Beckett's 4-Year Portraits

Beckett will be four on April 14th! We took these pictures early, so we could do both kids together.  He is growing so quickly and is such a joy!

Beckett currently attends preschool at Building Blocks. The schedule and routine has been so great for him! He has developed so much this year, including developing an understanding of social rules and how to share, interact with others, as well as so much academic information.  I cannot believe how much he has learned.  He is very curious.  He is also somewhat cautious when it comes to new things. He watches and analyzes before he tries things, but always has a smile.

Beck is currently taking swimming lessons and his report card said, "Beckett is such a joy. He follows directions, listens, and is always smiling."  LOVE!

Favorite sayings and habits at age 4:

• Can I do (something), Dad? Handsome please? (Rationale: You say "pretty please" to girls, so "handsome please" works for guys.)
• How does (fill in the blank) work?
• Yeah. This is how that goes. (Explains his understanding of any process. e.g.; oil pump we pass on the way to school every morning.)
• Look at this cool machine I made!
• Can you cuddle with me? (Heart melted)
• Let's wrestle!
• Let's play chase!
• Loves brushing his teeth to get rid of "sugar bugs"
• Loves superheroes and Imaginext toys

Isn't he the most handsome little guy? And his heart is even more beautiful. 

Dino-Mite Birthday

We celebrated Beckett's second birthday at the Children's Museum in Decatur. 20 of his friends and 35 grown-ups came to wish Beckettosaurus a happy birthday. Mom, Janis, Adam and I were setting up when we had a big surprise - Aunt Mandy arrived! I had no idea she was coming! Dad secretly went to pick her up!

Beckett had a blast with his friends, playing chase with Dino hats on, and we had lots of yummy snacks. The kids were able to go through the museum, which is exploratory play, after we had cake and presents. Beckett got so many nice gifts from everyone and we were all so thankful they made the effort to come!

Harper got to meet lots of people and also got lots of snuggles.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Dino-Mite Video!

I just found this video of Beckett's birthday party and wanted to share it.  :)

19 months...

 We love this little boy and all the joy he brings into our lives! This picture illustrates his growing curiosity and desire to explore.  I am amazed at how quickly his vocabulary is developing - he remembers and says everything now!  One of the things I'm most surprised about is his ability to switch pronouns.  For example, I'll say, "Do you want to do it?" to which he will reply, "I will do it."

He recognizes so many sounds and can recall information I don't even remember. (Although that probably isn't too much of a comparison with baby brain.)  The other night, we heard coyotes yipping in the field behind our house, and he said, "Wolf?"  so Shonn and I explained coyotes to him.  Now, at night he will go into the playroom and listen, asking, "Coyote?"

He is also quickly developing a sense of independence.  He will let you show him how to do things, but then he really likes to try it on his own. "Beckett do it!" or "I do it!"  He uses please and thank you (sometimes "thanks!") without even being reminded most of the time.

One of my favorite stories this week was from the other night.  I needed Shonn to help me with something in our room, but he was in the living room, so I called out, "SHONN!"  Beckett loved that and started saying, "SHOOO-OOOON!  Shonn!  Shonn!" and then he said, "Shonn-y!"  We both cracked up because I have never called Shonn that or ever heard anyone call him that.  (Maybe Janis when he was little?)  But he knew right away who Shonn was, and now, every once in awhile, he will call Shonn by his first name.  That, or "Hey, buddy."  Haha!

18 Months!

Beckett turned 18 months on October 14th.  Talk about a quick year and a half!  At the same time, it's completely amazing to see how much a baby grows and changes in such a short time.  He is quickly becoming his own person, and I can't believe how much he learns and is able to say.  His verbal development seems advanced, and he is still the sweetest, most cuddly little guy, but that's his proud mama talking. (I'm pretty sure his proud grandparents and daddy would agree.)

Here are a few notes about Becket at 18 months.
-He weighs 25 pounds, which is the 50th percentile
-He measures 31 inches, which is a little below the 50th percentile
-He loves to say, Yep, Okay, No, and thank you, YUM YUM GOOD
-He uses the following multi-word phrases:

• Mommy, Car, Keys, Go?  Daddy hunting deer, antlers, big buck?
• Potatoes good. MMM, MMM, good.
• No, no, Lexi
• C'm here!
• Boom! Fell down. (This is typically on purpose. :)  )
• I'm okay!

He also repeats everything and picks up new words incredibly quickly.  Grandma Hild brought him a catalog of animals, and he can say almost animal in there by memory. It's a really cool catalog because it groups animals by continent.  Some of the animals in there (that amaze me) include yak, hippo, rhino, zebra, tiger, lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe (he sometimes says 'big tall' for this one - so cute!), hedgehog, warthog, panda, penguin, and it goes on.  I am continually amazed at how his brain is a little sponge.  It has all the regular farm animals, too, and he has been obsessed with cows for awhile now. (I think it's because it is the first animal we say in Old MacDonald.)

Other info:

-He loves eggs, potatoes, ham, and cheese scrambled together for breakfast.  

-He still eats just about everything, but once he makes up his mind about not eating something, you can't change it.

-He will read the same book about 4 times and then go get another one.  He especially likes books with animals.

-He likes to play hide and seek, but starts to come out when you start counting.

-He usually hangs out with dad in the morning while I get ready.

