Dear Rebecca,
                     My sweet, darling, wonderful child. We had such a good time together tonight on our very first trick or treating excursion. I was afraid that you would not enjoy yourself and that you were too tired to go. You were getting quite fussy to start with. You are not used to this daylight savings time business and no one told you that seven o'clock is now six. You are used to starting a bath and having your nightly date of Juice & Milk with Elmo by seven o'clock, which is actually six now. Silly world we live in.
         My worries were laid to rest when you got right in the swing of things and started singing "Teat Teat! Teat Teat!" - I am assuming you were saying Trick or Treat.. between every house we went to. When we would finally get to the house though, and the people would step outside with the candy, you'd shout "Thank YOU!" before they even gave us a piece. You really are such a sweet and wonderful well mannered little child. I m sure next year you will know how to spout out trick or treat at the right time with no problem. Daddy wasn't feeling well so he stayed here and handed out some candy which we overbought (the neighbors said we would run out? I really should stop listening to other people!) So anyway I reckon he had an alright time doing that. He sounds like he had the same thing I had Saturday night when I came home from work. I was was so very tired and just wanted to go to sleep. You my little munchkin head just kept waking up, however. You woke up once last night and we slept together on the couch forever. I usually don't sleep very well with you on or near me because I worry about you falling or getting squished but for some reason last night was an exception to the rule. I zonked out and we slept there a good long while. I finally put you back in your crib around four thirty and told Daddy he had better get up. He somewhat grudgingly told me it was four thirty and turned back over & went to sleep.
      We went trick or treating in your stroller this year. Next year you will be big enough that we can take your wagon. I believe you may enjoy that a little more. You didn't seem to fuss at all about being in your stroller once we got headed out. You are too little to walk in the dark and too hard for your poor ol' bent up Momma to keep up with. We had fun anyway though and that's all that counts. We finished handing out the candy Daddy started on and you got to look at a lot of costumes. You even helped me hand out some candy and you got to see some doggies from our neighbors around the corner who gave you raisins, too. Those raisins gave you a stinky poo. You were going at it on the stairs, grunting and groaning and I knew what you were doing. I asked if you were pooping and when you got done you smacked your tail and said POO POO! The very next set of diapers we buy will be pull ups and the next time I catch you grunting and groaning it's Potty time. I don't think you will be much trouble at all though. You are so smart that things seem to come very easy to you. Well little one, I am signing off and heading to bed. Happy very first trick or treating Halloween my baby girl, I love you, my little Becca Bumble Bee!

Dear Rebecca.
                     Lots of things to talk about with you this evening little girl. So many in fact that I don't know where to start. I guess I will take my mother's advice and begin at the beginning. As your Dad had previously told you, you had been feeling somewhat down and out. You had an ear infection and the pediatrician gave you an antibiotic called Amoxicillin and it has been making you feel all better. You take it most of the time but it's hard to coax it down you because it really is just very nasty thick liquid ick. You seem to be getting much better.
      Daddy and I both took ill ourselves this past week and Daddy had to miss work two days and Mommy one. That is hard on our wallets and I hope Daddy & I do not see many more sick days this year. Of course we sent fifty five dollars into the wind when we adopted your recently deceased very first doggie pet MiMi. She didn't last as long as your first Beta fish. Poor little old MiMi, God rest her. She's gone on to that big back yard in the sky. We will get you another doggie pet on your second birthday. You'll be old enough to learn how to help care for her then.
      Mommy had to take herself to the doctor Tuesday and so I had to bring you with me because I had no one to watch you. Everyone in the doctor's office thought you were adorable and you are of course. I am lucky you are a good baby or I would not have been able to stick around and see the good doctor for my appointment. You did of course run about and act a mite silly like all kids would but all in all you were excellent. A lady that pushed perscription drugs was there and she had a basket of halloween goodies and she gave you a SUUTTER! Which is the term you have coined for sucker. You held out your hand and said Thank You before she even had it out of the basket. You are such a sweet, silly, polite little child. And you were very stinky at the time. I had to go downstairs to get a diaper (which you call a diater) and and a changing pad so I could change you incognito in the doctor's office. You grabbed the pad out of the diaper bag and started yelling Poo Poo! Poo Poo! I thought that I indeed might shrink into my skin at that point as the whole waiting area was looking at us with a big grin on their face. But it was so cute I just beamed right back at them and smiled at you and told you how very smart you were. So smart in fact that very soon we will begin potty training. Yay! For Rebecca! And For Mommy Too...Especially Mommy! After I changed you in the office I had to dispose of the diaper in a plastic bag so it wouldn't stink up the room but it was too late so I grabbed out some of my perfume and spritzed it in the air. For such a little gal you sure can conjure up a big stink.
