Adventures of Rebekah: Recording Memories

At least once a day I think to myself, "I want to remember this moment forever." So I am going to try to do a better job of recording some of our every day happenings on the blog.

Rebekah is at such a fun age. She is 2 1/2 now. 

She is very articulate and always thinking and figuring things out. I can see the wheels turning in her head as she searches for the right word to express herself, problem solves, or makes connections. She gets such joy out of figuring something out or doing something herself. It is so neat to see the traits that God has given her start to shine.

Lately I have noticed how compassionate she is. If Caleb is crying, she is quick to try to make him feel better by singing "Jesus Loves Me" to him, or patting his head, or getting his pacifier for him. 

She loves to sing and play, and loves to play with me. It makes my mommy heart happy to be included in her imagination play time. She loves playing doctor and fixing the patients who come in to her doctor office. Almost every one of them needs a shot, and none of them cry because they are all brave like she was when she got her last shot. 

Today she was sitting at the piano with her little kids hymn book, playing and singing a song. Her little feet were swinging, still more than a foot from reaching the ground, but getting longer everyday. And I just wished I could listen to her sweet little voice and watch her little feet forever. But she finished her song and informed me that we have a new patient arriving in the ambulance, and now she was the nurse and I was the doctor. And so I picked up her toy stethoscope, and held her hand as we walked over to meet the (pretend, and invisible) ambulance.

Firsts for her are starting to be few and far between, but we had a fun first today. Today, she saw her first play. We had a mother-daughter date to a local youth theater's production of Beauty and the Beast. Here we are at the theater, waiting for the play to start...she didn't want mommy to take her picture, but I got one anyway. To record the memory. 

Adventures of Rebekah: Switching Things Up

I am a firm believer in naps. I know my mother would tell you that I was not always that way. I can remember as a child laying very still in by bed when I knew my mom was peeking into my room to see if I was asleep. I'm sure I wasn't tricking her, but I thought I was pretty tricky.

When I was in college, naps were my best friend! I would try to sneak a nap in most days before heading to the pool for swim team practice. But this post isn't about my naps. It's about Rebekah's naps...or more accurately the lack-there-of.

Rebekah has been a fairly good napper in general for most of her life, but for the past few weeks she had been having a very hard time with nap time. She is a typical toddler, saying "NO" to about half of the things I asked her to do. And every day after lunch she would say over and over "no go night-night" as we started our bedtime routine.

Sit on the potty.
No go night-night!
Get a clean diaper on.
No go night-night!
Put on her zippy.
No go night-night!
Get her night-night bear and pacifier.
No go night-night!
Turn on her air filter.
No go night-night!
Turn off the lights.
No go night-night!
Sing Jesus Loves Me in the rocking chair.
No go night-night!

You get the picture. She was determined not to go to sleep. Once in her crib she would sing, play, roll, talk, bounce, and pretty much anything she could do except for sleep. She wasn't crying, and the alone rest time was good for her but she really needed to sleep.

The other day my mother-in-law suggested we switch up her nap routine and try playing music for her to fall asleep to.

I can remember listening to music to fall asleep to when I was little. I can remember napping at my Gramma Seger's house. She had 2 upstairs bedrooms, one on each end of a hallway at the top of the staircase. She would put a tape player on the blue and green hallway carpet between the two rooms and play music for the cousins who were in bed to take a nap.

Anyway, I thought it was worth a try to see if music would help Rebekah fall asleep. We started this weekend. And she napped! I tried it again on Monday, and she feel asleep for nap time for the 2nd day in a row! Tuesday was a bust because of a few different things - one of them being that her pacifier (which she called her ga-ha) broke while she was in bed...oh the drama!! We are trying again today. I played her the same CD we use in the van when it's time to take a nap. It is called Hidden In My Heart: A lullaby journey through scripture. It's just soft, soothing music with simply sung scriptures in the songs. 

How about you? Any tricks to get your toddler to nap? I would LOVE to know what worked for you!

She has been wanting to play "nap time" lately. Here is when she was playing nap time with Caleb, her baby doll and her night-night bear. 

