23 Months Old

Almost there.  Our precious little girl is only a month away from turning 2!  It doesn't seem possible.  Rebecca continues to grow and mature every day.  It is a joy just to watch her and see God's perfect creation.

It is amazing to already see Rebecca's innocent, child-like faith.  Now when we sit down for meals and say it's time to pray she doesn't even wait for us...she starts praying on her own!  She thanks God for every little blessing..."thank you for beef, thank you for veggies, thank you for ketchup, thank you for cups, thank you for forks, thank you for Daddy, thank you for Mama, thank you for Rebecca, thank you for church,..."  It is a great reminder to us to be thankful for everything...it is all from God.  It is so sweet to hear.  She even chimes in when we are praying to say thanks for things as she thinks of them.

Rebecca is already showing amazing ability when it comes to singing.  She learns a song after we sing it just a few times.  On Sunday we sang a new song in church.  At home Justin and Mary sang it a few times.  Rebecca knows the whole thing now...words, tune, everything.  And she can sing it on her own.  She probably knows it a lot better than half of the people in the congregation!  Rebecca got Mary a CD for her birthday Sunday...and Rebecca already knows half of the songs.  What amazes us the most is not so much that she knows the words (we already know she has a great memory) but that she knows the tune and actually sings it correctly.  Sometimes she even just hums a tune.  We'll see if there are any church solos in her near future ;P

Rebecca has started the story telling phase.  Since she can talk so well she likes to narrate everything going on.  And she doesn't miss a thing.  It's fun to hear about everything her dolls and her little people are up to :)  And to hear Rebecca tell us about her day...who she saw, what she did, etc.  There is never a dull moment.  She is also very curious and is constantly asking "what's that?" when she sees something new.  She just soaks it all in.

Rebecca is also very sensitive.  She will often times say she's sad or that one of her animals is sad.  If her animal is sad she rocks it :)  If she is sad she'll suck her thumb and cuddle with you.  Sometimes I think she mistakes tired for sad :)  Music definitely brings out Rebecca's emotions.  Certain songs will actually make her cry.  A couple weeks ago she started crying in Kindermusik because she didn't like a song (thankfully by the next week she was ok with it).  She'll say "don't like that song" and then get a big pouty lip.  Then the tears come.  So sad and so cute at the same time.  You just never know what will set her off.  The other day she was on her stationary bike and started to cry.  Apparently there was something she didn't like about the way the voice was saying "yummy apple."  She is just so sensitive to certain tones in voices and music.  We are glad she's learning to express her emotions.  She'll often say "it's ok to be sad" or "it's ok to be shy."  And she is good at letting you know if something bothers her.  One of her key phrases lately is "don't like that ___."  We're glad she says that instead of saying no all the time.  She rarely says no.  Maybe she'll just skip that phase :)

Over the last month we have started potty training.  Rebecca is doing quite well.  We have potty time every day and she almost always goes.  She's just starting to tell us when she has to go.  We pulled out the training diapers yesterday.  Rebecca thought they were pretty neat.  She feels like a big girl.  And when we went shopping yesterday she picked out some big girl underwear.  She's so anxious to use that...but it will be a little while.  Doesn't hurt to give her some incentive, though :)  The only part of potty traning she really doesn't like is having to wash her hands.

We're finding that Rebecca has quite a sweet tooth.  She's following in Mommy's footsteps...she LOVES ice cream.  She wants it every day...but it must have chocolate on it..."homemade chocolate." :)  She likes pretty much anything chocolate.  And frosting and sprinkles are always acceptable too :)  Needless to say we enjoy our regular baking projects very much.  Rebecca will be a great baker someday!  She is currently picking out what kind of cake and ice cream she wants for her birthday :)  And she'll help make them too.

Rebecca is also looking so much older physically lately.  She looks like a little girl.  No baby left.  She is still petite, but yet looks so grown up.  We went shopping yesterday and got her some new shoes.  Seems as though she'll have Mommy's big feet :)  She's now into size 7.  She complains that her feet hurt when she wears her size 6 shoes.  So we had to get some new tennis shoes.  She also got rain boots.  After getting to wear her cousin Carson's rain boots last month she's been wanting a pair of her own.  Rebecca really enjoyed wearing them around the house yesterday.

As she gets older Rebecca is getting more into physical play.  She's starting to really enjoy climbing, jumping, running, etc.  We took our first trip to the park for the year yesterday.  She was able to do a lot more than she was last fall.  We are anxious for spring to stay and to be able to go to the park more often.

We are looking forward to a busy month of April.  Rebecca will be seeing all of her cousins at the MSU butterfly exhibit on April 2, celebrating Anna's, Joel's and Rebecca's birthdays.  We'll be celebrating Daddy's birthday on April 5.  We get to see Uncle Ryan and Aunt Shannon on April 9.  We'll be celebrating Rebecca's birthday on April 17.  And Grandpa and Grandma Voogt will be visiting at the end of April.  Hopefully we'll get a chance to see Grandpa and Grandma Holleboom sometime in there as well.  It will be a busy month spending lots of time with family and celebrating birthdays.

As always we are amazed and blessed by our little miracle.  Rebecca brings us such joy.  We are looking forward to celebrating her 2nd birthday in a month.  And anxious to see what each new day brings as she grows and matures.