Christmas with the Voogts

We celebrated Christmas with Justin's family yesterday. It's been a while since we've had all the Voogts together. It was fun to see everyone. Unfortunately Rebecca caught the bug that's been going around the Holleboom family. So we had to take her to the Dr. in the morning. And she wasn't quite herself at the party. We opened gifts, had a nice ham dinner and visited for a while. Rebecca got lots of great toys. She loves her John Deere tractor from Grandpa :) She "dances" whenever it plays "Old McDonald." She also got a wagon from Grandpa and Grandma. We're anxious for spring so we can try it out. Aunt Shannon knitted Rebecca a cute bonnet. Grandpa and Grandma Voogt stayed with us Mon. and Tues. nights. We're glad they got to spend a little extra time with Rebecca. We hope they don't catch the bug, though.

Rebecca had a pretty rough night last night. She slept (on and off) in Mommy's arms from 10pm to 4am in her rocker in the nursery. Now she's in the living room rocking chair with Daddy. She can't breath well if she lays in her crib. Even with cough syrup and Tylenol she's still struggling. Hopefully we'll be past the worst of it in a few days. Poor little girl.

New Table

Check out the table and chairs Mommy and Daddy got me for Christmas! I'll have so much fun playing here in years to come.

Merry Christmas!!

Rebecca celebrated her first family Christmas on Wed. She was more interested in eating the wrapping paper than taking it off the present, but it was still fun. She got some fun toys from Mommy and Daddy.

On Thursday we celebrated with the Van Heukelums, Mary's extended family. Rebecca got a beautiful necklace with her birthstone from Great Grandpa and Great Grandma. I'm sure she'll love wearing it when she's a little older. She enjoyed seeing everybody. Rebecca likes to watch and take it all in.

On Friday we traveled to Grand Blanc for the Holleboom party. It was great to see everyone. All of the grandkids were excited for their presents and to see each other. Rebecca did really well with the traveling and skipping naps. She got lots of fun toys. She particularly likes her keys from Uncle Dan :) Rebecca also got a beautiful wooden chair from Grandma and Grandpa. She'll be able to use that for many years. It was sad to say goodbye, the day always goes by so quickly. Hopefully we'll see everyone again soon.

We'll be celebrating with the Voogts next Tuesday. We're looking forward to seeing them. Grandpa and Grandma Voogt will be here for a few days, so Rebecca will have lots of time to show off for them :)

After the last party we're looking forward to a few quiet days together as a family. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you many blessings in the new year.

Rebecca also tried Cheerios and banana bread for the first time this week. She's slowly getting the hang of chewing. It'll be fun to have her eat more and more of what we're eating. So far she likes everything she's tried :)

Be sure to check out all the new pictures in the December album and the Christmas album.

Christmas Cookies

Rebecca helped Mommy make Christmas cookies Sat. and Sun. She really liked putting her fingers in the dough and frosting the cookies. And she made a special cookie for Daddy :) She got to try a little piece. I don't think she was quite sure about the texture since she's never eaten anything not pureed, but she seemed to like the taste. We'll be trying more "solid" foods this week. Rebecca finally cut her fourth tooth, so she has 2 on top and 2 on bottom. Sufficient for chewing :)

There are more cookie pictures in the December photo album.

8 Months Old

Our little girl is not so little anymore. She seems so grown up :) Rebecca has changed a lot in the past month. She can sit on her own. She rolls all over the place. She isn't quite up to a full crawl, but she can get where she needs to go :) More like an army crawl. She'll be cruising around any time now. She does lots of push ups and rocks on her hands and knees. She can stand on her own when she's holding onto something. Rebecca especially loves to stand up on her rocking toy ;) She's gonna be quite the dare devil (like mommy :). She is saying more "words." She's almost got "da da" down. She loves to read and listen to music. This week she got her first top tooth. And the second one will be through any minute now :) That will make 4 total. We'll be thankful when the teething is done for a while again. Rebecca is eating more solids and so far likes most food. She is around 27" long. And weighs around 21 lbs.

