Rainey Days

The Fall

2012-01-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

I'm way behind on my postings - teaching the one class at the U was much more time intensive than I thought. Here are some of the things we did.

Watching a cousin's soccer game early one Saturday morning, breakfast in hand:

Lots of hiking, just us, and with friends:

One of our hiking destinations was closed to to some early snow - this was taken at the closed gate - I love the fall colors with the snow:

R took advantage of the brief stint of now:

Papa and Grandma came to visit:

Halloween:

Preschool bookclub, which we love:

Playing in the leaves:

or cleaning them up:

Visits to Wheeler Farm and the zoo - a bit chilly but doable:

My sweet turkey:

Finding entertainment on random errands - running through the clothes:

Some favorite moments of 2011

2012-01-22T12:45:00.001-08:00

I am constantly awed by the beauty of these mountains. Look at the backdrop of this playground. Kev carrying E, and R running ahead on a beautiful early Fall day.

Here's another one within walking distance.

I will take any snuggle time I can get.

So will Kevin:

Just looking at this melts my heart - she likes to hold my hand in the stroller when someone else is pushing her. Kills me.

E has almost mastered feeding herself this year. The learning process has required a newfound ability to just embrace the mess on my part. Love that face though:

Rare and precious moments. Quite the daddy's girl:

So many sweet sister moments - too many to include or are in other areas of the blog:

Sweet friends, snuggled under the blanket.

Reading together after bath:

Reading before bed:

Waiting patiently before their portrait:

Holding beanie babies from their Great Grandma:

4 years old!

2012-01-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have a 4 year old! What a sweet girl we have! She chose lemon cake and a Tinkerbell candle, and of course, many princess balloons. She had so much family come out to celebrate her big day with her: Gramsey, Dowdells, Harrises, Mitchells, and Petersons. She felt loved and special - her favorite part still is the singing and blowing out of the candles. I think this is the last year I can get away with such a simple bday party. I'm so grateful to all of our family members who came to support R.

Here are answers to some questions - it's funny how a lot of them have changed already:

1. What is your favorite color? Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Polly pocket princesses

3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes

4. What is your favorite tv show? Little Bear

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? sandwiches

6. What is your favorite outfit? Purple dress with green and yellow flowers from Costco and some form of pants underneath

7. What is your favorite game? Hi Ho Cherry O

8. What is your favorite snack? yogurt

9. What is your favorite animal? Not a huge fan of animals – says giraffe

10. What is your favorite song? Wicked soundtrack

11. What is your favorite book? Just Say Please by Mo Willems, also any princess story

12. Who is your best friend? Lexi at Holladay Preschool

13. What is your favorite cereal? Oatmeal Squares

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Rake and play in the leaves

15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter “because you get lots of candy” – weird bc we’ve never given her candy on Easter

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Yellow blanket (especially its tag) and a baby

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Lemon pancakes

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Spaghetti

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mother

With some cousins, who are a couple years older.

With other cousins, a tich younger. She LOVES to play with all of her cousins! We are so lucky to be close to so many.

The family picture since I realized we didn't have one since her last birthday.

Christmas time

2012-01-22T12:25:00.001-08:00

The Christmas season began with R's first dance recital. Here she is in costume with Kev before the recital:

I asked her to show me one of her dance poses - I love it! However, it looks like she may have gotten her mom's dance talent. Poor girl.

We got a tiny bit of snow, but it didn't stick. The girls were so excited to put on their snow gear even though it just barely covered the ground.

I love our Christmas Eve traditions. I wish I had more pictures from the music, but here's the annual Nativity scene. I didn't get a pic of R as an angel, but E got to be the baby Jesus - quite a large one. Poor Mary. I was shocked E stayed still, but she found a random pacifier (neither girl has liked pacifiers, so I don't know where this came from) and was quite attached to it. I guess I was happy about it.

Donkey, Mary, Joseph, and the ginormous baby:

Wise men visiting:

Play time with cousins after:

Christmas morning fairies:

We had to be fairies for our outing to the aquarium:

Some snapshots of family time - I've heard people say E looks like her cousin, and this is the first time I've really seen it so clearly:

Story time with Gramsey:

Nothing like the magic of Christmas with these ages. We especially love all of the family time. We are so blessed.

January 2012

2012-01-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

We began 2012 in sunny and warm southern California with Kevin's parents. The weather averaged mid 70s. Needless to say, we were in heaven. The girls wanted to be outside constantly! I was right there with them.

Here they are waiting for our flight.

Our first night there, the girls took a long, fun bath in Grandma's tub. I got E out before R and got her in new jammies and a night diaper. She was playing with something in the other room with me, and when I turned my back to do something (I can't remember now), she had jumped back into the tub. She was stoked!

In addition to playing outside, some highlights included Disneyland, a beach day, Balboa island (more beach time), and just time with Mitchell family.

We had some magical days - this particular day, we set up the kids' table with toys and then we picked limes from the tree. R helped Grandma decorate bags, then E and R filled them with limes, and we delivered them to the neighbors. We also made lime sublime with the rest of the limes.

Beach day may have been my favorite day. We had weather where your warm in the sun, but not too hot or even sweating. The girls were so content - E digging in the sand, and R playing in the waves. We sat in chairs and just soaked in the vitamin D.

Kev started out playing with R in the waves.

E did not move from this spot.

Here is our setup:

R happy to play in the waves without us - she made friends with some other kids and had a blast!

R resting after wave jumping

We grabbed lunch at Ruby's Diner on the pier. R made fast friends with the lady in the background catching fish. R has no fear when it comes to strangers. Pretty funny to watch.

Family pic...

Disneyland day was R with her Dad, Grandma and Papa. She was in heaven - they stayed for 12 hours! I got a day with E at home. I loved my one on one time with her. I worked on my course while she slept. I made sure Kev sent me pics and videos - I was sad to miss it.

When they first arrived.

Last year, the princess line was long - this year did not disappoint. Same thing - here's R waiting.

What are the odds that we get 2 out of 3 of the same princesses? I would think low... Luckily, R did not seem to mind. At least this time, she knew who Tiana was this time. She loved Ariel, as well, but she told me Aladdin was her favorite. I was surprised he was with the princesses.

She got a good nap during lunch - critical for the rest of the day.

Here is another highlight of the day - Jake from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"! R is really into this show right now.

We got time with dear Aunt Edna, who is 93. The girls loved running around her yard and playing with her cat.

Here we are on Balboa Island - the girls wanted more time on the beach:

Lyndsay and Chad joined us.

I arranged a surprise gathering of Kev's childhood friends. One came all the way from Fresno! They had a blast catching up! I'm really bad at keeping surprises, and I did it this time. =) Seeing him truly surprised was priceless.

