Signs of Spring

Here are a few signs of spring around our house. Those little black spots are the all to familiar Japanese Beetles. Thankfully they are on the window in the garage not in the house - at least not in mass amounts.
Looking past the bugs you can see the grass is green, the trees are budding and the pond is very full from all the April showers.

Here's what the tulip look like in our front yard. And a little green bean fun.

On the Move

Rebecca is on the move. Two weeks ago I took this first picture of her because while I was in the other room she rolled from right by the TV all the way to where she is. I was amazed with her acheivement and took a picture. Now you can't leave her for 1 minute or she will be into something she shouldn't.

Case and point: This past Saturday I took Rebecca into the basement so I could do some touch up paint on the walls. Rebecca happily played in the middle of the room while I did some spot painting. She started to get a little fussy so I thought I would quick close up the paint and bring her upstairs for a nap. I left the room for 1 minute to put the paint away and while I was gone she rolled all the way to the wall, found a wet spot, and stuck her hand in it! I caught her before she touched either herself or the carpet and quickly wiped her hand. That incident and her pulling a house plant over have caused Dan and I to "baby proof" the house a little more.

Here is Rebecca enjoying the finished basement. So much room to play and so little time!

The following are a few videos of Rebecca. The first is of her new found mobility. She loves to roll and flip around in order to get places. It was taken a week ago and I almost feel like it is out of date. She is now getting up on threes (she keeps one leg tucked under her, so she's not quite to all fours :). And last night she started to try and pull herself up by the couch. It's amazing how kids grow and learn so fast!

This next video is of her new found tongue. She discovered that she has control over her tongue and that it is great for blowing bubbles and making funny sounds. She also knows that if she sticks out her tongue mom and dad will laugh and do the same.

And finally, Rebecca and the Bug. Last night she tried very hard to catch the ladybug but thankfully failed. If she had succeeded it probably would have ended up in her mouth.

Discoveries

Rebecca loves to discover new things and last night she discovered how fun it can be to put her nose and mouth on a cold window. I was sitting inside with her and we were watching Dan wash his truck and Rebecca started to breath on the window to make it fog up and then she started to lick and suck on the window. It was quite entertaining so we tried to capture the moment.Here are just some pictures of Rebecca and me hanging out. We love playing on the floor together after we get home around 4:30 every afternoon. Rebecca usually snoozes on the ride home and is rested and ready to play when we get home.

This was taken this morning before Rebecca and I headed out the door. She is always in great mood in the mornings too.

Our basement is just days from being finished. Our carpet guy layed the pad down yesterday and will install the carpet on Friday. Before he layed the pad we had to tile around the basement door. I think it turned out great for our first tiling job! The tile will eventually go under the door and into the bathroom.

April Fools?

When we got up this morning it was snowing - no joke. I can't tell you how tired I am of the cold weather. I need some bright sunshine and warm weather to lighted my mood and re-energize me.

There are a few things that still have me smiling though. Dan has been working very hard in the basement and we got our carpet ordered last week. We need to lay tile around the outside door and build columns around the steel poles and then we are ready for carpet!! Rebecca continues to amaze us with her new antics, happy disposition, and joyful babbling and giggles. She is getting better at her sippy cup, but still will only take a few sips. And lastly, I might have a green thumb after all :) I have successfully taken care of an amarillis plant that my dad entrusted to me and it bloomed!

The following are a few videos of Rebecca playing. Sorry to those of you who have a slower internet connection and can't view the videos - trust me, I feel for you. But the grandparents and other family far away love to see how Rebecca is growing. The first video is of her saying, "Hey" again. She says it on command most of the time - except when Grandma is on the phone:) The second is of her playing with her bucket of shapes. She loves to play with them and is really good at dumping them out. We are still working on puting them back in.

I have to post this picture too because it is just so cute!