October

I have got to start doing these updates more frequently. We just do too many things, then I get overwhelmed with how many photos I have to go through, then I take forever to tackle it! So, here's all the many things we did in October....

The first weekend was a busy one! Adam and I went with 2 friends to a Rangers World Series game! They won that one....but can't say so much for the rest of the series (maybe we should have gone to more games!)


Sunday evening we had a family photo shoot. We got a great deal on a mini session with Stefani Marcus Photography. It was a quick session, but she was really great to work with and I'm sure we will use her again in the future. (Click image to see photos from the shoot.)


We also had lots of fun running around the pumpkin patch in Grapevine after we were done taking pictures!


We visited lots of other pumpkin patches and a Fall Festivals - here is a sampling of the fun!

Holy Trinity (our church) Fall Festival


Preston Royal Shopping Center Fall Festival


Multiple Dallas Arboretum Trips with Friends


We also went to the State Fair in October. This is something Adam and I really enjoy doing, and I hope we can always bring our family out there! (Photos Here)

October also included Rebekah's Baptism Birthday and Halloween, but I actually did those posts on time!

Whew! At least I'm only one month behind now!
To see all the October photos, click on the photo album below:

2011.10 - October

Halloween Fun!

Our little ladybug celebrated her 2nd Halloween this year.

Isn't this the cutest costume, ever? Rebekah's Grammy (Adam's mom) made it! Just too adorable. And she loved the costume - when we put it on her she would get so excited and run around in circles.

We carved the pumpkin on Friday night. Rebekah wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin guts! Adam did a great job with the carving!


We took her to Grammy & Grampy's on Saturday, then Grandma and Granddad had a little party for the kiddos on Sunday.
Grammy & Grampy's Grandma & Granddad's


On Monday morning, we had some friends over for a Halloween brunch at the condo. I was too busy to take very many pictures, but I think everyone had a fun time. We had a packed house!! Rebekah started giggling and hopping when kids started showing up. I never think our condo is big enough to have other over, but Rebekah loved it so much I think we'll have to do it more. :)


Then, on Monday night we went trick-or-treating with our friends, the Tamayos. They have a fun neighborhood and it was so neat to see so many kids out running around in their costumes. Rebekah had a blast! After the first couple of houses, she realized these people would give her something to put in her bag - an absolute favorite activity right now. She had no idea it was candy - she just knew they were handing her something that was the perfect size for her little hands and she got to put it in her bag. Some people wanted to put it in her bag for her, but she was having none of that - that's her job! And everyone kept letting her take more and more candy from the bowl because they thought it was so funny. We really had a great time, and I think Adam's co-workers enjoyed the sugary treats. :)




Happy Halloween everyone!



Here are all the photos to enjoy...

2011.10.31 - Halloween weekend

Rebekah's Sleepover

Rebekah spent the night at a friend's house last night. Our friends had been asking if we wanted her to come play and spend the night with their 3 year old little girl, and we decided to graciously accept the offer. Another friend was having her birthday party that night, so we decided to live it up "old school style" (you know, before kids) and go out without worrying about getting home to relieve the babysitter.

This wasn't the first time I spent the night away from Rebekah. She stayed with her Grammy and Grampy in September while Adam and I went to the ACL Music Festival in Austin. But this was different. This time, we came home to our own house without a kid in it.

I had a few realizations with this experience:

It was nice to be able to go out and not worry about what time we needed to go home.
It was nice to wake up this morning and not have to worry about changing a diaper.
It was nice to eat breakfast at the coffee table and not worry about little fingers getting into it.
It was nice to set my coffee down on my bedside table and not worry about it being pulled off and spilled on a little head.
It was nice to leave the closet door open while trying to get dressed and not worry about all my shoes being dragged out of the closet.

BUT....
I missed my morning smiles and giggles. (I'm not a morning person, so this definitely helps with coping with the morning diaper change-see above.) :)
I missed Rebekah running around in circles in the crib while I'm trying to grab her to get her out.
I missed how excited she gets when she's eating and communicating - when she knows she's told me what she wants and I understand it - she gets so happy.
I missed her morning exploration of the house, finding all her toys and getting them ALL out again.

Most of all, I realized that I have more fun with Rebekah (and Adam, of course) than without her. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the chance to catch up with friends and had a great time last night! But, our little family has a lot of fun together, doing regular everyday things as well as big fun family outings. I'm just happier and enjoy life more when we are all experiencing it together.

