She's About to Pop!

Sunday was Natalie's shower.  Mom and I had a lot of fun getting everything ready (she almost flew away with the balloons!), and Harper had a great time with the girls, too.  Treva made her a special pop-themed dress for the occasion. It was a beautiful party and Natalie really seemed to enjoy it. I loved the girl time with my mom and grandma and cousins!

Hold on, Mom!

Harper with April and Mee Maw on decorating day

Matching the shower theme in her Michael Miller fabric - Treva original!

MeeMaw snuggles at the shower

Four generations!

Someone LOVED the balloons!

Beard Family Reunion!

We had a wonderful time at the Mary Beard Family Reunion over Labor Day Weekend at the farm.  We spent all day Sunday with Shonn's relatives on his mom's side. Janis has two sisters - Aunt Vicki and Aunt Lisa, and they both have children (Shonn's cousins) and grandchildren.  While we were there on Sunday, we got to spend time with Aunt Vicki's family and Grandma Mary.  Aunt Vicki's kids are Dinisha and Chris, and they are both married (to Bryan and Ivy, respectively - haha) and have kids of their own.  Chris and Ivy's kiddos are almost exactly the same age as Beckett and Harper so it's really fun to get the kids together, although we don't do it very often.  We also got to spend time with Jay and his girlfriend, Nicole, and Adam and Jim.  The kids had a blast!  Beckett played football with Uncle Adam and Uncle Jay cuddled with Harpy.  Papa held Harper for a long time, too.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Jasmine and Harper talk shop over pacis.  In a few years, it will be lip gloss.

Cuddling with Grandma Mary!

Chris and Ivy brought a play pool and they set it up on the back patio.  The kids loved it!

Beckett and Julian played in "The forest" with sticks, pine cones, and pine needles. 

Beckett shows Aiwyn his stick gun.

Inspecting the corn for Papa.

John Deere princess. (Treva made the kids matching outfits for the party!)

The girls hung out on the back patio.

Fun with Papa.

Cuddling with Uncle Jay

Dinisha brought supplies to make homemade ice cream and it was not only delicious but also fun! Beckett and MeeMaw have a comparison between store-bought and homemade ice cream. They decided both were pretty tasty!

Playing football with Uncle Adam

Playing some kind of wrap-the-ball's-string-around-the-pole game

Gator ride with Dad!

Our family. :)

I love how she's watching him.  Sweet babes.

Mt. Pulaski Day

On Tuesday, we visited our cousins the Crosses in Mt. Pulaski. Tyler is five, and he and Beckett had a great time playing, swimming, and jumping on the trampoline. Angie had a wonderful lunch prepared and we all had a very nice visit.

Harper with Mee Maw:

Angie snuggling her:

The boys playing:

Pool time!

Snacks:

Janis took a couple videos I will upload to Beckett's YouTube!

Later that evening, Shonn took his girls out for dinner and Beckett stayed at the farm. (Harper was going to stay, too, but I forgot her bottles!) 

They rode the Gator while we ate at Guzzardo's. Yum!

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was so much fun this year.  Dad's sisters, Kathy and Nancy, came to spend time with us, and Uncle Bob and Booker the Black Bearded Doggie came, too.

Here are some highlights of our weekend together:

Little Miss Firecracker is ready to meet her family:

 Here, Beckett gives Aunt Nancy a tour of his pad:

 Aunt Nancy and Aunt Kathy meet Harper Jane.

Uncle Bob has the magic touch with babies.  He has plenty of experience with his kiddos and his wonderful grandchildren, too.

 Aunt Kathy bonded with her new little girlfriend right away.  Harper loved it when she sang L-O-V-E!

The whole crew!

Beckett lounges in his chair, soaking up some new summer rays.  Lexi's trying to steal a nibble of his snack.

 One night we went to someone's land and made a campfire and enjoyed the sunset.  Aunt Kathy held Harper and chatted with her for a little while.

Meanwhile, Beckett enjoyed his campfire hot dog!

We found a perfect marshmallow roasting stick!

And made some delicious S'mores.

 Little Miss Memorial Day wished everyone well when they left.  It was a wonderful visit!

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.