Combining blogs...

I have another pseudo blog I have been adding kiddie updates too since Rebekah was a wee baby. However...since Peter has been born I've been thoroughly confused on where I need to put stuff. (It was designed for one child at at time...) It hasn't been updated since...hmmm...April?

So I will be adding in the posts from THAT blog over here...so I can have everything nice and cozy in one place. It'll be fun taking a walk down memory lane...

(Imported from the babababies website)

I forgot to tell this story about the birthday party.

This weekend we attended a birthday party. They had a pinata. Now, Rebekah had never seen a pinata before so I talked to her about it before the party. She knew you hit the pinata with a stick, and eventually it would open up and candy would come out.

When the pinata broke up, she ran up and grabbed a sucker. She was SOOOOO happy with the sucker and didn't bother to grab any other candy. (One of the adults did for her, thank goodness! LOL) She just walked around showing everyone her prized sucker!

I guess she is a content little girl and happy with what she has. I hope this continues The other kids of course grabbed as much as they could! But Rebekah was certainly the talk of the party. I wasn't near the area at the time (keeping Peter in the shade), and I had several people come up and tell me the story!

(Imported from the babababies website)

Thursday we had a small milestone. William was able to put Peter to sleep. Actually, Peter slept from 6:30 until the next morning...poor tired fella! It was a relief to all that he didn't cry the entire time until I got home. (Ha...he fell alseep just before I arrived.)

Peter has been grabbing stuff, watching his feet (which he finds completely fascinating) and smiling. He does smile a lot and is generally a happy baby. He seems to have only two modes though...happy and mad!

And Rebekah still gets upset if Peter is crying.

This morning, she went into his room (he was awake) and picked out a book. I went in there to get him up and ready for the day. She said "Don't pick him up Mama! I read to him!" And she crawled up on the rocking chair and began chattering away! LOL After a few moments she said "Ok mama, pick him up!" And I was given permission to change his diaper and get him ready.

HA! William walked in on the tale end of the conversation and said "Is princess Rebekah giving royal permission for prince Peter?" HA HA HA! I think it is great she takes such an interest in him and have worked to foster it as much as possible!

(Imported from the babababies website)

This weekend was very busy. Friday we had a baseball game, Sat I took the kids to the park in the morning and then the circus in the afternoon and Sun we had a birthday party.

The baseball game was fun, although we didn't really watch much of the game. We sat in the outfield, and Rebekah ran around and played with some of the other kids. She seems to make friends very easily! The funniest thing was when she brought some opened, half eaten cookies that she got from who knows where. She told me she wanted one. I'm glad she brought them to me first! I asked her where she got them from, and she would just point to them and say "Right there!"

Saturday morning William had a funeral to attend. We simply could not see taking the kids, so I stayed home with them. (Can't you picture Rebekah pointing to the casket and yelling at the top of her lungs "What's that Daddy?" We sure could!) We were intending to go to the circus in the afternoon, show time started at 2:30. This was a risky time, b/c sometimes she is not awake from her nap. So I decided to take her to the park to wear her out, in hopes she would go to sleep early. We went for breakfast at Panera (she loves their blueberry bagels) and then to the playground. My mom came with me, and brought Rebekah a cute little kiddie bat/ball. She told Rebekah "Hold the bat with two hands!" and when Rebekah missed would say "Good try!"

Well, then Rebekah determined it was my mom's turn. She said "Two hands gwanny!" Then threw the ball. Then when my mom missed she said "Good try gwanny!" And of course Rebekah had fun running around the playground. There were two little boys and their dads, and Rebekah played with them both. One of the little boys name was "Noah". Rebekah kept calling him "little boy", so I told her to introduce herself and ask him his name. The conversation went like this:

Rebekah: "My name is Re-re-bek-AH! What is your name?"

Noah: {blank stare}

Rebekah: "Hey hey! My name is Re-re-bek-AH! What is your name?"

Noah: {blank stare}

Noah's Dad: "Hey Noah, what is your name?"

