Happy 1st Birthday to our dear little Becca-Bear! You are God’s very special gift to us! We love you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family! We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season. Last year we spent the morning and afternoon watching our baby’s heart decelerate and wondering if we were going to have a Thanksgiving baby. We spent the evening in the operating room and then saw our little Becca for the first time. Josh was able to see her in the NICU that night; I had to wait until the next day.

This year we will spend Thanksgiving with our very healthy baby girl who weighs a pound and a half more than our 15lb. turkey. I get to spend the day with my husband, instead of confined in a hospital bed, and I get to hold and kiss our little Becca-bear as much as I want. This Thanksgiving if I get teary-eyed, it will be because I am overwhelmed with all that God has done for us, not because of the uncertainties that lie ahead.

I am especially thankful for my family this Thanksgiving. God has blessed me with an amazing husband who loves me, is my best friend, and who desires me to grow in Christ. God has blessed me with our wonderful daughter, who is a joy to be with and fills our home with laughter.

We have a special guest this week. My sister, Emily, is down for a visit. We’re very busy seeing all the sights of Texas. More pictures will be posted in the coming weeks. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for your prayers for us over this past year.

This week Becca started pulling herself up to stand, using the couch, a chair, and Josh’s desk. The first several times she pulled herself up without help, she shouted out with delight. It was so precious! I never know when to expect Becca to be standing at some piece of furniture. I also never know when she’s going to topple over.

Friday, we took Becca to the park for a swing ride. Becca loves swinging. Even though it was chilly outside, she would cry every time we’d stop the swing to get her out. After our trip to the park, Josh and I built a tent and had a campout in our living room. Becca was not impressed with our tent when she woke up the next morning.

This week we introduced Becca to cloth diapers. Now before you start thinking pins and rubber pants, wait. Cloth diapers have come a long way since our parents used them – pins have been replaced with snaps. So far, we’re liking the new system, and we think we’ll stick with it.

A year ago today, I went from teaching elementary school music to being a hospital patient. When I went in for pregnancy monitoring, I thought I’d only be in the hospital for an hour, but that hour turned into hours and those hours turned into days.

A year later, I’ve gone from hearing and seeing a baby heart monitor all day long to hearing and seeing our dear little Becca. How blessed I am to look back at last year and then look at all the Lord has done since then.

A year ago today, I was still teaching and planning to have a baby in February. However, a year ago today was when I started worrying about Becca’s movement. Five days later, I was admitted to the hospital, and so started our preemie adventure. And today we celebrate 50 weeks with our delightful Becca-Bear!

Last week, we found a bed bug in our closet, so this week has basically been another week of preparing for the treatment, and now we’re in recovery mode. Becca offered to help me hang up all the clothes, but (as you see in the photo to the left) she got distracted by the hanger. Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to deal with the bed bugs, at least while in the USA.

Becca is now starting to pull herself up on things. We don’t have many furniture items her height, so she usually pulls up on the laundry basket and on her little dresser. As of yesterday, she can also go from being on her tummy to sitting up. At least that’s what I’m assuming happened, since one moment she was on her tummy and the next time I turned around she was sitting up. It’s so cute to watch her move around the apartment – 50 weeks of fun!

Today is Becca’s 49-week birthday. It’s hard to believe that she’ll be 1 in three weeks. Where has the time gone? Becca is zipping around our apartment. It’s so cute when she follows us around from room to room. Becca is getting up on her hands and knees now, so it will only be a matter of time before she transitions from creeping to crawling.

Grandpa J flew through DFW Saturday morning, and we had breakfast with him. It was the first really chilly morning we’ve had in Texas this fall, so Becca was able to sport a new outfit. The outfit is a sized at 0-3 months, so we were glad Becca got a chance to wear it this fall.

The picture on the left is the best shot I’ve been able to get of Becca’s two teeth. It’s so cute to see teeth when she smiles. The picture on the right is of Becca and me playing with Daddy’s socks – oh what fun!