January 24, 2004: Well, the party is over...and while there is still plenty of clean-up to do, we decided after putting Rachael down for the night, that we would SIT DOWN and share some of the pictures from the birthday bash. So, we put the leftovers away and figured the mess will still be there in the morning. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the party! We would definitely say that it was a success - and if tonight was any indication, we believe the new Family Dinner Night tradition will continue and be enjoyed by all in the months and years to come! |
January 19, 2004: Not a lot to report this week, but thought you might be interested in hearing about Rachael's one-year appointment with the pediatrician... As usual, her visit went great! Rachael is now 30.5" tall, 20 lbs., 5 ozs., and in perfect health! We are truly blessed. For those of you keeping track, that's a gain of 10.5" and 12.5 lbs. since the day she was born. Rachael is in the 90th percentiles for height (Yes, she's going to be a tall one like her Dada...) and head circumference; and the 40th percentile for weight. All completely normal. The pediatrician was thoroughly impressed with how well Rachael is walking, and also with her ability to identify body parts. She knows her ears, nose, eyes, mouth, belly and (although not a body part) shoes. The doctor was also impressed by Rachael's vocabulary, which seems to be growing every day! She's now added "cracker" to her repertoire, and she knows that cows say "moo." She will also imitate the cats when they meow. That's our girl exhibiting 15-month-old skills at 12 months. Can you tell we're proud?? Something else new is peekaboo... Since turning her carseat to face forward, Rachael has learned that she can see us in the rearview mirror. She takes the opportunities afforded by car rides to play peekaboo with us in the mirror. She covers her eyes with her hands and says, "Ahhhh!" Then she takes her hands away and smiles when we say, "Peekaboo!" So much fun! We're closing in on the First Birthday Bash! It's less than five days away and we still have so much to do! There's lasagna to make and cake to bake and decorate...not to mention cleaning and tidying and decorating of the house! We'll be a busy family this week, indeed! And while you're waiting to see pictures from the party, you can check out those uploaded to The East Coast Addition forJune, July, August, and September!! (As part of our New Year's Resolution, we're making an effort to fill in the months we missed last year, as well as keep the site up a bit better this year.) Enjoy! |
January 11, 2004: We have a one year old girl!! And we can hardly believe it! We don't even remember what life was like before Rachael...and neither of us really wants to. It's been a wonderful first year - full of ups and downs - but all in all, wonderful just the same. Our wish is that 2004 will be even better - and if the first ten days are any indication, it will be! We celebrated Rachael's first birthday on Thursday night. Just a small celebration that included the three of us and also her Godparents, Jason and Renia. We had pasta for dinner (which Rachael gobbled right up!) with salad and garlic bread, then of course we had cake for dessert! Check out the pictures! They are a riot! Rachael made a complete mess of her highchair and herself! And did manage to actually eat some cake, too. After a quick clean-up in the kitchen sink, it was off to the living room to open presents! She was more interested in the ribbons we put on her gift than in the toys...but that's ok, as long as she was happy! Happy Birthday to Rachael! (And her Mama and Dada, as well.) Happy Birthday also to Rachael's Uncle Ryan today! We got to celebrate with him and Aunt Joanne last night at their place with pizza and chocolate cake, and a telephone call from Rachael's Great Aunt Mary Lou! Well, Rachael didn't get any pizza or chocolate cake - she had pasta, chicken, carrots, and a special cupcake they'd gotten just for her! We also realized just this morning that the first time Uncle Ryan got to see Rachael was one year ago today - on his birthday!! So, Happy Birthday Uncle Ryan! Rachael has added another word to her repertoire... She now says "duckie" when you show her the rubber duck she takes in the bathtub. She also knows how to say "please" in sign language, though we have to credit her daycare provider for that accomplishment. We're not sure she knows what "please" means or when to say it, but she does it! And that's a start! What a smart girl! We're still trying to think of a good theme for the big birthday bash at the end of the month. We can't wait! The dinner/party will be January 24th, and we're going out today to buy paper for invitations so that we can get them in the mail this week. Next weekend we will tackle the menu and start buying food. We really hope that everyone will be able to make it and think it will be a good time for all! See you then! |
So Big!! |
Journal |
December 26, 2003: Well, Rachael's first Christmas is over and our sights have turned toward planning for her first birthday! We can hardly believe that in just two weeks, our little girl will be one year old! We're planning a small celebration for just the three of us on January 8th, but will have a big birthday party for extended family and friends a little later in the month. We are hoping that this gathering will turn into a monthly event - a sort of "family dinner night." We would like for Rachael (and us) to see her Aunts, Uncles and cousins more regularly, and we hope that this will be the way to do just that! Some things you may be interested in: walking, talking, and teething! Rachael began walking in October and now makes keeping up with her quite a challenge. She's also talking - babbling mostly, but she does say several words: Dada, Mama, Baby, Happy, Tree and Kitty. Rachael is still teething and it's become quite a nuisance to her. She now has twelve teeth and her eye-teeth are just beginning to show through the gum. Needless to