Rachel, from my perspective

It has taken me a while to write this post partly because we are insanely busy with life and partly because I needed to have time get to know Rae a little better. I got the opportunity this month when my mom, Rae and I went to Wisconsin for my cousins wedding and to visit family. This is the first time I was able to spend an extended period of time with Rae, without the influence of Sam. It was eyeopening.

Rae has always been an easy going baby and that hasn't changed. She was so good on most of the trip, considering we were moving hotels almost every night and meeting people that she had maybe seen one other time in her life. She was the happy, cute baby that everyone loved, though she would get fussy if we kept her up too late, but the girl loves to sleep, so I can't fault her for that.

What seems to have come through the most is that Rae has a little mischievous streak. Not a bad one, just enough to keep it interesting. Her favorite game while we were away was to crawl away from mommy on the bed while getting her diaper changed. As soon as the diaper was off, she was crawling to the opposite side of the bed, stopping only long enough to look at me, smile and make sure I was chasing her. The look on her face was priceless - a little mischievous grin that melted your heart. I have to admit, it was fun. After the first round of this game, I started noticing that smile in other places - when she was going after shoes left on the floor, taking her cousins' toys, or reaching for a book just out of her grasp. YY calls her the "little cupcake baked by the devil" (a nod to all my Blacker peeps!) and it really seems to fit.

She seems to be a water lover. She is very relaxed in the water and is happy just floating around while I hold her. If she isn't in the water, she is splashing in it. She loves to crawl along the steps and sit and splash. I think she will be my water baby. :)

She is very dramatic and loves to cuddle. She already has a favorite lovey for sleeping and if we would let her, she would have a pacifier in her mouth all day long.

Rae is a very good verbal mimic, but it hasn't gone much past mimicking what someone in the family is saying. On this trip, things changed. First off she started using her sign language a lot. She can clearly do signs for "all done" and "more" and my mom saw her sign "milk" while waiting for me to mix up her bottle. She has also started using a few words, though still pretty randomly. The most consistent is Mah for milk. I wouldn't call any of this her first word, but it is getting close. (I think the first will be No. She has started saying chains of Nah, Nah, Nah when she doesn't want something and will shake her head no.) The funny thing is that now that we are home, she stopped signing, other than when she is REALLY all done with eating or when she REALLY doesn't want to do something. I don't know if it is because Sam doesn't use them or because she has three people to interpret her needs at home.

The other thing about Rae is that she really wants to be like Sam, but it isn't obvious. She didn't start crawling or sitting or walking early just to be like him. However, she gave up pureed foods around 7 months and bottles at 10 months. She is very good at making sure we pay attention to her as well as Sam by squealing and babbling away. Now that Rae can go where Sam goes, she is often following him around. She doesn't even seem close to walking at this point, being quite happy to keep up with Sam by crawling after him. Although, I have a funny feeling that when she does decide to walk, she will be good at it and run soon after.

Rae is definitely her own self. I don't feel like I have a carbon copy of Sam. It is fun; it keeps us on our toes. I am very excited to see how she changes and develops as the years go on. I foresee lots of drama, but I also see lots of love.