Our Baby Boy is 1!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a year already since Beckett changed our lives! A year ago today I was probably stressed out over him, moving, my job situation, etc. Today, as Beckett naps, I watch him and smile and try to memorize every inch of him while I hope that the rest of his years as a little guy do not go by so quickly. To bring you up to speed, here are some of the things Beckett can now do:

- walk on his own from person to person, or across the room

- can point out his nose and ears

- loves to dance when music comes on; he bops his head and wiggles and bounces his body

- can mimic sounds and syllables (He almost said E-I-E-I-O today!)

- will mimic noises and faces

- gives a big cheesy smile when you say, "Cheese!"

- can sort shapes, with some assistance

- eats everything we eat; we just discovered that he LOVES blueberries!

- is not a fan of whole milk

- can get from the ground floor to the second floor of our house much faster than we like

- will pet the dogs gently (most of the time)

- likes to feed the puppies from his highchair

- loves to feed himself and wants to eat exactly what we are eating

- LOVES to read and often selects books by their covers

- loves books that he can touch, books that pop up, or books that sing

- claps his hands to music

- points at EVERYTHING and wants to know what it is

- goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:15 and wakes up between 6:45 and 8:00

- is slightly nervous around strangers

- plays with his friends at daycare and they "talk" to each other

- wears 12 and 18 month clothing

- plays peek-a-boo a lot

- likes to go to new places

I want to post some video we have, but it always takes awhile, so I am hoping when I am done with school I will have more time. Joe is getting ready to start teaching summer school tomorrow. I will be done for the summer on June 9th, but I am also working at Sylvan Learning Center part time, so I will continue that through the summer as well.

Beckett's first birthday was a lot of fun, and more emotional for me than I expected. On his actual birthday, Joe made him a special yellow cake with orange-chocolate buttercream icing (from scratch, of course) and Beckett tore into it. His party was the following weekend, and my mom and dad were able to come in and some of my co-workers and their kids stopped by. Beckett wouldn't get near his cake that time (and we joked that it was because it wasn't homemade), but I think he was a little overwhelmed by all of the people in our house. We had a good time though. Joe's mom and dad are visiting in June, so we are going to have another party for him when they get here. What a lucky guy- getting to celebrate 3 different times for his first birthday!

Joe and I are continuously amazed by the things Beckett does and shows that he understands. He is such a sweet (yet rough) little boy. Each day I look at him and thank God for such a blessing.

New Sounds, New Foods

We've discovered a few things this week. Beckett loves carbs! He eats any type of bread and will eat (or just play with) pasta as well. He loves wheat bread and I have to force myself to choke it down. I'm glad he likes it though. He is also starting to make more sounds and doing more babbling. He will say "Mama" and "Dada" but we're not sure he really understands them yet. He sometimes looks at Albert and makes a "T" sound, but the other day, he would look at Bert and say "Dada." Joe was mad, but I thought it was pretty funny. Until he called Clarence Mama. :-)

We've also had some sickness going around our household. Beckett had some type of stomach bug (so did I) and when we took him to the doctor, she said he had an ear infection. We didn't even know! But, I think we are all healthy again! Thank goodness!

We finally celebrated Joe's birthday a little late since we were sick. We went to Frederick and ate at a BBQ place and Beckett looked like he was going to order off of the menu. It was a beautiful day so we walked by the creek and it was a really nice day. I even make Joe a cake. It was hideous but he was happy.

Almost 10 Months!

It is hard to believe that Beckett is almost 10 months old already! He is getting a mouth full of teeth and trying to "walk" everywhere. He pulls up on everything and gets frustrated if he wants to walk and you do not. He is also a great eater! There are very few things he refuses to eat. (He definitely came from us.) He doesn't like meats, but he will eat any fruit or vegetable and even likes wheat bread. He likes anything he can actually pick up himself and put in his mouth. I think we bought 5 different kinds of puffs to keep him occupied while we eat! He finally started to crawl just a few days ago. He has been bear crawling all over the place and can get anywhere he wants to go, but now that he has figured out how to crawl on all fours, he is much faster. He is obsessed with the dog food, and I must admit, has unfortunately had the luck of tasting it before it was ripped out of his mouth. He gets cuter everyday, but he is also learning how to express anger and frustration in the form of screeching when he does not get his way. Let's hope that phase doesn't last long! :-)

Visitors, Vacation, and Snowmageddon!

