Finally, an update

It has been a very long time since I have posted anything, mainly because I should be doing the updates at night, after work, but I tend to have other things to do. I've been meaning to post pictures and info from Kyle's 30th birthday, Becca's First birthday, and other miscellaneous items, but when I want to post, I didn't have access to the pictures, so oh well.

Both birthdays went well. I had a surprise party for Kyle. The hardest part about surprise parties is that you have to be good at lying, and sometimes it worries me that I'm so good. I came up with an excuse to have two cakes (one for his actual birthday and one for the party). I worked with his parents to have him go clothes shopping with them for two hours before the party. With the help of my cousin, Caitlin, I was able to get all of the food ready. We had mini egg rolls, pot stickers, jalapeno poppers, chicken salad sandwiches, li'l smokies, eclairs and cake. I could not have done it without Caitlin's help. She was the reason we ended up with the mini egg rolls. They take long enough to make when they are regular size, but to make mini eggrolls is A LOT harder. Caitlin really wanted to eat the mini ones, so she kept me going. Kyle was surprised and enjoyed the gathering.

It doesn't look like a ton of food, but it certainly took a while to prepare. It was worth it though. I'm pretty sure Kyle liked it.

Becca's first birthday was a success. My parents were able to time their summer vacation so they were in town for the family party. We had both sets of parents, and a few aunts and uncles. My dad and brother have late August birthdays as well, so we made it a little bit of a joint party. We had it at Salem Pond and Becca loved seeing the ducks. She didn't really dig in to her cupcake like I thought she would and she actually ate it pretty daintily. It was a fun little gathering and my dad got some great pictures, which I plan to post at some point.

As for Becca's development, she loves vegetables. She likes bell peppers, raw and cooked, carrots, peas, corn, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. I'm not sure I've ever given her a vegetable she didn't eat. She also like broccoli and brussel sprouts. One night I was making Chicken Broccoli casserole, and I used frozen broccoli. She saw it and really wanted some broccoli, so I gave her a piece, expecting her to spit it out. She loved it. As soon as it was in her mouth, she reached for another piece. Laughing, I gave it to her, thinking she would spit out the first within a few seconds. Nope. She ate several small pieces of frozen broccoli before I decided I wanted her to actually eat dinner when it was ready. I'm very glad she likes broccoli, but I can't believe she likes it frozen. My Aunt Teresa has a hypothesis that what we crave during pregnancy then becomes the child's favorite food. I didn't really crave any one thing, but I couldn't get enough vegetables. I could always eat vegetables while I was pregnant. I'm not sure there is a direct correlation, but it works for me. I think she may have liked the frozen broccoli because I think she was cutting teeth. She now has all of her teeth but she still loves frozen veggies.

Her first experience with pudding was a hit as well, as pictured above

Becca is very good at saying "hi" and "buh-bye." I think they are the two cutest words ever! She is at the point where she is practicing different sounds. "Mama" is used for Mom, more, milk and blanket (go figure). She knows where her nose is, but gets confused when we ask her where her hair is. At night when I tell her to go into the bathroom to brush her teeth, she goes right into the bathroom and stands on the little stool we have in there. She opens her mouth long enough for me to brush a few teeth before sucking the (miniscule) portion of toothpaste off the toothbrush. She loves to look at books in her room and she has gotten very good at climbing onto the gliding rocking chair in there. She also loves to play the piano and has fun climbing onto the bench. I'm also so thrilled that her hair is getting long! I've tried putting it in a pony tail and half pony tail a few times, but by the end of the day, it doesn't look too good.
Among other things, I absolutely love sushi. I got a "Simply Sushi" book for my birthday that tells how to make sushi at home. We tried it and it was a success! Of course, we only do the simple rolls with cooked ingredients, but it was still so delicious. I found a recipe for Japanese mayonaise that I used in the rolls. Becca is a fan of sushi as well.
She's eating a "US Roll" which our favorite sushi restaurant makes. It is a deep fried California roll. Not only is it delicious, but it is easier to eat because the frying makes the seaweed softer, so you can bite through it easier.

Becca has recently discovered the camera. I turned the preview screen out so she can see herself. She smiles very big when I do this . . . if only I had figured this out a while ago . . .

There we go, after a 5 month absence, I have finally managed to post an update.