Life With the Beagleys

First Vacay with 3 Kids

2011-07-10T22:35:00.002-06:00

In January, we decided we needed out of cold Colorado and NEEDED some time relaxing as a family away from our day to day. So since Mike is working on his goal of 50 marathons, one in each state, I did a little research and matched up a marathon and cruise and accomplished both within the same trip.

We flew into Houston on Jan. 27th and checked into the Houston Hilton with all three munchkins. We relaxed there and caught up with some friends who happened to end up in Houston after being stationed at McChord with Mike. Then the 28th, Mike got up really early and ran the Houston Chevron Marathon. He was done by 10:30. He showered and we had a car pick us up and drive us the 90 minute ride to the ship, the Carnival Conquest, in Galveston. We spent the next 7 days relaxing, visiting the Bahamas and Key West and spending time with good friends and family. See....we never go anywhere without our own entourage. Trust me when I say Mike and I do not draw the masses but our three little ones do. So we had my parents, Marci and her little family, my grandparents and then our dear friends Mike and Ruben. We had the best time!!! It was much needed time!

The kids LOVED the cruise!!! The boys spent tons of time in the camp because that is where they wanted to be! In Nassau, they requested to go back to the ship and be dropped off in camp. Mike and I did not have any problem with that. So we put them back in camp and then had an afternoon in Nassau with Elliott exploring. Elliott was the talk of the ship. She hit the age cutoff the day we got on the boat, so she was definitely the tiniest on the boat. Typically the boat has over 300 children any given week in the 5 and under age range. The week we went there were 18 on the boat. It was full of old people who could not dote on Elliott more.

We got two adjoining rooms and would highly recommend it to anyone with 3 kids. The rooms on a cruise are not huge so it was nice to have more space, plus 2 TVs, 2 bathrooms, lots of beds, two huge closets. Definitely worth it to get two. We will not do that differently when we go again!

It is getting late, so I am going to call it a night but stay tuned for pictures and more about the cruise. :)

My Oldest Monkey

2011-06-16T20:38:00.002-06:00

Caiden is already FIVE! Crazy! I love this age! Caiden is starting to be a little independent but still yearns for attention. The attention he wants is to help, work with us, play games we might actually like, read books together, etc. Much different than even a year ago. Just a fun age.

He is amazing! He just finished preschool and constantly amazes us with how incredibly smart he is. Caid will start kindergarten in a few short weeks, which is astounding! I could not bear to send him all day yet, so he is going to half day kindergarten and he could not be happier.

Caiden has become a fabulous big brother to both Elliott and Beckett. Elliott adores him and he and Beck have a great on again/off again relationship. They like each other most of the time but will bicker like siblings. It is awesome and frustrating to watch both aspects of their relationship.

He is still swimming. Caid now does the freestyle, backstroke and is working on his breaststroke and butterfly. He HATES flip turns and will argue with you if you ask him to attempt them.

Caiden is still my strong-willed kid. My highly dramatic kid. My snuggle bug. My comedian. My green eyed boy. My sensitive boy. My one and only Caiden.

Update on Beckett

2011-06-15T22:24:00.006-06:00

Beck has been doing so well! He has been off oxygen for a long time. We still have it here at the house just in case but have not had to use it in a long time. He has been receiving weekly feeding therapy since last August. Unfortunately, my sweet boy is not making any progress in his swallow. We were told that it should correct itself really quickly, like within 4 months. We recently repeated the videoswallow study with no progress at all. Still stuck on honey thick. He had an upper endoscopy done and ph probe placed both coming out within normal limits. We still treat him for acid reflux just so that he does not aspirate on acid. We also had his tonsils taken out and another set of tubes put in his ears because of the constant ear infections and he is now resistant to all oral antibiotics to fight the infections. At our first appointment there the speech therapist seemed to think there was more going on with Beck than I knew to look for. I thought my kid ran funny, kinda cute, kinda quirky. But no, I have been informed that there is more to it. So we qualified for both speech and physical therapy and did those until recently. Speech has been a world of difference. Beck used to assimilate words meaning he would use an ending sound for the beginning sound, cuck for truck, dound for found, gog for dog, etc. Those have been corrected and Beck is coherent. We are taking a break for now from physical therapy to explore some occupational/sensory stuff going on. Beckett falls all the time, like 5-6 times a day. Up the stairs, down the stairs, off the couch, off the bar stools, kitchen chairs, benches, and that is on top of tripping several times a day. So we are exploring that further because they have found that he is hypotonic, meaning has low muscle tone throughout his little body. We have gotten him a set of SMOs. They are supra malleolar orthotics, fancy words for ankle braces. They don't look too bad. He got to pick out the color and stuff, blues with trains and airplanes. And this mom is determined to not put him in orthopedic looking shoes so he rocks DCs all the time. They are up about sock height and just give him some support. They don't help with the falling but the cute, quirky run.

The lack of swallowing progress and hypotonia has landed us in the care of a neurologist. He has ordered blood work and an MRI in July. The neurologist really did not give me much insight to his thoughts other than pointing out what medicine says are flaws, epicanthal folds, wide spread eyes, large ears. The things that I have always found beautiful on Beck. He sent us to a cardiologist who said that Beckett's murmur is unchanged and completely innocent. The cardiologist told me he does not need to see us again unless Dr. R find that Beck has Duchenne's Beckers Muscular Dystrophy. He also felt the need to tell me that this is probably what Dr. R should and probably is thinking for Beck. These are SCARY diagnoses, not anything you ever want to contemplate for your baby. I will not write out what these are. I am trying not to dwell on these. Trying to remind myself we could be dealing with a benign hypotonia. Trying to remind myself that Dr.B is a cardiologist not a neurologist. It's hard! I am holding out till July to talk to the neuro after the MRI. We are not sure if it will show much and know we will have to bring in a geneticist too. Dr. R already said that. So the 12th of July, I am praying for answers for my sweet boy.

Life Has Been Slightly Busy

2011-06-13T20:40:00.003-06:00

Busy does not even come close to describing it. In July, we welcomed our youngest to our family, Elliott Juliette. She is amazing! I adore having a little girl in my life. She is such an easy baby! And beautiful! And sweet! And giggly! And ...... The list goes on and on. The boys are fantastic with her. Beckett is still really rough with her but hopefully will one day learn to be more gentle. Otherwise Elliott is going to learn to 1. Deal with it or 2. Cry whenever he comes near her. Caiden can not get enough time with Ellie. He will tell me how little he gets to hold her and how unfair it is. It is really very sweet! Mike is in love! This little girl has him hooked. She grins at him and you can just see him melt.

Elliott is what our family needed to be complete! We are amazed by the blessing of Elliott and honored to be her parents. She is amazing and if you have not had a chance to meet her be ready to fall head over heels in love.

A Caidenism, One of My Favorites So Far

2010-02-19T07:35:00.003-07:00

Crazy Kid

So we were driving home from dinner the other night and this conversation transpired between Mike and Caiden. I have no idea what the conversation before and after this was but it doesn't really matter at this point.

Caiden: "Daddy, I am going to put girl jewelry on you."

Daddy: "Okay Caiden."

Caiden: "Then Daddy, I am going to put girl hair on you."

Daddy: "Uh huh Caiden."

Caiden: "Then Daddy you are going to have to sit down to pee."

I honestly have no idea where he comes up with this stuff. I do know that Caiden comes by his sense of humor honestly. His Daddy can take comments like these because they are things his Daddy can come up with on a minute by minute basis.