Noah: {softly, I really only saw his lips move} "Noah"

Me: "His name is Noah. Can you say 'Hi Noah'?"

Rebekah: "Hi Noah! Hey mama, I said hi to the little boy!"

They had a great time chasing each other around and Rebekah was thoroughly exhausted by the time we left.

She had a great time at the circus as well. She told us her favorite part was the elephants, with an accompanying demonstration of what an elephant says. I think she enjoyed the entire thing, because there really wasn't a part that she wasn't completely interested in. The only time she got antsy was during intermission.

And the birthday party was for Elseigh. We talked extensively about the party with Rebekah, because I didn't want her to get upset that Elseigh was getting all the gifts. We explained we were celebrating her birthday (and would sing the song together) and that we were giving her a present and that there would be a lot of them there. She helped me wrap it up and did really great at the party. She even took a couple whacks at the pinata they had and came running back to me to tell me how she had whacked it. The party was at a park with a playground. Can you guess her favorite part? The playground of course!

This morning on our way to school she requested SEVERAL times we go to the playground. You'd think she never gets to play on one. Never mind they have great equipment at her daycare and she gets to play on it everyday twice a day!

(Imported from the babababies website)

Today is Peter's first FULL day at school. He went Monday and Tuesday for half days.

Surprisingly (and happily), he seems to be adjusting well. The first day he took an hour and a half nap (in a CRIB!) which was absolutely fantastic. The second day I picked him up as he was falling asleep.

He has been taking bottles nicely, and his teachers report that although he likes to be held quite a bit, he doesn't fuss too much. This makes me very very happy! I say -- so what if he likes to be held? What baby doesn't? :-)

I also found out today that his main teacher will be Ms. Sandy. She was around when Rebekah was born. Unfortunately, Ms. Iris no longer works there. If she was, you can bet your bottom dollar I'd be requesting her!

But Sandy was my first choice for Peter of the teachers there now. The other teachers are of course great, but I know Sandy a little better already. She is a Grandma herself and has been doing childcare for 25 years.

Peter is still very fussy at night in general. It has really been frustrating for William, because if I'm putting Rebekah to bed (which can take 30-45 minutes) Peter will cry the entire time. We just need to figure out a different bed time routine I think. No one wants Peter crying for that long! We'll definitely get it figured out!

(Imported from the babababies website)

Yesterday was Peter's second day at school, so I took the opportunity to spend some one on one time with Rebekah.

First we went to Panera Bread, one of her favorite places for breakfast. She loves their blueberry bagels. (I've tried getting her to taste other flavors to no avail.) A local radio station was there, and when we walked in they handed us gift cards. Rebekah LOVED hers and kept saying "Look what I have Mama!" When it came time to pay I had to convince her that it needed to go to the cashier! All in all, breakfast cost me $1.50. No bad!

We then went to the play ground at the county park. She loves this play ground and I tend to take her when it is just us.

There happened to be a couple geese. "Look Mama! Gooses!" she shouted when she saw them. We had to have a few talks about how we don't approach animals we don't know. "What are they doing?" she asked. I told her they were eating. She replied "No, they are playing with me!"

The geese flew off and she asked me where they were going. I told her they were going home. We played on the equipment for awhile, and the geese came back. "They came back! Why?" I told her because she was so much fun to play with! We stood and stared at them for awhile...she really enjoyed seeing them up so close and personal!

There is a jungle gym type thing with various slides. One of the slides is a tunnel slide. We were the only people on the play ground (probably b/c it was windy and nippy outside!), and so I let her try and climb up the slide. She had me sit at the end of it...dunno why. Well she stopped suddenly and looked at me in all seriousness and said "I have an idea Mama!" Then she cracked a mischievous smile. I said "You do?" She replied "Yes! I want down!" and climbed over me. I guess her idea was to go to this super tall slide and climb up there...which she had already done a few times. I was just amazed she knew what the word idea meant!

She was running all over the place as fast as she could, and I pretty much had to slow jog to keep up. She would shout "You runnin' like me?" And this developed into a game of follow-the-leader.

