Beckie and her Boys

My Sweet Gavin!

2009-04-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I sure am a horrible blogger! It is not that I don't want to or have nothing to say. I just don't really have the time in my life right now .

I really don't have the time right now either since I need to go finish cleaning up from Gavin's birthday party. That's right - he is 1 now! Today is his birthday. Exactly, one year ago tonight, I was just meeting my precious little man. He was smaller than I thought he would be (7 lbs. 7 oz.) and has turned out to be sweeter than I ever thought possible. He is so patient and just goes with the flow. He is my little cuddler. My favorite thing is when I pick him up and he instantly puts his thumb in his mouth and then nuzzles his head into my neck. I could stare at his big blue eyes forever and never get tired of them.

I believe that Gavin has a very tender heart and seems to really be in tune to people. I see a sensitive spirit in him and I pray that God will mold it and use it as Gavin grows. I see a quiet strength in him and I want nothing more than to see him become a mighty man of God. I am so thankful for the gift of my second son and I am honored to be his mommy!

I will write more about him later, but I am a little too emotional right now. First birthdays really get me!!

Happy Birthday my "Little Buddy". I love you SO much!

What would you do?

2009-01-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, probably only the mothers reading this will understand the question I am about to ask and not be too grossed out by it!

What do you do when you put your toddler down for his nap and you realize that he has a huge poop in his diaper after he has fallen asleep??? Austin played for a while after I laid him down and I even heard him yell my name a few times but I didn't go check because he tried this little ploy the other day to stall on going to sleep. He settled down and went to sleep so I didn't think anything of it. When I walked by the room he is in (we are visiting at my Mom's right now), my nose caught the odor all the way out in the hall! Well, I do have a sensitive nose, but that is still pretty bad. So, now I feel terrible!!

Do I let him sleep and enjoy a little peace or do I wake him up to change him???? What a fun dilemma I am facing right now! :) What would you do?

Awesome cleaning tip!

2008-12-11T14:30:00.001-08:00

I just cleaned my microwave and thought I would share a great tip on how to clean it. The best part is that it is SUPER easy. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I learned it watching a cleaning show a while ago. I was so excited when I tried it out and it actually worked. If you know me at all, you know I love to clean; thus my obvious excitement about this topic!

You know how you get those little bits of food all over and can't scrub them off? It grosses me out! Here is what you do:
Fill a bowl with water and 4-5 fresh lemon slices.
Put it in the microwave and "cook" it for 5-6 minutes.
When it is finished, take the bowl out.
Just take a damp washcloth and wipe everything down.
The steam loosens all the food particles and the lemon deodorizes the microwave! It is awesome!

Here's to clean microwaves!!!

I am SOOO mad!!!

2008-10-28T01:10:00.000-07:00

All day today it seemed like something was missing from our front yard. I just realized what it is (yeah, I am slow today!) - our McCain/Palin yard sign!!! Someone took it!!! I don't care if someone has a different opinion than me or doesn't agree with me, but don't steal my sign!! The beauty of our country and our right to vote is that we are privileged enough to express our beliefs - even in our yards!

Last week

2008-10-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

I couldn't blog last week even though I wanted to and had plenty to write about.

Between Monday and Saturday, Gavin cut 3 teeth on the top! So, the poor little guy wasn't feeling his best.

On Wednesday, Austin got sick - vomiting and fever (fun times)! I can't stand to see my boys hurting and not feeling well. I would take on any of the pain myself if I could. I also wish I could have cloned myself since they both needed me all the time and wanted me to hold them constantly.

So, hopefully, this will be a better week. Now, I need to put my house back together after letting it go for a few days. It is crazy how fast it falls apart!

The best gift!

2008-10-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Gavin, my 6 month old, is so thoughtful! I guess he felt bad for keeping me up most of the night and decided to do something nice for me (Little Background info: Austin, Gavin and I have had a cold for the last week). Gavin woke up all through the night and then for good at 5:30 and didn't want to go back to sleep this morning.

