Two is always better than one...

Random facts about Rachel:

- sleeps with 3 binkies - 2 is sufficient (like if I momentarily lost one), but 3 is preferred

- prefers her eggs hard boiled - she eats it like it's a piece of fruit - and she hates them scrambled

- hardest part of the day is getting dressed - she fights me everytime

- she always is so happy to see me when she wakes up, but without fail, the first thing she asks me is "dada?" and then I remind her that he is at work but will be home later to play ... so then we usually call him on the phone to say hi

- loves to have me brush her teeth - I lay her down on the bed and pin her down - she thinks it tickles

Another week

We went to the zoo twice this month since it was free on Wednesdays. It's hard for Rachel to understand why she can't pet them and why the tiger has to be so far away! How lame! They have a fun splash pad, hence the swimsuit yet again (loving that lush background):

Brandon and I went on a date last weekend - that's right, we got a sitter and went to the Diamondbacks game (got the tix from one of Brandon's colleagues who wasn't going to use them). We had a blast, but it wasn't quite as fun as seeing the Cubs.

Rachel was in good hands with Kasey & Danny and she loves her friends, Cole & Cooper (their two boys). When I texted her to see how things were going, here is the text I got from Kasey: "We are just getting home from the park - it was SO fun! Rach is so cute, a great dancer, and VERY fast!" I was so glad someone else could experience Rachel's sprinting - she just runs so fast anytime she gets to go outside! Here's a pic they sent me of Cole & Rachel:

p.s. Thanks for the great discipline suggestions. I checked out a few books at the library and will do another post when I have figured out my game plan. Wish me luck!

Disciplining your toddler

I have some questions about your techniques and opinions about disciplining your toddlers ...

- Have you read any amazing books on the subject?

- At what age should you begin doing "timeout"?

- How do you be consistent about what behaviors merit a "timeout"?

- Where do you have timeout? A chair, their room, the stairs, etc.

- How do you be consistent with timeout at a friends house, church, grocery store, etc?

Of course I tell her "no" now - about 25+ times per day - but I haven't been comfortable with timeout yet. Her behavior is not malicious - everything is just a game at this stage. I think as we move into a house (hopefully!), it will be a great time to really be consistent about disciplining. She is exactly 15 months old now and my new pediatrician told me that I should have started timeout 6 months ago. Not sure I agree with full-blown timeouts that young, but I got his point that disciplining consistently and at an early age is very beneficial. So what are your thoughts?

Fun Times in August (catching up)

"Camping" Trip with Grandma & Grandpa T. - we may not have actually slept the night, but who would have known from this picture?

Rachel loved the freedom of running around outside and getting dirty - no surprise!

The Boys - my brothers, Cade & Chad, my dad, and Brandon

The Girls - Us with Nana, Grandma T. & my sister-in-law, Cindy

Different "camping" trip to Burrville, UT with the Hale Clan. So fun!

Beautiful scenery, right?

Here we are at Thanksgiving Point petting zoo on a $2 Tuesday. Sure glad we showed up right when it opened - it was so crowded.

Just love this face!

I'm not sure where all this blogging-desire is coming from (am I clogging your google reader?). Maybe a few reasons: 1. just moved to a new state 2. currently ward hopping/shopping 3. Only have a few friends in this state (my old college roomies, Kasey, Natalie, and Sarah - they're the best) 4. No longer have DVR and don't have a clue what tv shows are on when 5. Hubby just started working

My 1 year old has taken over my car radio

I'm not sure when it happened, but Rachel has taken over the car radio completely. She requests her CD almost immediately by pointing and jabbering until it comes on and then she is happy as can be ... at least until we get to a song she dislikes and then she points and talks to me in gibberish about how I need to change the song. It was cute at first, but now I feel like I can't have a peaceful car ride unless the "Toddler Tunes" CD is blaring. If you haven't been tortured by this CD 3-set, it features hits such as "Do Your Ears Hang Low", "Skinnamarink" (Rachel's faves) and "Sandwiches are Beautiful" and "I Always Punctuate My P's" (My least faves). Can you feel my pain? Confession ... whenever I'm alone in the car, I turn up (quite loud) my pop/hip hop music and groove, and it reminds me of when I was in college. Love it.

New topic. Rachel basically skipped size 5 shoes (take note, moms)! And I had two cute pairs of size 5 shoes that are basically worthless to me now. Size 5 is basically the same size as a size 4 that has been worn and stretched, but then the size 6's seem gigantic, but I know she'll fit in to them very soon.

Another new topic. I've been meaning to share my favorite washable bib by Bumkins with other moms. I had some serious bad luck with many brands and I think I was apprehensive to try this brand because it felt flimsy and thin, but it's the only one that dries quickly and I can tell it will last a long time. Don't waste your time with other brands.

And yet another topic. Remember this post about Brandon's choice of ice cream? It happened again. This time he chose black licorice ice cream - nasty if you ask me! It made his entire mouth black. Us girls went for classic strawberry. And here were the results:

A little taste of Chicago

Watch this video! It's of a "Flash Mob" on Oprah dancing to Black-Eyed Peas, "I gotta feeling". Basically, they got a whole audience of thousands of people to do a choreographed dance on Michigan Avenue on Oprah's show. Incredible!

Snowcone

We got some cute pictures today at Tempe Beach Park - a free splash-pad playground for kids. Thanks to Melanie for the great idea! So fun! p.s. Definitely NOT Rachel's first snowcone and you've maybe seen this swimsuit on her lots this summer, but I have loved this swimsuit on her.

By the way, if any one has any great ideas for things to do with kids around the East Valley in Arizona, please let me know. Thanks!

Jabber-box

Rachel talks and jabbers from the minute she gets up until she goes to bed (slight exaggeration, but that's what it feels like). She is picking up on so much and understands a lot of what we say ... whether or not she chooses to do it is an entirely different story.

Below are some videos of Rachel - the first is her having a conversation with her daddy and the second video is some more of her talking and doing some animal sounds. We have had a lot of fun together as a family this month since Brandon hasn't had to study or work. We are sure going to miss him when he starts work on Tuesday!

By the way, how lucky are we that Rachel is such a good traveler?! She's only 14.5 months and has been on 14 flights and lived in 3 states in 6 different homes (counting both grandma's houses). She has slept in a variety of cribs or pack n' plays and is such a fantastic sleeper - the differences in location hardly affects her anymore (can't say she was awesome at this when she was younger than 7 months). And I am digging the fact that she will still take two naps a day, but is flexible enough to have one nap or stay up later if needed. I am really loving this age!

As cheesy as it sounds - we feel so blessed!!

Getting Settled

We just got to Arizona this weekend and we're getting settled in our temporary place while we look to buy a home - crossing our fingers that we'll find the perfect place for the perfect price. We're excited to be here and Brandon starts work next Tuesday. BUT it's not all roses folks, this is real life.

First, it's so hot - still over 105 degrees at 10pm and I'm being super-paranoid mom about Rachel being out in the heat. The heat hasn't even phased Brandon - he likes it. I'll get used to it eventually and let's be honest, I really did know it'd be hot before I moved here. Next, there are a couple car problems that we're working out. We just bought Brandon a car up in Utah and after the 10 hour trip to AZ this weekend, it wouldn't start this morning. Yikes, I seriously hate car problems and they stress me out. I was so stressed with all we have to do this week that it made me cry ... but the funny part about this story was that when Rachel saw that I was crying, she started bawling (kind of sweet). Brandon wasn't sure who to comfort first, both his girls were crying. He hugged us both and then said quietly, "I think there's a little too much estrogen in this room." It lightened the mood and we pulled ourselves together.