9 months old!

Today is Rachel's 9-month birthday! WOW! She is getting so big. She is crawling now, she has two teeth that are coming in and she is pulling herself up to stand. All this happened in the last two weeks. She is so grown up, but yet is still such a little girl.

It is so much fun to watch her crawl. Since she really just started doing it this week, she is still a little awkward. She moves almost like a robot. And she only crawls a few feet and then sits down. She wants to hold onto everything and pull herself up.

We had her 9-month check up this morning - no shots! She weighed 18 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 27 1/4 inches long. She is in the 45% for both categories. She had been at the 25% for weight since she was born, so she is catching up. She was always about 50% for height.

She had moved to Level 2 of Gerber Baby Food, but the doctor said this morning that she should be eating three meals a day and 2 snacks. And that she can eat the food we are eating, just cut up or mashed to meet her needs. So at day care this morning I took one of their menus and selected some food for her to eat over the next two weeks...things like mashed potatoes, yogurt, cinnamon apples, peaches, green beans, bananas. We'll see how she does!

Anyway, happy birthday Rachel! The next big birthday is one year - oh boy!

April Fool's Day

What is the history of April Fool's Day?

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=april+fool+day+originated&page=1&qsrc=178&ab=8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.april-fools.us%2Fhistory-april-fools.htm

PS Did you say "Rabbit, Rabbit" today? It's also another first of the month!

The National Cherry Blossom Festival

Today is the start of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It is a two-week event that happens every year in the DC area, celebrating the 1912 gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan. It typically coincides with the beginning of spring.

http://nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=390

Night out on the town

Last night David and I went to the Britney Spears concert in Washington, DC. It was our big night out. The tickets went on sale in December and we decided to buy them - thinking it was three months away and we had plenty of time to get a babysitter. Well, a few weeks ago I realized we needed a babysitter! We asked Auntie Marisa to come down from New York, but since the concert was a Tuesday, that would have been hard. So we then asked Cousin Julie - she lives in DC a few blocks from the Verizon Center, so we would bring Rachel to her and then pick her up after the concert.

I worked at home that day so I could get Rachel early from day care and then we could head into DC to drop Rachel off and get some dinner before the concert. We set Julie up with the pack-n-play, Rachel's pajamas, some toys, books and some food.

David and I headed to the concert which was enjoyable. The music was great, but you definitely don't go to a Britney Spears concert to hear her sing, and her dancing is just not the same. She seems to be really stiff and awkward. They seem to give her simple steps because she just can't move. She definitely lip syncs, but the show was great for entertainment and costumes and the overall music.

We got to Julie's after the concert around 1130PM. Rachel had been fast asleep so we scooped her up and tucked her back in her car seat for the long drive home. Julie said she was perfect - hardly said a word and was really well-behaved. We really appreciate Julie's help so that we could enjoy an evening out - concerts will most likely be a thing of the past, or we'll have to be very selective in the ones we go to.

"All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a circus..."

The luck of the Irish

Today is March 17th - St Patrick's Day. But besides wearing green and eating corned beef and cabbage, what does it really mean?

Here is a link to an article about the day and its traditions. Now go kiss the Blarney Stone!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick's_Day

Fun fact of the day

YIKES!

http://www.factropolis.com/2006/09/there-really-was-old-macdonald.html

One month older

At this exact moment, 8 months ago, Rachel Charlotte was born.

Happy 8th Month Birthday, littlest! Mommy and Daddy love you very much!