We played for about an hour and then I persuaded her to go shopping with me. I had to buy a gift for a gal at church having a baby. She enjoyed playing in the store.

When we returned to the school (I dropped her off so she could eat lunch, have her nap and play with her friends), all the other kids shouted "Bekah is here!" and cheered and ran up to talk to her. It was a feel good moment!

And, it is moments like that that give me pause in whether or not to move to the other side of town. (We are considering it, since we both work over there now.)

We had an absolutely fabulous day, and by the time she got home she was exhausted.

This weekend we have a busy weekend ahead of us. It will be William and I's 9 year anniversery. No big plans yet...we simply have too much to do so we probably won't "properly" celebrate until next week. Friday night we have a baseball game, Saturday we are going to a circus and Sunday Rebekah's friend has a birthday party. Whew! Hopefully we survive the whirlwind!

(Imported from the babababies website)

This past weekend we went to visit William's parents for the first time. Overall, the trip was great. I did realize what a mama's boy Peter is...I mean, I knew it before, but I think it is "worse" than I originally thought.

For example, every time I handed Peter over, I'd take two steps and he'd cry. LOL It was just amazing. William has been telling me it is ME he misses, but since he mostly held him in the evening I chalked it up the fussiness to end of the day tiredness.

A cute antidote...last night I handed Peter to William. Peter was facing me and was ok. I got up to go tend to Rebekah (leaving Peter's sight) and he immediately started to cry. I didn't realize the connection until William said something...but I thought it was kinda funny. Of course, he didn't find it so funny! :-P~

This extreme desire to be near me though does have me worried on how he will handle daycare!

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Last Tues I woke up and didn't want to get dressed. Mommy tried to convince me with several very cute outfits (including my reindeer shirt, which I love), but it didn't work. I wanted to wear my turtle PJs! So in the interest of time Mommy just told Daddy to let me go as is!

Well, then I picked out my shoes all by myself. I picked out my shiny black dress shoes, and was sure to top the outfit off with sunglasses.

Aren't I cute?

(Imported from the babababies website)

WHEW! It has been a whirlwind few months! I am just getting my barrings on being a mom of two!

Rebekah is a GREAT big sister! She loves her little brother and showers him with hugs and kisses daily. One day William told her good-bye and told me good-bye as he headed out for work. Rebekah shouted "DADDY WAIT! You forgot Peter!" So she definitely looks out for him.

It also really bothers her when he cries. One day we were up in the bathroom and Peter was downstairs with William, crying. Rebekah looked at me earnestly and said "Mommy, Peter is crying. Go get him." On another occasion Peter was crying and I asked her why did she think he was crying. She says "He wants boobie milk!" HA HA!

So Rebekah is adjusting nicely to being a big sister. She does get a little upset sometimes if we can't pick her up or hold her right away, but she gets upset with us and not Peter.

Gosh, I had more I was going to share but can't remember! ARGH! I'm sure I'll think of it later.

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

I have been in my new room for a few weeks now...and I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE it!!! I have even asked to go sleep on my lady bug bed several times! And in the morning I remind Mamma and Daddy how I slept on them the night before! I've only fallen out a couple times...and one time I was already back in bed by the time Mamma got in there! I haven't missed my old bed or room one bit!

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Happy new year everyone!!! Mamma, Daddy and I went to a party. I played with my friend Elseigh and we had a great time!!! I brought my stroller and dolly and Elseigh loved playing with it. I played with hers and we had fun!!! I managed to stay up until midnight and really enjoyed the fizzy grape juice Mamma let me drink. (I even got into the bottles to try to get myself more!)

The next day, Mamma and Daddy took me to all sorts of stores. There were lots and lots of beds, and some stores had couches. I loved trying to sit on them all. One store had couches and chairs MY size. There was one in particular I loved sitting on...Mamma and Daddy had a tough time keeping me off of it! And there was this rocking chair...I'd rock and rock and shout at Mamma "I'm rocking!!" They had a tough time getting me off that one too! I ran around and tried out all the different furniture...even though they told me not too! What good is it if I can't try it out???

