zoo day with grammy and papa

Last Friday my mom and dad took Beck to the zoo. I think it was a bit of sensory overload for him because they said he was pretty wide-eyed and quiet the entire trip. However, the whole rest of the day he didn't stop talking about the "elsaphants (elephants)", "tigers", and "choo-choo ride". I loved knowing that he was having so much fun while I was gone at work.

I made them take my camera so that I could have pictures from the excursion. They took the request seriously and took tons of pictures for me {thank you!}....here are a few of my favorites:

{I'm pretty sure that most of the day was spent like this. I warned them to keep Beck in his stroller....their response was- "But he wanted to get out!" Sounds like a typical grandparent huh?!}

baby no longer

Apparently I've been in denial about my baby growing up. So much in fact that he started referring to himself as "baby Beck"...hmmm, I wonder where he got that. I guess I call him my baby all the time.

Well, last night we {impulsively} got rid of his last remnant of babyhood- his binki. We told him binkis were "yucky" and for babies, then we asked him if he wanted to throw it away because he was a big boy now. He thought for 2 seconds and then took it out of his mouth and chucked it in the garbage can. I never thought he would do it and kind of panicked knowing there was no turning back. I don't know why I was so afraid to do it (probably because I didn't want to admit that he was too old for a binki), he has handled it like a champ. Last night he cried for about 15 minutes, he asked for it this morning before I put him down but didn't dispute after I reminded him what he did with it, but he did fuss again for a few minutes. And that was it, he went down without a peep for his afternoon nap and again tonight for bed. Done and done.

I feel like he just grew up overnight with the removal of that binki! Daddy was so proud of him and as a reward for being such a big boy, he got him a new Chugginton train. It seems to be a good binki replacement- the kid hasn't put the train down all day (not even to sleep)!

easter weekend {recap}

What a great weekend. Like most, our weekend was filled with egg hunts, easter baskets, way too much candy, yummy food, family and most importantly- remembering that our Savior lives and loves us. Yesterday morning, after Beck found his hidden eggs and tore through his easter basket, I found myself wanting to help him understand why we were even celebrating this holiday. Obviously, there's not much he can understand at 1 1/2, but I ended up simply telling him that Jesus loves him and that's why we celebrate easter. It was a little learning moment for myself as I thought about that simple principle. Ultimately everything comes down to our Savior's love for us. So simple, yet so profound.

My mother-in-law always goes all out for holidays and this year didn't dissappoint. These cute cousins were so excited to hunt for the eggs!

Beck caught on to egg hunting real quick. He loved running around and would yell "EGG!" as soon as he saw one. I was surprised when he knew to put them straight into his basket. Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, we went inside to unveil the contents of the eggs- "canny!" (candy).

He was obsessed with the plastic eggs all weekend. He didn't even care if they had anything in them.

Part of the easter festivities included "International Kite Day". Beck thought he was so cool for "flying" the kite- holding onto the tail pulling Mimi behind him.

Of course, Easter wouldn't be complete with out an easter outfit photo op. I may be a tad biased, but this little guy could not be cuter!

happy birthday to our favorite person

Last week we celebrated Trav's birthday. He just happens to be the best husband and father and for that, we sure are glad he was born!

Now seems like the perfect time to give a little shout out to my man and tell him how proud I am of him. Our families put together a biggest loser contest back in January and it was awesome to have so many people in on a health quest together. Trav completely dominated and lost 50 lbs! Seriously, this guy's motivation and determination is inspiring. Of course he looks fabulous, but more importanly he feels fabulous and I love knowing how much good he is doing for his body. He's been exercising like crazy, and has turned into even more of a health nut than me! We got him a road bike for his birthday...he looks good on it huh? Love me a guy in spandex...well, just this guy :)

Trav, I hope you felt loved on your special day!

fun while it lasted

Unless you're living here, experiencing it for yourself, you'd never guess these pictures of us in short sleeves, basking in the sun, were taken just a few days ago. Not even 24 hours later, these swings were covered in 6 inches of snow! I don't know how much more my summer lovin heart can take of this bi-polar Utah weather. We get these random days of warmth and I get my hopes up, just to have them dashed to pieces with a 40 degree drop in temps. I'm longing for summer in a major way.

And I'm not the only one. My poor little boy wants to be outside all day long. He doesn't understand why one day I leave the door open to our deck and let him roam in and out for hours but then the next day I tell him it's too cold.

Yes, I've lived in Utah almost my entire life. Yes, I know this happens every year. And yes, every year around this time I swear I'm moving. Yet I'm still here. Still complaining about the 6+ months of winter. Just let me ok?

