ANIMALS!

Ah! I finally have some photos to post from our trip to the zoo about and month ago. Geri and I had a GREAT time. We saw....

LIONS:

and TIGERS:

(The tiger is in there, I promise!)

and BEARS, oh my!

She even got excited about the birds with grandma:

The Indianapolis zoo is really nice. That was my first time there in over 20 years (I think). Anyway, it was a great day and I'm sorry it took so long to post the pictures!

In other news, today Jason and I took Rachel to a farm up in Noblesville to do the Pumpkin Patch thing. For years I've watched on facebook as people have posted pictures of them going to get their pumpkins for the year with their kids and I've never truly understood what exactly happens at a "Pumpkin Patch". When I was growing up, there was a small house with an even smaller garden where mom would take us sometimes to let us pick our pumpkin out. When they stopped selling them, we'd just head to the local grocery store. We lived out in the country enough and grew up around enough "Farm" stuff that going to a Pumpkin Patch was just not something that was even though about. Heck, those types of "farms" didn't probably exist back when I was a kid. So I looked up a few that were somewhat nearby and had Jason choose which one he thought looked best. It wasn't that expensive, it wasn't anything fancy, but it was a good time. Rachel even had a good time as she went running all over the place looking at animals, walking through the pumpkin patch (we just picked up a pumpkin at the store on our way out), had a hay ride, and played with some of the toys they had there. Here are some snaps from our day:

(She actually looks a little like me as a kid in this picture!!!)

We did walk home with just one pumpkin, which I'm sure we'll eventually carve. I'd like to take the inside of the pumpkin and actually make something with it this year, just to say I've done it. I also want to make something with the seeds for a snack later this season as well.

All in all, an exhausting but fun morning for us!

I'd also like to give an update on Rachel's adjustment into her new day care. I'm stunned. Her first morning was Wednesday and I was SOOOOO nervous and jittery. It's a big change and even though I knew she would be fine, I was more worried about me. I'd gotten used to the routine and the people and what if they weren't nice to her or what if some other kid pulls her hair and I have to go yell at his parents? *sigh* I'm ridiculous and I know it. None of those things would ever happen. But the sudden upset in our routine and comfort that we'd established left me unnerved. Tuesday evening I skipped my trip to Anderson so we could walk through the day care with Rachel. Jason had had a tour, I had not. She seemed excited, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I did have a little bit of relief when we walked in the next morning knowing that it wasn't a completely strange place, she had seen it the night before.

I met the director (or owner? Not sure who she was) and they were all very welcoming. Rachel gave me a big hug and with very little coaxing took the hand of her new teacher and walked away. I was in tears before I even got back to my car. Logically: this change makes sense and she's fine! I still don't know what made me blubber so much.

I left work as early as I could and ran straight for the day care anxious to see how her first day was. I honestly want to use the word "Magical" to describe it. She fit right in with no problems. No tears. No confusion. No tantrums. Matter of fact, when I picked her up we were leaving and she wriggled out of my hands and started running (no kidding) through the halls and went the entire perimeter of the day care. She tried to go for another round then cried when I walked out the door. I'm thinking she likes it there.

By Thursday afternoon, her second day, Jason and I had noticed a drastic change in her. Which leads me to wonder if we shouldn't have acted sooner. Bah, I won't let myself dwell on that. Anyway, we noticed she seemed so much more happier and excited. She's interacting with us more and talking more. How on Earth does 2 days of a new day care make this much of a difference? I find that remarkable and am so thankful we have made the switch we have. Her teachers give us a really detailed report every day. I have MISSED having a constant teacher that can relay when Rachel's doing well or isn't. I got there late on Friday to pick her up and managed to catch the teacher on her way out. The kids were already next door so she talked with me for a long time, uninterrupted and I greatly appreciated it. I mentioned that Rachel's showing some signs of being interested in using the potty and I would like to try to see how she does. They are going to try a few things to get her started on that track and at least get her turned on to the idea. She's starting to express annoyance with her diaper and excitement about sitting on a potty. She just has no idea what to do when she does sit on one. So I'm anxious to see if they can get that started for her in that environment.

A girl at work told me the other day that if you're having uncomfortable feelings regarding anything that comes to your kid, you should listen to your instinct. Because chances are your subconscious is picking up things your consciousness isn't getting. I have wondered if we would have waited out the other day care if things would have improved. But I didn't realize how much of a weight and worry I had taken on until I felt the huge relief of moving her somewhere else. And it's true. It's hard to put into words what I've been feeling over the past 2 - 3 months (perhaps 4 - 5?) with my level of discomfort with the day care she was in. We loved it and I'm so sad that this is the way it is. But I am so grateful there was an opening where she is, it's closer to home (I can run more errands now before getting her than I could for the past year!) so I'm glad that she is thriving and so excited!