She is very convincing, is she not? 

Adventures of Rebekah: Evolution of a St.Patrick's Day Project

A few times a week I like to do some kind of art project with Rebekah. Most days we use crayons or something that is quick and easy to clean up. 

The other day, I was feeling ambitious and decided to bust out the paint...here is how things went. 

I set up all our supplies, and taped the paper to the table...

She did good at first with dipping the brush into the paint and then putting it onto the paper...

Then she decided to paint her fingers. 

Then she decided to try to taste the paint brush! (Can you see the green around her lips?) 

Then she got mad at me because I wouldn't let her squeeze more paint out of the bottle. 

And I just wanted one semi-happy picture to send to her daddy at work...so I bribed her with a cookie for an almost smile. 

Oh, the life of a toddler! 

Adventures of Rebekah: Bedtime Routine

Some days I feel like just when we get into a routine that works for us, something changes and I am back at square one. Trying to figure out what is the best way for us to make it through the day. At the moment the thing that is changing for us is our bedtime routine. 

Rebekah is a great sleeper (most days!) and is pretty easy to get to sleep. She knows that when she is zipped into her zippy that it is time to sleep. We close the door, turn on her air filter, turn off the lights and have a little 'nun-nun' (I nurse her) before I put her into her crib. And that is that - usually she wiggles around for 5 or so minutes and then is asleep. The thing that is changing is we are taking away her 'num-nums'. (Cue dramatic music - she is NOT so thrilled with this new development.) 

I'm not going to go into to great detail about our decision to wean her, but after 18 successful months of breastfeeding, we both feel like it is the right time to stop. 

But this has thrown a wrench into our bedtime routine.

She is a snuggle bug both before and after she sleeps, but if I snuggle her before her nap, (in her own words) she wants num-nums. So, I have been trying different things to help her make this transition. One thing that I have found helpful is to read her a story before I put her into her crib. She still gets snuggles from momma, but there is something else to keep her mind occupied and off of nursing. 

One book we have been enjoying before bed is "Good Night, Little Love" by Laura Neutzling.

This is our newest book published by Tommy Nelson and Rebekah just loves it. The story is sweet and the pictures are beautiful. Not that we should pick a book based on it's cover, but this cover is embellished with sparkly hearts that we love to feel with our fingers. We are practicing 'reading' together and she loves to say "good night little love" with me on each page. As the mommy rabbit tucks her little bunny into bed, we get ready to tuck Rebekah into bed. 

Reading seems to help, and so does singing. We have been singing "Jesus Loves Me" before her naps. While, she cant really say the words yet, it is so sweet to hear her hum along with me. Oh, bedtime. We will figure you out yet! 

If you would like to win your own free copy of Good Night, Little Love, click HERE to go to my Instagram account to enter now! 

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review. 

Adventures of Rebekah: Pure Joy

One of the best things about being a mom is getting to watch your little one discover the world around them. 

Rebekah loves to explore and gets such joy from discovering new (to her) things. 

Yesterday, we were doing some grocery shopping and she discovered the biggest stuffed bear she has ever seen (or that I have ever seen for that matter!)

Her reaction was so sweet.

Pure joy. 

I can't help but smile when I look at this picture.

Good thing she gets just as excited about crunchy leaves, empty cardboard boxes, and soccer balls as she does for $280 - 8 ft. tall stuffed bears! (While the bear was exciting, and so very soft to pet...who really has room in their house or their budget for something like this?!?) 

I hope you have a joy filled day! 

Adventures in Rebekah: Mommy Discoveries

Everyday I make discoveries. About myself as a mom. About the world around me. About my sweet girl. Some of them are major discoveries, but most are just little things that make me shake my head and smile to myself. 

For example, when Rebekah was just a few months old I discovered that I don't mind picking up disposable diapers when they are freshly removed from a baby's bottom. Still warm from the baby booty body heat, it doesn't bother me... but let that same diaper sit on the changing table for 30 minutes and blahhhh! I can hardly bring myself to pick up that cold, squishy, squashy, yucky diaper. I gag a little bit just thinking about having to pick up a cold diaper. (I'm weird, I know, and I'm ok with it!)

