The Otte Family

June 23, 2008

And We're Off!

Let the crawling begin!! Ok, so it's not a "real" crawl yet, but she if she sees something she wants, she will get her little body there one way or another. Here she is going for Daddy's sandwich:

We had a wonderful time this past weekend with Grandma. We planted an herb garden, went to New Seasons (grocery store) and just had some fun family time. Grandma gave Rachel baths, read books to her, and fed her a few meals. It was a lot of fun!

Rachel's personality continues to come out more and more. She of course grabs anything that she can and as of recently, has started becoming quite upset if that "thing" is taken away from her. Exploring is so much fun for her...it can be scary for mommy and daddy but we know it's part of her developing.

We are finally having some summer weather here which I am beyond thrilled about. Not only is it nice to finally see some sun, I finally get to dress Rachel in all her cute summer clothes. They have been hanging patiently in her closet, taunting me for so long now...she has so many dresses, skirts and shorts that I can't wait for to wear. And of course, her cute bikini from Auntie Danielle.

June 17, 2008

Fathers Day 2008

We celebrated Brent's first Fathers Day this past weekend. It was very nice and low key. Brent is doing a major project in the garage so that consumed the majority of his time over the weekend however we did sneak some time in to go to the park and have a little picnic. The weather couldn't have been better and we both really enjoyed spending time like that as a family.

Brent requested an ice cream cake for Fathers Day-it was quite yummy!

Rachel continues her adventures with solid foods. She is funny because every time we go to feed her, she always grimaces when the spoon first gets to her mouth-even if she has had that food before. Then by the second bite, she seems to be liking it better. But, I don't think she is completely overjoyed by it all..she eats but I think she could easily do without if it was up to her. The newest food we tried was some avacadoes yesterday. She seemed to like them but she wasn't in the best of moods so we cut it short. So far she has tried sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, carrots, and avacadoes-in that order. I think the next food we might try is peas or some other green vegetable. Here is the carrot face herself:

And her two bottom front teeth are almost in. But still no pictures....hopefully soon I will be posting those pearly (and sharp) whites.

Until then...

June 11, 2008

7 Months Old!

Wow-where has the time gone??? Rachel turned 7 months old this past Monday!!! There are moments when I am so excited to see her grow and develop and there are other times when I would just love to freeze time for a bit...or even go back. So I do my best to live in the moment and enjoy each experience and memory as it happens.

We have been going through a few milestones recently including new teeth, becoming more mobile, and the most exciting one....drum roll please, she can now sit up on her own!! Yippie! And she looks so cute doing it. Here is a short video of her sitting up:

And here is a pic of her sitting up-I think she looks just like Brent in this pic:

She is also now cutting her second tooth. It's right next to the other one-so her bottom right front tooth. I am still attempting to get pics of those but that proves to be challenging.

Here she is on her 7 month birthday:

June 2, 2008

We Have A Tooth!

Ok, so it's just the tippy top of the tooth but it's there and it can be felt!! It's her lower left front tooth. It's pretty sharp. I believe it first came through last Thursday, the 29th. A little bit more pops up each day. She had been doing really well-only a rough night here and there. I am so proud of her. As soon as she lets me, I will try and get a picture of it. Here is a pic from over the weekend, wearing her Dale Jr outfit.

May 30, 2008

Rachel Can Kiss!!

So Rachel has now learned how to "kiss". Ok, so they are not your typical kisses but more like licks and sucks...however they are the best in the world.

Rachel also likes sucking on Daddy's nose-yummy!!!

May 29, 2008

The Solid Food Adventure Continues.....

So, we are making some progress with the solid foods. This past weekend, she actually was excited to have some sweet potatoes and oatmeal. She looked like a little baby bird eating-too cute. I think this weekend I am going to make some butternut squash and give that a whirl. It's so much fun to watch her eat and explore this new kind of eating.

May 27, 2008

Grandma & Grandpa Otte Visit

We just finished a weekend visit with Grandma & Grandpa Otte. The had not seen Rachel since Christmas so I think it was pretty amazing for them to see how much she had grown and changed since then. They were able to spend some nice quality time with Rachel which was wonderful. We went to the Farmers Market in downtown Hillsboro on Saturday. The weather was beautiful so it was a really nice time. They didn't have any produce yet-too early in the season-but it was great nonetheless. They also helped us with a lot of work in the backyard which was so nice of them. Having a baby now, it's hard to find time to do those things.

Rachel in her special chair at breakfast with Daddy...

May 23, 2008

Auntie Danielle's Visit

Ok, so I decided to actually start blogging and not just posting pics. Thought it would be a fun way to continue to share with family and friends what is new with us. And no better way to begin than with our recent visit from Danielle, Rachel's favorite Auntie!!

I wish the weather had been nicer for her visit but oh well, that is Oregon for you! She was able to meet my walking buddies and their kiddos so that was fun. In fact, one of my walking buddies had a friend visiting from San Jose as well so that was kinda funny. Such a small world. We of course had to hit Babies R Us. And as usual, Auntie spoiled the princess. We went to the CheeseCake Factory and had a yummy lunch with some yummy cheesecake for dessert. But mainly we hung out at the house and played with Rachel. She was a little crabby because I think she is getting ready to cut her first teeth but overall she was the sweet baby that she always is. She gave Auntie tons of smiles and giggles and I think it was a good bonding time for them. It was a quick visit and went by too fast but hopefully the next one won't be too far away.

Thanks for all the goodies Auntie-hope to see you soon!!