We Aren't Aspiring to Aspirate

2010-02-18T07:12:00.007-07:00

Sounds like some catchy tune, huh? Well this last Monday, Beck was scheduled for a video swallow study so Mike took him. Because of the baby I couldn't go. I feel like I really missed out because Mike said it was really cool. He said Beckett did awesome taking all the different foods and fluids. They laced the foods and liquids with barium and then did a video xray of him swallowing each. He did okay with swallowing foods and could do so safely. Fluids on the other hand, not so much. Beck aspirated on anything thinner than honey. Beckett was diagnosed with Dysphagia and Aspiration of fluids into the respiratory tract. This means that when he drinks fluids thinner than honey, a small amount enters his lungs with each swallow. For Beckett this is a neurological problem that he must "grow" out of. A valve in his esophagus is not timed correctly and doesn't close efficiently. So for now, all drinks for Beckett have to be thickened to what is called "Honey Thick." This includes water, milk, juice, and soups. The thickeners look gross but work really well and at this point Beck hasn't complained other than it was hard to suck through the regular nipples on his bottles. We just had to buy new ones specially made for thicker liquids. We aren't sure how long this thickening will last. I have been told at least 6 months but most likely much longer, probably a couple years. It is frustrating. Things could be so much worse (needing feeding tubes would be an alternative) but it is still hard to deal with everything on a day to day basis. He's such a trooper and that ease the frustration.

Owie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-29T22:09:00.003-07:00

A little over a week ago, I was making dinner when Caid walked in and calmly said, "Mommy, I have an owie." I looked over at him as blood was pouring down in between his eyes and down his nose. He had run into the corner of where two walls meet and got a pretty good cut on his forehead. We debated taking him in for stitches but didn't and now it looks fine. It has healed nicely although not shocking but Caid still insists on wearing a Band-Aid on it. He says he needs to protect it so his friends don't touch it. Who knows?

Surgery

2010-01-27T20:49:00.003-07:00

Beckett's surgery went way better than expected! We are so thankful! His original date was Jan.15th but his ENT had a family emergency and rescheduled for the 23rd. We went in on Saturday and were admitted to a room. They took us to the Surgery department from there. Mike went into the OR with Beck to see him go under. I from the waiting area heard Beck scream and then not 15 seconds later, Mike walked out. I, of course was wondering what happened but Mike said they put the mask on him as he screamed and Beck went to dreamland. We waited in the waiting room for what seemed like a long time but it was really just over an hour. I think I checked the progress screens at least 50 times in that hour. Then Dr. P came in and said everything went well. She put in the ear tubes, took out the adenoids (which she said were good size), and did the bronch/laryngoscopy. She did not find any cysts or obstructions but did say that it was ANGRY in there, pretty red and inflamed. That is a sign of aspiration or reflux. She is choosing to go with reflux. So she put him on medicine for that.

We got to go back to the PACU where my baby boy was waiting very impatiently. We walked up just as they were giving him morphine and a bottle of sugar water. He was so funny on the morphine. Talk about looped!!! Anyways, his O2 sats were great right after the surgery but we were told that was just because the bronchoscopy opened everything up. We had to wait awhile but were finally taken up to PICU.

Dr. P put us up there thinking respiratory wise, Beck was going to be in bad shape. He really wasn't at all. They took the IV out right away and Beck ate, slept and played all afternoon. He would stand at the sliding glass doors to his room and say Hi and Bye to all who would look his way. Oxygen-wise, his sats eventually decreased to his normal and overnight even lower than his normal. We did have to up his O2 but that was not a big deal. We were still discharged Sunday morning. Beckett and Doggy both with their canulas

We are not really sure what to expect now. Beckett's O2 sats are dipping fairly low when he pulls his canula out. His pediatrician thinks that given Beck's track record, it will be awhile before his sats get normal if they are going to. If we see progress during the days we can test him at night and the final test will be to do another sleep study to see if the central apnea resolved. If we do not see any drastic changes, we could be looking at a tonsillectomy next, a swallow study and who knows what else. We are hopeful that we have some new information so that we can better understand what is going on in our little boy.

That's my little man!

Exciting News Round the Beagley House

2010-01-04T06:30:00.002-07:00

Most everybody heard because news like this spreads like wildfire but........we are having another baby. Beckett is going to be a big brother. Everyone always asks the same questions, so to try and answer them all here it goes.

1: Always the first question: Was this planned? No, it wasn't. It was to a complete shock to us!

2: Are you okay with it? Yyyyyyeeeeesss. We are thrilled. I am a little uneasy with the prospect of three kiddos but excited all the same.

3: Are you hoping for a girl? I would love to have a girl. I won't lie. But my boys are so much fun and if I am blessed with another boy, I'm just fine with that.

4: How many kids do you want? I always wanted three. Mike wanted two but was negotiable for a third. Which leads right into question 5......

5: Are you done after this? I think so.

6: When are you due? August 3rd

7: Are you going to find out what you are having? We are. We want to know.

8: Are you crazy for taking yet ANOTHER newborn to a Beagley reunion? Without a doubt.

So there you go. The honest answers to everyone's questions. If you have anything else to ask, ask. I'll answer it.

Update on Beckett-Boo

2010-01-03T15:13:00.005-07:00

So it has been awhile since I posted an update on Beckett. He is doing well, a couple ear infections but otherwise okay.

Since my last post about Beck, he had a sleep study done. That was AWFUL. There is no other word for it. They covered him from head to toe in 27 different monitors and sensors while he cried hysterically and then left the room so I could calm him down and put him to bed, where he was supposed to sleep soundly all night. That did not happen. At 6AM, the tech came in, switched on the lights and said "Well it was a successful study. He only woke up a couple times." I looked at him and said, "Really? I counted nine times." A!W!F!U!L!

Well we had to wait quite awhile for the sleep study results. But...the sleep study results were not what we were hoping for. We were hoping for obstructive apnea, adenoids, which is very common in children. It came back as central apnea, very uncommon. Central apnea is a neurological problem where the brain does not signal a person to breathe often enough. The child will have apneas, occurences where they don't breathe for more than ten seconds. It is found primarily in premature babies, abused children, and children with brain injuries/tumors. Scary stuff!!! Beckett had 14 central apneas the night of the sleep study, 47 hypopneas, and NO obstructive apneas. Our pediatrician's take on it was we will be on oxygen long term until the central apnea resolves itself or we come up with another course of action. She wanted to get our pulmonologist's take on all of it though. Well he told her although the sleep study indicated central apnea, he does not think that describes Beckett as well as obstructive apnea. So he wants to go through with the surgery for the ear tubes, adenoids, bronchoscopy and laryngoscopy. He is hopeful that the surgery will work and that Beck could be off O2 by the end of March.

This is good news but I am a little apprehensive. I don't know how you get a test result like central apnea and just discard it as oh that can't be. I guess that is why I pay experts and am not one myself. I am hopeful but am keeping it in the back of my mind that our doctor is still speculating to some degree. Surgery is January 15th. I am scared. I am also hopeful that this will be the beginning of an end to oxygen.

Route 66 Marathon

2009-12-17T13:35:00.002-07:00

Well the last post I wrote was about Mike's running and so I feel like I should update and tell everyone that he did awesome. I so wish I could have gone but with Beck having just gotten out of the hospital and all it was better that I didn't. Mike said it was a fun run, which is what I would think if I ran as far as say....the mailbox, not 26.2 miles. But hey to each their own, right? Anyways he finished in 3 hours 46 minutes, almost a half hour quicker than the Denver marathon where he was so sick. He was beyond thrilled with how he did. And I am too. Great job Michael! I love you!

Denver Marathon

2009-11-21T09:04:00.003-07:00

So my crazy husband decided that he wanted to run another marathon. After each of the last two, he has sworn to never do another one again. So you can imagine my shock when he said he wanted to run the Denver Marathon. I being the supportive wife that I am asked him if he was sure and reminded him that he had sworn to not do another marathon. He was insistent that he wanted to do another and signed up.He trained and trained for the marathon and felt ready for it, until a few days before. He came down with an awful illness. Supportive me told him it was okay to back out, no need to kill yourself. All those really supportive things. He again insisted on doing it.

