All I want for Christmas...

So about a week ago our ward had it's Christmas party. As we were eating breakfast I decided to tell the boys the exciting news that we were going to a party that night and that Santa would be there. Much to my surprise the news of seeing Santa actually upset Xander. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Guess what boys tonight we are going to a Christmas party and guess who's going to be there... Santa!!!
Xander: **With a very distraught look on his face** Mommy, Santa won't be coming because I didn't write him a letter. He won't come!
Me: Sweetie don't get upset, we can write a letter to Santa this morning after we finish our breakfast.
Xander: And then we ride the train to the North Pole?!? (As you can tell a certain someone is obsessed with the movie, and book, The Polar Express)
Me: No, Santa will actually ride the train to come to us tonight.
Xander: Oh, that so nice of him.

After breakfast was finished I got out some paper and crayons and had the boys make drawings of the things they wanted Santa to bring them for Christmas and then I would write out what they wanted to say. Blayne basically just made squiggles all over the place while Xander appeared to just be drawing lots of circles. I then had them dictate to me what they wanted written.

Me: Okay Xander, what would you like me to write to Santa?
Xander: Tell him thank you for being Santa and for bringing toys, and all I want for Christmas is a chocolate chip cookie for me and for daddy.
Me: Is that all you would like me to write?
Xander: Oh! And a cookie for you and for Blayne.

Then it was Blayne's turn...

Me: What would you like me to tell Santa Blayne?
Blayne: Thank you, food, and movie.
Xander: Umm... mommy? I need to tell Santa to also bring me a toy that has a button you push and it makes noise, and a movie too.







Later that night as we awaited the appearance of Old Saint Nick, I was imagining my child sitting on Santa's lap listing off numerous amounts of toys and candies that he had forgotten to add to his list but had suddenly remembered as he heard the other children listing off their wish lists. When their turns came to sit with Santa, Blayne would have none of it. He just ran off crying to the corner of the room where a bunch of older boys stood in a circle. I guess he figured safety in numbers. Xander however went straight to Santa ready to make his requests....



Santa: What's your name?
Xander: Xander Beck.
Santa: And what would you like for Christmas Xander?
Xander: A chocolate chip cookie.

Santa then looked at me with a look of shock and surprise, and I just smiled with pride over my sweet little boy.
Later on when we were telling the story to some of my girls at mutual Xander began laughing. When I asked him what was so funny he responded with:

Xander: Mommy, I asked Santa for a chocolate chip cookie, and he gave me a bag of candy and a balloon. So funny.

Basically, Santa has it really easy this year at our place.
You're welcome Santa, you're welcome.

The new hair do....

Many of you have been asking questions and making comments about Blayne's latest hair do. **Especially those who saw it when it was a close buzz and hadn't begun growing out yet. **

To answer your questions....
#1: No, he's not going into the army.
#2: No, he's not sick with some disease.
#3: No, we were not planning on making him 'Mr. Clean' for Halloween (even though the hair cut did take place the 1st week of Oct.).
#4: YES, his big brother did play an influential role in the decision to get his hair cut. And that role being.... instigator.

See... ever since Blayne was born anytime Zach and I would try to wash, comb, or trim his hair we were met with horrible banshee screaming and flailing of the arms and legs. Our little one made it very clear that his hair was a "NO TOUCHIE" zone.

That being said... it was a busy day back in the beginning of October as I was rushing to get the family packed for our big trip to Utah to see my family (which, as a side note, was absolutely fabulous even though the one thing I forgot to pack was our camera). All that was left to do was to get all the boys things packed away into their bags. A seemingly easy thing if you don't have two little toddlers who like to pull things out as soon as you put them in. So to get it done without any interruptions I decided to give them their t.v. time for the day. Usually t.v. time for my boys is 30 min. of eyes glued to the show and many exclamations of counting, singing the alphabet, or answering the questions of whichever t.v. character happens to be on.
I raced back to their rooms and began packing like a mad woman. Amidst my frantic packing I realized that sound that every mother dreads..... the sound of complete and utter silence. Any mother of young children knows the silence which I am speaking of. Not the longed and wished for sound of peaceful silence, but instead the utter and complete silence which means something naughty has happened or is happening at that very moment.
As I rushed back into the front room where the two culprits were, this is what I saw.....





