entering the toddler years

It's official. We have a toddler in this house. That's weird to say.  Wasn't he a baby just yesterday?!  He is changing so fast and is one cute little boy, if I do say so myself. Here are a few things that he had been up to that I need to document.  I don't want to forget the moments that we have been having with this kid.

He took his first few steps a couple weeks ago with his mommy and daddy. Now, he is all over the place. His arms are outstretched and he is a bit tipsy, but he is happy to be up and about. 

And now Mom is having a hard time keeping up. Don't let that little innocent face fool you. He is mischief! Yes. Mischief for sure!

Lately he has had a new found fascination with the toilet. I thought the interest would go away, but just yesterday Mr. B put my phone in the toilet. Yuck! I was not very happy and an hour later a lock was put on the toilets in our little house. Yes. That cannot happen again. 

Also, Beckham really, and I mean REALLY, loves to read. When I am home he actually prefers to read stories than play with his toys. He enjoys "reading" the books himself. Beckham will turn each page and babble as he does. He thinks he is pretty big. 

Recently, our boy has been in love with animals and animal noises. He is particularly good at making a quack for the ducks. Beckham also snorts for the piggies. Umm....we are trying to discourage that one. You see, he can make a loud snort right in the middle of sacrament meeting. Hmm.

I really do try to take lots photos of this kid, but I have been a bit of a slacker as of late. I have learned that if I am so worried about taking pictures, I miss a lot of the other things.  I don't want that, so the camera has been a little MIA all in the name of focusing on making the memories. So, my apologies for the lack of photos. 

Case in point: this weekend. It was my 25th birthday (yikes!) and conference weekend. This was a huge weekend for a us and we love it. It was chuck full of fun activities, but I didn't snap one photo. Nope.  Not one!  And, guess what?  It was delightful!  We made some great memories. However, Jason did take a quick photo on his phone, so I guess were weren't completely boycotting the camera.

Here we are.  Our family.  I would be lost without these boys, even with the little one really keeping me on my toes.  Mr. Beckham is already giving both Jason and me a run for our money, but we just love this kid to pieces.  So, here is to the toddler years ahead.

walk for diabetes

This Saturday we participated in a walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation with our nephew, Kayson. We were part of his team, and we had a great time walking for a great cause.

Look at our cool shirts and awesome team!

And, I don't know about you, but it is cold here! I think Cache Valley skipped fall. We have broken out of our winter coats and have worn them more than once. Saturday was no exception. Beckham was bundled up for the walk. 

It was a great day!

another birthday

September is a big month for our family. We also celebrated Jason's birthday last week. Twenty-six. He said on his birthday that he felt "old," but I don't think so! He had a great day doing the regular things, work and school, and he got to spend the rest of the day with his son. Beckham was extremely thrilled about that.

That evening, Jason requested a homemade birthday dinner of steak and shrimp with potato and ham casserole and Mom Hall steamed veggies.  Delicious! And we topped it off with ice cream cake, because this boy is not a fan of traditional cake.

 

Jason was very, and I mean very, spoiled with tools! He lovingly and affectionately  refers to them as his "man toys." Jason now has a miter saw, air compressor, and a belt sander to add to his tools. Now he will be attending to that honey-do list that I have been wanting him to. 

The celebrations did not stop there either. Jason really, really just wanted to go home in his beloved Burley. We arrived Friday afternoon.  Daddy and Beckham did a little exploring while we were there.

 

We also visited Uncle Tony's animals.  Beckham was not too sure about any of them except for the goats.  He loved, really loved, the goats!

 

 This is mom telling Beckham how nice dogs are, because he really did not like them.

 

And, we played of course.

 

 Jason was given a delicious birthday dinner of steak, again.  He really loves his steaks.  We visited, played, and enjoyed our time with our family for a few short days.  I really think that was what Jason wanted for his birthday, just to be with our family.  What could be better than that?

Happy Birthday!

ninety five

I am looking through my pictures and realizing just how much I am missing on this blog. It is bit difficult staying caught up when Beckham and I just want to play together. All. Day. Long. So in an effort to not forget an important celebration, I must take a moment and go back a few weeks. 

In August, my Grandma Hall turned ninety five!  What a wonderful thing to celebrate! On Monday night, my extended family had a special family home evening for her birthday. We had a great lesson and listened to a few stories of our ancestors, and we ate some cake (of course!). It was a fun evening to be with family and  celebrate such a wonderful grandma. We are happy to have her in our life. 

a Pollard family weekend

We had a special weekend with our family in Salt Lake City. Jason's dad was asked to speak at a convention in Layton about his transplant procedure, and so all of Jason's family got together and made a weekend of it.

We stayed in the Little America hotel. So neat! Jason and I were given this gigantic room. It was so fancy. We got our beds turned down at night with mints on the bedding. Newspapers were by the doors in the morning. Really. Best hotel stay in a long time. 

Everyone arrived Friday night and we went out to eat, and later we swam in the hotel pool way past Beckham's bedtime. Turns out swimming at night is a good thing for a little boy. Beckham slept so good that night. 

