Rachel turns 4!! Pt. 2

I LOVE ICE CREAM!

Me too!!

Yum! What a mess!!

Daddy's little girl

Daddy's little boy

Mommy's precious babies

After we rested this afternoon and everyone except Rachel took a nap, it was time for us to head to Scoops. Rachel had requested that we go there for her birthday for some special ice cream. This time, she picked a raspberry flavor with chocolate chips in a sugar cone. We picked orange sherbet for Bradley and I had pralines and cream. Nick had chocolate. The ice cream was delicious, but there were so many people there that we decided to eat outside in the little brick courtyard. It was actually a good move for us though!

As usual, ice cream+Rachel and Bradley=a HUGE mess!

But, we had a great time and then came home and played outside.

We hope Rachel enjoyed her 4th Birthday! We love our little girl sooo much!!!!

Rachel turns 4!! Pt. 1

Happy 4th Birthday Rachel Jane!

Look at what Bradley got for Rachel!

Bradley decided to test the package for durability

Rachel even loved her new panties!

Thank you, Braddy, for my present!

Happy Birthday to you...sweet girl!

Make a wish!!

Our sweet Big girl!

Yummy...strawberry icing!

I like strawberry icing too!

Rachel "cooking" her first batch of cupcakes...

they look so delicious!

Hard to believe, but the day has finally arrived...Rachel turned 4 years old at 10:33am!! Our lives have been so blessed by this sweet, precious, loving, beautiful daughter. I can't even begin to describe how much joy she brings to our lives with her beautiful smile, thoughtful and caring ways and her sensitivity to others' needs. She's just so precious.

Anyway, Rachel woke up around 7:15 this morning. She said she "membered it was her birthday" when she saw the sun shining through her curtains. We let her go ahead and open her presents from us when she woke up. It was precious watching her excitement with each thing she opened. She really made us feel like we had picked just the exact right thing. We went to church too...we didn't want to break our positive streak of going every Sunday. Rachel didn't think she wanted to go to church (since she was having so much fun playing with her new toys), but she eventually decided it would be fun. Jen and Micah even gave her a birthday present at church...a darling Strawberry Shortcake bag with chapstick, pens and lotion. Rachel loved it all!

When we got home, we sang "Happy Birthday" to Rachel and she blew out a candle on her cupcake...it had strawberry icing. (She's on a real strawberry kick right now!) Then, Rachel decided she wanted to try out her new Disney: Cool Bake Oven. (It's the 3 year old version of an Easy Bake Oven, with no lightbulb.) I'm not sure how the "cooking" process works, because all you do is put ice cubes in a tray and put your cakes in the oven. So, it's more like a gelatin mush, I guess. But, Rachel thought it was cool and loved cooking her own food with her "own kitchen". I can only imagine how yummy it tastes...we haven't sampled it yet. We just let Rachel enjoy her treat.

Jen-Jen's 30th Birthday!

Ready to skate!!

In the rink

Cute little skater!

The cutest 30 year old skater ever!

The guys...none skated except for Jared!

Micah "swinging" Bradley

(he LOVED it!)

Matching hairdos :)

Today was Jen's 30th birthday! (Rachel calls her Jen-Jen.) She decided to embrace her inner child and go roller skating! We were only too excited to be included in this fun adventure. As it turns out, the whole skating experience hasn't changed that much since I went when I was in Elementary school,,.even some of the music! I don't think this particular skating rink has changed that much either. It looked like it hadn't been updated OR cleaned in several years! :) But, that didn't keep the crowd away...there were LOTS of kids and adults there. And, it definitely didn't deter us from having a REALLY good time! Rachel thought it was so neat and wanted to just do it. She didn't remember that she doesn't know how to skate and still needs to take it slow. She just wanted to GO! We took her Dora skates with us, and I was so glad we did. Because, Rachel had NO interest in wearing the 20 lb. skates that they handed me to put on her from the rink. I don't know how she would have picked up her feet with those big lugs on her little feet. We started out with me holding her hand and walking/skating around the rink. That was quite a workout for me, since I was solely supporting her little 40 lb. body from hitting the ground. She kept wanting to jump up and down with her skates on or move her feet as fast as she could. Of course, this resulted in her feet going out from under her and me holding her up so that she didn't fall on the floor. I'm glad I didn't pull her little arms out of their sockets. I'm pretty sure I'll have some sore muscles tomorrow where I never knew I had any! Rachel and I finally discovered that she did much better by herself than with me holding her hand. That way she could get her balance better. I still hovered, because I was so afraid of her falling and really hurting her bottom (or something) on the floor, but she did great! Unfortunately, the rink was too hot, so we were all sweating profusely! Jen said it was a little cooler when you skate faster, because you built up a breeze, but Rachel and I didn't quite get to that point! But, everyone had a really good time and Rachel has a new love for skating! After we skated, we all went to eat 5 Guys Burgers and Fries and ate some yummy burgers and fries. It was a really fun day!