Yep, my poor little baby had been clipped. The saddest part was not that my oldest had disobeyed me and been playing with something that he has been informed is off limits, no... the saddest part of it all was that the small amount of hair that Blayne did have had taken him almost 2 years to grow. I sat imagining my child bald for the next 2 years, and images of the movie "Powder" kept popping into my head.

Needless to say the culprits were indeed punished:





And have since learned that scissors are not to be touched without a mommy or daddy present. I'm still shocked that as Xander was chopping Blayne's hair, Blayne didn't make even one peep. Tickle me Elmo I understand because he was currently in the OFF position, but I didn't think Blayne's banshee scream had an OFF button (And yes, Xander not only cut Blayne's and his own hair but Tickle me Elmo's as well. Obviously the kid wants to be a barber when he grows up.).

Thankfully, his hair is actually growing quickly and in my opinion he looks pretty cute with a buzz cut. For those interested here's the interview with the culprit/victim right after the incident had occurred. You'll have to forgive him for being a little camera shy, he had just been through a pretty traumatic event.

Nana's Story Time

Every now and then the boys get to have story time with their Nana Kendell over Ichat. The boys get so excited each and every time we start an Ichat with Nana and Papa Kendell, that often before a hello is even said they are jumping up and down asking Nana to read them a book. Nana Kendell not only has some wonderful and exciting books, but has a special talent as a story teller as well. We feel so blessed to have such a talented and loving Nana. Thanks Nana!

HALLOWEEN TIME!!!

So those of you who know me know that I LOVE me some Halloween!! I give credit to my awesome parents and siblings whose creativity and decorating skills always made our house the place to be on Halloween night. Of course, it also helped that we were celebrating the birthday of one of the coolest kids ever.... my little brother Cameron!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMERON!!!!

This year we not only had our ward trunk or treat party to look forward to on Wednesday night, but we were lucky enough to receive an invite to a Halloween party on Saturday from some friends who went all out and made the night quite spectacular! There were games, contests, and food galore!! It was fabulous, and we had a wonderful night! Xander was quite entertained with all of the motion censored skeletons. Thanks so much you guys!!

Each year we try to come up with a family themed costume and this year we decided to be....

Goldilocks and the three bears.






Sadly however... my sewing skills are not up to par and instead of looking like bears people thought the boys were either mice, or puppies. It also didn't help that I sewed their tails too low making it look like they had poop hanging from their pants. Oh well, at least that gave us some good laughs throughout the night!





When people started asking if I was Shirley Temple, or (the more popular response of...) Britney Spears, Zach was worried that our three year streak of winning the best family costume at the ward party was coming to an end on. Miraculously however... either people finally caught on to what we were trying to be, or there is some video of Britney Spears with dancing puppies that I have yet to discover. Either way.... we won for best family costume, and our streak is in tact!!
4 YEARS IN A ROW BABY!!!
(*A big thank you to whomever took pity on poor Britney and her puppies*)
I guess if I want to make it 5 I had better start working on my sewing skills A.S.A.P.
Hope your holiday was as fun as ours!!!

BOO!!!

POOPED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!!

More to come!

We've Got Personality, Yes We Do, We've Got Personality, How Bout You?

What a man.. what a man... what a man....

WHAT A MIGHTY GOOD MAN!!! (Yes he is!!)

So basically, I'm one of the luckiest girls on the planet. I've got adorable little nuggets who make me laugh and smile,


I've got some pretty amazing parents and siblings, and I'm not doing too shabby in the in-law department either (thanks for the fun chat Tash!)

But most of all... I'm married to this man:



Zach is spiritual, intelligent, funny (sometimes at your expense), resourceful, hard working, honest, a go getter, and of course... tall enough that I can wear heels.
He's a wonderful husband who spoils me rotten, and an amazing dad who is cherished by our little nuggets.





He does all that he can to make sure our lives are full of happiness and for that we say...

THANK YOU!!!
WE LOVE YOU ZACHIE!!

JCrew wannabes

So... I absolutely adore the clothing at JCrew. If I could I would have a wardrobe full of JCrew stuff. Sadly however.... no matter how adorable their clothing is I just can't seem to feel okay about spending full price for any of their items. This is especially true when it comes to their fabulous tissue tees.

I had strong wishes to add this tee to my wardrobe:



But those wishes soon faded as soon as I saw the price tag. No, I will not be spending close to $50 for a tee.

