Moore Lovin'

August 2011

2012-02-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

I've already covered what happened the first part of August, on the Moore side anyway. These are some pictures of time spent with the Stratton side of the family while we were in Salt Lake:

Becca was excited to be reunited with Aunt Serity and Cousin Keelian again

Here I warranted a 1/2-smile from Creighton :)

Stratton was SO excited to meet Becca for the first time

He is such a loving oldest cousin

Despite the somber face here, Becca loves Stratton too

Testing her flexibility

Aunt Serity was excited to get some "loves" too

We were able to go to the Salt Lake Temple

No longer newlyweds, but still joined at the...toes?

That's talent

Creighton getting his toes muddy in the garden

Enjoying a backyard picnic

Grandma Flegal and Grandma Stratton joined us

Some of us ate and some of us played

Stratton enjoying the rope swing

Stratton and Creighton fighting for the rope swing :)

Creighton gets his turn

Keelian is too messy to be allowed a shirt

I know it's fuzzy, but I couldn't resist including this precious pose

Which they wouldn't repeat for me - this one is more manly

Food was that good, huh, Daniel?

Jacob is the best massage-giver

Serity REALLY relishes head massages

The camera was the only witness for Keelian helping herself to more Jello

(after her shirt was put back on!)

Creighton ADORES his Uncle Devin

They are inseparable

We were celebrating Mom's birthday

Playing Mario Kart on the Wii

I told you they were inseparable!

Devin loves being an uncle

Toe-taste-testing

Fun family togetherness time

What?

Now he's ready with his dashing grin

Uncle Doug and Aunt Teresa came over with some surprise birthday gifts

They sure decked out the birthday girl so everyone would know

Mom wears it well, don't you think?

Ooh-la-la!

My "DB friends" (from working at Deseret Book) - Meliss & Gayle came to visit

Grandma Flegal and Becca

Happy to be getting better acquainted

Aunt Teresa invited a bunch of us girls in the family over for a luncheon

Four generation photo

Henry (hiding), Ali, and Lottie (incredulous)

"Cousins" Lottie and Becca officially meet

Becca ("Can I take a nap yet?") and Lottie ("What's wrong with her?")

What a cute peanut

"Okay, I'm waving hi to you, Mom - can I sleep now?"

Friends forever and cousins too!

Becca got her wish for a nap

Never seen her nap so well in the midst of a party

The girls with their girls

Serity, Karina, Ali, and Katie - with Keelian, Becca, Lottie, James and Ellie

I love this cute baby!

Well, Devin left for Texas on Saturday the 6th, but Becca and I stayed behind for another week. We had actually already bought a plane ticket for Becca and I to visit in August, so we just moved the time around a little. We mostly just lazed about and had fun with the family - it was so good to be home, but I wish Devin could've stayed too.

Trent decided to make Becca a "baby pirate"

We went up Millcreek Canyon for Family Home Evening

(yes, I am wearing Jacob's pants and Grandpa Stratton's shirt - I didn't bring proper mountain attire)

Trent, hold Becca for a picture - not that way!

Not that way either!

Becca's tired of Uncle Trent's games

I think this shirt is adorable

No one can get enough of Becca

And she loves the attention

Keely and Shar

Daniel is hungry enough to eat Trent's face next

Mom and Dad, mid-bite, like the kind photographer that I am

"Lunch-box" is always excited about food

Sharlee and Trent's faces in the next few pictures amuse me -

but Stratton just wouldn't look at the camera

ha ha

Stratton is still eating, not to be disturbed

Even Uncle Trent doesn't phase him

I finally got him to look at me, but no smile

Back to eating the goodness of tin foil dinner

I just had to capture my happiness at being in the mountains

This was Becca's first time in the mountains

Trent and Becca in the kiddie chairs

What a charmer

Becca's still got the wrong end of the sippy cup

Daniel joins in on the "now give me an intelligent look" picture

Ric, Keely, Ser

Mom and Jacob

Figured out the sippy cup, Mom

Becca loves to be outside

"This chilly feeling is new, Mom - Texas doesn't get like this!"

All tuckered out

"My head is too big for this hat, Mom"

Taking the cousins swimming

We tried to get a picture with all of us

Take two, not much better

"Noooo...why would I be rummaging through my Mom's bag looking for food?"

Grandma came to pick us up from the pool

Happy girl

Ser and the girls

Look, Ser - you can totally handle having four kids

"Who DARES disturb my slumber!?!"

Serity modeling "Elephant Snot" - syrup

Lunch during Uncle Daniel's break

Rainbow girl

Rainbow twinners

We went to go visit Grandma Flegal and decided to sit out on the front lawn

"Waaa! We have to leave soon?!"

"Oh, that's good - we'll get to see Dad again."

I love pigtails!

Grandma and Becca

The weather was just beautiful for relaxing outside

Helpful Keelian picks a tomato from Grandma's garden

"No, I won't give it to you, Mom - it's mine, fair and square."

Trouble-maker...but a cute one

Becca loves to steal unsuspecting people's glasses

Two people I love

See this long hair?

Yeah, it's really long

I decided to chop it off

We started with removing a foot's worth

Take your last look!

Sharlee tries out a "wig" on Dad

No more hair for Becca to pull on

Eek! Look at that pile of hair! And that's not the part in the braid!

Becca playing blocks with Grandpa and Grandma

She likes to knock down what Grandpa builds

She got her teasing nature from Grandpa, I think

The flight back to Texas was better than her first, although I didn't have Devin to help me

We held a memorial service in Houston for Devin's dad on Saturday the 13th, the day after Becca and I arrived. There were hundreds of people in attendance. The program was much like the one at the funeral in Salt Lake, with some changes - like that I sang "For Good" with Alaire. It was amazing to see how many people's lives Dad has touched.