Happy 30th Birthday Jen! We love you!!!

GeGe's b-day and Rachel's new bike

A little help from daddy...it's

a big hill!

Look at her go!

Bradley fed Maggie and Toby SEVERAL dog biscuits

Rachel is so happy when she sees her bike!

The beautiful Barbie Bike!

Looks yummy!

Make a wish!

Yesterday was Deborah's b-day, so Rachel and I made her a birthday cake. Rachel had decided to have a "Tinkerbell" theme, so we got some special decorations to go on the cake. We went over to GeGe and Papa's and ate chinese food to celebrate. While we were celebrating GeGe's birthday, she and Papa decided to give Rachel one of her birthday presents...a big girl Barbie bike! It has purple and pink streamers on the handles and even a small pink barbie bike and barbie doll that attaches to the handlebar. Rachel thinks it's so cool that she gets to ride with Barbie. She was so excited and started riding it all over their driveway. She really did great...especially for her first time on anything other than a tricycle. She LOVES her new bike and opted out of running errands with me this morning so she could stay home with Nick and ride some more. It was definitely a nice surprise to get a birthday present early! She's been patiently waiting to get her birthday presents! I can't believe she'll be 4 tomorrow!!!

A cry out for Bay

"A Portrait with Bay"

This afternoon, we were all outside and Nick was planting some flowers. The kids were having fun playing and running around. Rachel was "mothering" a worm that she had found where Nick was digging. She took care of the worm for a good 45 minutes...finding him a home in one of Dixie's empty treat containers, putting soil and grass in there and a little water. She talked to the worm, carried it around and kept asking Nick if he could find it's mommy and daddy worm. Nick kept looking dilligently for mommy and daddy worm. Anyway, Bradley was having fun doing his own thing...playing with a ball, picking up dirt, running around, etc... He had on his crocs and had already stumbled on the driveway once and scraped his little leg. But, he was fine and got up and played again. About 10 minutes later, he was running again and fell on the sidewalk. This time, he really scraped his leg and his little hands. It hurt pretty bad, so I took him inside to clean him up and calm him down. He calmed down very quickly once I gave him some juice and started his favorite movie of the week: Ice Age. I was making some dinner and I heard him saying something. I peeked around the kitchen entrance and saw Bradley standing in his bedroom doorway, calling, "Baaay." It was about the cutest thing I've ever heard. He was actually calling for his Bay. (Like it would answer him or get up and come to him.) So, I said, "Bradley, are you looking for Bay? Here it is." Bradley came running over and said in the sweetest voice, "Baaay". It was so cute! I love his affection for Bay. He really finds comfort from his tattered, dirty, stinky little blanket! What a precious baby doll! I love him so much!

Funny Girl Pt. 4

Rach is constantly saying cute things as she learns all the confusing sayings in our language. Today, she had to go potty, so I told her I would go after her. So, she finished up and then said, "it's your turn mommy," and walked out of the bathroom. I sat down and then she popped her head back in and said, "mommy, you need some company...I'll shut the door." I said, "yes, Rachel, I need some privacy." I thought it was cute that she meant privacy (which I NEVER get while using the potty), but she was actually offering it to me, with the wrong word.

Also, last week at "nastics" she and her buddy, Raquel, were quite silly and didn't listen to their teacher. So, on the way to gymnastics today, I reminded Rachel that she needed to listen to her teacher and not listen to Raquel (who she blamed for last week's behavior). She was very serious and said she would listen to her teacher, she "promised". When she got to class, she was sitting in the circle with the other little girl and her teacher. A few minutes later, Raquel walked in and Rachel got up and said, "I need to tell Aquel something." ("Aquel" is how she says Raquel.) She said, "Aquel, I can't listen to you today...I need to listen to my teacher and you need to listen too." Raquel didn't say a word and their teacher said, "okay Rachel, let's get back in the circle." And, Rachel did behave nicely today and listened to her teacher, but I guess I have to make sure she knows that she's only responsible for her own behavior, not Raquel's. I thought it was funny, though, that she decided to take it upon herself to teach Raquel a lesson that she has not mastered. What a little mess!

Carrier

Well, this has nothing to do with our family, but Nick and I have found the coolest program on GPB. For the last week and (last weekend?) we have watched a new series, a documentary I think, about a Naval Carrier that has servicemen/seamen from the Navy and Marines. I tell you, it's fascinating! I can't believe how huge this thing is and how many people are employed and live on it. They've even had some local seamen, one girl from Athens and one boy from Monroe! We're really enjoying it and it always makes me proud of what our troops do for our country. I think the show has a few more nights to enjoy and then you can buy the whole documentary. It even lists Mel Gibson as a producer, so I guess it's "the" Mel Gibson, unless someone else has that name. Anyway, just wanted to share.