Who Ya Gonna Call?

We're stuck at home with a sick boy and I'm (mostly) caught up on work for a couple days. Which means I have time to blog for the first time in forever! Since all I ever post are milestones/birthdays and Halloween pictures, here's our little ghostbuster and stay puft marshmallow (girl). Can you tell big brother picked out costumes again this year? Not sure if she'll let him choose hers next time around! They did get tons of compliments this year though so he did a great job again!

Happy Halloween!


Full disclosure: I've never seen Ghostbusters. I didn't know if it was even appropriate for a 4yo and his baby sister but he insists the cartoon is okay for kids and not scary. Since I hadn't seen the movie I wasn't sure where to take pictures. We don't have a lot of NYC scenes in this small town but I did remember the summer I lived in New York that everyone would say, "You know the library! Where they filmed Ghostbusters?!" I really didn't know the library but I figured it out quick so we decided the NYC Library would be a great spot for pictures. (Or Beardshear Hall.... close enough.) ;)

Also- every year we get lots of questions on where we found the costumes. These are both off of Amazon! (Of course!)

obligatory family pic at Easter

When you have about 3.2 seconds to get a family picture between church and lunch, you take what you can get. ;)

Happy Easter!

Christmas '13

This Christmas was so different than we had expected it to be but it was good.

And this post got way longer than I expected. Proceed with caution.




B is at the most fun age right now. He is so into everything. He is curious about everything and in awe of everything awesome. Christmas was pretty magical for him his year.

It started around the end of November. We put up the tree and decorations and he was so excited about the 'kissmas yights.' Then he started seeing things about Santa Claus on tv. We hadn't actually decided what we would tell B about Santa Claus so we've just kind of let him figure it out on his own (great plan, I know) and he's pretty sure Santa is the coolest guy ever.

Leading up to Christmas, we did an Advent for the first time ever. Made some Christmas crafts. Watched some Christmas movies. Worked on the Christmas checklist.

Christmas celebrations with family:

Kansas City Christmas. This one was SO fun. Maybe the best Christmas ever. We met family from Iowa, Oklahoma and Florida in KC. We stayed at a hotel (which was super fun for the kids in itself). The kids got to hang out the entire time (including a slumber party for the older boys). We ate a big family dinner at Cheesecake Factory. We all took an open sleigh ride to look at the Christmas Lights on the Plaza (so fun!). We did lots of fun stuff for the kids (T-Rex Cafe, Legoland, Fritzs, Crown Center) and a tiny bit of shopping for the rest of us (hello, H&M). My little family left thinking this was the most fun family Christmas and definitely worth a redo!

Water park Christmas. The last few years we've met R's family at the cabins for Christmas but this year we mixed it up and met at a water park instead. B absolutely loves the water so this was right up his alley. He also got to spend a whole bunch of quarters in the arcade and he thought that was pretty awesome too. This was his second weekend in a row staying in a hotel and he was pretty much loving it. He's got the elevator button thing all figured out and is probably wondering why we don't have one of those things in our house. He got a super fun train to put around the bottom of his Christmas tree and he has played with it every day since. He loves it. The morning we were packing to come home, B asked if he could go open more presents. Oye.

Christmas in Boone. We missed this one last year with a bunch of sickness hitting our house so it was fun to get to go this year. B of course loves playing with his cousins and had so much fun with all the toys. His grandpa built him a super cool clothes rack for his room. A bunch of us played games and we got the pleasure of watching 'how to' basketball videos by R. I'll try to get those uploaded to youtube for your viewing pleasure.










Christmas Eve Service. This was the first year we did Christmas Eve service at home (usually we are at mom's for it).  I missed all the candles. And I was totally caught off guard by lyrics I had never really paid much attention to at Christmas before ('bless all the dear children in thy tender care'). And I cried a whole lot. But it was beautiful and I'm glad we went. After the service, I ran into one of my sweet friends. She lost her husband in an accident and we shared a long hug and talked about grief and loss and blessings. It sounds strange to say but it was just what I needed.