It was a tough adjustment back to real life and colder weather. I decided to buy a Discovery Museum membership, and we've been loving it.

This day was a bit chilly, and so we got the helicopter all to ourselves for a full 15 minutes. Such a blast! R loved to be the pilot, run out to rescue someone, radio it in, and fly us back. E loved being along for the ride. I'm not sure what she's so serious about here.

Loving bath time - the necklaces must go everywhere with E.

We finally got some snow here!

It's going to be a busy semester for me, but not as bad as last semester, I'm hoping. I enjoy the challenge - makes me appreciate the time I get with my family even more.

Loving this phase!

2011-09-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

To remember how R is at 3 1/2 years -- she loves everything princess. She also loves to color, to play with her polly pockets, to climb anything and everything, especially our swing set. She is very sweet with her younger sister. She is very verbal and a good thinker -- coming up with ideas for how to solve problems she encounters or how to negotiate with Mom and Dad. She gets very excited about things, and is just a happy girl. A big source of joy in our home.

Cinderella in her cleaning dress -- she asked to clean!!:

Just after getting the hula hoop to swing around her for the first time:

Resting on our hike:

A drawing of a playground -- she was so proud of how she drew each individual flower on the bottom:

To remember how E is at 15 months -- she loves outside, constantly opening the back door. She loves her sister and whatever Rainey is doing, but she also needs her space. Has an opinion, and really lets you know she's unhappy when she doesn't get her way. A bit of a picky eater. Repeats a lot of words, understands a ton, does a lot of "talking" as she toddles around the house finding various things to hold or dump. A pretty relaxed, but busy girl -- especially loves to repeat actions, such as climbing onto the fire truck and then back off over and over again. She kills me -- she's definitely a Mama's girl for now. Another big source of joy in our home.

She loves balls:

Tired girl, obsessed with this necklace:

"Talking" to me:

Had to paint with Rainey:

Wanted to "weed" just like Mom and Rainey:

Recent Activities

2011-09-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Life just got a lot busier with the start of a new part time job for me (mentioned in another post). It's hard to remember what we did before this consumed my free time. Here are some of our activities at the end of the summer:

Kev's work party at Boondocks -- One of the activities: Rainey was in heaven. E wanted to get in the water.

Playing around the house (and outside) -- forts, snuggle time, puppet shows, etc.

Wheeler Farm -- Nothing gets better than mud puddles and climbing trees -- Rainey said this was the perfect climbing tree. She would climb all day long if she could. They liked this part WAY better than the animals.

Farmer's Market -- I love the whole atmosphere here. Rainey especially loves the hula hoops. This time we got to go with Aunt Becca, cousins, and Aunt Pel:

Preschool Book Club

I've started this with a couple friends who have kids close to Rainey's age and only have one other kid. It's too much for the Mom if they have more kids, especially because we do it in the afternoon. We're basing our time together off of this blog -- and the kids love it. I love it. I feel creative, even though I'm copying ideas. =) To watch the kids' faces as they get into the books we read aloud is magical. We have snacks, activities, and crafts that relate to the book(s). I've never been this organized and themed in my mothering. haha. This time we were working on a bug theme. Here's most of the crew and Rainey with her play dough bug.

Magical Moments

2011-09-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've had numerous magical moments with my girls, and I have to document them somewhere (beware, this is a bit long). On most occasions, when I would think to run and grab the camera, the moment would pass or we'd be on to the next thing. I think what has helped the most with these moments is the slight change in weather. It is perfect fall weather! Also, I am loving their ages -- 3 1/2 and 15 months (probably my favorite age to date with the toddling and "talking" and parroting). And I have started a teaching job at the College of Nursing at the "U", which has made me cherish my moments with them even more. I'm only gone 2 mornings, but all of my free time goes to this, so I want to soak in this time, these faces:

OUTSIDE

Because of the weather, we are outside most of our waking moments. E can now open the back door and head out. She loves to do this, and gets so frustrated when I lock the door. I have to do this when I'm making dinner or doing something where I can't run outside and make sure she doesn't get into trouble or get hurt.

When we are outside, we're blowing bubbles or drawing with chalk or riding tricycles and scooters or swinging or taking walks. Rainey has become quite the acrobat on our swing set -- sometimes I feel as though I'm watching a circus act the way she moves between swings or uses her toes to hang on to the chain while she's swinging upside down. I wish I had more pictures of all of her tricks. She loves climbing up and down this pole of our swing set.

One night while I was starting dinner, I left the girls outside to play and I checked on them from the window and they were just hugging each other. I loved being able to witness such a tender moment between these two little friends.

The other day we were sitting on the driveway -- Rainey and I drawing things for a birthday party and E toddling around with chalk or a pine cone or whatever else she happened to find. And then E decided to come up to each of us and give a big love and a kiss. So sweet.

One of our walks:

On some of our walks we like to look for "bugs" -- A ton of Box Elder bugs live in this wooden pseudo-fence in our neighborhood, in a cul-de-sac. I love to let them be free and search for various things. Today Rainey brought me "treasures": a rose petal, a rock, two different leaves to show me the beginning of Fall colors, and a little stick.

Here they are with their bug:

At a park with cousins:

HIKING

Escaping into the mountains is one of my favorite activities. It's especially fun with the current weather and the hint of changing leaves. Here's a picture from one of our hikes.

A favorite past time of E's -- dumping any sort of dirt onto her legs and shoes:

Rainey taking the "statue pose" very seriously -- she and her cousin came up with that on their own:

A different hike with same Mitchell cousins:

"Camping"

We camped over Labor Day weekend with our SLC Peterson family -- very close to civilization. =) Rainey was in heaven! And E loved going in and out of each tent.

While we didn't sleep much that night, our food was tasty. I've been wanting to cook foil dinners and to use my dutch oven. And nothing tastes better in the morning after a brief and interrupted night than hot chocolate, scrambled eggs, and pancakes made over an outdoor stove.

We hiked up Bell's Canyon to attempt fishing. The hike was short, but pretty steep, especially for 3 year old legs. Rainey was a trooper.

Just before the hike with Dad (I didn't get a picture of the whole group, all 16 of us -- we left the babies at home) and here she is at the end:

At the top -- we didn't catch anything, but it was a peaceful place to spend some time together:

THE GARDEN

My girls are obsessed with tomatoes. I only grew tomatoes in our weak-sauce garden (i.e. 3 pots), and they would pick the tomatoes as soon as they turned any shade of red or yellow. E would just pick any she could reach. Rainey loved to water them, even if they struggled to remain upright.

