Happy New Year!

LR: Joni with Hayden (6) and Julia (3 & 1/2), Beckett and me, Casey with Kaylee (4) and Kiptyn (2 & 1/2), Angie with Brody (6) and Gabe (12)

We celebrated New Year's Eve with my best friends from high school and their kids.  Casey and Smitty hosted, which was so nice because she has a huge playroom and lots of toys.  The kids had a blast running around, playing, and even doing some gymnastics on Kaylee's pink mat (above).  When it was Beckett's turn, he would just run down the mat like the rest of the kids!

We headed home around 9:30 and definitely did not make it to the ball drop. :)

Hot Pockets

We made homemade hot pockets for lunch today. Some were ham and cheese and some marinara and cheese. Beckett ate a whole one of each!

Hot Locklate

Since his introduction to it yesterday, B keeps requesting "more hot Locklate, please!"

Snow Much Fun!

This morning, Beckett woke up hungry, which really isn't different than any other day, but instead of saying, "Potatoes" when I asked what he wanted, he said, "Pancakes!"  We made pancakes, but to be safe, I still made eggs with sausage and potatoes. He ate it all!  (He also got to put his own sprinkles on the pancakes, as you can see in the picture...)  He's wearing Toy Story PJs from Papa as part of our date night movie. :)

After breakfast, we played with toys and read lots of books.  He wanted to know where Daddy, Papa(s) and Mee Maw(s) were, so we inspected the map. He can say SOOO Falls and 'Dee-ana for Indiana.  

He found his keys from his stocking, so we made a cardboard car with personalized plates for him to use them on.  (This was after he told me, BYE BYE, MOMMY. GOIN TO WORK, and opened the door to the garage to get in "MOMMY'S CAR".)

We took a nice nap. When we woke up, we had lunch and then Beckett spotted the snow!

It was really cold outside, but I told him he could help me get the mail and go down the slide one time.  (He kept saying, SNOW ON SLIDE? FUN!)  It was a blast, even though we were only out for about 5 minutes total, divided into the back yard first and the front yard to the mailbox and back afterwards.  He was fascinated with his gloves, and I am so glad we got to use his snowpants!  He didn't mind getting all bundled up, although everyone I've shown this picture to says he looks like the little boy from The Christmas Story.  Haha!  

We came in and had some yummy hot cocoa to warm up.  He said, "MMM! Delicous!" twice after his first sip.  It was hilarious!

It was another great day of break. Lots of laughing, cuddling, and making memories. I'm so thankful for this time.

Mommy Date

Beckett and I had a full, fun-filled day today!  First, he came to the doctor's office with me, which doesn't sound like that much fun, but we brought the new dinosaurs Grandma and Grandpa got him for Christmas, some books, and of course, he had that personality along for the ride. First, he made friends with everyone in the waiting room by saying "Hi!" or "Hello!" and smiling at them until they responded.  Then he went back around and said, "How you? Good!"  Everyone loved him, of course. :)  When that got old, he wanted to read his books in his chair.

This appointment was for my glucose screening, so I knew it would be an hour long.  But my doctor is notoriously late, like 2+ hours late, and today was no exception...  We ended up leaving and I rescheduled because it was getting close to nap time.  Sure enough, when we hit the car, he was out.  I needed to go to Home Depot to get one more bracket for the baby's closet, so I decided to drive to Mattoon so he could sleep.  We got to Mattoon and he was still sleeping, so I decided to drive to Champaign. (Mothers, I know you can relate to this logic.)

We got to Home Depot and he woke up (so thankful for the timing!).  We got the car cart, which he loved, and were in and out in about 10 minutes.  After that, we headed to Steak and Shake for lunch. Yum!

He made lots of friends again (including the family in the booth behind us, with a Grandpa he hugged over the booth), and ate a ton! He had a whole Cheeseburger and some fries.  He got a banana shake to go.  (Why not - it's a date!)  Thanks to GG for the gift card we used for lunch! It was yummy and fun.

Great-Grandpa Kracht gave Beckett some money for Christmas and wanted a report on what he got, so our next stop was Toys R Us.  It was a blast. We went up and down every aisle and he played with everything.  No, really. Everything. We were there for well over an hour!

Beckett picked out a talking tool box, which was perfect because he got a new workbench and lots of tools for Christmas.  Then we headed next door to Barnes and Noble to read some books.  He loved the kids' section and made lots of friends.  He also liked "jumping" off the stage.

When we got home, we played with some of his toys, made dinner, and then cuddled on the couch.  To end the date, we made some caramel corn and watched Toy Story.  It was a wonderful day!

Bows for Baby

Last night after B went to sleep, I got Baby Girl's Christmas bows organized. Oh my.  I also made another bow organizer just in case.  :)

My friend Rachael told me about a 60% off sale at www.haloheaven.com which makes the bows thirty cents.  My other friend told me, "The bigger the bow, the better the mama."  So I figure I'm just doing what I have to do! ;)

I also got the rest of the closet organized, or at least as much of it as I can until Shonn gets home and the dressers are done.  It was fun, and I can't sleep as well when Shonn isn't home, anyway, so it was a good use of my insomnia.

Matchmaker

\We played so many games today and had so much fun.  Beckett really liked his workbench and tools today, but during a break from building, we played with these cards we've had for a long time. I laid them out and held the matching ones to see if he could find the matches. He did every single one correctly the first time!  I couldn't believe it, so I laid them all out again to try to video it.  He's such a cutie! (Says his biggest fan.)