Can't believe how much this little girl has changed our life. :)

September Fun

I know October is almost over, but I wanted to share with you some of the fun we had in September.

You already saw the new bag trick. She still loves bags, purses, anything she put things in and put on her arm. Many times she will fill a bag or purse, put it on her arm, and say "bye bye." I guess she sees me getting everything ready when we run out the door!

The first weekend in September we had an adventure with our friends, the Tamayos. We rode the train to the Nasher Sculpture Center for a free family day. We explored inside and outside and even did a craft! It was so much fun.


Rebekah and I took a trip with my parents to Arkansas to visit some family. She had not yet met her Great Uncle Rusty, Great Aunt Carla, several second cousins and other family on my mom's side.


(we were definitely missed while we were gone!)


Then some other relatives came for a weekend visit! Great Uncle Phil and Great Aunt Ellen were here (as well as Uncle Rusty and Carla.)


And finally, we made our first visit to the pumpkins at the Dallas Arboretum. We went with our friends Laura and Noah. We've made several trips to see the pumpkins, and will still go a few more times - gotta make use of that membership! Hope you don't get tired of seeing pumpkin pictures over the next couple of months. :)


Here are all the photos from our fun month of September!

2011.09 - September

Happy Baptism Birthday!

Wow, It's been over a month and a half since my last post. We've been busy with a couple of trips out of town in September, a class I was teaching, and other things with friends, family, and work. I owe you all some serious updates, but I thought I would post this quick one. Yesterday was the 1st anniversary of Rebekah's baptism! We want to make this a special tradition in our house. We had a busy day yesterday with brunch plans and a trip to the State Fair (went to mass on Saturday night...don't worry!), so our celebration extended to today.

We blessed yesterday Rebekah using a special baptism anniversary blessing in the Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers book. We celebrated today with a cupcake on our You Are Special Today plate.


She loved it!


Last year, I took a picture of her on the morning of her big day. This year I missed that chance...so I took one at night instead. (She's already awake and running around in circles in the crib when I go in there in the mornings!) Anyway, for comparison, here's last year:


and this year


such a sleeping cutie!

(We wanted to light her baptismal candle as a part of this special celebration, but it is buried somewhere in the closet...we'll make sure we find it for next year!)

Happy Baptism Birthday to our little girl!

Rebekah's Bag Trick

Rebekah's latest game is to put things in something. It started earlier in August with a little purse she received as a gift from her Great Aunt Joleen. She has now graduated to bigger bags. She fills 'em up and drags them around the house.

(I know, I know, where are her shorts?? We were about to get her ready for bed so the super cute purple plaid bermuda shorts were already done for the day.)

filling up the bag


heehee, check out the bag!


Wow, it is heavy!


Sneak peak of the bag contents


Ooh, wait, one more thing


Yep, I can still carry it


No more photos, mom!


My bag and I are outta here.


And....the finally tally of the bag contents. Every. single. item. placed in there by Rebekah.


Click here for a video of Rebekah and her bag in action.

The Big Birthday Party!

This weekend we celebrated Rebekah's 1st birthday - cupcake style! We invited some friends and family for a cute little cupcake party. We ordered printable decorations from PartySoPerfect on etsy (and my mom, Adam, and I all pitched in and put together different pieces). Adam's mom made Rebekah this cute dress based on a pattern I found on Pinterest and the cupcake fabric inspiration from the blog of a friend of mine. Adam and I baked cupcakes and my sister helped to decorate them! On Saturday Adam put the finishing touches on Rebekah's cake, grilled hamburgers, and we were ready to party!!

The cake!


My favorite decoration


Where's my cake?


There it is!


Nom nom nom


Now there's a good grab of cake


She was so delicate and dainty when eating her cake! I really expected her to go after it, but she was savoring every bit of the homemade cake and icing. Thanks so much to Becky for being our unofficial family photographer for this part of the party! :)

Check out this cute dress!


Of course there were presents. Lots and lots of presents.


Oh my goodness - I'm just grinning looking at all the pictures. There are way too many to post in the blog. Please click the photo below to see the album - we condensed it down from 136 photos to about 60!

We are just so blessed with family and friends to celebrate and love on this little girl. Thanks to all who attended and all who were celebrating with us from afar. We love all of you and we thank you for loving our little Rebekah Ann!

2011.08.27 - Rebekah 1st Bday Party