ahm....

Rachel has picked up the conversational interlude "um" which, in her voice, comes out as "ahhm..."

A sampling:

Me: Rachel, what do you think I should wear to work tomorrow?

Rachel: Ahhm...jeans.

I cracked up.

Another conversation:

Me: Rachel, are you a baby?

Rachel: Nah...

Me: Are you a toddle?

Rachel (beginning to get annoyed): Naahhh.

Rachel (thinking about it for about one second): Person!

Wonderful weekend with Amanda & Jenn!

Rachel's aunts, Amanda and Jenn, came to visit this weekend and we had such a great time, we all agreed that all-girls weekends are much better when Drew isn't around.

KIDDING!

Really, we had a blast. Rachel stole Jenn's heart when she raced over to her and threw her arms around her legs. When Jenn carried her around at the park, Rachel put her head on her shoulder and I could tell Jenn was very moved.

Rachel spent time on the teeter-totter with both and looked perfectly content. Then they helped her walk on the "balance beam " -- really a narrow metal ledge -- at the play structure at Laurelhurst Park.

She went down pretty easily for a nap, and Amanda and Jenn and I had cheese and crackers while I baked cookies for a memorial service on Sunday for my friend's husband.

After Amanda and Jenn left on Sunday, Rachel and I visited the local farmer's market -- much more manageable and less crowded than the main market at Portland State -- and she was content to hold my hand and taste samples of peaches and strawberries. "Hold mommy's hand," she says more often; I wonder if she notices Drew's absence?

Then we went to the memorial service at a local coffee shop. Rachel was fantastic -- she played in the corner with a bunch of toys they had, then when she started getting restless I fed her two chocolate hazelnut cookies I had baked -- and she loved them! That bought me enough time to have hurried conversations with some folks from the Oregonian before we left for naptime. Rachel directed me; she said, "go home, take nap," and that's when I knew it was time to leave!

Then we went grocery shopping and I actually had time to make us a nice meal for dinner Sunday -- part of which she ate! She liked the brown rice and pan-fried chicken. I was stunned.

So far, single mom-hood is going well.

Long-term care insurance

This is one of the benefits that Willamette University provides. But based on Rachel's behavior tonight I wonder if I'll need it.

In the park, after I wiped her face and hands clean when she demolished a bag of trail mix, she took the wipe and announced she wanted to clean Mommy's shoes. She wiped my legs and my sandals.

Then, at home, she insisted on taking my sandals off and putting them in her drawer. Then she put on my slippers and tried to get me to wear her crocs, which I couldn't fit into. She can now walk around in my slippers.

If she sees me yawn or wipe my face, she'll say, "Mommy tired?"

It looks like I will be taken care of in old age, after all.

I'm not the only one in this household with a job

Rachel announced after school today that SHE is employed as well. When I asked her if I should wear jeans to work on Friday (everyone is dressing casually at the university because it's the summer), she said yes.

Then she added, "I got a job, too!"

"Really, Rachel?" I laughed. "What's your job?"

She was silent. But I wouldn't have been surprised if she had answered, "playing!"

She has taken to doing something cute after I tuck her in her crib at night. Tonight she said, "airplane go home." (she saw and heard an airplane while we were having dinner).

Then she said, "sun go home" since it is slowly getting darker at night when I put her to sleep.

an unexpected treat

Drew was all set to leave this morning, but one thing led to another, and when he found himself still packing the rented SUV at 4 p.m., he threw in the towel, called me at work and said he would stay another night and leave TUESDAY instead!!

So, we're going to sit down in a half hour and talk about how my first day at work went. It went fine, which is to say that academia is a LOT different from the hard-ass, take-no-prisoners atmosphere of a newsroom. Lots of kindness, although things will definitely pick up when the semester begins I'm sure.

Rachel's life in daycare/school

Here's what her report said on Friday:

Rache had a happy day today! Lots of smiles, great listener and loved walking backward telling her friends, "Follow me..Follow me..."

Too bad she'll only be there another month. She starts at a YMCA program in Salem in September. It seems nice -- all the Willamette University professors' kids go there, as did the son of our former governor, John Kitzhaber -- plus it will enable me to squeeze in a workout at lunchtime without worrying that I won't be putting in enough hours. Plus, no more dashing out the door at 5 p.m. like I'll have to do this whole month to get to St. James by 6 p.m.

new car seat!

We finally picked up Rachel's NEW CAR SEAT today! This is the seat that will last her until she's 8 years old and no longer needs a seat. It converts to a booster, which is why we'll be able to keep it so much longer.

It felt like a milestone, so I told Rachel to say, "bye-bye baby car seat!" several times. On the way home she chattered away to herself and a couple of times broke into what I call the "chicken song." It's composed of Rachel tunelessly humming, "backa ba, backa ba, backa backa backa backa backa ba...." which sounds to me like a chicken!

She now has a repertoire of songs she loves Mommy to sing. On the way to the car seat place she requested, "sunshine," and "fly away." And at naptime she wanted "yellow submarine" but that is a daddy song. Clearly I need to figure out the songs Drew sings and learn the words. On the other hand, it may be better if only he can sing them, since that gives her something to look forward to when he comes home to visit.

By the way, we're holding onto to the old car seat just in case...:)