Rebekah Joy - 1 Year

Rebekah Joy is 1! 

This has been a year filled with heartache and  blessings.  God taught me a great deal of humility in being Rebekah's mother and through her has allowed me to experience unspeakable joy in the same task.
Sleeping:
We finally went to the doctor and got her on some antibiotics for her lingering caugh that would keep her up in the middle of the night.  The amoxicillian has worked wonders on the sinus infection that she apprently had and her nighttime sleep has gone back to being consistant.  Her naps have continued to be about 1 1/2 hours, although there are the occasional longer naps and some shorter.
Eating:
Rebekah was fully weened on September 30th, a little early but I had a women's ministry retreat that weekend and I didn't want to mess with pumping during it!  I had plenty of frozen milk though so she continued to get some each day until she actually turned 1.  She drinks milk from her sippy cup (8oz at breakfast, 5oz at lunch, and 5oz at dinner) before she gets any food because it won't be consumed if it isn't drunk first.  After milk I give her meat which is her least favorite food and after she finishes that then she can get all the veggies, fruit, and bread she can stuff into her little mouth!  Afternoon snack is given but is subject to whatever we are doing that day.  We dropped her bedtime bottle on October 6th, she didn't even notice or care!
Play:
Solo playtime has improved, she isn't in love with that time but she is getting better and eventually she will learn to enjoy her time by herself.  Rebekah loves playing in the sandbox; picking up rocks and the rubber tire pieces at the park and she is pretty good about keeping it out of her mouth.  She continues to love books and it is nice that ripping them up is not on her agenda and I can leave Faith's books around her without worrying about their destruction.  We started doing sisterplay in her room with Faith.  15 minutes with one or 2 toys that are good for both of them to play with; they don't really play together but they'll get there and so far there haven't been any issues.
Skills:
She is crawling on all 4s more consistantly now, although there is still some of the splits action going on occasionally.  She LOVES to pull herself up on me as well as other stationary objects but I am her favorite pull post.  Rebekah loves giving hugs, which is adorable!  She has not started dancing yet but she does clap.  At first it was to the tune of "if you're happy and you know it" but it seems more to be all singing.  She clapped along to Old Hokie when Faith sang it and All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name as well.

First Birthday Party:
We celebrated her birthday on the 6th of October.  Her paternal grandparents and great-grandparents were able to join us at Dupree Park in Jacksonville after naps.  We had chicken, mac & cheese, veggies, and fruit.  Faith and I made some homemade carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing for Rebekah's first cake.  She is not super into sweets so she enjoyed the cake much more than the icing!  After the party, the Langehaugs came over to join us in opening presents.  A huge thanks to our friends and family who were able to join us in celebration that day. 

 

Our Schedule:
0800 - Up, breakfast, get ready, Bible story
0900 - Sister play, Freeplay
1030 - Nap
1200 - Lunch, Outdoor play
1330 - Reading
1400 - Nap
1600 - Mommy time, snack, solo play
1800 - Dinner, after dinner activity (park, library, freeplay, church)
1915 - Bath, Bedtime o/a 1950