He must have been feeling guilty about it because somehow he coordinated with Austin that they should both take a 3 hour nap at the SAME TIME!!!!!!!! I haven't been feeling well this week and then getting 3 hours of sleep last night didn't help either. So, even though I don't like to, I decided to lay down and take a nap today. It was amazing and I felt so refreshed afterwards! I slept for an hour and then got so many things done around the house.

My boys sure knew what I needed! I wonder what tonight will be like?!

The lesson I learned from my son

2008-10-07T12:42:00.001-07:00

One thing that I love about being a mother is how much God teaches me through my children! It is amazing. They are usually simple truths that hit me in a profound way as I try to understand my boys and see the world through their eyes.

For those of you that don't know me really well, I am a planner. I love to make lists, am structured, task oriented, organized, routine, etc.... - you know my type! But along with that, I can struggle with being a perfectionist and sometimes miss out on the joy of things as I try to get more and more accomplished. The Lord is gently and faithfully teaching me to slow down and focus on what is important to HIM and not just checking off my to-do list.

My husband, Brad, informed me about a kids craft program at Lowes on Saturday mornings. He said the kids wear an apron, get to wear little goggles and make a craft in the lumber department. I thought it would be a fun thing to take Austin to. I load the boys up this past Saturday and even picked up one of Austin's friends to take with us. I got to Lowes early since they only accept a certain number of kids. I walk up and see the sign for the event and realize it is the wrong Saturday. Apparently, Brad didn't notice that the craft event is every OTHER Saturday. He also thought it was for ages 2-5 but upon closer inspection, it says GRADES 2-5. Since Austin is only 2 1/2, that probably won't work. I was a little frustrated because I thought, "What are we going to do now??" I felt bad because I had talked it up all morning and brought his friend. So, we walked around Lowes for about 45 minutes. Austin looked at all the vacuum cleaners (one of his little obsessions), lawn mowers, Christmas decorations and played in all the model kitchens. He loved it!

When I went out to the car, I realized I had locked my keys in the car. Then it started to rain and I was with 3 young children. Arrrghhh! Brad couldn't help me because he was working and my roadside service couldn't get there for 30 minutes. So, we walked over to Starbucks in the rain, which Austin actually got a kick out of. We had special chocolate milk and sandwiches.

I will spare you the rest of the details, but long story short....... the kids ended up having a GREAT time! They loved it!! And Gavin, my baby, slept through most of it! Austin probably had more fun than if we had been able to follow my own little "plan". I learned just to relax, go with the flow and enjoy it. If the kids are having fun, who cares if my plan didn't work? It will be fun someday to tell my kids how much I grew because of them and I know this is only the beginning!

No wonder my back hurts!!!

2008-09-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

5 cupcakes for 5 months!

So, Gavin is 5 months old now and weighs over 18 lbs. I think he is close to 19 pounds now!!!! That would explain why my back hurts most of the time! I guess I am raising a little linebacker (hopefully not a sumo wrestler! )

My Excuses!

2008-09-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have been terrible at blogging lately, but it certainly is not because of a lack of desire or things to write about.

First of all, if you read my previous 2 posts, my little nephew, Ben, is doing great. Thank you to those of you that prayed for him! It meant a lot to me and my sister as well. I feel terrible that I didn't write another update sooner! Ben did end up having spinal meningitis and it was the viral type. That was better than it being bacterial, but it meant that there was nothing the doctors could really do for him. It just had to run its course. Ben is pretty much back to normal and has not had any adverse effects! I am so thankful!

Okay, now on to my excuses for not writing!

1.) Brad and I went out of town to San Fran for a belated anniversary trip! (11 years!!!! -wow, we sound old!) We had an amazing time and it was our first time away overnight without the kids since Gavin was born! We were gone for 2 nights and I was nervous about leaving Gavin for that long. It is hard to leave when you are breastfeeding, but both the boys did wonderful! I got to sleep in, read, take long showers, eat great food and spend lots of time with my hubby - it was heavenly! It is funny how my idea of what is fun on a trip or vacation has changed since having children! Now I want to relax and do NOTHING! Brad also surprised me and took me to a Dave Matthews concert. It was incredible! I wish I had pics of our trip to post, but we forgot the camera - isn't that terrible?? We each thought the other one had it!