We're excited to celebrate Rebecca's first Christmas next week and the following week. She'll have 4 celebrations, so hopefully she likes to open presents :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Rebecca helped pick out her first Christmas tree on Saturday. She bundled up in her new coat and hat...even if the coat is quite big. We decorated the tree yesterday. Rebecca got to put the first ornament on the tree. So far she likes to look at the lights. Now that she's getting more mobile we'll see if she tries to get a closer look :) We are excited to celebrate Rebecca's first Christmas in a couple weeks. Hopefully she'll have fun opening presents :)

New Dress

Rebecca just wanted to show off her new Christmas dress that she wore to church this morning :) She got to spend time in the nursery...with Mommy. She had a rough night last night and wasn't in the mood for strangers today. We tried, but Rebecca just wasn't having it. She cheered up when Mommy arrived, though. She is cutting her top two teeth. Hopefully they'll be through soon and Rebecca will be back to her usual happy self.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Holleboom family yesterday at our house. It was our first time hosting. It was fun to see everyone and spend some time catching up. Rebecca enjoyed playing with 2 of her cousins and spending time with aunts, uncles and grandparents. Mary made her first turkey (a 20 pounder!). It turned out really well. The rest of the feast included mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (or dressing since it wasn't cooked in the bird), squash, green bean casserole, applesauce, pink salad, rolls, corn souffle and cranberries. Grandma Holleboom brought pumpkin pie, apple pie, cheesecake and brownies for dessert! Something for everyone.

Rebecca did well with all the commotion and unfamiliar faces. She even sat with Uncle Dan for a while. Not sure he resisted playing with her pigtails, though ;)
We are thankful for such a wonderful family and for a day we could spend focusing on the blessings God has given us. We should celebrate each day as a gift from God.

Now it's time to get ready for Christmas :)

Be sure to check out all the Thanksgiving pictures.

Visit to Webberville

We made a trip out to Webberville yesterday to see Uncle Ryan and Aunt Shannon. We had dinner with them and visited for a bit. Rebecca had fun playing with them and seeing some new surroundings. Nursing was a bit challenging for Rebecca, as is usually the case in a strange environment. But she managed to eat enough before we left and fell asleep about 2 minutes into our drive home :) It was good to see Ryan and Shannon. And we got to try some tastey Hungarian food :) We're looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas.

Visit to the Farm

Rebecca and Mommy took a trip out to the farm to visit Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van yesterday. We enjoyed tea time with them and then chatted for a bit. Rebecca had fun rolling around in the living room. She wasn't quite sure about unfamiliar faces, but both Great Grandpa and Great Grandma did get a chance to hold her. Great Grandma gave Rebecca a doll with a blanket she made. Somehow she manages to still knit even with failing eyesight. It's a very special gift. We'll be seeing them again next week when they come to our house to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Rebecca also tried out her new slippers yesterday. They keep her feet nice and warm.

New Car Seat

Rebecca has outgrown her infant car seat already. We had her new convertible car seat inspected on Monday and got to try it out yesterday with a trip to Target. Rebecca looks like such a big girl in her new seat. Hopefully she likes it as much as she liked her infant seat. We'll see if she sleeps in it when we take a longer drive later in the week. Rebecca also got to try her new hat and mittens from Grandma Voogt.

7 Months Old

Our little girl is getting so big! She's 7 months old today. Rebecca is so much fun right now. She likes to roll around, scoot backwards, attempt to crawl, look out the window, bounce up and down (she discovered her knees:), stick her tongue out, make lots of noise and study faces. She has been eating solids for a few weeks now. So far her favorite food is prunes :) Her most recent new foods were homemade pearsauce and squash (from our garden). Rebecca weighs a little over 19lbs. and is about 26 1/2" long.


We will be visiting Uncle Ryan and Aunt Shannon in Webberville (just outside of Lansing) this Saturday. We haven't seen their new house yet, and they haven't seen Rebecca in a long time. We're excited to spend some time with them. We are also looking forward to celebrating our first Thanksgiving with Rebecca next week. The Hollebooms and Great Grandpa and Grandma Van will be coming to our house to celebrate.

