favorite things...

i admit that i LOVE to just watch rachel. she absolutely fascinates me. and she cracks me up. two of my favorite things to observe lately are the times when she is startled awake and when she is on her play mat. totally typical baby experiences, i know. but i love them so much anyway.

it cracks me up when she is snoozing in her swing or bouncer and is startled and her arms go up/palms down like she's saying "what's up?!" and then she looks around either with a bit of a scowl (looking like me when i'm awakened) or a sheepish look that seems to scan to see if anyone noticed her sleeping (EXACTLY what ed does when he is wakened). love that.

and she has an ocean-themed play mat that she's finally getting into (i think because she can finally see more and focus on objects). on the top, above her head when she lays on it, is a green octopus with a rattle on one of his arms. she LOVES this guy. she smiles and coos at him even more than she does me! it's adorable. as soon as she focuses on him, she's happy. then, the other day, she pulled her eyes away from her octopus friend and discovered the big fish with a mirror on it. yikes! she was THRILLED to see that baby in the mirror! huge smiles and couldn't take her eyes from the mirror. it was such fun to watch.

i do love when she gets excited to see me. this must be one of the best things about motherhood... even when i know it's just because i feed her. :) and i love when she makes eyes at her daddy or big brothers. there's no question she knows those are guys who love her well. now, the boys take turns reading to her at night. we may have a houseful of boys who hate to read, but they are more than happy to jump into a book with their little sister (helps that it's usually dr seuss or berenstain bears - who doesn't like to read those?!). it's super cute and i hope it becomes a regular part of her life for as long as they are living at home. what a special time to share with her brothers!