First Squash and Sitting...

Rebekah had her first butternut squash last week...


The long-awaited sitting shots!

This sitting pose inevitably leads to...


My aunt Korrin passed on this jumpy thing for the doorway- since Rebekah is 6 months old today(!), we decided to try it this week- she loved it!


Wow- she LOVES her dad!


Rebekah kickin' it at the mall in the Gap... (notice the wayward foot out of the confines of the stroller- classic Rebekah)...

Back Home...

We are obviously back home here in cold Iowa...we are just now starting to feel colder weather, altho it's not bad because the days are still in the 30's and it's beautiful! The negative temp's and cold winds on dreary days are when I'll need your prayers!

So, Rebekah has started bananas and butternut squash- still taking everything I put in her mouth, altho I realized that she wasn't getting as much of my milk b/c I was feeding her solids first, so we switched the order and the result is that she is eating fewer solids at breakfast, but the same at other times...hmmm...anyway, she is a great eater and getting better at holding the sippy cup (water). No teeth or anything, but she is sitting!! I am not at a point where I can leave her sitting all by herself w/o a protective barrier just so I can snag a pic or I'd have pics...next blog, I promise! Josh and I will work on it together! Other news, she is still getting over a cold- maybe her 3rd or so and has quite a runny nose. She has risen to the challenge of getting her nose sucked in that she doesn't scream in agony every time...what is it with moms so determined in picking their kids' noses?

Here are some good ones I thought you'd enjoy...

Josh gets home at 5:15 or so and he plays with Rebekah while I cook dinner (he gave me awesome knives and cookware for Christmas and his sister, Sarah, gave me a Rachael Ray cookbook, so I am loving cooking even more!). We have been having our first "family" dinners since we got home in that we all eat at the table together. Rebekah is still in shock that she's doesn't get her food shovelled in her mouth as quickly, but I think she'll survive. (fun side note- Rebekah LOVES getting her mouth wiped b/c she delights in licking the paper towel as it swipes by...)

We're still trying to figure her out and how to avoid 5pm fussiness- as you can see, Josh is the master!


Josh also bathes Rebekah while I do dishes (that's the way I like it b/c he gets more time with her, and honestly would I have thought to put a washcloth on her head or make her sit in a tub the day she learned to sit?!)

This was at the grocery store- I couldn't resist! Truly is there a cuter girl in the world? (the answer is no!)

More Xmas Pics

Rebekah's First Christmas!

Josh, Rebekah, and I headed out to TX for almost 2 weeks for Christmas and New Year's. We had a wondeful time with both families and loved showing off our precious little one! Josh says he's bringing a thesaurus next time so we can expand our calling of Bekah "precious" to other descriptive words, too... :) All in all, Rebekah was quite a good traveler and didn't deviate from her normal routine too much! I realized how flexible she was when we got back home and she immediately started sleeping 12 hrs at night again! She did great in Dallas and Victoria, but was awake early to greet everyone with very sweet morning smiles! Both sets of grandparents adore her and took great care of her.

My Family...my brother, Billy, his sweet wife, Becky, my parents Bill and Gayle, and us, of course.


Christmas day with my dad...


Flying in for kisses...


With my lovely mother...

In Victoria with Duncan, my in-laws' dog...


Just playin'...


With my mother-in-law, Phyllis...


With Josh's lil' sis, Sarah...


This is the Christmas dress Josh's parents bought Rebekah the day we found out she was a girl!

Love this expression!!!! (and her enormous headband ears!)

With my wonderful in-laws...

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!