New Day Care

Hello everyone,

We have been so busy with so many activities, which isn't unusual for us around the Spring and Fall. I've had so many pictures and stories to share! But the stars have not aligned for me to be in the correct place with my hard drive or the pictures at the right time, so alas we are skipping ahead to the present.

The latest journey in our life has been stressful and somewhat sudden. After a series of events with Rachel's day care Jason and I have decided to pull her out of her day care and find her a new one. This has been tough because we have LOVED her day care from day one. But over the last 5 - 6 months we've noticed some changes and our comfort level with where she was going started to dwindle. The major concern is that Rachel's teacher, Liz, took a job in Chicago and left. We LOVED Liz. Even before I ever met her I remember walking past her classroom every day and getting excited that one day Rachel would be in that sweet little room with the awesome teacher. Then Rachel finally turned one and poof! We were in that special classroom! And as luck would have it, Liz left about 4 - 5 months ago. Whether unfortunate or not, Liz would sometimes tell us some "dirt" on the day care that we weren't privy to before getting to know her. Some of the stories she told us opened our eyes and made us more alert to what was going on in the day care. Such as the shortness of staff. That was obvious before she mentioned that at times she would have 10 children by herself (state maximum at that age is 5 per teacher). Then Rachel smacked her head at day care and the director didn't bother to call us. Then she's been without a consistent teacher since Liz left and we're not seeing the development from her we were. Then the horrible diaper rash incident that took 2 weeks for us to clear up because they weren't watching her diapers closely enough. Then the day care got broken into. Then this, then that, then this, then that. As soon as we'd voice one concern and it would get addressed, another one would pop up. We had finally had it when Jason picked her up last Friday and they couldn't find her special blanket that I had specifically asked to make sure it was sent home since daddy was picking her up and I couldn't get her to part with it that morning. No one could find it and one teacher made a comment that sometime parents see a nice blanket and they just take it home. Whaaa? Who the crap steals a blanket? Regardless, the teacher that was helping Jason with the blanket search was a complete ditz and we decided we felt like we were leaving our child with high schoolers who just play with kids all day, not aid in their development.

So today Jason went and toured one of the day cares closer to our home and we managed to secure a spot for her. She starts there tomorrow morning. My conversation with the director sealed the deal. She started out nice, but I could tell she was annoyed, and I saw what she did with people she was annoyed with. I forgot to mention, she didn't like Liz. So when I started voicing concerns she started treating me differently because if I was friends with Liz, I was obviously NOT a parent she cared to deal with again. The conversation was unpleasant and I was ready to get out of there and never set foot back in there again. Jason offered to collect the rest of her belongings from day care and end it. I'm grateful.

This means that tomorrow when I drop her off, I'll be so uptight all day wondering if she's adjusting okay, if she's scared, if she's happy, if she will end up retaliating in some way for the abrupt change in her life. Truthfully, she'll probably be okay. This will probably harder for me than it will be for her. But Jason will be home tomorrow, and the new center is just down the street from us. So I'm excited, relieved, terrified, worries and stressed out all at the same time. It's a wonder a person doesn't implode from feeling all of that at once!

Okay, so that's the big dark news. Let's talk about something more pleasant, shall we?

For starters, this kid is nothing short of adorable. Yes, I'm biased. But let me post some pictures and tell some fun stories to prove my point:

The Diaper.

Rachel is starting to express annoyance with her diaper. She's long been excited to sit on her potty, especially without the diaper. I don't think she quite understands what the potty is for or how one uses it, but she does understand that we like for her to sit on the potty before we get in the tub, sans diaper. If we're not careful, she removes it. So the other day she was refusing to allow me to put pants on her after a diaper change and Jason noticed she'd come running into our bedroom completely naked from the waist down. So where was her diaper? I went into her bedroom to retrieve it and didn't see it. Seriously, it had been 5 minutes so it wasn't soiled....where was it? When I asked her she sweetly walked over to the diaper genie, lifted the lid and handed it to me. That little stinker had taken off her diaper and thrown it away in the proper receptacle! She's on the cusp of wanting to potty train, so we're going to let it happen as it comes and not force it. Especially with the huge changes we have with the day care.

Bedtime.

I'm not sure if I posted that we purchased Rachel new bedroom furniture complete with a big girl bed. (I still haven't taken photos....Sorry!) At first Rachel was adamant about not sleeping alone. Whether it was the bed or the concept of getting used to being at home again after a long visit with Grandma and Granddad Terry, her first week in the new bed was unpleasant. However, now that she's used to the new bed, we've noticed she would put herself in her bed to take a nap. Now when we ask her if she's ready to go to bed at night, she'll grab her blanket and pacifier and run into her room and hop in bed all by herself. Can I get a hallelujah!?

Mommy.