We are so thankful for this little bundle of joy God has blessed us with. And thankful for our wonderful family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Be sure to check out the most recent pics and videos.

Korhorn Wedding

We went to the wedding of one of Justin's cousins last night. It was the first time we have gone out without Rebecca since she was born! It felt strange. Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom watched her during the wedding. Mary came home after the wedding to feed Rebecca and put her to bed while Justin went to the reception. It was short, but it was nice to have a little time out.

Rebecca got to spend time with both sets of grandparents this weekend. It was fun to see everyone.

Go Pack Go!

Rebecca wanted to help Daddy cheer on the Packers yesterday. She already has her own Packers gear. Now we just need a football for her :) Unfortunately they lost. But there is always next week. About the only time Rebecca catches a glimpse of the tv is when sports are on. So she's bound to be a sports fan like Mommy and Daddy :)

She is having a hard time adjusting to the time change, so she struggled with her naps yesterday. She napped in Mommy's arms during church and Daddy's arms after lunch. She's becoming quite the cuddler when she's sleepy. She'll give you a big hug around your neck and put her head on your shoulder. So sweet. She was up before 7 this morning (normally sleeps until 8:30). Poor thing just doesn't understand what's going on.

Rebecca is spending more and more time on her tummy and working on getting on all fours. She's anxious to start crawling. She's also getting much better at walking around when you hold her hands. She's getting speedy. We better hurry up and finish baby-proofing the house!

Tick or Treat!

Rebecca and Mary visited Justin at work yesterday for trick-or-treating. All of the engineers bring in candy, and their families come dressed up. It's a fun, safe way to trick-or-treat. And you get to meet co-workers' families. Rebecca dressed up as a butterfly. Everyone thought she was adorable (of course:). The costume was pretty hot, though (fleece), so we had to gradually take it off (take off the hood, open it up, take off her socks, take off the top). We had to make a little pitstop at Justin's desk for a big dirty diaper. Those prunes sure make things interesting. At least she kept her costume clean. It's always fun to visit Justin at work and see what he's working on. Plus it can't hurt to expose Rebecca to the world of engineering early on :) With parents, uncles and grandparents as engineers she's bound to have some engineering in her blood.

In the evening we passed out candy at home. Rebecca didn't get to see many trick-or-treaters because she went to bed. We had an ok turnout. But we still have plenty of candy left. Maybe in a couple years Rebecca will be big enough to go trick-or-treating on our street.

Today Uncle Kevin, Aunt Sara and cousin Carson are coming to visit. It will be fun to spend some time with them. Then tonight we get to see how Rebecca handles the time change. Should be "fun" to get her back to a normal routine.

Prunes

The face says it all :) Not quite sure about a new taste. After the first few bites Rebecca did start to enjoy them, though. And hopefully they'll help her tummy.

First Solids

We gave Rebecca her first solids yesterday! We decided to start with plain oatmeal (no fruit added) and see how she did with it. Once we got the bib away from her (she wanted to eat that:) and got the oatmeal to her mouth she opened wide. She loved it! She hardly even made a mess because she gobbled it all up. We'll probably stick with plain oatmeal for a few days. Then we'll try a fruit or veggie. It could be coincidental, but Rebecca had a big dirty diaper about 15 minutes after she ate the oatmeal. Maybe the oatmeal alone will be enough to help out with that. And I'm sure the fruits and veggies will help even more.

Rebecca had her first experience being left with Grandma yesterday. Mary had an eye exam (which showed healthy eyes!). Rebecca did pretty well. She read and played with Grandpa and Grandma. Then they went for a walk, and she took a little nap. Mary came home earlier than she anticipated...only gone about an hour. Rebecca gets both stranger and separation anxiety, so we were happy that she did so well. She is starting to get to know who Grandpa and Grandma are, so that helps.

Tomorrow we'll be shopping for a new car seat for Rebecca. She's only a few pounds away from the weight limit on her infant seat. We're also going to stock up on baby-proofing items. Rebecca will be getting into things before we know it. It'll be fun to have a little family outing.

