Our First Thanksgiving

Well this year we decided to skip a Steak Place (our first thanksgiving), My parents, (our second year), OKC friends (third year), and more OKC friends (last year) and decided to just stay at home and fix it ourselves. I was planning on doing the cooking, but
decided to put it all in Codi's hands. I went outside to put up Christmas lights and to just stay out of the kitchen and you know what, my wife CAN cook. She tells herself all the time she can't cook, but she blew me away. The food was good. Both Xander and Blayne ate everything including leftover days after, which was a first. Good job Code..

Xander took the picture of Blayne and Codi all by himself. He is actually pretty good at taking pictures.

Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Deals and Steals

Well I found some good deals at work and Codi is not too convinced. I liked them because they were a little different, perfect for us. Tell us what you think.




*Codi here - just to clarify.... I do like our new bed frame and set, the lime green was just a little shocking to me (we used to have mauves, tans, and browns.). I love the other bed set as well, I'm just not set on the pictures. It's a set of four and I'm just not sure they mesh well with everything. I am grateful for my wonderful husband who is so thoughtful and spoils me way too much!*

This is Halloween...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... I LOVE HALLOWEEN! This year for Halloween we decided to make good use of some old costumes, so we revisited our costumes from Halloween 2 years ago when Xander was Blayne's age. The only problem was we needed to come up with a costume for Xander so he could join in the family costume fun! Being the brilliant man that he is, Zach came up with the perfect solution. It went perfectly with the other three costumes and with Xander's idea that he's the one in charge.
What do you think?




We had a great time at our ward Halloween party and the boys even walked away with prizes for #1: The most creative costume(Xander), and #2: The cutest costume(Blayne).





We had a great time trick-or-treating and listening to Xander say "Rik or Reet!" LOVE that boy! Now were just dealing with the never ending pleas for more candy, and the creative ways in which he tries to get it for himself. I never knew a toddler could move a chair so quietly. Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! BOO!!!

Top That

When I get home from work Xander is usually stuck to me like glue. What can I say, daddy is his favorite!! Last night I needed to clean the bathrooms and had a very difficult time cleaning the bathtub with him on me like Maury on paternity tests, so I decided to let him take a bath while I deep cleaned the rest of the bathroom. He loved the idea and had a good time... until he started getting bored. He first decided to sit up in the corner of the bathtub. I heard this loud bang and then saw Xanders naked bum staring right at me, which led to a very loud scream. He didnt realize that he was a little too slippery to do that. I know old people fall getting out of the bathtub, but I guess its the same for kids too, (wow, old people and young people have so much in common, slipping in the bathtub, no teeth and diapers.) I put him back in the bathtub and began organizing our drawers when I heard another weird noise. I called for Xander, to which I heard a splash and looked in to see what he was doing. Xander looked at me with a smile, pointing to his dimple and saying, "me a good boy," which always means he is not being a good boy. I walked over to the bathtub and to my horror and disgust saw the toilet bowl plunger sitting in the bathtub fully submerged with my little nugget. I was so grossed out. I had to drain the water and refill it again in order to bath him again, and while the water was leaving Xander decided to top his previous nastiness by standing up, holding himself and laughing about how far his urine went. Yeah, yeah you say, boys will be boys, but that is nasty. I want to see if anyone can top that nasty tale with their own kids or is mine alone in his grossness?

Halloween is Coming!!!

Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays, and I'm getting so excited for tomorrow! I can't wait to see Xander's reaction this year, I think this year he will actually understand what's really going on. I've been trying to get him ready by explaining to him what happens when he says "Trick or Treat!", but it wasn't until watching Dora this morning that I think he finally realized what I was saying yesterday. When he saw her say "Trick or Treat!" and then get candy he got quite excited and kept saying "Ohh! Dora get Candy!" We had fun yesterday as well. I was doing a makeup look for a contest my friend is having on her makeup blog (Classy Cosmetics-you can get to her site by clicking the link on the right hand side of the blog) and Xander was getting so thrilled by each transformation I was making with the makeup. When I was finally finished he giggled and yelled out "Mommy! You a butterfly! So pretty." It was so cute to see him get so excited. Hooray for Halloween!!

