Visiting Tripp...

We had so much fun visiting The Rector Fam today....I just can't get enough of baby Tripp. He is just perfect!!!

Lucy was not very thrilled that I was holding another baby!

But she warmed up quickly when daddy was holding him and decided that baby Tripp is pretty cool...

Lucy had a lot of fun exploring the hospital room too...
Caroline and Helen were in town for Thanksgiving, so we all met up at the hospital to love on Tripp and catch up for a bit!
We love Tripp!!!

It's a Boy!!!

William Joseph Rector III "Tripp" is here!!!

11.25.11 | 11:20am | 7 lbs 14 oz

Tripp, Mommy, Daddy and Big Sister Eleanor are all doing great! Welcome to the world sweet baby Tripp! We love you so much!

Truly thankful...

This year we did Thanksgiving a little different and went to DFW Airport to serve Thanksgiving lunch to soldiers that were deploying overseas. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Words will never be able to express my gratitude for these brave men and women and their families. My heart was so heavy as we served them lunch, sat and ate with them and sent them off. I really can't image being in their shoes or the shoes of the moms, dads, wives and children who are left behind. My eyes and heart were opened up in a whole new way yesterday to the tremendous sacrifice that they make. Our freedom is truly a gift, and this year I am more thankful than ever for it. I will never forget their faces and will keep them in my prayers as they selflessly serve our country. May God bless them and keep them safe until their families are welcoming them HOME!

Julie was interviewed by WFFA...she's included in this clip that aired on the news yesterday!

Soldiers Serve with Heart is the organization that put on this event.

Thanksgiving Day Cupcake...

The National Dog Show...

Our dog Kaci (aka: Chuck, Chucky, Chuckles) has a love/hate relationship with the TV. She goes absolutely nuts when she sees other animals on it, especially dogs. Today was a big day for her....The National Dog Show! She loved it....and so did Lucy! Lucy is obsessed with dogs. Everything and everyone is a dog to her these days....even me! :)

Once Best is Show was awarded, Kaci was pooped. She wore herself out!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sliding...

Boxes...

I recently organized Lucy's toys into storage boxes that fit inside our living room cabinets. It has made such a huge difference (mostly for me)....because all of the toys on the living room floor were starting to drive me CRAZY! Lucy is loving the new organization too....especially the boxes!! This is where I find her most of the time now....

Little miss is cutting molars...you can see those suckers in this pic.

Gosh, she's cute. :)

13 months....

For the sake of fairness towards our future children, I'm not going to continue with Lucy's monthly updates. My goal is to do monthly posts for all the kiddos first year of life...they're time consuming, so I'm sure it will only get harder to achieve that goal as more babies come along. I don't want to hear 15-20 years from now, "mom, you did everything for Lucy and we got crap!" :) I will continue with shorter Lucy updates when I can, because I don't want to forget when the big milestones occurred...and let's be honest, this blog had turned into Lucy's baby book!

Over the past month, Lucy....

1) Has become a very confident walker....and in to EVERYTHING. I can't take my eyes off her! Her walk actually looks more like a march, but it's precious....and so what if she wants to be in the marching band when she's in high school. Whatever she does will be cool to me! :)

2) Is weaned from bottles. NO MORE CLEANING BOTTLES....Whoo hooo!!!! It took her about 4 weeks to completely wean, but now she is using sippy cups only and happy about it. I started dropping one bottle feeding at a time....first lunch, then dinner, then breakfast. Breakfast was the hardest. We had a few morning meltdowns, but they didn't last long. The transition from formula to whole milk was very easy for her. She didn't even notice.

3) Only has her paci in her crib now. This transition was pretty rough (because sister girl loves her paci), but all things considered, she really has done well with it. We had some MAJOR meltdowns at first (especially when she would see her paci in her crib if we were playing in her room). Now, when I wake her up, she knows to leave her paci in her crib. It's really cute....she'll just spit it right out. Every so often, she'll throw a little fit for her paci, so I'll put her in her crib and let her play in there for a little bit and when she wants out, the paci stays in her bed. I still keep an emergency paci in her diaper bag for times when it's necessary so other people don't go insane (like the church nursery).

We love you Lucy girl! You are our greatest joy and blessing from the Lord. Happy 13 months!!!

Here are a few pictures I snapped of Lucy Kate yesterday morning. She had a Thanksgiving feast at school!

Family Pictures :: Nov. 2011

{Scott Hollrah Photography}

A HUGE thanks to our very talented friend, Scott Hollrah, for capturing our family in these photographs. You can't tell, but Lucy Kate was a toot-and-a-half the day we took these. Scott still managed to get some great shots...he's that good! :) I'm so grateful for these pictures....thank you, Scott!