Devin left for a conference in St. Louis, immediately after the memorial service luncheon for the family. Becca and I made the decision to stay in Sugar Land with the family and help out for the next week. Devin joined us after his trip for a few days too.

Just a random picture taken while at the Moore's

Becca's first taste of candy - while Devin and I were sorting through Dad's closet, Becca thought she'd help herself to Dad's supply of Santa's candy canes, and actually opened one all on her own...You know that moment when you realize that things have been quiet for too long?? :)

We lost several videos that were taken while in Idaho, Utah, and Sugar Land - including 3 Friday videos. I was pretty devastated about it, but here's one from Sugar Land that survived - Becca learned how to get from a laying/crawling position to sitting:

After 3 weeks of being away from home (which seemed much longer than that!), on Saturday the 20th, Devin and Becca and I returned to College Station, and tried to get back into the normal routine. I taught Relief Society the day after we got home. We had our good friends, the Brimley's, over for Family Home Evening. I was so sick with such a bad sore throat for several days, that I finally went to the doctor - which I had never done before! Turned out to not be strep, for which I was grateful. We went to a fun Emergency Prep Fair in Bryan - Devin loved that we got to sit in the police car and tour a demo smoke house, a fire truck, and one of those huge vans that goes around filming disasters. And I loved that we got free seeds.

Here's Becca's developing crawl:

Back in the hot Texas climate

SO happy to be home with her favorite person: Daddy

They love to play together

We can't believe how fast she's growing up

Almost 8 months old

Other things of note the last week in August - we went out to dinner (which is rarer than rare!) at Chili's and got a flat tire for our efforts, we went to a good-bye dinner for Devin's colleague, Jon Re, and we had my friend, Nefilinda, over for a game night.

It was certainly a very full month - but we're grateful that we got to spend so much time with family.

Patrick K. Moore

2012-01-30T21:09:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, July 28th, we were in the middle of dinner when Devin received a phone call from his mom. We were shocked when she told us that Devin's dad had passed away a couple hours previously.

Pat, Lynette, Alaire, Ryan and Flynn had been on vacation in Utah and Idaho, and had been driving towards Yellowstone that day. It was windy and they were on a dirt road; they slid off and the van rolled several times. Mom and Ryan, in the front seats, received some small cuts and bruises, and sore muscles. Ryan pulled Alaire out from under the van, and she had some more serious bruising and cuts. Flynn was severely injured; his arm broken in two places, several cracked ribs, slightly fractured pelvis on both sides, one ear almost torn off, and some road rash. Dad had been laying asleep in the back, and probably died pretty instantly. Despite Ryan and Alaire performing CPR, they could not help him. Eventually they flagged down some help. Flynn was flown on a helicopter to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

Of course, words can only poorly describe our surprise and sadness. We were up most of the night, coordinating flights into Salt Lake City to meet there with Brett and Andrea, and Kyle and Vanessa - and then getting ready to go. After little more than an hour's sleep we woke up early to drive to Houston, where Devin's uncle gave us a ride to the airport.

It was Becca's first plane ride. We were exhausted, and she also had received less sleep than usual, but she was pretty good still. We didn't much feel like smiling, of course, but what can you do?

We soon met up with Brett, Kyle, and Vanessa in the airport, but as we had a couple hours until Andrea's flight came in, we decided to go get some lunch and tour Temple Square. The sister missionaries who guided our tour first took us to the Tabernacle, and we got to hear some organ music - which I'm not sure Becca liked.

When the missionaries found out where we were all coming from (two cities in Texas, and New Jersey), they asked why we came. We really didn't want to talk about it, so we said that we were going up to Idaho to see family. However, the tour they took us on soon showed us the power of inspiration that missionaries can receive through the Spirit, as well as how much Heavenly Father loves us and strives to comfort and bless us. There are many tours the Sisters take people on, but after the tabernacle, they took us to the Christus statue to talk about God's love for us in sending His Son.

The most touching part, however, came next, as they invited us to go watch a series of short videos on the family, where you move from room to room with a set that matches what the videos talk about. The main motif through it all is the beautiful truth that families can be together for all eternity, and that we will see our loved ones even after they die. We had no dry eyes among us, and we felt the Spirit strongly. I know that the Lord was aware of our great sadness and pain that day, and I consider that experience a tender mercy of His.
After our formal tour, we continued to wander a bit around the gorgeous grounds and interesting displays.

a scale model of the Salt Lake temple

(Kyle, Vanessa, Devin, and Brett)

These next pictures were actually taken by Brett's fiancee, Andrea - since she missed our family tour, he took her back a few days later. They are so pretty that I wanted to include them.

After Andrea arrived, we all crammed into a rental van for the trip up to Idaho Falls. We spent Friday evening through Monday afternoon there with the family as Flynn recovered enough to be released. Mom, Alaire and Ryan had already been released when we arrived there, but most of our time was spent at the hospital anyway - to comfort and help with funeral arrangements and other necessary business, as well as to cheer and distract (which was Becca's main job, and she did it so well!). Mom's brother and his wife were so gracious to invite all of us kids to stay with them in nearby Rigby, but Mom stayed to help Flynn during the nights.
After going as a family (minus Flynn, who could not leave yet) to say goodbye to Dad at the funeral home, we decided to drive by the temple and then stopped at this scenic spot near the Idaho falls to take some pictures.

Devin and I both have a soft-spot for Idaho, so we couldn't resist sitting Becca on this bench for a photo op

It's supposed to be a potato with a section (or should I say, wedge?) cut out of it :D

One afternoon, Devin and Ryan left the hospital to go down the street where they were having a classic car show. They brought back a whole lot of pictures to amuse Flynn.

But mostly, our time at the hospital looked like the next few pictures. The staff were kind enough to let us commandeer one of their therapy/lunch break rooms just a couple doors down from Flynn, in the children's wing of the hospital. Ironically, our room was called the Yellowstone Room.

