Sunday November 8th 2009

Lisa made it back from Sweden safe and sound. Rachel and i survived and had a great time. There were no horror stories or even any significant problems to mention. Rachel had her moments when she cried for her Mommy, but they were far less than i expected. Lisa came home to a really messy house, but other than that, i would give myself an ' A' for the week.

Nothing else of note is going on here. Rachel got her first application of the swine flu vaccine on Thursday and that went fine. Obviously, she did not like the needle in her leg, but other than that, it went well.

Rachel is still not talking clearly but she knows many words and slurs them when trying to speak. If you spend any time around her, you know will easily figure out what she is saying.

Just off the top of my head, she says - ball, teeth, keys, yes, no, crackers, cookies, banana, feet, book, and dora. She understands each of those words and knows their general meaning.

She can also identify numerous body parts and will point to them if you ask her where they are. Among those are eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hair, neck, shoulders, hands, feet, knees, elbows.

Just out of the blue this week, she started wagging her index finger saying NO NO NO. And she would giggle when she finished.

Rachel is awesome! Here are a few pics i took today after church.

Sunday November 1st 2009

Hello from Virginia. Lisa is currently in an airplane somewhere over the Atlantic ocean heading to Sweden and Rachel is sleeping in her crib. Today was the first night in what i expect to be, a very sad week. We dropped Lisa off at the airport around 3:00 this afternoon and it will be Daddy & Rachel until Thursday evening. Tonight went pretty well but she did keep repeating 'mommy' over and over. But there were really no tears about the lack of mommy (yet!). The rest of the week will be interesting for the two of us.

Rachel dressed up as a lady bug for Halloween and I have included some photos from the past few days. There are photos of her dancing (a jig) , some are her licking her bubble making wand (yuck), some photos after she had some chocolate and it is on her face. There are a wide variety of photos. These pictures are from Friday and Saturday. Enjoy.

Thursday October 8th 2009

When I got home from work tonight, Rachel and Lisa were at the playground at the end of the street, playing on the slide. Here is a video (taken from my iphone) of the 'big' girl. If you turn the volume up, you can hear her say 'Mommy and Daddy'.

Friday October 2nd 2009

We are still alive and doing well. It has been months since i have posted anything and i apologize for that. Our batteries died in our digital camera and I had to order replacement batteries off of ebay because no one seems to make the batteries any more. Best Buy and Circuit City no longer carried them.

Rachel is awesome and is getting taller and skinnier. She eats and eats and is not picky about any kind of food. She will eat anything you put on her plate.

Rachel is still not talking much. She points and grunts at things she wants. But she does say about 20 words, just not clearly. examples are bah=ball, cacka-crackers, buhb=bubbles (she likes to play with bubbles in the yard). But she does say Daddy crystal clear and that is nice. She also likes to say 'Uh Oh' whenever she see something that does not seem right to her. examples of her saying Uh Oh would be when the TV is paused or shut off or when something falls on the floor.

Rachel knows exactly what she wants and how she wants it. It is great watching her develop a personality and grow up. She is very bossy and will come and grab your hand and lead you around the house to do her bidding.

I will post some pictures soon but as of right now, we do not have any because the camera has been without batteries.

Lisa and I still have jobs and do not see that changing anytime soon, so we have that going for us also.

I will take pictures over the weekend and post early next week.

Friday July 10th 2009

Hello. After work tonight, Rachel found (i think Mommy gave her) some pan lids. She was walking around banging them, so i grabbed my iPhone and grabbed a good video spot (on the couch), and here it is. My camera work got shaky towards the end and i apologize for my finger getting on the screen. Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday July 8th 2009

Hello. Rachel is feeling much better and Lisa is on her way. Lisa still does not feel the greatest but she is better than she was this weekend. I am surprised that I did not catch the bug because i am usually susceptible.