Thankfully, my good friend Jenni posted a way to make your own tissue tees on her blog and for some strange reason I actually believed I could do it (I was also desperate for an activity to do with my Mia Maids). Now, for those of you who know me... you know that all the artistic ability and knack for making absolutely fabulous things out of nothing, all went to my sister Kim (ugh... she can make anything. Love you Kimmy!). So with that being said.... I gave it a go!
I'm actually quite pleased with how they turned out, even if they look nothing like the JCrew tee. It's also quite exhilarating to look at them and know I DID THIS!! Who knows, maybe I got some knack after all!









There is one tee however that no matter the price will someday (hopefully soon) be added to my wardrobe:



It will forever be worn with blue jeans! "Comin'-ah-yeah-hah!!!"

Blayne and "No."

This is mainly a post for me so I can remember the time when I found the word "No" adorable.

*I'm pretty sure he gets the whole high, and low inflection thing from Xander.*

Xanderisms

One thing Xander never fails at is keeping us entertained. The things that can come out of his little mouth are often priceless and hilarious. Enjoy!
*Monday night during Family Home Evening*
Our lesson for the night was on prayer and we decided to teach them a little song to help remind them how and what we say while we pray. As we sang the song again at the close of our lesson suddenly a very low, very deep bass sound came out of our little three year olds mouth. Zach and I tried to hide our surprise and shock at this new developing sound but as soon as a slight vibrato was added we could no longer contain our laughter. When it happened again during the singing of our lullaby before bedtime Zach turned to me and asked:
"Is this the foreshadowing of things to come, that our child will be THAT child who you can always hear over all the other children in a singing group, and he's usually the tone deaf one?"
At first my response was "Oh, please no!" then upon further reflection I realized... well, if that is the case, at least we'll have very entertaining home videos.
*Thursday afternoon*
I was informed that Xander was responsible for sharing a talk about the miracles of Jesus this Sunday in Primary. To get him ready I decided to ask him of all the miracles that Jesus did which one was his favorite. His response was 100% Xander.
"My favorite miracle was when he made the colors, 'cause green my favorite color."
Of all the things to be grateful for... why not colors? They add beauty to the world and give consistency to our lives in the Beck household (I.E. What shirt Xander wants to wear, what spoon/fork he wants to use, what crayon to color with, and what cake to buy for daddy's birthday. Do you get the point? The kid only cares about the color green.)
*Almost everyday for the last few weeks*
The latest phrase that has entered Xander's book goes a little something like this...
"Oh! I ne'er had this be-fo-re!" "Oh! I ne'er heard that be-fo-re!" "Oh! I ne'er ate this be-fo-re!"
With the word 'before' given extra high, and low inflections while said, as though it were riding a roller coaster ride.
And while the phrases may be cute, for what ever experience they are given, they are completely false. I'm pretty sure that in Xander's three years of life... yesterday was not the first day that I had given him some pizza for lunch. Especially since it was left over from dinner two nights before.
*The last two days*
Another fun phrase that has entered Xander's vocabulary is:
"You trust me?"
It has found it's way in both relevant and completely irrelevant moments in conversation. Like:
Xander: "Mommy, come! Come to my room!"
Me: "Why? What's there?"
Xander: "Mommy, just come! You trust me?"

Or...

Xander: "Mommy, I need candy."
Me: "No honey. You just woke up, and we haven't had breakfast yet. Maybe later today."
Xander: "You trust me?"
Me: "Trust you? If you mean do I trust you to still eat your breakfast after you've stuffed yourself with candy? Then the answer is no. No I do not."

I hope you've enjoyed all these little Xanderisms. I know we certainly have!
Love you Xander!!

*This is what happens whenever Rod Stewart's 'Do you think I'm sexy' plays on the computer. Everything is stopped to shake a little booty!*

Princess Sophie

A few days ago these adorable nuggets came to play. Sophie is just a little younger than Xander, and Cole is just a little younger than Blayne. They both are the adorable children of my friend Joy. Couldn't you just pinch their cute little cheeks?!?







