Look Who's Walking...

It's official, Rebecca is a toddler! She has started to walk. About 3 weeks ago she was just starting to let go of things to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time.. And now she's taking 4 or 5 steps at a time to walk between things. It happened so quickly! Just yesterday Justin saw her take 1 step for the first time. And today she's trying to walk all over. She seems quite fearless. She used to always need something next to her or in front of her to hold on to. Now she'll let go with nothing close by...she'll take as many steps as she can and then plop down if she hasn't reached her goal before she gets unsteady. Although we are amazed at how steady she is already. She knows how to pause to balance herself and then keep going. Life is about to get more interesting :) We got Rebecca her first pair of shoes this week since we're starting to take her outside to walk around. Seems that her chubbyness extends to her feet ;) We had to get size 5 so that we could get them on! So they are a little long, but so far she's doing well with them.

Rebecca is also adding words to her vocabulary daily. She amazes us with how many things she tries to say after we say them. She has been saying "bear," "chicken," "ball," "sheep," "baa," "piggy," "moo" and "baby" to name a few. Of course her favorite is still "quack." Sometimes it seems as though we have a duck in the house, not a little girl. And she understands so much even if she can't say the words. Rebecca is a smart little girl.

We've been trying to get outside for a few minutes most days. Rebecca LOVES her new swing. And she definitely knows what the word outside means. Hopefully we'll have more spring-like weather soon.

Rebecca is still a big cuddler. She has to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy and her monkeys and bears all the time. She has even started snuggling with the couch :) She's such a sweet little girl. She likes to give kisses too. Lately she has to kiss the pictures in her books. Today she gave 3 kisses on one page...the daddy, the mommy and the baby :)

Next Saturday we'll be celebrating Justin's birthday (April 5) by going out to eat and having cheesecake at home. We might go to a Whitecaps baseball game on the 8th to celebrate as well. Only a few weeks until Rebecca's first birthday. This year has gone by way too quickly!

Happy Birthday Uncle Ryan!

Yesterday we surprised Uncle Ryan with a visit and a birthday cake. We met at Shannon's parents house. It was a fun visit. Rebecca enjoyed seeing everyone and even getting to pet their puppy :) She tried a couple bites of chocolate cake...she liked it :) Everyone was amazed at what a good eater she is. She gobbled up her whole dinner in no time.

While on our way home yesterday Mary got a good look in Rebecca's mouth...and realized that all four of her 1st molars are in (top and bottom)!!! She now has 12 teeth! And she's still working on more. No wonder she's been so drooly and chewing on everything lately. With all those teeth Rebecca is pretty good at chewing most food now. She's gradually eating more and more table food. This week she ate hard boiled egg yolk, avocado, banana, chicken pot pie, cheesy potatoes, peas and apple chunks. She seems to like it all. Although her favorite is still cheese. She asks for it at every meal as soon as she's in her high chair. Today she gets to try black bean soup. We're hoping to really cut back on baby food and give her more and more table food. Baby food is so expensive.

This Tuesday we're having dinner with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Van. Maybe it will be nice enough weather that Rebecca can explore the farm a bit :)

11 Months Old/Happy St. Patrick's Day

We are not at all Irish. And we don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day in any way (besides maybe wearing green). But Happy St. Patrick's Day anyway :) Rebecca wore her Packers gear for the occasion...only green she has.

Rebecca is 11 months old today. She is learning and changing so much every day. She continues to add words to her vocabulary. She says "cheese" now at meal times...it's her favorite food...and she knows it's coming. When we look at the pictures of grandma and grandpa in her ABC book she often time says "pa" for grandpa. She understands a lot too. She has a picture book...on the first page she points to the cheese and says "cheese." On the second page she sees 9 ducks and says "quack." On the third page she sees the drum and pats her leg to show that you bang on a drum.

Rebecca is growing well. We're starting to put away some of her 12 month clothes. She mostly wears 18 month now. She weighs around 22 lbs. and is about 27 1/2 inches tall. She has 9 teeth for sure. The other bottom molar could be in...or will be any time. Rebecca is really teething right now.

