Becca had her 15 month check-up today. Except for being small for her real (15 months) and adjusted (12 months) ages, the doctor gave Becca a glowing report on developmental progress! Just thought we’d share Becca’s current stats. (I’m giving the percentiles for 12 months, since her weight and height are nonexistent in the charts for a 15 month old.)

Weight: 18.5lbs. (12% for 12 months)

Length: 27.5in.(7% for 12 months)

Head Circumference: 47cm. (95% for 12 months)

Wednesday morning, 5AM — the cries of Becca-Bear bring me to consciousness. It’s too early for her to be awake, besides the fact that I haven’t slept well all night. Maybe she’ll go back to sleep…wait…wait…wait…I don’t think so. I get out of bed and rescue Becca from her “prison”; perhaps she’ll fall back to sleep. She does, but only in my arms and certainly not when I lie her back in her bed.

I pick Becca up again and take her to our living room. For awhile she sleeps while I hold her on the couch. Then she refuses to sleep unless I’m standing. I’m tired, but as I hold our little girl, I reflect that these are precious moments that are fleeting. Before I know it, little Becca-Bear will be too big to hold and too old to need her mommy in the night. All precious moments — even the tiring ones — need to be enjoyed and savored before they’re only a distant memory.

On Friday, February 18th, Becca took her first steps, and since then she’s been progressing in her walking. She is very proud of herself and appears to think running is far better than walking. I’m very thankful we have carpet, since Becca has fallen several times and smacked her head on the floor. But when she falls, she gets back up and tries again.

Becca has her first official “help-mommy” job. She has been doing a excellent job taking her dry diapers out of the dryer for me. It’s so cute to watch her “help.” Speaking of help, in January we received a neat gift from Uncle Jon and Aunt Ashleigh — a diaper sprayer. It hooks up to the toilet and works really well cleaning Becca’s messy diapers. I highly suggest it for anyone who is using cloth diapers!

Becca got a special box from Uncle Jon and Aunt Ashleigh on Tuesday. Aunt Ashleigh sent us all sorts of treats she found at Greenville’s Switcheroos’ Consignment Sale. Becca loves her new book and bugs and we’re looking forward to getting lots of use out of the clothes and shoes. Mommy even got some new clothes. Thanks, J&A!

Josh continues to work on his research. He gathers data twice a week. On Fridays he Skypes with a consultant Lubbock, TX, and on Saturdays he drives about 20 minutes away to meet with another consultant. We’ve very thankful the Lord has provided these two men for Josh to work with. I continue to have a blast watching Becca, and I work on my dissertation when she’s sleeping. Being a mommy is the second best thing in the world, just after to being Josh’s wife. I’ve very thankful for the roles God has given me, and I’m enjoying the precious moments I have with Josh and Becca.

Becca here. I am very happy to announce that my mommy has a dissertation defense date scheduled! She’s been working on this big paper since before I was born, and I think she’s really looking forward to having it off of her list of things to do. Please pray that my mommy will be able to successfully defend her paper on March 18th, 2011. Once that happens I won’t have to read to myself, fold the laundry, or clean my potty!

The weather has been great here in Texas. I’ve enjoyed going outside with my parents. I love pushing my dolly stroller and walking on the sidewalk. I also love getting dandelions. All the dandelions that mommy picks for me I collect in my hand, and I hold on to them very tight while we walk. I don’t want anyone to take my pretty flowers away from me.

We had a lovely Valentine’s Day. Daddy made Mommy a special meal of pulled pork sandwiches, salad with homemade croutons, and homemade mint chocolates (similar to Andies Candies — whatever those are). I wasn’t allowed to stay up for the meal, but Mommy told me that it was perfect and that the chocolates were “to die for.” My Daddy and Mommy love each other a lot and they love me a lot too!

Mommy has been teaching me to be a good mommy to my animals. Every time she comes to get me up from bed, I make sure to hand her Flopsie and Wilson before I ask her to pick me up. Even when I had a fever a few weeks ago, I still made sure Mommy had my animals before she had me. I’m also learning how to put quarters in the piggy bank Great Grandma Sutter gave me. I love putting money in my bank!

That’s all the news for this week. Daddy continues to spend a lot of time working on Jarai and reading big books. Mommy and I are finding lots of things to keep us busy. Thanks for reading!

