Birthday & Easter

Let me just say that I've been having a hard time dealing with the realization that my little boy is turning 2! How did this happen? Sometimes I wish I could go back and do the last 2 years over again so I could have more time to spend with Beckem. Here are some photos from the past month:

So handsome!

After the egg hunt.

Beckem's getting so big!

Beckem & Papa on the train at the zoo.

In the pecan groves.

Halloween Fun

Beckem and I at our ward's "trunk or treat".
I let Beckem eat one piece of candy and he chose this blue sucker that left his whole mouth blue. I had to brush his teeth 3 times to get it all clean! Yucky!
Pooh with "Tig" and "Pigly" as Beckem calls them.
In the fall grass at my parent's house in Idyllwild, CA.
Beckem was very excited to visit the pumpkin farm!

3 months in a nutshell...

Beckem and cousin Riley in the tub.
Staying cool on the back patio.
At the beach. Beckem really enjoyed digging in the sand!
I'm too cool...
Beckem and cousin Delaney on a warm summer day.

I wish I was better about keeping up with this blog so I wouldn't have to cram 3 months into a little paragraph! We had a very busy summer. To start, we all went to California to visit friends and family. We took Beckem to the beach for the first time and got to enjoy cooler weather. Then Beckem and I flew up to Washington to visit my sister and her daughter, Delaney. The cousins had so much fun together! Beckem went to the zoo for the first time and got to have a little friend 24/7. They fought and played together just like brother and sister! I went back to work early in August and have a tough class this year. 14 boys and only 9 girls. And all of the boys are very, well, let's just say they're ALL BOY! I've really been hitting the behavior management hard so that it will pay off later and I can actually get some teaching in : ) Here are some photos to enjoy.

Perfect Portrait

Beckem is almost 14 months! I don't know where the time goes! I caught this cheesy grin at the park on Saturday. He is such a smiley, happy baby and laughs at everything.

Splish, Splash!

After dinner it was still 95 degrees outside so we decided to take Beckem down to our local splash pad to cool off. He had never been and it was so fun to watch him discover the water and try to figure out when it would shoot up.
Whoa! Look at that one!
That just went up my nose!
Umm, hello? Water, are you in there?
I never seem to be able to catch the water, but this is still fun!

Beckem's best birthday gift was a pool from grandma & grandpa. It was 95 degrees today so we busted it out. Beckem was so excited to be taking a "bath" outside.
It is so big that Ryan and I got in with him. We all played together for awhile.
Mom, can you stop taking pictures and get in with me?
Thank you grandma & grandpa for the birthday gift!!

A Little Behind

That's the story of my life these days! Always behind. Well, I have the day off of school today so I thought I'd catch up a little bit. Here are some photos from April:
Here's Beckem with Ryan. We went to old town Mesa and I found this old abandoned building to take some photos by. This wasn't a posed shot...that's what's so cute about it!
Here's Beckem in his Easter best. Yes, he's on a hill...that's why it looks slanted!

Family Time

Everyone who knows Beckem knows that he's a very cuddly, snuggly kid who loves to give "loves" as Ryan and I call it. He gives the best hugs and loves around. Here he is giving his mama some sugar. (This is my favorite part of being a mom!)
Ryan and I decided to get all of our housework and chores done during the week to leave Saturday free for family time. Each week we choose a different thing to do as a family...usually something for free that the city is putting on, or a place to go that's free. This past weekend we went to a place called Schnepf farms in Queen Creek. They have a little play area, a petting zoo, and a little farm store where they sell fresh jam, baked goods, etc. And in the spring you can pick fruit in their orchard for $1.50 a lb. I'm holding out for the peaches in May. Yummy! Here's Beckem on one of the old farm chairs just being his cute self.
I'm still trying to figure out how we had such a cute child. He got the best of both of our genes I guess!

Spring Break

So I don't have any cute photos to post with this blog (I know, what kind of photographer am I?!) But I do have some good news. Beckem said his 3rd word over spring break. He has been saying "dada" for a few months now and my husband has just been eating that up. Then about 2 weeks ago he started saying "mama", much to my relief! (I seriously worked with him every night in the tub..."Say mama" and he would smile and say, "dada"...I swear he did it on purpose to frustrate me! : ) Anyway, so he is saying "mama" and "dada" now and then we go to California and stay with my grandparents, who just got a dog. Well, let me tell you, Beckem and this dog were best friends...through the sliding glass door that is. Beckem didn't like the puppy in person because, well, it's a puppy and would nip and pull on his clothes and jump around. But through the door he would giggle and talk to the puppy all day. The puppy would put her paws up on the glass and Beckem would copy her and put his hand up....so cute! Well, on our last day there, Beckem comes crawling into the kitchen and sees the dog waiting for him and says, "dog, dog, dog, dog" as he's crawling toward her. It was the cutest thing ever! Now, he has said random words before and then never said them again, so I wasn't quite sure if this was a fluke or a real new word. But then, when we got home I took Beckem with me to run in the park and he saw a dog and I hear "dog, dog!" and I look down and he's pointing at the dog. I know I'm a little bias, but I have the smartest freakin' kid!!!

March...really?!

I'm not sure what happened to February... I mean, it is the shortest month of the year, but give me a break! I didn't have a chance to wish Beckem a happy 10 month birthday last week. Here he is being "shy". I'm also going to attempt to load a video up. If it doesn't work on here, then I will post it on my facebook page.

One Sunday after church the weather was PERFECT...high 60s and sunny with a little breeze. We took one of Beckem's play mats out onto the back patio and just let him play.
And he was quite happy!
My parents came to visit this past week and we went to the Stillman Railway Park in Scottsdale to ride the train and go to the museum. This is Beckem enjoying his first time on a slide.
And on the train with Daddy and Grandpa. He's not quite sure what's going on, but he sure liked the sound of the train and all of the other kids that we saw.

I can't believe Beckem's already 9 months! His two top teeth are descending nicely and he doesn't seem to be in as much pain as he was. I haven't had to give him any Tylenol or Motrin in 2 weeks. Beckem is the happiest little baby! He loves to laugh and "dance". His favorite toys have become kitchen items...wooden spoons, an ice cream scoop, and a spatula. I have been blending up our dinners more and more to feed to him and he really enjoys his "big boy" food. His favorite snacks are Joes Os (Trader Joes Cheerios) and strawberries.
Here he is... all 18 lbs 6 oz!
This one is my favorite. He looks so good in hats!

The past week...

Pain, agony, sleepless nights, discomfort...and this is all I have to show for it?
Ummm, hello? Anyone there?
There you are! Hello! Oh, by the way, you might want to lower the crib now...

I make this look good...

I turned 8 months old the day after Christmas. I better start checking for gray hairs!

December in a nutshell:

I got to open lots of fun presents!
I got to play with my cousin Delaney who is so cool. She's 6 months older and can run circles around me!
I discovered my friend in the mirror. "Hello in there!"
I got my first teeth! The bottom 2 came first and I'm working on my top 2. Ouchie!
Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was exhausting and loud, but fun!

Ho Ho Ho! You'll shoot your eye out...

We took Beckem to our ward Christmas party on Saturday night. He wasn't so sure of the whole Santa thing...as you see in the first photo, Daddy is standing by. But once Beckem heard the jolly "Ho ho ho" he just laughed and smiled! He's such a happy boy. Then he got to ride on the big boy train at Uncle Brad's house. Cool photo spot right in front of the tree!