Roar...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Before:
After:
Well, I was going for the record of the longest time not updating the blog. A lot has happened since the last update, but I will spare you (or really myself) from the photo documentary at this juncture - maybe next time.

So, as you can see, Beckett was a lion for halloween. He enjoyed his costume for about 10 minutes. That was my fault. I bought the 24 months size against my better judgement - it looked too slender. Beckett is not what I would call slender. The poor thing couldn't move it was so tight. He couldn't walk, kneel, move or anything. On top of that, it was hot and humid - not the weather to wear the nice acrylic lined flammable lion outfit. Oh well, better luck next year. On a positive note, Beckett now does a mean impression of a lion.

Friends in Low Places

Please link over to Ben Brady's blog to see this week's update. They are the cutest kids in the world and provide more entertainment than the VMAs with their dancing.

A Month (or so) in Pictures

It has been a great month, but very busy for all of us. I spent 2 weeks traveling for work and Derek has been busy getting better from the knee injury and working - yes, he accepted a position and has been working for the last few weeks.

Enough about us, the thing you really visit this site for is to find out about the little monster. Beckett has officially transitioned from baby to toddler. He is super cute - but very busy and in to EVERYTHING!

Leave your eyes off of him for a second and he will be into whatever drink or food is available. As they say, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" he would love to be able to down the dew. Daddy, what do you say about that?

His facial expressions are priceless. He has mastered the art of the tantrum and won't hesitate to use whatever he can to get what he wants. Here he is leveraging his cuteness - he knows that works better than the tantrum.

The whole family was invited to Jon Fozard's wedding. We tried to remind him that 15 month olds really like the sound of their own voice, especially when everyone else is quiet. Oh well, they now have Beckett recorded for posterity's sake.

Back to the mall for another ride on the carousel. This time it went much better. Beckett actually likes it now.
Early in August, we went to TX to visit family and friends. We went to dinner with Brian, Dawn and new baby Nate. He is about 20% the size of Beckett. But, he was about 200% better than Beckett at dinner.

One afternoon, we went to a Bounce House with all of the Bracken cousins. Beckett had a lot of fun. He did do his best to follow his cousins, but he is still a little small for the larger houses.

With the good comes the bad, Beckett spent the majority of the time chasing after his cousins and mimicking whatever they did. This included pulling the baby chair over to the wall to climb up and flick the light switch on and off. Yes, this was the beginning of the climbing... thanks guys!

Double trouble... Beckett was definitely interested in everything Zachary did... even time out.

Here they are - the three musketeers: Zachary, Hayden and Beckett at Gamma and Pap Pap's house. Too bad they don't get to spend more time together.

After we got home, we spent a few moments at Play it Again sports looking for a bike for Derek so he can continue re-habbing the knee. It is getting better, but he still has a little way to go. (No, this isn't the bike we got, this is what Beckett chose to ride around the store).

And, finally, we had a great evening out last weekend at the Bulls game with Leah, Joe and Alex. No picture with Wool E. this time, but maybe next time. We almost went the whole summer without going to a game. Thanks to the Houdes for the tickets.

(and, Mom, note that only one of the pics has the pacifier. We are down to only using it while sleeping. He is definitely a big boy: no bottles, no rocking before bed time, and no wake time pacifier usage.)

I guess that is it.

The Gardens

After what felt like an eternity, I am home again. We decided to spend some quality time at the Duke Gardens this morning. We had a great time.

And, as usual, Beckett is not short of personality. This is my best representation of his performance around one of the large trees at the park.

Summer in Durham

Over the summer we have been spending some time at the Museum of Life and Science (thanks for the membership, Gamma and Pap Pap). Beckett loves it. And, true to form, he loves the things that make the loudest sound the most. Drums are always a big hit.

Remember the note about the swimming... note: we don't have a local swimming pool... Because of this, we have officially done something that I thought only redneck families do. The local mall has a water play area right outside the parking deck. There are signs that invite visitors to come and play in the water - but, do normal people really do that? Well, we did. And, Beckett loved it. It is likely we will be back.

Peek-a-boo

Is there anything cuter?

Tadpole

We went swimming today for the first time. Yes, I know, most of you out there have a pool in your yard or your neighborhood so this isn't a big deal. However, those of us who are slumming in Durham aren't as lucky. We went to one of the local lakes and this took a lot of coordination.

Beckett was a big fan of the new outfit including the little water shoes. The water and sand, on the other hand, didn't receive such a warm welcome.

After a few minutes in the water together, he seemed to catch on a little bit. I think it is going to take several more visits before it becomes fun. We start baby swim class in a few weeks; hopefully, it will be fun by then.
Unfortunately, the sand didn't make it anywhere close to the fun list. Beckett refuses to walk, sit or play in the sand. He finally did give in and play with the sand, but only if he was safely on the sidewalk.

Springtime

Derek's friend Brian and his daughter Mackenzie visited this weekend. We had a great time hanging out. Today we spent a little bit of time at the Duke Gardens before they had to leave.

