where to start...

These pictures are out of order (of course), but I really don't have the time to rearrange them.

Rachel with one of her new toys from Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer. She can actually push down and make it spin herself.

Matt had given her a bath before church yesterday morning and I was blow drying my hair. I must have stepped out to get her clothes and I found this when I came back in the room. She thought it was great!

Matt's grandma's (Nana) birthday is on Christmas, so they had a party for her that evening. This is Rachel with her Aunt Suzanne and soon to be Aunt Sara (Brett and Sara are getting married in March!)

Her Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer got her some stacking/nesting cups and she caught on really quick to knock them down once we stacked them.

Yes, you may have seen this on Lauren and George's blog. Yes, it is Hannah and Kate's toy. We figured since Kate is a scaredy cat (spelling?) that Rachel would use it instead. She loved it and Uncle George pushed her around the house in it! She has yet to show any signs of fear for toys or people.

Rachel on Christmas. I know, no cute Christmasy outfit for her.

Rachel with Great-Grandma.
Still likes to play with her feet.

Just before the Christmas eve service at church. This dress it not a Christmas dress, but it had red on it and was one of the only dresses that fit her. We got some tights for her too, but it wasn't all that cold anyway. I thought she looked cute either way!

Christmas morning. We did nothing special. Woke up at the same time, ate the same breakfast, napped at the same time, and then headed over to my parent's house around 11:30 to open presents and eat a yummy lunch.

Do you see the two front teeth? How could you miss those things? Well, I am pleased to say that I notice two more teeth coming in next to those. She is cutting her incisor teeth. That makes 6 teeth in my almost 9 month old. Whew!

Rachel and Mommy at the Lantz's Christmas Eve Chinese dinner. She took a slight interest in the tree.

They have a big rocking horse that Kate is also afraid of, so Rachel takes her place.

So, Rachel got tons of toys, books, and clothes for Christmas. The stack of gifts around all three of the girls was enormous, but it just meant more gifts for me to open. Just kidding. Hopefully, she will be more into it next year and distracted from being crabby. This year, Matt and I decided we should have dressed her up as the Grinch because she was a Grouch. She has been very not herself the past few weeks and I think she might have gone through a growth spurt (her overalls are not even close to fitting anymore), teething, and getting ready to do some new stuff. She is not crawling yet or even close to going forward, but she will move backwards.

Matt got his bowflex dumbbells, a stand for them, and an adjustable bench on Craigslist for a great deal. Matt has done some work around the house for me and we have decided to paint the kitchen a blue-gray color (nothing too dark as we do not get a lot of light in that room). So, Santa was good to all of use this year. Most importantly, God has been really good to us this year, but even if he hadn't of been, I would hope our family would still be praising Him.

Last night, we got to visit some friends who live in Idaho. They have been visiting every Christmas since they moved and we look forward to our annual hang out each year. Today will be filled with clean up of the house. Sounds like fun...