One heckuva cutie patootie

We had another stellar weekend at Casa de Toppall.  My sister, her husband and their 18 month old daughter came for a visit.  They landed on Friday morning and didn't go back home to Florida until Tuesday morning.  From Saturday morning to Monday evening they left Rachel with us and went to NYC.

Rachel has never been left overnight without one of her parents EVER!  Well, there is one exception to this -- it was one overnight stay at my mom's house.  But everyone knows that Mom-Mom is Rachel's favorite.  She'd prefer to be with my mom over her own parents.  I'm not kidding when I say this.  They have this crazy tight bond.  It's very cute and a little creepy. :)

This long weekend consisting of 3 full days and two nights could've gone bad, very bad.  I think we all had visions of Rachel crying non-stop wanting her mommy and daddy.  Or, Rachel refusing to go to sleep for her naps and at night.  We are happy to report it wasn't like that at all.  Rachel was a dream.  She was an angel the whole entire time.  She does a phenomenal job going down for her nap each day from 12:45pm to 3:30pm.  And come 7:30pm, she is back down sleeping thru the night until 6:45am in the morning. Honestly, you can't ask for a better sleeper.  Or a better behaved little girl for that matter. 

Ian and Sam had something new to bicker about.  It was all about Rachel this weekend.  Who got to sit next to her, who got to help feed her, who got to play with her, who got to push her stroller, who pushed her on the swings, and more. If it involved Rachel, my duo were quick to be by her side.

You forget how far your kids have come until you are thrown back in to the baby stage. It's been a long, long time since we've had to help the kids bathe, or use a stroller, or change diapers, or give sippy cups of milk, or help get dressed.  We are far from the days when everything comes to complete standstill because we need to be home for naps, or we worry about getting snacks and feeding them.  Even strapping in a car seat and getting in and out of the car is a thing of the past.  With Rachel, we dove in the deep end of the pool and picked up where Lori & Ben left off.  I'd like to think we did more than ok.  Rachel went with the flow, had a great time with her cousins and was up for all our regularly scheduled activities (flag football, religious school end-of-the-year program).   I think it can be best summed up as we are in the stage where we require less luggage to travel and my sister requires A LOT of luggage. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm exhausted.  But it helped that there was 4 of us and only one of her.

Here are some great pictures from our time together:

Meeting Rachel

 

My first attempt at meeting my new niece didn't go so well.  Sam and I flew to Orlando a good week after my sister's due date and she hadn't had the baby yet.  And despite being admitted to the hospital to be induced while Sam and I were still in town didn't produce the desired results either.  We flew back to NoVa on November 11th and Lori had the baby on the afternoon of the 13th. 

It was a long 5 weeks until I was back in Florida and could meet my niece.  We had skyped a bunch during the separation, but it wasn't the same.  Oh how I wanted to see her up close and get to hold her.  Finally, Saturday, December 21st arrived and it was time.  Rachel was worth the wait.  She is gorgeous!  Rachel is laid back, easy going and very content to let you hold her.  In fact, as long as she is in your arms, she is one happy little girl and stares at you endlessly, memorizing your face. 

To Lori and Ben's credit they are the not the typical first time parents.  They are very cool about Ian and Sam being near Rachel and will let her hold her without them holding their breath watching with worry.  I am impressed!

It was love at first sight for all of us.  Simply put, she is yummy.  You can't help but want to hold her and not put her down, like ever.  The kids and I can't get enough of her.  It is already hard for me to be living away from the family, it is going to be even harder being away from Rachel.  Babies grow and change so quickly.  I am going to have to make sure I have lots of trips to Orlando planned.

Lori and Ben planned the Baby Naming (Jewish ceremony where the baby is given their Hebrew name) for when we were going to be in town.  It was a beautiful party.

Lori and Ben gave the grandparents and Aunts a part in the ceremony.