Becca was everyone's amusement. She was a very good baby, despite it being so hard to not let her crawl around, and to get her to take regular naps.

Flynn had a couple sessions in a hyperbaric chamber every day, as well as therapy to help get him standing and walking again. Becca also gave him some Becca-Love therapy.

We did get to church on Sunday for Sacrament Meeting, and here's Becca and her daddy back at the hospital afterwards.

Monday afternoon, Flynn was discharged and we caravan-ed to Salt Lake City, where the funeral was to take place. The Moore's all stayed at Grandma Moore's home, just a few minutes from my parents' home, where Devin and I stayed. The night after we got back, the Moore's and the Stratton's all got together for dinner and chatting.

Here's Becca being just generally cute and practicing her crawl. This was with the girls (me, Alaire, Vanessa, and Andrea) while the boys all practiced their song for the funeral - at Grandma Moore's house.

Grandma Moore informed Kyle and Vanessa that "mint is very good for babies!", so they let her try it. She made some hilarious faces which led us to know that she didn't like it, but still thought it interesting enough to eat a bunch. As soon as I put her in the car seat to leave though, she promptly got rid of it. Yuck. So, I really don't think mint is that good for babies.

On Thursday, August 4th, Dad's viewing and funeral were held at Grandma Moore's church, where Dad grew up. All of his sons spoke, and sang "How Great Thou Art" together. Alaire sang "For Good" with Dad's sister. And most of Dad's brothers spoke as well. It was a really neat tribute to Dad's life, with lots of tears, but some good laughs too.

Dad was buried in the Salt Lake City cemetery next to his grandfather. His youngest brother, Dan, dedicated the grave. There was a bag-piper playing, as Dad had wanted. Since Dad was such a true-blue Cougar fan, he got a blue casket. And even though he was the only BYU fan of all his brothers, one of them put a big Cougar sticker on the side of the casket as he went to lay his boutonierre on top.

When we felt at last that we could leave, we all went back to the church building for the luncheon. Almost all of Dad's extended family was there, as well as a lot of Mom's family who had traveled a long way to come support her. There was a whole ton of delicious food, and it was good to visit with aunts and uncles and cousins.

Dad has a lot of good qualities, but the two that always impressed me the most were these: he is the most generous man I've ever met, and he was so frequently serving his fellowman - I am sure he still is, up in heaven. Dad loves his family and we know he'll be watching over us. Of course, the family misses him a lot. But Mom especially is so strong, and as a family we are so grateful for the eternal perspective the gospel blesses us with. We know that we will see him again someday, and we thank Heavenly Father for the blessing of a temple sealing that binds us all together for eternity.

July 2011

2012-01-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

Devin stayed home from work one Friday to play with this fat little cherub who adores him - can you blame him at all?

Becca's favorite word is "wub" - I like to tell her that I "wub" her too. Her bouncing jowls reminded me so strongly of something from my past that we made this Friday video:

We were invited to a party at Devin's friend, Ben's, apartment - to watch the Women's World Cup. Afterwards we went swimming in his pool and Becca impressed everyone with her breath-holding skills. Devin is really pleased that she likes water so much and hopes she becomes a swimmer. She still loves bath-time too, especially when duckie is on the menu.

We spent part of the 4th of July weekend in Sugar Land. There were no fireworks because of a fire ban (so depressing!), but Alaire and I found some pretty spectacular fake eyelashes and about bust a gut taking distorted pictures together. I have included only a small percentage of the photos - we kind of went overboard...

Becca turned six months old! She is growing so fast.

Becca takes her eating seriously. And her messes.

That must be the reason she's at the top of her "class"...

More eating pictures; no wonder my left wrist hurts almost non-stop!

Becca is such a happy baby and she makes us happy too. We love to try to make her giggle:

We are such lucky parents - Becca has a relatively easy time teething. We were so excited to see that first tooth! Watch carefully:

My family went to the Cabin and Mom decided to have a little Family Symposium where everyone presented on a different uplifting topic; she asked me if I would prepare something on education. Devin and I were quite amused with our morning's worth of effort to add some humor (I didn't put the whole presentation on, but following are some pictures, bloopers, and clips we hope you get a laugh out of - I remind myself of Nanny McPhie in the last one):

As a totally random story, we have some scallywags for neighbors. These rascals are thieving from us! However, we cannot appeal to the law for help, because I'm sure rodents are above (or beneath?) the law. Due to the severe drought in Texas, you may see that our sad attempt at a garden (and a lawn) by most accounts has failed. We tried to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. I'd like to blame it all on this dearth, or even on that pitiful contraption of a Topsy-Turvy - but maybe I didn't inherit my parents' (or grandparents'!) green thumb. Anyway. I digress. Back to that furry creature you can see on the corner of our back porch; he has our second-to-last surviving tomato (of the perhaps 6 or 7 we grew)! I didn't even know squirrels ate tomatoes...we figured he was desperate. It was intriguing to watch him, until he went for the last tomato - then I got mad and chased him off.

Speaking of squirrels...(since they're so fascinating and all) I forgot to post these pictures back in April - this shows you how hot it was in College Station even a few months ago; this squirrel didn't budge as I got closer - it was just too hot!

About the same day as the tomato-stealing incident, Becca's second tooth came in, and she also finally started to crawl! She had been doing her seal-like move across our slick hardwood floors for so long, that we wondered if she would ever crawl normally, but she did it.

Besides Becca's milestones and strange squirrel stories, most of July passed much as the past few months had, with the same sort of activities. Some new additions were that I joined a book club (it turned out to be more of a "hey-moms-let's-escape-and-have-a-girly-chat-night" most of the time), and we also had a friend get baptized, which was really neat to witness.

It's a good life we have!

