Thursday, April 29, 2010

Where did he go?

These days, if Beckett seems to crawl off down the hallway unexpectedly, this is where he's headed...


He does like food, so why are we surprised?  We have already decided that if he ends up being a gourmet chef, we'll pay for his schooling as long as he cooks for us for the rest of his life... or ours, I guess.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Pizza night

Thought we'd do something fun for dinner last night and make our own pizzas.... It was a hit!





Sunday, April 25, 2010

Gardening

Here is our "sad" little beginning attempts at some gardening.  Zucchini is growing, and yes, we got one of those "Topsy Turvey" type tomato planters (hanging by the shed).  Figured we'd start out small this year, see how it went, and maybe go for an actual garden area next year if all goes well.  We also have green beans coming soon. 

Friday, April 23, 2010

Why? Because...

So I wouldn't suggest asking Charlotte "Why?" regarding, well, anything these days. 

Here is the response you will get:
"Because... indivisible with liberty justice for all."

No clue where that answer came from, but its the only one we've been getting from her the past couple days. Talk about a crack up!

Beckett signing "all done"

Ok, so some fussing and extra arm flailing in here too, because he was seriously all done, but here it is.  And before you suggest that he's just flapping his arms, know that he does not do this whatsoever when he's eating until he's been eating a long time and I ask him if he's all done.  Early in his mealtime, if I ask him the same thing, he doesn't do this.  I thought I was crazy the first time that he responded this way and was just making it up in my head, but this is definitely him communicating "all done" with us.  After all, baby signing is just a way for babies to communicate before they can speak, so he's getting his point across none the less...



Oh, and as a reference from an online signing dictionary (http://www.signwithme.com/), here is what "all done" is supposed to be:
Gesture: Shake open palms in front of body several times.




Sweet little girl

Could she be any more precious?!

Good morning!

Fun playtime in his pj's.  This is heaven for my little boy!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Baby signs

I'm not sure quite the age that babies are "supposed" to be able to sign, but Beckett is already doing it.  Excuse me for being a bragging proud mama, but my kids are just so stinking smart!  He does the sign for "all done" when he's done eating... although that is only after his hour long meals.  Not kidding.  But seriously, he does sign "all done" and its pretty cool to see.  Whoever realized that babies can communicate before they can talk is a genius and I thank them.  This has been helpful with both of my children, and I know it will continue to be as Beckett is more and more able to communicate with us.  Plus, Charlotte still remembers and often uses signs that we taught her, so I'm sure the two will be "talking" to each other in no time.  Hopefully I'll be able to catch him doing it on video soon and will put it on here to share.

Imaginary friend

So we've recently realized that Charlotte has an imaginary friend.  He is a moose and he lives in her room.  I didn't know that two year olds could have imaginary friends, but she definitely does.  We originally thought she was talking about something in a book or a stuffed animal or something, but after many weeks of no success finding these things and some pretty funny conversations asking her about the moose, we have come to this conclusion.  She is constantly using more and more words and her conversation skills are quite impressive for her age for sure, and now it seems that her imagination is growing just as well.  The moose has no name and so far just appears to take lots of naps in Charlotte's room or play in there.  We'll keep you posted on this new addition to our family...   :)

Monday, April 19, 2010

Project week!

So Kevin has been quite the motivated worker this week and got a lot of projects, big and small, done outside.  In addition to finishing the shed and getting it filled up with all of our yardwork items, he also did some major landscaping work in our front yard.  It is so great having our house feel more and more like our own.  Still lots to do til its finished, but its a fresh start to add lots of great new flowers too.  I'm so lucky to have such a hardworking husband that likes to do outdoor work!  ...oh, and he got to use a chainsaw...

This one's gonna be trouble!

So Mommy was getting some milk for Charlotte the other day and left the fridge open briefly (yes, shame on me!)  This is what happened...

Guess that will teach me.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

We have a shed!

