Elf!

I mean, really?

Beckett wore this to go "hunting" with his Dad on Saturday morning. They were hunting for sticks for our centerpiece. I dressed him this way so:
1) He was warm;
2) He would be safe from hunters; and
3) He would look like a little woodland elf.

I'm happy to report success all around. The centerpiece was awesome, too. :)

Halloween Party

Julia, Hadleigh, and Kaylee in Beckett's wagon.

We had an amazing time at Beckett's first Halloween Costume Party! 17 kids came, dressed in a wide array of costumes, and we had the best time! Monica took pictures, so I will post those once I get the cd, but in the meantime, here is a picture of the baby food treats and the treat bags for the other kiddos.

Menu:
We had Mini Monster Meatloaves and Mac and Cheese. I got Halloween pasta at the Harry & David's outlet in Tuscola and used it to make the mac and cheese. Ingrid generously donated some of her legendary sugar cookies (which were gone in a snap), and Mom baked cupcakes and Halloween whoopie pies for more desserts. Janis iced the cupcakes for me, and I used the cupcake trees from my shower to display them perfectly. (Some of them had eyeball suckers sticking up!) I hope Monica got some pics of the food, because I didn't even think about it until too late. :( Mom also made some of her amazing Chex Mix (one of my all-time faves), and Allison brought chili cheese dip and Halloween-colored chips. Adorable.

Attendees and Outfits:
Hayden Moody - Monster
Julia Moody - Princess
Kaylee Smith - Fairy Princess
Kiptyn Smith - Dragon (which I mistakenly called a Ninja Turtle)
Ava Kleiss - Pink Poodle
Braylon Holt - Dinosaur
Braylon Uppencamp - Fireman
Hadleigh Walden - Green M & M
Rebekah Sharp - Lady Bug
Erickah Sharp - Baby Lady Bug
Derek Sharp - Cardinals' Player
A.J. McPheeters - Slasher Scream Guy
Madalyne McPheeters - 80s Girl
Riley McPheeters - Ladybug
Archer McPheeters - Cheetah
Beckett - Chunky Monkey :)
Caprice couldn't come because she was sick.

Monica's pics detail everyone's cute looks!

I had such a good time planning the party - my first party as a mom. I loved designing the invitations, making the treat bags (with my mom's help), and decorating. It was awesome to have everyone here and to see all the cuties playing in the backyard. Truly precious.

Army Crawl

Look what I can do!

Beckett has been squirming around like crazy, and this weekend, he really started pulling himself...especially toward Lexi.
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Best weekend moment

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Grandma's Goodies

Grandma always brings her little sweet pea some kind of surprise when she visits. He is really starting to light up when she comes into the room - it's so sweet. This week, she brought some new books, which he really liked. She noticed he is drawn to the books with images of real babies, which is definitely the case! We were reading the book she gave him when we got up this morning, and he was so focused! I think he's going to be a reader. :) Thanks, Grandma! (Also, thanks for the yummy chili and lasagna you made the big babies. Delicious. We are spoiled, too!)

Day at the Park

After school today, Mom and I took Beckett to the park and Dad joined us. It was so mch fun to see him in the swing and on the slide! He wasn't quite as smiley as usual, but I think he was a little tired. He loved the swings and cooed while we walked him around the park in his stroller.

Sleep Song, Part 2

Grandma Hild caught the sleep song on video Thursdy night!

Blue Straw Pop

 

Beckett still loves these fruit pops. A couple days ago, we tried a new combination: Strawberries and Blueberries. As you can see, it was a hit.

Puppy Love

 

Lexi is such a sweet puppy. She is so patient with Beckett and she loves snuggling...even with a six-month old! The way Beckett is with her reminds me of our dog growing up, Lady. She was so gentle and kind, even when we wanted to "play horsie". I can't wait to see them as Beckett gets older and even more playful. I really hope he loves animals as much as I do!

Broccoli, Pears, & Peas

When did this happen? He's so big! He'll be driving soon.

Music Man

Grandma Hild taught Beckett a new trick and now he's a one-man-band!

Ingrid's Wedding

This is one of the only pictures we took from Ingrid & Ted's wedding tonight. I forgot to bring the camera, so we had to improvise. A special surprise was that our friend Allison was there with her darling daughter, Hadleigh, and her mom took some pictures, so I'm hoping for those later.
In the meantime, I insisted we take these two pics because my guys looked SO handsome tonight. Shonn even wore a tie! In the right color palette! Without complaint! :) he looked great, and Mr. Beckett wore his black cords with a grey sweater and black houndstooth baby gap old man hat. (He had to match Ingrid's color combo...)

We are so happy for Ingrid and Ted. The reception was gorgeous, at EIU's University Ballroom and completely black and white. The table linens were black or black and white damask, and the chair covers were black with white sashes. They had a candy "bar" and dueling pianos - it was awesome! Ingrid was gorgeous in her dress, which was no surprise - she's a beautiful girl inside and out, and I'm so glad she's found such happiness - no one deserves it more!