Beckett has been walking for a few weeks now, but I think the funniest part of the whole thing is how he gets up from a seated position. He practices baby yoga at school in order to do different things. Who knew the true purpose of downward facing dog ...

Birthday Fun

Sorry for the delay in posting the pics from our small birthday gathering - I did a number to my back last weekend so I haven't been able to do much except lay on the couch.

This is how the day started. You may expect a munchkin to look like this after the party - but, Beckett decided he wasn't going to be able make it through the party without a short snooze. We had to wake him up so he didn't miss his own birthday.


I don't think he really knew what to think of the cake and the decorations. He ate his portion of cake like a civilized being with a fork (with help from his dad, of course). We don't have any of the icing-covered face pictures that one typically has after a first birthday. This may also be because this wasn't his first exposure to icing (thanks to Leah, Derek and the Durham Public Library). He enjoyed opening the presents and playing with all of his friends at the park. We don't have many pics of the play time ... oops.And, thanks to Dana, Mike and Paul he also enjoyed and continues to enjoy his riding bumblebee. Thanks again guys!!
Thanks to all of our family and friends who joined us for the party. It was a perfect day and we all had a great time. And, a special thanks to Gamma, Pap Pap, Aunt Beth and Aunt Kylie for dealing with the travel woes to join us in NC.

Just like everyone says, we can’t believe it has been a year. We have grown along with Beckett over the last 12 months. I can say that we are officially out of the worm phase – and we survived. I am really glad Susan made me start this blog because we can easily relive all the little milestones from the last year. At age one he is, of course, the cutest, smartest, healthiest kid (from one biased parent's point of view) – at 1 he:

• Weighs in at 25 lbs 10oz – 80^th %
• Height = 30 ¾” – 90^th %
• Has 5 teeth – 3 on top, 2 on bottom
• Eats whatever HE wants to – but, not usually what we want him to; if we feed it to him, it comes right out, but if he picks it up off of the table it will usually stay in
• Has been walking for the last month
• Doesn’t say much in English that we can understand, but can tell you what a cat, lion and gorilla say
• Knows twinkle twinkle little star in sign language
• Jack’s Big Music Show is the only way to keep him still (and that only lasts a few minutes)
• Has already had 4 hair cuts and is in desperate need of number 5
• Enjoys, at most, the first 3 pages of a good book
• Gives the best hugs and blows the sweetest kisses

We are looking forward to all of the milestones to come as well as all the moments in between.

Easter Fun

Happy Easter!! Beckett went to his first egg hunt yesterday morning. So, this morning he knew exactly what to do with those colorful plastic eggs he found all over the living room. He checked each egg multiple times to make sure he got every last goldfish from the middle. Yum.

We got Beckett a cute little stuffed chicken as part of his easter basket. His reaction to it is really funny! He is definitely ready for the next family wedding with his rendition of the chicken dance - take a look....

We also went to one of the local parks to enjoy the weather.

Tent and Tunnels

Despite the virus' and bacterias' attempts to keep our little man from having a good time, you can tell from these pictures that he is as happy as usual (mostly). We have had a few tantrums this week and meal times have been a little challenging; but, overall, we are enjoying him as he explores everything.

We picked up a set of nylon tunnels, etc. as an early birthday present recently. He has had the best time with the tent - we haven't been able to take it out of our dining room since we put it up several weeks ago. The tunnel, on the other hand, takes up too much space and scares the dogs. So, it only gets to come out on the rare occasion. But, as you can tell from the video, he enjoys it too - and certainly more than the camera!

Timeout

Well, we had a very big milestone this week. What are you thinking - Crawling? Nope. walking? Nope. Talking? Nope. No, none of the milestones you would be proud to mark in the Baby's Firsts book. It was a milestone I knew we would experience soon enough, but I just didn't realize it was possible before the age of 1. TIMEOUT.

When I arrived at daycare yesterday to pick up our little angel, he was in Timeout. According to his teacher, he had been cruising all over the room pulling down everyone's art work and then eating the tape off of the back. Every time he was told "no" he laughed and proceeded to the next piece of art even faster than before. When I arrived, he looked at me with a face that said, "Just wait, this is only the beginning."

This picture was taken yesterday at school. Can't you see the rascaliness in his facial expression here? His friend Jack is smiling and looking like he wants to be best pals with Beckett. But, my child is saying, "Hurry up with this nonsense; I have some trouble to make around here."

We got our note today about starting to transition to the next class room. I hope they are ready and they know what they are getting themselves into. They are going to earn that arm and a leg we are paying in tuition with our child!

p.s. the person hiding behind the boys is not me - it is their teacher. I know it is hard to believe, but there are other people who enjoy having their picture taken less than I do.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks - and although they are all in the same outfit they aren't from the same day (I just like the sweater!!) The first two are from Baeden's birthday party at the Little Gym. Beckett's first experience with gymnastic equipment...

Yes, his cheeks match the ball. We must have had carrots for lunch.
These two are from the house - outside and in. Nothing special, just a fun day with mom and dad.