Christmas Morning. We had told B on Christmas Eve that he needed to go to bed and when he woke up we could see if Santa had come. He was standing up in his crib at 2:30 am asking about Santa (he typically sleeps till about 9 am). He maybe slept another hour before we all got up and had the most magical Christmas together. He came around the corner to see his tool bench set sitting under the tree and was SO excited about it. He played with it for quite awhile before we went through our stockings.  He loved every single little treasure in his stocking but his favorite was a sucker that I had stuck in there to hide from him one day and had totally forgotten about. I found a surprise in mine too. Several weeks ago, a little necklace with two birds arrived in our mailbox. I had ordered it not long after finding out we were expecting baby #2. I stuck it in my stocking and had totally forgotten about it. I laid it to the side after finding it and B found it soon after and wanted to put it on me. I let him and it was a sweet reminder. Next we told him he could open his presents. He saw there were three boxes under the tree so he handed one to daddy and one to mommy and kept one for himself. It was seriously the sweetest thing that he thought we each had one present under the tree and he couldn't believe it when I told him all three presents were actually for him! He was super impressed to be getting 'all those' presents. I love that. He got a backpack, a vacuum and a shaving kit. Again, he played with each one for several minutes before moving on to the next one. Even though we only had a few presents under the tree, we savored the gift opening and let it last as long as he wanted. It was perfect.

Leon Christmas. B took a nap in the car (thankgoodness) and we headed to Leon for the rest of Christmas day. We had lunch with our family and B got way too many gifts. His favorite were his snow shovel and a train set. He also got some new cars that he's been packing ALL over in his new backpack and even more tools for his new tool bench. He's been playing non-stop with all of his new toys since he got them. We had a snowman building contest (making toilet paper snowmen, not with real snow) and Mo & I won. We were also teammates for Cranium and we won pretty big there too. :)

Other favorite Christmas moments: 

B was SO excited about Santa coming (we aren't sure where he figured that out but most likely tv? again with the great parenting I know...). One day while we were downstairs playing, we heard daddy coming in the door. He got SO excited and said, 'Santa Claus??!!' He ran up the stairs to see Santa. When he realized it was daddy he laid his head down on the floor and started crying, 'Oh no, it's not Santa.' I felt pretty bad for R but it was so funny.

On Christmas day, B climbed up in the chair next to my mom and asked her, 'Did YOU see Santa Claus???' He has the sweetest little voice and it was the cutest thing.


When we went to visit Santa at Bass Pro and it was B's turn in line, I asked him if he wanted to go see Santa. He said, "Sure!" and ran right up to Santa and gave him a big hug. Everyone in line (and all of Santa's elves) said a collective, 'awwww' (and B's mommy thought it was pretty sweet too). Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he whispered, 'train tracks!' Unfortunately, Santa's helpers had already found the tool bench and didn't get the trains. B did get that train from his grandma though and he and his daddy (and mommy and whoever else he can talk into it) spend a lot of time sitting at the tree watching the train.

B loved Jolly Holiday Lights. We finally turned him forward facing in the car (he'd been rear until this night) and it was the most magical thing ever. He loved seeing all the 'yights' and told us what everything was. He may have a career as a sports announcer someday cause his play by play action calling is pretty great.

On Christmas evening, B was having a hard time going to sleep at grandma's house so R & I laid in bed with him. In the night, I was dry heaving from all the pain I was in. B leaned over to rub my back and whispered, 'It's okay mama, don't be scared.' Then a little bit later he said, 'I'll go get daddy.' (Daddy had bailed on the family bed and went to sleep on the couch.) It was the sweetest thing ever and such a sweet reminder of how blessed we are.

B was not interested in the handprint ornaments that I super love but I did convince him to make some cinnamon/applesauce ornaments. I tried to get him to use some 'Christmasy' ornaments but he insisted on using only the cross. Have you heard the song, 'It's About The Cross?' Maybe B has. And I love our cross ornament he made for me.

B picked out two ornaments this year for his tree. One was a train (his newest obsession since visiting Santa) and another a Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately, Buzz's arm busted off right after getting him out of the box so we decided he would be a Toy Story 1 Buzz. Then we got home and realized he was a Spanish speaking Buzz making him from Toy Story 3 instead. Oops...