Well he ran the marathon and did awesome! He was disappointed with his time but my goodness he ran 26.2 miles sick. I don't run 3 when I'm well. I am so proud of Mike. His new goal is to complete a marathon in each of the 50 states. He has three done: Washington, Ohio, and Colorado. He is running one in Tulsa, OK tomorrow. Good luck baby!

Pumpkin Run

2009-11-20T07:32:00.005-07:00

At the beginning of October, Michael, Caiden and I ran the Pumpkin Run here in Colorado Springs. It was the first time I ever signed up and paid to run! Mike did the 10K. Caiden did the half mile and I did the 5K slowly, very slowly. I did run the whole thing and I finished it so that was good. I had fun but have not signed up for another by any means. I think it would be fun to do more of them but I would like to train more so I don't feel like such a slowpoke.

Mike of course finished his 10K amazingly quick and did really well. He enjoys the 10K distance a lot.

Caiden was adamant about his outfit that day. He had to wear running shorts, a long sleeve, and a visor because that's what runners wear. We gave Caiden the choice of running the quarter or the half mile. He wanted to do the half mile. He was the smallest, youngest and cutest kiddo there by far. He finished last but he finished first in his age group. As a prize for finishing he was able to go pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch which was a huge thrill for him.

Update on Bex

2009-11-19T14:59:00.002-07:00

So Sunday night, Beckett desatted to 73% but was stable with oxygen so the doctors decided we could go home with oxygen, a referral to an ENT, and more medications. It is amazing how many different things he is on. The pharmacist had me pretty worried when he expressed concern about how many different steroids he is on. I actually had to make up a schedule so I would know what are AM, PM, and as needed medicines.

So Tuesday morning, we saw the ENT. She was very nice and I liked her a lot. She immediately said Beckett needs tubes for his ears. While she does tubes, she wants to remove his adenoids. Mike and I were fully prepared for that. She thinks his adenoids are causing the ear infections, which trigger a fever, which in turn triggers the severe asthma attacks. The ear infections are the main reason for thinking the adenoids are the culprit but we are still not positive because generally the flag for inflamed adenoids is inflamed tonsils. Well Beck's tonsils are pretty small and not inflamed at all. So she is also going to do a bronchoscopy to check his windpipe for size and obstructions while he is out for the tubes and adenoids. We are going to do this in two to three weeks. We are still waiting for a date because she needs to reserve time at the bigger hospital with a PICU. She wants to do it there because the hospital she normally does surgery at does not have the anestheologist she thinks Beck needs nor a PICU. Scary to think she feels the need for the PICU.

Yesterday we saw Beck's pediatrician. She was glad to hear the plan from the ENT but she too was concerned that his tonsils are not inflamed and wants to make sure before we put him under for it. Another concern is that when taken out before two years old, the adenoids will grow back. So we could be doing this again in a couple years. Anyways, she has also ordered a sleep study which will confirm or deny the adenoid theory. We are trying to do this in the next week so we have plenty of time to make a decision about adenoids. Dr. Y seems to think if adenoids are the problem, we will still have to deal with the severe infantile asthma. If adenoids are not the problem, she is afraid we will be on oxygen long term. We are all hoping it is adenoids!!!!!

Sorry for the long post but I know a lot of people wanted to know what has been going on.

Oh no, he's asleep....

2009-11-15T21:57:00.005-07:00

He just sounds like he is running a marathon. My little man continues to be breathing really loudly and quickly. I tried breathing 60 breaths in a minute and couldn't maintain it. I don't know how he does. At one point last night his rate was 80 breaths per minute. Crazy!!!! Anyways, last night was rough. I let the doctor know that Flonase keeps Beck wired at night and so we give it to him in the morning. Well that did not get relayed to the nurses who insisted it was ordered and he needed it last night. Well guess who was all smiles from 2AM-4:30AM? That's right, Beckett was! He wanted to play with the blinds, climb onto the window sills, jump on my little couch, and repeatedly put his fingers in my eyes while saying "Dyes." Fun times. Sidenote: I did talk to the doctor about not giving that med to him tonight. :) Bex slept in until 5:30AM, at which point he ripped his O2 out. He desatted to 76% at which I warned by the nurses that we probably would not be going home. Not the news I wanted at 5:30AM!!! Well the doctor came in later and confirmed that she would not send us home when he was that low. He needs to be in the high 80s off oxygen before she would entertain sending him home on oxygen. The day went by pretty smoothly otherwise. It was nice because as soon as I would get tired of being a circus act for Beck, a set of grandparents would show up. Yay for grandparents! So tonight the plan is to try and turn the oxygen completely off. For us to be able to go home tomorrow, he needs to stay above 85% while asleep. We will see. I am hopeful but not confident that he can maintain that. I will post results in the morning.

Happy thoughts

2009-11-15T06:22:00.004-07:00

So I feel the need to post about something happier than Beck's saturation levels. Hmmmm.....what to write. Okay, I have one. Quite a few weeks ago, two of my best friends in the whole world, came to town. They both came with their husbands and kiddos. Their husbands are as crazy as mine and were here for the Great American Beer Fest. So we spent the first night at the Rockies/Cardinals game. Then the next morning we took all the kids to the Children's Museum in Denver where the kids all had a ball, running around and playing. We then went back to the hotel and got the guys ready to go. They headed out to the Beer Fest and all of us girls Jen, Alexis, Marci, myself and five kids headed to dinner. We ate at a little cafe where no one cared how loud the kids were, that the kids ate off of everyone else's plates but their own, or how much got dropped on the floor. It was so much fun! Then we walked back to the hotel, put all the kids to bed in one room (they were adjoining) and opened a bottle of wine in the other. We sat and talked and laughed so much and so hard. I had an amazing time with some of my favorite girls. There were more than a few frustrating things that happened that weekend but we will not mention a single one since this is my happy post.

Back at Square One

2009-11-14T21:23:00.003-07:00

So last night I posted about how Beck was pulled off oxygen on Wednesday this week, three days ago. Well we are officially back at that square one our doctor warned us about. Beck went to bed with a fever last night and woke up with one this morning. I took his pulse ox and he was pretty low, 81%. So we put his oxygen back on him and kept an eye on him. I called his doctor and spoke with her. She said he needed to be seen so away we went. We saw the doctor who immediately counted his breaths at 56 breaths per minute on oxygen. She was also concerned to see him retracting, using his entire torso to take each breath. So they did a direct admit and now here we sit in the hospital.

The really frustrating thing is that this is EXACTLY where we were 3 months ago, low oxygen, ear infections, fever. And still no definitive answer. We have had to increase his oxygen this time because of how hard he is working to breathe. It is scary to hold your little one and feel him working so hard to breathe. He is so miserable being here. Please pray that we can go home soon.

Good News for Beckett

2009-11-13T22:11:00.003-07:00

I have not been good about blogging for awhile but wanted to update what has happened with my youngest. Beckett was put on continuous oxygen back in mid August after being hospitalized for low oxygen saturations and high fever. We had weekly pulse oximeter readings each week through mid October with no change, saturations were in the 78-88% range. So our doctor, being as discouraged as we were, referred us to Children's hospital in Denver. We went up there on October 20th and the doctors we saw were amazing. They started with an echocardiogram and reviewing chest xrays. Heart and lung problems were quickly ruled out and so we focused on his nasal area. The doctor we saw hypothesized that he has airway obstructions, not really sure what that would be. He thinks mostly likely adenoids. He prescribed some steroid drops and told us to keep everything else the same. Which meant we had to keep the oxygen around that we were so hoping to get rid of. We did three weeks of the steroids and then did an overnight pulse ox. Beckett had saturations over 90% (our goal), 98% of the night. So we now as of November 12th, almost exactly 3 months after starting it, took him off the oxygen. Yay!!! We have to keep him on all his medications for at least 6 months as we are not completely cleared of everything. In fact, our doctor said to be prepared to be back at square one if Beck should get sick again. Ugh! So we are praying for healthy days!!!

20 Hours in Phoenix

2009-10-09T17:27:00.001-06:00

So we flew to Phoenix from the cruise because that is where our kids had been taken. My parents committed to watching the munchkins and then a surprise birthday party was planned for a dear family friend. It took a lot but they took Caiden, Beckett, and his friend Mr. Oxygen with them to Phoenix for a long weekend. The airlines do not make it easy to carry oxygen. You have to have prescriptions, expensive equipment, letters from doctors, forms specific to the airline, waivers, supplies, extra batteries, the list goes on and on. Anyways they made it there and had a great time. We flew in on Sunday after the cruise and flew home on Monday. Although short, it was fun to see everybody, especially the kids.

Thirty

2009-10-08T21:06:00.005-06:00

Mike and I turned 30 a few weeks ago and to celebrate we took a much needed vacation without our kids. That was a first all in itself. Anyways, we spent a week on a cruise with Mark and Mel. It was the most relaxing vacation ever. We really didn't do all that much but that is what made it amazing. We went to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Isla Roatan. Roatan was definitely the most incredible beach I have ever been too. Grand Cayman was pretty and clean, which I really appreciate. Cozumel was Mexico. Lots of people trying to get you to go into their shops by being the most obnoxious and annoying person in any 3 door distance. It is serious competition there to be obnoxious and annoying. We did have a good time at Senor Frogs where my husband was groped publicly by another woman all for a shot of Sex on the Beach. Belize, Belize, Belize....I don't know what to say. The first time we tried to visit Belize we were highly disappointed we didn't get to see Belize. This time, I am torn. I saw a lot of Belize which was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and we saw some beautiful ruins but I am not dying to go back. Maybe in time. We flew from Tampa to Phoenix for about 20 hours there before coming home. We had an amazing trip and it would not have been possible without my parents who watched our babies. Here are some pictures from our birthday trip.

This is getting better?????

2009-08-21T13:36:00.004-06:00

The virus Beck has ends with a rash which is bright red and covers the entire body. Now as beautiful as that sounds, it is far from it. It looks awful!!!! My kiddo has been a trooper though. Beck deals with it like it is nothing except for when it comes to an oatmeal bath. He hates them but they seem to have really helped. He looks tons better today so I think we are almost done with the rash. Yay!!!

Sick Kiddo = No Fun

2009-08-19T19:58:00.004-06:00

Well this past week has been a crazy one! Beckett had been running a fever for about 5 days and I had been able to control it with Motrin. On Thursday last week, he started breathing really hard through his mouth. I took him in and was told he had an ear infection and indeed he was breathing really hard. On Friday, I took him in to have his O2 levels checked again and they were low but not terrible. He was given 2 more shots for his ears and we were sent home to control the fever. I did okay with that until that evening. So I called and was told to alternate Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. That seemed to work until his fever spiked to 104.5 on Saturday. So I called the Advice Line and was told to go to the ER. We did and were told Beck needed to be admitted more for his oxygen level than anything else. So we got to ride in an ambulance to the Children's Hospital and spent the next two days trying to control the O2 levels. All tests came back normal which means it was a virus but no one knows why EVERY!TIME! he gets any sniffle, ear infection, anything, his respiratory system is compromised. We could not keep his levels up enough to go home without oxygen so we got to bring it home. Fun! Fun! We are hoping this will be a temporary visit for the oxygen and maybe get rid of it as soon as Sunday. Anyways, the virus has turned out to be Roseola. It is a simple virus with high fever and a rash at the end. The breathing troubles are totally unrelated to it and something we need to get to the bottom of before flu season. We don't want to spend all fall and winter living in a tiny hospital room tethered to the wall monitors.

I will post pictures of the icky rash tomorrow. Now there's something to look forward to!

I just have to brag

2009-08-04T20:15:00.002-06:00

Seven years ago yesterday, my life forever changed. I married the man of my dreams. I remember everything about my wedding day. It was all I could have ever asked for, a beautiful ceremony, followed by the best reception ever (I am a little biased). I mean the reception itself was EIGHT!HOURS! long! All of that was an amazing start to an amazing marriage. I love my memories of that day!

On that day I gained so much more than the wedding and reception I hoped for. I married Michael. What an amazing husband he is to me! I am such a lucky girl! The past seven years have brought us lots of highs and just as many hardships. And I am so happy to have experience dthem all with Michael. There is no one else I would rather spend this life with.

My darling Michael, I love being your wife! My world is so good when I'm with you. I love you and I can't wait to spend many, many more anniversaries with you.

Father's Day 2009

2009-07-30T13:19:00.004-06:00

This year was such a fun Father's Day! We have both Mike's and my Dad here in town and we have two new little ones to celebrate it, Beckett and Zachary. We started out the day going to church and then having lunch with my family and dinner with Mike's family. I am terrible about breaking out the camera with Mike's parents so I am sorry there aren't any pictures. I am usually so picture-happy.

My Mimi

2009-07-25T21:52:00.003-06:00

Three Generations, Dec 2007
Holding Great-Grandson Caiden for 1st Time, May 2006

My Grandparents and Parents, Dec 2008

My Mimi passed away this past week. There are so many things I would love to say about her but I know I could fill pages about how special she was and yet never perfectly express how much I love and miss her. So I will give you a few amazing things about her:

* She was an amazing seamstress. No one can make embroidered anything the way she could and she saw a need for embroidery on everything.

* She would send me money when she knew I was tight, with a note stating she wanted nothing in return, not even a thank-you.

* She could down scotch and water like it was only water.

* Until the last time I saw her, she always waved to my kids with her little wave and said Hi Beck and Hi Caid even when she couldn't say anything else.

* She clung to her purse like it was her source of air. She took them to the restroom and bed with her.

* She loved the Chicago Bears.

* She collected everything.

* Mary E. Armstrong was just an absolutely amazing woman!

I'm Not Saying It and You Can't Make Me!

2009-07-16T20:45:00.003-06:00

Beckett has said all of two things really. Mama and Dada. He said Mama first and then Dada hours later. Now the little comedian refuses to say Mama. Everytime I ask him to say Mama...I get Dada. Beckett say Mama........"Dada." Little stinker. He WILL NOT say Mama. 9 times out of 10 he laughs after saying Dada. He knows that he is sooo funny! Here is a little proof.

Awww....they so cute!

2009-07-08T22:02:00.003-06:00

Mike spent a few weeks recently working on the front yard. He tore out the old stairs and rebuilt them along with the flower box and then built some completely new stairs down into the yard. In the mean time, we all spent a bit of time outside. As Mike and I moved stones and pulled out plants, we found a lot of worms. Caiden had a hayday with them. He collected probably 100 worms in his gardening bucket and played with them for days. My favorite comment was when he looked at them adoringly, hanging from his hand and said, "Awww. They so cute." It was cuter that he said it than they actually were. Here are some pictures of Caid with his friends.

Baby Zachary

2009-06-30T07:14:00.003-06:00

Well after waiting what seemed forever, Zachary Mclean was born on May 27, 2009. Michael and I are finally Uncle Mike and Aunt Steph. We can not be more excited to be called by these titles. Zachary is a beautiful baby and is lucky to have amazing parents. Todd and Marci are so insync with everything Zachary. He looks a lot like Todd to me though he has Marci's lips for sure. For all who haven't seen him you are missing out on seeing a baby who is just beautiful! If you live far away, here is your glimpse into something truly spectacular.

Three Years Old!!!!

2009-06-29T10:19:00.005-06:00

My sweet boy,

A few nights ago, you crawled into my bed in the wee hours of the morning and snuggled up next to me. You fell right back to sleep and yet I could not sleep. I couldn't help but be amazed at you. You have gotten so big and yet are still so little. I love that you are growing and changing but still a little boy.