Needless to say... from the get go of their little play date, hilarity ensued.
The first words out of Xander's mouth were:
"Come here Sophie, come see my room!"
I figured he was going to show her all his favorite toys but instead he was thrilled to show her... his bed. Yep, apparently that is his newest pride and joy when it comes to his belongings.
They walked into his room and he delightedly pointed towards his bunk bed exclaiming "Look Sophie! This my HUGE bed! Somebody builded it for me!"
Sophie, for some reason, was not as thrilled about the HUGE bed and simply placed a Fruit Loop in her mouth and left the room. *What a little tease!*
For the rest of the morning I sat in amazement watching both of my little nuggets vie for Princess Sophies attention, while poor little Cole was sadly ignored (not that he seemed to mind in the least). I must say that in the battle for affection it appeared that Xander won because she would giggle and smile his way, hold his hand, and ask him every few minutes "Xander, you happy?". There were even a few occasions when she would simply giggle and say "Oh Xander!". Poor little Blayne did not fair as well and was simply told "No" a lot (especially if he were standing anywhere near Cole or Cole's sippy cup), and held at an arms length away. Strangely enough this didn't seem to deter him in the least because with each "No" he just laughed, clapped his hands with excitement, and stepped closer and closer. Really, some guys just can't take a hint. Sorry, Blayne. I guess she just likes older boys with a slight rebel streak. For those wondering.... yes, Xander stayed true to himself and did some naughty things to try and show off.
I will admit that she does have some magic in her because at one point she came up to me with pouted lips and doe eyes saying "I sooo hungry. I need some popcorn. I sooo hungry." I looked at the clock showing 10:00 a.m., giggled at the thought, then quickly popped the Princess some popcorn. Yeah, yeah, I gave in. It wasn't my fault... it was those little doe eyes! I was putty in her hands!
All in all, we had a wonderful time and can't wait for our friends to come again soon!
Princess Sophie....




your subjects await.

Thank heavens for "Papas"!

For my birthday a few weeks ago
(yep, sadly enough I can no longer say that I'm "30, flirty, and thriving")
my wonderful husband spoiled me with many fabulous gifts, and a weekend getaway to Branson, Missourri. My sweet in-laws drove up and joined us for the trip, treated us to some delightful dishes and a very exciting musical of Noah. It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so blessed to have such thoughtful and loving family and friends, REALLY... thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes and gifts, they were much appreciated.
While in Branson we decided to go swimming in the pool at the condo. I really enjoy swimming, getting in a swimsuit... not so much, but swimming has always been a delightful treat. However.... I happen to be the mother of two young boys who, to put it nicely, freak out every time a little bit of water touches their heads or faces. Yes, bath time is always filled with fun shrieks and thrashing. Ugh.
Needless to say, I was expecting much of the same bath time "enjoyment" while in the pool.
Sadly, my expectations were fulfilled.
Blayne did his signature whine and held on to whomever was holding him like he was trying to squeeze the life out of them. Xander really enjoys the water, but only if it stays a safe distance away from his head area.
Then a miracle named Papa Beck came into play. With some gentle and loving encouragement from Papa my little Xander began putting his face in the water to blow bubbles, practicing swimming strokes and kicks, and then (to my great surprise) ended up swimming from Papa all the way to the side of the pool all by himself! He would go underneath the water, kick his legs, move his arms, and then pull himself up onto the side of the pool. I was not only shocked but proud. This may seem insignificant to some but for me it was a BIG DEAL.
Blayne even got to the point where he was splashing the water with his hands and not whimpering every time a little got near his face (I think he was trying to impress a little girl playing near by, little flirt!).
Since our vacation, bath time has been significantly less horrifying and filled with much more smiles than tantrums. Blayne still hates getting his hair washed but the thrashing is down to a bare minimum while I wash it, and he is enjoying splashing more and more with each bath.
Xander is doing remarkably well. In fact, the day after we got home from our little vacation we were in the bath when Papa Kendell called to say hi. Xander got so excited and wanted to tell Papa all about his adventures in Branson, especially all about swimming with his other Papa. While telling my dad about his swimming fun... my wonderful, insightful dad answered with
"Xander, I am so proud of you for doing something that was so scary to you. How great of your Papa Beck to help you discover something so fun. You know, you can even do some of those things while taking your bath. You can lay on your back and let the water wet your head, and you can still blow bubbles from your mouth. Just make sure mommy or daddy is there to watch you." Upon hearing this Xander quickly decided to test Papa Kendells theory and laid on his back allowing the water to cover his hair. This was quickly followed with "Look Papa! Look! I do it!" To this day, laying down and relaxing in the tub is a must for my little man (much to Blaynes dismay, especially when Xanders legs and feet end up on top of him or in his 'space').
I am so grateful to have such wonderful, loving role models in our lives. As if my boys weren't lucky enough to have the best dad and friend in Zach, then we go and give them the best "Papas" anyone could ask for. I apologize to all for taking the two best "Papas" for ourselves, and that they chose to marry the two best "Nanas" around, call me selfish. I hope you all can make due with your semi-fabulous grandparents.




