Just fun!

Today was a great day! I was able to go to the Indianapolis Symphony with the 4th Grade and we also went to the Indiana State Museum and saw the Lincoln Exhibit. I really enjoyed the symphony. It was also fun to see the excitement on the students faces as they saw the instruments and musicians. For many of them this was their first time at a live concert. I'm thrilled that many of them enjoyed it considering some didn't want to go because they thought it would be boring. As I sat there listening I am continually amazed how little people value true talent. It takes so much talent and hard work to be a symphony musician, much more than our current "pop" musicians. Much of our musical history starts with this music and I just love to hear it played well. Okay...enough of my soapbox....

Becca was also in a great mood tonight. She was being hilarious. She loves to play peek-a-boo. She hides behind a chair or goes in the hallway and Joe and I have to call out "Where's Becca?" Then she comes running around the corner or peeks her head out with a big grin. She was also trying to tickle me tonight...she touches you with her hands and makes this funny noise with her tongue. So of course I had to tickle her...she was laughing so much it was great! She also went running for the bathroom when I told her it was time to take a bath. She was a prune when she got out after 25 minutes! She will finally brush her teeth now. I think she likes the taste of the toothpaste so that helps. Her vocabulary continues to expand. After she sneezed today it really sounded as if she said "I sneezed." She is really trying hard to imitate everything that Joe and I say. This morning she woke up saying "Piggy, Piggy, Piggy." It was cute. She is a talkative one. When I picked her up today after school, she went around and was just talking to everyone. We aren't quite sure what she is saying, but she knows! :)

Coloring for an hour!

This afternoon we decided to get the crayons back out. We don't have a little table and chairs yet for Becca so we improvised and used the Pamper's box as a chair and pulled it up to our living room coffee table. I was amazed that she sat there for almost an hour coloring in her Mickey Mouse coloring book. The most she usually sits is 15-20 minutes with a book, but Becca sat and colored, experimented with different crayons for an hour. She did try and eat them a few times, but most of the time she just pretended to hold them up to her mouth because she knew I would say NO! Becca was so meticulous with how she held the crayons. She would pick one up and then arrange it the proper way in her right hand before she would color on the paper. It cracked me up. Today was the first day she actually colored on the paper instead of just dabbing at it.

After she was done coloring, she thought it would be fun to stand on top of the Pamper's box and conduct while her music was playing. Then she got even braver and climbed onto the table and then the couch. Joe said now the fun begins. Each day is a new adventure. She learned to say "AAchoo" today as well.

Since of course it is NCAA tournament time our TV has been tuned in to CBS, watching many of the basketball games. What amazes me is Becca looks at the screen and says babetball and claps. She won't watch cartoons or anything else on TV, but she will watch basketball! Hmmm....

Baby Dedication

Today we officially became members of our church, New Hope Christian Church. Some might say it's about time, but part of the reason we held off is because we haven't lived in a place more than 3 years before! This is our 4th year in Crawfordsville and we really enjoy the community, church, our friends, and our jobs. Along with becoming a member we also wanted to Dedicate Becca as well. At our church, a baby dedication is a public ceremony in which you stand in front of the church and announce your commitment to bring up your child in the Lord and for the congregation to accept the responsibility of assisting. As always you never know how your child will act in public during certain occasions. I must say Becca was the star today. She decided that she wanted the spotlight and talked to everyone while Jeff, our youth and worship minister was reading. At one point he said, that she was stealing the show. :) Everyone would laugh at her and she would laugh back (Ahhhahaha). And then they would laugh again. It was quite hilarious. I'm pleased that she was so happy, much better than the alternative. We are noticing that this is just her personality. She is a happy baby a majority of the time. She is also a people person. She loves being in the spotlight and will talk to almost anyone! I wish I would have gotten it on video today, but we didn't. Joe and I really pray that we can be good examples for Becca and that she will grow to love the Lord and follow His will. We prayed that she would be filled with tremendous joy, laughter, and a happy spirit and so far this is exactly the type of little person she is! :)

What was that..Asp???

Becca has been walking around the house the past couple of weeks babbling non-stop at times. Sometimes we can make out some of the words, such as Cup, duck, moo, woof, etc. However at times she goes around saying Assspppp...which doesn't always sound like it is the best word to be saying. Joe and I laugh at this because it wouldn't be something she would have heard from us, but for the life of us we can't figure out what she means. Finally tonight I got out the apples and she said App, App, and pointed to them. So we think the mystery is solved! :) At least for now!

Tickle Monsters, Cheerios, Uh-Oh

Becca's favorite book the past two weeks has been "Tickle Monster" by Josie Bissett. It was a gift from Aunt Meghan. As you can see from the picture it comes complete with Tickle mitts. Becca will go get the mitts out of the basket and bring them over. Then she will get the book, sit on my lap, and we will read it for a long time. She loves being tickled by the "monster" and looking at the fun pictures. We look at each page many many times over and over again. It is amazing to me that she can sit and look at this book for at least 20 minutes! It is a fun book and I highly recommend it.

Becca also said CHEERIOS this morning!! We were so excited. She was at the table drinking her milk and eating breakfast and pointed to the bowl and said cheerios as well as Uh-oh when she dropped some on the ground. We can now add those two words to the list....let's see there is mama, dada, duck, puffs, becca's cup, dog, up, light, kitty (kind of). Of course they aren't necessarily perfectly clear, but we understand what she is saying! :)

Yucky ear infections

Two weeks ago Becca got her first minor ear infection. We had made it through an entire year without one and then it seems as soon as she turned one she got sick. She had to go back to the doctor last week to see if the first antibiotic worked. It turned out things had gotten worse. She ended up with a double ear infection and pink eye. So, needless to say she hasn't had a very good week. She hasn't really slept through the night all week and has just had a rough time. I didn't realize until now how hard it is to give her medicine! The first two doses of the antibiotic were tough. She clamped her mouth shut and at one point spit is back out onto my face. It took both Joe and I to give it to her. After a few doses, she got used to the taste and would take it without crying or thrashing about! Thank goodness! She didn't much care for the eye drops either. Even after a few days of putting them in, I have to pry her eye open and hope that I get both drops in.

She is on the mend and hopefully when we go back to the doctor in another two weeks her ears will be cleared up!

Pudding Painting

Becca and I have been experimenting with letting our creative side loose. She loves to color (or dab the paper) with crayons. Much of the time they end up in her mouth though. I decided last Saturday that we would try to paint with chocolate pudding and whipped cream. I learned a lot about myself in this experience as well. I carefully layed out all of the newspapers on the kitchen floor, had the paper towels, wash clothes, video camera, and camera ready to go. I thought that I would be okay with the mess, but I learned that I need to let go and it is okay to get dirty and I don't need to clean everything up during pudding time! :)

Becca wasn't sure what to do at first. She kind of stuck one finger in the pudding and then looked at me. After a few tries she took globs of pudding and started eating it. We got some on the paper, but mostly on ourselves and for Becca in her mouth. It was a fun experience....that is until Joe came home and walked in the door and Becca decided to crawl across the floor in her pudding covered body! I told myself "Let it go," it's just a mess, it can be cleaned up! :)

Fork Victory!!!

We have been trying for awhile to get Becca to use a spoon and fork when she eats instead of her hands. I understand this will take time for her to learn, but Joe and I were so excited a couple of weeks ago when she actually used her fork!!! Yea Becca. Since then it has been hit or miss, but she at least tries at each meal to use her utensils (even if it is just banging on her high chair). Here are just a few fun pics of mealtime! :)