Our neighbor left town for a few weeks, and he said to go in his garden any time and pick whatever we wanted. My girls LOVED this. Sadly, I don't have a picture of this, but his garden is huge and legit. He has a tractor to till the soil each year. He grows tons of different things. Anyway, some nights, we would head next door and walk in his garden. They love to look at the various vegetables and fruit growing, walking up and down the aisles, picking grapes off of his vines. Rainey without shoes and E in her diaper. It is magical.

Here's a picture of what's left from one of their hauls (E's last grape is in her mouth):

Going to town on a yellow tomato:

Kevin calls these photos: steward of Gondor

MORNING TIME

Rainey gets to watch a show in the morning while she drinks her milk. E drinks her bottle, as well, and sits on Kevin's or my lap for at least 10 minutes (sometimes longer). Some mornings, Rainey comes over and joins us. One of my favorite moments of each day. I almost didn't capture it -- I had to be extra sneaky in taking the pic (i.e. not looking at my phone when taking the picture) -- not loving my morning face, but theirs make it worth posting.

OUR POOL

This has occupied hours of our time, and most of the time there's no water in it. They love to play in it with toys, to hide in it, to throw things in and out of it. E especially loves to climb in and out of it. When we do fill it up, they sit in it for a long time. Sometimes we don't dump out the water, in case we want to use it later -- I usually forget about this as we come home with groceries or something I'm distracted by. E will head straight for the pool in her clothes and shoes. Before I remember, she's sitting in it, happy as a clam. Here's one time that I thought to get a camera -- Rainey and my cousin got in with her:

A few pics from different days -- she's too eager to get in, so we usually forget the swimsuit for E (it's also a big small for her now):

This is what I found when I peeked under the pool two separate times one morning:

And this is how she came out on her own from underneath:

Even Aunt Annie got in on pool time earlier this summer:

One of the best inventions!

2011-07-12T13:33:00.001-07:00

Thank you Babies R Us for putting this in the bathroom -- wow. I had such a lovely time washing my hands. She was a little unsure at first, but I loved it!

June and July

2011-07-12T13:25:00.001-07:00

We began summer activities at Liberty Park -- we love this area! This was our first time, and the girls were in heaven!

This baby LOVES to eat apples this way:

Sadly, we only got video of Budgie's first birthday, so here's a picture of her as a one year old, doing what she loves -- taking steps with assistance (she did take her first real steps a week later in Woodside):

After her birthday, we headed to beautiful Woodside, CA to celebrate my Mom's birthday -- here we are waiting to surprise her. She was definitely surprised! It was a magical time for all the siblings to be together in such an amazing place:

Eating s'mores in the outside fireplace:

Nakey time with a cousin and rocks -- does it get any better?

Pool time -- the wagon was our preferred mode of transportation as the pool was quite a distance for little legs from where we were staying:

Stanford campus -- this is a very cool display at the GSB, near Grandpa's office:

Top of Hoover Tower -- you can see Aunt Peelo's future dorm in this pic:

Time at the Claw fountain (outside the bookstore) -- Rainey and her cousin are playing with the water, and Budgie is going as fast as she can to get there before I can catch her:

After a marvelous 12 days in Woodside, we saw Grandma and Papa in southern California for a few days -- these bubbles were a hit with the girls and their cousin:

They always love time in the swings:

We actually got a day at the beach, even though the weather wasn't great and we didn't bring our suits -- this was their first time to really be able to play in the sand and the waves:

After playing in the waves -- one of them caught us off guard and soaked us both. She loved the waves, but was pretty cold after:

The only 2 shots from the 4th of July

I found her like this in her room -- I often find her asleep on the floor when I check on her after her "rest/quiet time" is up. Notice the pink scarf, which is her Rapunzel hair.

This is after our BBQ -- she had the time of her life, crawling all around outside, playing in the dirt and rocks. What a face -- this picture doesn't quite capture the filth:

Kevin and I are off on our trip in a few days. We will be without the girls -- our first one, just us. There are no words to describe our excitement! Thanks to Kevin's parents who are going to hold down the fort for a week.

Best Buds

2011-07-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

These two girls have such a good time together. This morning, Rainey took Budgie into the playroom and shut the door -- they just wanted to be together. I loved it -- I was able to clean the kitchen without any interruptions.

This is the preferred mode of transportation (surprisingly Budgie tolerates it):

Rainey loves to drink side by side -- this happens almost on a daily basis:

They both are CRAZY about their Dad:

Matching outfits -- always a favorite:

Playground time -- I love these happy faces:

Swings -- Rainey loves to give her "underdogs":

The "Tower" -- the blue scarf is Rapunzel's hair, of course. And Pascal is in green, naturally:

I love this sequence -- they make each other laugh:

Pushing in a baby stroller:

I love these two sweet and very busy girls! Their friendship is so fun to watch.

The Budge

2011-04-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

Budge or Budgie is what she responds to, not her real name. She is a funny baby, and we're all crazy about her. She's becoming very opinionated and strong willed, but she still remains a pretty easy baby. Among other things, she loves socks, books, whatever Rainey has, and feeding herself. She loves to wave now. This might be one of my favorite stages.

She usually has something she's carrying in her mouth while she plays:

This is her favorite sitting position:

And as you've already seen, she loves clumps of dirt:

How do you not love this face?

Update

2011-04-30T12:54:00.000-07:00

We are ready for Spring, and yet, snow is resting on our lawn outside right now. So, we've had to come up with more things to do indoors.

Our first real tea party with real herbal tea and crackers and all the chairs full. Rainey was so excited about the real herbal tea (instead of water), especially because it was pink. The first taste was not all smiles (a little unsure), but she then decided that she still liked the tea over water.

Lots of time at the Discovery Museum -- sadly, our membership ran out. I didn't renew it because I thought we would be outside a lot now... hmmmmm.

Lots of indoor play time -- it's especially fun for Rainey when they can match, and she gets to choose both of their outfits. (Can you see how she's drawing Rapunzel? Hint: the long hair -- it's one of my favorite drawings to date)

Our one sunny day we went to This Is the Place park, and it was freezing and windy. But at least we got to see baby animals, ride a horse, and eat lunch by an original cabin, while feeling cold.

Here we are attempting to play outside, even though it's gray and a bit cold -- these girls are such good friends already:

We've had some fun visitors. These two are 2 of our favorite friends from Virginia. It was our first time meeting baby Leah:

And last but not least, we celebrated both Kevin's and our nephew's birthdays -- here are all the SLC cousins (minus 2 who are still playing off camera) on the family celebration day:

We really have a great time together, even if we're stuck inside.

Getting Big

2011-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how big these girls are getting...

Rainey is producing more sophisticated art, better than mine, eh? (I should be embarrassed about my "dancer girl" as Rainey calls it, but I have zero artistic ability so no pride there...)

I just LOVE her drawings and letters

This one she called "My Family" and she asked me how to spell everyone's names (BTW, Emma is my cousin from England who Rainey adores!)

