Christmas #1 - Nana and Papa O.

I'm sure we are not the only people that have had multiple Christmas celebrations this year! Due to the sheer volume of gifts, Rachel has been opening gifts all week long. She's one blessed little girl...and thanks to each and every person who made her Christmas so special. Nick and I are looking for some good deals on shelves so we can store all of Rachel's loot. It looks like Toys 'R Us exloded in my living room....and the kitchen....and the hallway...and the upstairs...
Here are some pictures that chronicle the fun Rachel had with her Nana and Papa O.

Rachel thought Nana could use some bows. Doesn't she look pretty?

About the time they finished with the bows, an informercial came on tv citing the decline in brain power for people of a certain age. Coincidence? I'll let you all decide.

Nana and Rachel

Rachel assisted Nana with making the pumpkin pie for Christmas dinner.

Christmas morning arrived and so had Santa! First up, Elmo and a baby stroller.

And a Rachel sized basketball hoop!

A new piano from Granny and Grandpa.

The weather was warm so Rachel and Papa O went out to shoot some hoops.

When she was done with that, she watched the NBA for some new moves.

Tea Time!

We suggested that perhaps Elmo would like some tea. Who needs a cup when you can just pour it right in out of the pot?

Nana does need a cup either. Rachel will save time on dishes this way.

Play with her firetruck from Nana and Papa.

The sandbox looks fun too... but Mama said it was too cold.

Sous Chef

Rachel loves to help with just about any job we come up with. Now that she can push the chair to the counter on her own, she's becoming my little sous chef (whether I want her help or not). The other night, Rachel helped me with dinner preparations....and the camera was within reach.

Rachel helped get the broccoli read for steaming.

Broccoli is one of her favorites- so of course she had to sample it.

"It's better cooked, Mama."

Did you know you should whisk broccoli to enhance the flavor? Yeah, me either.

She's actually really good at whisking. The seasoning was perfectly blended in our rice.

She also enjoys stacking the spices...

Kiss the Cook!!

Sure do like those Christmas Cookies, Sugar!!

Wednesday, despite some sleepiness, Rachel and I headed to Corydon for some Christmas cookie fun with Nancy and Amber. This year, Rachel was a little more into things than years past...

After frosting her cookie..she moved on to impressing everyone with her sprinkle stacking skillz.

Miss Sharon and Rachel became good pals. Who doesn't like the person rolling out the cookies?!

Rachel had fun with Amber too- and almost had her talked into giving up her stuffed goat.

Christmas cookie making is exhausting! We barely made it out of the driveway!! So much for Mama's plans to make any stops in Corydon on the way home!

I think she likes them!!

O Tannenbaum

Today we headed over to the Whippoorwill Nest Christmas Tree Farm to pick our Christmas tree.

Rachel and her Daddy off to find the perfect tree.

I made them stop their searching for a moment for the perfect Daddy Daughter photo op.

"This one is nice, Daddy."

Thanks to Uncle Nathan, we had the chance for a family photo op. Everyone was smiling except Rachel.

 Rachel wasn't too sure about the tree when Nick brought it into the house. As he came through the kitchen, Rachel shook her head no, as if to say that trees don't belong inside. However, once we got the lights out...well...then it wasn't such a silly idea anymore! Reinforcements (Mr. Bear) were called in for the very important job of decorating the tree.

"I think we need more lights right over here, Daddy."

Yep! I think she approves! Mr. Bear approves as well.

Double checking Daddy's work.

 After the lights, Nick continued making the tree look festive with the pretty red ribbon we added last year. Then Rachel discovered the beads in the box.

This girl LOVES her beads!

"The ribbon is nice, Daddy. But what would really make this tree pop is some BEADS!"

Mama and Rachel hanging the Rachel friendly ornaments down low.

 I'm not sure what Rachel loves more in this world. Beads or balls.

Look at these beautiful, shiny, gold balls!

They are so pretty!

 And everyone knows what we do with balls...

YOU THROW THEM!!

Rachel would like to let the folks at Home Depot know that these balls are indeed shatterproof. Scuff and dent proof, not so much.

Well, I think my game was more fun, but if you say so, Daddy, I'll put them on the tree.

The finished product...The tree is almost as cute as the little elf that helped decorate it!

Blogging Backlog

Last weekend was the Christmas Tea with Nikki. I apparently didn't blog about it last year either... But it is an event that I truely look forward to every year. Nikki and I have been friends for going on eight years now and I've been so blessed to sit at the Tea table for six of those years. It's the perfect way to kick off the Christmas season. For the last three years, Nikki has invited Nancy and Sarah along for the fun- and the last two years, Miss Rachel. You may be surprised to find out that Miss Rach is a fan of York Peppermint Patties. Watching her eat one was pretty hilarious. It was a strong flavor, but she liked it! Thank you, Nikki, for inviting us to the Tea. We love you and we love to sit with you at your Tea Table! You may be wondering where the pictures are...well, I forgot my camera. Yes, can you believe it? ME! The one who annoys the family with my photo taking for blogging purposes forgot my camera for the tea! I had my phone, which took some cute pictures- but it's a new phone and I can't figure out how to get the pictures off. Darn it!

