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