E or Budgie is crawling, pulling up on things, becoming quite opinionated and dramatic at times, and sprouting new teeth (Her top two teeth are coming in now after a few rough nights)

I really love the time I get to spend with them, even though we spend a lot of time solving personal space issues and respecting "special projects" -- can you guess what is hardest for which girl?

Hint: Rainey LOVES her sister and being able to move her places, and Budgie is sometimes lovingly called "Baby Monsty" (monsty=monster)

SoCal

2011-01-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

We spent over 2 weeks in Southern California visiting Kevin's parents, and we had a blast! We were busy visiting with family, friends, and acitivities:

Papa and Grandma

Playing at the park:

Swinging in the backyard:

We got some time with Aunt Tracey -- Rainey loved helping her with this project:

And we got to see Ben and Alex -- always a good time!

A major highlight was Disneyland. We went with Kevin's mom and without E -- both huge.

Of course, we started with the princesses just after a carousel ride. You wait in line not knowing which 3 princesses you get to see.

waiting patiently

When we turned the corner, Rainey's excitement about finally seeing princesses decreased quickly because there was Tiana, a princess we have never discussed -- I've never seen "The Princess and the Frog." Rainey began a bit scared and not so sure about this princess thing -- Tiana was a good sport, especially as I carried the conversation and stood next to her for the picture. You can see the how Rainey finally gained her confidence and excitement back as we progressed through the princesses.

It was fun to see her so happy in the end -- what makes it worth waiting in lines as a parent:

Next, we went to Toontown and Rainey LOVED that!

We especially enjoyed Minnie and Mickey's houses:

Just before the roller coaster started -- she loved that she and Dad had matching sweatshirts.

We got to meet up with her cousin Chad -- he helped boost her energy because she was ready for her nap at this point.

We did It's a Small World twice because it was so fun. It still had Christmas decorations and songs -- much less repetitive. =)

Going home -- definitely ready for rest:

but not without a souvenir:

Kevin left for China for a week, and so the fun continued. We had perfect weather, and enjoyed being outside, visiting story time at the library, and going to Pretend City:

waiting to go in playing w Grandma

planting in garden writing her name

dancing on the pretend stage E sitting in a crib in the pretend house

Sweet sisters:

Rainey feeding her a bottle for the first time all by herself:

3 years old!

2010-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have a 3 yr old! We had a really fun party with family.

She is all about princesses... Good thing we get to take her to Disneyland in January.

And E just hit the 6 month mark. Here with her Gramsey:

One of their favorite things to do: (hard to keep up with the hair at times)

We just took the girls to see the lights on Temple Square:

We think Rainey liked it...

But E didn't last very long:

the early fall

2010-09-16T10:49:00.001-07:00

This fall we had to say good-bye to Aunt Elise as she headed off to college. We had one last night with her... (that's such a typical Rainey-face)

Resting on the grass at the Farmer's Market downtown -- we love this place! Only a few more weeks left.

Reading stories together:

It's started to get cold at night, and so our house is freezing in the morning since we haven't turned on the heater yet. These girls love to snuggle up together under the blanket each morning.

E is getting so big now -- she loves the bumbo and watching her big sister play.

Rainey's started preschool and she LOVES it -- she comes home so happy. I can't believe she's so big.

The Happenings...

2010-08-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Everday life:

This still cracks me up. I feel like a circus, especially at the grocery store.

I love this picture because Rainey looks so tiny, and Eleanor looks huge.

Rainey asks to hold E and then take a picture almost everyday. This is a classic sequence.

First Smiles:

Sweet, smiling girls before church

I love this one

Bear Lake:

This was not staged. They were all reading at the same time. Awesome.

Rainey loved the this as long as we were going under 10 mph.

E sleeping in the back of the car -- still enjoying the sand and water.

Sweet friends.

Potty Training:

This is huge for me. I had been dreading this for a long time, but I decided one day that it was time. I knew she was ready, and we just had to do it. We're on the fourth day, and I think she's got it. We've only had a few accidents, and now she goes by herself. I'm so proud of her!

Showing me her big girl underwear by her chart. She's no longer interested in the chart. She just goes now.

I had to get an action shot. She thinks it's so funny that she's not looking at the camera.

Rainey's room:

Kevin's sister and her little boy came out for a few days, and thankfully, she helped us get started on re-doing Rainey's room. I've wanted to at least re-paint, but I just couldn't get it going. Redecorating is not one of my strengths...

Just before a walk

This is how we ran our errands -- pretty crazy at times, but I love all of these faces.

Here's the before video:

The room could not get worse..

The (almost finished) after:

I posted these now because Kevin is leaving tonight on a 10 day trip and who knows how long it will be before we hang everything and do the finishing touches. But this at least gives the idea. .

Sisters

2010-07-08T15:38:00.001-07:00

In answer to some requests, here are some more pictures:

Rainey loves to hold "Baby Eleanor":

And she loves to "rest by her":

Time with Gramsey:

Eleanor after a bath (pre-acne):

With her aunt:

Rainey with her new jammies from Dad after his trip to China:

The girls without Dad on Father's Day -- we sent this to him in China. We missed him so much! It's so nice to have him back, even if we're still in survival mode. Slowly, but surely we're getting better at two.

Welcome!

2010-06-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Eleanor June, born June 6 at 4:23am, weighing 7 - 11.

We were so excited to finally meet her.

Kev got to give her the first bath.

Rainey meeting her for the first time. She is so sweet and gentle with her baby sister.

Going home!

Randoms...

2010-05-16T12:47:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since our last post. Things have been busy.

Kevin turned 30!

We took a trip to celebrate (without Rainey). This is the (loud) bird exhibit outside our room... it was a love-hate relationship.

I finished school! Sweet Kevin brought both of his girls some flowers -- Rainey was SO excited to get flowers from her Dad.

We're getting ready for #2 or at least we're starting to face that reality. Rainey can't wait to hold her.

It's finally spring, which means lots of outside time.

And I had to include 2 random pictures:

I love the beginnings of drawing people -- this is her "dancer girl." She really doesn't like to draw on paper, so I can only see these works of art on the white board...

This leotard is from her cousins, and she loves it! (as do I)

Some new faves

2010-03-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Green drink -- every other morning

Painting

Holding babies on her lap (I hope it lasts until the summer and is just as fun when it's her sister)

Without pictures to back them up, the list also includes dresses that can "twirl," helping Mom cook, and dancing.

Also noteworthy is our trip to NYC without Rainey. We had a blast with Kevin's parents and we got to see quite a bit for our short time. I love that city!

End of Year

2010-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we're in 2010 and that we have a 2 year old. Here's an attempt to catch up from the end of October...