To continue the Christmas fun, we attended the Christmas Dinner at church on Sunday evening. Rachel didn't find any of the pot luck offerings to be edible....except the applesauce. She had three bowls. At one point she was double fisted and shoveling it in as fast as she could. I think she would have continued eating it, but I feared for what more applesauce would do the next day. Of course, she spent the day with her grandma, so I should have just let her eat up! HA! (KIDDING NANCY!)

Applesauce....YUM!

This week has been fairly uneventful. I've been working on Monsanto projects and today we went to Jasper for a little Christmas shopping. I'm a little frustrated with my gift idea for Nick. It's a fairly common item (or so I thought), but I've been to THREE different stores. Two had a really meager selection and one didn't carry them at all. REALLY?! This is all my own fault. If I hadn't washed Nick's cell phone, I could have stuck to my original gift plan. Rachel was her usually sweet self while we went shopping.
I want to give a shout out to the really nice woman in line behind us at Wendy's who offered to carry our lunch to our table. It was very sweet and while I could have handled it myself, I appreciated not having to try. Rachel was hungry and I'm sure she would have been trying to snag a french fry! Your kindness was noted and I'll be sure to pay it forward for the next Mommy!

To the lady in the Chevy pickup and her shopping buddy parked next to me in the lot. Perhaps you may want to LOOK before you throw your pickup in reverse and gun the gas to get out of your parking spot. You almost took me and my car door out as I attempted to remove my daughter from her carseat. How you missed us as you walked by, I'm not sure, as I already had our door open and was hunting for Rachel's shoe and heard your conversation as you walked past...we are also sorry that your husband apparently borrowed your car for the day.

Finally, there will be plenty of good blogging material from this upcoming weekend. Can I get a YAY for FRIDAY?! We are going to find the perfect Christmas tree, attend the Christmas parade, and Nick and I have an afternoon date with Nathan and Sarah for the Christmas Concert with the Owensboro Orchestra (Compliments of Nancy and Mel). Fun, fun, and MORE FUN!

Potty Training Options

No, we haven't started potty training Rachel quite yet. Every week, I recieve a parenting email related to Rachel's development for her age. It's interesting to read and sometimes I pick up a tip or tidbit that is helpful or a fun game to play. But this week, an article that was highlighted on potty training in three days made me laugh out loud! As I quickly scanned the article (Rachel was upstairs "helping" me on the computer), these words popped out at me, "It's a "bare-bottomed" method, meaning that for three months after you initiate potty training, your child will need to go naked below the waist when he's at home and wear just loose-fitting pants with nothing underneath when he's out and about or at daycare." Followed by this, "If you really want this to work, it only works naked," Fellom says. "There are absolutely no pants in the house for the first three months."

Did Rachel write this article as a ploy to get her mama to let her run around naked? Streaking the house before her bath is quite possibly her favorite part of the day. I could only imagine the joy at being allowed to run around sans pants for THREE MONTHS. And if I thought whipping off her shirt at book club was a little embarrassing, I can only imagine the awesome blog stories I'd have if she thought she could go minus her pants too.

I might have to ponder this one for a bit - or at least finish reading the article.

Coffee, anyone?

I just never know what fun Rachel will think of during the short amount of time it takes me to use the bathroom. This morning I came out to find she had pushed one of the kitchen chairs over to the counter...

She apparently wanted a cup of coffee. And she wanted it "to go" like Daddy.

I guess she needed a bit of a boost this morning since she was up late waiting for her Daddy to come home from his meeting. He'd been gone for two nights in a row. She wanted to make sure that he stilled lived here and not at work.

EDITORS NOTE** After looking at this, I realized that it looks like I allow my 17 month old to pour hot coffee. Please note that her daddy and I had already finished the coffee so the pot was empty except for a few dribbles. No need to call social services.

Snow

After days of nothing but rain, the temperature dropped enough today that it started to snow. I didn't even notice it, but Rachel did. She stood at the doorway of the bedroom, pointing at the window making the noise that she uses for everything she doesn't have a word for. We bundled up and went outside. As you can see, she was less than impressed. Hopefully it'll grow on her- otherwise, she'll have 17 more long winters until she goes to college in Florida or Texas...

Turkey with the Rich's

So many Rich's gathered that we don't even all fit in the picture!

Earlier this fall, my Aunt Margo invited us to Thanksgiving at their house. Since it's been YEARS since I've celebrated a holiday with the Rich family, we made plans to head to Springfield for turkey, despite the fact that it was Nick's family's turn for the holiday. It had also been a VERY long time since I'd been to my aunt and uncle's house. The last time I was at Uncle Butch's house, I'm pretty sure I rode there with my Grandma and Grandpa Rich. Given that my Grandma has been gone for nearly 14 years, it's been awhile. We had a wonderful visit. I had the chance to catch up with relatives that I don't see nearly as often as I would like and Rachel had a blast playing with her second and third cousins. Food, family, and fun. I don't think it gets much better than that!

Rachel playing with her cousins Max and Gabby.

Rachel LOVED the car.

Uncle Dan and Rachel going for a spin around the house.

Deana- THANK you so much for the toys! Rachel loves her new popper.