Our Cutie-Patooties

Motherhood can often be very daunting, and these last few weeks were no exception. As I dealt with a very naughty two year old who continually kept doing everything I told him not to, and telling me "NO!" at every turn, I did what any mother in my situation would do.... I called my mother. My poor mother innocently answered the phone only to hear her daughter at the end of her wits saying "please save my boy.... please just talk to him.... please... he's doing all he can to make my life miserable.". To which my ever knowledgeable mother replied "Being naughty huh? Sounds like he needs some special mommy time so that he can have the attention that he's desiring from you. Just put down whatever important or needful thing you are doing, bend down and hug that little boy. Then do something with him that gives him good attention instead of the attention he's getting for doing something he shouldn't.". 'Now bow your head in shame', is what should have come next out of her mouth but.... being the great mom that she is she didn't make me feel guilty for not realizing what was really going on with my little one. And of course, like always, she was right. Sometimes the "important" and "needful" things of life tend to overshadow the truly important and needful things like time spent with our little ones. I'm happy to report that the rest of the night was spent having tons of fun with my little guys. I just want to thank my mother for her love, kindness, and never ending wisdom; and more importantly... my little one who just wanted to spend some time with me. I love you Xander!! (You too Blaynie-boo!)

I'm Still Standing

We finally began potty training a couple of weeks ago. It began with a rough start. The first week was very difficult, but we just had to laugh about the funny things he did. One day we could tell that Xander had to go #2, so he dissappeared into the bathroom, (he does not like us to be in the bathroom when he goes, he wants his privacy) then, a couple of minutes later, Codi went back into the bathroom, and was greeted with a terrible smell. He went in his pull up and was in the process of scooping his stuff out of his pullup and putting it into the toilet. He listened to us and went in the toilet. Since that he has been doing pretty well. Knock on wood.
Blayne is about to crawl. Xander wont stop talking. And two little ones are keeping us very active.


Codi got a new hairdo, and doesn't she look good?

I Remember It Being Cooler

When I was younger there was this place that I thought was so cool. Giraffes, Ostriches and Zebras came up to your car and ate out of your hand. Well, it is not that great as an adult. The animals area all dirty, they area little too aggressive and it only lasted for about 15 minutes. But to hear Xander scream at the top of his lungs at the camel sticking his tongue through the cracks or the seeing the Ostrich peck at the window and hearing mommy freaking out, was well worth it.

Our First REAL Vacation

Day 1- Drive to Missouri
Day 2- Actually pay for a show that belongs in a high school talent show
Day 3- Watch Mormon Branson Performing Families attend church together
Day 4- See my sister Lindsey blow chunks before 10:00
Day 5- Have a cute Ukranian rub oil over our bodies
Day 6- See a seashell like temple
Day 7- Have our first date alone since Xander was born
Day 8- Turn painfully red in a matter of hours
Day 9- Pay $50 to be taken 15 feet into a cave

But, we did have a lot of fun. Thanks mom and dad.

I Hate When...

- People dress their animals in humans clothing.
- Oprah talks.
- I get stuck on hold with ATT
- When producers make the best food every and then discontinue the items, leaving us the consumers with a void in our diets, with nothing similar enough to fill it. Let me give you two examples:

1. Alpha Bits- You might be saying, "Zach, they still make Alpha Bits," to which I would respond, "NO, They Don't." They make nasty cardboard like substitutes. Imagine my disappointment when I see the Alpha Bits box after years of missing them, making myself a somewhat large bowl of cereal, taking my born again virgin Alpha Bits mouth and what in the world, they took all the sugar out and replaced the yummy Alpha Bits with cardboard. I am not happy General Mills, not happy at all.
2. Dunkeroos- Is it sad that I sometimes dream about food and end up eating that certain food for breakfast. I think this is a sign of obesity, but I am OK with that. I think obesity will look good on me. Well one night I had a dream about a kangaroo jumping into icing. I woke up the next morning looking forward to grocery shopping that day and had planned on buying half a bakers dozen boxes of the lovable Dunkeroos. For those of you who do not know what Dunkeroos are they are these cinnamon graham crackers that you dip in this delicious sprinkled icing. And you know what, they stopped making them in the US. I was beyond disappointed and could not find anything to fill that void. Teddy Grahams in icing were not the same, and believe me I tried it. I got on line to find out that they still make them in Canada, so I ordered a box on Amazon, thinking I would get two or three boxes, and this is what happened, Christmas in July for both Xander and I. We may or may not have eaten two boxes the first night. Like I said, I think obesity will fit me well...