 

The next morning we all relaxed. Beckham loved exploring our huge room and looking out the windows.

We had Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast and these two really enjoyed them. 

Jason's dad told us that there would be a surprise on this trip. Later that morning we all drove across Salt Lake City to this surprise. The cemetery. Jason's ancestors are buried there. I had no idea. Michael told us the story of each of them. It was such a wonderful thing for us to do as a family. We didn't know some of the stories and were happy to learn about our heritage. 

 Above is the grave of Jason's Great Grandfather

 

After a delicious meal at Chuck-a-Rama (Jason was oh-so happy about that), we were taken to the zoo. This is how we started out.

But it was raining too hard for a little stroller. So then we looked like this. 

However this only lasted a few minutes. Beckham kept grabbing Kyler's hair and face.  It was making her mad (rightfully so!), so Jason held him under his umbrella for a bit. 

Beckham particularly enjoyed bears.  He pressed his hands up against the glass and yelled gibberish to them. He was all serious about it too.

 

 

 

Beckham finally fell asleep after the giraffes. He was having a bit of a hard time, and Mom and Dad were so so ready for this boy to shut his eyes. Thank goodness. 

However, he did miss out on the merry-go-round. Shucks! We will just have to go back. The others enjoyed it though.

After finishing up there, we all left and went home our separate ways. As we were in route to our apartment, I looked through our pictures and noticed that we never stopped for a picture of everyone. We were too busy enjoying each others company to stop. I guess that was what it was all about though. Making memories with each other, pictures or not.

4 years

We have been married now for four whole years. And it has been wonderful! Thank goodness I got him. 

12 months

We have a one year old little boy around our house, and this mom is still having a hard time believing he is really that old. We visited the doctor for a little checkup and he is growing fast. 

Weight:    23 lbs 9 oz   -  60th percentile
Height:     31 inches     -  75th percentile
Head Circumference: 47 cm   -    97th percentile  (that's one big noggin!)

Here are also a few things that he is up to these days. 

*Beckham has mastered the crawl. He gets around very fast and crawls very determinedly. It's serious business you know. 

Below is a picture of his shoes.  He has worn these for a long time until he started to crawl, and then they couldn't last through this kid.

*Beckham is getting to be a good little walker. He can walk along side just about anything, but he gets a bit nervous to let go. 

 

 

*Our little boy now has 4 teeth. What an accomplishment. Now he loves to grind them together. When he does, he looks like he has a pout lip. 

*Beckham babbles and tells all kinds of stories. He likes to be part of the conversation. If he notices that Jason and I are talking without him, he is quick to pipe in a few babbles. If he hears us laugh in conversation, he musters up a pretty good fake laugh. Don't leave this one out!

*Lately, Beckham has been a little bit of a mischief maker. He likes to empty every drawer, bottle, bag, and basket he can see. And most of the time it just makes a big mess. For example, the cocoa puffs cereal has been emptied a number of time on my nice clean kitchen floor. Apparently little boys don't reach in a hand for one or two pieces. It is much more fun to dump everything out.

*Beckham can be a little disobedient, and I have a difficult time not giggling to myself. He knows what things are "no-nos" (touching the blinds, the toilet, dad's school books, etc), but he likes to push the limits. Sometimes it gets really quiet and I know that he is getting into something he shouldn't. I usually call his name and right after I can hear him hurry as fast as he can to do as much as he can with a no-no before this mom gets after him. 

*This boy likes to dance and listen to music. Sometimes when a song comes on, he bobs his head along with the beat. Soon after his arms and body sway with the tune. It's pretty cute. 

*He is also a very inquisitive boy. Beckham likes to inspect new objects and look closely at each part closely. We are still doing this with all our new toys. He enjoys puzzles and to have mom help him see how the pieces fit together. When we do this, I can look at his face and see the wheels turning in his little mind. 

*I have a little social butterfly here. Beckham loves to see other people, especially other kids. He gets so excited to see them at church, in the store, or at the park.  He goes crazy by kicking his legs and squealing with excitement.

*He is a good sleeper. However we struggle to get this guy to sleep in a little. No matter when this one goes to bed, he is always awake by 6:30. 

*Our little boy is all boy. He loves to play with balls, which Daddy is very happy about. He also loves to wrestle his daddy at night. Mom just doesn't do for this game. 

*And, Beckham loves to be outside. We don't even need to be doing anything. He just loves to be in the great out doors. I am already getting a little nervous for winter when we are all inside all day long.  

*He likes to accompany me to the grocery store. The big shopping carts are great! They have steering wheels and Beckham takes his job in the cart very seriously. I mean, someone's got to drive us through the store.

*Church with this one is sometimes a battle, but who can blame a boy for having a lot of energy. It is just plain difficult to be reverent for three whole hours when you are a little boy. 

*Recently, Beckham has been randomly giving hugs. He wraps his arms around my neck and presses his face on my shoulder. All the while, he says "awe". I don't know where it came from, but I must say, those hugs are the best! 

This little one has completely changed my life and makes me so happy to be his mom. This year has flown by and has got to be the best year yet for Jason and me.