B super loved Advent because he got to open a gift each day. They were tiny gifts (like suckers, stickers, and other random things from around the house) but he loved it. Then today he asked if he could open a present and wanted to know where all the presents were (I swear we only gave him THREE for Christmas but he obviously got super spoiled this month). He helped me wrap up a little thing of play doh and was so excited to open it. Silly boy.

And because no Christmas post is good without an Ugly Sweater... Ugly Sweater Bunco.... You may or may not of noticed no ugly sweaters were harmed in the making of this year's Christmas card. I say 'may not of' because for the second year in a row I did a really bad job of getting all of our cards out. I still have some on my desk if you'd like one. ;)

Merry Christmas!

B Goes to the Dentist

Today was B's first trip to the dentist!!!*


He had done SO well at the Dr's office this week with mommy and daddy so I was really hoping he would perform as well for just mommy at the dentist today. In preparation, we watched a Youtube video of a little girl going to the dentist. We got to see her sit in the big chair and have her teeth counted and cleaned. We practiced opening our mouths REALLY wide and we were ready to go.

We got there and he played great in the waiting room then hurried back to see Miss Katie when it was his turn. He slowly got into the big chair, not 100% confident but not scared either. Once in the chair, Miss Katie started showing him all of her super cool tools. He wasn't so sure about the sharp and shiny ones. When it was time to brush his teeth, she had a special surprise for him- a BUZZ LIGHTYEAR toothbrush! If you know B, you know how much he loves Buzz. Once he saw that, he and Katie were best buds. (Disclaimer- Katie is our neighbor so she had the inside scoop on B's Buzz fascination.) For the rest of the check up, B did a pretty great job of sitting still and letting Miss Katie work. He didn't open up super wide too many times but he definitely did better than he does for the Dr visits so that was an improvement.

When he was all finished, he got to pick out a prize. He got TWO toothbrushes (one Buzz, one Cars), a Cars sticker AND a McDonald's meal. He was super spoiled!!! And because the Dr always gives suckers... he asked for a sucker on the way out the door.

And that's when the perfect dentist visit ended. ;)

(He wasn't too disappointed but did ask nicely so I let him get one during our Target trip for diapers. I'm a sucker.)

Seriously though, it was a great first dentist trip. If you live in the area, I totally recommend Dr. Kearney-Porter. (That links to her business facebook page.) Not just because she's our neighbor but she is super awesome with kids and knew exactly what to do to get B to cooperate at (and actually enjoy) the visit.

Have you been to the dentist lately? (I definitely have not..... but don't tell Katie that!)


Thanks for a great checkup, Miss Katie!


 (And yes- B's teeth look awesome. He doesn't have to go back for another year.)

*(I know they recommend 12 months then 2 years but our Dr and dentist both said it was okay to skip that first one.)


PS- These are unedited shots from my cell phone. I really hate that I've let not having the perfect 'real camera' shot keep me from recording B's life so this is what I'm posting. And I'll have to deal with it. ;)

Trucks Party!

B has been talking about 'TRUCKS PARTY' for a few weeks now. One morning we were watching a show (Henry Hugglemonster maybe?) and they were having a birthday party. I asked B what kind of party he wanted and he wanted TRUCKS. And so began the non-stop 'trucks party' talk.

The party planning was simple. I ordered this trucks banner and matching napkins. I asked B what else he wanted at his party. He wanted cookies so I showed the banner to Amanda from Three Chicks Bakery and she hooked us up with the cutest truck cookies ever (see below). (My personal fave: 'Caution: Two Ahead.')
As party day got closer, R talked about grilling out or making chili. We asked B what he wanted and he said 'PIZZA PARTY!' We weren't hard sells.
The morning of his party, he made a last minute request for 'donuts party.' Somewhere filed deep in the back of my mind I remembered seeing a stack of chocolate donuts as 'black wall tires' for a Tow-mater birthday party (online of course) so we quickly bought out all the chocolate mini-donuts in town and wrapped them up in 'Spare Tires' paper (thanks mom). Even with the last minute (perfect) addition requested by B, it was the easiest party planning I've ever done. I stood around an hour before the party with nothing to do and was pretty sure I'd forgotten something.