Happy Valentine’s Day to my #1 Valentine! Thank you so much for loving me and for being such a  wonderful, loving husband. Thank you for the delicious Valentine’s Day meal you made me yesterday. You are so sweet! I am blessed every day by you! I love you with all my heart!

Happy Valentine’s Day to our #2 Valentine! Becca you are our sweet gift from God! We love you so much, Becca-bear!

Today marks one year since Becca came home from the hospital. She’s come a long way from those first days we had her home with us. Now instead of spending most of the day feeding Becca and making sure she gets her medications on time, we fill our time with playing “where’s Flopsie?” and learning how to put markers back in their box.

Thursday night we were all awakened by the apartment fire alarm system. We stumbled out of bed and made our way outside and then sat in the car until the firemen said everyone could return to their apartments. It was a false alarm, apparently (or at least, no worse than someone overcooking their midnight snack). Becca slept through the first part of the alarm, and once she came out of a daze, she was quite happy to enjoy the excitement.We had enough snow on Friday to take Becca out sledding. She enjoyed her rides down the little hill, and we enjoyed our time outside in the snow. Saturday Becca was sick all day with a fever. It was very similar to her one-day fever during the Christmas holidays. It turns out that she has another tooth popping through, and I think I can safely say that both fevers were related to teething.

Looking over the past year, it’s been neat to remember the many ways the Lord has answered our prayers concerning Becca. Thank you so much for praying for our little girl. She is truly God’s gift to us, and each day with her is a treasure.

We’ve enjoyed a variety of weather this week. Over the weekend it was sunny and warm. We enjoyed the extra time being outside. Becca didn’t like walking in the grass, but she did enjoy crawling on the sidewalk. She was a little hesitant about the stones, but they didn’t stop her from moving right along.

Then, on Tuesday morning we woke up to an icy world. There was a dusting of snow on top of the ice, and it was great for sliding and slipping on. Since Tuesday the temperatures have been in the teens and twenties, so the ice hasn’t had a chance to melt. The UTA campus has been shut down, and had rolling blackouts on Wednesday.

Becca continues to be lots of fun. She now consistently says two words: “d-yes” which means “yes”; “gen – gen” which means “again.”  It’s really cute to hear her ask for something “gen-gen!” Becca also has started kissing us; she opens she mouth wide and presses it against our cheeks. She also kisses pictures in her books. It’s funny to watch her head go down multiple times as she kisses certain pictures.

Becca’s newest skill is picking out and bringing books to me so I can read them to her. We spend a lot of time each day reading books. And now that she knows how to say “gen- gen,” we read some books multiple times in a row!

As you can see from the picture, Josh and I continue to work diligently on our degrees! We appreciate your prayers as I work toward meeting my major deadline. I have to defend by April 1 in order to graduate this May.

In case you think we’ve stopped counting Becca’s week birthdays, we haven’t! Today we’re celebrating Becca’s 61-week birthday. Last year at this time Becca celebrated her 9-week birthday by moving from of her plastic bin to a real crib. Now Becca celebrates by climbing in and out of bins, emptying bins, and putting things in bins.

This week we decided to give Becca her Christmas present. I know Christmas was two months ago, but Becca had many new things her occupied without adding another gift. Becca is now enjoying her Noah’s ark with all the animals. Grandpa and Grandma J bought her some extra animals for the ark.

Friday night Becca went to her first little girls’ birthday party. We celebrated Amaris’ 1st birthday with some families from our church. Becca enjoyed being with the other kids, and she loved the chocolate cake. In preparation for the part, Becca drew some art on our homemade birthday card.

Speaking of birthday parties, Yani (Amaris’ mom) planned a little surprise party for Becca’ 1st birthday at a church fellowship back in November.  I didn’t have our camera with me, but I was able to get some pictures from Yani (see pictures on the left).

Happy Birthday to our most faithful blog reader and commenter. We love you!

At the beginning of this week, Josh and I enjoyed our 3rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day getaway. We had decided to skip the hotel this year and just do something at home. What Josh didn’t know is that I was planning a surprise getaway. In December, my sister-in-law Ashleigh offered us a night in a hotel, and that’s when I decided to surprise Josh. (She told me about it, but not him.)

So, without Josh knowing, I packed up everything, loaded the car, and then escorted him to the car. I love surprising Josh, but it’s hard to do, especially when I’m dying to tell him what the surprise is. The surprise was a success! The hotel was perfect. Our room was a King Suite, so Becca got her own room (which was a big plus). We enjoyed playing with Becca and eating pizza — compliments of Caroline and David — for supper (Becca loved the pizza!).

