Rachel's First Play

A little while back Rachel went to her first play. It was Grease (she's a huge fan). We were in the front row, and she behaved wonderfully. She had two dates - Daddy and Papa (her grandfather).

It was put on by the Coast Guard Academy, which is near where we live, and Rachel kept on pointing out when "they got a part wrong," since the play was different than the movie. She knows the movie too well! She did NOT like it at all when Sandy slapped Patty Simcox towards the end.

"I don't like this Sandy, Daddy."

 ("Yes, she's not very nice.")

However, all was forgiven when she was able to take a picture with Sandy after the show. Rachel was in her Rydell High outfit, which was a Halloween costume we brought out again for the show. It was a hit with the cast. I've included a picture of her at home before the show with her red jacket and pin, one during intermission with a sideways pose, and one with her and the girl playing Sandy.

Hope you enjoy the new pictures! Summer is approaching here in New England and we can't wait!

In Honor of the NFL Playoffs

Enjoy!

Rachel's New Video for Blog Visitors Only

Lately Rachel has been learning to read and do simple math facts.  We may have mentioned this in a previous post, but Starfall.com is a great site for children learning their letters and letter sounds.  Please feel free to add any sites you know that you enjoy as well.

We recently posted a video of Rachel saying all of her presidents (click here to see it), and wanted to post a private video for blog visitors only.  It's Rachel singing "Five Little Monkeys" and learning subtraction.  It's really cool to see her learn these things each day right in front of our eyes.

Click here to see it.  We hope you enjoy the new video!

Dave and Lynn

Our Scandalous Snowman

Rachel made her first snowman today, and as the snow melted, this is where the carrot ended up.  Lynn and I wondered how many neighbors saw it before it was fixed!

Have a happy new year everyone.  Thanks again for all of the kind comments!

Dave and Lynn

Special video for blog visitors only

Here's a longer video of one we posted recently on Youtube.  This longer video is listed on Youtube as unlisted, which means that only people with the link can view it( you can see it by clicking here)

 It’s an extended video giving you a better idea of how our mornings typically go.  Rachel now comes up with random conversations such as this one about once a week now - this one I decided to record since it was something she appeared to feel pretty strongly about - she needed to tell me that she doesn't like Santa, that she will on Wednesday, and that I will save her by hugging her.  Apparently she's discussed this topic with the kids at daycare too!

Lynn and I hope you’re enjoying the videos. Please become a member of the blog and share stories of your own or videos! 

FYI, she's never referred to herself as Rachel before...that was unique to the day as well.  You may notice my knowledge of the princesses is pretty weak.  The story there is that she gets tattoos from her daycare teacher of the Disney princesses when she uses the potty - which is going pretty well - but we're not planning on having her see a Disney film for a while.  She's scared of a toy Cookie Monster we bought her a while back, so we're guessing that Scar from The Lion King would freak her out.

Father's Day

I'm attaching a picture of the beginning of my Father's Day - which was perfect - Lynn surprised me with breakfast in bed and the kids joined me as I ate - Rachel was very excited to show me the card she made for me.  We hope your Father's Day went well also!

Educational videos and James Brown

We can't believe how happy this new baby boy is...all the time!  Lynn and I thought Rachel was "easy" enough, but we're amazed so far.  He's ready to crawl and is talking up a storm (for proof, click here).

This month we thought it might be nice to share an educational video that we've been using with Rachel.   It teaches the months of the year, and she's learned it pretty quickly because of the music.  Click here for the video.  We sing it in the car quite a bit, but it hasn't moved ahead of the Alphabet Song as her all-time favorite just yet.

Also, there are some Youtube videos that have some really great stories for kids.  Lynn and I use a playlist for Rachel (link here) that has some Eric Carle stories - there were some Dr. Seuss stories as well, but they were deleted. 

If you have any websites or playlists with educational videos or stories to share, please share!

If you're wondering what Rachel is listening to lately, it's James Brown.  Every day on the way to daycare, she says "James Brown Daddy" and points out her observations.  "James Brown says 'ha!' Daddy" and "James Brown doesn't care" are common, as well as "James Brown is screaming" - the song she loves is Cold Sweat, so if you give it a listen, those comments will make a lot of sense.

She's very particular about her music, and now has a CD filled with songs she likes that we bring along for longer trips.  If you'd like the mix songs, feel free to drop us an email!