-He loves tickling, hugging, and wrestling.  (If you say "baby snack" he starts laughing right away.)

-He loves his Grandparents on both sides and is excited every time they come over.

-He really likes going places. (Car? Go?)

-We have started letting him watch Sesame Street and he really likes it!

-He loves other kids and always gives them hugs.

He is such a happy, sweet little boy. We are so blessed and thankful!

14 Months!

For his 14-month birthday pictures, I dressed him in Hild LAndscaping attire because he looks so much more like a little boy, which is how I see him now. Each picture illustrates part of his development, explained by the captions. Happy 14th-month, Beckett! XO

He has officially passed walking and is now into running. You can't really tell in this shot, but at one point, both feet were off the ground simultaneously. He also loves opening and closing doors, which he can name without the 'r' sound. That includes cabinet doors, shower doors, closet doors, bathroom doors, vanity doors, garage doors (he especially likes pushing the garage door openers), and any other type of door you can think of.

He can walk up and down inclines easily and loves stepping over objects. He would prefer to step over the one item on the floor instead of taking the much easier trip around, and will intentionally make his path intercede with whatever he can climb over. He can also go up and down steps by himself, although that still makes me very nervous. These pictures were the first time he wore the "work boots" so he would look more like Dad.

Climbing has begun. He climbs on chairs, the couch, stools, tables, and (as evidenced) piles of dirt. He also has a great attention span and can focus on small objects or animals for (what seems like) extended periods.

Sharing: Beckett loves to share things. He shares his snacks with Lexi or Mommy, he gives people his food at the dinner table, and he will offer whatever is in his hand to me, including dirt clods. It is so sweet, the juxtaposition of all boy in the dirt and loving generous boy to his mom.

I love this picture because it's the beginning of his favorite game: CHASE! He gets this ornery look on his face, glances back over his shoulder like "come and get me" and then starts to run, looking back about every 2 seconds. In this picture, he is also saying "tweet," one of his favorite animal sounds.

Fine motor: Beckett has always been good at manipulating small objects. He picks up crumbs, threads, and tiny leaves. He inspects things closely, and then typically offers them as gifts. Here, he has a small piece of wheat. This picture also shows his hair really well. He is very blond, and the back is usually pretty messy, which I love!

Sharing his wheat.

Okay, this catches his personality really well - he is laughing hysterically (probably the best sound I have ever heard) and running during a game of CHASE. Sometimes when he gets laughing really hard, he snorts.

Good tooth shot: There are 11 and 1/2...The top left molar is in and out.

Beckett loves to play with gadgets, too. Here, he is reaching for Mommy's camera. He also loves our cell phones, and can unlock Shonn's iPhone and iPad. He loves anything with buttons and is really into the phase where he likes it when he gets a response from an object. Like, I can make this do something!

"VROOM, VROOM!" One of Shonn's favorite things right now is seeeing B with trucks and tractors because he scoots them back and forth repeatedly and makes a "vrrrrrooooom" sound. He says, "CCCK" and "CRRRR" for truck and tractor. He says it when he hears them go by, sees them from his car seat, or when Shonn pulls up from work.

In this picture, he is holding a cap to a bottle of water. Beckett loves taking lids on and off of things. He says "AAH" and "FFF". The travel food pouches, like Ella's or Plum Organics, have some of his favorite lids, but he doesn't discriminate. Tupperware, bottled drinks, fast food cups - if it has a lid, he loves it. Speaking of fast food cups, he is also very interested in straws right now and will take them in and out of the lid until either the lid tears or he drops the straw.

Beckett loves the outdoors. I am converting the sunroom into a playroom and we spend almost all of our day between that room and the yard. He loves animals, nature, and is fascinated by all the things around us. We made a one-hour game out of finding pinecones, which he loved. (He said, "CONE" while holding up his treasure everytime we found one. We ended up with a bucketful and it never got old.)

It has been an amazing 14-months, and even though it doesn't seem possible, each day we love him more and more!

13 Months Old!

We tried to do a photo shoot for the 13-month birthday (please note that the onesie stickers have run out - by etsy standards, my baby is officially beyond being a baby!), and here are the results.  (Note that these few frames came from sifting through about 160 options. Haha)

Such a big boy! I love this one.

I've had enough!

No, seriously. I've had enough!

Distracted by the birds

And a piece of straw. (He loves tiny things and can pick them up very easily.)

Alright, I'm up!

Sweet little face. Bottom left = nearing tears because the bird flew away.

In terms of verbal development, Beckett now knows:
-to tweet at birds
-to bark at dogs (and he also says, "dah!")
-to snort at pigs
-to baa or maa at sheep and goats
-to moo at cows
-to "ooodle, ooodle, ooooo!" in a very high pitched voice at roosters
-to quack at ducks
-Mama, Dada, ink (for drink)

Physically, he is almost running everywhere, with a grin on his face.  He can go up the stairs we have leading into the sunroom, but I'm scared about that, so I only let him do it when I'm right next to him.  He has eight teeth and one molar on the lower right.  His lower left one is about ready to come through, too.

Here he is napping in his bed.  (Rare items, these photos. Aunt Nancy, imagine the auctioneer saying, "Rare items, folks! These are RARE." It's true.)

Same bed, same boy, same pose, one year ago.  He is getting so big!

If I had to describe him in one word, it would be HAPPY!  When I picture him, I picture his beautiful bright smile.