Bunting Update

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished bunting, which is waaaaaay longer than I need, but I'm planning to use part in the bedroom and part in her bathroom on the shower curtain.  I really like how it turned out, and Shonn picked up the paint today!

Christmas Picture

Shonn took this picture on Christmas day! 

Christmas Day 2012

This morning when we woke up, we ate breakfast and then showed Beckett all of the gifts Santa brought him.  It's so amazing to watch him - he loves the things he opens, but he is perfectly content without the presents. He didn't try to open them early or run out to the tree to dig in - he loves each item as it is unwrapped and spends time playing with each new toy.  :)

Here are a few pictures from our morning!

Afterwards, the guys took a nap and /I worked on the bunting for Baby's room.  When we got up and ready, we went to MeeMaw and Papa's house to enjoy Christmas with them. My brother Matthew was home, too, and mom made an amazing amount of delicious food for us to nibble on prior to dinner.  We opened presents, and again, I felt guilty to see how much Beckett received!  We have so much and it makes me want to give more to others. We didn't get much for my parents this year, which made me feel even worse. I know it isn't about the presents, but I want them to know how much we appreciate all they do for us and the role they play in Beckett's life!  It's the same way I feel about Janis; even though it shouldn't be about presents, I want to show them how much they mean!  I hope we were able to do that this Christmas, and I need to do a better job of it every day throughout the year.

Here are some fun pictures from our time at MeeMaw and Papa's!

Checking out the tree - he said, "Pretty tree!"

He got his very own broom, just his size...

...but he still wanted to play with the grown-up size broom!

We loved this game when we were little - now he can play Don't Break the Ice, too!

Opening a big present with Papa. (laughing)

A fireplace for his playroom!  He gave Papa a hug and said, Thank you! 

Aunt Mandy and Uncle Levi sent a game for him to play - The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel

A drill from MeeMaw and Papa to go with the tool table from MeeMaw and Papa Hild!

Uncle Matthew likes the Toy Story PJs Papa picked out for him.

Shonn has a family picture of us at dinner - I will try to upload it later!

Merry Christmas, everyone! xoxoxo

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with our family on the farm.  This was the second year for some traditions Janis started last year and it was a beautiful evening.  We got there around 2:30 and spent some time visiting with Don and Barb Meredith, and Beckett loved Don's Donald Duck voice and called Barb Grandma all night.  Jim's parents came, so we got to spend some more time talking with them, since we had to leave Angie's a bit early on Saturday.  Jay and Julie were there, along with Adam. It was the perfect group of people with whom we got to spend a special night celebrating!

After everyone arrived, we opened presents.  Beckett got so many wonderful things, and so did his baby sister.  I felt badly about how many things he got!  We are donating many of his old toys to "pay it forward" a little bit.  We are also going to have him fill his Santa Bag with toys to give away so Santa can replace them with new toys and give the old ones to other boys and girls to enjoy.

Snuggling with Dad!

Opening a tool set from Uncle Jay...with a real hammer...

Hat and tool belt reporting for duty!

MeeMaw helps open a darling drawer set!

He had so much fun running around, singing and laughing with his family!

After presents, we had a delicious Christmas Eve dinner, all prepared by Janis. She had pork loin, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, veggies, snacks, and a delicious cranberry dessert.  Following dinner, we all participated in Bushe de Noel (probably not the correct spelling) - a tradition where everyone said what they were thankful for in the past year, lights a candle, and puts it in a cake. (I think this part symbolizes Baby Jesus' birthday cake?)  At the end, we all sang "Silent Night" together. It was beautiful!

Shonn said he was thankful for Beckett, a healthy baby, and me. :)  It made me feel really special to hear him say he thinks I'm a great mom and wife.  We don't take enough time to tell people how much they mean to us throughout the year, or to verbalize our blessings and give thanks. I am thankful for the opportunity to do that on Christmas Eve with our family!

Grandpa Hild read the Christmas story. In a perfect pause, Beckett called out, AMEN!

MeeMaw shows Beckett a little lamb for Baby Girl while Great Grandma Hild watches.

We headed home around 6, and Beckett fell asleep.  When we got home, he woke up and we watched It's a Wonderful Life.  It was a perfect Christmas Eve and way to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

The Great-Grandparents' Great Christmas!

On Saturday, we went to Angie and Dustin Cross's house for Christmas with the Hild's side of the family. Everyone was there when we arrived, and there was plenty of delicious food!  We ate and then the kids opened their presents, which was so much fun to watch!

Our family!

 We left Angie's at about 7 to drive to Oreana for the Cox celebration. (My mom's mom, Gert.) Beckett napped on the 30-minute drive and was a little overwhelmed when we walked into a houseful of singing relatives!  It was a lot of fun to see the kids playing and waiting anxiously to unwrap their gifts.

Some of my first cousins. Angie (red shirt) brought me a tub of baby girl clothes, too!

Some of GG's great grandchildren. (GG = Greatie Grandma & Gertrude Georgia. :)  )

Sunday morning, we drove to Franklin Grove to spend the afternoon and evening with my Grandpa Kracht. (Dad's dad.)  Beckett had a great time, and of course was incredibly loving and sweet.  He had so much fun making pillow piles and yelling, "COWABUNGA" as he jumped onto them.  Grandpa Kracht really got a kick out of that.

Santa knocked on the front door and left a stocking of presents for our good little boy!

One of the stocking's treasures...

Beckett shows Grandpa a bear.

And they both thought the antlers were funny! (Love this face!)

Telling Clara thank you!

A precious moment.

I feel so thankful to get to spend time with our extended family, and I treasure the time Beckett gets with his great-grandparents.  It's really a gift!