July 4th at Our Nation's Capital

Matt and I went to downtown DC to watch the fireworks show on July 4th. One of my friends took Rachel for the whole afternoon/very late into the evening so that we didn't have to haul her around downtown. We have the nicest friends out here! Rachel would not have had a very good time, but we definitely did. We got down there around 4:00 and visited the Smithsonian Folk Life festival on the Mall. It closed pretty soon after we got there. (Jen, we were able to get some hambao, which were really good, although no competition with Pike Place).
Next we staked out our spot on the hill by the Washington Monument facing the Lincoln. The fireworks are shot off right over the reflecting pool, so we had a great view. Then we sat and chatted with our friends that came and sat through a couple of rainstorms. By the end we were all quite wet, but what's a little rain to a couple of native Oregonians? The fireworks show was very impressive and our view really was amazing. It was fun to have a night off from the responsibilities of parenthood. The only downside of the evening was the 3 hours we spent standing in line/riding the Metro home. If we did it again we would definitely drive (and I never say that about DC). Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Pictures Everywhere!

Rachel has just recently gotten to the stage where she likes looking at pictures on the wall. Her favorite is our copy of The Living Christ with a collage of Greg Olsen's pictures of Christ around it (the one that was all the rage to make at Enrichment a year or two ago). She has a book with those same pictures in it, but she gets really excited to see it on the wall. She points and smiles at it whenever I am holding her in the family room. I say, "Yes, that's Jesus". Then we point to the eagle picture, then the Salisbury Cathedral picture. Then the wedding pictures, etc. And we do this several times a day :)

This is the background on our computer. Her high chair is near the computer and every time she eats she points to the picture and gets so excited. I point, "Dad, Rachel, Mom". Repeat! The little things that excite babies...

Visit to Blacksburg

The whole crew: Jamie, Rachel, Hunter, and Jacob

Baxter the big friendly dog!

Jamie was so excited to play with Rachel.

Jacob and Rachel hung out while we were there.

Hunter reading her favorite book with her.

Okay, we haven't posted in a while... to say the least. Let me start where we last left off. The week before memorial day Rachel and I took a little trip to Blacksburg to visit my old co-worker Mandi. We had so much fun with her and her family. She spoiled me rotten with homemade southern meals (they live on a farm, so even the meat is home grown!) and several cute outfits for Rachel. What a vacation! Rachel especially liked playing with her 3 kids: Jamie, Hunter, and Jacob. They were really good with her. She also did surprisingly well at night even though she was in a pack and play right near my bed. Normally she sleeps a lot better in her own room, but the week went very smoothly. Thanks for the great trip, Mandi! And of course thanks to Matt for driving me down and being supportive of my vacations when he is stuck at work.

Birthday Extravaganza

Well, I guess it wasn't really an extravaganza, but it was still fun. Since our birthdays are just 6 days apart we usually have a joint party with a few friends. This year Sara got us a tasty ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. We had some friends over and played games and ate cake. On my birthday we went out to lunch and on Matt's birthday we went to dinner at Red Robin (free burger on your birthday!). I guess you can tell what we like to do for fun :) We also went to some batting cages that weekend as well. All in all, we had a great birthday weekend. Our main present was a camcorder, which we just barely got in the mail. Hopefully we'll be able to post a short video of Rachel soon. Matt also made me 2 slide shows, one of our first 4 years of marriage and the other of Rachel. He's going to post the Rachel one soon. It's really cute! He is so good at thinking up creative birthday ideas. I got him a book and a sweatshirt (I'm not so good at the creative thing, obviously!).
The second picture above is of Rachel and me on the morning of May 3rd, the first morning in 9 months that one of us hasn't had to get up with her at night (except for a few times where she miraculously slept through the night). We decided to start letting her cry it out. The first night was great, she only cried for about 20 minutes. We've had a few rough nights since then, but it is exciting to think that all 3 of us will soon be sleeping through the night! I know I look a little tired in the picture, but I was so happy!