* "Mini-Zach" enjoying his bath time relaxation *

Partners in crime? Or every man for himself!!

There was once a special time of day,
when a certain mother used to say...
"It's time for your brother play time today!"
And upon those words, two sweet little boys,
would join each other for fun and joy.
They would sit and play, do puzzles, and read.
All while their mother took some time to breathe.

But Alas.... that time has come to an end. Yes, my brilliant plans have been THWARTED. THWARTED I tell you!
Why? Because a certain little nugget has learned to climb.
While walking down the hall I heard...
Blayne: "Up, up, up, up"
and then...
Xander: "Wow, Blayne. You a good climber."

After halting in my tracks and slowly turning around to process what I had just heard, I quickly ran into Xander's room to find Xander up on the top bunk, cheering his little brother on with great enthusiasm, while "mini me" excitedly took one step at a time saying "Up!" with each step. I nervously watched him reach the tip of his Mount Everest and took great joy in the sweet embrace that he and his brother shared to celebrate his great achievement. Then my heart sank a little as I realized that I could no longer allow them to simply play by themselves in Xander's room without supervision.
And for those of you saying...
"Just close the door so you won't be worried." You obviously don't realize how freakishly tall my little guys are, and how mechanically inclined they are. **Or in other words... He has learned to open doors.**

Enter sigh here, and realize how wonderful it is that I have two boys that are so loving, and supportive of one another. Don't I?
Which leads me to story number two....


The other morning while the boys were watching Sesame Street, I decided to go put away some laundry in my bedroom. As I came walking back to the front room the boys were no where to be seen, and I heard this coming from the kitchen...
"Hurry Blayne-ie, help clean up! Mommy be so mad when she sees this mess you make."
*Never, a good thing for a mom to hear.*
As I peaked around the wall my eyes focused on the large lake of water all over the kitchen floor, and poor little Xander on his hands and knees with a dish towel in each hand frantically trying to clean up the floor. The obvious culprit of the mess, Blayne, was standing to the side dancing to some music, with a water trail all along the side of his body- the result of inching on his tippy toes to reach the water button on the front of the fridge. Judging from the amount of water that was on the floor and on his head, I imagine he had held the button down for quite some time. As I stepped into view, Xander's eyes began to bulge and he quickly pointed towards Blayne and yelled "Blayne-ie do it!!"
Yes, that sweet little boy who was willing to get on his hands and knees to clean up a mess that he didn't make, gave up his little brother in a heart beat. Basically, those out there thinking Xander will be your scape goat... better find someone else to take your heat. He's so sweet however that he'd probably be more than willing to help you clean up your mess.

I got you.

For the last few days my knee has been in utter, and complete pain. I can barely even bend it without experiencing extreme pain (and no, I am not exaggerating or being a drama queen for added effect). While in the middle of a pain filled moment, crying on the couch, I suddenly felt two sweet little hands cupping my face, lifting it upwards. Then our eyes met. My tear filled eyes looking straight into the sweetest, brightest, compassion filled eyes of my little three year old.
"Mommy? You crying?"
"Yes, honey. Mommy crying."
"Mommy, you hurting?"
"Yes, honey. Mommy's knee hurts."
"Your knee hurt? Don't worry mommy. I got you. It be okay. I got you."
He then proceeded to put his arms around me and gently pat my back.
'I GOT YOU.' No sweeter words have ever been said. Especially when accompanied by the sweetest little three year old voice ever.
He moved my hair from my face, kissed my cheek, and gently whispered...
"Don't worry, it be okay. I got you. I be right back."
He came back a few seconds later with his Incredibles ice pack which he placed on my hurt knee, and after a few seconds of icy goodness informed me that I was "All better!"
It's always nice to know that someone has my back, or in this case.... knee.