Your life has changed so much this past year. You are a big brother! And a really good one at that. You have gone from being an only child to sharing the limelight. Sure you get annoyed with Beck sometimes but you are so helpful and patient with him most of the time.

Caiden, your personality has really come into play this year. You are so funny! You tell everything like it is. You never mince words! I love how quick you are with you comebacks. You love to tell me how I am Stinky Pete when I am not feeling as excited about things that are thrilling you. It just makes me laugh!

As I watch you play, I marvel at you. You are so inquisitive and so happy to enjoy life. You enjoy everything about life. You do everything with passion. You hunt rolly-pollys, fight bad guys, run, and so much more all while pouring all you have into that one thing at the time. You are such an example to Daddy and I that we need to live in the moment and forget our worries for a little bit.

You are so beautiful! You have these amazing eyes that are like none I've ever seen before. I am not sure where they came because mine are brown and Daddy's are blue. Yours are neither. They are more green. Your smile is gorgeous and your laugh is contagious. You started the year with a whole slew of speech errors and all of them have been corrected but one which is sm words like smoosh, smash, smell. Those words are sloosh, slash, and slell. It is really cute! Much cuter than the -d sound for -st.

You have bounced around favorite things in life this year from blue deedee and white (longest time favorite) to your generic named favorite stuffed animals, doggy, bear, lambie, and monkey. You love playing anything outside or doing anything artistic.

Caiden, my dear, you are such a joy! I love you so much more than I ever could have thought possible. You are such an incredible blessing in my life and in all who meet you! I love you my darling.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Man, he loves his papa!

2009-06-28T14:30:00.002-06:00

Caiden has gotten so attached to his papas. He has begun to tell me and everyone else like it is. He loves going to both Papa Tise and Papa Bleagley's house and would rather be with either of them than with me any day. Some of the ways I know this.

1. He tells me he wants me to take him to Papa's house and drop him off.

2. He talks about them nonstop and can recall everything they do with him. I can get a recount of the visit in great detail even weeks after the fact. When Papa and me went to the pond, Papa bringed bread to give to the duckies.....

3. He told Teri one time, "I wanted to go to Papa Tise's but I came here." Little kids just say it how it is. BTW, he was happy at Papa Bleagley's house.

4. He idolizes them. He wants to wear cologne just like Papa.

5. He tells me it is Papa and Caiden's truck that Papa drives.

6. He rarely if ever has gotten in trouble with Papa.

I will think of more, many, many more. He can not get enough of his Papas. It is so fun to see Caiden's adoration for my dad and Mike's dad.

Okay. Who am I kidding?????

2009-06-22T14:25:00.005-06:00

I have no idea why this whole blog thing has taken a backseat. Anyone????? Regardless, I have a LOT of catching up to do, huh? Okay so here starts the ball rolling. Just an FYI: These catching up will not be in chronological order, just what I feel like posting at the moment it gets written. :)

So for all who know me, I love, Love, LOVE Disney. And yet Caiden had never been. Sooooo...we HAD to go!!!! We had the most amazing time. The group we went with was a little large for this kind of thing but I think everyone had a blast. We went with my parents, Mike's parents, my best friend Jen and her little family, her Dad and his wife, and then Coogan joined us for dinner one night, and Mike's best friend Aaron and his son and nephew met up with us for a day. Caiden will tell you that the Matterhorn was his favorite ride although he rode Buzz Lightyear at least a dozen times.

Going to Live with Jesus

2009-01-06T10:10:00.003-07:00

So my mom and Caiden were talking in her office the other day. He all of a sudden asked where Houdini was, mind you Houdini the Hamster has been dead since August. Grandma preceded to tell Caiden that Houdini went to live with Jesus. Caiden immediately asked, "Like Uncle Matt?" I guess we need to teach him the difference in serving a mission and living for Jesus and dying-living with Jesus.

Snow Day

2009-01-05T21:30:00.003-07:00

Caiden has been dying to go in the snow and recently had the chance finally! We went to my parents house and wouldn't you know, I forgot ONE of Caid's gloves. It never fails!! Anyways a pair of socks on his hands worked just fine. He insisted on wearing Papa's ski helmet too. He is now well versed in how to make and throw snowballs and making snow forts.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T12:49:00.005-07:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. Uncle Mark and Amanda and Uncle Mark and Melissa came to town on Mike's side of the family and my grandparents on the Armstrong side came too. At times I didn't know how it was all going to work out with constantly seeing everybody but it did and that is what matters. Caiden had an absolute blast and was spoiled beyond belief from all involved. I feel so old, some of the things he got are things I never knew about at the age of 2, an MP3 player, a digital camera, a Little Einsteins"laptop, Geotrax." Crazy what technology is available to toddlers now.

We had everyone come to our house on Christmas Eve and then did our own thing here at our house for Christmas morning. We all got matching pjs for Christmas made by yours truly. They turned out very cute, surprisingly! Then we went to my parents house for presents and breakfast and Mike's parent's house for presents and dinner all without a nap in between. Fun times!! Actually Caid did awesome but boy was he tired when we got home Christmas night. Beck, of course, loved all of the attention. It was so fun to see what he got for Christmas when we got home because his aunts held him and helped him open all his gifts, so we didn't get to see it until we got home. I'm still lost on who certain things came from. Adorable alligator blanket and stuffed animal, anyone? Thanks to whomever gave that to him, they are darling. Here are some pictures of the fun.

Daddy and Beckenstein

Santa delivered Liberty to Grandma and Papa's house

They are so big!!!

Uncle T

Uncle Mark B and Caidenbug

Caid's answer for opening anything, his teeth

Beck's working on getting some of his own

Sweetie Pie

2008-12-20T09:07:00.004-07:00

Chunko, Butterball, Porker, Bruiser, Chunk, Bucketopork, Bubba, Fatty, Healthy? These are all names (I've heard some real doozy lines too) that people have reffered to my sweet Beckett as. I guess I just don't consider them all that endearing. People think it is acceptable to call babies these names because they will never remember them and probably have no impact on their emotional well being. Are they saying it to make the parents realize how big their baby is(when they are the ones to carry them around all day long)? Can they not notice anything about a person besides the size of their cheeks or diaper size? Well enough of my rant. My boy is beautiful and I am here to tell everyone that there is so much more to him than his weight and cheeks.

On a happier thought.....The sweetest name he could be called was just two days ago and was from Caiden. Caid and Beck were laying on the floor and Caid reached over and said Beck is my SweePie. Now he constantly goes and tells Beck he is his SweePie.

On the Road Again

2008-12-10T11:14:00.006-07:00

Well we got back on Monday night from Washington and left for Phoenix on Thursday morning. Thank goodness the climates were so different. It made packing all the easier because we were using different clothes for Washington weather than what we needed for Phoenix weather. The boys both traveled well. My three month old was frisked because my mom carried him through security and because of all the metal in her leg and back she buzzed on the way through, therefore he had to be frisked. Caiden touched both my parents after they buzzed going through and got to be frisked twice. Seriously????? RIDICULOUS!!!

Anyways, why were we in Phoenix? My godfather got remarried in Phoenix so that was the reason for the trip but not the actual highlight. Although the wedding was pretty the best part of the trip was just spending time with the people I love, my husband, kiddos, my parents, the Whalens and my godparents Bill and Cindy. For years our only trips have been to Washington and although we love going there it was nice to go someplace else.

Beck started out dressed but got heat rash really badly

My godfather, Bill

I'm so glad they like each other

So cool!

