A New Tooth

This morning while I was brushing Gabi's teeth I felt another tooth that had broken through the gum. That makes eight teeth now. Of course it wasn't the 8th and final incisor (front tooth). She is sticking with 7 incisors for now. This new one is the upper left 1st baby molar. That might account for the low-grade fever she has had since last Friday. Probably also accounts for the grumpy mood. Hers, not mine.

The girls' room is not very brightly lit, so this picture is not as good as it could be, but I still thought it was sweet, therefore worth sharing here. Daddy is reading the girls their bedtime stories.

Gabi on the "big" slide.

Play Date

I think I've been doing Rachel a disservice by not making a greater effort to have play dates with friends. I'm repenting of my evil ways, and we had a little girl over this morning to play. They had a great time, and everybody was well behaved.

First they played on the slides. After a while they moved over to the sand/water box. Next they rode around in or pulled the wagon. They wrapped up playtime by chasing Scout (our dog) around the yard. Everybody seemed to have fun.
Gabi was just relaxing in the sunshine.

Baseball

I have had a plastic bat and ball for quite a while, but recently Rachel has shown interest in it. She even wanted to sleep with it during her nap a couple of days ago. So we're taking up baseball.

Rachel is not quite ready to hit a ball that is being pitched, so I used a water sprinkler that was the perfect height to act as a tee, and Rachel practiced her new craft.

Gabi was the outfielder.

Random Pictures

At the fair

At the playground

Twirling

At the park

We took the girls to the park this evening.


Gabi loved the slide


Rachel loved the jungle gym

Bateman Family Reunion - Disney World 2010

Day 1 - Saturday August 14
We left home at about 10:00 in the morning. During the drive I discovered that I have a new favorite fast food restaurant. Chick-Fil-A. I don't know about the ones here in Kentucky, but all through Georgia they all have playgrounds. And the food is a lot better than McDonald's. We drove to a bit south of Atlanta where we stayed with a friend of mine.

Day 2 - Sunday August 15
On Sunday Gabi turned 15 months old. We went to church on Sunday morning in a branch in Pine Mountain Georgia. Rachel and Gabi were particularly "active" during Sacrament Meeting. I figured if we couldn't be disruptive in our own ward, it only made sense to be as disruptive as possible in the branch of a bunch of complete strangers. I was extremely impressed with the friendliness of the members of the branch. A lot of people greeted us and chatted with us. The lady who sat in front of us in Sacrament Meeting even wanted to invite us to her house to eat. We couldn't do it, though, because we really wanted to get back on the road and get to our final destination in Orlando. We arrived in Orlando at about 10:00 that night. We went to the room of Brennan and Tammy where the party was happening. Rachel, being gregarious, joined right in. Gabi, being more of an introvert, mostly clung to me.

Day 3 - Monday August 16
We moved into our room in the Disney Resort. We walked around our area, and found the pools, then we took a ferry to Downtown Disney. We walked around there to see what there was to see. Gabi was getting tired (cranky), so we decided to just grab something to eat and take it back to our room. We went to Planet Hollywood and ordered to go. However once Gabi got a little food and drink in her she cheered right up and we were able to eat there (in a booth) after all. Nevertheless, we took most of our food home so the girls could take naps. In the afternoon we went to one of the pools in our resort area. The girls had a blast. After dinner we went back to the pool again where all of the family met for some fun in the water. Rachel loved playing with her cousins.

Day 4 - Tuesday August 17
We were supposed to get up really early for a "character breakfast" at Chef Mickey's (a restaurant). It was to begin at 7:00, and it took about 45 minutes to get there. Unfortunately we woke up late and didn't get there until closer to 7:45. Nevertheless Rachel and Gabi got to meet Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and they saw Pluto from a distance. Then we took a family picture. We were pretty wiped out, so we went back to our room for a nap. After the girls got some sleep, and after lunch we went to Magic Kingdom. There they met Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. They really liked meeting everybody. Then we went back to our hotel pool. That night the older kids and adults went to Epcot for the laser show, but we figured our girls (and us) needed a good night's sleep before taking off again the next day.