               You are saying lots of new words. Words like "Frog" and "Rug" and "Feet". You are so very smart and we are so very proud of you. You will also hop around the living room saying "Jump!" - only from you it sounds more like "Tump!" You have started saying Elmo and I believe that you have Dora and Boots mixed up because tonight you kept looking at your bedtime clothes and saying "Boots!" when it was in fact, Dora. Oh well, that is OK, you will figure it out soon enough. You are so very smart and bright. You love to bang things and shake things and make a tune, and then you will dance to it. This evening you mimicked some dancers you saw on a show Daddy and I were watching and you got it down to the beat & repeated nearly every move. Wow! I wish I could do that. You are something else.
               You and I went outside this evening and played on your swing set and played some with your ball. We got kinda bored with that so we took a walk down to the corner and turned around and came back. You did very good and you held my hand the whole way. I do believe however that we will still take a stroller to get our candy tomorrow evening. It just seems easier than packing your bucket and holding your hand. I think we will only go around once in the general vicinity and then come on home. I don't know how much people/excitement/freaky masks you can take so I don't want to shove too much on you at once. But you my sweet are going to be a very cute little baby bumble bee. I am going to call Sissy tomorrow and ask her to bring a black and yellow magic marker so that we can paint WC on your face and call you a little baby yellow jacket. But Aunt Mary bought you a very cute little costume and I told her you would be wearing it and you will. You were a duck last year and you were so very incredibly cute. I can't wait to see your very first trick or treating experience. This evening on our walk we worked on Trick Or Treat. You got the Treat (Teat!) part down... I figure we can just tell everyone you want a treat.. No tricks.. And no ifs ands or buts about it. Ha, Ha!
         Well little one I am going to finish my drink and then I am heading to bed. Remember that now and for always I will love you, my Wiggy. My sweet little baby bird.

Dear Rebecca,
                  You haven't felt very well the past weekend. Your Mom took you to the pediatrician this morning and it seems you have the beginnings of an ear infection and an upper respiratory tract infection. They gave prescribed some antibiotics for you so it shouldn't be long until you are feeling good again. Your Mom & I hate to see you feeling poorly. Yesterday when you woke up from your nap you screamed and cried so bad. There was nothing we could do and it broke our hearts. You feel okay now. You are in the living room reading your Olie & Spot book and watching Dora the Explorer. You do love your Dora; you also adore Elmo. We want to get you a stuffed Boots for Christmas but they are hard to come by. You can get a Dora anywhere but Boots is another matter all together. Of course I am also very proud that you love books as well. You know the word for book and you also know the word for read. You will bring us one of your books and say "Read". You are so smart
      Your Mom is napping before she has to go to work. She was up with you all night last night. I'm supposed to be watching you so I reckon I oughta go. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Bad news, Little Girl. Your new dog Mimi passed away this afternoon. He apparently got into the yard next door where there are two rather large dogs and through no malice, I am sure they were just too rough and Mimi was fatally wounded. We both are so sorry that your very first experience as a dog owner had to end like this. You only had Mimi for five days so none of us had a chance to really build a strong bond with him. I think we have decided to wait until you are a little older to get you another dog so for now you are just going to have to get along with just Baby Fish Dorothy.
      You swallowed a dime. I have no idea when you swallowed this dime because I didn't see you swallow it; apparently no one saw you swallow this dime but I found it inside your diaper nestled inside a stinky poop.
      Well, I'm gonna let ya go for now. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
      Oh me, Oh My, What a long day Mommy has had. I know Daddy did not mention this to you but Monday was my first day of real work at Kroger and it all went swimmingly. Today, however, on Tuesday, your poor dense old Mother broke the film machine. Yes, indeed, I did. My what an event. It took my co worker and I nearly two hours to fix the mess I made in less than two minutes. Sad but true. Anyway, enough about me, we are here to talk about YOU!