We also sang a lot of songs (my favorite song of the day was Jingle Bells...you know "Jingle bells, jingle bells, HEY!"). I was sooooooo good that Mamma and Daddy bought me chicken nuggets and oranges for dinner! YUMMY!!

That night, Mamma gave me a bath. I don't really know what Daddy was doing...Mamma said something about a surprise. When it was time to get out, I didn't want to. I love playing with my new bath tub toys I got from Santa! He even brought me a train one! When the train works its way down the little ramp thingie, I can't help but say "Oh my goodness!" It is so fun!

Mamma told me if I got out and got dressed, there was a surprise waiting for me in my room. Well...I like surprises. I said "A surprise?" And Mamma said "Yes! But you have to get out of the tub!!!" So I got out very willingly!!!! Daddy took me into my room...and there was the COUCH that I had been playing on at the store!!!!!! Mamma said the look on my face was precious, because I was just shocked! I hopped down out of Daddy's arms and ran and sat on it. They barely got my PJs on...I sat on it all through story time and really wanted to sleep on it. I had trouble getting comfy, so Mamma insisted I go to sleep in my crib.

This morning I woke up and sat on it some more. I just LOVE my new little couch! It is yellow with flowers on it. It doesn't have a back on it and Daddy said it would go at the end of my bed in my new big girl room. I told Daddy this morning I wanted to show Elseigh my new couch! She will think it is cool too!

(Imported from the babababies website)

The day after...

Well, Rebekah did great opening presents. She got through about half of the ones we got her before she just stopped opening them. But we managed to get her to open all of them (including the NEW ones my family brought her) by the end of the day. Here are some snippets of funny things she did and said that day...pictures will be up soon.

*We bought Rebekah a doll set (stroller, pack n play and high chair). We also bought a doll for it (we originally intended for her to use one of her dolls she already had, but it was simply too large...so we got a smaller one at the last second). Her favorite doll that she plays with the "most" says stuff when each hand/foot is squeezed. (We actually bought it to help the dogs get accustomed to having a baby in the house...LOL) It has a bottle that goes with it, and when you put the bottle up to the baby's mouth it makes sucking noises and I think its mouth moves a little. The new doll we bought her came with some of those bottles with disappearing milk. It says stuff when you squeeze it, but that it is. Well she grabbed one of the bottles and put it up to the baby. She looks up at me and says "Its broken Mama!"

*The stroller for her dolls that she got, all day Rebekah would sit in it and say "Pusha me!" One time I was in the kitchen and turned around...and there she was sitting in the middle of the kitchen (quietly waiting for me to notice her) in her baby stroller. When I looked at her she exclaimed "Pusha me!" LOL

*She would push the baby in her stroller and run around and run the stroller into things. Amazingly, that baby stayed in most of the time.

*Towards the end of the day, when she STILL had 3 or 4 presents to unwrap, she walked over to me and said "New toy please". HA HA HA! We told her there were still a few...but to not expect this every day!!! LOL

*Ms. Jami brought deviled eggs to the party. I think Rebekah ate most of them...she also tried the ham and mashed potatos. This morning the leftover deviled eggs were still sitting on the counter, and Rebekah exclaimed "EGGS!!! I want EGGS!!!!" LOL When I took out the mashed potatoes (fixing my lunch for the day), she got all excited about them as well...and my ham. So for her "pre-Breakfast" that she has before we leave in the morning, she had mashed potatos and ham. I of course didn't let her have the eggs... ;-) (We didn't save them because they sat out for quite awhile before we remembered they were sitting out...)

*For dessert, she had three helpings of cool whip, plus some cool whip off William's plate. I figured it was Christmas...ha ha. They were small helpings that got progressively smaller as well...but she really enjoyed it. (Didn't like any of the pies either...she isn't a pie person right now...) I was pretty surprised that she actually used a spoon to eat it!

