She's growing so fast!

Here's an update on Rebecca. We will gradually be adding pictures to go with the colored words and phrases. (You can click on what is underlined to see the pictures.)

At her six month check-up a couple of weeks ago, Rebecca was 15lbs., 12 oz. (50th percentile), and 28 inches long (97th percentile). By weight, she is a size 3-6 months, but by height, she is size 12 months, which makes it a little difficult to outfit her. She has been wearing mostly 6-9 mos. sizes for the past couple of months, but will probably be out of those in the next couple of weeks (due to length). Thankfully, we have been able to borrow some 12 mos. size winter clothes (we're expecting a cold front later this week) from a couple of our Aggie friends (and here), and I have to admit I have bought a couple of cute outfits for her myself. Of course, Grammy and Gran are eager to fill in the gaps in her wardrobe, too.

I'm wondering if the reason our Little Cutie is so skinny is because she much prefers playing to eating. Rebecca likes playing with toys, usually lying on the floor on her tummy, but sometimes sitting up with the help of the Boppy pillow, or sitting in her high chair while I cook. She loves playing with her feet, routinely puts everything in her mouth, and is fascinated with tags. She likes reading (and eating) books. Her favorite activites are playing peek-a-boo, being held up in the air, and going on walks outside. She also loves touching people's faces, especially noses and mouths; however, she likes to be held (or at least cuddled) less than she used to, which makes me sad (but you wouldn't know it looking at this picture or this one). At least she still smiles a lot (when she's not tired). We still have some babyproofing to do before she starts crawling.

We started adding to Rebecca's diet a couple of weeks ago, but so far she does not seem to be too impressed with rice cereal, oatmeal, guacamole, applesauce, bananas, or green beans, although green beans didn't get the "yucky" face that the other ones did (maybe because it was better pureed than the others?). She is much more interested in playing with the spoon. I've tried giving her her own spoon to hold while I feed her with another spoon, but that hasn't seemed to help much. Maybe this week I'll stumble upon something that she will actually swallow. Sweet potatoes and squash are up next.

Too much going on

I realize I'm a little behind on my blogging. During the past three weeks, we've had company, been out of town, been trying to catch up on everything we didn't do while we were out of town, had more company, had four doctor visits (three for me and one for Rebecca), have spent more time than we should have to spend dealing with health insurance issues, and have generally been trying to come up for air. We're supposed to be getting together with more friends Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We normally don't have this full of a social schedule, but the past couple of weeks have been exceptional.

I don't think Friday is going to happen. Steve normally would get the day off tomorrow, but has too much going on at work, so I will spend yet another day trying to figure out whether or not I should try to take Rebecca with me on errands (and risk ruining her sleep for the day), or postpone getting groceries. I used to go the grocery store after Rebecca went to sleep for the night, but that hour seems to be getting later and later, no matter how many naps she gets or doesn't get during the day or how long those naps are. Part of the problem is that she won't eat very much at a sitting (I think because she wants to get back to playing), so by the time she'd normally go to sleep, she hasn't eaten enough, so she can't sleep, and by the time she's finally done eating, we've missed the window of opportunity and she's wide awake again.

Meanwhile, my blood sugars have been crazy, my thyroid is still not regulated, and I'm exhausted. I broke down crying in Bible study on Tuesday because I was so frustrated, and a bunch of people offered to bring me food or babysit, but I don't think any of them realize just how far away we live and that it would take almost an hour each way to come see us, and that's not during rush hour. It's hard for me to know just how far people are willing to go, and I don't want to make them feel badly if they retract their offer because we live too far away. Anyway, I think I should just go to bed now before I get more stressed out trying to solve all my seemingly unsolvable problems. Please be praying for me!

Not aging is getting old

This afternoon I was trying to put Rebecca down for a nap when someone rang the doorbell three times and knocked very loudly. (I used to have a sign over the doorbell prohibiting such interruptions, but it must have fallen off at some point.) I left her in her crib to play quietly while I answered the door. The solicitor said, "Is your mom or dad home?" I said, "My parents don't live here." She said, "Oh! Are you the lady of the house?" "I am," I said with my best stonefaced look. "Well, you look so young!" "I'm twenty-seven." (With a shocked look:) "Well you look like you're seventeen!" "I know." "Well, do you want to have your carpets cleaned for free?" "Normally I might be interested, but I'm trying to put my six-month-old baby to sleep." (I smile and close the door.)

My parents have been telling me for years that one day I will appreciate looking younger than I am. That day hasn't come yet. It sure gets old hearing people say that I look seventeen (that particular number seems to come up a lot). Most of the time it's not a big deal, but sometimes it feels like people are condescending towards me because I look so young.

More birthdays

Happy birthday to my wonderful Steve and Aunt Cindy (shown here with Little Cutie)!

A few cute faces

Daddy/Daughter bonding time

This past weekend we went to a used children's book sale sponsored by Friends of the Houston Public Library. We bought 10 board books (4 in English, 3 in Spanish, and 3 bilingual) for $1 or $2 each. Rebecca couldn't wait to get some more books, so that morning Daddy read her one that she already had before he even got a chance to get ready for the day. She waits patiently while each page is read, and loves looking at the pictures!