And have you ever noticed that the tags of all (ok, not ALL, but most all) stuffed animals are place on the stuffed animal's bottom. How did I realize this? Well, Rebekah loves to put tags in her mouth. The other day she was crawling around with the tag a stuffed puppy in her mouth and her little nose was...well...right on the puppies behind. I wish I had gotten my phone out to snap a picture - it was funny! And then I looked at the rest of her stuffed animals and they all had the tags on or close to the animals bottom. Why do they do that? 

Anyway, that's all today. Just a few random mommy discoveries...maybe I will start a mommy discovery list here on the blog! 

(Waiting for Daddy to get home from work so we can wave to him!)

Adventures of Rebekah: 12 months = 1 year (already!!)

Dear Rebekah,
What a year it has been! It was so fun for me to go back and read about each month and to see you grow in each of your monthly pictures!

Here are links to each of the past monthly posts about Rebekah for anyone who may have missed one

1 month  2 months  3 months  4 months  5 months  6 months  

7 months  8 months 9 months  10 months  11 months 

This last month went by so quickly (and I'm over a week late posting this! yikes!)

This month you got to go on your first picnic! We met your Memaw for a picnic lunch one day and you loved being able to move around  and look at everything while eating some lunch.

You got to meet a new friend (and mommy got to visit with an old friend!)

You are starting to put things back into containers instead of just taking things out ...though you still prefer to take things out.

You can be such a ham sometimes and everyone just melts at your cute smile. 

You are increasingly mobile and are always discovering new things to climb on

And climb in to. 

You even took your first steps before your  first birthday - one night when mommy came home you took 3 steps to get from daddy to mommy - we are so proud of you! 

You love to eat pretty much anything - green beans and blueberries are your current favorites. Oh, and chicken. You LOVE chicken.

You are still taking 2 naps a day and sleep about 11 hours at night. Most nights you wake up one or two times to nurse, but every once and a while you surprise mommy by sleeping all the way through the night. I hope that becomes more of a regular occurrence soon...please? Speaking of nursing, we still are. My goal was to make it to 1 year and then play it by ear. You nurse before you go to sleep (naps and night time) and when you wake up in the morning - so about 4 times a day and once or twice at night. I know our special times in the rocking chair are going to come to an end sometime, but I'm perfectly happy to keep nursing until you are ready to stop.

You are such a sweet girl and I can hardly believe it has been one whole year since I got to hold you in my arms for the first time.

Happy Birthday Little Girl!

Adventures of Rebekah: 11 months old

Dear Rebekah,

You are 11 months old now! 

AND in just one more month you will be one year old! This past month with you was so fun. I would call it the month of "P".

Your favorite game is "Peek-a-boo". We play about a million times a day. If there is anything you can hide your face behind, you do. Toys, socks, boxes, table cloths, books, Mommy's cell phone...all become part of the ongoing peek-a-boo game between you and the world. It is adorable. You smile and giggle, even when you are playing peek-a-boo by yourself.

Your newest talent (if you can call it that) is letting your pee-pees out on the potty. (Lots of "P" in that sentence!) After noticing that you would let your pee-pee out when I would take off your diaper, we decided to see if you would do it while sitting on a little potty chair. AND YOU DO! And sometimes you even let your poopie out too! (Dear Reader, Sorry for being disgusting, but we are pretty proud of our little pooper!) You obviously can't tell us when you need to go to the bathroom yet. But on days when we are home, Mommy will take you about every 45 minutes when you are awake to sit on the potty and try to let your pee-pees out. Sometimes you do, and sometimes you don't, but you do know how, and we will take that for a win for now! (Plus, you use less diapers when you let your pee-pees out on the potty, which means less laundry for me!)  

Another "p" word we have enjoyed is the POOL! You love to swim, which makes Mommy so happy! The weather has been a little cool, but we try to get to the pool once a week.