B didn't request a cake, but I made him one anyway. I got asked for the recipe- it was a box. I got asked the brand- whatever was on sale. I think the secret to good cake is yummy frosting. Wilton is always good for frosting recipes. I used this chocolate one. (I freeze the cake overnight two days before the party too so that might help? I don't know. I'm not actually a cake eater so I couldn't tell ya.)

So B had trucks, cookies, pizza & donuts and he was totally set to party. He kept looking at the banner and whispering 'happy birthday.' When anyone asked him how old he was going to be he would say, 'Two then THREE!' Which is true. I guess. That part of the party (him changing ages and all) is crazy to me so we'll save that post for another day.

For now, I'll just share some party pics. To answer your questions- Yes, I took a couple detail shots before it got dark out (our living room has terrible lighting at night) (big thanks to my friend J for snapping shots in my terribly lit living room!). No, I didn't talk to B about the whole blowing out a candle thing before hand. He was totally confused. Yes, he was way more interested in the cookies than he was the cake. No, he doesn't like opening presents with all eyes on him either (just like his mama).

Also, big shout out to cousin Maddox for coming up to spend the night and being a huge helper. He did most of the party set up and even frosted the cake (with a little help).

And finally. That final picture. At the very end. With the cheesey smile. For the first time ever- B looked at the camera and said, 'Take my picture!' (Then totally cheesed out.)

Be still my photog heart.

I'm sure there will be more about how I'm doing emotionally throughout the week after B turns two B turning two later on this week. Wish me luck.

Happy Halloween

from Buzz Lightyear

ISU vs OSU

We've always said B was good luck for the Cyclones. Just five days after he was born, the Cyclones upset the Cowboys, rocking the BCS (and causing a lot of heartache for my sweet cousin and her family). So it only would make sense that the Cyclones would invite him to their next home game against OSU. He got the VIP treatment and Rusty & I got to tag along.

(Or something like that.) ;)

We started the morning by catching the tail end of the spirit walk then heading inside to visit the new football building. B and Rusty watched the football guys work out (or whatever it is football guys do before a game) and I watched B take it all in. He kept whispering 'WOW' at everything he saw. He thought it was pretty awesome. (We did too.) I posted a couple of my favorite shots of him taking in the sites a little earlier. Next, our hostess with the mostess, Miss Meagan, took us into Jacobson to give us the lay of the land. The recruits were meeting but all B noticed was that they had food. He yelled, "LUNCH" and made a beeline for their door. I was pretty sure he couldn't sneak in as a recruit just yet so we grabbed him and snuck out. (He was super pleased when he did get to go in there later and he gladly did his part to finish off the cookies they left behind.) Before kickoff, we headed out to brave the cold and visit some of R's family. His sister and cousins were there with their kids (all except for Brenny P) and we got a group shot. My kid is the one in front pouting because he couldn't sit up on the wall like the big kids.

Amazingly, as cold as it was for tailgating, it was pretty warm in the stands (and out of the wind). B kept himself entertained by playing with all the toys and the iPad that was tucked into the bag for all of about 10 minutes. He then was super entertained by Miss Meagan for another 10 minutes. All in all, I was impressed we lasted in the stands as long as we did but we headed inside during the 2nd quarter. 

He quickly decided his favorite spot to 'watch the game' from was right in front of the windows, oblivious to the game going on but totally tuned in to wherever Cy was at all times. (I love his super excited face he got every time he told me Cy was near.) He was also super impressed with the band (who thankfully started playing as soon as we attempted that family shot below- it looks like he's smiling and posing but he was really just orchestrating the music). Each time a band member would make their way inside to the restroom he wanted to pat them on the back and tell them Cy was back there. He made a lot of college friends today. ;) Other highlights of being inside for B included running around wherever he wanted while the security people all told him how cute he was and eating all the cookies and donuts he could sneak off the table before his mom caught him.

After the game (okay, actually a little before the game was technically over... sorry Cyclones), we ran back into the football building and B ran around on the outdoor practice field long enough to wear him out for his four hour nap he took when we got home. :)

We had the best day and can't thank the Burnham's enough for the fun time! Miss Meagan, you are the best hostess (and also B's new best friend!). Go State!!

little beckett, big world