I have sold me old iphone 3G on ebay this week. I actually sold it for more than i paid for the 3GS and after paying the fees (ebay, paypal, shipping), i actually made about $15. So I would have to say it was a great upgrade for me. If you are curious as to why the older phone is more worth more, it is because you can take the phone and use it with any carrier and not have to have a 2-year service commitment. With my new phone, i paid $299 for it but had to commit to a 2 year service plan and had to use AT&T. The person who bought my phone now can take the phone and use Sprint or Virgin or whomever they want and not be locked in for two years. For some reason (thanks AT&T) my phone was eligible to be ugraded but Lisa's upgrade would have been $499 and we decided that even though we could recoup alot of that selling her old phone, it was not worth upgrading yet.

My work is going fine. Sales are down but it could always be worse. We could be trying to sell construction material in Detroit. I truly do feel for you peeps back in the heartland. Lisa has some potential changes happening at her work and we are keeping our fingers crossed about that.

Tonight before bed, Rachel was in a very playful mood and here is another video of her dancing. I tried to get her at floor level and i think it turned out cute. I promise i will start using the iphone video for better things than Yo Gabba Gabba dancing, just not yet.

Sunday July 5th 2009

Today is our 12th wedding anniversary. Time flies by when you are having fun. My two girls have been sick all weekend and it has been a very quiet holiday.

Friday evening started with a trip to the emergency room. Rachel woke up Friday around 2:00am crying and was hot to the touch. She had a fever around 101 and Lisa gave her some stuff (either children's Motrin or Tylenol - just not sure which). All day Friday she was warm but pretty much acting like herself. But before bed she was not acting herself and Lisa took her temperature again (with a head scanner). It said 103 and we debated taking her to the doctor. I suggested she try the forehead thermometer again and it then read 105. So we decided to do the emergency room right then! Of course, once we get there and check in, Rachel runs to the toys and is dancing and playing and flirting with a 3-year old boy who was there playing. They take her temperature rectally and it comes back roughly 101.5. The test her for flu and strep and the doctor finds blisters in her throat. She is diagnosed with foot, hand, mouth disease and we are sent home. We are told to alternate between Tylenol and Motrin for the next few days and keep an eye on the fever.

Lisa woke up Friday with a sore throat and has been sick and achy all weekend. So my two girls have just not been doing so well. I have tried to do my best but there is only so much when Rachel keeps waking up in the night crying and not wanting anything to do with Daddy.

The doctor weighed Rachel and she was 20-pounds 4-ounces. So she has broken the 20-pound barrier.

Here is another iPhone video i took of Rachel tonight watching her Yo Gabba Gabba show before bed. She is still not completely herself, so there is not as much wiggling and dancing as normal but there is enough...

Wednesday July 1st 2009

Hello everybody. We are doing fine here in Virginia. We are looking forward to the long weekend coming up. Work has been rough for both of us but at least we both have jobs...So we are thankful for that. I upgraded my old iphone yesterday to the new 3GS mostly because a coworker showed me how great it shot videos. Here is the first of many Rachel videos taken from my new iphone. It is of Rachel dancing and clapping during the map song on Dora the Explorer. Enjoy.

Wednesday June 24th 2009

It has been forever since I last posted and I have to apologize for that. We have been busy with work and have not really taken many pictures the last four weeks. I will do better about that.
We are all doing great here in Virginia and there is nothing significant to report. Rachel had her 15-month checkup and she is still perfect. She is in the 75th percentile for height and 10% for weight and head circumference. Basically she is a tall skinny kid with a cue ball for a head. But she is a cute cue ball child. Rachel still does not weigh 20-pounds. She is 19-pounds and 12-ounces.

Rachel has fallen in love with a tv show called Yo Gabba Gabba. It is a crazy,psychedelic kids show with strange creatures that sing and dance. It was created by some former musicians and the name comes from a Ramones song. Alot of underground bands guest star and play kids songs. It encourages to get kids dancing and each episode teaches kids new dances in segments. It is a show that is not too bad for a parent. Alot of college kids get high and watch it for the trippy colors and music. Rachel goes wild during the show and dances and thrashes the whole time. It is quote adorable. She also has 4-inch figurines of the 5 main characters and plays with them constantly. We have about 20 episodes on the DVR and Rachel HAS to watch one before bed or there will be hell to pay. When she is not dancing, she likes to crawl into a little laundry basket and get comfy. She giggles and screams and encourages me to pick the basket up and make her fly. There are pictures of her in the basket.