We got to catch up with lots of friends, including Ben and Brandi Borries, who we worked with in Shelbyville and also Mattoon. We also got to see lots of middle school friends, like Anieta, Marissa (our neighbor who I never see!), Clyde, Bloomy, Brickey, Monica, Cayla, Debbie & Debbie, the Colombos, and Rachel. (And more!)

In the last picture, Beckett is "talking" to Blayne, Ingrid's nephew, who was born on April 9th, just 5 days before Beckett. He was adorable in a little tux, and he had lots to tell Beckett! It was cute to see them together - they are actually pretty close in size.

Beckett behaved really well, especially considering the salads were served around the time he is usually falling asleep. He got lots of love from lots of special people. It was a wonderful evening, and we felt blessed to share such an important event with such great people.

XO
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Doubling my Age

 

Do you think Beckett has changed in the past few months? Here are his monthy birthday pictures, from July 14, August 14, September 14, and October 14. I tried to pick poses that were similar in order to see the difference. I think he looks much more like a little boy than a baby now... His hair is getting blonder every day, too.

Rockhome Gardens

We had a day date with Gramps last weekend, and we started at Rockhome Gardens. I haven't been there since I was a kid, and we had a great time walking around, enjoying the crisp fall weather, and taking in the sights. In the collage above, Beckett is sitting in front of the rock wall - Rockhome Gardens gets its name from the many buildings, walls, and fences made completely of rock. It's beautiful.

This picture (below) is taken inside a historic one-room schoolhouse. Beckett seemed to enjoy the desk. :)

Beckett loved all the animals at Rockhome. My favorite are the goats, and it looks like he might take after me in that way. He kept trying to grab the poor thing's antlers (if that's what they are called). Mr. Billy Goat only came over because he thought we were going to give him some food...unfortunately, the dispenser was empty, so he got some love instead.

This ginormous horse was named Miss Jane. Her caretaker was full of information, but to be quite honest, she kinda scared me. She was quiet and peaceful, but her sheer size was a little overwhelming. Beckett was happy to make her acquaintance.

One of my other favorite parts of the day was the hayride. This cute cowboy guy went around the place, asking people if they wanted a hayride. We jumped on and got a tour of the whole place. Dad is allergic to hay, so I was worried that it might not be a great idea, but he said he would be fine. (His eyes were red later, so I know he just did it because he thought Beckett would like it. That's Gramps Love.)

Sleep Song

This may look like a yawn, but Beckett is actually sleep-singing. He sings himself to sleep and it sounds like a little sheep. So cute!

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Happy Half Birthday!

 

I can't believe my little guy is six months old! He is developing quite the personality, as you can see from a few of these pictures. He's such a gift!

Hanging with the Girls

I had a work event in Chicago today, and luckily, our amazing Curriculum Director said my mom & little man could come along to spend the night last night. We had a blast! Beckett was ready for his Chicago-style getaway: Bears shirt, Bears game (not pretty), and we ordered Lou Malnati's pizza. Mom and I had a wonderful time girl-talking, but I feel like there was plenty of "guy stuff" to balance it out.

Beckett did miss his Daddy, though! I guess watching the game with the girls isn't quite as much fun as watching it with Daddy.
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Writer in Training

 

When we were choosing names, Beckett was one Shonn and I had on each of our lists, for different reasons. Beckett is the name of Shonn's favorite fishing cove on Lake Shelbyville, and I liked the sound as well as the affiliation with a great writer, Samuel Beckett. We both liked it's unique-without-being-weird-ness, and we cuold picture Beckett as a boy and a grown man. When I googled it, there weren't any bad connotations; in fact, lots of good stuff we didn't even think of came up. It means "from the brook" for example, which fit Shonn's outdoorsy side. In my obsessive manner, I created a survey on Baby Center, asking other members of my birth club and boys' names groups to tell me what kind of person they pictured with the name of Beckett. I only got 8 responses. But 2 said "writer". The rest of the answers were varied. There is also a site that allows you to type in a name and survey responders say what profession they most associate that name with. We got 32 answers on that one, and 7 said writer, 6 said lawyer, 6 said athlete, and the rest were varied. (There was a doctor in there somewhere...)

I love this picture because I feel like Beckett might be mimicking what he's seen me do. More likely? It's something to pound on and it's in his reach. :)

Sliding

 

Beckett loved the slide at the park! Mommy would have never thought of trying it, but Gramps was there to give it a go! He held on to Beckett all the way, and boy did he love it! If he could talk, I can imagine him saying, "Again! Again! Again!" Instead, we got a darling giggle every time. Precious!

"Fall"ing in Love

I think these family pictures by Genta Photography capture how happy Shonn and I are, and how blessed we feel to have each other and Beckett. The fall is such a gorgeous time, and I'm so thankful Monica captured the season and our feelings so beautifully. Shout out thanks to Katie and Brickey for the assist. :) XO