Our stay included a special breakfast that was great, and since we didn’t have to checkout until noon, we were able to enjoy the indoor pool as well. Becca wasn’t sure about the pool at first, but once she decided it was safe, she loved it! We had a great time, and it was so nice to get away and relax.

Josh’s semester started on Tuesday. He’s teaching one class — Grammar and Morphology — and working as the web/lab assistant, and he’ll be collecting data and writing for his dissertation. I continue to work on my paper and wait for my committee to get back to me. Right now, the progress of my paper is in the hands of my committee members.

Becca continues to grow, learn, and explore. She has learned a hand sign for “please.” It’s so cute to see her use it when I ask her if she wants something. Becca has four top teeth coming in, and has also made good progress in walking with a baby stroller and standing on her own. She’ll be walking on her own very soon.

After our Christmas in PA, we drove with my brother Jon and his wife, Ashleigh, to SC for our second Christmas. We are very thankful for their willingness to let us tag along with them for the trip. While down south we got together with both sides of Josh’s family. We also celebrated Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Jensen’s 60th Wedding Anniversary. It was great seeing everyone.

We visited my friend Mr. Leo West. It was good to see him and spend a little time together. While in SC, Becca had a sick day. She had a fever, took extra naps, and wanted to be held most of the day.

We enjoyed our time at Dad and Mom Jensen’s and Becca enjoyed meeting and playing with her cousin, Bella. On our way back to TX, we caught the beginning of the Martin Christmas gathering which was at Great Grandma Martin’s house. It was the first time for all three great granddaughters to be with their Great Grandma.

We arrived back in TX on New Year’s Eve and celebrated our 3rd Christmas at home in TX. Becca was very proud of the present she made for Josh. We’re now back into the swing of things. Josh went to Pittsburgh for 4 days to present a paper at the Linguistic Society of America, and I continue to work toward my dissertation deadlines.

On December 17th we left for a two-week trip to visit both our families in PA and SC. This week we’ll share some pictures from our trip to PA, and next week we’ll share some from SC. We had a wonderful time visiting my family in PA. It was the biggest Sutter gathering yet: the first time for both Dan’s wife Isabelle and Becca to be with the rest of the family (all at once).

Our schedule was packed full while in PA. With a house full of 13 people, there was lots of cooking to do and dishes to wash. We had family photos taken, went snow tubing, went bowling, celebrated Hanukkah, and visited Santa’s mother-in-law’s home. Among all the activities, we were able to squeeze a trip in to visit Grandma Sutter and Uncle John. It was great to be together and we enjoyed seeing my siblings and my sisters-in-laws.

A very happy New Year from Becca-Bear! When I asked Becca what’s been the best thing about 2010, she had one thing to say: “being at home with Daddy and Mommy!” We’ve had a wonderful year of watching our little girl grow from a  very tiny baby to a beautiful, very energetic one-year-old.

The best thing about 2010 for me has been having another year with my husband and being a mommy. I’m very thankful for my wonderful husband and for the blessing he is to me each day of the year. I’m blessed to be a mommy and to spend each day at home with my family.

We’re looking forward to 2011 and all the wonderful blessings God has in store for us. Happy New Year!

Becca saw Santa this evening. He said he’d been praying for her all year!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Becca’s 56-week birthday! Saturday will be her second Christmas, but it will be her first Christmas to spend all day with Daddy and Mommy, instead of being at the hospital. We are so delighted with God’s gift of our daughter Becca. Josh is finished with his semester. Both Becca and I are glad to have some extra time with him during Christmas. (Becca was generous enough to proofread Josh’s final paper to help him finish up faster!)

We’ve been enjoying some of Arlington’s Christmas activities. One Friday afternoon, we took a trip to Home Depot and enjoyed looking around. Becca loved riding in the cart. Another Saturday evening, we enjoyed (and froze) watching the Arlington downtown Christmas parade. Becca enjoyed most of it.

Another evening we had dinner at Chick-Fil-A and then walked downtown and looked at some window displays. Becca did not like the moving Santa doll and was amazed by the giant nutcracker. We enjoyed the warm evening weather. A big change from the night of the parade.