And speaking of dancing, Rachel is a dancer! No matter the time and place or music, if Rachel hears it, she will bust a move. She just loves wiggling around, moving her arms and legs and dancing. I will get some video and figure out how to post it here. We were all at a store the other day waiting in line and 'You can't touch this' by MC Hammer was on the speaker. She was going crazy dancing for all the people. She would quit when she realized people were watching but would soon forget and start dancing again.

Here are some pictures taken in the last month. Again, most were from same day or two. She has only had her hair up in little pigtails a few times. It just so happens that it makes us remember to grab the camera. I will get more pictures to post soon.

Thursday May 21st 2009

One more work day until a 3-day weekend. I have been looking forward to that for at least a month. Not only is it nice to have a day off from work, but it is another day that we can spend the whole day with Rachel.

During a standard weekday, i see Rachel for 90 seconds in the morning. She usually comes running into my bedroom screaming Daddy and looking for me. At this point I have usually already hit the snooze button a few times. She looks at me, smiles and giggles a little bit and if i am lucky, i get a hug or a kiss. Then Lisa and her are off to go to the babysitters. Then i get home around 5:15 and Lisa and Rachel come in at about the same time. We then have about 2-1/2 hours before she goes to bed. She is usually asleep by 8:00pm. So to total, on an average workday, i get at most 3 total hours of time with my daughter. But on weekends and days off, i get to spend alot more time with her, and i like that. So i am looking forward to the long weekend, not only to recharge the batteries, but to spend an extra whole day with Rachel.

Us three are doing fine. My work is still going strong. Lisa is doing good and she is trying to get adjusted to the new company Ericsson has sold her division to. Rachel is doing great and learning more and more everyday. She is starting to get real whiny and throws fits when she does not get her way. She has massive mood swings. Crying one minute and giggling the next. And she does not like to be told 'No'. This is not a fun stage.

I do not want to talk about that debacle last night with the Cavs. I hope the players slept as poorly as i did.

Here are some pictures of the adorable Rachel playing outside. There are also some pictures of her playing right after she pulled her pants off (still in a diaper).

Thursday May 14th 2009

Nothing new to report here in Virginia. Work is going fine for both of us and Rachel is chugging along splendidly.
These pictures i am posting were taken the same day as the pictures from the last post. We took the rubber band out of Rachels hair and it was crazy. We laughed and laughed at how wild it was. So we grabbed a camera and her two favorite stuffed animals (Grover the Muppet [pronounced 'GroGah'] and Buckeye the Bear [pronounced 'Dora' {alot of things are called Dora}]). Here are those pictures. Buckeye the Bear is actually a teddy bear with an Ohio State hoody on. My co-worker won a basketball shooting contest at an amusement park and there were no 'good prizes', so he saw the OSU bear anbd brought it in to work for me. Or maybe he just loves me. Hmm, we have worked together for 9 years, changed companies together, and everyone says we act like an old married couple. Hmm, maybe he is my bitch. His lovely wife sent me an email today saying she saw the blog and loved the pictures of Rachel. Guess she might see this...=)... I digress...I brought Buckeye the Bear home and Rachel plays with him and Grover all the time.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Saturday May 9th 2009

Rachel now has 4 and a half teeth. Another has broken through and is visible on the top row. She looked funny with 4 teeth and will look even a bit off with 5. Rachel is biting anything she can put her mouth and that includes my car keys. Rachel has gotten taller and now can reach the edges of the kitchen counters, dining room table, night stands, etc. So she will pull down anything that is on the edge or barely hanging over. This includes table clothes, coats, place mats, car keys, wallets or anything else right against the edge. We now have to be even more careful so that she does not pull something heavy and blunt down on herself.
The daycare sitter put Rachel's hair into a band for the first time and here are some pictures. She looked like Cindy-Loo-Who from the Grinch.
In some of the pictures she has gotten my wallet and is rummaging through it. I am sure this won't be the first time...