Here's to hoping summer (cause we all know spring is just about non-existent in these parts) is coming sooner rather than later!

some befores and afters

Our renovations are complete! And I am happy to report that our marriage was not tainted by it :) What started as simply replacing the flooring turned into new paint, new baseboards and casings, new TV and stand, and painting the kitchen cabinets. It was all stuff I have been wanting to do for awhile, and if we were taking the baseboards off, it would be a perfect time to paint....then keeping the baseboards would require way too much effort....and I might as well paint the cabinets before the new floors are in....and so on and so on. I have one wonderful husband for being willing to let me indulge in my ideas!

The past few weeks have been exhausting with most of my "free" time being spent researching, deciding, buying, and prepping. Of course it was completely worth it as I am SO in love with the end product! See for yourselves-

{this picture kind of makes the paint look blueish, but it's a nice, clean grey. Oh and for those of you wondering, the color I chose wasn't any that I had up on the blog earlier!}

{luckily it was only one weekend with our house torn apart...that was by far the worst part}

{Annndd, the white cabinets. I love how bright it is now!}

{a few details- my kitchen rugs that I am also in love with; and my DIY pottery barn mirror...thanks for the idea pottery barn, but you can keep your $700!}

One last look.

I know I might regret getting that ivory rug, but honestly, it's perfect and there isn't any other color that would have looked as good. Maybe when I have to clean it I won't be so smitten with it, but for now, I am.

We never would have been able to do this without the incredible help of our family and friends. We had loads of help (manual labor, tool lending, baby watching, dinner providing, etc) and feel so grateful that we have such willing people in our lives. Thank you all!!

18 months

Buddy boy is now 18 months. He has officially turned into a full-blown toddler (I still call him my baby...I'm having issues accepting this transition).




Toddler-hood has brought all sorts of new things:

Non-stop chatter. Seriously, he does not stop talking. And, most of the time we can understand what he's saying. He's such a good little talker- he repeats everything we say. He's been saying more and more phrases: "me, mo ca ca" (please more crackers), "no no puppy", "oh no! ___ fall down" (everything "falls down" these days- 99% of the time nothing has really fallen down), "read mo book" (read more book), "read it mommy", "steenty bum" (stinky bum), "bye bye bus"-just a few of the common ones. It's funny because he has always said "me" for please. Well, it started out as "plee" and then he shortened it to "me". He can say so many more complicated words, but refuses to say "please" right!



He definitely understands what he's supposed to do and not. His favorite thing is to say "no no mommy (or daddy or puppy)" when he's doing something he knows he's not supposed to. It's never "no no Beck"...it's like he's trying to blame it on someone else!

He's so goofy. This boy knows when he's being funny and loves to perform. He loves showing off how he can jump (squats down really low, stands up quick and goes up on his tip toes, never actually leaving the ground!), fake sneeze, and dance.

Is into everything. I shouldn't say everything, because he's not a complete tornado. He has set paths of destruction that he does over and over throughout the day- tupperware out, ziploc bags thrown out, pulls off the towel on the stove, pulls out most of his books, and "dunks" all of his shoes into his hamper. While he was into everything before he could walk, I will say that he makes more of a mess now because he can take things from room to room and drop them wherever he sees fit (or gets distracted). I am constantly finding cars in my lazy susan, socks in my makeup drawer and tupperware in his toy box.

He's still pretty obedient. I am constantly telling him to put things back and so now he wants to put everything back, which I guess is a good thing. I love that I can tell him to go get his coat, or to throw something in the garbage, and he'll do it. This new level of communication and understanding is awesome!

Hello tantrums. Yes, they've begun, but luckily they are still few and far between. However, the first sign of sleepiness is meltdowns over little things. I've been trying to ignore them and make him use his words instead of crying and that seems to be keeping the tantrums controlled for now.

On the flip side, he's so affectionate. His random kisses throughout the day are the most wonderful thing. Nothing puts a smile on my face quicker. He wins the hearts of even the most random people by blowing kisses (now with the "mwaa" sound) their way.

Still adores his puppy. Puppy is the 2nd thing he asks for every morning (Daddy being the first). We still battle with him throwing his food to Cooper, however, now he just looks at me, smiles, and says "no no" as dangles his food over the edge of his tray. Obviously "no" is not very effective in our house.

All in all, I couldn't imagine him getting any cuter than he is right now! He is constantly making us laugh and I squish his adorable face all day long.