The Most Traumatic Day of Xander's Life

We had just gotten back from a long drive from Dallas for Isabel's blessing and decided that Xander's blanket needed to be washed. We grabbed the blanket, thought we were being very sneaky about it, and put it in the washing machine. The sound that erupted after the washing machine started should have made the neighbors call the police. He had the tantrum of his life. We tried to explain that we were just cleaning it, that it was taking a bath, but it took him a while to calm down. He eventually grabbed his stool and sat and watched his blanket for most of the wash. Every time he saw his blanket emerge from the ball of clothes he yelled, "blanket" Very traumatic....

Feeding TIme

All we can say is what a good brother.....

Never Again

This past weekend we all went down to Dallas to see our new niece and nephew. If you know the Beck's and did not know that Aleshia and Natasha had a baby, please check out their blogs. Isabel and Giovanny were born about 7 weeks apart but we decided to wait until the second baby was born before making that 6 hour long trip down to Dallas. Driving=NOT FUN>> While down there we went to our heaven on earth, IKEA, and this time made a budget for ourselves before going in. We did great. We hung out with family and had a good time. On Saturday we got this call that my brother Dustin had just about totaled his car (Codi's old one) by swerving to miss a girl on her bike and ran into a tree. I should have figured out then that accidents don't happen in single events. One accident is lonely and he wants another. I saw my dad's motorcycle in the driveway, the one he takes to work everyday, and thought "it would be really cool to learn how to drive a bike" so I asked him. He started teaching me about shifting and braking and told me just don't worry about shifting into second gear until I feel more comfortable with it. I took the bike around the block and felt like hot stuff, wind blowing in my hair, shirt flying up in the back. I stopped to ask my dad more questions about the bike and how to shift into second gear. I made my way around the block again and my dad yelled, "2nd, 2nd," so I put it in second (pretty well I might add, no jumps). So I decided that was enough and I came down the alley to take it home. I tried to downshift but don't think I did, I think I upshifted right before I needed to take a left and when it sped up I tried to slam on the brakes. In my mind the brakes were on the handles, which they are on bicycles but not on motorcycles, so for a moment there I was confused and ended up slamming on the gas. I was out of control and did not really have anywhere to go, I missed the house but hit their gas line. A spark was created so a 15 foot tower of flames shot in the air. I jumped up and tried to pull the bike but had almost all of the hair on my right arm burnt off and could not handle it anymore. I took off to try to find my dad. I ran inside the house screaming, "DAD, GAS....Dad.." So needless to say all the kids were crying, the adults freaking out thinking that something had happened to my dad. My dad then nonchalantly appears from the backyard with a grin on his face asking, "Did you call 911?" No, I said. He picked up the phone and called. The neighbors were going crazy because the gas line of the house I hit had flooded twice and caught on fire twice and was currently being remodeled from the fire damage. It is a cursed house. The neighbors got their fire extinguishers and put out the bike but it was too late, the flames had already destroyed the bike. We waited about 10 minutes for the Fire Department and Police to come. It took 4 policemen and 6 firemen to try and put out the flames. They put out the flame but the gas was still flowing. WHAT IDIOTS>>> Gas just flowing through the air, that's when everyone watching went inside. It could take just one spark to make things get even worse. We all just waited for the gas people to get there. It took another 20 minutes for them to come and finally turn off the gas. My dad is so great because he was just happy that I was ok. So not only do I have to get a new bike for my dad but I will have to pay about two grand to fix the gas line and pay for all of the gas lost. What an expensive little trip. I was very sore for two days. No arm hair on my right arm, and some bruises and scrapes on my legs and arms. I just got really lucky.

Little Buddies Part 2

They play together...


Hang out together...