*Below is a list of things Rebekah received this Christmas (and I'm sure I forgot some things)...in NO particular order:
- Doll set (pack n play, stroller and high chair) & doll
- Mr. Potato head set
- Board games (hungry hippos and don't spill the beans -- she enjoyed playing both of them!)
- Wooden train set
- Thomas the train bubble maker for the tub
- Doctor kit
- bath paint set
- Bouncy horse
- Catapillar riding toy
- light up bear
- Several books
- Puzzle
- Set of new sheets & matching blanket
- New bowl/plate set
- Plastic doll with snap on clothes (and extra clothes)
- Thomas the train (flashlight? it chugs and choos)
- Thomas slippers
- Tea set
- Backpacks
- Mittens
- PJs

That is all I can remember. I'm sure I'm missing something though. As you can see, Rebekah had quite the haul!!! We will of course be cleaning out the old toy boxes to make room for the new stuff. Don't be surprised if we give you a call and ask if you want something that you have given her in the past. We feel that is the right thing to do. If you decided you don't want it - no worries!! They will be given to some sort of charity (Salvation Army and/or maybe her daycare -- they are always looking for new toys). Space in the Savage household is VERY limited, and we simply can not keep all the toys! :-) We of course appreciate everyone's generosity to our daughter!!

(Imported from the babababies website)

Wow, what a whirlwind year! We had a lot of fun at Rebekah's second birthday party...hopefully everyone did! If not...the birthday girl did and that is more important! A special shout out to Linda (William's mom). If it wasn't for her, the cake would have been a complete disaster.

Rebekah was recently moved up to the next toddler room. We also had THREE very important milestones JUST this week! First, she peed in the potty at daycare on Monday (first time ever there!). We were thrilled! She has peed several times at home already. Then Tues. night she did the big #2 in the potty at home. WOWZER! We were so happy for her. I personally missed it (was on the phone dang it...funny thing is, I'm NEVER on the phone! LOL), but got to see the "log". I feel lucky...the things we look forward too as parents? Then on Thursday she pooped in the potty at daycare!!!! So making lots of leaps and bounds. She hasn't asked to go potty quite yet...I mean, she has, but not regularly. We have been going through the motions etc, but are not what I would consider SERIOUSLY potty training until the new baby is here. Then we will probably work on making sure she goes every 2 hrs at home etc. But I have read quite a bit that kiddies regress when they get a new baby sibling. So I don't want her to move all the way up to big girl panties and then have to revert to diapers. That seems de-motivating to me!

We have been working on Rebekah's new big girl room. We found some bedding we love: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=110259&RN=46

We are currently working on the wall paper situation. It simply is not coming off (chemical remove has been tried). We believe they put up the wall paper without painting the walls first...or something. It isn't peeling or anything, so we are going to TRY painting over it. I don't know what else to do really...if it doesn't work...oh my. She much just be in an ugly room for awhile I guess...because the only other thing I can think of is to re-sheet rock the place??? If anyone has any suggestions, by all means, call me!!! :-)

This Sat. we are having a special girls day. William is running off with his golfing buddies. I have planned to go to a festival at a local church and maybe Halloween costume hunting for her if we get up early enough. I will probably also hit BB&B to see if they have the bedding locally. I'd like to avoid shipping costs if at all possible.

Hmm...oh, and Rebekah's language has EXPLODED lately. She just keeps coming up with new words all the time and some of them are REALLY clear. She has also started using small sentences...so we are so happy with her progress. Her 2 year appt isn't until Nov. We post-poned it so I could go to one appt and get her check up and shots at the same time. Just easier, less time off.

Ok, I think that is all for now. We have been so very busy! But a GOOD busy! We have made sure to spend LOTS of quality family time together...early in the summer we found ourselves running around and doing tons of things for everyone else. This of course is NOT good! So at least one weekend a month we plan some fun outing for our family. June we went golfing...can't remember July or Aug (but I know we did something, b/c it is a priority!) and Sept we went to the state fair. I'm thinking in Oct we might either go get family pictures or go to a pumpkin patch or something. I don't think we can squeeze both in on a Saturday. Our weekend time is precious, and we treasure it!

Love everyone, thanks for reading!

