Swimming

Grandma bought Rebekah a little swimming pool.  The weather finally cooperated and so we tried it out.  

First time in her little swim suit.  

Grandma found a bucket for Reka to play with.  She loves watching water.

(Also notice the stickers on my hand.  Yes, we did art before we went swimming.)

Sitting in the water.  It was cold!  But Reka didn't seem to mind.

Then we went in and had a snack, got dressed, read books, played and had dinner.  After dinner I went out to clean up outside and water the plants.  Rebekah wanted to go out too.  Didn't realize she would pick up right where she left off.

Who needs a swim suit?

19

Okay, 19 months.  Wow.  

Time is flying by.  What happened this month?  Well, besides what you read in the previous blogs:

Rebekah loves reading.  

Usually we sit together and read but sometimes she takes matters into her own hands.

Puddles.  Rebekah has learned all about the joy of puddles 

(thanks to that rainy day at the park)

Meet Miss Kitty and Lovey Bear.  

Reka rarely goes anywhere without them.

Nor will you see her without a ball in some form....

(Another view of Miss Kitty and another stuffed cat who we have yet to name.)

Rebekah can now open things

She loves to share cookies with that dad

She loves her sunglasses

And mama's sunglasses

She practices for the day that dad will let her drive

Loves the water

This month has been a month of new words and sounds.  She is definitely exploring her ability to communicate.  Mama and dada and lots of animal sounds are now second nature.  She has said granma, but only once or twice.  Yes and no, up and down, and off are just a few other things she says.  She will occasionally say another word like splash or boat but until she says it more than once I don't count it.

Rebekah can now go down stairs all by herself.  Whether she will or not is the question.  But she can do it.  

She is understanding so much more and can follow instructions (whether she will or not....)

She is working on her jumping ability.

My little girl no longer needs help at playground (except for swing of course).  It is so fun to watch her do things that once she needed so much help to do.  I love to watch her independence, although it makes my heart ache for my little snuggly baby who is growing so fast.

Reka can do head shoulders knees and toes.  She has it down!  Of course, you need to do it slowly and she has to be in the right frame of mind....

She loves to share and loves to help.  She shares food.  And she's so utterly cute it's very hard to turn her down when she offers you, for example, a half eaten apple slice.  She "helps" me do laundry, sweep the floor, water the plants, etc.  And yes, I'm learning to let go and let her help.  

She is hugging back now.  I can feel the strength of her little arms when she hugs me tight. True, pure, tender love.  It fills my soul. 

A few more pictures of my little girl

I can't wait for every day with my little girl!

She Scores!

Cammack

We had so much fun last Saturday together, we thought we'd try again.  This time we took a little trip up to Muncie Reservoir.  But first we stopped at this little place in Cammack.   

It had lots of fun tractors for Reka to try out

Rebekah waiting for the adults to decide what she would be eating

The atmosphere

That dad and his little girl

A family shot

The mama and the baby

Reka kept doing this

Turns out the ceiling was very interesting

Lots to look at

lots and lots...

The outside of the restaurant 

More tractors

"Come on dad, I'll take you for a spin"

Then we were off again to look at the reservoir.  

The back seat

We finally found the water

That dad and his little girl

Mom and Frank

Rebekah loves rocks.  It use to be sticks.  Now it's rocks.  

Loves to throw them in the water.

Throwing more rocks

The whole family

(minus the picture taker)

Had to get another picture to get me.  

Too bad Don's arms aren't long enough to include us all....

Another fun family day!

Can You...

Barbeque at Frank's

A few weeks ago I decided it was high time we had some family time.  So, I invited us all over to Frank's!  It was a great day.  

First, Don worked on the car.  I am always amazed at his "do it myself" attitude.  This is the second time he fixed something major on the car.  This time he had to get into a rare awkward position to do it.  In fact I'm pretty sure he wouldn't like me to post this picture.... so don't tell him.... But seriously, I'm his biggest fan.  

We checked out the garden that Frank plowed, tilled, and planted for us.  When I mentioned I wanted a garden I had no idea the scale I was getting into.  I guess "a garden" to me means something different then "a garden" to Hoosiers.  I should have known.  While we were there I planted two squash plants and some peppers.  The ground in Indiana is so much more rich than poor Utah ground.  It's a miracle anything grows there!  I can only imagine the pioneers planting in the Utah ground for the first time.  I wonder how much hope they really had.  Talk about Faith.

Mom made a wonderful meal for us: hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixin's, potato salad, baked beans, fruit.... and everything was so good.

Here's Rebekah waiting for the barbeque to be done.  

Yes, it's all about the ketchup.

Mmmm.... Barbeque.

Love my little girl snuggles.

The food was great but the company was even better.  I love spending time with family.  As my dearest Don put it, "This is why we moved to Indiana."

One side note:  while I was there Aunt Kim called to tell me they took care of my daddy's site, complete with raising the headstone to a proper position, clearing the ground, and leaving flowers from me.  It touched my heart and I cried like the sentimental little girl I am.  It breaks my heart that I can't be there, so they were there for me.  How grateful I am for good family and friends who know me and love me so well.  

Thank You!

Our next door neighbor, Stephanie, has a little girl about a year older than Rebekah.  She has graciously given to us many of the items her little girl is not using any more.  For example, this tent.  

Rebekah fell in love

At first I had to show her how to get in and out

A first attempt on her part 

which resulted in a tip over

(if you look at her mouth you can see her finishing "ah-ohhhh....")

But she soon figured it out

Reka loves playing in the tent.  You can also see in the above picture the tunnel that mom Walker provided for her.  She has had hours and hours of fun which has resulted in a little time of peace for myself.  Win win!