I love this picture -- she is so crazy about her Dad. We both love it when he walks in the door from work, but she won't really leave his side from that point until bedtime. She also loves puzzles. So you can see from the look on her face how pumped she is to have both things:

What a sweet, happy girl:

Back in the beginning of December, we celebrated Rainey's birthday with family. She was SO excited just to have people there to sing "Happy Birthday" to her and then to watch her blow out the candles. Her face while we were singing was priceless. We were recording instead of taking pictures, so I can't post it on here, but it was one of pure joy. And nothing is better for a parent than that, especially when it is so simple. Just a few birthday shots.

She got to open a present from Grandma when she first woke up:

She had a friend come over, and she shared her new fashion with her. Rainey always wants to put dresses over whatever she is wearing. Her favorite combo is jammies and a dress.

Just after the singing and candles. She has such a satisfied look on her face:

Opening presents with cousins, aunts, uncles, and Gramsey:

We got to have Christmas here with my family. Once again, we have great video of Christmas morning, but no pictures. Rainey loved the tree -- she would ask to go sit by the tree multiple times a day.

This is a typical face, not sure what it means. But we had a good time putting together the gingerbread house:

An amazing Christmas gift from my Dad for all of us -- tickets to the Jazz game. Look at how close Jerry Sloan is! What a night!

We visited the Mitchells in California for New Year's weekend and took Rainey to the beach--she was in heaven. She LOVED the waves, even though the water was freezing. She wanted to be nakey in the waves, and so we let her. Kevin was quite embarrassed, but I thought it was awesome.

2010 should be even better than 2009 -- Kevin just started in a new position, I finish school in May, and we'll have our second girl in June. And just that we continue to be near family is fabulous.

Such a big girl

2009-10-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

No more high chair. And now not even a phone book!

Her very own slurpee. I can't believe I gave in, and let her have some in her own cup, but she was in heaven. I had an odd craving for one last weekend...

Last, but not least--new hair. Rainey had her first haircut! This was a big decision for me because I knew we'd lose her curls and enter a new stage... But she hates to have her hair washed or brushed. And if I put it up, she takes it out. Sadly, I couldn't go because I had to finish a project for school. It was probably a good thing because I got teary-eyed (yes, I'll admit it) when she walked through the door. I couldn't believe it! She was a different kid, not a baby anymore.

The before shot, saying good-bye to the hair as I stayed home to work:

Loved the police car (still talks about it):

Worried, but ok:

Definitely sad. She apparently cried most of the time, even with Mickey playing.

This was the face I got to see walking through the door. She was pumped to have "new hair."

And especially proud of the balloon:

end of summer

2009-09-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I had our first trip away from Rainey--thanks to Kym for watching her. We got to go to Alaska with my parents and youngest sister! While we had a lot of rain, it was still beautiful and relaxing and just a fabulous trip.

We got this picture in our email while we were gone: Rainey was happy and in good hands without us. I was really enjoying my time where I could just worry about me, but when we got this, I realized how much I missed her.

Here we are on the day we were united---11 days is a LONG time. This is a block from my brother and his wife's apartment. We loved our time at the beach and with Ben and Alex!

We're back into the swing of things and Rainey is very into jumping and hanging and climbing--such a busy little bee. (Can you name the movie?) And she is so talkative.

Check out this great jumping footage. You can see how she loves to call herself "nakey." She's improved her vertical since, but not by much.

The other day, she put on my shoes and said, "Bye, Mama. I go to work" while "walking" out of my room. Earlier we had said bye to Dad as he headed off to work, so I'm sure she just wanted to join him. The nightgown is from my younger sister, so yes, it's old. Maybe you could call it vintage...But Rainey LOVES it. The other day, she had to put it on over her clothes and wear it to the farmer's market. pretty funny.

It's definitely the end of summer--we have such perfect Fall weather now. Rainey and I met our friends at Wheeler Farm, and we all had a blast. Rainey especially loved the tractor--she wasn't as into the animals as I thought she would be...

Mitchell Reunion

2009-07-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

Blissful week in Jackson, CA at a fantastic ranch. Lots of pool time, craft time, game time, puzzle time and just hangin' out together. It was the first time we had all been together since our wedding in 2005.

It was so hot, and so we spent a lot of time in the pool. And most of the time was spent playing different games on this raft:

Papa reading stories:

All of the girl cousins, but one:

Papa and Grandma bought Rainey her first doll--you can see how excited she was:

Yay Dad

2009-07-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

This is late for posting, but she did this for Dad on the day. And he LOVED it! She is crazy for her Dad. We are so grateful for him. For this, she's just out of the bath and all ready for bed.

Songs

2009-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Rainey has started singing so many songs, and I love it. This one night as I was singing to her before I put her in bed, she just started singing all the words to the song. I had no idea she had learned all of the words (it was the chorus to I am a Child of God). Here's her favorite song as of now.

She has also added her "Sunday shoes" to her list of favorite things. She'll wear them most of the time we're in the house:

I just love that face:

New obsessions

2009-06-04T14:46:00.001-07:00

Her ice cream tank top, pink crocs, and star antennae:

She also LOVED her time at Gymboree. We've stopped for now, but she still sings all the songs.

We had a wonderful visit from some of the Mitchells. We played volleyball in our backyard, visited the aquarium (which is not bad for a land-locked state), played in the park, and just enjoyed time together:

I don't think either one is happy about this arrangement, but there weren't very many open swings.

Rainey was wasted and so she actually rested on the steps--it's very rare for her to be so still for so long. And she loved the attention from her cousins and aunt.

And of course, nothing beats books, especially with Grandma.

We also got to visit the BYU campus one Saturday--it has changed quite a bit since Kevin and I were there. Rainey loved playing in the fountain with her cousins:

And we've been lucky enough to see the aunts and uncles that come to visit:

Easter/Spring

2009-04-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Easter Day with family, including cousins from England--the token photo--I love it when she plays with my hair.

Rainey with her twin cousins, just before the meal. They are so stinkin' cute.

The fabulous Easter meal. Rainey felt so big sitting at the kids' table with her cousins. As you can see, she's very aware of the food she dropped on the floor--that was just the beginning. We're still all about the high chair.

With the change in weather, our attention has turned to the yard--we've got some serious yard work ahead of us. But it's so nice to spend time outside. I LOVE the tulips and daffodils. I wish they lasted longer. One morning, Kevin mowed the lawn with Rainey--she loved the beginning of the ride until she put her fingers in her ears and said "loud." She then helped me with branches, sticks, and pinecone duty.