Miriam

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Whew, we had a busy weekend! Mama discovered the state fair had started, so we threw away our plans and went (which just involved chores around the house...she was happy to do so!). We had SOOOO much fun. My first favorite thing was a fountain. The water shot up through the ground. Daddy and I played until I was brave enough to play myself. I was soaking wet but I didn't care! I had a blast. Daddy had to drag me away crying.

Then later they took me to see all kinds of animals. I saw all kinds of chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese. They were so neat! Some of them didn't look like what Mama and Daddy told me they were, but they can read and I can't so I had to trust them. I also got to see some cows. One of them mooed at me, which scared me at first...but when Mama explained that the cow was saying hi I couldn't help but say hello back! In cow language of course! MOOOOooOooOo! There was also a Mama Cow and a baby cow. Mama tried explaining the baby cow was really a "calf", but it is way more fun to say "Baby Cow!" and point.

We also got to see goats. There was a petting zoo, and we were going to go in until Mama read a sign saying to beware of some diseases. Since I suck my thumb, Mama and Daddy were afraid they couldn't keep my hands out of my mouth after I touched them. So we just looked at them from the outside. Mama tried showing me a giraff and a zebra...but all I really cared about were the goats. Baaaaaaah!

I also got to play in a toddler car race. I think I won...at least, that is what Mama and Daddy told me. Everyone seemed to be going in their own direction, so it was hard to tell. I also got to see a doggie trick show, but got hungry half way through it. (Dad was disappointed to have to leave.) I ate my first corn dog on a stick. Mmmm, I ate the WHOLE thing! Mama couldn't believe how much I ate! (I told ya I was hungry!) I also got to play a game where I picked up ducks. I won a tiger, which I took from the man running the games.

It was a lot of fun, and totally wore me out. Mama forgot the camera, but took this shot with her cell phone.

(Imported from the babababies website)

Rebekah has been doing really well in her new Daycare room. She plays well with the other kiddos, and never seems to want to go home.

Halloween was fun. She was sick for the big party at church, but we did dress her up to hand out candy to the three kids that came to the door! HA!

We still haven't started Rebekah on whole milk. Even though I stopped pumping in Sept and we have been giving her frozen milk since then, we STILL have some left. Until that is gone, I see no reason to waste it.

She is into everything. You can stop laughing now, we all knew this day would come. Oh...and she has learned how to open Solomon's den. (We don't latch the door typically.) So she enjoys letting him out just after I get him back in.

Other cute things she has started doing...

- blows kisses when you say "I love you" - likes to user her fingers to make her lips make funny noises - honk her own nose

- Grab our cell phone and hold it up to her ear and say "hi". I've also heard her say "Hi Daddy". - Is saying something we can't figure out...apple? I pooped? we aren't sure...maybe both...

- also says "Hi", "bye" (which is HI without the H), Arf, Ivy, Mamma, Daddy...there is more. I just can't think of them right now.

Oh yes...this past week was her first full week in her new room. Previously, she kept getting sick (eye infection then flu). All better!

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Well I am officially a toddler now! Mamma keeps telling me I'm not her little baby anymore...I'm a BIG girl! I like being a big girl.

I had a lot of fun at my birthday party. I got all kinds of neat new toys! Mamma keeps wondering what she will do with them at Christmas...because she says I will get more then! Woo hoo! I love new toys!

I started visiting the transition room yesterday. I got to see Ryan...he remembered me! He came over and gave me a great big bear hug, almost knocking me over! I will be the only girl in my class for a little bit, until a new girl starts. (They aren't sure exactly when she is starting.) That is ok...I have a lot of fun with the boys! I did really well with my visit until I saw Ms. Iris when she came to pick me up. I really hungry (they eat a later lunch) and super tired (no more morning naps!). I almost fell asleep in my food! I can't wait until next week when I get to spend all day playing with all those new toys!

Grandma, Papa and Uncle Tom are coming to visit this weekend...yeah! I like it wihen the visit! I got to spend some time with Granny and Grampa last Sunday. Granny always takes me by the window to waive by when Mamma or Daddy leave. She was giving the doggies water, so standing by the window, and I waived bye-bye!