Rachel has started to be a mommy. When I say that I mean she loves her baby dolls. She was getting annoyed that she couldn't seem to push her red car around the house with her dolls in it, so I got her a baby doll stroller, which she loves. So much so that she'll shove her puppy dog, elmo doll, and/or possibly one or both of her baby dolls. Sometimes individually, sometimes all at once. But this past weekend while I was out of town Jason said she's also started putting them down for a nap. For example, she put her puppy dog into our bed, covered him up, then walked out quietly and shut the door. Melt my heart!

Sunday she got a hold of an Ernie doll I'm trying to sell for a friend of mine (which she actually called "Ernie" on her own!) and was so excited. She grabbed him and Elmo, put them in her bed, grabbed her favorite blanket and pacifier to cover them up and also try to give Ernie her pacifier. Then she laid down with them:

She didn't actually go to sleep, but it was still sweet!


Pretend.

She's been using her cups, plates and utensils in her kitchen to bang around and pretend to eat out of. She also has taken up the habit of trying to walk in adults' shoes:

Last weekend while at my parents' house I decided to take a few photos of her....mainly because I was exhausted and it made running around the yard after her more fun for me. She doesn't stop moving very often....but I managed to get a few snaps of her:

She had just thrown a really large (for her) rock and it made a big "THUMP!" noise on the ground. This was her looking at me to say either, "Hey! Look what I just did!" or "Uh oh, are you going to get me in trouble? I'm cute, so I'm hoping that saves me".

Ah such a sweetie!

Then GramE got a hold of her.....

And you can't fault the grandparents....they can load the kid up the sugar and send them home! (I will TOTALLY do this when I'm a grandparent.)

Hot.

For a very long time Rachel will say "Hot". This can mean "This food is too hot and that's my excuse for not eating it." or it could mean "Ouch! That hurt!" or "I want a frozen waffle" or "That's hot and I shouldn't touch it." and it's not pronounced "Hot".....it's, "hottttttttttttttttttttt".

Her vocabulary is growing, however. So hot isn't quite the "hot" word it once was. Although are now hearing "Peas" (please) and "Dadoo" (Thank you) much more.

Instead of "yes" she'll agree by saying "That" with a nod of her head. She does still whine a lot when she wants something, but if you can ask her to show you or even try to say what she's wanting, she'll whine a lot less. So communication is getting better, which means frustrations are getting less. Not gone, obviously I mean she is a toddler. We're not out of the woods yet. But it is definitely improving.

Monday morning while I had her at home for the day care to be close for their continuing education day in the morning she went on a "hugging" parade and hugged me and nearly every toy she could put her arms around. Whenever she picks up a baby or a stuffed animal she'll hug it and give it a kiss. (Which right now is her putting her lips to the doll and saying "Mwah!") She will give kisses and hugs to people on command, although not normally just on her own. And not just anyone....she's got to be somewhat familiar with them first.

We've gotten her from watching only Sesame Street and finally weaned from Monsters Inc (which she called "Monkey") to watching Finding Nemo ("Fish") and Wallace & Gromit, Curious George ("Ah-ah") and pretty much anything with a horse or a dog in it.

She can tell you what sounds different animals make:
Monkey - ah-ah
Horse - Nigh
Cow - Moo (sometimes noo)
Dog - Bowf
Cat - maow
Lion - Rooooaaaaaar!!!!

She'll sometimes ask "What was that?" or "Where is it?" and put her arms out as if to say "I don't know!"

She'll also say "All gone!" or "Oh no....." when something isn't the way it should be.

One day she was playing at the playground at Hamilton Town Center and kept saying, "No no." I realized that's what they say to the kids at day care on the playground, and consequently what the kids say to each other as well. Ha! Bossy kid already. I have NOOOOOO idea where she gets that from!

Another favorite past time is still the kitchen sink:

It's like the hokey pokey. You stick the spatula in, you stick the spatula out, you stick the spatula in and.....

you shake it all about.....a lot....and as much as you can. Over and over and over.

The other day she was playing in our bathtub and I realized she was singing a song. It took a couple of times, but I finally realized she was singing "Ring around the rosey". So I sometimes will sing with her and then fall down on the floor at the end and she loves that. She does sing to herself, or to her toys, or just in general. Sometimes she'll sing with me when I sing. The words aren't quite there yet, but she knows what she's saying. I love hearing her sing, it's so sweet.

Those are all the stories and pictures I have with me at the moment to post. I have so many adorable pictures from the trip Geri and I took to the zoo with her and I am so sorry I don't have those with me right now. I didn't want to delay getting another update done because I didn't have the photos with me. And truthfully, I needed to vent about the day care shenanigans. Now all of the stories I'd been rehearsing in my head have been documented so I can look back years from now and reminisce about Rachel being this old. And now when she asks me to tell her about when she was little, I have good stories to tell her.