Sippy Cup & Smiles

Thought ya'll might enjoy seeing Rebekah before we head off to visit family for Christmas. A few are just cute and some are in process of eating- Rebekah has not yet mastered the old sippy cup, but is learning quickly! Frankly, she'd rather play with it, as is her preference for most things!

2 New Things

Rebekah had her first non-cereal food yesterday and today- avocado!! Seems to eat what I put in her mouth so far!


Today was a beautiful day so Rebekah enjoyed her first face-forward stroller ride!


The sad thing for both of us was not seeing each other...so, while I narrated what we were passing, Rebekah occasionally checked to make sure I was still there! She has started to do this during storytime, too- I love how she tilts her little precious face towards mine- one of the wonderful moments of being a mom!

Santa's Little Helper

Josh, Rebekah, and I attended our church's Christmas Party last night and wanted to share little Santa with you!


See- she doesn't always smile!!

...or maybe it's just drugged-up Mom!!

(I was making a ringing sound to get that smile, but just hadn't recovered yet!)

All Bundled Up!

It was 14 degrees yesterday with a dusting of snow, so Rebekah and I got all bundled up before we went out- thought she looked cute! By the way, she seems to be feeling better, but early evening is still tough for her- lots of crying and swatting at the ear....please pray for her if you think of it, especially since we'll be on a plane in less than 2 weeks for Christmas!

Ear Infection

Being the incredible observer he is, Josh noticed Rebekah swatting at her left ear and kind of wincing in discomfort...she had kind of been "off" for a couple days, but not too fussy, so we never imagined that something was wrong! Josh encouraged me to take her to the doctor, which I begrudgingly did...I always feel like a hypochondriac when I take her in because nothing is usually wrong and it feels as if someone stamped my baby girl "fussy"! Anyway, much to my chagrin, Rebekah had a very swollen ear and was not real excited to have it looked at. However, in the midst of all this, she has been sleeping 10-12 straight hours at night and taking decent naps- what a trooper!

This is Rebekah at play even though her ear hurts!



Why eat rice cereal when Mommy's knee...and my own fingers are so good?


Nothing like taking care of 2 crying babies in the nursery!

For my mom!

This one's dedicated to my mom who has been asking for pics of the 2 of us for ages!

More Solids & Other Fun Things

As you can see, Rebekah is loving the extra food! While she absolutely refused formula from a bottle, she was tricked into it by eating it with rice cereal!

Tummy Time with Dad...

Rebekah is now reaching for and eating everything in sight...


Still a sucker for Dad!

Rebekah's First Rice Cereal!

We went to Rebe's 4-month appt and got her stats- weight:

13 lbs./ 40% length: 26.5 in/off the charts!

She's doing great and could use some extra chub (don't be fooled by her meaty cheeks- those are the only fat things on her!), so we started rice cereal the day after Thanksgiving! Here's the progression...

First time in her high chair & oblivious to the coming treat!


This is not what I normally get from Mom...


You mean I'm supposed to swallow?


It's not so bad, but can I help with the spoon?


I don't know...let me think about it...


More interested in the arm and attention coming at me than at the cereal...


All right, I'm kinda getting excitd about that spoon coming at me...


It still has such a strange texture...


This bib is pretty tasty!


Really, I think I can help!

Our Malone Family DC Trip

Josh had a conference this past week in Washington D.C., so right after Rebekah was born, we decided she and I would tag along and hang out in a hotel. It only took me a few minutes to realize that Josh's older sister, Rachel, lives there (she sings with a Naval group called the Sea Chanters) and we could see her...then I realized that this trip would afford Josh's parents an excuse to come, too! Little did I know that his younger sister, Sarah, would be in between countries (she's raising support to go long-term to Turkey) and would also be able to come!


Josh in front of the Washington Monument.

Josh and his dad, same place :)


The Capital


The Lincoln Monument

My good friend from Texas A&M, Michelle, who is great at stalking me :) and who hooked us up big time with a great restaurant experience and a WEST WING Tour!!!


The Malone clan...this is in front of the West Wing- most WH tours are of the East Wing, but Michelle used to work in the West Wing and was able to pull some strings and get us a great tour, including the Oval Office and Rose Garden.



Sarah, Josh, (me), and Rachel in front of the Rose Garden


Meeting Rachel's boyfriend, Pat, and his 2 children, Emilia & Cuale

Rebekah meeting her Great Aunt Virginia in Delaware...


What you've all been waiting for!




Rebekah with her Nana & Pop



Rebekah found her thumb right before the trip and learned to roll over from her back to her tummy, so now she can roll both ways!!


Just looking cute again...some of her expressions are hilarious!


Dad to the rescue on the plane home...seriously, who takes a baby on 4 plane trips in 1 week?!