Last Sat Mamma and I went shopping for clothes. She still needs to get me a heavy coat...but we bought several outfits. She had no winter clothes for me! And it is a good thing she went...it has been chilly this week! I also got to see Uncle Joe and Christine dance. I clapped and squealed in delight at all the swirling and pretty dresses! (They do victorian dancing and dance at Cow Town, a local western musuem of sorts.)

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Wow, my first birthday is coming up! I have no idea what that is, but Mamma keeps talking about it! A lot has been going on. Last weekend I got to play with my friend Elsiegh. We had a BLAST! I followed her everywhere. She didn't mind until I tried stealing her paci's! Why would I do such a thing you ask? Well, if I didn't tell my Mamma I'm certainly not going to tell you! (Hee hee...they ARE fun to chew on!)

The weekend before that I visited Grandma and Papa. I had LOTS of fun!

This weekend I think Mamma and Daddy aren't going to do much of anything except play with ME! YEAH! I love spending time with them!

I have been sick this past week...I got the rotor virus. It didn't affect me tooooo bad, except I had a couple days with lots of poopie diapers. Mamma and Daddy gagged when they changed me...boy was it fun to watch! But I got to spend time with them while I stayed home from Daycare. And I got to visit the doctor. He let me play with his ear flashlight. And Granny even came and spent a day with me! Today I finally got to go back to daycare, and boy did I miss it! I'm told Gracie missed me too. Good, maybe she will play with me more!

Last night while Daddy was golfing I took 3 steps to Mamma and didn't fall down! She got so excited! She kept standing me up in front of her, but I would just sit down and crawl over to her. She kept saying "Walk! Walk!". Doesn't she know crawling is so much easier?

(Imported from the babababies website)

Whew, we have been super busy. Between the end of June and now, we have had only ONE weekend where we didn't have anything to do! It is exhausting, and I'm hoping things slow down soon...but am not hopeful. We have been more active in our church (which is a good thing), but it has also taken a lot of our time. Good thing we enjoy what we are doing (working with teens)!!! :o)

Rebekah is getting SOOOOO big! I can't believe her first birthday is coming up. William and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out a good gift to get her. I have been going back and forth between something fun and something useful. We'll see what we end up with! We aren't planning a huge party...probably have the grandparents/uncles and maybe a couple friends over. It isn't like she is going to remember it...as long as we have a good cake story we are golden!

The doc didn't find anything wrong with Rebekah at her 10 mo appt. The height is an estimate...the one the doc took was very wrong (due to a wiggley baby). We do know she is somewhere around 30 inch.

No other new milestones really. She has been working on walking, but isn't quite ethere. I hope she walks soon, I think it will be better than this crawling business. I mean, if she is going to be mobile it might as well be a useful form of it. Next week is her little friend Ryan's last week in the infant room. He moves up to the transition room after that. Rebekah has to be 1 AND walking to move up...so she better get a move on it! :o)

I know we have been terrible at keeping this site up to date, and I apologize. I blame it on the busy schedule. I'm hoping to FINALLY get all our photos from May to now uploaded to snapfish. After that happens, I'll be able to easily add new photo albums with ease. We also have some lovely professional pics done, that I hope to have posted soon.

(Imported from the babababies website -- 'Rebekah's Persepective')

Whew! It has been a busy busy couple weeks! Mommy and Daddy took me to meet some relatives in West Virginia. Boy howdy, there were all kinds of people everywhere to smile at! People loved talking to me and I enjoyed every minute of it! I was even told I should be a commercial!

I had a lot of firsts while there. I flew on a air plane for the first time. I slept mostly, and everyone on the plane was impressed at what a good baby I was. I'm always good! I don't know what the big fuss was?

While at my Uncle Charlie's I saw lots of stuff I wasn't suppose to get into. I started crawling everywhere trying to get into it, but Mommy and Daddy kept me away. Now that I have this crawling figured out, I am everywhere. I especially love to pet the doggies!

