Apples, Ice Cream, and Wagon rides...oh my!

Andrea and I trade kids on Tuesdays and I have both kids in the afternoon for naps and play time. I was taken by this moment where they plopped down right next to each other to enjoy apples!

What won't Rebes do for some ice cream? Yes, she did get completely on top of the table by the end of the evening...and that is my ice cream Josh is feeding her- he had already eaten all his!!

Also yesterday- Rebekah is starting to "pretend" a little- she found Auntie Rachel's bunny (the one she made for Rebes) and put her in the wagon and gave her several rides. It was the first time Rebekah mastered the wagon-pulling. She was very determined to go everywhere ungated, even around the coffee table with some pretty sharp turns...oh, that girl! I am amazed by her persistence- she doesn't fuss about it, she just keeps doggedly at something until it goes her way- very much like her daddy.

More Fall Fun

Rebekah loves pumpkins!! She was very excited when she saw such a large assortment at our local grocery store!

Yesterday, we gave in and raked a little bit! While Rebekah was not interested in using the baby-sized rake, she was very interested in the process as a whole. It took about 3 second for her to realize that something fun was going on...she immediately plopped in the middle of the leaves and insisted on being dragged around on the tarp! She had an absolute blast rolling around in the leaves, as well as throwing leaves over her head!







This was at a street Oktoberfest shindig- thought she looked pretty in the mums...you know, she smiles ALL the time, but never for the camera anymore! ;(


Apparently, we have a water/fountain fetish these days...it was chilly, so I had to make sure she didn't run into the water, but Rebes was super-excited about the fountain.

Trying to get Rebekah to pose is always difficult! This is very typical!
This was her 2-inch long bruise from slamming into the door frame! It was awful...
I had to pull over after realzing that Rebekah had found and opened my lipstick...she was devastated to lose it.

We are still amazed at our little genius. We are learning to give Rebekah the benefit of the doubt- she was barking at a field of cows and Josh tried to correct her with a moo, but she insisted. Finally, we saw a sheepdog in the corner of the field and that was what had caught Rebekah's eye! Similarly, Rebekah has started consistently mooing as we pass our favorite ice cream store- we are assuming that she remembers their cow motif. Just to throw a little perspective in, tho, she does moo at giraffes, too...? Rebekah is also learning all her friends' names and ours, so that is fun! She also points out her grandparents by name in pics to her babysitters! We are working on her aunts and uncles and niece for the holidays....

Our Little Pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch

A little Dada time just for fun...

Last Monday we enjoyed a trip to the Orchard (R calls it the Ocho) to pick a pumpkin. Those of you who know us well can picture the trip well- Bunny and I sat around touching close specimen, while Josh examined EVERY pumpkin- twice- to find the perfect one.








Bath time...bubbles have transformed Rebekah's life...if I ask her if she wants a bath, she takes off toward the bathroom, tries to climb in the tub fully clothed, while chanting "bubbles..."

Dallas Part 2: Rebekah in Action!

I have to mention a few things I didn't get to last post...you may remember that I'm 13 1/2 weeks pregnant... ;), so when we flew in, Josh asked me where I wanted to eat...he was incredibly amused at my shy proposal of IHOP! I have never, ever asked to eat there and probably won't again, but pancakes and eggs sounded awesome!

When we got home, I was so impressed by Josh's servant heart towards me...he knows I go to great lengths not to come home to a dirty house, so he had emptied all the trash, including bathrooms!!!, run and emptied the dishwasher, done, folded, and put up the laundry (and most of it in the right place, too!), and straightened the whole house! I was so blessed! Plus, there were 2 books wrapped in bows waiting for me on the bed, 2 he thought I'd enjoy! I'll get back to ya on those in a later post...