A Nats fan is born!

As many of you who read this blog already know, the Stevensons are big time Braves fans so when they were looking to pick up tickets to a game we were all ready to take Rachel to her first encounter with our nation's past time. Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived at the stadium so the game was delayed for a little over an hour and we were happy when it finally started even though all the cheering woke Rachel up from her nap. She was entertained for the first couple of innings then decided that her dad needed a different view of the field so we spent the next several inning hanging out behind expensive seats with all the other parents that brought their younglings along with them (by that I mean babies not young Jedi's). Rachel's favorite part was when they had the presidents race round about the 5th inning of the game. She was absolutely captivated by the massive craniums of our founding fathers as the raced around the field. Don't remember if Tom or Abe won (and yes, I realize that Lincoln was not officially a founding father), you'll have to ask Rachel about it some time. The Nats got destroyed by the Braves and all in all it was a fun day. We restrained ourselves from buying a box of Krispy Kreme donuts from a street vendor on the way home though one person in our group got a killer deal on a unofficial, official Nat's hat. (looking back I wish I would have used the word Nats more in this post). And now for the part everyone wants to see anyways, the pictures:

Rachel and dad, GO Coug...I mean Nats!

This is the "I've had just about enough of this silliness" face.

And all the ladies enjoying a photo op. *Bonus Activity* Try to
position yourself so that Sara is not looking at your forehead.
(From the left: Michelle, Sara, Jenny, Heather)

Scooting and Bunnies

Rachel scooted forward for the first time on Tuesday! She has been scooting backwards for a few weeks now, but she finally made it in the right direction. I was trying to get her to do it all morning, but it ended up happening when I was wrapping Matt's birthday present. I had stopped trying to tempt her with various toys and just let her lie on her tummy in front of where I was wrapping. She wanted that tissue paper so bad!! The distance totaled about 6 inches, which is 6 inches more than she has ever scooted before. It is so cute to watch her stretch her little arms as far as they will go and then dig her toes into the ground to inch forward just a little bit. Then she stretches her arms again to see if she if she can get it with out too much more effort. She actually scooted a couple of times on Tuesday, so I think she will be crawling really soon.
Last week our friends Sara and Brandon had a litter of baby bunnies staying at their apartment for a few days. Brandon has a wildlife control company and removed them from a woman's yard. Rachel and I went over to play with them. She liked watching them hop around her. When I sat one of them near her she patted it and then tried to squeeze it (see picture). We had to take it away quick! Poor kid doesn't know her own strength.

Cherry Blossom Festival

A day at the park. She loves the swings!

You'll notice I coordinated her dress with the activity.

A few weekends ago we went downtown to see the cherry blossoms. Apparently everyone else in the area had the same idea, because the metro was packed! We got there in one piece, though, so it worked out okay. The blossoms were really pretty and it was fun being out and about. Rachel was very well behaved and Matt did great carrying her around in the front pack all day. What a strong guy! She really enjoys being outside.
It was also kite day at the festival. We took a kite, but the wind had died down by the time we finished walking around looking at the blossoms. Matt was pretty disappointed! It is frequently windy here, so we'll go out sometime to a nearby park and try again.
Rachel is getting cuter and cuter. It is amazing watching her grow. She changes so quickly! Her latest noise is a growl/Gollum noise that is pretty funny. It is also a little quieter than her yell, which is nice! I think she will be quite a chatterbox when she learns how to talk (I wonder where she got that from?). I went to a Relief Society activity recently where a woman talked about being a mom and how all the different stages are great. Although I'm just starting out, I agree with her so far. I used to think that 4-6 months was my favorite age, but Rachel is 8 and 1/2 months now and I love it. I also miss the tiny baby stage when they just snuggle in your arms and sleep for hours, so I guess there are fun parts with each age. Now I'm just babbling, which I tend to do when I get started on Rachel, so I guess I'll close now. Happy Spring everyone!