Day 5 - Wednesday August 18
We met in Tony and Luella's room for breakfast. We had pancakes and scrambled eggs. We had a lot of fun visiting with all of the family. Then we checked out of our room and spent the morning at the pool with some other family. Luella spoiled us by getting us Disney shirts. Rachel and Gabi got matching Tinker Bell pajamas, and Jeff and I got Mickey T-shirts (not matching, though). We got on the road at about 2:00 (an hour later than intended), and arrived at my friend's house in Georgia (our stopping point) at about 10:00.


Day 6 - Thursday August 19
We had our last day of travel, from south of Atlanta to home. The trip was remarkably uneventful. I was psyching myself up for enduring hours of crying and whining, but the girls both traveled extremely well. Nevertheless, I plan on staying home for the foreseeable future. We got home at about 9:30 that night.

Science Museum

I got a phone call yesterday from a lady inviting me to go with her and her two kids to the science museum. I gratefully accepted the invitation because it's always fun to do something with a friend. In the past I had always held back my enthusiasm for the science museum. For something that was supposed to cater to young people, it seemed rather drab. My opinion changed when my mother-in-law introduced me to the kid's zone. It is a great area that the kids really have a lot of fun in. Today, however, I am enthusiastically endorsing the science center. They have a display to teach about the body. The display has a Sesame Street theme, so it is very colorful and bright, but my favorite part was the obstacle course. Rachel and Gabi both had a ball playing there, especially Rachel. We could have spent hours there. This display will be there until the end of the year, so I hope we go back a lot over the next several months.


I don't know why I didn't take more pictures there. I guess I wasn't thinking. Hopefully I'll go back soon, and my brains will be more functioning and I'll get more pictures next time.


The other day I went to an activity at church. They had child care available, so I left Rachel and Gabi in the nursery. I was a little nervous leaving Gabi because she can be so clingy sometimes, and I didn't want her crying the entire time. When I came back to pick them up I was happy to see that Gabi was having a great time playing on the sit n spin, and took several minutes to even notice that I was back.

We are making some progress with Rachel potty training. For the past two weeks I have been rewarding her with "water stickers" (our name for temporary tattoos because the get stuck on with water). We have been enjoying some success. Rachel has willingly sat on the potty when I ask her to. Previously she would sometimes really kick and scream to avoid sitting on the potty. Anyway, I think I have figured out one of the reasons that Rachel is just not quite ready to potty train completely on her own. She wants to wear diapers, just like Gabi. I think when it's time to potty train Gabi it will be easier because she wants to sit on the potty just like Rachel.

Full Days

Wow! We've have a couple of really full days. On Thursday we drove to Lexington to spend the afternoon with Jeff's sister Trish and her three kids. We went to the pool and had a lot of fun. Rachel even went off the diving board. She really wanted to follow her cousins' example and they were jumping and flipping like crazy. But once she started she chickened out. So Trish walked Rachel out to the end of the board while I treaded water under the board. Trish eased Rachel off and dropped her the last foot or two, and I caught her. She really liked it, but didn't want to go again.

That evening we brought Trish's kids back home with us so they could spend the weekend with their Grandparents.

Friday morning we all went to the zoo. The older kids went on the Sky Trail, and the rest of us went to see the fish, snakes, lizards and turtles in the Herpaquarium. After that we went to the Splash Park. Then lunch and some time on the playground. We saw the new exhibit for the seals. We had a great time, and Rachel and Gabi wore themselves out. On the way home they both zonked out.

Toes

Rachel got a special treat today. She got her toenails painted by a professional.


I have a friend who recently moved to Louisville. She does toenails as her stay-at-home job. (You can check out her website at www.twittertoes.blogspot.com.) I'm not a potential client because I don't like my toenails painted. Rachel, on the other hand, is a big enthusiast of getting her toenails painted. So she had them done today.

A much better day

Just in case anybody was worrying about me, I just wanted to say that today was a much better day. This morning I had some people over with little kids, and the kids played outside in the sprinklers, the sandbox, and the jungle gym, and the adults talked. The kids had a great time, and wore themselves out. Rachel and Gabi both had great naps today.

This afternoon we went to the park to play on the playground. Hopefully that means they will go to sleep quickly tonight. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Rachel practicing her artistic talents

Playing in the sand

On the swing
For being "clingy" I saw Gabi's backside a lot.