I’m currently under a deadline with my dissertation. My prospectus was approved the week of Thanksgiving. And now I’m trying to get an entire draft of the paper written by January 15th. I would appreciate your prayers as I try to meet this deadline during a busy time of year.

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

In November, my sister Emily visited us for a week. It took a little while for Becca to warm up to her aunt, but they soon before good friends, and Becca enjoyed laughing at her crazy Aunt Emily. While Emily has here, we went to quite a few things in the area. I think I saw more of Dallas and Fort Worth in the week Emily was here than I have in our previous two-and-a-half years of living in Texas.

Saturday night we went to a rodeo. I don’t think Josh or I will ever be tempted to enter into a rodeo event, even if we’re low on cash. The bull riding looked painful and the other events looked complicated. And you only get one chance at trying to rope the poor little (feisty) calf. Becca didn’t go to the rodeo, but she does enjoy playing with her nativity.

Emily was a great help while she was here. She helped make baby food, she babysat Becca twice when we had to go out, she helped clean Becca’s bed, she washed my kitchen floor (without being asked), she made Becca’s birthday cake, she helped us put up our Christmas decorations, she washed lots of dishes, and she did many other things. The last night she was here, she even scrubbed our bathtub – that was a nice surprise to step into. We’ll see if we can talk Emily into coming again next year. Thanks, Em!

Two more presents arrived for Becca after the official celebrations. My brother Joey sent her a “I <3 BJU” outfit. And my brother Sam and his wife sent her  a Yankee’s outfit and a Mets outfit. I’m not sure if she can wears those down here in Texas Ranger country.

Today is the 4-year anniversary of our first date. I was really excited when Josh asked me out and was hoping it would go well. When I got an email from him a few hours after our date, I decided that I hadn’t scared him away. I was thrilled when he asked me out again…and that he’s now my date for life. I love you, my sweet husband. Thanks so much for asking me out!

On another note, since my miscarriage we’ve received a lot of mail from Dover, Pa – thanks fam.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Becca’s 1st birthday. Becca now weighs 16lbs. and 5oz. and is 27 and 1/4 inches long. She’s come a long ways from her original weight of 2lbs 0.8oz!

During the afternoon of Becca’s birthday we went to see some sights in Dallas. We visited the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. They have a two-story model railroad. It was quite impressive. Next we visited the Pioneer Plaza Cattle Drive in downtown Dallas, featuring bronze bovines.

Our next stop was the State Fairgrounds. We didn’t stay for long, but it was neat to see the area. We got home in enough time for Becca to take a short nap so that she wouldn’t be too cranky for her birthday celebration. Josh and Emily decorated the room, while Becca and I waited in the bedroom. Becca and Mommy enjoyed all the decorations.

At first, Becca wasn’t too sure what to make of her birthday cake. After some tentative fingering, she enjoyed pulling the entire cupcake apart. And eventually she put some in her mouth. After she “finished” her cake, we gave her some homemade sweet potato pie, which she loves.

Becca also enjoyed playing with all her packages, in addition to the gifts themselves. A big hit was her magnetic letters. She loves pulling them off our front door and fridge and carrying them around the apartment. The other day she brought me the “O”. We’re all enjoying spelling words and making new words.

One of the highlights of Becca’s birthday was visiting the NICU. We kept Becca up late so we could see the nurses on night shift. We were very happy to see many of our nurses, and I think they were pleased to see Becca. We continue to thank God for His hand on Becca’s life. Thank you for all your prayers for her over this past year.

Since my photographer sister was here this past week, we have loads of pictures to share with you all. I’ve decided to do spread them out over the next few weeks. Today we’ll have pictures of Thanksgiving, next week we’ll showcase Becca’s birthday, and then maybe the next week we’ll showcase Emily’s visit.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving evening with Emily, and René, Yani, and Amaris Rodriguez. It was good to get together with them for the evening. We have so much to be thankful for. Becca especially enjoyed the sweet potato pie that Josh made.

On a somber note, our Thanksgiving did not turn out exactly as I had hoped. We spent Thanksgiving morning in the emergency room as my body began the process of miscarrying our second child. I was about 12 weeks pregnant, but the ultrasound at the emergency room showed a 6-week baby and no heartbeat was found. Yesterday, the doctor confirmed that my body is preparing to have a miscarriage. We appreciate your prayers for us. Children are a true gift from the Lord, and we are very grateful for His gift of our dear sweet Becca to us.

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.