2.) I started those vampire books!!!!! (Yes, the Twilight series!) I have resisted for a while and the topic of vampires did not sound appealing to me. I took the first one on our trip just in case and I got hooked! I read the first one in the 2 1/2 days we were gone. Brad doesn't quite understand my obsession with reading and has threatened to limit me to one enjoyable book a month! :) I finished the second book last week and am now making myself take a break so I can get some other things done. I had my nose in the book every spare minute: while nursing, in the middle of the night when Gavin woke up, etc!

3.) Gavin cut 2 teeth and got his shots last week! - (need I say anymore??)

I have more excuses, but I will spare you. Hopefully, I will be better about writing now!

Update on Ben

2008-08-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

After spending 14 hours in the ER, my sister and her husband will have to stay the night in the hospital with Ben. The doctors originally thought he may have an intestinal blockage. They were able to rule that out. After 3 spinal taps, they now think Ben may have spinal meningitis. They will not know for sure until the morning and if that is the diagnosis, they will then need to determine whether it is viral or bacterial. Apparently the bacterial form is much more serious. Ben has not eaten for 24 hours and has had a fever for that long also. They have been unable to get rid of the fever. He has been on an IV all day. My sister said he finally did settle down and wasn't completely hysterical but he was very unsettled and in obvious pain. I will post another update after I hear what they learn in the morning. I am asking God to miraculously touch my sweet nephew's little body tonight!

Please please pray

2008-08-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

My sister, Susan, had a little boy named Benjamin 20 days after Gavin was born. I just recently got back from visiting my family in St. Louis and got to meet my newest nephew for the first time. He is adorable, sweet and a very happy baby.
Ben has been sick for the last 2 weeks and it has progressively gotten worse. He was rushed to the ER at the St. Louis Children's Hospital this morning. He hasn't eaten for 15 hours and is in intense pain. They are running a series of tests, x-rays and scans and still do not know what is wrong. They are speculating that it could be a serious problem with his intestines. He is only 3 1/2 months old. Please pray that the doctors will be able to diagnose him soon and ease his pain quickly. I have been so upset all morning just thinking about him and it kills me to think of him hurting. It probably hits me even harder because I look at Gavin and think about how I would feel if he were in pain. As mothers, we would take on anything we could for our little ones and it is our natural response to want to fix anything we could for them! We would rather endure the pain ourselves than to see them suffer. I will post an update as soon as I find out more information. Thanks for your prayers!

You know you are tired when...

2008-07-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

...you are frantically searching for a pacifier in the bassinet to help your son go back to sleep (because you don't want to get up), only to realize that it is already in his mouth!
(this was me at 1:00am last night!)

3 months!

2008-07-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Gavin is exactly 3 months old today! I can hardly believe that much time has gone by already.
Here are some of my favorite things about this age:

-he is starting to interact with me (smiling, cooing, giggling)
-he turns to look at me when I talk to him
-he is not spitting up as much!!!! (it is so nice for both of us to only wear 1 outfit a day instead of 3-4)
-my laundry load is smaller (due to the previous point!!)
-he is sleeping longer through the night
-we are settling into a routine and getting adjusted
-he can't run off and get hurt the second I turn my back (can you tell I also have a toddler in the house?)
-he just gets cuter every day!

Adding a second child to our family has definitely been a big adjustment in some ways and so natural in others. All day, I have found myself reliving the day he was born. I guess I still think, "Wow, I actually did that!!!" Giving birth is such an incredible miracle that I will never get over the fascination with it! It helps that I had a wonderful experience both times. Gavin started out smaller than Austin and we thought he would stay smaller, but we sure were wrong!! He has already doubled his birth weight in less than three months! Wow - I hope he doesn't keep growing at this rate - my back is already killing me! My mom loves to joke that my milk must be made out of cream!

I am going to attempt to go to bed early tonight! At least I will get A LOT more sleep tonight than I did 3 months ago! :)

Just what I needed!