      Alicia and Tony stopped by with their kids today. You kept saying BABY! at Bryson, their littlest one, and you kept giving his little kisses on his nose. You are such a sweet little baby girl. You had fun playing with their oldest son, Brady too. You both played with toys and watched Sesame Street. You were really good about sharing your things this time; you even shared your bapple with Brady, who had his own bapple by the way, and you both shared your bapple with the dog. The dog loves bapples. Did you know that?
     After they left I spent as much time as I could with you, just you and me. We played Bouncy-Baby and Tickle-Tickle and we of course played chase. I am glad to have the little job I have got but I sure do miss you. You and Daddy are the loves of my life and it's hard being away from either one of you. But this money will help us with Christmas and other things that need to be taken care of like groceries and unforseen expenses. Of course, as always, a lot of it will be spent on you.
      Well little one it has been a long day and I am so tired. I want to go to bed but I need to wind down just a little bit so I might eat a sandwich and drink a soda and then I am going to hit the hay. I love you so much; you are my one true calling in life and as I promised you before I promise you now No job is going to get in the way of you.. You will ALWAYS come first. I love you. Good night baby girl.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's early Monday morning but it's really Sunday night because I haven't gone to bed yet. Your Mommy just now laid down on the sofa in the living room. We just now got finished watching Law & Order and before that we watched the latest episode of Lost. I know I said I would post more frequently but that just isn't working out, is it? Maybe when things settle down a little more we will both post here like we should. Your Mommy just doesn't have the time to post as much as she did before. She is still working very hard on getting the house in order. There's a whole lot involved in making a house a home.
      Well, Thursday before we all went to pick up my check we dropped by the Woodford Humane Society to browse at some puppies that your Mom had seen online. We were just going to look and see what kind of selection they had there in case we might want to adopt a dog for you from there in the future. We saw two of the three puppies that your Mommy had seen online. Peter and Mary were still at the humane society but Paul had been adopted already. They named the pups Peter, Paul and Mary; get it? Anyway you seemed to really like the puppies and so did your Mom. Both of you had that longing look in your eyes. I told your mom that we would discuss it later and we left. Your mom said that if we didn't act now those pups would be gone by tomorrow. I was feeling real guilty because I knew that your Mom wanted one of the little dogs and you were sitting in your car seat in the back just a bawling up a storm because you didn't want to leave all the dogs. I turned around before we got to the end of the drive and had a debate with myself as to whether I should go back and get one of the dogs or go on the Lexington and have a conversation with your mom later on in the day. I finally decided we would go back to go back to the pound and adopt a little dog for you.
      The friendliest of the two pups we saw was Mary. We both thought that Peter was the prettiest of the two dogs but Mary was the friendliest by far. I think the male was Peter; it could have been Paul, I just don't remember. That doesn't matter anyway because we chose Mary. We paid our Money; $55 for the adoption fee. It was adopt a dog month so it was forty-five dollars less than what it usually would have been. They told us that she would be taken to the vet to be spayed and have a complete physical and we could pick her up from the vet on Friday. We then went on to Lexington and had a rather nice day out.
      While we were grocery shopping I was pushing you around in the cart while your mommy searched for something. We saw another baby and you waved and said hello to the other baby. The other baby was eating what looked like a cookie and I commented on it. I then noticed that it was not a cookie at all. I was told that it was a bagel and the little boy's mother jokingly implored me not to mention cookies around him. I glanced inside the cart that the bagel munching baby was riding in and I saw soy milk, fresh spinach and all kinds of health food stuff. I told the baby he must be a health food baby and then I looked over at our cart and in it I saw chip dip, white bread, cake mixes, spaghetti-Os and a baby eating a sugar cookie and drinking an orangeade beverage. I thought to myself, there is a study in contrasts. Even though your Mom & I are not the skinniest people around and you don't eat like a rabbit I think you have a very healthy and balanced diet. I like to think that there's more to a balanced diet than just healthy foods. Sometimes a baby should have a sugar cookie or a lollipop just to make life a little more fun. You also get all your servings of fruit and veggies, you drink sugar free kool-aid and we're careful not to give you too much sugar. You really do enjoy fruit. As a matter of fact that very evening after you eaten your sugar cookie I noticed that you had started on the plums that we had in the shopping cart. We got that plum for free.