June 2011

2011-11-22T20:50:00.000-08:00

On June 1st, Devin joined a summer bowling league with some friends from school/work. They called their team "Level of Service X" (I won't try to explain the transportation engineer humor there!) and played every Wednesday night. That first night he was gone bowling, Becca decided to (FINALLY!) learn to roll the other way - from back to stomach. I was so excited that I cheered her on a little too hysterically, because I startled her and she cried.
The next day, it was like she had suddenly realized how to use some of those muscles in her body; she kept rolling, and also started sitting on her own (supported on her arms) - by the next week she could sit without leaning on her arms. Here's some pictures of her, still hanging out in her pjs in the morning. What a happy, chunky, sweet baby we have!

That Friday, she showed off her rolling skills:

We went down to Sugar Land on Saturday to visit family. She had fun practicing being cool with Uncle Ryan:

And practicing being cute with Aunt Alaire (showing off Becca's new headbands):

She was also given a funny hand-me-down t-shirt of Alaire's, which she debuted on our morning walk Monday:

Here's Becca on the 7th, when she turned 5 months old:

Devin took some pictures at "story-time", unbeknownst to me:

Guess who came to visit us for a day? Grandma Moore...

...and Uncle Brett! This was Becca's first time meeting him, and she was quite taken with his beard:

Uncle Brett read Becca a story that he and soon-to-be Aunt Andrea bought for her (she loved it!):

The story was a real nail-biter, I guess! Uncle Brett didn't mind too much that Becca used his nails instead of her own:

Becca also got a preview of the next big event by sitting in the high chair Uncle Brett (indirectly) got for her:

We really enjoyed having Mom and Brett come visit - the last time I'd seen him (which was also the first time I'd seen him!) was the day Devin and I got married, and wedding days aren't really conducive to getting to know someone...we had lots of fun, chatting and playing games - we hope he comes again to visit us.

Friday the 10th, Becca ate her first solid food. We gave her rice cereal - and she dug in most heartily. She wanted the spoon to feed herself, even.

And here's the Friday video documenting her momentous first bite:

Devin went to an ITE Adopt-a-Highway clean-up - he has been keeping busy with those ITE responsibilities even during the summer.

I was asked to substitute teach in Relief Society one Sunday - and then they called me to teach every month (in addition to my music calling). I always learn a lot from teaching, and it's been a great experience.

Did you know that Becca is a ninja baby? Watch out!

Oh, now she's got her bloomers on right. Back to normal baby life and tummy time smiles.

Becca slept through the whole night on her own! Once. Unfortunately, she didn't repeat that...

My mom sent Becca a fun package full of adorable garage sale finds - and I had a grand time dressing up my little doll and having a photo shoot just about every day - or every time she got the first outfit dirty and I had to change her - for the next week or so. So - no apologies for the plethora of pictures in this post, but you have been forewarned. First off is the jeans jumper:

At our church's play group, Becca had her first encounter with bubbles. I wish I had brought my camera, because she was fascinated. Her love of bubbles continues to this day.

Next model job is the orange dress:

Taking a break from this girlishness, Becca had fun with Dad's BYU cap. We have a future Cougars fan here, folks.

All that posing for the camera tuckered her out - I love her flying Superman stance here:

Devin played hooky one Friday - we relaxed at home, then went shopping to Old Navy and he treated me to my first taste of "Jack in the Box" and further spoiled me by taking me to Barnes & Noble. I wanted to read another couple chapters of The Hunger Games (the holds line for it at the library was insane!). I am half-ashamed to admit that to stave off Becca's pleas for attention while I hurriedly finished the last couple pages of a chapter (I promise, I am a decent mother), I gave her my cell phone to slobber upon. I used to give my old one to my nephew all the time, with no untoward consequences - but wouldn't you know it, she ruined the microphone so no one calling me could hear me talk (although everything else worked fine). I was too cheap to replace it for a long time - so, sorry to all of you who were neglected at that time. Anyway, I digress. We headed home again, and I decided that I wanted to try some more naked baby pictures with Becca. I know, you're questioning my judgement after what happened the first time we tried that. Devin did too. And you and Devin were both right. I only got a couple shots before she peed everywhere. But I still think she's got adorable cheeks. :)

We put some clothes back on her (yes, I know the same outfit as the day before...) and had her show off her sitting skills:

The sky was SO blue - we tried to capture it:

Moving indoors, Becca had a new dish at dinner: peas. Not her fav.

Devin had his first Father's Day! He said, "It was awesome. I love Becca. I love being a dad. It's a dream come true, and I'm excited for all my future kids and Father's Days." Well, let me tell you what - HE is the awesome one! Becca just lights up whenever her dad is around and he can make her laugh like no one else can. He is such a cute and fun and loving daddy to Becca, and so helpful and thoughtful. He even willingly changes diapers of his own accord. :D Now that's love. Devin got to speak in church on Father's Day - all about the spiritual responsibilities of fathers - he did such a good job. Becca and I made him some breakfast in bed:

Although she's pretty grumpy in this video, she's still a cute little inchworm (trying so hard to move around on her own!):

New outfit provided by her auntie, whom Becca does love!

She loves laughing too.

And she loves her Daddy.

And her apparently delicious fingers:

And sometimes her nostrils too:

Oops, you weren't supposed to see that last picture. "Mo-om! How embarrassing!"

Cutie in a purple dress:

More cuteness:

A turn of the tables - she used to make me look like I had a watermelon under my shirt and now she wears watermelons on her shirt:

A change of scenery (to our backyard) as well as clothes:

Well, besides lavishing our baby with love, we also enjoyed several other pastimes in June: we had friends over for dinner and games, watched movies (we had a Lord of the Rings "marathon" - spread out over 3 or 4 days), and I joined the ward book club and got Devin addicted to The Hunger Games too.

May 2011

2011-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

May Day! Here’s our cute girl, all ready for church:

One of my new favorite games to play with Devin is Skip-Bo, admittedly mostly because I can usually win since it’s more luck than anything! Becca joins us sometimes…and sometimes Dad has to do silly things to entertain Becca long enough to finish a game:

That night, Devin and I had our first experience as parents of a sick baby – Becca had a fever and was very unhappy. It made us a little anxious, but Devin gave her a priesthood blessing and she got better by the next day. I’m grateful to have the power of the priesthood in our home.

I don’t know why, but I just LOVE to have Becca fall asleep in her car seat and see her little feet poking out from under the cover…and then watch them start wiggling as she wakes up:

Tummy time pictures:

Becca and I surprised Devin by visiting him at work since we discovered we missed Take Your Daughter to Work Day:

Random cute picture:

Once Becca figured out she could bounce in her jumper, she started really liking it (17 weeks):

Either she tired herself out jumping, or she got bored with me and started falling asleep in her swing later that day (I really think she was going through a growth spurt, because she also slept through the whole night - 8 pm to 7 am! – SO nice):

Devin took us both disc golfing again. It was oh so hot, but this time I remembered the camera:

My first Mother’s Day was really nice, despite me being a little sick. Devin and Becca made me a yummy breakfast in bed. Devin had sent me some beautiful irises and tulips earlier in the week, and then Sunday morning I got to open a lot of Tupperware (individually wrapped for my excitement and Devin’s entertainment) plus my requested presents of an extra set of measuring cups and spoons. What a spoiled mom I am! At Church, I cried all through the Primary’s special musical number (even just watching them walk up to the stand set me off!) - just like the sentimental weepy sap I’ve become. Just wait until Becca’s in Primary! We drove to Sugar Land to spend the rest of our celebration time with Devin’s family, and got to video chat with my family later that night. It was a nice day to think about the blessing I have to be a mom and to have Becca in my life now. I am learning quite a bit and I hope I am growing and changing for the better. Motherhood is hard at times (honestly, for me, quite often in these early sleep-lacking, demanding months), but also generally fun and liberally sprinkled with little moments of sweet happiness. I have wanted to be a mother ever since I was a little girl, because of the example of my amazing mom, who remains my biggest hero. While the “newness of being Mom” is wearing off, the reality of feeling half prepared to deal with each new growth stage and being forced to learn unselfishness has started to set in; I’m starting to accept those feelings as normal for daily life. Through all of that, I catch ever larger glimpses of fulfillment and a growing sense that I was made to be a mother. I am sure my budding confidence will continue to ebb and flow through each stage with Becca, and as other children (hopefully) come along, but I am very happy with my choice of profession and I’m becoming steadily more accustomed to my new way of life.

I had a really neat experience when we came back from Sugar Land; the missionaries invited me to come with them to a discussion with a girl from Brazil. It was so fun to speak in Portuguese again, with a Brazilian! And I love the spirit that missionary work brings. We had this girl over to our home for dinner and more discussions with the missionaries, and she came to church several times too in May.

We rejoiced at the end of Devin’s second semester of grad school by going out to Cici’s Pizza Buffet. Before moving to Texas, I was not acquainted with the joy that is Cici’s, but Devin has loved Cici’s since childhood. His tradition is to not eat the crusts and leave them all in a pile on one plate so he can see how many he’s eaten:

After Cici’s, Devin accompanied Becca and I to her 4 month appointment. I lost what little respect I had for Becca’s pediatrician after waiting a long time and then having him walk in the door and ask how “he” (Becca) was doing. !!! But whatever, she only needs to see him twice more before we probably move. I don’t know that it’s worth finding another doctor. Anyway, at 4 months, Becca was 25 inches long and weighed 17 pounds and 3 ounces. She survived her next round of immunizations just fine.

Because we had guests, we forgot to do our Friday video for Becca’s 18^th week, until after she had gone to sleep; so here’s a snippet of her snoozing:

The next morning found us fulfilling our turn to clean the church building, and after we went to a graduation party (masters) of a fellow student and colleague of Devin’s. So much fun wore out Dad and little Becca, so they took a nap together:

At the end of April, Devin received the calling to be Elders Quorum President, but it took until mid-May for him to get set apart. He was a little overwhelmed at the thought of adding that to his already full plate, but excited to serve more. He has done a really great job so far and we’ve enjoyed getting to know our ward better.

On May 18^th, we left on an 8 day road trip. I know, you’re thinking “With a 4 month old?! What crazies!!”, but it gets better – we invited Serity and Keelian (14 months) to come with us too! A happy little squished party in our Mazda3. It was so fun! It was a little tiring (but what vacation with Devin planning it isn’t? I love you, Devin!), and so much fun that I’m so glad we did it.

Day One (Wednesday, May 18^th) – Devin, Becca and I left in the afternoon and drove til late that night to Wichita, Kansas.

Excited to start our journey

Becca asleep :)

Becca awake

Becca falling asleep again...just kidding, caught her mid-blink

We tried real hard to get her back to taking a bottle in preparation for this trip...but she only likes to chew on it. Oh well...

Lotsa drool

She did really well the first day, only getting grumpy at the end

Did you know there was a Moore, Texas?

No Mom, I had no idea. Fascinating.

Whoda thunk?

Our book for the trip was Treasure Island

Prepping dinner

We stopped in a hotel parking lot for some sandwiches

Devin played with Becca...can someone tell me why our camera always focuses on what is farthest away?

An elderly couple passed us and said, "Oh, how cute - I remember when we used to do that!"

Chow time

Do you really have to take pictures while I'm eating?

Whatcha got, Dad? Share with me!

This car has gone places!

After a shower in the hotel

Cute nakey bum!

Day Two (Thursday, May 19^th) – We got up early and drove to Omaha, Nebraska to pick up Serity and Keelian from the airport. We arrived a little early and happened upon an interesting place to wait for their flight to get in: George Washington’s Mount Vernon Gardens – a miniature replica of Mount Vernon! It was SO GOOD to see Serity again! I have missed living close to my sister. And Keelian, who has grown tons since we last saw her at Thanksgiving, is such a precocious cutie. Introducing Becca to her aunt and cousin was a major highlight of the trip, and I’m so grateful to Serity for coming with us, and for everyone who made that possible. After a quick dinner, we headed to the Winter Quarters Visitor’s Center. I had been there a few times growing up, and was excited to share that experience with Devin this time. Two of my best friends from growing up, Theresa Starr and JJ Smith (now Bennett), met us (Theresa at the Visitor’s Center while Serity was in the temple, and JJ met us in the temple when we did a session). How neat to be with my friends again, who I haven’t seen in about ten years! And the Winter Quarters temple is a special place too. When we got out of the temple, it was pouring rain, so we forgot to take pictures. JJ and her husband, Shane, were our gracious hosts that night – Theresa joined us awhile for some catching up conversations and ice cream. Again, I forgot to take pictures, but I remembered to get one the next morning with JJ before we left.

We pulled off into the middle of some farmer's field for lunch break

Look at those beautiful straight rows of corn!

Enjoying being outside in the fresh air

I failed at taking a picture of the three of us...but I love Devin's smile! And if you look at Becca's head, you can see her growing hair - there are 3 hairs at her crown that are way longer than all the rest

Devin's arms are longer than mine

Gettin' back to Mom's country roots (ha ha)

See ya, Dad! I don't want to get back in that car

Our quaint find: mini Mount Vernon

Everything was set up to scale in replica

It actually was a little on the unkempt side (see the dead leaves)...

...But lots of green growing things!

A nice chance to stretch our legs

Becca likes to suck on her baby bjorn

Yay for vacation!

I may have a smile on my face, but I was actually saying, "Hurry up, Devin! The mosquitoes are eating me alive!"

Pretty blossoms - Baby's breath (weird name, if you ask me)

Cousins!

Becca, meet Keelian

Keelian, meet Becca

Kisses

Hugs

Keelian reciprocates

Another hug?

No thanks, I'm done

It's really not as big of a deal as you think it is; we hung out in heaven all the time

But if you insist...

Becca meets Aunt Serity

Ser's excited - looks like Becca's more into that wrapper at the moment

Winter Quarters

We debated about telling people Serity was Devin's wife too - ha ha!

Cutie pies

Hanging out together in the stroller

Actually, it was funny because they didn't like sharing the seat and kept hitting/kicking each other

Hi Mom! Look at me wave like a big girl

It felt a little strange to be smiling in such a sacred/sad place, but what else can you do?

Love this statue

JJ, Becca and me

JJ is pregnant! Hooray!

Nice hair-do, Keely

Day Three (Friday, May 20^th) – Leaving early is hard with two small girlies, but we did our best and made it to the St. Paul, Minnesota temple just in time for the sealing of Sarah Herrington and Tom Cottle (the main reason for our whole trip). I was so glad I could be there for Sarah on her special day; she has been such a wonderful friend to me. It was sprinkling some that day, but everything still turned out well. After the sealing, we hung out taking pictures outside and relaxing in the mother’s lounge (Devin even fell asleep in a rocking chair! Too bad I didn’t document that). We attended their wedding dinner and stayed at Sarah’s sister’s (whose name is also Becca).

Packed in like sardines

Nap time

All the girls!

Beautiful blossoming trees

"I looked out the window and what did I see?"

Overcast and a little rainy

Trying to run to shelter, but Devin wanted a picture

Couldn't get Becca to look up - she only wanted to eat the flowers

The happy couple exits the temple

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Cottle

"A wedding? I LOVE weddings!"

Crazy photographer man

I think a running toddler is so cute

Even more so if she's my adorable niece

Beautiful raindrops

Becca reaching for the blossoms

She was fascinated with them

Can I eat it, Mom?

My pretty girl

Darling Keelian

What a cute smile!

Don't eat them!

But Keely was too intrigued...

...she wanted a taste test

No, this is how you do it - you pick one...

...and then you smell it

Comparing blossoms

Becca's turn for a taste test

Sniff, sniff...aahh!

Becca appreciates nature

Devin encouraging Becca's exploration

Can you tell he loves her?

Tiny baby hands, so intent on grabbing

My little girl

Say cheese, Keely!

Oh no! Don't REALLY eat it!

Forward, ho!

Sarah and Tom

Add another temple to our list!

We love temples

Stand in holy places

Becca's going to like the temple too

Playing around

Look over here, Becca!

No, over HERE, Becca!

Keelian LOVED to play in the dirt

Wherever we went, she would find the dirt

Maybe she'll be a gardener some day

Spinning around

In the hotel courtyard during the wedding dinner

It had recently rained and the blossom petals were falling off

Keelian was getting a little giddy with all that turning

Discovering the trees and flowers

Ooh, look how pretty

Day Four (Saturday, May 21^st) – Devin took me to The Original Pancake House for our 2^nd Anniversary (really, the whole trip was kind of an anniversary present to me). It has been a marvelous two years. We had a great discussion during breakfast about all we have learned together, and how we have grown, and some of our good memories. Thanks for choosing me, Devin! I love you! We returned to Becca and Skeet’s house and relaxed for awhile before going to Sarah and Tom’s reception. Unfortunately, their outdoor venue had to be moved indoors, but it was well attended and had lots of great food! Because of our small girls, we left the reception early to put them to bed. Then Serity, Devin and I watched a movie together.

We were both really excited to try this place

Freshly squeezed orange juice

Waiting with anticipation

Do you see how BIG this is?!

First bite of heaven

Look at all this scrumptious fare - and yes, that's ice cream in that bowl

His determination to finish it all is wavering...

You can do it, hun!

So much deliciousness! It's overwhelming!

Last bite...until we meet again - we contemplated opening our own Original Pancake House...

Best friends

Look at her pretty dress

Can you tell they're way tired of smiling by now?

But we still forced them to smile a few times more - ha ha

Cutting the cake

Are you ready for this?! Oh yeah!

Sarah's mom looks on

Yum, Tom likes the cake - each layer was a different flavor

They were very nice to each other - it was kind of disappointing

Serity brought this cute dress and some others for Becca - thanks!

Keelian got a hold of the camera...surprise, Mom!

Just trying to entertain her in the back seat

Smile for me!

Now make a funny face!

Day Five (Sunday, May 22^nd) – All of Sarah’s family (including Sarah and Tom!) had a brunch that morning which we were invited to. Then we went to their ward for Sarah’s nephew’s baby blessing. Our plan was to leave right after Sacrament Meeting, but the tornado had other ideas. Devin wanted to leave anyway, but it was pretty crazy weather outside and the leadership insisted we go into the basement with everyone else (who knew church buildings had basements?!). That only delayed us an hour or so, and then we were off to Nauvoo, arriving late at night and going right to bed (after partaking of the complimentary hot chocolate and fresh cookies in the lobby!).

At the family brunch

Sarah and Becca reunite

Mom and Dad sent a present - we opened it to find matching cousin dresses for Becca and Keelian

Happy rainbow girl

We tried hard to get a cute picture of them together...

...they didn't cooperate very well...

...if it wasn't one...

...it was the other...

...or both of them...or the camera...

Tired Becca

It's okay, Keelian, I know how you feel

And here's Becca's belated Friday video for 19 weeks old:

Trying on Aunt Karina's sunglasses

Keelian was really good in the car too, especially consider how mobile she is now

I love the nose-wrinkle smile

Looks like she's about to toss her hair :)

Beautiful sunset when we stopped to eat dinner

Day Six (Monday, May 23^rd) – This was the most wonderful day! We woke up early, and I played with Becca and Keelian while Serity went on a run and Devin walked down to the temple to ponder. When they returned, Devin and I went to a session together and then picked up Becca for a breakfast buffet while Keelian slept (don’t worry, I smuggled food back for Serity). We all went to the Visitor’s Center for a bit, then Serity was off to the temple for a session and Devin and the girls and I took a wagon ride tour of Nauvoo. Since it was Devin’s first time in Nauvoo, and we only had one day to be there (which really doesn’t do Nauvoo justice!), it was a great way to get a nice overview. We had time for a couple home tours and then Serity caught up with us for the blacksmith’s shop (gotta get your prairie diamond ring!). We decided the next most important thing after the temple was to visit Carthage, so we made the trip out there next. We came back and walked around the outside of all the Smith family sites as the sun began to set before doing a little souvenir shopping and then hitting up the frozen yogurt place. I absolutely love Nauvoo – it holds an important place in my heart and there is a very unique and special spirit there. Spending a day there was only enough to whet my appetite, really, but it was so neat to be there with Devin and see him get excited about it.

Mulholland Street, early in the morning

Nauvoo temple

The white of the temple against the blue sky and the green trees is so gorgeous

I love this temple

I love Nauvoo

The house of the Lord

Majestic

Devin's first time to this temple

We were here the weekend before the summer season, so we pretty much had the whole town to ourselves

Joseph and Hyrum

Good men

"This is the loveliest place..."

In the shadow of the temple

Moon stone

Pretty arches

In the Visitor's Center, hanging out

When Sharlee first met Devin (she was 4), she told him he looked like Joseph Smith

In the Women's Gardens

Sorry, Emma - all out of gold coins

An original sun stone

Passing the temple on our wagon ride tour

There in the background is where the Nauvoo Pageant takes place - I miss it!

Keelian liked looking over the edge at the wheel

Riding down Parley's Street with the temple fading in the distance

Keely was getting bored, so I let her take a picture - it's so green in Nauvoo!

Coming back towards the temple

It really stands out on the hill

Makes me happy to be here

Getting desperate to keep Becca entertained

Keelian wanted off too :)

Keelian, reading the map to tell us where to go next

Keelian is so skinny, but her seat belt makes her look fat in this picture

Walking to our next tour point

Becca took a nap on the way

Trying to keep Keelian out of the dirt again

Welcome to Carthage Jail

There is a special spirit in this place

Keelian, getting some wiggles out

The window Joseph fell through

The door to the jailer's room

The bullet hole in the door - when Hyrum got shot

Coming up the stairs

The whole crew

So neat to be together here

A replica of the well where Joseph fell

By the statue of Joseph and Hyrum

We have this statue in miniature at our home

Our little family is blessed because of their sacrifices

Joseph Smith's Mansion House

At the front gate - come on in!

The Nauvoo House

Plaque where Joseph is buried

The Prophet's tombstone

Buried next to Hyrum and Emma

Joseph's parents' tombstones

The Nauvoo House again - it was never finished

The Red Brick Store

Having fun before bedtime

Becca is only about a pound lighter than Keelian

Having a romp

Hugs/wrestling got a little crazy

Keelian learning to be gentle :)

That's Baby Becca, yes

Becca wouldn't stay still for a picture - this is the best you get

Day Seven (Tuesday, May 24^th) – We traveled to St. Louis, Missouri where Devin and I went to the temple before Serity and Keelian took a flight back home. It seemed like too short of a time to be with Serity and Keelian, but we’re grateful for what we got! We spent the rest of the day driving home to Texas…

In front of the St. Louis temple

We used to take bus trips here as Young Men/Young Women when I was growing up

Leaving the temple grounds

The temple is right next the freeway, a great spot!

Yummmm...lunch at Chipotle!

No, I am not nursing and navigating at the same time...that would be illegal...

Hey there, foot!