2008-07-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was having a rough morning today, just dealing with different issues of "life"! I went to my Saturday ladies' life group and it was just what I needed. Juliette shared some thoughts and a verse that really spoke to me. I shared what is going on in my life and then the girls all sat around me and prayed for me. I could feel God wrapping His loving arms around me and comforting me. I am so thankful for His faithfulness and unconditional love. I am also extremely thankful for bringing amazing women into my life. Friendship is truly a gift and I see how God uses it to demonstrate His compassion. I drove away feeling humbled, refreshed and full of gratitude.

The rest of my day was pretty great! I took Austin swimming, and then he helped me wash the car. I let him spray the hose, use the sponge to clean the car and help wipe it dry. I have never had so much fun washing a car! It is incredible how he can make the most mundane chores become so enjoyable. I love to watch him discover things and see the look on his face that tells me he feels so proud that he is "helping" me!! ( I actually could have completed the car in about 1/3 of the time by myself - but, who cares!!) We played with Gavin and then visited Brad at work and brought him some dinner.

I just got Gavin all bathed and settled down for the night, so now I need to go finish some things around the house. A mother's job is never done, but at least I never get bored!!!

10 hours!!!!!

2008-06-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Here I was worried that I wouldn't have anything to blog about and I keep thinking of things! But, as I predicted, they are about my kids so far! :)

I just had to share some exciting news! Gavin, my 2 1/2 month-old son, slept 10 hours straight last night!!! I still can't believe it! I gave him his bath early last night and he fell asleep at 8:00. I figured he was not out for the night and would want to nurse again a few hours later. I ended up going to bed around 11:00 (which is pretty early for me!) and jolted awake at 5:30am, realizing that 1.)we had not been up in the night, 2.)Gavin hadn't made a peep, and 3.) amazingly - I had slept the ENTIRE time! I don't know how I slept because I had so much milk stored up that I think I lost 5-6 pounds after he nursed!!! Gavin never actually woke up until 6:00 and I was so happy to see his beautiful blue eyes! (I was also glad for the relief he provided my milk jugs that were about to explode!!)

I am very thankful for a great night of sleep. It is funny how babies help us to appreciate the things we took for granted. I feel like a new woman - now, what can I bake with Austin?? :)

My Baking Buddy

2008-06-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

I decided to make some banana bread this afternoon. Now, I enjoy baking and find it relaxing, but I never realized how exciting and fun it is until today. Austin, my 2-year -old, loves to help me with whatever I am doing. In fact, he offers his help by chanting, "I do it! I do it! I do it!" or he sweetly says "Help Mommy!" until I agree or distract him with something else. Of course he was curious when he saw me getting all the ingredients out and wanted to help, so I thought, why not? I pulled a chair up to the counter and began explaining what we were going to make and how to measure the ingredients. I let him do everything, with a little guidance and some extra stirring after he was finished. He was so thrilled and delighted about each little thing we did and would giggle and clap his hands through the whole process. He was so adorable that I didn't even care about the flour that ended up all over him, me, the counter and the floor! The amazing thing is that he actually was very careful and did a great job! I was quite impressed! I didn't want the fun to end, so I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies next. I wanted to continue watching my little helper in action! Now, I will just need to start making some more healthy options with him! Hey! Maybe I could get him to eat more vegetables if he helps me make them!! (Just thinking out loud!)

Anyway, Austin didn't just help me bake today... he helped me to rediscover the joy in the simple things. He helped me see how funny it is when you crack an egg. He gave me a new perspective. I love seeing life through the eyes of a 2-year-old!

Oh! I did remember to go grab the camera and got some pics of him helping me. Now, I just need Anna to come over and help me figure out how to put them on here! I'll get this stuff figured out someday!

This is Austin enjoying the fruits of his labor the next morning!

What am I getting myself into???

2008-06-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I guess I am joining the blogging world! My dear friend, Anna Moseley, helped me set this up and put the pics up for me, so I don't want to disappoint her! I really don't need to add anything else to me life right now, but I think I will actually enjoy this. I will think of it as cheap therapy after a crazy day! Just to warn you, most of my posts will probably be about my two wonderful boys, since they are who I spend all of my time with! I love to share all the cute and funny things they do! I must admit, I am a little nervous about publishing my personal life and not really sure what I have to say, but I am looking forward to connecting with all you bloggers!