The Big Announcement

And the result is......

Check back...

...at 6:00! Sorry for the delay! Very important things had to take place before I could make this post happen.

The Results Are In!!!

So, we went to see Dr. Brody this morning. I ended up taking Joshua too since he's over his fever. Rebekah, being the oldest, was particularly interested in the ultrasound machine. Dr. Brody got a great look at our baby who looks wonderful! The baby's spine and brain look great and the heart rate was really strong.



Stay tuned for more! :-)

Our weekend

Rebekah was supposed to have her birthday party with her friends on Saturday, but we ran into a roadblock. Friday evening my parents came to the house to give Rebekah her gift. It was already getting late for dinner, and neither of the kids were eager to eat. They finally did eat, but not much. Rebekah looked rather peaked by the time my parents left. I figured she was just really tired from all the birthday celebrations and adrenaline from the past couple of days.

The next morning Rebekah acted really tired. She laid down on the couch to watch cartoons with Joshua and ended up falling asleep. Wow! She must be really tired! Not long after she started vomiting. We spent that morning getting Rebekah and everything around her cleaned up, taking care of her, calling the location of the party for reschedule, and calling parents of our guests.

Rebekah felt much better by the afternoon, but we opted to keep her home on Sunday morning from church as well even though she never had a fever. My mom offered to keep Rebekah for us so Darrin and I could attend church together. When Joshua woke up he was acting rather abnormal, unlike himself. He was more testy than usual, and he just didn't seem right. Since my mom was already keeping Rebekah we decided to let Joshua stay home as well. After church my mom informed us that he had diarrhea, and when Darrin check his temperature he discovered Joshua had a low-grade fever. We were so thankful we had kept him home!

Rebekah was tired most of Sunday, but by the time she got a fair amount of food on her stomach she was feeling back to normal. We decided to let her attend Cubbies while my mom kept Joshua again that night. Rebekah attended preschool yesterday while Joshua stayed home with me. He was still sick with a low-grade fever and not eating as much as normal. However, he wasn't thrilled about missing preschool after I dropped Rebekah off through the car line, but he calmed down quickly on the way home.

As of last night, Joshua still had a low-grade fever. If he is still sick this morning I will call the doctor. I'm thinking it is probably just a little bug he has, but today will make it day 3, so I want to be pre-cautious as well.

Good news, however!!! Today at nearly 17 weeks we are going to see the OB and should find out if the kids are having a little brother or a little sister! Be watching for the big announcement! I had accidentally scheduled for last Monday when the kids were in preschool and then remembered I wanted them to go with us and find out when we do, especially Rebekah. When I was pregnant with Joshua Rebekah went with us to see the ultrasound and see that we were having a baby, so I wanted Joshua to have this experience as well, but since he's been sick he won't be going with us this time. However, I'm really glad that Rebekah will go with us to find out what her little sibling will be.

So, what do you think? Do you think it will be a boy or a girl? I really don't have an inkling this time other than that Rebekah had prayed for a baby sister before we even got pregnant. I will be happy with either another daughter or another son. I love having both a girl and a boy, and they each have their special advantages. So, I leave you guessing until next time.

Preschool Party and Family Party

In celebration of Rebekah's birthday I took cupcakes for her preschool class on Wednesday. Since they were recognizing Fire Safety week and exploring a fire truck before snack I decided to join the class early to participate with Rebekah. Of course, this gave me a great photo op since I normally would not get to be part of this event.

Rebekah did not like the alarms and sirens as you can see her on the front row holding her hands over her ears.


Listening to a fireman talk about fire safety and learning from Sparky the (electronic) dog.



Rebekah's class with Sparky


Rebekah and Sparky


Touring the front of the fire truck



Rebekah's class poses by the fire truck


We then went back to the classroom for snack. Rebekah was the snack helper for the day, and she handed out the cupcakes to her classmates.


She felt pretty special when her friends sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She even made a big deal about it that night over dinner.





This evening we celebrated Rebekah's birthday as a family. She had been itching to open her gifts from Aunt Donise and Uncle Mark. She actually wanted to open them early, but I told her she could open them on her birthday. So this morning she was ready to tear into the box first thing this morning. Knowing me, I have to get pictures of these special events, and I wanted the rest of our family to take part, so I encouraged her to wait. Well, I finally started to give in by late this afternoon, but she managed to get distracted and did wait until we had our intimate family celebration.

When Darrin arrived home from work he entered the house with a bouquet of fresh cut flowers. Rebekah's face lit up when she saw them, and she was so proud that I put them in a vase and in her room. It made her feel grown up.

Rebekah had asked for tacos for her birthday dinner, and afterwards we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate leftover cupcakes from her preschool party.



Joshua's taco face :-)





Rebekah then opened her presents. Joshua gave her a tutu and matching head band.


Darrin and I gave her Monopoly Jr. and an orange shimmery leotard. Her main gift from us will be her birthday party on Saturday. She is so excited!

Rebekah and I played Monopoly Jr. while Joshua took his bath. This is such a great game for this age! Rebekah can do simple math, but this takes it to a new level since they learn how to form different dollar amounts with what they have or to make change. It was just the right length of time for a game at this age. It kept Rebekah's attention, so it wasn't too long, and the game is simple enough and fun too. I loved that they made it in the theme of an amusement park to relate to children as well. There is some light reading, but I just read what was too difficult for her, which is fine since she will only be playing this with me and/or Darrin anyway.



Rebekah got a Madeline set from Aunt Donise and Uncle Mark. I'm not familiar with this character, but she looks really cute. Rebekah got a book, DVD, and matching doll. Donise had also introduced us to Angelina Ballerina about a year ago, and now she's pretty popular in our house, so I'm sure Madeline will soon become a favorite as well.


After her bath Rebekah was excited to try on her leotard, tutu and head band. The leotard doesn't match the tutu set, but Rebekah didn't care. She had a blast dancing away!

Happy 5th Birthday, Rebekah

Five years ago on October 1, 2004 our lives were changed forever. God gave us the most precious gift we could ever receive when He gave us our precious daughter Rebekah. Before, Darrin and I lived in our own world as a young married couple of three years having no idea how much our family dynamics would change with the birth of a child. Middle-of-the-night wakings and feedings, diaper changes, figuring out our little one's cries, but on the other side of that was enormous love for someone we could not explain. Rebekah had her Daddy wrapped around her little finger from the day she was born, and she still does.

Now Rebekah is five years old and is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that our little girl is now not so much a little girl anymore. She's a big girl in her own way. We can see how she is maturing. She's really handling her little brother better and not getting as upset with him as much, although they still have their quarrels. She is more helpful, more empathetic, and she is even taking on responsibility more because she wants to be more grown up. Her latest thing is making her own sandwiches (with help as needed) for lunch.

Rebekah is also maturing spiritually. She is learning about God and His Word, and she asks lots of questions about God, Jesus, and Heaven. She has not yet given her life to the Lord, but she will claim that Jesus is her Savior. There is still very important details about salvation that she does not quite understand yet, but she is learning and is very inquisitive.

Five years old sounds so grown up to me. I never realized it until my firstborn was fast approaching this day. Four years is still a little girl - a preschooler - and although Rebekah is still in preschool it seems like she's not so little now that she is five. It feels like a milestone from leaving little girl behind to entering the bigger girl stage. I don't want to say "big girl" because I feel that is left to older girls who are in upper elementary, but it definitely feels like Rebekah has hit a new stage.



Happy 5th Birthday my dear, sweet Rebekah! Your Daddy and I love your more than you'll ever know. And your brother looks up to you a whole lot. We are so proud of you and the daughter that you are.