And make sure the other is comfortable and cozy at all times...


They definitely have a bond made in heaven (at least until they both grow up and want the same things).

Our little "Blaynie-boo"

We just can't seem to get enough of our sweet little chubby nugget, and thought you just might like the chance to see how much he's changed and why we think he's so delicious!


Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby?


How 'bout a cute little naked baby wrapped in a soft blanket?

Awake, or asleep we just can't get enough of this cute little bundle of joy!

What'd you say?

Lately Xander has been surprising us with all sorts of new words and sentences.
His first sentence (my favorite by far) was:
"Mom, I need money". He saw my mom giving me some money and decided that he needed some as well. He still thinks he needs some each and every day.
The next few happened while we were playing hide and go seek when he decided to let me know that " I right here!", and "here a me!"
The latest happened in the kitchen while I was preparing lunch and he decided he wanted some candy. He said a cute little "Candy please" to which he got the disappointing response of no. A few minutes later he was standing behind me making a loud racket and when I asked him what he wanted he said "water", I then said "Xander if you want some water then you just need to ask nicely. Can you say Mommy, can I have some water please?". To which he responded "Mommy, me water and more candy please". I couldn't help but laugh heavily and say "I'm pretty sure mommy didn't say anything about candy." to which I received an adorable laugh and grin.
Some days everything is just too sweet.

EASTER!!!

So I know this is REALLY late but I found these pictures of the boys from Easter and couldn't resist posting them. Xander definitely takes after his daddy and was all about getting as much candy as he could. He even did cute faces at other kid's moms while he took candy out of their kids stashes, it worked every time for they were putty in his hands. How could anyone resist this face?




On Sunday we got the boys all gussied for Church and I thought they looked absolutely adorable! I know... I'm their mom so I'm biased, but I still say they were (and are) too cute for words!





They also got some great Easter gifts from their thoughtful Grandmas, and these matching shirts from Grandma Kendell had to be modeled right away.

Our Critic

Well we have been trying to get away from Spongebob. We would like to say so we can show more educational shows, but they real answer is that we have seen all the episodes. So we came upon this new show that we have heard lots about, Yo Gabba Gabba. What the crap??? Those characters are crazy. Needless to say Xander did not approve....
(You have to click on the pic to get the real face, not staged, we promise.)

So we changed it back to Spongebob.

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here!

Well we made it to Enid and are loving being in a house, that means we can yell at the kids or each other as loud as we want without disturbing the neighbors.... We went driving in downtown Enid looking for a place to eat. We found this really cute Italian restaurant and thought we would give it a try. Before going in I told Codi, this is probably the nicest place here. We walk in and were seated right next to some dressed up teenagers. We looked around and most of the room was filled with High School Prom goers. We started laughing because my predictions were correct. We found the nicest restaurant in Enid and the priciest thing on the menu was $8.95. Shortly after the song from Annie came into my mind, "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here!"

On the Move AGAIN!!!

Well guys, the Becks are moving once again. I got promoted to Assistant Store Manager in Enid, Oklahoma. It is north of Oklahoma City. We are really excited about it, but really nervous about finding a place in such a small city. So we have a week and a half to find a place, move in for me to start working on the 20th. Talk about a crazy week.

Simply Blayne

Just thought I would take the time to post a plethora of Blayne pictures. Enjoy!

Thoroughly enjoying "tummy time".







Blayne's blessing day up in Utah.

The Future...

When Xander was born my sister Kim sent us the coolest gift ever. She sent us a Mysterio Predicts t-shirt.
Basically the shirt comes in a little cloth bag and you open it up to see the future job that Mysterio has predicted for your child (conveniently printed on a lovely t-shirt).




The knowledge that Xander would be fortunate enough to become a Dog Show Judge was so exciting for us that when Blayne was born we knew it was a necessity to turn to Mysterio once again. Let me just say... Mysterio did not disappoint, and definitely came through once again! So, without further ado, I give you Blayne's future...



As the parents of such job fortunate children, we couldn't be happier and as you can see for yourself...

Blayne's pretty jazzed as well!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home....

Everytime I come home I see Xander looking down from the window. This time it was something different. Xander with ears.