fun and relaxing, we didn't have to race to get everything seen and done, nor did we have to do any of the 'good' rides because neither of the kids were big enough for them. As often as we go, everytime we go to Disneyland is a different experience.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Friday, October 20, 2006

2 Years of Blogging!

I can hardly believe that today marks the 2 year anniversary of this blog for Rachel!

When I created this blog, we were only just at the beginning of our journey with Rachel. At that time the journey seemed so overwhemling. But knowing we'd get through it with the help from our Lord, and our family and friends, made it a little easier. Here we are, 2 years later, Rachel has come so far. She has three surgeries under her belt, with more to come. She's talking more and more each day with the help of speech therapy. And is a normal 2 year old complete with the tantrums and attitude. LOL. Thank You to those of you who continue to come and follow Rachel, even now when our journey is slow and uneventful when it comes to the things revolving around her birth defect.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Disneyland with Friends

We've been frequenting Disneyland quite a bit the past few months with Hannah being off track the last month and the trips that just Rachel and I have made together. Today we went with friends who've not been to Disneyland for a couple of years and had a great time!
Having some fun in Toontown.

With one of her favorite characters... Minnie Mouse.

In New Orleans, posing with Terry, after just having gotten some beads.

We got to the park before it even opened and stayed until closing. Rachel having missed her afternoon nap, fell asleep in her stroller, clutching on to her box of Mickey cookies as we walked to the tram loading. She stayed asleep through me getting her out of the stroller, the tram ride, me putting her jammies on once to the van and remained asleep all the way home.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

The Griffith Observatory

We went to The Griffith Observatory this afternoon for a special preview for Friends of the Observatory in anticipation of the grand reopening next month after a four year closure for remodeling and an expansion. Rachel wasn't particulary interested in any of the exhibits, although she did keep requesting to see the "big ball", the moon. LOL. We learned that her weighing 30lbs on Earth, meant she'd only weigh 6lbs on the Moon, which is less than what she weighed even at birth! It had been a cloudy and overcast day, so the night sky wasn't too clear. But just being up on Mount Hollywood, overlooking the city of Los Angeles and Hollywood made for really nice pictures.

Bob's Big Boy

On our way into L.A., we found an old Bob's Big Boy diner to eat dinner at. And for some reason, Rachel was fascinated in "Bob". She kept looking for him all over the restaurant.

Jumping Jacks!

Hannah had a classmates birthday party today at Jumping Jacks, where the "inflatables are too big for any backyard". And because the birthday girls' parents didn't have to pay for kids under age 3, Rachel got to have some fun! She had a blast bouncing and going from inflatable to inflatable, all the while keeping up with all the big kids.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

The Girlies are Home

The girls came home from Gramie's house this afternoon. It sounds like they had a lot of fun... they went to the movies, to a couple of parks to play, out to lunch, to the pumpkin patch, had a tea party, and did a lot of playing.

Rachel did great! She took her naps and went to bed with no problem. Gramie said she was perfect! However, upon returning home, before she even got out of the car, it was evident that Rachel was grumpy. The rest of the afternoon continued with her being really cranky and whiney and really, unpleasant to be around. LOL. We're not sure if she was 1) mad at us for leaving her (which we highly doubt considering all the fun they had), 2) she was mad for being brought home, LOL, or 3) she was just plan cranky because she didn't get a full nap and woke up in the car. As the evening went on, she warmed up and was back to normal.

One of the activities of the weekend was going to a couple of the parks near Gramie's house. Gramie commented on how suprised she was at what a climber Rachel was! Rachel climbed right up to the top of the play structures and slided down the slides just like one of the big kids.

At the pumpkin patch, Rachel got her first pony ride! Hannah said Rachel enjoyed it. I'm hoping to get a picture from Gramie once she develops her film.

It's nice to know Rachel did so well away from home for so many days. Sending your baby off for the first time is always the hardest. However, I enjoyed my few days of peace and quiet, so I doubt there will be any hesitating in sending her again! LOL.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

First Sleepover at Gramies!

We took the girls to Gramie's house this evening. This will be Rachel's first time spending the weekend with Gramie. Also making it the longest time she's been away from her Mommy and Daddy! While she had no idea as to why Hannah was so excited all day long, Rachel became excited when she walked into Gramie's guest bedroom and found all the babydoll stuff out and set up...the table and chairs, highchairs, stroller, etc. I'm sure they are going to have a blast!

Updating...

I'm in the process of upgrading my blogs to a beta (still in the testing stages) version.

I'm excited that this new version will now allow me to categorize my posts and make it easier for the people who come looking for information on clefts. There is now a category of links to cleft specific posts on the left hand side of this blog.

I'm currently working on categorizing and refining Rachel's blog. Please bear with me while I make these changes. Thanks!

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Disneyland!

Some pictures from our trip today. This year the parks are doing some decorating for Fall and for Halloween and some of the characters are dressing up! For anyone who's not ever been to the Disneyland Resort, this picture is of the entrance to California Adventure. Normally, the letters spelling out CALIFORNIA are just yellow, but for the season, they are now Candy Corn! During the Christmas holidays they are candy cane striped.
Click on picture to enlarge.