5 Months Old...And a Tooth!!

So I posted on Monday because Rebecca started rolling. Didn't think we'd have more updates to make just 2 days later. But we do. Rebecca's first tooth has come through!! (got a picture, though it's hard to get a good one when she wants to eat your fingers :)...see the white dots just to the left of my finger, below her tongue) I didn't even notice it until yesterday. And today I realized it's already through. No wonder she's been drooling so much...and chewing on everything in sight. Where has my little girl gone? She's also starting to sit up much better. And she has outgrown her pack 'n' play bassinet. She'll be outgrowing her swing and her front carrier before we know it!

Rebecca is 5 months old today. According to our inaccurate scale she's around 17 1/2 lbs. Could be close to 18. Hard to be exact (it's not digital). And she's about 24" long. So she's still gaining plenty of weight, but not getting much longer yet. Hopefully she'll start the opposite trend soon so we don't have to buy new clothes for a little while. She definitely takes after Daddy in the weight/height department right now. So she'll probably thin out like him too :)

She has her 6 month check up on Oct. 21. We'll get more accurate stats then. And more shots :( Not fun to do, but we want to keep her healthy :)

As we approach another fall/September we marvel at how God has blessed us. It's been 2 years since Mary's surgery. She's feeling better than she ever thought possible back then (and cherishing every ice cream cone she eats:). It's been just over 1 year since we came to a bright spot in our struggle with infertility and found out we were pregnant. And this fall we have a strong, healthy, smart little girl. We can't wait to see what He has in store for us in the future!

There are more pics in the September album.

Getting So Big...She Did It!!!

Rebecca is getting so big! She'll be 5 months old on Wednesday (we'll post stats then). I can't believe it's been 5 months since she was born. She's learning new things every day. Today was a big day for her...she rolled over!!!! She rolled from her tummy to her back all by herself. We've been working at it for a while now. She's still not proficient at it, but she'll be rolling all over the place before we know it. She's also big enough for her regular stroller now. Mommy and Daddy are very excited about that. So much easier than putting her in the car seat. Rebecca took her first test drive of the umbrella stroller today with Mommy. She seemed to like it. Now we need to convert the Baby Jogger back to a normal stroller so we can try that out. We're still working on sitting. Rebecca seems to like standing much better :) And she's talking up a storm. She even said "ma" the other day. It was unintentional, but Mommy liked it anyway :) Rebecca is starting to wear 9m clothes now. Good thing we went shopping last week for some fall clothes. It's a chilly day today, and she didn't really have anything for cool weather. Mommy is excited to have her try on all her new clothes :) Hopefully she doesn't outgrow them too quickly.

Rebecca gets some Daddy time on Thursday when Mary goes to MOPS. Hopefully she'll take the bottle ok (it's been a while) and maybe even go to bed on time.

Uncle Kevin V. is visiting this Saturday. Rebecca hasn't seen him in a couple months. Uncle Kevin will be surprised by how much she has changed.

There are new photos in the September album. And a video of Rebecca rolling over :)

Seymour Carnival

Yesterday was the annual Seymour Church Carnival. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great turnout. Justin and Mary both helped with bathroom monitor duty from 4 - 5:15. Justin helped with the pyramid toss game from 5:30 to 7. Some of Mary's family came, so we had a good time visiting with them. Rebecca enjoyed looking around at all the games and all the people. And she got to take a little nap in Grandma's arms :) We're looking forward to next year when Rebecca can participate in a few of the activities. Be sure to check out the pics from the carnival in the photo album.

Labor Day Weekend

We visited Grandpa and Grandma Voogt in Wisconsin over the weekend. It was Rebecca's first big trip. And her first time on the ferry. We left Friday afternoon, drove to Muskegon, took the Lake Express Ferry to Milwaukee, and then drove to the farm. Rebecca wasn't too fond of the travelling part. We got to the farm around 9pm WI time. We tried to put Rebecca right to bed (since she was asleep when we got there), but she was too off schedule/out of sorts and was upset for quite a while. After she finally got settled Mommy and Daddy could relax with Grandpa and Grandma for a few min. before heading to bed. Rebecca did better on Saturday after getting some sleep and adjusting a bit. We went to a local fair in the morning. Rebecca got to see lots of animals - sheep, goats, pigs, cows, chickens, rabbits, etc. She fell alseep half way through our visit. She also slept for a long time Sat. afternoon, trying to catch up from Friday. In the late afternoon she got to look around Grandpa and Grandma's farm. She saw lots of kittens and cows. Sat. evening Rebecca went to bed pretty early. Then the rest of us celebrated Grandma Voogt's birthday. Sunday we went to church in the morning. Grandma enjoyed showing off her granddaugther :) After some lunch and an afternoon nap for Rebecca we headed back home. We drove from the farm to Milwaukee. We got there early so we could feed Rebecca, stretch our legs and eat some dinner. Then we boarded the ferry. Rebecca did much better on this ride. She ate well and napped. After the ferry we had a short drive back home. Thankfully Rebecca fell alseep on the way home and stayed asleep when we put her in her crib. We had a fun weekend visiting WI. It was a treat for Grandpa and Grandma to get to see more of Rebecca now that she's so aware of everything and interacting with everyone. We are looking forward to a relaxing day at home today to spend some time as a family and get caught up on things around the house.