Just had to show Kev being a good sport. We watched cousins for a night and we went to this place that had indoor rides. Rainey was in heaven, especially as each cousin took her on the various rides. For Susie's turn, Kev had to go with them. Both of us are wimps when it comes to spinning rides. Poor Kev was a bit queasy after this one. (This was before the ride began)

Rainey loves to sit in laps--mine, her "moo", a random wooden bear, and Sophie (her younger cousin). Here, she's sitting in Sophie's lap with Claire behind them both. love it.

This video captures the top two words for the month--my favorite: graham cracker & Kevin's favorite: baby powder.

Josie shout out

2009-03-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

So Rainey has been walking around the house with the announcement picture of her newest cousin, repeating her name over and over. This is mainly for Clint, Diana, and Josie...

She had put her "moo" in Noah's ark and said, "night, night" to it. And she has the picture of Josie in her hands--you just can't see it. Had to capture the moment--I love it when she plays with her cow or "moo."

Just thought I'd post a couple other pictures of our recent activities. She loves to feel the steam from the dryer, especially if it's cold outside. We just got snow after a week of perfect weather. So she's freezing here at the end of March.

Two of her favorite toys, still rocking the pink boots.

3 months left

2009-03-10T13:57:00.000-07:00

It's true. We're counting down the months until nursery time. Rainey is so much fun, but we're wandering the halls of church these days. We can no longer sit up front with the family--it's near the doors for us. However, she's moving to one nap, which starts in the middle of church, so nursery might not even help us. =)

She says new words everyday, car trips aren't as painful, and she's improved on her already fabulous dance moves. Here are some great moments over the past months.

While she's still obsessed with all types of balls and her blankie ("bay-bee"), she's added swings, raisins, grapes ("tah-pees"), and these fabulous pink boots to the list. She insisted on putting them over her jammies:

We tried a new hairdo, but I'm not sure her hair is ready for that. Her hair is struggling.

I forgot to mention that her other favorite is yogurt. She calls it "yo" and it's always whispered for some reason. Here I put the empty container on her tray to show her it was all gone, and she picked it right up and went to town---Grandpa Peterson style.

Per the request of some family members, here's some more video of Rainey. She's still working on being able to say "Grandma."

More winter

2009-02-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

The January to April stretch is long and a bit rough. We're lucky we get to visit cousins often, and we do have some things to look forward to... Today wasn't too warm, but at least we didn't have a ton of snow on the ground. So we bundled up and made the most of outside. Rainey was in heaven as she got to walk around and explore. We did some swinging, but I had to stop well before she was done because I started to feel sick. I'm getting old.

Here she is pointing to her hood (so I will say "hood") and holding her pine cone.

Just after Kevin's tonsillectomy, Darren and Ivey saved us with their Vitamix--they lent it to us while Kevin was recovering and we loved it! We made some amazing soups and such. They spent a fun afternoon with us and Rainey was lucky enough to get a bath with her cousin, Annie. She was so excited to have someone in the tub with her. She gets just as excited if one of her cousins sits in the back seat with her. When she's excited, she shows us with her whole body.

Another day inside, about to play the beloved piano.

Thanks for the dress, Grandma Raynie. She's a little tired after church with no nap yet.

Rainey has started to repeat most of our words--it is so fun. Her vocabulary is exploding. She has yet to master "please," so you'll hear what she does instead. It's much more preferable to her intense and sometimes whiny grunts/noises for things. And she now points to her mouth if she wants to know what she's eating, as you will see. We love this stage.

Christmas and then some

2009-01-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in California with the Mitchells. While it was a bit cold for that area, we still had a wonderful time with everyone. We had all the great food from In 'N Out to Yogurtland, and we played games, had backyard campfire. We loved it all.

Christmas morning:

Playing with one present--it didn't last long:

Picking limes with Papa. She loved this, and it was one of the first and few sunny days:

She LOVES this swing:

Thanks to Lorayne, we got to make these as one of our gifts. I'm not crafty, and yet, mine turned out ok. It's in our kitchen now:

Once we got back to Utah, we got to spend close to a week with my out-of-town siblings, which was so much fun. We did paintballing and fondue and got to see our niece and nephew baptized. Another wonderful week. It was tough to get back to reality.

Back at home in the crib she likes to bite with her new, beloved cow from her aunt and uncle:

On Thursday, she had to have her tear duct probed. Knowing she was going completely under made me a bit nervous, but she did really well and her eye looks great. Here she is just before the procedure. All of us were very tired since we had to be there at 6am. The blanket got to go with her when the anesthesiologist took her from our arms to go into the O.R.

First Birthday

2008-12-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we made it. Rainey had her first birthday party with all the family in the area--It was so fun to be together. She loved everyone singing to her, but when we set the cupcake down in front of her, she gave the "all done" sign. Even after I gave her a taste of the frosting, she still signed "all done." I basically had to feed her the first bite of cupcake, but then she was sold.

Playing with her new toy and cousins.

First Steps

2008-12-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

This is obviously a very exciting moment for just the parents, but we thought we'd share anyway. Her first steps were on November 21. She's getting more and more confident as she takes steps multiple times a day now without our encouragement. Love it.

October

2008-11-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

We have had some crazy weeks with moving and all of my schoolwork. But my last paper of the semester is finished. I can take a deep breath now. I have 2 lovely group projects left, but I'm going to take a little break now. Sadly, it's snowing today. I love snow, but up until now , it has been PERFECT weather. Rainey and I have spent a lot of time outside on a blanket in our fabulous yard.

Here she is eating lunch, and you can see mountains in the background. We love them. The tree is blocking the best part, but at least you get the idea.

Here she is with one of her favorite things: the rake. And I asked her: Where are your fingers?

She was pointing to the swings at this moment. I just wanted to show what she's doing the majority of the time: pointing to everything, either to hear the word again or learn a new word. She's currently obsessed with smoke detectors. She'll find one in every room and even in other people's houses. pretty funny.

This is new. She can now stand without any help, and she's so proud every time she does it.

This is to show you part of the house. She loves her feet, and yes, that's a Qtip. I'll spare you the story, but it was a battle I didn't want to fight at that time.

She loves the leaves, and let's just say one rake doesn't quite do the job. We underestimated the amount of leaves on our property. (That feels weird to say--"our property")

Love that face.

Had to document how she loves to hold your thumb, if you're reading to her, carrying her, feeding her a bottle. I love it!

We all got to go on a hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was so fun, but we (the Mitchells) were very unprepared and froze.

She also loves the phone. She looks like such a big girl in her chair and with the phone.

HALLOWEEN:

The only time she wore the hat.

With the cute cousins. Notice: no hat.

Trying for one more shot with the hat.

One word: sweet.

Teeth

2008-10-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

We finally have multiple teeth. The first one that came in was the upper side tooth. You can barely see it in these 2 pictures.

