The Van Ruleduinens: 05/01/2005

Rachel grabbing her toes! She is now on the last notch for her car seat - my how she has grown!

Papa Rule and Rachel helping to celebrate Mother's Day with Nana - he whipped up great BBQ steaks!

Uncle James and Rachel - James is already a pro at holding her :)

Papa Rule and Rachel helping to celebrate Mother's Day with Nana - he whipped up great BBQ steaks!

Nana Rule giving Rachel an airplane kiss (one of the best kinds!)

Mother's Day with Nana and Papa

Uncle James and Rachel - James is already a pro at holding her :)

The whole family at Britannia Bay celebrating Jeanette's first Mother's Day with a picnic. (The building in the background is where Dennis and Jeanette held their wedding reception).

Baby Rachel - Super Star!

Rachel and her dad at Britannia Bay (near where we used to live)

Which one is not like the others?

This is Rachel with a few of her friends...

Rachel wiggling her toes - as you can see she is part monkey ;)

Rachel's toes! This picture was taken just as she was learning to reach her toes. She can also sit up for a few minutes if she is propped up - although she eventually scrunches down (making it easier to get at those toes!)

Baby Rachel visits her friend Sadie. Evidently Rachel has just told a joke that she finds hilarious, but Sadie is not so sure...Photo credit to Katie-Kate (and many thanks for sharing!)

Jeanette and Baby Rachel on Friday April 29 while visiting with Katie-Kate, Rebecca and Sadie. Rachel does in fact still have two hands...

Rachel's Toes!

Rachel has found her toes and loves playing with them. It's pretty hilarious as she makes a funny noise that is part giggle, part squeal when she catches hold of them. And now we don't need to buy any more toys! (Just kidding) However, they have not yet quite made their way to her mouth...(although many other items in the house have).

Rachel's song of the day: Alice's Restaurant, Arlo Guthrie
Rachel's Website of the Day: www.askdrsears.com - lots of good baby advice...(found some good pix on how to use a sling on this site)

Happy Four Months and Happy First Mother's Day!

Rachel turned four months old on May 8 - which also happened to be Mother's Day! Jeanette was treated to not one but TWO breakfasts that weekend (Rachel does a mean French Toast), as well as a picnic dinner on Saturday, and a post church brunch out on Sunday. Does it get any better? The family also celebrated Mom's day with Nana and Papa Rule, Uncle James and Great Aunt Gloria and Great Uncle John on Sunday night.

We also spent part of Saturday touring the new Canadian War Museum (http://www.warmuseum.ca/) which opened up as part of the VE day events. We had a good look at the headstone of the unknown soldier, the maquettes for Vimy Ridge, some war art and a lot of military machines. It is quite an interesting building - part bunker part spaceship may be the idea. We are going to go back some time to have a look at some of the other exhibits.

On Monday Rachel had her four month visit to the doctor. She now officially weighs 12 pounds, 15 ounces, has a head circumference of 42 cm and a length of 63 cm. Way to go Rachel - keep on growing! She also had her next two shots - she was less than impressed, but stopped crying quite quickly. She slept most of the day yesterday as a result (and we tried not to work her legs too much), but did not get a fever. She is back to her regular kicky self today.

The Tulip Festival (http://www.tulipfestival.ca/) started this past week. Rachel and Jeanette took a sneak peek at the flowers on Friday, but only the yellow ones seem to be in full bloom. We are going to have to go and have another look in a couple of days to see if the others have come out yet.

Rachel attended her first professional baseball game last Thursday. She watched Dennis sing the Star Spangled Banner and then watched the Lynx dig themselves into a hole. We had a great time though with Nana and Papa Rule and the gang from Orpheus who organized the trip. We enjoyed it so much that we are probably going to go back soon (when it is warmer!).

Rachel has been helping Jeanette to get fit again - she cheers her on through regular mom and baby aerobics and babyyoga classes. It also gives her a good opportunity to meet a lot of future playmates at Dovercourt Community Centre. Jeanette and Dennis are also starting Ultimate next week - both of us are playing on the Cat's Behind Monday nights and Dennis is playing on Thursdays with the Hammers. So Jeanette had better learn how to flick soon...And Rachel will be our cheerleading section. Now that the weather is better, we are all getting outside for walks more often too and enjoying all the Westboro and Wellington Village has to offer.

Rachel has been getting a good workout herself lately - all that tummy time may now be paying off. She managed to roll over on a flat surface twice on the weekend of April 23. Actually we didn't see her the first time - Jeanette put her down on her tummy and then went into the kitchen to check something with Dennis and when she went back in to check on her, she was on her back! (Hey, wait a minute...said Jeanette) She wouldn't do it again that day, but the next day she did and we managed to catch her in the act. She had not done it since (leaving Jeanette to think maybe it was a fluke) - that is until today! However, we think she is kind of figuring it out by accident. She seems to be able to do it the once, but then has trouble replicating it (so when she has had enough tummy time she yells at us to turn her over).

Other than that, Rachel's personality continues to grow and become more complex. She is a very happy, smiley baby the vast majority of the time - less fussy in the evenings. And she is definitely a morning person. She also loves attention - the more people she has looking at her and making funny faces the better! (We think she may be an extrovert). She also loves to sit or stand up in either Dennis or Jeanette's lap and wants a frequent change of scenery.

The family is looking forward to a trip to the cottage for the long, Victoria Day weekend. And we are excited to hear that Uncle Brent and Auntie-to-be Rosalee will be coming for a visit the National Capital Race weekend (http://www.ncm.ca/ Dennis and Uncle Brent are hoping to run the 10 K)

Rachel's song of the day: The Irishman's Shanty
Rachel is currently reading: Paris 1919, Margaret MacMillan
Rachel's Website of the day: The Narnia Chronicles are coming! Starting with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/lb_main.html Hopefully Disney won't mess it up...

Rachel at Orpheus.

Singing the Anthem at Lynx Stadium

On Thursday night, the crew from Damn Yankees got to sing the national anthems before an Ottawa Lynx game. It was also Rachel's first professional sporting event. Lots of fun was had by all -- except maybe the Syracuse Sky Chiefs. Funny, but theatre people make VERY effective and creative hecklers...