      The next day we went to get the Pup. We brought her home and she was so nervous and scared. We were afraid that you didn't like her at first because you just wanted to play in the dirt but eventually you warmed up to her. You figured out pretty quickly that it was your dog because you said, "Me dog", so we decided to change her name from Mary to Mimi. The dog whines like crazy in the night and she's not much better in the day. She nearly drove us all crazy as we tried to sleep in the early morning hours of Sunday. We all ended up getting out of bed. She kept getting on the deck and whining and scratching at the door. Every time I would block an access point she would find another. Eventually I think I got all points blocked and we all went to bed.
      Saturday night we went down to Aunt Lynn & Uncle Rodney's for a cook out. Allison put a motorcycle helmet on your head and even though it was so heavy that you could hardly stand up in it you didn't want anybody taking it off. So you ran around for part of the evening with a motorcycle helmet on your head. You tried to play soccer with Jon, Jacob and a friend of theirs that was over for the cook out. Your Mom and I rode you a little on Jon's little four wheeler. The main reason you were there though was to give Allison and a boy who just happens to be a friend, but certainly not a boyfriend, who was also at the cook out something to talk about. While we were down there it was pointed out that Mimi has very large paws which indicate that she will be a rather large dog. We were told at the pound that she wouldn't get over twentyfive pounds but of course when Aunt Lynn got Ruffy he was about the same size as Mimi and she was also told he wouldn't get very big. Ruffy is a very large dog so maybe Mimi will get bigger than we think.
      We are up in the air about whether or not Mimi should be a house dog or not. When I was growing up dogs were not kept in the house so that's kind of where I sort of stand on the subject. Your mom agrees with me but we have had her in the house the past few nights and she feels so much better when she is inside the house. She just doesn't want to be alone right now. She's scared because she is in an unfamiliar environment. If we decide to house break her she will eventually have to sleep outside and spend the lion's share of her day outside. We are still up in the air about that subject. She was inside tonight and the two of you played in the living room floor before you went to bed. Both of you had a grand time. You didn't want to go to sleep at all. You laid in your crib and just had a little fit. We got you back up and you wanted to play with the dog some more but she was sleeping. You kind of pestered the little dog so much she crawled under my chair to get away from you. Eventually we got you to sleep.
      Sunday I mowed the lawn and calked your window while your Mommy cleaned the house. Aunt Lynn & Allison came over for a visit and Mimi & I hung out on the deck with them and waited for you to wake up from your nap. Eventually you decided to join us. Aunt Lynn & Allison left and I finished mowing because I couldn't get Allison to mow the entire yard for me. She did mow a good part of the back but she said the my push mower was just way too much work. She had never used a push mower before. She's used to riding mowers. After I finished the front yard and used entire tube of calk on your window we decided to go to Lexington and eat at Cici's and browse around Walmart on the north side of town. We all had a fine time. We bought you another little jacket for the fall, some computer printing paper for myself and some dishwashing detergent for your dear old Mother. We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home and your Mom had a small chocolate shake; I had a small chocolate malt and you had a cup of ice. We had a real nice trip.
      One day this past week I got up with you and fixed you breakfast. I prepared a fine breakfast for you. You has some dry cheerios, a slice of ham and I cut some slices off of an apple I was eating. I sat down with you to watch you enjoy the gourmet breakfast I had so painstakingly prepared. You didn't want to have anything to do with your apple slices; you wanted my whole apple. I gave it to you and you ate nearly all of it. I taught you the name for the apple and now you call an apple a bapple. Your Mommy said that when she asked you the other day what you wanted for breakfast you said you wanted a bapple. You are so cute and so smart.
      I have to go to bed now so I just want you to know that Daddy loves Rebecca.