(Oh the drama!! If you don't get what you want, often this is the result for a few moments... Then you move on and are a happy girl again.)

The most exciting part of this last month was that Gramma and Papa Ron came to stay at our house for almost a whole week. You had so much fun going on walks with them, getting horsie back rides, reading books and learning some new sounds with them.

Oh, and I almost forgot, you got a new pet! Well, pets. Plural. We got a fish tank with some fish for you to watch! You love trying to touch the fish when they get close to the glass...and sometime you like to bang a toy against the glass...but we are trying to teach you not to do that!

(The tank is not on the floor anymore - daddy built a special cabinet for it.) 

Rebekah, I can hardly believe you are almost 1 year old already! You are such a fun girl, and I just love spending my days being your mommy! 

(Here are a few photo outtakes - you really wanted to put the sticker in your mouth but your mean mommy wouldn't let you! Oh, what a face you made when I took it away!) 

Adventures of Rebekah: 10 months old

Dear Rebekah,

You are 10 months old - today! (Momma is on the ball this month!)

This past month has been a busy one! 

The highlight of our month was taking a road trip to Minnesota. The first leg of our road trip was just you and Momma. (Daddy had to stay home to work). And you are a very good road trip buddy! We drove 5 hours together to Wabasha, MN where we met Gramma and Papa Ron and a whole lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins for your Great-Grandpa Seger's 83rd Birthday.

{Road Trip Buddies!}

{My Grandpa with almost all of his great-grandchildren. My cousin Leah took this epic picture! Can you spot Rebekah?} 

{swimming in the hotel pool with Papa Ron}

Then we went to Gramma and Papa Ron's house to spend the rest of the week with them. Daddy joined us half way though the week and we had a fun mini vacation. 

{Knocking down towers at Gramma's House}

{Meeting New Friends ~ Molly and Rebekah}

You got to meet some new friends while we were in MN, and it was so fun watching you play with babies who are about the same age as you. You are very curious about other babies...and not very gentile with them. 

This month has been pretty exciting in the food category. You got to try fish, chicken, beans, zucchini, broccoli, pancakes, rice, and a few other new things. Rebekah, girl, you LOVE to eat! When it's time to eat, your zoom over to your booster seat in your walker, lifting your hands up in the air for me to pick you up. As soon as you are in your seat, you little legs start to kick, and your little lips start to smack. Getting your squirmy little body buckled in and your bib on can be a challenge when you are so excited to eat! Your little fingers grab the food off of your tray and put it straight into your munching mouth. Most of the meal time is filled with the sound of your smacking lips and a loud "mmmmmmmm" sound that you make when you are enjoying what you are eating. 

Since the weather is warmer now, we are spending more time outside! You love to go for walks, visit the park, and sit with mommy on the front steps and watch for daddy to get home from.

You are just the best little shopping buddy there ever was. One day we went to get flowers at the flower store to plant in the front window box.

And we took our first trip to our local swimming pool. 

And mommy put your hair in your first pony tail!

Each month you just get more and more fun to play with. Oh, I almost forgot, you learned how to do peek-a-boo all by yourself this month. It is so cute - you hold a blanket or other toy over your eyes and when I say "where is Rebekah" you pull it away and I say "peek-a-boo!" and you just laugh and laugh.

You are also learning the meanings of things that mommy and daddy say. The most recent one is "let your pee-pee's out". It started when I would take off your diaper to change you, if I would say the magic phrase about half of the time you would do it! So just in the past few days we got a little potty and we are practicing "letting your pee-pee's out on the potty". And you do!!! (Only about half of the time - but it's pretty exciting for mommy and daddy!) 

You must be growing so much because for most of this month you were waking up 2 times a night to nurse - and you were so hungry each time! Mommy loves spending time with you in the middle of the night, when everything is quiet and peaceful...but I will be very thankful when you start sleeping through the night again!

Mommy and Daddy love you so very much, our sweet girl! We can hardly believe that your first birthday is coming up! 

(10 month outtakes - you were very interested in the sticker this month and were very good at taking it off!)