My mom and sweet baby

My dad, at Jen's request, spilled wine on Jen so she could change into something inappropriate (deemed by the bride/her dad's new wife) :)

With Two Kids It IsHard To Keep Up With This Blog Thing

2008-12-09T13:12:00.006-07:00

So last I wrote Caiden got sick right before our trip to Washington for Mike's family reunion. We had a blast and Caid felt so much better. The boys both did really well on the flight. Going through security with both of them was a challenge but we survived. God bless all those people who took pity on us and either gave us a hand or waited patiently for us while we all undressed in line. It amazes me that they think my 2 month old would smuggle some sort of explosive in his shoe. Do they know that he can barely see them much less light his shoe on fire? Ridiculous!

Caid insisted on wearing a Band-Aid all weekend even though there was nothing underneath it.

Anyways, we had a great time! As you may have seen on some of the other family blogs, those people don't have two kids and were able to put up pictures easily (except Karine who is just a better person than I), Halloween was a blast. Caiden was the cutest dragonfly ever and Beckett was adorable as a rooster. Check out the pictures of these cute kids and costumes!

My gun slinging dragonfly

Cockadoodle Doo

Gibson was a giraffe with a huge behind!!

Maddie had the most adorable ladybug costume, if only I had gotten a picture of the skirt. I'm tellin ya, it was cute!
Look at that cutie pie
Nathan is so cool!

Oh, the Timing of it All

2008-10-28T08:43:00.003-06:00

Last night was spent packing. Mike and I packed for the trip to Washington. We went to bed and I awoke to the tub being run in Caid's bathroom at 11:30. You guessed it! Before leaving for two trips in two weeks, Caiden spent last night up throwing up. Mike found Caiden sick in his bed and sweetly cleaned up his bed, and bathed him. He brought him to our room, where although there were towels all around him he managed to miss and puke in our bed. So Mike cleared our bed and I figured he had done far too much already and sent him to sleep downstairs. Wouldn't you know, that was the end of the throw up (at least so far). Caiden has been running a fever since and shivered like a leaf all night but woke up like himself. So we shall see what today brings. Hopefully it was just a quick tummy bug and we are done with it. I kinda consider this a blessing because now I won't spend the day at work but tying up loose ends before we leave. Funny how God knows exactly what I needed, some time at the house.

You Know You're A Mom

2008-10-26T22:05:00.005-06:00

You know you're a mom of two kiddos when:

1. You know the concept of good sleep will not be achieved for at least 18 more years.

2. Laundry is never-ending and there is never a second when it is all put away.

3. Taking a break is when you only have to take one kid to the bathroom with you.

4. You take a shower in the dark everyday because at least one small child is asleep in your bed and better that they are asleep than standing outside the shower telling you they need to go potty.

5. You are able to comfort one kiddo while the other is attached to his lunch and yell at the dog all at the same time.

6. You know the importance of a good friend because they don't care if one or both your kids have lost it, they love you anyways.

7. A successful day is when two kids nap at the same time.

8. You know that a clean house is not realistic and never completely accomplished.

9. Poop that is outside of a diaper doesn't really phase you anymore especially when both kids have the issue at the same time.

10. Your greatest joy is seeing your kids interact and play together.

I've Got No Strings

2008-10-16T15:10:00.003-06:00

I've got no strings to hold me down,

To make me laugh, to make me frown,

I had strings but now I'm free, I've got no strings on me.

This is what I imagine Whidbey was singing as she left our yard last night. We went to get dinner for Tuck and Whid and she was nowhere to be found. Little escape artist got out. So Mike and Tuck went out in search of her with no luck. Mike posted an ad on CraigsList, I checked the Humane Society website and after no luck we went to bed very worried. Our baby girl was out in freezing temperatures. We were hopeful that somebody nice took her in for the night.

We got up this morning and I immediately started making LOST DOG signs. We hung them up as we left for work. After a few hours at work, Mike got a call from a really nice couple who had a strange dog come inside with theirs last night. It was Mike's baby girl!!!! I went and got her and I think I was much more excited to see her than she was to see me. She had been having a blast. Well I took her home and Tuck lost his mind when reunited with her. It was very sweet. We are very blessed and thankful that Whidbey is home. We missed her so much.

Reasons I am so glad Whidbey is back:

1. My dear husband would have to be admitted to a mental hospital if he had to live in a house with Tucker as the only dog.

2. I don't have to explain why we only have 1 dog to Caid.

3. She warms the recliner for me before middle of the night feedings with Beckett.

4. She makes me fold clothes drying on the banister because I know she will chew them if I don't.

5. Whidbey keeps Tucker in check.

6. She lets Caiden ride her, jump on her, pull her ears, eat her food, just torture in general.

7. She is not Tucker.

8. She is such a good dog! We can get over that she is a wanderer.

A Crazy Few Weeks

2008-10-02T20:42:00.004-06:00

September brought lots of excitement. So much that I didn't really update the blog at all. Oops! In September, Mike and I turned 29, my mom celebrated a birthday, Mike went to Washington, Caiden has gotten so much closer to potty training, Beck chunked up, we went back to work more consistently, Mike moved offices, my sister and Todd announced that they are expecting a baby in May, and my biggest thrill....the Tribeca got new tires and brakes. Yay! I know I am an adult and mom because the thrill that this has brought me is overwhelming. I have not been more excited about anything (at least this month that is, okay maybe the baby coming in May). Here are some of my favorite moments from September.

Uncle Mark Has a What????

2008-09-13T14:06:00.005-06:00

A small stick???????

Caiden is not able to say words with an "s" blend right now, like sticker, shampoo, and stick. Mike realized that stick does not sound like stick but more like a nickname for a man named Richard. So in preparation for their trip to Washington, he taught Caiden that Uncle Mark has a small stick. Caiden now says "Uncle Mark has a mall #$!&." It is hysterical! We know it is totally inappropriate but oh well. He really thinks that Uncle Mark has a small stick.

Not My Day

2008-09-06T21:48:00.004-06:00

So today was not my day. It belonged to two of the loves of my life, Michael and Beckett. Today, Mike turned 29 and Beck turned 1 whole month. Mike spent the day as always with Mark in Washington. It seems that they have gotten into a tradition of taking turns traveling to spend their birthdays together. Mike said he was going to go there this year and to butter me up, since I have a new baby at home, said he wanted to take Caid. I looked at it as a trial and blessing all at the same time, Caid being away from me longer than ever before but alone time with Beck. I miss that I was not able to spend Mike's birthday with him but know that he shares it with Mark not me. They have spent their birthdays together since the day they were born.

Michael, I hope you had a wonderful birthday! I am so blessed to have you in my life and our sons are so lucky to have you in theirs. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for loving us! I love you and miss you!

Beckett, you have captured my heart and changed my life. You have made me so much of a better person. You are the best baby! You are so mellow, crying only when you want to eat. Which must be more often than I realize because you have grown so much in just a few weeks. You have filled out and lost hair. It is too funny! You are awesome in the car, almost always falling asleep. You love to be held and your daddy and I are always happy to oblige. You are so accepting of your brother and never protest when he wants to hold you, get in your face, or push you a little too hard in the swing. You are such a sweet baby! I can't believe you are already a month old. Slow down! You are such a joy and I want to enjoy every little second of you. I love you my sweet Baby Beckett!!!!

If You Could be a Fly on Our Walls

2008-09-03T11:24:00.006-06:00

Caiden: (Feeding something to the dogs)
Mike: What are you feeding to Tucker?

Me: Oh, he feeds his boogies to Tucker now. (It's gross, I know. At least, he's not eating them.)

Me: (looking into my sunglasses) Caiden, did you lick my sunglasses?

Caiden: Yes! Caiden lick Mommy glasses.

Me: What do you want for breakfast?

Caiden: Artichokes! (That is so my kid)

The Olsons Are in Town

2008-09-01T19:28:00.003-06:00

Georgetta, John and the kiddos came to town and their stay was way too short!! I so enjoyed meeting Jack for the first time and catching up with them. Caiden adored John and Joey every second they were here and is still talking about them whenever he can. We had dinner with them and Marci and Todd at my parents house on Saturday, took advantage of their hotel pool on Sunday and went to the zoo on Monday. We had a blast the whole entire time. We miss you guys and hope you come to visit again soon!!!!!