Dear Rebecca,
               It's been a few days since my last blog and I have no reason for being so lax in doing this. Maybe it's because you are getting to be so entertaining that I just can't take the time to set down here and play on the computer like I used to. Everyday you amaze me a little more. Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. You have always loved playing with phones and you know a phone when you see one but the other day the phone rang while you were getting your bath and you looked up at me and as casually as can be you said "phone". You know the sound of a phone even. Last night you decided you wanted to play where is Rebecca's nose. Usually the game goes where we ask you where your nose is or your eyes or ears or some other body part. Last night however you pointed to your eye and said eye. You then pointed to your nose and said eye again. I told you no and you gave me a mischievous grin like you knew good and well that that wasn't your eye and then you said nose. You then pointed to your ear and said ear and then you went back to splashing in the tub. I was so impressed.
      I baby proofed your room the other day and you have been spending a whole lot of time in there by yourself, much to your Mother's chagrin. She seems to already be getting a case of empty nest syndrome and you're just in the other room. We thought it would give us a little more peace when we opened up your room but I think the opposite is true because your Mom makes me get up out of my chair every four or five minutes to make sure you are okay alone in your room. Every now and then you'll check in on us as well just to make sure we're not getting into any trouble in the living room. You'll toddle into the living room and get a tickle and a hug and then you'll toddle back to your room and your books. You do love your books. I'm extremely proud of that.
      I went to work Monday morning and about ten 0'clock they told us we were going to go home at lunch and wouldn't be back for a week so I have had a nice week at home with you and Mom this week. I have greatly enjoyed it. I hated putting you to bed Sunday night because I knew I wouldn't see you again until I got home from work Monday afternoon. I was really kinda glad I got off. I love spending time with you.
      We've almost got the house like we like it. I have a few more things to do in your room, a few more pictures to hang in my office here and we still have to figure out how we are going to decorate the ducky bathroom. Everything else is done. Pictures are all hung in Mommy & Daddies bed & bathroom, in the living room, kitchen and hall. I had to rethink my office because Granny needed the twin bed at her place so I had to take it out of the office. I suppose that now it's just an office and not an office/guestroom. I'm kind of glad of that though. The bed really took up too much room in here. I need all the room I can get in here so the air can circulate because it gets incredibly hot in here with the computer on all the time. I think we're gonna have to start turning it off when we are not using it. Of course if gas gets too expensive this winter we can all pile up together in here and gather around the computer for warmth. I'm kidding by the way.
      Well, I've stayed up way too late and your Mom wouldn't be very happy with me if she knew I was up this late because we all have to go to work tomorrow to get my paycheck and go grocery shopping and I promised her I would get in bed relatively early because she said she didn't want to put up with me if I was grumpy because I was sleep deprived. I'll try to post at a more frequent interval from now on. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                  Hello, my pretty little baby bird. Right now you are taking a nap in your room. Or at least you are on your way. You woke up at five thirty this morning, which was very early. I was glad to see you though and we laid on the couch together for a little while until you wanted to get up and play. We had a breakfast of sliced apples and Kix cereal and you of course had your milk and vitamin. You are getting so big and strong. I am so proud of you. You only get prettier and smarter every day. You are indeed so very cute and sweet and smart and pretty.
      We all went up to Granny's for supper yesterday. Granny is not feeling very well so Mamaw was going to spend the night with her last night and she wanted to see you and I am sure Granny did, too. You of course were as sweet and friendly as you always are. Daddy brought some home movies for us to watch and Granny and Mamaw and Papaw enjoyed watching you playing in the tub. Papaw enjoyed picking on Daddy because Daddy was not helping Momma paint like he ought to. Everyone got a kick out of Momma complaining on video. It happens so very rarely you know.
      After Supper we came home and Daddy gave you your bath while your dear old Mom took herself a much needed shower. It has finally started to turn cooler outside so sometime soon you and I and Mamaw are going to head down to the Family Dollar and buy you a few fall outfits. We aren't going to buy too many because I am afraid if we do that you will grow out of them. You aren't supposed to grow as much as you did last year over the next year but still you will indeed be growing so I don't want to go buying a bunch of really expensive outfits when you will probably wind up wearing the ones I bought from the Family Dollar more often anyway. Of course you will get some nice dresses for church at Wal-Mart. I can't wait to get us back into church. It has been too long since we have gone.