Next was the opposite side. So she is truly Edward's baby (as my sister jokes). And Kev says then he must be Edward.

She's constantly feeling her teeth with her tongue, so it's sticking out of her mouth most of the time. She now has her two front teeth and two bottom teeth coming in.

And she spends most of her time standing or pulling herself up to standing.

Cousins!

2008-09-16T08:16:00.001-07:00

We're having such a wonderful time in Utah--we still can't believe it's real. To get here, we stopped off in SoCal to visit Papa and Grandma Raynie.

Not long after we arrived in Utah to live, Rebecca had her twins! They are so precious and Rainey goes nuts every time she's around them. I don't have any current pictures of her with them because I have to watch her closely to make sure she doesn't squeeze their faces or give them some intense kisses. Here are the twins in the hospital with Grandma, Aunt Elise, and Tiffany, a friend.

One of the best things about being here in Utah is lots of time with cousins. A favorite past time is storing toys in her mouth.

Enjoying the last days of summer with the cousins outside.

Giving some serious kisses. She gives all of her cousins great loves.

Reading stories together.

She has lots of good help with eating, playing, dancing.

Playing babies, but I think she's the baby this time.

At the very end of the summer, I got to go on a Mitchell girls' weekend. Of course, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures from our fabulous weekend, but I got to come home to this face. She and Kev survived and even had a good time.

We are still waiting on the final details of the closing on a house. So we're still living with my generous parents and really enjoying ourselves. Kevin is really enjoying his job, and I'm continuing with my classes (a bit brutal this semester), but all the cousins are within walking distance. Even though school has started, we still get to see them.

Summer

2008-07-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

This summer, we traveled for six weeks and went to three different states.
We started our trip with a weekend in Chicago for my dearest friend's wedding. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the bride and groom because I forgot my camera at the reception.

Here we are just before the ceremony. Rainey stayed with some cute babysitters so we could stay the whole time.

Here I am with another bridesmaid, sweet Ada, just after the cermony.

Next, we flew to SLC to be with my family before my younger brother's wedding.

Eating some toes with aunt Elise, who took such good care of her

The cousins were so sweet and attentive with Rainey.

Here we are at Ben's wedding. Once again, I don't have a picture of the bride and groom on their special day, but I have one of them when we were with them in SoCal.

And lastly, we flew to SoCal to be with Kevin's family for a few weeks.

Grandma Raynie, Papa, and Baby Rainey. She mastered eating solids in that chair.

Pool time with cousins

The newlyweds over for dinner and belated birthday celebration for Alex.

Sitting up with Aunt Lyndsay. She also learned that trick on this trip.

Beach time.

We loved our time with everyone and thought it would be a perfect way to finish our vacation before Kevin's job and life in the east. But in a week's time, Kev interviewed and we then moved to Utah for his job. So yes, we live in Utah. We can't believe it, but we feel so fortunate to be here near family and for Kevin to have such an exciting opportunity with this new job.

May

2008-05-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

The month of May has been an exciting and busy one so far--no more school and work for the summer. We started it off with a fantastic visit from Clint and Diana. We toured Darden and the downtown Mall and played much Guitar Hero and Killer Bunnies. They were very patient with Rainey and her schedule and so we also had some good down time.

The Downtown Mall.

Guitar Hero action.

Good bonding time with Uncle Clint.

We then headed to Duck Beach with some friends from Darden and Charlottesville for a week. Rainey's schedule was very off, and so we were fighting her sleep the whole time and the weather wasn't great until the end. But we still got some time outside at the beach. We had a great time with everyone and the house was beautiful.

And then Kevin's parents came for his graduation and stayed the week after. We checked off a lot of things on our C'ville list and Rainey was such a trooper--she took a lot of her naps in my arms as we were on tours or walking around.

Graduation Day, before the main event on the lawn.

Papa and Grandma Rainey waiting for it to begin.

Kev after Darden graduation with his robes on.

Touring Darden grounds.

Lunch at Michie Tavern after Papa and Grandma Rainey toured Monticello.

In front of the Rotunda, after our tour of the main grounds.

The gardens of Monroe's home--Ash Lawn Highland

The crew in front of Madison's house. They're still in the restoration process.

Our hike to Humpback rocks in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rainey had to cheer us on b/c it was a brutal incline to the top.

We made it and the view is awesome.

Well done, Papa. You did it!

Picking strawberries in Crozet. They are so d-lish.

Thank you for coming to visit us. We now need to go look for housing in DC before we're off on our summer travels. We've had a great time in C'ville. We'll miss it.

Tagged

2008-05-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

ok, I've been tagged twice, so I'm going to do both of them. This might be more than you want to know...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:30am, thanks to Rainey.

2. What do you usually have for breakfast? a bowl of cereal, maybe 2. I can't wait to eat normal portions when I'm finished nursing.

3. What is your favorite CD of the moment? Eva Cassidy

4. What kind of car do you drive? Audi A3 or an old infiniti with 210,000 miles on it (ticking time bomb, but we love it!)

5. Favorite sandwich? hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers on a toasted sesame seed bagel

6. Favorite item of clothing? my pair of red sweat pants

7. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Portugal with Kev

8. What color is your bathroom? ivory-ish

9. Where would you retire? near family, hopefully close to the mountains or the beach

10. Most memorable birthday? this past one because Kevin and I had been apart all summer while he interned in Texas. I stayed here to work and take classes. He was driving home and supposed to get in on the night of my birthday. Instead, he surprised me and came home the night before. So he was with me the whole next day and treated my like a queen.

11. Favorite sport to watch? that's a tough one...to watch--tennis

12. Are you a morning person or a night person? Rainey has forced me to be a morning person, so I'm getting better at it. Although, I wouldn't say that I was a night person before...I just really like sleep.

13. What is your shoe size? 7.5 to 8

14.Pets? no thank you

15. What did you want to be when you were little? I think either a teacher or a professional soccer player (in my dreams).

16. What are you today? I'm a pediatric nurse.

17. What is your favorite candy? Probably mounds or almond joy

18. What is your favorite flower? Cala lillies, peonies, or gerber daisies

19. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? the month of June b/c we're traveling to weddings, so we'll see lots of family and dear friends

20. What are you listening to right now? Rainey talking on her mat

21. What is the last thing you ate? a freshly picked strawberry--amazing--we went strawberry picking today with Kevin's parents who are visiting for his graduation

22. Do you wish on stars? not really

23. What faith are you? Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

24. Who is the last person you spoke with on the phone? My mom

25. Hair color? a sad dishwater blond

26. Name of your favorite school teacher? Dr. Hurlbut in college, Mr. Bromley in high school

27. Chocolate or vanilla? chocolate

28. When was the last time you cried? A couple weeks ago when Rainey would not go to sleep, but she wouldn't stop crying and I was so frustrated and sad for her.

