look at me, mom!

Beginning right before vacation, Rachel started to make some real spurts in mental & physical accomplishments. The funniest is that she has now started walking. It all started with our well check-up to the pediatrician the week before vacation. The Nurse Practioner asked if she had started walking yet. "Nope. Not really. I mean, she can walk, but she just doesn't choose to do so by herself." The NP replied that if she didn't start walking by the next month, to give her a call; she might need some physical therapy. (What??!!) Not one minute passed from this conversation when Rachel took about 5 steps by herself, going towards the NP. She sure showed that (very nice) NP that there was NO WAY she was going to have physical therapy at 16 months old! During vacation she really started to take off & everybody kept showing off by saying things like, "Rachel just took 10 steps toward me from that coffee table over there." She still crawls some, but she also walks when she finds it convenient for herself. So, we're gradually making the transition.

Her communication skills have also started to take off. Her babbling sounds a lot more like words now, even if I still can't understand most of them. Be-be is her newest cutest word & of course was learned with having her sweet cousin Norah stay with us after the vacation. Rachel sure LOVED to have a baby around & would try to pat her head or give her kisses all of the time. I am surprised, however, that she doesn't called babies "GENTLE" because that's really all she heard when she approached Norah. I wish I could describe how she treated Norah & Levi when they were at our house. She wanted to pat their heads & give kisses but all with an ecstatic squealing & jibber jabber; some be-be's interspersed as well. It was as though she was saying, "I can't believe the adults are letting me so close to this little human being! EEeeeeeekkkk! They are so cute! Wait, she has my toy! I want it back! And I also want to pat her head in a REALLY EXCITED way because I love her so much!!!"

She has also started to love baby dolls, & Kate is having to relinquish her control of the doll family & give some to Rachel. She loves to hold, rock & give kisses to them. She has moved towards saying Mo-mee instead of Ma-ma. After I wrote that she said Ray-ray one day; she hasn't said it again... but has started to use "Shishy" or something similar to talk about Kate. She loves shoes. She has started to bring shoes to me & try to fit her cute feet into my shoes as well. Just last night she learned (in a day or two) to hold up her cute little finger when I ask her how old she is. I have started giving her a spoon, which she is learning slowly but surely how to use. She really likes to participate when the art supplies come out; but currently her participation is making a few marks on the paper & then eating the crayons. :-(

My baby is growing up. I suppose it's inevitable that when I held Norah & Levi, it really banished the phrase "Baby Rachel" from my vocab. She's not a baby anymore, although her chubby cheekies say otherwise.