What a whirlwind life has been in the last month! We were lucky enough to have my cousin Mitchell visit us while he was working a job in Maryland. He is the first one from the Ross family to actually meet Beckett in person! While we had a great time, I think we all realized we are growing up and actually went to bed at a reasonable time each night! How boring we are! :-)

Then, on February 4th, Joe and I went to Puerto Rico for a wedding. Our friend from EIU, Marty, got married to a great girl that Saturday. We had such a great time in Puerto Rico! We got to visit Old San Juan, go to the beach, visit casinos and bars for Marty's bachelor party, and of course, rejoice with our friend on his big day. The only problem: we couldn't get home! While my parents were at our house watching Beckett, we received 3 feet of snow! I have never seen anything like it! So, our flights on Sunday into Baltimore were cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday. While I know I shouldn't complain about being stuck in paradise for two more days, I was really upset and missed Beckett like crazy. I really went nuts when, Monday evening, found out our flight for Tuesday was cancelled and switched to Wednesday. I knew we were in trouble because WV was supposed to get MORE SNOW that day. Instead, we flew to New York and then to Richmond, VA and rented a car. We made it about an hour and a half before we had to pull off of the road due to the snow. We got a hotel room after finding that several hotels were booked and crashed for the night. The next morning (Wednesday) we tried to get up to leave, broke the broom we borrowed from the Motel 6, and turned right back around because we could not see due to the blowing snow. I cried again. I think Joe wanted to cry from being stuck in the hotel ordering crappy food as well. Finally, on Thursday, we were able to make our way back with the rental car. About a mile and a half from our house, we got stuck in the snow. It took us almost as long to get out (as well as help others out) as it did for us to get home from Springfield, VA. Oh my gosh, I was so happy to be home. The roads were terrible, but the next day we trekked to Hagerstown to return the rental car and back to Baltimore to dig my car out. What a week! Needless to say, Joe and I haven't worked in two weeks. Certainly not complaining about that!

Beckett, on the other hand, has been hard at work. He is able to pull himself up on the couch and basically anything taller than him that will hold him. He seems to do and say new things everyday. In just the week we were gone, Joe and I couldn't believe how much he had changed! I'll post some pictures and videos! Happy Valentine's Day! Our baby is 9 months old today!!

Tooth!

One day before the big 8 month birthday and we can feel Beckett's first tooth on the bottom! I'm so excited! I'm this proud and it's just a tooth! Just imagine what I'll be like when he's in school!

Christmas 2010

Our family picture is difficult with the dogs!
Daddy is so funny!
Grandma and Grandpa Merkel
Four Generations
Woo-hoo! Lots of snow = lots of snow days!
Rachel, Chris, Michael, and Beckett
Beckett finally got to meet the other side of the family!
Michael, Beckett, and Sophia
Martha and Beckett
Grandpa Robbins, Joe, and Beckett
Jenn, me, Amanda, and Michele with Beckett and Keegan
Jeff, Michelle, and Beckett
Kim and Beckett
Jana and Beckett
Grandma and Grandpa Stone and Beckett

Well, the holiday season is over and boy, was it eventful. Our little family traveled all over the U.S. to visit family and friends. We started off with a little extra vacation time thanks to the blizzard that hit West Virginia. My school was cancelled Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so we left on Monday and had a few extra days in O'Fallon. In O'Fallon, we got to visit my mom and dad, many of my friends, Joe's aunt, uncle, cousin, and dad, and we went to visit my grandma (who recently turned 95) in the nursing home. I cherish every minute that we get to spend with her and I'm so happy that she got to see Beckett again. We had our annual "Tom 'n Jerry's" at the Towne Lounge and after the new year, got to see my cousin Jeff and his new wife, Michelle, and my Aunt Jana and Uncle Rick. It was great to see everyone.

After Christmas we headed to Texas (Beckett's native land) and got to see Joe's family. It was the first time everyone got to meet Beckett with the exception of Rachel, so it was a very special time for everyone. Beckett loved his first Christmas and was spoiled rotten. Unfortunately, his favorite gift was the wrapping paper.

Beckett has changed so much just in the past few weeks. He is "bear crawling" now. He can get anywhere he wants to go, but I don't know if it is technically considered crawling. He can also stand with help and navigate with his walker pretty well. He may walk before he officially crawls! He is also doing a lot of babbling and saying new syllables. My personal favorite is "Blah, blah, blah." He is also loving all types of baby food, and all of a sudden, he has an amazing appetite. He is eating 3 jars of baby food a day on top of the formula. At first his favorites were bananas and applesauce, but now he pretty much eats it all. Joe made him a baby pancake today. I think he liked playing with it more than eating it. It was sticky but he sure had fun.

He is also much more interested in his toys that make noise and sing. His favorite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and it is one of the only ones he will sit still and listen to instead of trying to eat the book. All in all, he is still a very sweet and happy baby. He really does not fuss very much at all. Joe and I are so lucky!

Albert is still Beckett's protector. At Christmas, my friend Amanda brought her baby, Keegan, over. Keegan is three months older than Beckett and is crawling all over the place. The border collie in Albert came out and he was trying to herd Keegan. I hope he does the same for Beckett! Noodle is slowly starting to come around, but would still much rather have us petting her than paying attention to Beckett! Hope everyone had a happy holiday season! Joe and I are getting ready to head to Puerto Rico in February for a wedding. We are very excited to go, but also very sad to leave Beckett for the first time. I know it will be fine, but I have to talk myself into it first!

Bouncy bouncy!

Of course, by the time I got the camera, he stopped laughing and bouncing as hard as he was.  This video is at the end of the fun.  :-)