Rachel loves to walk

More catching up to do!  Rachel had her first birthday on October 15, and I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.  My parents came to visit for her birthday and it was really nice to have them here.  Rachel had a lot of fun opening presents (she's a pro- we're not going to be able to put any under our Christmas tree).  She got some fun toys that still entertain her a month later.  She also got a cute dress from Grandma Sha-sha and Grandpa Bruce.  I made her a cake based on the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and I thought it was delicious.  Rachel seemed to as well.  She ate all of her piece and then part of Eden's as well.  We wanted to take my parents somewhere fun while they were here so that evening we went to the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur.  It was a lot of fun and I was surprised how much Rachel liked it.  She clapped her hands and squealed and really had a good time.  Apparently she has a thing for jousting, or maybe she just liked having a meal where she wasn't the only one eating with her fingers.  Who knows.  I know she won't remember her first birthday, but she sure had a lot of fun. 

I couldn't get a very good picture of the cake.  That's what I get for putting foil under it... All that matters is that it was good.

 De-licious!

 What I wouldn't give for those eyelashes!

I can't believe how fast this girl is growing up!  She loves to read books and tease her sister.  She's definitely not the talker that Eden was at this age, but she has a few words she says, when she feels like it.  She likes to say BOO to people when they walk in the room and she likes to say Meow when I ask her what a cat says.  She can also say duck, dog, cat and quack (although they all sound about the same).  She's a very happy baby and we love having her in our family!

The day after her birthday she started taking some tentative steps around the house and would stand herself up in the middle of the room instead of pulling herself up to something.  We thought she would start walking right away, but she didn't get the hang of it for a couple more weeks and would only take a couple steps at a time.  On Halloween night she finally started walking a little more and once she figured out how to keep her balance, she was unstoppable.  Now she walks everywhere (or runs, if she can) and it is a lot of fun to watch her toddle around.  She always has a big grin on her face and I can tell she is so proud of herself.  This video was taken about a week ago.  I think she's gotten faster since then!