29. What is under your bed? Food storage

30. What did you do last night? Went to a nice dinner with Kevin's parents without Rainey--a first. A nice friend stayed at our place while she slept. Then we came home and watched the end of "So You Think You Can Dance"--love that show!

31. Favorite smell? grapefruit

32. What are you afraid of? declining health

33. How many towns have you lived in? Too many to list--mostly in California, Utah, Texas, and Virginia. (a couple years in Baltimore also)

34. Do you make friends easily? I think so. I've moved a lot, so that's helped...

What are 6 quirks about you?

1. I get hooked to the lamest shows and movies--seriously hooked. And on the same note, if I'm reading a good book, it's hard for me to put it down. I lose interest in everything else until I finish it.
2. I can't handle anything touching my ears--no earplugs, no whispering, etc.
3. I leave key details out of my stories, and usually need Kevin to help fill them in.
4. I love musicals/broadway and would listen to them nonstop if Kev could handle it.
5. I can't go to bed without flossing my teeth.
6. I mix up cliches.

And I tag C&D, Chels, and Jessie. You can choose either one.

5 months old

2008-05-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

We can't get enough of this girl. She's such a happy, fun, talkative baby. And she's even sleeping better...

Sweet face.

Loving her new toy.

"Sad face." While it is sad, we love it because it's so cute. Usually it's just this face with no sound.

Happy girl. This is the face we get the majority of the time.

Yay for the Stakers who came down to visit us and braved a couple nights in our apartment. We had such a fun weekend with them!

We love Kevin

2008-05-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

In honor of Kevin finishing Darden and a belated birthday, this post is all about him. He has been such a loving husband, patient father, and diligent student. Not only does he help me out with laundry, grocery shopping, and even dishes at times, he also watches Rainey for 2 1/2 days by himself. She's always so happy and well rested when I get home. And on top of that, he has excelled at Darden. I can't believe our 2 years are up. We'll miss Charlottesville, but we won't miss our apartment.

Good reading times with Dad.

Lunch time.

Nap time. As you can see, Rainey woke up before Dad--that's never fun. But she stayed there for quite a while before she made any noise...

He even bathes her and dresses her well. But this time, he put her in an old outfit. I don't know if you can tell, but we kept singing "Fat girl in a little coat" to her. She liked the song...

A little gaming with Dad. They're the best of friends...

On Kev's last day of class, we met him to walk home with him.

All finished with classes. We're so proud of him!

4 months today

2008-04-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Rainey had her checkup today on her 4 month birthday, and she was not happy. (This picture is after her visit and a long nap.) Not only was she tired and hungry, but she hated the shots. She's 13 lbs (just under 50th percentile) and 24 3/4 inches (75th percentile). So as of now, it looks like she's got the Mitchell genes, tall and thin--but she's still has plenty of chunk. We're getting more and more comments about how she looks like her Dad. See what you think.

She's so fun these days, always smiling, squealing, and laughing. Here's an updated laugh.

We are counting down the weeks until Kevin graduates (6 weeks) and I finish with work (5 weeks). We've decided to go with Booz Allen, so we'll be moving back to the DC area. We still have to decide which area, but we'll definitely be closer to an airport.

Laughing

2008-03-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

this is my new favorite thing we do...she has the hiccups in this one.

Reminiscing

2008-03-10T10:17:00.001-07:00

From then to now...time flies.

Crazy Hair

2008-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

Rainey still has a ton of hair.

One rainy day, I decided to see what we could do with all of her hair. We were going kooks because we were stuck in the one bedroom apartment all day. As you can see, it was a pretty decent spout. She was a good sport and seemed to be ok with all of my experiments. In the end, she didn't even need a rubber band (last picture). Ah, the things that keep us entertained.

Talking

2008-02-20T06:30:00.000-08:00

We have the best "conversations"! This is just a tiny bit of one.

Big, Happy Girl

2008-02-12T08:45:00.001-08:00

At 10 weeks old today, Rainey's already wearing her 3 month clothes, and they're almost too small for her. We can't believe how big and long she's getting. And she's consistently giving us at least 6 hours straight at night. We love it! We're gearing up for when I go back to work in 2 1/2 weeks. I can't believe it's that close--that is going to be a very hard day, but I'll only have to work part-time and for 2 1/2 months.

2008-02-12T08:27:00.001-08:00

Thinking of Aunt Edna and Grandma Raynie in these outfits...

2008-02-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Loving the warm, clean laundry

2008-02-04T11:27:00.001-08:00

Naked time under the arches. Getting ready for bath time.

2008-02-04T11:25:00.001-08:00

Precious, greasy face.

2008-02-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

Going out to do laundry with Dad.

2008-02-04T11:20:00.001-08:00

On a cold walk with Mom and Dad.

2008-02-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Sporting her sweet new threads from Balex.

2008-02-04T11:16:00.001-08:00

Rainey getting ready for the snow.

The Mitchells Enter the Blogosphere

2008-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

The blogging has finally begun. More than anything we expect to use this website as a place for picture-hungry relatives to see the most recent shots of Rainey. So check in periodically and we'll try to have new pictures posted for you. Every day she gets cuter and her double chin and cheeks get bigger. It's the best of all worlds.

In general, Rainey continues to be a wonderful baby. We're still trying to get her on a schedule, but she's been resistant. The good news is that she'll sleep for at least six hours a night, but we never know when it will be. The last couple nights we've tried to get her to bed at about seven, but she fights it until midnight when she's so exhausted that she finally gives in and sleeps until seven a.m. She is crazy and we love her to death.

Leah is doing well and enjoying time away from work. She spends a lot of time worrying that she's not doing a good job with the babe, which is ridiculous because she's an unbelievable mom. I'm amazed at her patience and love in the face of sometimes incessant fussing. Women are indeed the superior gender.

I'm finishing up school in a few short months and my only firm job offer is from Booz Allen. I've been in touch with many real estate developers (on both the East and West coasts) and despite talking to many interesting people, have yet to stumble upon any very solid opportunities. I have spoken to several people at AMB (a SF-based REIT that Joel brought to my attention) and received an email Friday from a guy who is launching their business in Brazil and was wondering whether or not I'd be interested in participating. I said I was, so we'll see. I personally like the idea of Brazil for a couple years. I think Leah might take a little more convincing, but she seems kind of open to it, so you never know. Maybe Rainey's first words will be "Mai" and "Pai" rather than "Mama" and "Dada." We've given ourselves a March deadline to find something other than Booz Allen. If nothing materializes by then, we'll stay in DC.

Much more to come. We know what you really want, so we'll get some good pics on here for you.

We love and miss you all.

Kev, Leah and the Rainmaker