Ready to be home

Day Eight (Wednesday, May 25th) - …and didn’t arrive home until the wee hours of the morning. We drove past the wreckage of the Joplin, Missouri tornado and drove through a spectacular lightning storm and a verging-on-scary downpour. I only drove the last leg (a couple hours) of this whole road trip, but in that short space of time, managed to run over a raccoon and a possum (it was traumatizing to me). I count this day as part of our vacation, because Devin stayed home to recuperate with me – sleeping in and playing games and watching a movie! It was a great vacation, with many happy memories.

I experimented a little to see how Becca would look with a fu manchu:

Becca the book worm to be:

I know it's blurry, but I want to remember how tiny her hands are now:

Our little Becca ballerina:

For Becca’s 20^th week Friday video, she livened up our traditional pizza night by dressing up and bringing some Italian music:

And here’s some more pictures of our little Luigi (Devin corrected me; I said it wrong in the video – because she’s wearing green, not red):

Kyle and Vanessa came to visit us the last Saturday in May and we had a fun time disc golfing and making homemade pizza (yes, again – we like pizza), and playing games. They will be leaving us in a couple months for Kyle’s grad school in Boston, and we’re sad to see them go. Vanessa took these great pictures for us.

On Memorial Day, Devin was planning to work anyway, but I convinced him (not so hard!) to stay home and play with Becca and I. We went to the Scout’s garage sale early in the morning, and scored some good loot – mainly we were happy to find a great coffee table for ten bucks. We previously had been using a cooler to put the laptop on, so this was a super upgrade for us!

And so passed May – we love summer!

April 2011

2011-07-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

Less talk, more pictures.
Becca's hair grew in this month (12 weeks old):

April Fool's!
General Conference was the first weekend of April, and we enjoyed each session from the comfort of our own home via the miracle of the internet. So much easier than taking Becca to church 4 times! General Conference was great of course. We also like the new version of Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration that they played in between sessions. We tried out several new and fun recipes that weekend - like crepes and cupcakes!
For Family Home Evening, we went to see Disney's "Tangled" which we both LOVED! No question - it is my new Disney favorite! I am even planning to chop my hair off Rapunzel-style (not with a giant shard of glass - just that type of hair cut).
Here's some of Becca's smiles:

Becca at 13 weeks practicing her rolling over:

Becca hanging on for dear life in her jumper:

Devin took me (and Becca) disc golfing for our first time together. There are several places to do it here in College Station, and he's gone a few times before. I didn't do too bad, actually!

Devin was getting Becca ready for bed one night, and started laughing. When I went in to see why, this is what he had done to our child:

But here are some "adorable" pictures without the legal stickers.

Tummy time pictures:

We went camping with Devin's family to Brazos Bend State Park. It was Becca's first time and she was a good little camper (14 weeks):

She slept better and longer than she usually did at home! Made me want to camp all the time. Here we are in the tent the next morning:

Enjoying some quiet early morning time sitting at the camp fire (it was actually chilly enough for a hoody for a little while - so nice!):

A couple hours later, we were joined by Alaire, Ryan and Flynn:

Alaire was home from BYU-Hawaii on a break, and it was her first time meeting Becca, so they had a lot of fun together. Devin brought his discs for disc golfing and taught his siblings the game:

And we went on a "hike":

At the end of our hike, we ran into an alligator! A real one! Not in a cage! When we arrived the night before and I saw the signs that said there are hundreds of them in the park we camped at, I was afraid they would eat us in our sleep. I needn't have worried; this one didn't even move more than a couple twitches. Even when some people (who shall remain nameless) threw rocks at it.

If you don't agree with taking naked baby pictures, you should skip these next pictures, as you can see Becca's cute chubby bum in the mirror (oops). We love bath time!

Devin found out about an essay opportunity at the last minute and threw together something...that ended up winning him $500! We celebrated by buying more food storage and with a special dinner; salmon and Martinelli's! Yum!

Here's Becca chomping on her little giraffe. I thought her intensity was pretty funny:

So, we've been told that children don't come with an instruction manual, but ours came with a warning label at least:

Although we know Becca doesn't get it yet, it was so fun to dye eggs and start teaching our Easter traditions to her! (Week 15)

Here's Devin acquainting Becca with an egg:

So, for Easter weekend, we dyed eggs on Friday night, then drove to the Houston temple Saturday morning and then went to Devin's parents' for the rest of the day. The Easter Bunny left some nice treats for us there, and one of Becca's new toys became her favorite (and actually was a life saver on our trip home). We can't decide if she's developed an early taste for French cuisine, or if she's practicing for that future prince of hers.

When we arrived home, we had our traditional "Egg Break" and Becca's egg won! Since she couldn't eat her prize, Devin and I split it.

The Easter Bunny left us all some new clothes - Becca looked adorable in her butterfly dress complete with bloomers!

The Easter Bunny also gave Becca just what her Daddy was wanting for her: a swimsuit! He was so excited about it that he gave Becca her first swim lesson the very next day, for Family Home Evening.

Devin went to a Houston Astros baseball game with his dad, Ryan, Flynn, and his friend from work, Ben.

Becca started showing interest in what we were eating. One morning when I had her on my lap during breakfast and was eating a banana, she really insisted on trying it. She quite liked it!

We tried to recreate Monday's Family Home Evening swim lesson on Friday for her 16th week video, but Becca was too cranky for that, so Dad had to give her a swim lesson later that night when she was a little happier...only in our bath tub instead of the pool.

When we were in Sugar Land for Easter, Devin picked up all his PEZ collection to bring home. He wanted to show me all of them and also re-count and categorize them. They were ALL over the living room for probably a week before we finished the project (there are 931 of them, not including PEZ things that aren't dispensers), but it was fun to re-live part of his past with him. When he retires, his post-retirement job will be to sell them so we can get a cool vacation out of it. Becca liked playing with Dad's PEZ too.

Well, that's April's recap!