Well, the shed is up! I am so unbelievably proud of my husband! He is definitely not the handy-man type, so this was a huge project for him and his first real building project... unless you count our Target furniture. haha! He did it almost completely by himself in only about five hours. (My dad helped build the foundation and I helped with the few things that required more than two hands.) And he did an amazing job! So excited to have such a nice item in our backyard and more room in our garage. An 8x6 shed for all of our outdoor equipment - you know you're getting old when that is a dream come true!  :)






Learning the Bible already

Charlotte came home from church a few weeks ago with a Bible verse.  I love that they do that even for the nursery age kids!  She is so proud of herself to have learned this - and so are we!  Off to a good start for only being 24 months old.

Translation:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5"

Monday, April 12, 2010

Project time!

We were given the gift of a shed this year... woo hoo!  A much needed item for us!  And if you've ever seen our garage, you would know just how badly it was needed.  Today, that project was started.  The foundation was built.  Here are some pics. 

More to follow as it progresses.  Hopefully it will be up and full of stuff by the end of the week. Thanks so much Dad for helping and way to go Kevin on your first big building project!

Emotional

It has been a bit of an emotional week for Mommy.  Beckett is now only nursing in the morning when he wakes up, before bed, and once during the day!  If you are not familiar with a nursing baby's schedule, yes, that is a big deal!  As a frame of reference, he started out eating every 3 hours for 30 minutes straight when he was born.  As freeing as it is for Mommy that I can go longer than 3 hours away from my baby, its still a bit of a sad moment that my baby boy no longer needs me as much.  Next step... drinking milk from a cup.  My babies are growing up!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

They love each other!

Makes a Mama proud!



Look out Dora! Here comes Beckett the Explorer!

This little man is constantly "sneaking off" into other rooms and areas of the house to check things out.  And he's starting to make a mess when he gets there too.  Such a little explorer!  Mommy's got her hands full keeping up with this one!


Silly Charlotte

She's full of drama, both good and bad.  Here's some of her drama that makes us giggle...

Charlotte's silly face

"Cheese!"

She's figured out that things sound funny when she puts her fingers in her ears.

Easter

The day before Easter, we went to an event at the church that was filled with all sorts of activities for the kids and of course, a chance to meet the Easter Bunny.  Charlotte fell asleep in the car as we were pulling in the parking lot!  So... we woke her up and took her to see the Easter Bunny so she wouldn't wake up later and be disappointed.  The most frustrating part of the whole event was the fact that after standing in line for about 20 minutes, she sat down briefly and then announced she had to go potty.  Still, she was so excited she got to meet him and was actually crying when we had to leave saying, "Easter Bunny, where are you?  I feel sad."



Here are a few pics of the kids from Easter Sunday...

The outfits:

The egg hunt:

And later that day:

Thursday, April 1, 2010

One less

We are one less child tonight.  Charlotte is having her first overnighter in a LONG time... actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it may be her first since Beckett was born - almost 8 months ago!  Forgot what it was like to only have one in the house.  She is having the time of her life over at Gigi and Poppy's house.  And little brother seems to have enjoyed his time with the house a little quieter.  We all need a break sometimes, I guess.

And in other news... seems like Charlotte no longer needs an afternoon nap.  The last two days have been nap-free and fairly drama-free, which is definitely saying something for our Charlotte.  This will most likely be an adjustment for Mommy, but I'm sure we'll manage.  She is, after all, usually an excellent night time sleeper, so surely she's getting her necessary sleep then.  And Beckett is weaning himself from three to two naps also, so our days will be less restricted by everyone's nap schedules.  Just in time for a fun summer!

C-H-A-R-L-O-T-T-E

Charlotte loves to sing and loves to learn.  So a while back, Mommy figured if she put things to a tune, Charlotte would learn them. We attempted this with her name and here is the result. She's been doing this for a while, but its now a common "song" heard in our house.
Take one: (easily distracted)


Take two: