The adventure began after the van was loaded to capacity with all of Rachel’s necessary items; stroller, bumbo seat, toy bag, suitcase of clothes, food and formula, and her diaper bag. When we made a stop at McDonald’s, we ran into Indiana Senator Richard Lugar having lunch! She slept for most of the trip, waking up about 15 minutes before we arrived to say hello go Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Rogers. Then we finally arrived at her grandparent’s house, and unloaded the car. Rachel filled the house with bright colors, smiles and happiness.
She got to see the room that Grandma Terry has for Rachel, with lots and lots of toys to play with as she grows up. One of Rachel’s favorites was the purple ribbon wand. Grandma made lots of big circles and designs in the air for Rachel, and before long, Rachel was twirling the ribbon with delight all by herself!
The weather was very warm that week, so Rachel and her grandparents kept her cool indoors during the midday hours, but almost every morning, she took a walk along the Newburgh Riverfront in her stroller. Our first morning stroll started at 6 am, and along the way we smelled very sweet honeysuckle, heard the birds singing, and met nice people and their dogs along the trail. We also heard a woodpecker busy hammering on an old tree while crossing the Great Ravine Bridge. Rachel enjoyed looking up at the sky and the leaves on the trees, and smiled when someone slowed down to see who the baby in the stroller was. She had lots of nice compliments. She also posed in front of Grandma’s favorite little house on the trail. Once in a while, we stopped to sit on a bench and enjoy the view of the river.
One afternoon, Rachel and her grandparents sat on the back patio under the umbrella and watched Conan the border collie run around the back yard, and splash in his very own swimming pool. Rachel thought that was so funny. She also enjoyed Grandma’s colorful patio table with lots of colorful glass beads. In the evenings when it was clear, we sometimes went out onto the patio and looked up at the stars and the moon. Rachel even pointed at the moon! She is already such a curious young astronomer.
On several days, Rachel visited Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Rogers, and kept them entertained with her acrobatics on the quilt, rolling over and reaching for favorite toys. Her G-GMA & G-GPA have a poodle named Buddy, who is chocolate brown and looks just like a teddy bear. Rachel loves to reach out her arms and pet Buddy. He rolls over and wags his tail for Rachel, as she laughs with delight. Rachel also visited with two Great-Great Aunts and a Great-Great Uncle.
Once in a while, she babbled and jabbered when she had something to say. She’s the first born of her generation on her Dad’s side of the family, and has a Great-Great Grandmother too! On Monday morning, her Great Aunts Cindy and Heather came by to visit Rachel, and Rachel got to sit on Cindy’s lap on her purple motorcycle. As soon as Rachel sat down, she was reaching for the throttle. Vroom, Vroom!
Granddad Terry took some vacation days for most of the week to spend with Rachel, and they played with toys and watched shows on TV; Dinosaur Train, Curious George & The Cat in the Hat. Granddad even fed Rachel her cereal sometimes. Rachel prefers to hold the spoon and feed herself, barely letting go of the spoon for another bite to be scooped up for her.
Rachel and Grandma went grocery shopping, and bought some new food for Rachel to try. She loved apples, sweet potatoes and peas, but definitely didn’t like carrots. Grandma Terry made her cereal every day with a mixture of apple rice cereal, formula milk and 4 scoops of baby food. Most of the time, she ate all of her cereal. With so much activity every day, Rachel always slept through the night, and on Friday morning, she even slept until 8:30, so Granddad went on his morning walk while the girls stayed home. Maybe the reason she slept so late was because everyone stayed up late the night before, watching Cinderella!
On Friday afternoon, Rachel and Granddad took Grandma to work, and Rachel was charming and adorable in her floppy hat and sundress. She even helped her Grandma sell a house! On the way to work, we stopped by downtown Evansville to watch an air show, and saw planes doing loops in the air and flying upside down.
Later Friday afternoon, we went back to G-Grandparent Rogers’ house, and Grandma found an old bentwood and cane rocking chair, just Rachel’s size. She wore a blue gingham dress with a bow in the back and a smocked front with little ducks. So adorable! She posed for lots of pictures, holding her new teddy bear, Fuzz, and playing with a toy ‘barking’ poodle.
After all the pictures, she just wanted to hang out in the living room with her family, and joined in circle in her rocking chair padded with her quilt.
All eyes were on Rachel, and she cooed and babbled to join in the family discussion. Saturday morning was Farmer’s Market day at the riverfront, and we bought 4 pounds of bright red tomatoes for G-GMA Rogers. We also met Granddad Terry and took another walk along the riverfront until it started raining. The rest of the day was the same as the others; eating cereal on the dining table, playing with toys in front of the fireplace in the living room, taking a long nap, and having another bottle. She enjoyed watching her video, Baby Einstein Beethoven.
On Saturday evening, Rachel went back to G-GPA & G-GMA’s house to hang out with Lorelei. She enjoyed playing, but eventually got sleepy and took a little nap. While Rachel was sleeping, Lorelei sang songs, and made one up for Rachel. When Lorelei sang Rachel’s song, she woke up and smiled. After a while, Rachel joined in the singing in her own special way.
The next morning, it was time to get up and load up the car again, and meet Mommy and Daddy in Louisville. Rachel fell asleep as soon as we started down the road, and woke up to see her Daddy leaning in the car to say hello again!
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