Since being home, Rebekah has asked for all her grandparents repeatedly, even in the nursery yesterday, where thankfully my good friend Amanda was able to tell her that they were in TX. R especially loves to ask for Papa... :(...it makes me sad not to be able to produce these precious people for her! So, we reviewed them online! I showed her pics of these recently-visited family members and she scored a 100 in id-ing them by pointing to the correct person!

We have also been reviewing her friends' names...she is especially fond of Caaaa-sey (a very sweet young guy in our ministry), Grace, and Car-ter. She is acquiring new words EVERY hour, especially if they correlate with obtaining or eating something! Most mornings, we walk around the house and she verbally labels all the items she knows and then we learn some new ones. I am shocked at how much she picks up and remembers!

Today we went for our monthly ob-gyn appt for the new baby...R visited with every person in the waiting room, even identifying bare knees and elbows...fortunately, they were all patient with her! Good thing since most were expecting babies! ;) Even Lori our doctor was amazed at 2 things- her resemblance to Josh and her lack of reservation with strangers! As for Baby #2, (s)he is doing well! It was hard to find little peanut's heartbeat b/c (s)he was so on the move!!! Not another wiggly one, we laughed...

p.s. It is jacket weather here!!! It was 91 on Sunday and the highs were low 50's yesterday...I thought TX was weird...

Onto the pictures! These were sent with love form Nana!

This is the quintessential picture of Rebekah!- on the move!

I call this one "trouble"- looks like she's onto something...

This is her very serious face. It's funny- dependent upon her mood and the surrounding environment, people either observe how serious she is or how happy and social! We have determined that R is a very happy little girl who LOVES people, but when she is learning something new, such as acquiring a new word, she is very contemplative...


I mentioned before that R associated Grandmama with her purse, so GM donated a gold clutch to the cause, filled with all kids of fun things which could be pulled out and replaced...nothing, however, compared with GM's real thing....it was a sore subject all around...

Another fun one of my dad oohing and awing over precious Baby Riley (Rara to Rebekah)

Apparently, R wanted to go outside with my dad...Becky's blog has a priceless pic of Rebekah pressing her whole face against the glass (plus many more of sweet Rara)

I love this one of Rebekah...it took me a while to figure out that Rebekah favors Nana! I thought this was a good one!
Nana the librarian reading to her...

Our trip to Dallas

Rebekah and I spent the last week in Dallas with all 4 of her grandparents! We had a great time and ate lots of yummy food! Of course, Rebekah's obvious genius was noted with great delight!

She learned that each of the 4 grandparents were "good" for something-
Grandmama (my mom)- aka "Mama"- purse- Rebekah asked to go thru her purse every time she saw her

Grandaddy (my dad)- aka "Dada"- side- R asked to go outside with him to see the turtles, which she also asked for by name

Nana (Phyllis)- aka "Nana"- glasses- R looked for her glasses and asked for them even tho she was repeatedly told no touch (similar to her purse experience)

Papa (Mike)- aka "Papa"- there wasn't a word for Papa, except that he was her fave this week- she would look for him and ask for him by name frequently even tho he was the least familiar- we attribute this to his similarity to Josh. She also assigned her toy ladybug to Papa's safekeeping. If ever Mike were to put it down, she would bring it right back to him. Fun side note- when we returned from TX, Rebekah was perplexed at seeing her Dada, then she squealed his name excitedly...then she examined his face with great seriousness and said questioningly, "Papa?"

Rebekah learned so much so quickly- it was amazing!

With her 3rd cousin, Olivia...

With Papa- notice the plastic ladybug at his side...

With Papa on the stairs...

2 of my college roommates- Tammy, her 11-week-old daughter, Isabella, Kathryn, her 9-mo-old daughter, Sophie, and us...all 3 of our girls have Grace as their middle names!

My brother Billy and his wee one, Riley...

Me with Riley...she was a sleepy little cuddlebug!

...add Becky...

Apparently, R still remembers "so big"....

With my dad...
We weren't very good at taking pics, but that's what my mom sent me, so at least we have these!