Jack! Isn't he darling?

My little ragdoll

The Tises, Olsons, and Beagleys

We all loved the grizzlies

Caiden, Joey, Jack, John

A Third????

2008-08-22T17:27:00.003-06:00

So in the last few days, I have been getting the same question over and over again....what about a third. To myself I think a third what? Car? Dog? I know people mean a third child but dude, I just had number 2, two weeks ago. Give me a break. So the answer to all you who are wondering the same thing.....we are very happy with two. Nothing is ruled out down the road but nothing is committed to either. Now leave me alone about it! ;)

These two are perfect!!!

Being a Big Brother

2008-08-19T08:50:00.002-06:00

Caid has taken so well to being a big brother. He is so loving to Beckett. Mike and I caught him cuddling with Beckett in the bouncer the other day. It was so precious. Sure he wants to test every boundary he can, his favorite being trying to ride in Beck's swing, but he is doing really well with the changes that have happened. So for today, here are some of the moments caught on camera of Caid and Beck.

When the Mom's Away

2008-08-17T17:15:00.003-06:00

So the other day, we decided that everyone was going to take a nap at the same time. We all slept well and Beckett and I got up first. I took him out of our room into his and fed and changed him. He, of course, then wanted to go back to sleep so I laid him in his crib and went downstairs to get some picking up done. I heard our bedroom door open and shut and by the time I got upstairs I found Caiden in the crib with Beckett. Caiden was being so gentle with him. Sometimes, I don't think he has the concept of gentle but other times he amazes me. So instead of removing Caiden, I grabbed the camera and here are my two boys.

Beckett????

2008-08-16T15:51:00.002-06:00

Soooo many people have been asking how Beckett got his name and it is really pretty simple we just liked it. Mike and I had gone round and round on names and could not agree. I wanted Cooper Grant and Mike wanted Beckett Mike. We both liked each other's name but had some hang up with the other person's name for one reason or another. Mike liked Cooper but was afraid that should we ever decide to have another child, their name would have to start with a C. I liked Beckett but not Mike, it just sounded choppy. So it took us almost the entire pregnancy to decide. We went out for our anniversary, 3 days before being induced, knowing that at dinner we were going to make a decision. Over the days prior we had been tossing around different middle names for each name, Maxwell, Mitchell, using Beckett or Cooper for a middle name. So at dinner, it was a surprisingly easy conversation. We both liked Beckett and then I said I liked Max. Mike agreed and that was it. That is how Beckett got his name. It is different but it suits him so well.

Now for some pictures!!

Such a Good Big Brother!!!

Beckett and his Uncle T

Another Small Miracle

2008-08-12T12:37:00.004-06:00

Every once in awhile the clouds part and the Good Lord smiles upon us offering a small miracle to make it through the day. Now you're probably thinking I'm talking about the birth of my son Beckett. Incorrect. He is a huge miracle. I'm taking about my twin brother and his ever so slight peculiaralities. Scroll down and see for yourself. Thank you Lord Jesus for this picture! Oh how my life needed such enrichment! Click on the picture to enlarge and get the full effect!

Beckett's Birth Story

2008-08-11T13:17:00.004-06:00

I went into the doctor on the 30th and my doctor said he would induce me on the 5th if I wanted. He wasn't scheduled to be on-call for awhile after that and if we didn't induce I would have someone else deliver Beckett. So I agreed.

The night of the 5th we were supposed to go in at 8:30 pm to start the induction. We were to call at 7:30 and check that there was room for us. I called and was told that L&D was full and that they would call later that night to tell us when to come in. They called at 1:10 in the morning and said to come in. We packed up and went in. We got there at 1:45 and were all checked in.

I was hooked up to every monitor imaginable and nothing was happening. Apparently, my blood pressure kept dropping to 80s/40s and the baby's heartrate then would fall to the 90s(normal is 120-160). Sooooo they thought that maybe they were not getting an accurate assessment of his heartrate. At 3:15, it was decided that they needed to break my water and monitor the baby with an electrode on his head. Well the other heartrate measurements were correct, his heartrate was really low.

It was decided to skip the cytotec that was planned and to start pitocin. They started it at 4:30 and told me to get some sleep. I laid down but was woken up because my blood pressure and baby's heartrate were again really low. The pitocin was halted and they had me try laying different ways, my right side and my back. Then they had me lay on my left and it got better. So pitocin was started again a little while later.

At 10:30 am I was dilated to a 4 and they were going to turn up the pitocin so I told them I would take that epidural whenever. Because of emergencies and such, I did not get my epidural until 12:30 pm. I felt awesome after that. At 1:30, I was dilated to 5 and by 2:30 I was dilated to 10. Of course my doctor had gone to his office at that point and the nurses were again concerned with my blood pressure so I had to wait to do anything until my dr. got back.

At 4:15 he got back and told the nurse to have me practice pushing for a little bit. I took one push and the nurse went running for him. She found him and two pushes later Beckett Max was born at 4:39 pm. He had the cord wrapped tightly around his little neck and it had to be cut before he was completely born. He was pretty blue to begin with but came around pretty quickly. He was 7lbs even and 20 3/4 inches long. His apgars were 6 and 8.

He is darling in every way. We instantly fell in love with Beckett the second he was given to me when he was born. You think you know what you will feel when your baby is first given to you, but it is so incredibly better than anything your mind can imagine. The elation, the overwhelming love and thankfulness, the relief from your fears, the awesomeness of the birth are so incredible. The minutes he was away for assessment were so long. I wanted so badly to just hold him in my arms.

Michael was amazing. He knew what I needed to hear, that Beckett was ok, that they got him to breathe, that he was beautiful. I could have not have gone through the day with anyone else. I needed him, his words, his encouragement, his presence.

We had a good first night in the hospital. Both sides of Grandparents came to visit as did the new big brother. Our dear friends the Burchetts, Carrillos, and Morgans all came by to visit. We were moved to the Mother/Baby floor and crashed. We did surprisingly well with getting sleep. Beckett woke up at 11, 2, and 4:30.

We are so in love with this little boy. He is more than perfect than we could ever imagine. We are truly thankful for the blessing of Beckett Max.

Introducing Beckett

2008-08-10T13:43:00.007-06:00

He is adorable in every sense of the word. This little baby is more beautiful than anything I've ever seen. He has the softest skin and the sweetest little mouth. I find myself running my lips across his sweet little face constantly to feel his silk-like skin and to take in the intoxicating smell he has. I am trying to memorize it because it lasts far too short. I could just stare at him for hours trying to not miss a second of these first few days.

I am amazed that he was still inside me just 2 days ago. He balls up so teeny tiny but it still amazes me. He has the cutest little button nose and itty bitty feet. He has dark brown hair but just enough to say he has some. I love to just hold his soft little head in my hand and look him in the eyes and wonder who he is and what amazing things he will one day do.

He definitely looks like Caiden as a baby, but not as much as thought he would. I thought he would look exactly like Caiden but he is definitely different. Right now, his face is a little more round than Caid's was and his eyes are different. Caiden is doing well adjusting to Beckett, better than I thought he would. He too likes to kiss him, hug him, hold him, pinch his nose, squeeze his hand. You know all that big brother stuff that doesn't really have to be taught, just happens. Caiden seems so much older all of a sudden and it makes me really sad to think about.

I love to see teeny tiny Beckett in his Daddy's solid, loving hands. It brings me so much joy!

I want to write so much more but naptimes are ending so for now that is all. My heart is filled with so much joy right now. God is truly good!