This Friday Mary starts MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), our mom's group at church. She is looking forward to getting out and interacting with other moms. And we will all be helping with our church carnival on Saturday.

Check out the pictures from our trip in the photo album.

Baptism and Baseball...Part 2

Back in May/June we went to a baseball game and had Rebecca's baptism. They must go together. This weekend we we went to another Whitecaps game and attended cousin Carson's baptism. It was rainy on Saturday, so the game was delayed about an hour. Rebecca did well during the wait, during the pre-game events (aside from the big booms from the fireworks during the national anthem...she wasn't too happy about those) and during the first couple innings. She even took a nice nap on Mommy's lap. But after that the heat and the noise were too much for her, so we had to leave early. She had a rough evening but finally managed to get to sleep about an hour later than usual.

Sunday was an early day for us. We left around 8:30 and travelled to Grand Blanc for Carson's baptism at Faith Lutheran Church. We had fun celebrating this special day with Kevin, Sara and Carson. After church we went to Kevin and Sara's house for a party with family and friends. The weather was great...not too hot, not too cold. There was plenty of good food. And it was fun to visit with everyone. Aside from getting her pretty dress all messy with a big dirty diaper, Rebecca was a good little girl :) Both Rebecca and Carson were a little out of sorts from being off schedule and around so many people. But they both handled it quite well. They didn't interact with each other too much. But I'm sure in a couple months they'll be having fun together :) Rebecca did really well with the car rides. She slept through most of it. And the time she was awake she was playing with her toys and "talking" to us. We got home around 6:30pm. Rebecca enjoyed unwinding and playing in the evening. And she stayed up a bit late since she was so well rested :P

Hopefully today we'll be back to a normal routine. Today is grocery day. Tomorrow Justin starts class again...so Rebecca and Mommy will be on their own all day/evening. The rest of the week will be preparing for our trip to WI to visit Grandpa and Grandma Voogt. We leave Friday and come back Sunday.

There are lots of new pictures in the photo albums.

4 Month Check Up

Rebecca had her 4 month check up this morning. She's a big, healthy girl :) She is meeting all of her developmental milestones. And apparently she's eating well. She weighs 16 lbs.!! (almost as much as her 6 month old cousin) She's in the 95th% for weight. No wonder her 3-6m clothes already fit so well (we'll see how much longer!). It's time to move up to the next size diaper too...because of her size and the size of her messes :) She is 23 1/2" long (25th%...a shorty). And her head is 16 1/4" (55th%). The Dr. was not too concerned about her head (no helmet!). He said it is not a medical problem (the bones did not fuse oddly) and should get better as she gets older. We just have to make sure she spends as much time off the back of her head as we can. She had 4 shots today. She cried a little, but not too bad. She played well after lunch and is taking her normal afternoon nap now. So that's a good sign. Hopefully she stays feeling ok. I think a little more meat on her legs this time is helping :) But they can take a while to kick in. The Dr. agreed with me that there is no need to start solids until at least 6 months. So we don't have to worry about that for a while. Rebecca is getting plenty from Mommy :) Overall it was a great check up. We feel so blessed to have a beautiful, healthy, smart little girl. She goes for her 6 month check up on Oct. 21.

Rebecca is really starting to play with her toys. She now grabs on to anything in front of her. And it goes directly to her mouth. She loves her rings and all of her monkey stuffed animals. She's even starting to become playful when she's on her tummy. And she's talking up a storm. Such sweet sounds :)

We are going to another Whitecaps baseball game this Saturday. We're going to have to start bringing toys with us now to keep Rebecca entertained! Sunday we'll be in Flint for cousin Carson's baptism. It'll be fun to see Rebecca and Carson together and watch them interact.

There are more August pictures and some new videos.

4 Months Old

Rebecca is 4 months old today!!! I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? She is getting so big and learning new things every day. Rebecca has been helping Mommy in the kitchen all week with freezing and canning. She provides good conversation :) She has her 4 month check up on Wed., so we'll get her stats then. She has to get more shots. Hopefully she does ok with them this time. Be sure to check out the latest photos in the August album.