      I don't know if Daddy told you but Pappy and Aunt Mary came up to see you last weekend. Aunt Mary bought you a very cute little bumble bee costume. We are going to get a little black sweatsuit to go underneath of it for you to go trick or treating. I hope I get to take you because I might be starting a little evening job at Kroger for some extra money for the three of us to do the fun things we like to do. If not I am sure that Sissy would be happy to oblige walking you around the neighborhood for some candy you both could split just once. And I know that Daddy will take lots of cute little pictures. Anyway that is neither here nor there right now. Where was I? Oh yes.
      After Daddy gave you your bath you went to sleep but not very willingly and I stayed up with Dad a little longer and watched some TV. Then I went to bed so that I could get up with you this morning and spend some time with you. We had big fun playing Tickle Bug on the couch and chasing each other up and down the hall. You are such a fun little baby to be around. God has really blessed us with you and we are so very lucky. Now of course you have made it to your nap and you are snoring softly. On that note I will let you go because I think I may try to lay back down myself. I love you my pretty little baby bird. You are and always will be Momma's pretty piggy.

Dear Rebecca,
                  I am so tired right now. It's almost five in the morning on a Friday morning as I type this. I am laid off tomorrow and that is why I am still up instead of about ready to get out of bed for the day. Speaking of which, I need to sneak into mine & Mom's bedroom so I can shut off the alarms. I'll do that now...... It's done with six minutes to spare until the first alarm was to go off. I have two alarms; one set for five in the morning so I can shut it off and lay back down for another half an hour and one set for when I really have to get out of bed, 5:30.
      I figured out a way to download my music again and it's faster than ever so I've been downloading songs all night. Well, not all night but for quite awhile. I spent some time organizing the songs I downloaded and setting them up in our iPod mini. I also had to update our iPod & item software so that took a few minutes. I had a pretty fun night on the computer tonight, or rather, this morning.
      I know it's been a few days since either of us posted a blog. We've been kinda busy hanging pictures and playing with you. You are getting so big and you are so smart and talkative that it's hard not to spend all the time we can with you. Let me tell you one thing that I'm sure you already know. You are one spoiled little princess. This past weekend you went to Kmart with your Mamaw and you both saw a big ole' swing set with a slide and a play house type thing. It cost way too much cash for your Mom & myself to buy it for you right now so Mamaw & Papaw bought you the fancy swing set. I put it together Monday and had Papaw come check my work and anchor the thing on Tuesday. You are one spoiled little creature but you are just so dad-blamed cute. It's hard not to spoil you.
      You have so many new words in your vocabulary that's it's really too much trouble to list them all. You say hat, tractor, bed, thank you and a couple of dozen other words. You speak to everyone you see. You are such a pretty little girl. Oh, you also have taken to running lately. You're getting harder and harder to keep up with. It's really no problem though because I always dreamed of having a little rambunctious toddler such as yourself. You are a dream come true for both your Mother and myself.
      Well, I'm gonna let you go for now because I am tired and I want to eat an apple and go on to bed. Daddy loves Rebecca!

Dear Rebecca,
                     It's Sunday morning and I was supposed to get up with you this morning and let Mama sleep in but she woke up shortly after we did so she has you in the living room and I am in here on the computer posting this blog, trying in vain to download some songs from the internet and attempting to put together your photo page for last month. We were so very busy that we really didn't get a chance to take too many pictures of you this month.
      Well, we now have some pictures on the wall in the living room and 99.99% of the boxes are unloaded so we are quickly approaching getting done. We have to touch up some paint in the ducky bathroom and hang up the rest of our pictures and figure out what I am going to do with the printer here in the office and then we will be done with everything we can do now. Everything else will have to wait until we have the cash to get them done.
      Pappy & Aunt Mary are supposed to come up to see the new house later today. I can't wait for them to see the new place. We are all very excited about our new home. You like the big doors in the kitchen that you can look out of. I like the fact that it's not an apartment and Mom likes the fact that you now have a backyard and you can one day have a puppy of your own. I think she is leaning toward getting you a full blooded corgi.
      Well, I'm gonna let you go for now because I need a shower and I need to see if I can grab some still shots of you from the video camera so we can have a decent pictorial record of your fourteenth month. Daddy loves Rebecca!