Hippo

So Xander has this favorite little Hippo stuffed animal that he loves to have with him when he goes to bed. Last night, could we find it? Of course not.
So in desperation Zach turned the lights out and handed him this little monkey stuffed animal that is roughly the same size in hopes that in the dark he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Well, he did. Within 30 seconds I heard this....
"Mommy? Mommy? This not my hippo. This tail too long, and his face not feel right."
I replied with "I know honey, but we can't find hippo and this monkey is actually very special. Do you know who gave you this monkey?"
"Who gave me this monkey?"
"You're Uncle Jeremy sent this monkey for you when you were just a little baby because monkeys are his favorite animal and he wanted you to have one too."
"Oh, that so nice of him."
"Yes, it was. See how soft monkey is? And how cute his little face is? Don't you think he would like to sleep in your nice, soft bed too?"
"Okay, but Mommy, he not my hippo."
Just then Zach found hippo and he was brought into the room. I thought for sure Xander would toss monkey over the side of his bunk bed as soon as he saw his hippo but when I went to take the monkey he said he could stay with hippo and himself.
The next morning as Xander came into our room to inform us that it was "Morning, and time to wake up" he had some friends with him.
While climbing into our bed to snuggle with Daddy ("his best friend") he told Zach that his Uncle Jeremy had given him this little monkey, and about an hour later recited the same information to me only adding "he sent to me because he love me."
I told him "I couldn't agree more."

Thanks Uncle Jeremy for loving our little Xander!!

Total hypocrite

So it's midnight and I'm wishing I could fall asleep in my fabulous bed and have crazy, random dreams but apparently my body has decided to pull an all-nighter and not allow sleep to even enter the picture.
So here I sit. I was hoping the computer would numb my mind/body enough to at least make me a little bit drowsy, but so far it has only succeeded in giving me feelings of nausea from the unnatural lighting.
I figured I would try to see the positive side of the situation by telling myself that I can now catch up on all the blogs of my friends... only to be devastatingly disappointed at the fact that many of my friends haven't updated their blogs for months *cough, cough, Jeanette, cough, cough*, if not years *cough, Sara and Kevin, cough cough*.

Don't you realize that my current need for entertainment at this very hour is far more important than whatever has kept you from updating your blogs?!? I mean really?!? Who do you think you are?!? Really guys, so selfish. I, for one, care more about entertaining my beloved friends and family than doing those "important" things in life like cleaning, cooking, and bathing my children. I only hope that my example will be enough to teach others to do the same, and that my words tonight will lead to unimaginable entertainment for myself.

Please feel free to enjoy this video of one of the cutest kids in the world.





P.S. You're welcome.

TO BE BLONDE, OR NOT TO BE BLONDE......

That WAS the question.

I have been a blonde since the day I was born and loved my golden locks. However.... there was always this little part of me that was jealous of redheads and their unique, gorgeous color. Blame it on the movie The Last Unicorn (the strawberry blonde prince had me at hello), or the fabulous Alison Sudol (lead singer of A Fine Frenzy), whatever it was... the desire was there and a few weeks ago I decided to make it a reality. *Disclaimer... anyone out there wanting to do something drastically different with your hair, please go to a trusted professional.*
I will be the first to admit that it started out rocky-after all I had never dyed my own hair before- but thanks to my wonderful husband rushing to the store to get some more color (my first try was disastrous) I think it turned out all right. A little more punk-rock than I expected, but all right.



My wonderful hairdressers (trusted friend, and sister-in-law) Jessica and Lindsay were kind enough to not chew me out for doing it myself and in fact, even gave me some tips and ideas on how to keep it nice and some warnings that it may fade fast. Apparently red fades faster than any other color. I figured that they meant after a few weeks or so, but fade fast is definitely an understatement when it comes to my hair. Apparently my blonde hair enjoyed being blonde and did not like the fact that it was not asked for it's opinion on changing colors and has since decided to rebel. The color is not only fading fast, but now has many blonde "highlights" as well.




I colored my hair about two weeks ago and since then it has been 3 different shades of red. I figure in another few weeks or so my natural blonde will have defeated the red color and the fact that I was once a red head will only be a thing of myth or legend. Ahh... Legend. Such a good movie. If you couldn't tell I sort of had a thing for Unicorns when I was little. What?!? Like you didn't?

Monkey see.... monkey adorable!!!

