The duck pond

Rebekah in her make-shift cape...

Luke got a new do- it's short and sporty and showcases his perfectly round head. That's our way of saying, yes, it's shorter than we anticipated. But doesn't he look oh so cute?

Nana, Rebekah, Luke, and I met Aunt Salsa (aka Aunt Sarah, but Rebes called her salsa last year when she was just talking) and her friend, Toni, at the duck pond. As Josh would say, this is Luke's classic "put-out" look- he gets this from my brother. However, Luke is not at all put-out- in fact, he was mesmerized by the ducks!

Rebekah LOVEs to feed the ducks- I heard her talking to herself, saying "No, it's not tiny enough," as she ripped the bread smaller. :) Great progress from the summer, when she threw whole pieces in.

Nana and Luke again

Me with Aunt Salsa

In related news, the kids are doing great! We have FINALLY figured out that many of Luke's fussies are due to constipation. The golden syrup from Scotland does the trick in just a few hours and he's a new baby. Thank you, Lord, for wisdom.

Luke and Rebekah ate their weight in lasagna tonight!

Rebekah strapped on her backpack and headed off to "school." Nana, always looking for teachable moments, asked her if she was going to obey her teachers because they were the bosses at school. Rebekah thought for a moment and decided she didn't want to go to school anymore!

Today I went in to her during nap time and said, "You need to be quiet and sleep." She replied, "I need to talk about my balloon." She did not nap. :)

In a tender moment, Papa searched for Annie and Rebekah snuggled up right next to him and they watched Annie, as Rebekah plagued him (in a good way, of course) with questions about Annie, Sandy, and the orphans, the not nice lady, etc...

On our walk today, Rebekah started singing "Who are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood...who are the people in your neighborhood...?" I didn't even know she knew that!

Today, she asked why I put her sweater on, to which I replied, "Evidently, you were cold." She then said, "What was I evidently cold for?"

Hope you enjoyed some snapshots of our daily lives!

Christmas in Victoria

I guess because these pictures document the only time I wasn't holding Luke for Christmas morning that explains how few pictures I actually got!

This is mid-gesture. Our girl uses her hands to talk almost as much as her never-ending words!

He LOVES to eat paper...who needs toys?

This was at the friends' house for dinner (Luke was probably stuck under the bed at this point!)- anyway, Rebekah is trying out Wii!!

This was at the grocery store this am- I loved the explosion of color! (Sadly, Rebekah just popped her balloon- each time, she cried... :( )

Fun updates:

Yesterday at lunch, Rebekah declared, "I can not eat because I am not comfortable in this chair." She was, in fact, in a real chair minus a booster.

She got up from her nap yesterday and said, "What do I smell basil for?" We were cooking a lasagna. Next Top Chef anyone?

Based on the number of Stars stuck to Luke's chin, he is indeed trying to get a food product into his mouth!! Yippee!!

Yesterday morning, Rebekah woke up singing "Row, row, row your boat..."- nothing before that.

Well, I hear my boy waking up! Have a great day!

Best/Worst Mommy Award for December 2008

Yesterday:

Rebekah and I were playing in Nana's car (one of Rebekah's favorite games). I smelled some gas and asked her if she needed to go to the potty. She, of course, said no. We kept playing. Then, she said she needed her jeans unbuttoned. I assumed she had an itchy bum and unbuttoned them. She then needed her zipper undone, too. I should have been suspicious at this point...moving on, she reaches into her panties and pulls out... a whole pile of poop!!!!!! Now, remember, we are in Nana's car- I should mention that the previous day I had left a Coke on her Turkish (read that VERY expensive) rug and it had gotten kicked over. So, afraid if poop were spread over her car I might never be invited back, I moved quickly. Clearly Rebekah was about to drop it all, so with cat-like reflexes, I reached under her hands and caught the various doo-doo balls as they tumbled from her smeared hands. One did go astray, but I sniffed it out and rounded it up, but not before Rebekah, in utter disgust, wiped her poopy hand across Nana's console. Praise the Lord that it was fairly easy to clean up.


Today:

Luke has been crazy-fussy (aka "unsettled" in Scotland) these past few days, and especially today. He napped very little, which is strange for him, and I will admit it has been very HOT here. He has gotten up sweaty a couple times! Anyway, we had plans to go to a family friends' house for dinner tonight. We decided we would nap him there for his 3rd nap. However, the pack n play is older and I couldn't get it undone, so we decided Luke could nap on a blanket on the floor. So, when he was ready, I took him back and laid him on the floor, next to the bed. He cried hard at first, but then stopped. We could hear him when he was crying from the living room, so when we couldn't hear him after a few minutes, all was well. However, we moved to the kitchen and out of earshot, I guess. When I took Rebes back to potty (praise the Lord this one went in the toilet), I heard him crying, pretty hard, again. :( So, I got her done quickly and went in. Bless his heart, he had rolled under the bed and was stuck and every time he tried to lift his head (to cry), he hit it on the bed rail! I pulled out a very mad baby- he was drenched in sweat, his hair was curled, and his face was beet red! I am glad to report that he was quickly consoled and is now sleeping peacefully in a crib!

So, best or worst mom? You decide.

Christmas in Dallas

We spent a day and a half with my family before coming to Josh's parents' house for actual Christmas day. We got some great time with my Mom, Dad, brother Billy, his wife Becky, and their daughter Riley Jane (15 mos). Riley Jane is the SWEETEST girl- she was giggly and precious. Just LOVE her and want her for my own!!

My beautiful Mom with Luke

My parents with all 3 grandchildren as Josh and I slept!

Riley Jane loving on Luke

Aunt Becky really is a great aunt! She brought a gingerbread house to do with Rebekah!! Rebekah LOVED the whole process and not surprisingly, was very meticulous with her candy placement.

My mom's aunt, Petie, joined the gang to say hi

Some cousinly love

Christmas in Dallas and a few from Victoria

Here are a couple more from Dallas...

My brother brought both girls whirly pops- Rebekah was interested, but Riley Jane was rarely more than 4 steps away from hers! :)

Billy and Becky with Luke Duke- yes, he's starting to turn on the tears!!

Josh found this vintage guitar online and excitedly got if for Rebes. She was pretty excited!

Billy with little man

My dad with Luke- babies rarely wear any kind of pants at my parents' house because they soooo love to squeeze their chubby thighs!

As I mentioned earlier, we traveled to Victoria (south TX) to see Josh's family.

Rebekah rarely leaves Papa's side. At dinner last night, after R was let down, but the rest of us were still visiting, she subtly approached Papa and asked, "Are you finished, Papa?" To which he replied, "Yes." She then said "Would you like to get down, Papa?" This was her way of asking him to play!

Josh's dad pastors a church here, so this was at the Christmas Eve service. On a side note, I was soooo impressed with Luke- he still takes a 3rd nap and he went right to sleep in the nursery's crib!

Don't even have words for this picture....

Rebekah with Aunt Sarah in the hat Sarah made for her

Aunt Sarah comforting Rebekah after a fall

Both kids slept thru the night last night! Well, Josh and I each gave Luke his paci after coughing fits, but that was all! R was only up at 6-something and Luke slept (or at least was quiet) until 8am. So, we're back on track! Praise the Lord!!