I have three new teeth in the past two weeks. Boy do they hurt! I have had trouble sleeping because of them. Mommy has been giving me lots of that yummy Tylenol stuff...mmmm it is so good! I like it when she gives that to me. Oh yeah...makes me feel better too!

I got to go swimming in a swimming pool for the first time in my Great Aunt Laura's pool. Honestly, I didn't like it at first. Daddy put me in the water in my life jacket, and I just screamed and screamed. I didn't like being on my back in the water...and actually was down right mad they even put that puffy jacket on me. I scowled at them until they took it off...after that, I was a happy camper!

This past weekend I went on my first boat. Mommy took me to a party and showed me off to some of the fellas she works with. They had a boat, and pulled people around on this little floaty tube. It was so strange. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and Mommy and Daddy looked weird riding around behind the boat. But at long as everyone had fun! I loved riding on the boat myself, especially with the sharp turns! Some of them made the boat look like it would flip over they were so sharp! But I knew I was safe cuz Mommy and Daddy put that pesky life jacket on me. I tried scowling to get them to take it off, but it didn't work this time. They told me I had to wear it if I was going to be on the boat. I hate that thing...

(Imported from the babababies website)

Wow, I haven't written anything in quite awhile! So here it goes!

Rebekah has a follow up appointment today for an ear infection she had about a month ago. (They like to take another peek 4 wks later to make sure it clearead up like it is suppose to.) She has been tugging on her ears a lot, but she is also teething. I have read that babies do that sometimes because the pain runs up along their jaw lines. I hope it did clear up.

Incidently, she hasn't been sick that much. She has had a few runny noses, two ear infections and that is it. In her room, they have had bronchiolitis, strep throat and the roto-virus. I've been happy that she has been so healthy, and I attribute this to two things. The first thing is God. I definitely think he has blessed us in this area. The second is the breast milk. I think breast feeding is a major contributor to her healthiness...I guess I like to think this because I work so hard to make sure she continues to get it!! It probably really is just all God! HA!

Rebekah has been eating lots of solids. I can't say I'm totally happy with how much she is eating...mainly the daycare has insisted on feeding her so much. Her milk intake has been severely affected, and I am working with them to change that so that everyone is happy. I am of the school of thought that breastmilk should be her primary nutrition until she is 1. The solids are just for her to practice eating...which she is doing extrememly well at by the way! She doesn't eat as much and nurses more on the weekends, which makes me feel a little better about it all. We still do NOT feed her sweets, fish, nuts of any kind, dairy of any kind, citrus, or honey. We have been VERY careful about what we feed her, as we want to start super healthy eating habits now. Maybe they will stick with her in the long run. I imagine we will be picky about what she eats in the long run...just just until she is a year! :o)

On the eating front, she can pick up items and put them in her mouth. She does this VERY well, except if the item is squishy. If it is, she ends up squishing it between her fingers...so cute! So I have been giving her more squishy items (such as peas) to play with for practice. She can also take a spoon (with food on it) and put it in her mouth with a small amount of help. If the item she is eating is pasty (i.e. will stay on the spoon fairly well) she does fine by herself. Otherwise, the spoon ends up upside down. We have also introduced the sippy cup. She is doing ok with it...she hasn't mastered tilting her head back.

As mentioned before, she IS getting her bottom two front teeth. I am very saddened at loosing her gummy smile and happy that she is progressing (OF COURSE!). She is also able to stand holding onto something (say the side of the couch) unassisted for about 10-15 seconds at at time. It is rapidly increasing, and with her lack of interest in crawling, I'm betting she is going to skip straight to walking. She loves to walk up you as it is. She has also partially pulled herself up to a standing position on more than one occasion. By partially...I mean she was sitting on my leg and "stood" grabbing onto the back of the couch.

And in OTHER news, we got a NEW couch! It won't be here for another 10-12 weeks. :o( It is a sectional with plenty of seating...and no humpy back. Those are hard to find. It DOES have a sleeper in it. I didn't really want a sleeper, but we were told it was the same price either way. Oh well!