Paperman

Love this! Thought it was so sweet!


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx5d23_paperman-full-animated-short-film-vo-hd_shortfilms

You've had another birthday...

Yep, it's birthday time in the Beck household once again! I know, crazy right? Even crazier....

OUR LITTLE XANDER IS NOW 6!!!

Yep, you read right. Our first born is an official six year old. How did this happen? How did time fly by? How do we have a six year old?!? Wow, that means Zach is really getting old.

We cuddled up on the couch this morning and I told him about the day he was born. It was so fun to see his reactions to hearing about his birth and how excited Zach and I were to have him in our lives. I still remember so vividly the heartache we felt when we were told we were going to lose him, and the utter joy and elation we had when he finally was safe in our arms.





He's always been too smart for my own good, and was quick to figure out how things worked. He loves learning and is so happy to be able to finally go to school. He has been reading on his own for almost a year and a half and is getting smarter and smarter day by day.



His smile and joy are contagious. And he's always quick to forgive and apologize.

He is very creative and quite the good dancer.

He's always willing to help out. Whether it be around the house or....

with his siblings.

 

We just love our little Xander man and are so glad to have him in our family! 

We love you Xander!!!

One year older and wiser too....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!


Yep, today our little "Blaynie-Boo" officially turns 4!
 I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone. We hung the birthday banners, and let him pick what he wanted for breakfast and he was as happy as could be. Until later while dropping Xander off at school and he realized that he still couldn't go to school. That realization always bums him out.

From day one our little Blayne has been our sweet, spiritual, kind, emotional (both good and bad), intellectual, musical, clumsy, quick as a whip child.

He's always ready to help any way he can...


but also really loves to be waited on. I.E. "Here mommy, you can put my shoes on for me. You're welcome." Although lately he has gotten a little more of the 'No, I'll do it all by myself' attitude which makes me happy for his growth and weary of my tests of patience.


He has an infectious laugh and a smile that's to die for. Every time he flashes a smile my way and showcases his little dimple I melt a little inside.
I love the way he talks about movies/tv shows as if they are real life I.E. "Oh mommy, today Bot got into some real trouble when he wore the wrong skates. We better be careful if we put on any roller skates today."
I especially love when he says grown up phrases in his little man voice. It always makes me pause for a moment thinking did that phrase/knowledge really just come out of my little one's mouth?!? He has such an old soul in that adorable little body!

 

Most of all... I love his desire for, and love of knowledge. He has been reading for almost 7 or 8 months now and gets so excited when a new book is purchased. I love listening to him read. The pauses and inflections in his voice, the random British accent that comes out every time he sounds out a new word, and his excitement with each page make those mom moments even more precious.
The other day while making lunch I let him watch a new kids show and at the end I asked him if he liked it or not. His response... "Ummm... not really, I really didn't learn anything and it was kind of silly." He loves Team Umizoomi because it teaches him math, shapes, and patterns. He loves Little Einsteins because it teaches him art, classical music, and tempos. And he loves Starfall.com because it teaches him "Oh so many things!!"

Today as we got back from dropping Xander off at school and were pulling into the garage Blayne said "Mommy when we get inside can you write my name on this drawing pad for my Birthday? I'm trying to write it but it's just not all right." I turned around and asked to see what he had written, this is what I saw...



Astonished I said
"Blayne, I don't know why you're so disappointed you wrote all the letters in your name and you did it very well!"
"Thanks mom, but it's not all together the right way."
"That's okay buddy we can work on that, but you should be proud of what you did write. Really, honey you did a great job! How did you write that so well?"
"It's because I'm 4 now."

Four now... but forever my baby.

We love you so much Blayne!! We are so lucky to have you in our lives and in our family!!!
LOVE YOU!!!

A little cheer....

