Oh, glorious weather!

After many cold days, yesterday was absolutely perfect! Ethan, Rachel and I spent the day at my parents house and actually got to spend some time outside. I think poor little Ethan was about to go stir crazy in the house so many days in a row. Even though it was windy, it wasn't too bad on the porch so Rachel got to enjoy her first of many outdoor days. Ethan was very busy with his Poppa - they brough in firewood, went for a long wagon ride (which involves more pushing and pulling of the wagon than actual riding), did some swinging, played baseball, played on the slide, looked at the neighbor's dog and grilled some pork chops for dinner. I think my dad could be scraping bark off a tree and Ethan would think that was the most wonderful thing in the world and want to help. I have a feeling this summer will bring about the first of many fishing trips for the 2 of them.

And little Rachel is just doing great. She's had an upset stomach for the past couple of days, but nothing too traumatic. I think she looks so different now than she did 2 weeks ago and I just can't stop looking at her! She's a good eater and a really good sleeper, and she's just starting to have some good awake periods during the day where she looks around and takes everything in. I know it won't be long before she's being entertained by her big brother. While we did have a few trying days with Ethan in the beginning, he's been very good with her and I've found that he's very concerned with where she is. When he wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is see where Rachel is. Yesterday he thought she was in her room and I heard him in there crying saying, "Where's Rachel?" over and over. Sweet boy.

So, that's the scoop on the Starr family quartet for today. My mom and I will take Rachel for her 2 week checkup tomorrow and hopefully the doctor will just keep saying that everything looks great. Due to some scale differences at the hospital, we found out that her "official" nursery birthweight was 9 lbs, 14 oz. (seriously, how in the WORLD did 9 lbs, 14 oz fit inside me?!?) When we took her to the doctor Friday for a weight check she was at 9 lbs, 5 oz, and the doctor said he'd like for her to be back up to her birthweight at 2 weeks, so we'll see. It's quite funny because she already fills out most of her 0-3 month clothes, and obviously didn't fit into any of her newborn outfits. I have a feeling she and Ethan (who still wears 12 month pants) will turn out to be 2 very different children.