say, it's been rather uncomfortable for her, but we keep her as comfortable as possible and hope it's soon over! Rachael is growing like a weed! Every day we find pants which fit only a week ago are now too short. Sleeves that once needed to be rolled up are inching up her wrists. And after buying two pairs of pajamas that only fit for about two weeks, we left strict instructions for Christmas - any and all presents of clothing should be at least 18 months in size! (Thank you to everyone for helping out in that respect! All of her presents fit perfectly - with plenty of room to grow - so she should have plenty to get her through the rest of the winter and early spring.) Finally, we hope you all enjoy the new look of the website. It took us a while to find something we like - but we think this looks quite fun and we are looking forward to keeping it up as Rachael begins her second year of life. Please sign our guest book while you're here! Unfortunately in the change-over, all the entries to the old guest book were deleted - so we need some new entries. Help us out! |
January 11, 2004: We have a one year old girl!! And we can hardly believe it! We don't even remember what life was like before Rachael...and neither of us really wants to. It's been a wonderful first year - full of ups and downs - but all in all, wonderful just the same. Our wish is that 2004 will be even better - and if the first ten days are any indication, it will be! We celebrated Rachael's first birthday on Thursday night. Just a small celebration that included the three of us and also her Godparents, Jason and Renia. We had pasta for dinner (which Rachael gobbled right up!) with salad and garlic bread, then of course we had cake for dessert! Check out the pictures! They are a riot! Rachael made a complete mess of her highchair and herself! And did manage to actually eat some cake, too. After a quick clean-up in the kitchen sink, it was off to the living room to open presents! She was more interested in the ribbons we put on her gift than in the toys...but that's ok, as long as she was happy! Happy Birthday to Rachael! (And her Mama and Dada, as well.) Happy Birthday also to Rachael's Uncle Ryan today! We got to celebrate with him and Aunt Joanne last night at their place with pizza and chocolate cake, and a telephone call from Rachael's Great Aunt Mary Lou! Well, Rachael didn't get any pizza or chocolate cake - she had pasta, chicken, carrots, and a special cupcake they'd gotten just for her! We also realized just this morning that the first time Uncle Ryan got to see Rachael was one year ago today - on his birthday!! So, Happy Birthday Uncle Ryan! Rachael has added another word to her repertoire... She now says "duckie" when you show her the rubber duck she takes in the bathtub. She also knows how to say "please" in sign language, though we have to credit her daycare provider for that accomplishment. We're not sure she knows what "please" means or when to say it, but she does it! And that's a start! What a smart girl! We're still trying to think of a good theme for the big birthday bash at the end of the month. We can't wait! The dinner/party will be January 24th, and we're going out today to buy paper for invitations so that we can get them in the mail this week. Next weekend we will tackle the menu and start buying food. We really hope that everyone will be able to make it and think it will be a good time for all! See you then! |
January 19, 2004: Not a lot to report this week, but thought you might be interested in hearing about Rachael's one-year appointment with the pediatrician... As usual, her visit went great! Rachael is now 30.5" tall, 20 lbs., 5 ozs., and in perfect health! We are truly blessed. For those of you keeping track, that's a gain of 10.5" and 12.5 lbs. since the day she was born. Rachael is in the 90th percentiles for height (Yes, she's going to be a tall one like her Dada...) and head circumference; and the 40th percentile for weight. All completely normal. The pediatrician was thoroughly impressed with how well Rachael is walking, and also with her ability to identify body parts. She knows her ears, nose, eyes, mouth, belly and (although not a body part) shoes. The doctor was also impressed by Rachael's vocabulary, which seems to be growing every day! She's now added "cracker" to her repertoire, and she knows that cows say "moo." She will also imitate the cats when they meow. That's our girl exhibiting 15-month-old skills at 12 months. Can you tell we're proud?? Something else new is peekaboo... Since turning her carseat to face forward, Rachael has learned that she can see us in the rearview mirror. She takes the opportunities afforded by car rides to play peekaboo with us in the mirror. She covers her eyes with her hands and says, "Ahhhh!" Then she takes her hands away and smiles when we say, "Peekaboo!" So much fun! We're closing in on the First Birthday Bash! It's less than five days away and we still have so much to do! There's lasagna to make and cake to bake and decorate...not to mention cleaning and tidying and decorating of the house! We'll be a busy family this week, indeed! And while you're waiting to see pictures from the party, you can check out those uploaded to The East Coast Addition forJune, July, August, and September!! (As part of our New Year's Resolution, we're making an effort to fill in the months we missed last year, as well as keep the site up a bit better this year.) Enjoy! |
January 24, 2004: Well, the party is over...and while there is still plenty of clean-up to do, we decided after putting Rachael down for the night, that we would SIT DOWN and share some of the pictures from the birthday bash. So, we put the leftovers away and figured the mess will still be there in the morning. We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the party! We would definitely say that it was a success - and if tonight was any indication, we believe the new Family Dinner Night tradition will continue and be enjoyed by all in the months and years to come! |