My sweet little Blayne melts my heart, but when it comes time for number two....LOOK OUT! It's as if someone has lit several stink bombs and sealed off all the air vents, leaving you with a hideous stench that is enough to make someone with a sensitive gag reflex go crazy. The other day was no exception, he had quite the doozy. So... to keep my gag reflex in check I decided to plug my nose with my upper lip so I wouldn't breathe the stench in. *This is also how I hold my breathe while swimming, it's leaves both hands free and keeps water from going up your nose. Amara knows what I'm talking about, and can testify how truly genius this is, no mater how unattractive.*
Anyway, back to the poo-poo bomber.....
so there I am changing his diaper as fast as my hands can go (while he flails his little body), and plugging my nose, when suddenly he stops flailing and begins giggling. Then before I know it his little upper lip is struggling with all it's might to reach his own nose, and his little eyes are bugging with the strain of it all. After a few tries he finally gets it and it is now one of his favorite tricks to show off.

His other new tricks...
-walking like a pro
-and saying "hi"

Oh, how they grow!






*Enjoy the video, but please ignore my man voice/laugh*

Ode to Blayne

When I was younger and I would play pretend, I always pretended to be a guy named Blayne. Blayne was this tough, suave guy that everyone looked up to. Although he is really young, I can tell that he is turning out to be that kind of guy. Although Xander has a great smile, something about Blayne's makes my heart melt. I love this little kid. When I come home and sit down Blayne crawls right up to me and rests his head on my lap. When I am laying on the floor, he will crawl over and lay his head on my chest and just look at me. I love this kid. I love Xander and feel grateful to have two healthy kids. But it is nice to have a calm kid to balance out the energetic one. I love the balance between the two. Thanks Codi for popping out two great ones.

Personalities

We finally decided to get some pictures of Blayne after realizing I did not have any pictures of Blayne in my office. I love the pictures that show our nuggets and their personalities.

Xander- fun, happy and loving


Blayne- considerate, sweet and calm

The Beck Curse

I think it is just a fact now that the Beck's don't have the greatest hair. Ok, maybe our hair is ok, we are not going to go bald, we may grey early but the curse I speak about is the Beck cowlick.

A cowlick is a section of hair that stands straight up or lies at an angle at odds with the style in which the rest of an individual's hair is worn. Cowlicks appear when the growth direction of the hair forms a spiral pattern. The term "cowlick" originates from the domestic bovine's habit of licking its young, which results in a swirling pattern in the hair. The most common site of a human cowlick is in the crown, but they can show up anywhere. They also sometimes appear in front of the head and back.

And this is exactly what Xander has, TWO COWLICKS.

So I guess Xander was so sick and tired of his cowlick that he decided to take matters into his own hand. The pictures speak for themselves.




P.S. I just realized what was on the shirt when he did the deed? Coincidence, I think not.

On the Road AGAIN!!!

It seems like we have been in a constant transition of loading to unloading to loading again. We were only in Enid for 9 months before I got moved again. This time we are in the middle of the Ozarks. We just moved in, literally, last night at 11 to Fayetteville, AR, home of the Razorbacks. The city looks great and the house we found is a definite upgrade than our last. We will post some pictures later!!!

Birthdays!!!

3 and 1 in the same month. We are going to see how long celebrating birthdays on the same day can last...

Sweet boy

Xander has always been a very sweet boy. It's almost as though he has this 6th sense of knowing when someone is in pain (both physically and emotionally), and is right by their side trying to make everything all right. There have been so many times when I have hurt myself that he's right there stroking the side of my face saying "Mommy hurt? Here, I kiss better. All better!" He is especially sensitive to Blayne and is always right by his side trying to calm him or "make everything better" when Blayne is unhappy or in pain. As soon as Blayne wakes up from his nap and begins to cry, Xander announces to me "Mommy! Blaynie crying!" and is quickly by his crib making silly faces, or telling him that mommy is coming, all the while shoving toys in to him through the crib slats.




I'll never forget when Zach and I were at the Doctor's office and we had just been informed that I had miscarried and we would be losing the baby. As I began to cry I felt the sweetest little hands on my face and promptly received a wet, slobbery kiss. What a blessing he was in such a sad moment. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when after Church a few weeks ago we were informed by Xander's nursery leader that he had quickly come to the aid of a friend when she had gotten hurt and began crying. She explained to us how he had seen her cry and quickly put down the toy he was playing with to sit beside her, put his arm around her, give her a kiss and say "It's okay, all better." He stayed with her until all truly was better.
How blessed we are to have two wonderful little guys in our family, and we just can't wait to see how they continue to grow!