just because

.. just because he's cute and can get away with wearing sun glasses in the grocery store if he wants.  I think he already understands that he will attraction more attention from the female race the cuter he looks.  :)

the funny things they say...

Having a little 2 year old around can lead to some frustrating moments, but mostly we find that Beck brings us smiles and joy.  I wish that I could remember and capture all the funny and smart things that he says, but of course I won't since I haven't written them all down.  With the new year, I'm going to try to start recording more of the little conversations we have and things he says during the day... so here's one from today:

After a not-so-great experience with Beck at the mall, we were on the way back to the car and I asked him if he should have a punishment for not being obedient in the store.  "Yea!" He piped up eagerly.  Hmm... not the response I would've thought, although he does on occasion say that he needs a time-out.  While waiting for the elevator I tried to explain to him what a punishment is and that it isn't a fun thing. Not catching on, he began to cry and started asking over and over for a punishment.  This continued for a little while after we were in the car, but he finally calmed down after he had his blanket.  It was a rather interesting and confusing experience trying to convince him (in what felt like a scolding tone!) he didn't need to be crying and upset about wanting a punishment!  Still not sure what he thinks a punishment is... I assure you that he has experienced them first-hand on multiple occasions. :)

... In other news, we moved Beck to what used to be the guest room (in preparation for the baby) and he is now sleeping in a "big boy bed."  The first day/night didn't go great and he ended up in his crib for his nap and night time, but the next day he was fine - just had to remind him a couple times not to get out of bed.  Of course we had to play it up and gave him an enthusiastic "good job!" each time he woke up after sleeping in his big bed.  Now the first thing he says Every time he wakes up is "good job!"  I think he's ok with congratulating himself. :)

snow everywhere!

Indy got hit with piles of snow throughout the last week, leaving us with what Beckham calls "snow Everywhere!"  With all the snow, it was only fitting to let Beck play in it and experience it for the first time.  I played the pregnancy card (can't be falling on the ground and rolling around in snow, right?!) and bundled up just enough to take pictures and videos.  It's pretty funny to see such a little guy waddle around in the snow and try to get up after falling down. ;)

Needless to say, Beck loves the snow and would play in it as much as we let him... or should I say, as much as Chad is willing to to play in it with him. :)

a trip to the orchard

These pictures go back in time a few months to a beautiful fall day where Beck and I went to an orchard in Indy with Kyra, Ashton and their kiddos, Poppy and Emerson.  Although they are late, I wanted to post them still since they are a fun memory of picking apples, sampling the apples, and having our first taste of apple cider for the fall season... in the form of apple cider slushies - yum!!  And as I am typing about this day, I'm getting hungry for apple cider.  :)

no longer 1...

... nope, he's 2.  Beck that is.  And it went fast, super fast.. of course.  Everyone says that time flies for a reason.  I would be surprised if a birthday ever goes by where we don't look back and say, "wow, that year went fast."  Sometimes I'm not sure how to feel about that.  Sad that time is going to fly by faster than we want and everything we do is quickly a distant memory?  Or thankful that our time on this earth doesn't drag on forever?  If anything it should give me the desire to make sure I'm intentional with my time, the time our family has together and the time we have watching our kiddos grow up...

Beck's second b-day was quite different than the first, when it comes to the presents.  At 1 year he still wasn't so excited about gifts and wasn't sure how to open a present.  At year 2, he was squealing with delight and waving his arms around in excitement after he opened a gift and saw a tractor or train.  He could hardly contain himself while he waited for someone to open the packaging so he could get his hands on his new present.  Very fun to watch. :)  And he has continued to love all his presents after he got home and they keep him entertained for a long time... quite nice.

So a few pics of Beck's birthday celebration.  A couple things you might notice:

1.  He rarely, very rarely looks up for a picture when he's engrossed in a new toy or something he likes, no matter how many times you say his name and how excited your voice sounds.

2.  He likes trucks, trains, tractors... all things that go vroooom.  Pretty much all his toys were very boy, which is great as that is what he likes... just funny to see what a little boy gets for his birthday.

I like this pic b/c it's all fuzzy due to Beck bouncing up and down with excitement while his present was taken out of the package.

playing with a new toy from aunt Sheli

watching in amazement as the loader bucket on his new remote CAT tractor goes up and down

a little unsure about his candles.  yes, he got excited and went a little overboard on putting candles in his cupcakes :)

yum.. frosting.  he pretty much just licked off the frosting and left the cupcake (the best part!)

all about beck

I was thinking that I haven't written much about what Beck is up to lately and wanted to give a little update... maybe more for my sake of recording it than for everyone else's sake.  :)

Most of the stuff he is doing lately revolves around things he's saying, as the talking has increased quite a bit.  One thing I'm always amazed at is the randomness of his memory.  He'll remember one little thing we said to him one time, yet probably forget something we say all the time!  And his thought process is so funny... jumping from one thing to the next - cars, to candy, to singing a song, to talking about something he did yesterday.  Kids are oh so interesting.

a few other things he's been doing as of late:

• playing his favorite activities - pushing around any type of tractor or motorized vehicle, golf (which is more of watching dad play golf), "mowing" (pushing anything across the yard or even inside), going fast (running around), and shooting guns (nerf of course!)
• talking about his favorite movie Cars... which is a treat he gets to watch at his aunt Sheli's
• starting to sing the ABC's, Jesus Loves Me, and Twinkle, Twinkle
• saying he wants something by saying "yeah, uh-huh", for example, today in the car he wanted my chapstick, so he kept saying "chapstick, yeah, uh-huh"
• getting woken up by mom a little earlier than preferred on work mornings, to which he responds "more sleep" and snuggles up on his pillow again.  quite adorable :)
• asking for c-a-n-d-y the minute he wakes up in the morning (not an everyday occurrence, but it happens often enough!)
• saying he wants a sister when asked about the baby
• using lots of 3 word phrases
• agreeing to go on the "big boy potty" but not really wanting to go
• sleeping in!  instead of his usual 7-7:30 rise, it's become more like 8-8:30... at least for now :)
• asking to have things, whether it be a toy in the store or a truck in his book, he's developed a preference for the toys he likes that communicates by simply saying "have" in a voice of desperation at the item of choice. sometimes he'll even make it a "have please", in which case I believe he thinks he has a pretty likely chance of receiving his item of desire.

and of course some recent pics:

at the zoo in AZ with the Beer family.  plenty of girl time for Beck... which he didn't seem to mind and only kissed one of them :)

playing football with dad before it was freezing outside

sleeping in the car just like his mamma - mouth wide open :)

tasting a Vitamix sample at Costco... it tasted much better than it looks!

love at the zoo

The other Saturday we met up with Bryan, Ashton, and Poppy at the zoo for a beautiful morning with the animals.  The kiddos were having fun, but the cameras didn't come out until we were at the porcupines...

"Poppy, say cheese".... 

"Beck, give Poppy a hug... that's so nice."

oh no... going in for something else.  Poppy appears to be very unaware as to what is about to happen.

Beckham making a move!  Very unlike him... he's usually the one that's off on his own.  But Poppy seems to be a little too into this and knows what to do.  Notice the arm on his shoulder?!  This must not be her first kiss. :)

ahaha... that was funny!  Poppy's in a daze and cannot believe what happened...

oh my... a kiss from a boy!

hum... Beck looks like a stinker in this pic... like he enjoyed that kiss a little too much.  :)