Well, it's official. The holidays are upon us.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with some delightful people from our ward, and our kids were in heaven. Xander was asking to sleep at their house and he and Blayne have been asking to go back every day since. I don't blame them because the Hunts are just the coolest people around. I think Zach and I had just as much fun as the kids, if not more. It's always nice to be able to go were people treat you like family. THANK YOU HUNT FAMILY!!!

Now, for those of you who know me, you know I am one of those sticklers when it comes to Christmas music. In my book Christmas music starts on December 1. I mean, there's a reason it's called Christmas music people. However, last year my sister gave me Mindy Gledhill's Christmas album and the kids and I loved it so much that I think it was played every day on a continuous loop from the day we got it, till the end of December. As an added treat one of the main songs Winter Moon  had a bonus video that my friend Jed Wells was involved in making. To say that my kids enjoyed the video would be a major understatement. They adored it and would even get their own puppets and sing along (yes, the video has puppets to add to the entertainment). The hours of entertainment and adorable moments the video provided was priceless, and although it is usually against my will -us being a few days away from Dec. 1st after all- we have begun listening to the cd and watching the video and will probably do so all month long. I love this time of year and love the spirit that Christmas music brings. I guess it might be beneficial to listen to it all year long to always feel that spirit, but let's not push it folks. A few days early is all I'm ready to do for now.

Sneaky...

I got on the computer this morning and discovered that....

 we either have poltergeists living with us, or two sneaky little boys getting up in the middle of the night to take endless pictures of themselves on our computer. (*Seriously, I found about 60 different pictures of them with all sorts of backgrounds*)

It never ceases to amaze me just how bright and clever little ones are. We've never really been able to truly baby proof our homes because Xander has always managed to figure out all the different baby proof contraptions within a day. When we bought our new fridge I was thrilled that the ice/water/control panel had a button to lock everything, then not so thrilled after Xander figured it out and taught Blayne how to work it in less than 40 minutes. Let's not even mention how intelligent they are when it comes to our computer, because every time I think about it I cry a little inside with the realization that it's likely they already know more about how to use it than I do. Zach and I  really can't spell out words to each other while talking because Blayne immediately tells us what word we're spelling.
 "What do you think, should we give them some C-A-N-D-Y?"
"Ohh! Candy?!? Yes! I would love some!"

And little miss Kendell? Yeah, she's much too smart for my own good as well. She definitely has already figured out that one little cheesy grin, shy little smile, or sad little cry face to daddy will get her anything she wants. Yep, she's already got him under her spell, oh the teenage years should be fun.

Although their clever little minds cause me worry (and sometimes frustration) I feel so blessed to have such wonderful, brilliant, loving children to love, teach, and more often than not... learn from.

I LOVE YOU, MY LITTLE NUGGETS!!!!

Way... too... FAST!!

At the end of lunch the other day Baby Girl told me she was "all done". I was so shocked I asked "Where did your lunch go?" She again said "all done". Still in disbelief that she was saying those words I asked a third time, in response... she looked at me with a look that said 'Seriously lady? Are you really not getting this?' then said it a third time while signing it as well (apparently she figured saying it in two languages might help me comprehend things). Thankfully she appeased me once again as I giddily called Zach to have him hear that our Baby Girl is slowly becoming a Big Girl.

Roller coaster....

Yeah, yeah... I know. It's been forever since my last post. Basically our life has been a little like the picture above.

                                 ONE BIG ROLLER COASTER RIDE. 

Don't get me wrong, we've had more ups than downs and we're thoroughly enjoying ourselves but the stop was a little jerky and we're feeling slightly sick to our stomaches (Literally.)
As soon as things settle down I promise to get back on my game and maybe even show you some fun pictures of the new digs! *We're all unpacked I just want to give it a good cleaning before taking photographic evidence.*

In case you were wondering...
yes, I did realize that my boy's eyes look slightly creepy in this picture but I left it like that to represent the way society can leave us feeling slightly dazed, disoriented, and even inhuman. (That reasoning sounds better than 'I'm computer illiterate' right?)