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.  :-)

Let it Snow!

Joe and I cannot remember ever seeing this much snow!  Noodle was supposed to get a haircut today, and after one look outside, I realized that we weren't going anywhere.  I let the dogs out in the morning and they played and played.  Noodle hops like a bunny.  Unfortunately, by the time we had the video camera, they didn't find it as appealing.  We still taped a little clip just so everyone could see how much snow we have.  And, as I am typing this, it is still snowing.  (The video was three hours prior!)

Beckett is doing so well!  I know I have been saying this for awhile, but he is very close to crawling!  He gets up on his elbows and knees and rocks and rocks until he finally face-plants into the ground.  He is an awesome roller and can wiggle his way to pretty much any place he wants to go.  He loves our Christmas tree and if we put him in that room, he will wiggle his way over to touch it.  He also wiggled his way into the dogs' water bowl the other day.  Whoops.

He is also eating solid foods much better now.  He loves bananas, sweet potatoes, and applesauce.  He's not in love with peas and butternut squash, but he'll eat it.  He is doing better with the rice cereal as well.

Joe and I are gearing up to travel for the holidays.  While I am enjoying the snow right now, I hope we don't face anything like this while we travel to O'Fallon and Groves.  I am sad that we won't get to see the entire family this year, but I know I should be thankful for getting to see many family members and friends.  Joe is finished for the semester and is working on research for a few days, and I have to teach Monday and Tuesday and then we have a half day Wednesday.  Hopefully we will get on the road quickly after that.  I hope everyone has a happy holiday season!  Check out our snow video!  

Thanksgiving and First West Virginia Snow Pics!