There are a few new pictures in the October album. And there is a video of her eating too.

6 Month Check Up

Rebecca had her 6 month check up this afternoon. She was not too fond of the whole experience. She doesn't like strangers, so the nurse and the doctor were not warmly greeted :) She just wanted Mommy to hold her. She didn't care for the shots either, but she mostly was just upset that she had to lay on the table for them. As soon as she was in Mommy's arms everything was ok again.

Rebecca is a healthy, active little girl. She has met all of her 6 month, 7 month, 8 month and some 9 month milestones! Her length and weight seem to be starting to even out a bit. She weighs 18 lbs. 13 oz. (90%). She is 26" long! (50%) She grew 3 inches in two months. And her head is 17" (50-75%). Rebecca can pretty much sit on her own now. She tips once in a while, but not much. She is rolling all over. You never know where you'll find her when you leave the room for a minute :) She is starting to take steps when you stand her up and hold her hands. Maybe she'll follow her cousin Carson and be an early stander/walker :) Rebecca will be starting solids in the next few days. Since she's been having some constipation issues we'll start with oatmeal with fruit mixed in. Hopefully that will help. We'll be sure to post some pics of her first try at solids :)

Her next appt. is her 9 month check up in January. No shots at that appt.!

Grand Blanc/Porter's Orchard

We made a trip to Grand Blanc for the weekend to see the Holleboom family. It's been a while since we've all been together. And this was Rebecca's first time at Grandpa and Grandma's house! We visited with Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom in the morning/early afternoon on Saturday. Then the whole family went to Porter's Orchard in Goodrich. We walked to the pumpkin patch and picked a couple pumpkins. And we took lots of pictures. Both Rebecca and Carson are getting so big. They were so fun to watch. For dinner we all gathered at Grandpa and Grandma's house. The kids provided the meal for them as part of the celebration of their 35th wedding anniversary. We had quite a feast with roast chicken, baked potatoes, corn souffle, squash and homemade applesauce. It was like Thanksgiving :) Dinner was followed by gifts and cake (that Mommy made:) and ice cream. We were celebrating their anniversary and Dan's 26th birthday. After dessert it was bed time for the little ones. Rebecca was not too fond of Grandma's pack 'n' play. She didn't sleep much all night. She ended up sleeping with Daddy in the recliner.

Sunday we went to Good Shepherd Church and saw some old friends. Everyone was excited to finally meet Rebecca. We left for home right from church. Rebecca slept most of the way home. She was very worn out from such a busy weekend, and she needed to catch up a bit. It was so much fun to see everyone! But it's also nice to be back home :) Rebecca played for a couple hours when we got home. She was excited to be back. She squealed and squealed :) She was happy to sleep in her own crib last night too.

Tomorrow Rebecca has her 6 month check up. Hopefully she'll tolerate her shots well this time. Thursday Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom will be coming to baby-sit while Mary goes to a Dr. appt. This will be her first time with a baby-sitter. Hopefully she remembers Grandma from the weekend :)

Be sure to check out all the pictures from our weekend trip.

6 Months Old!

Rebecca is 6 months old today. Has it really been a half year since she was born? She's learning new things every day and is so much fun. She has her 6m check up next Tuesday. We're anxious to get her stats. Rebecca hasn't quite been herself for the past week or so. So we're also anxious to see the Dr. to make sure there isn't anything wrong. Hopefully she's just growing and changing like she should be.

Tomorrow we're going to Grand Blanc to see the Holleboom family. We're going to an orchard for a hay ride and to get pumpkins. We're also celebrating Grandpa and Grandma's 35th anniversary and Uncle Dan's 26th birthday. We'll be seeing some old friends at Good Shepherd church on Sunday. We're looking forward to a little weekend trip and seeing all the beautiful fall colors.

Now that's a carrot!

Justin picked all the veggies from our garden yesterday. Lots of carrots, red potatoes and sweet potatoes. And a few squash. There was one especially big carrot. It's almost as big as Rebecca :) Pretty soon we'll be using some of the veggies to make baby food for Rebecca.