Identical cousins?

Check out these pictures of Rebecca and Gracie, taken when they were each a few days old. Besides being the sweetest baby girls on the face of the earth, their parents think there's a remarkable resemblance. Does anyone else agree?

High chair adventures

In the last month, Rebecca has become much more interested in food than she used to be, and sometimes refuses to eat unless she gets to feed herself (hence the lack of clothes in the high chair). This means that meals last much longer than they used to, which is sometimes good and sometimes not-so-good. She probably eats only a slightly greater quantity of food, but she definitely likes a greater variety. She also has a pronounced preference for non-baby food (i.e. whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating). She still eats a few jarred fruits and vegetables, but she can now eat real (unmashed) broccoli, carrots, bananas, peaches, and pears; has added to her diet staples such as yogurt, whole wheat bread (sometimes with fruit spread on it), banana bread, rice, potatoes, chicken, ground beef, spaghetti (with sauce), tortillas, mexican rice, refried beans, and cheese; and her absolute all-time favorite is guacamole. She likes Mommy's homemade guacamole so much that Mommy has to save it to serve as the last course of the meal, or else Rebecca won't eat anything else. Rebecca eats so much guacamole that Mommy doesn't get to eat as much as she wants.

Guacamole and carrots...two favorites!

More please!

Chewing chicken is challenging (and charming)!

All done (and getting sleepy).

And just in case anyone was under the false impression that Rebecca is happy all the time...
...she does have the occasional painful experience of constipation, worsened here by hunger and exhaustion.

Now if we can just figure out how to get her to use a sippy cup and/or straw....

Recommended for your edification

I wanted to post this earlier in the month but just haven't gotten around to it until now.

Our pastor started off the new year with a very interesting Sermon Series on the book of Numbers. January 7th was an overview of the book, with the main theme being that God speaks to us in the wilderness. January 14th was an extremely convicting exhortation on the dangers of grumbling and complaining. January 21st was about envy. There will be nine more weeks of the series, too. Click on the link to listen via the web. If you always thought Numbers was a boring book (or even if you didn't), this is for you!

I also just finished reading the book Stepping Heavenward, the journal of a nineteenth century Christian young woman. My friend Tricia sent me the book a few weeks ago, and she knew me well enough to know that I would benefit from reading about someone who went through many of the same struggles I experience now (less-than-perfect health, setting expectations too high for myself, falling into the same patterns of sin over and over). It was comforting and convicting at the same time, and it's the kind of thing where you can read only a little at a time and still enjoy it.

Nine months old

Today Cutie turned 9 months old. Time is definitely flying now! She had a good day, for the most part, with lots of cheery smiles and giggles...except for when I took her for her check-up (already tired since the appointment happened to land right when she normally would have had her afternoon nap), and they had to draw blood from her arm to test for iron and lead levels...not worth the pain and tears in my opinion. I think next time they want to screen for something that she shows no symptoms of, I'm going to refuse. But she was happy to get home and play with Daddy. She is still off the charts (above 97%) on height (29 inches) and dropped to 25th percentile on weight (17 lbs, 10 oz), but the doctor is not worried about her being skinny and says she is eating enough, even though it doesn't seem like it to me. The doctor and the nurse both commented on how clear her chest sounded. Apparently most babies don't avoid getting sick for as long as she has, especially at this time of year. Something in my immune system must be working, if my milk is protecting her. We're so grateful for a happy, healthy baby!

Congratulations...

...to the new future second Rachel Breeding (Mrs. David Breeding, in addition to Mrs. Stephen Breeding, who is also Rachel)!

Trying on dresses

Today I tried dresses on Cutie. She needed something new to wear to Aunt Heather and Mr. Troy's wedding coming up, since she didn't have any that fit very well. I can't believe the winner is a size 2T, but that's what it took to get the length she needed (most dresses in her usual size of 12 or 18 mos. are barely long enough to cover her bottom, much less go past her knees!). The 2T worked because it can be tied tightly in back, and it's short-sleeved, so the sleeves aren't too long. It was fun watching her study the dress and evaluate it...one of the first times she seemed to actually enjoy trying on clothes!

What do you think? How does it look on me? This ribbon feels good in my mouth...that's a plus. I think I like it!

More milestones

Here is the first picture I got of Rebecca's teeth since they erupted a couple of weeks ago. She has such a big smile because she is so proud of herself for learning how to pull up to standing in her crib. She is so excited, in fact, to reach this milestone, that she has only had one nap a day (instead of the usual two) for the past eight days in a row. Standing up is much more fun for her than lying down!

Meanwhile, she has been a little fussier than usual since she has not gotten enough daytime sleep (these pictures were taken in the morning, when she was well-rested). I have also been more tired since I had gotten used to napping when she did. Thankfully, she is sleeping better at night (not taking as long to fall asleep, going to bed around 7 instead of 9, and only waking up in the middle of the night to nurse for about half of the past week, down from once or twice every night).

She continues to improve her crawling speed and expertise and is now able to crawl with a toy in her hand. She continues to point out a few areas of our house where we have failed to baby-proof, but the only bad thing that has happened was when I found a chewed-up piece of paper in her mouth (and that wasn't really that bad). I'm still not sure what it was or where it came from. The most humorous instance related to her new mobility skills happened the other day, when she startled me by poking her head in the kitchen door while I was standing at the sink washing dishes (I had left her in the living room playing with her toys). I let out a brief scream, and she looked at me with a worried expression on her face; then I started laughing and she started smiling.

I get to take her for her nine-month check-up on Thursday. I think it will be my favorite doctor's visit so far, since she will not have to have any shots. I will look forward to reporting how much she has grown. :)

Daddy's Girl

These pictures say it all...Daddy is the love of her life!

Our new niece!

Gracie Kim Rizzotti was born Jan. 5th, 2007, at 2pm Korean time. (We still haven't made it to that time here yet!) She weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 21.25 inches long! Mommy, Baby, and Daddy are all fine. We will post more pictures as we get them. Gracie is Rebecca's first first cousin. We're so proud!

Christmas in Tulsa

As you can see, Cutie had lots of fun on her first Christmas (outside the womb). There were lots of things to play with at Gran and Grandpa's house, even before she opened presents, but the presents were great, too. We enjoyed being with the Rizzotti clan (except for Matt and family, whose baby will hopefully come on Friday)! Cutie finally got to meet Uncle Chris, and Miss Rebecca was lots of fun, too.