Rebecca is a pro with the sippy cup now. You'd think she was in a desert the way she guzzles water :) She can do it herself if it's full enough that she doesn't have to tip it far. She is also getting better about eating solid foods. She seems to really like chicken and peas. And of course she loves cheese. We keep trying new things each day. At least you can always get her to take one bite by putting the food on a fork. Rebecca is pretty good at feeding herself. But if it's something new she wants to touch it instead of putting it in her mouth.

Rebecca is pretty good at standing on her own now too. And she has taken a step a couple times while in the pack 'n' play. It is followed by a grab for something to hold on to. But still a step. Walking isn't too far off. She has also learned how to climb all the way up the stairs from the hallway to the upstairs. She's a very curious little girl and wants to explore the whole house.

We gave Rebecca her birthday present early (she'll never know:) since the weather is so nice...a new swing for the swingset. She tried it out yesterday. She loves it!! There are pics and a video in the albums. We'll get lots of use out of that this summer. Rebecca is also enjoying exploring the outdoors. She walks around with help from Mommy or Daddy.

Only 1 month until Rebecca turns 1! We're looking forward to a simple celebration as a family...and plenty of cake for Rebecca to dig into :)

Mommy's Birthday

We celebrated Mary's 29th birthday yesterday. We got takeout sushi from Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (a special treat for Mary to not have to make dinner...or clean up dinner:). Mary got a food saver from Justin and Rebecca. And Mary made a yummy ice cream cake with homemade white cake, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and chocolate frosting. Rebecca enjoyed a little bit of the plain cake. She already has a sweet tooth :) It was a fun family celebration.

Rebecca will be 11 months old this week. Only one more month until our little girl turns 1! It doesn't seem possible. We will also be celebrating Justin's birthday in a few weeks.

Rebecca continues to grow and learn each day. She loves to read and listen to music. She knows the word "music" now and will look at the stereo and start dancing as soon as you say it...waiting for us to turn on one of her CDs. She is "talking" more and more as well. She can say ma ma, da da, quack, yum, baa and down. And it's starting to sound like she's trying to say pretty. Rebecca is getting quite good at standing on her own. And she just started climbing the stairs...time for the gate to go up :) Rebecca is also quite the little love bug. She loves to share all of her toys...and sometimes her food. And she always has to pause for snuggles with Mommy and Daddy while she's playing. And she gives us and her animals lots of kisses...big, wet kisses :) She's so sweet.

We're looking forward to warming weather this week so we can go outside a bit. Both Mommy and Rebecca are anxious to get out of the house.

Visit From Grandpa and Grandma Voogt

Grandpa and Grandma Voogt came to see us yesterday. Rebecca had just woken up from her long afternoon nap when they got here, so it took her a few mintues to wake up and warm up. But then she was all set to play and show them all the things she's been learning since the last time they were here. She sat and read with Grandma for a while. And she did a lot of "quacking" for them :) They gave her a cute wooden puzzle that makes animal sounds. Rebecca loved the froggy and the fish. We'll have lots of fun playing with that.

Grandpa Voogt is on the tail end of a cold, so he had to keep his distance a bit. And they didn't spend the night here to be on the safe side. We'll see them again at church this morning. Grandma will be helping Mary in the nursery.

Rebecca has had another busy week. She is starting to stand without holding onto anything. She also learned how to use her sippy cup...yea!!!! That's a big breakthrough for us. Mary was starting to worry she'd have to nurse Rebecca forever :p We think another tooth just pushed through...which puts the count at 9 right now, with 3 more on the way. Rebecca is also starting to eat more solid food. The trick...put it on a fork :) She'll at least try most things that you put on a fork. This week she ate quite a bit of chicken. And some cooked veggies. Rebecca also ate some homemade blueberry pancakes. Slowly but surely we're trying to get away from baby food. Rebecca still loves to read and dance.

With the nice weather this week we got to try out Rebecca's wagon. She seemed to like it. We just rode around the driveway. We're looking forward to using it all summer!

Today should be an interesting day. Not sure how Rebecca will adjust to the time change. Plus she won't get a morning nap since we'll be in the nursery. And her afternoon nap will be messed up because we have a church potluck. So we're hoping she does ok and can get a nice long nap later today.

Justin is back to work this week. It was a treat to have a week of family time. We even got to go on a nice long walk on Friday afternoon. We'll miss having Daddy around :) This Saturday we'll be celebrating Mary's birthday.