Rachel's Turn

What can I say about Rachel?!?! She is 2. That about sums it up. I love her to pieces and she is so adorable, I'm not sure it's good for her. And then the next second, she's a holy terror, kicking and screaming and just awful.

Rachel has 'pinchy parts' all over. Whenever we are sitting together, I just pinch her cheeks, her little shoulders, down her arms, her yummy thighs, her little knees and her calves and you can't forget the super pinchy buns! She is used to being mauled by me.
In the morning, when she wakes up, I can hear her crying in her bed. As soon as I open the door, she sits up and says, "Good morning, Mama!" She has to turn on all the lights and then, "I did it a' by myself, Mama!"
We have moved on from watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2 everyday. Now her main favorites are Hercules ("Herk-a-lees my friend, Mama.") and Beauty and the Beast. She still loves all things Toy Story and carries her Buzz around ("To i-finatee and ee-yond!"), we just don't watch it every day.
She gives the best hugs and squeezes super tight. She also is a good kisser. She likes to climb up behind me or Jim, wrap her arms around our neck and then let herself hang. My wind pipe is a little bruised.

She still loves story time at the library. She knows all the songs and I sometimes hear her singing them in the car or at home. Her favorite is "Ram, Sam, Sam." We like to read a book or two before bed. She gets the book and then I am allowed to sit next to her while she looks at it and turns the pages.
Today at lunch, Mimi finished drinking her milk and Rachel let me know, "Mimi need nore milk, Mama!" She is really helpful like that. When Lizzie practices the piano and counts out loud, Rachel counts along with her.

She carries toys around with her all the time: Buzz and his "shorse", Beast and Belle, Buzz and Ariel, Beast and his "shorse", Rose and Prince Phillip. She knows the ones that should be paired up too, they "luh each other".

She sits in front of Daddy's GI Joes and just stares at them. She asks to play with them and sometimes she is lucky. But she is also happy to just look at them.
She keeps herself entertained at soccer games and practice with the extra cones. She can spend an entire soccer game happily playing with the cones. We might have to invest in our own set next year!