Home At Last

2008-08-09T19:47:00.002-06:00

We are finally home! We got home this morning and are so happy about it. The hospital had a biliblanket delivered to the house so we can do the phototherapy at home. It is so nice to be in our own home, take a shower in our own shower, sit somewhere other than in a bed, sleep in my own bed. Beckett is doing well. His levels have steadily declined. We have to take Beckett in for a blood test in the morning and he has to be on the biliblanket as much as possible until we are told otherwise. I will post some more pictures of our sweet little boy here in a little bit.

We are Still Here!!!!

2008-08-08T18:38:00.002-06:00

Sorry to all those who are waiting for more pictures. We will put them up soon. We were supposed to be discharged today but here we still sit in room 3120. My doctor came by this morning and said everything was good to go home as far as me. Then the nurse came in and said that Beckett needs a bilirubin test because he was way too yellow. The pediatrician came by and confirmed that he has jaundice and that we might not be going home today. So after the blood tests came back high they decided he was not going to get enough phototherapy at home and needed to stay here for phototherapy. I have been officially discharged but Beckett has not. So Beckett and I are here for the night. Mike is going to head home and spend some Daddytime with Caiden. We will hopefully go home tomorrow morning and do phototherapy at home with Beckett. I will post when we do finally get home.

Beckett Max Beagley is Here!!!

2008-08-06T19:56:00.009-06:00

Beckett Max Beagley was born on 6 August 2008 at 4:39pm.
7lbs even
20 3/4" long
Everything went pretty well. Steph did awesome! I'm so proud of her. The family has been by to see him and we're just now enjoying some rest. More to come so stay tuned!

Quick Baby Update 6 AUG 08/ 1500

2008-08-06T14:42:00.002-06:00

Just a quick update on Steph and Baby's status. We called to come into L&D at about 1am this morning. We've been here since and she's made concerderable progress. Her water has brokend so he will be here for sure, probably in the next 2-3 hours. Please remember Steph and Baby in your prayers as the tough part approaches. We will keep you all updated since our hospital room has wireless!

Love you All!
Mike, Steph, and Baby

Baby Beagley is Coming Soon!!!

2008-08-05T20:29:00.004-06:00

Well we are here waiting for our sweet boy's arrival. We were supposed to be at Labor and Delivery this evening to be induced but they are full. So here we wait. Caiden is at Momma and Papa's house and Mike and I are enjoying the quietness of the house for the last time in awhile. We will hopefully get a call to go on in to L&D later this evening but until then we are relaxing at home. Hopefully, we will be able to announce our baby's arrival tomorrow but if you haven't heard from us, we are still waiting too!

Mike put some tattoos on Caiden's and my tummies on Sunday night. It was quited comical when my doctor looked at them on Monday and said those aren't real are they? Umm....No!!!

Baby Beagley's Nursery

2008-08-04T22:13:00.003-06:00

We procrastinated big time on doing the baby's nursery. Oops!! My oldest (by that I mean longest lifelong friend, really she is just a month and 3 days older than I) Jen, came into town for my shower with her hubby and darling little girl. You know what she did on her vacation? Painted the nursery. It took us a long time to decide whether to do monkeys or trains in the baby's room and finally settled on trains. So it was taking a lot to even decide on paint. Mike out of ease and lack of time said he would paint an accent wall blue. Well that was not intricate enough for Jen. She decided to do plaid to match one of the many on the crib quilt. It turned out beautifully. She has way more patience than I. Jen, I love the baby's nursery! Thank you so much!!!

Here are some pictures of the wall she did. I will post more of the nursery soon!

A Hard Day at Work

2008-08-04T21:58:00.001-06:00

We took a different way home for a couple days in a row and kept seeing signs for an open house at the fire station, totally something Caid would go for. We decided to take Caid for it. It was awesome!!! As we were parking, the Flight for Life helicopter was landing and there were lots of fire trucks for the kiddos to climb on and explore. The fire station went all out with food, a bounce house, jaws of life demonstrations, etc. Caid had a ball and it was so fun to see it.

Oh the Things Two Year Olds Find

2008-07-08T08:29:00.002-06:00

The other day, I got distracted doing something and after a few seconds my room got mysteriously quiet. I looked around the corner to our bathroom and there was my Caidenbug playing in some makeup. I immediately went to get stuff to clean him up but on second thought decided that I needed photographic evidence.

Future Olympian

2008-07-07T14:29:00.005-06:00

We have been watching the US Olympic swim trials lately and Caiden is all set that in order to swim you have to wear a hat, i.e. swim cap. I was a little worried because all we could find was one for ages 6 and up. Well we got it anyways and good thing we did because he was invited to a pool party and everyone knows you can't go with out the coolest attire.

Caiden was invited to his first pool party this week for Skyler's birthday. He was so excited for it and talked about it for a week before the actual party. Mike and I unfortunately could not take him, we had to take a tour of the hospital. So Papa and Momma took him to the pool. Reports are that Caiden could have cared less about the cake, presents, and goodie bags but was really excited for swimming in the pool in his new hat.

We were able to join them after our tour and it was just so fun to see Caid in the water. He loved it.

Any Drop of Water

2008-07-06T09:38:00.007-06:00

Caiden is obsessed with water and will play like a fish in any drop he finds. He can not walk by a running sprinkler without running through it like a crazy person. So we went to the outdoor mall in Salt Lake and he went nuts. He ran through the fountain and though he fell a dozen times, he could care less.

Stay tuned because Caiden and I have been watching US Olympic Swim Trials and he is going to go to a pool party today. This ought to be good. Oh how my son amuses me!

WAY!TOO!LONG!TO!NOT!POST!

2008-07-02T05:27:00.006-06:00

It has been way too long so here is my attempt to catch-up on all the things that have been going on here.

In May, always our craziest month of the year, we took our first major road trip as a family. As some might recall, Caiden was terrible in the car for a long time but he was such a trooper for the drive to Salt Lake. We went out there for Hillary and Josh's wedding. Caid and I had never been there before and it had been a long time since Mike had been there. It was very fun to see all of Mike's family on his mom's side and then the McLaughlin side of the family. We even got to meet Ethan!

Sorry for the overload of pictures but like I said it has been awhile!!!

2 Year Old Stats

2008-05-25T19:14:00.003-06:00

I took Caiden for his 2 year appointment and he has grown in all areas. We are delighted that our little guy has gained a little weight and length. We are officially past the Vitamin D deficiency. Yay!!!!!!

So at his 2 year appointment, Caiden was:

Weight: 22 lbs, 14 oz. 5th percentile (WE ARE ON THE CHART!!!!!)
Height: 32 3/4 inches 15th percentile
Head Circumference: 49 1/4 cm 50th percentile

When the doctor went to look in his ears, Caiden threw a fit. He kicked, screamed, hit, and arched his back. The doctor had to do the entire checkup while Caiden sat in his stroller because he would not get out of it. He needed a Hepatitis A shot, so our doctor called in two people to hold him down while he gave it. Our doctor said Caid was worse than a feisty, mad cat. That's my boy!!!!

So in the end, Caiden is little still, with a big noggin and attitude, but he is healthy. That is all that matters!!!

Brotherly Love

2008-05-13T19:27:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share a funny story..... So as the baby changes positions and constantly moves around, my belly button has at times been popping out as he sits under it. So the other night I was sitting on the couch with my shirt up and my tummy exposed. Anyways, I told Caiden that my belly button hurts when the baby sits under it and makes it pop out. So the following takes place:

Me: See Caiden that is owee! Mommy's belly button hurts.
Caiden: Tiss baby?
Me: You can kiss the baby. (and he leaned over and kissed my tummy)
Caiden: Hug baby?
Me: Awww, you can hug baby (and he leaned over and hugged my tummy)
A few seconds go by and you could tell he was thinking
Caiden: (Slaps my tummy) High Five Baby!

This baby is in for it with his older brother!!!!

2nd Birthday

2008-05-12T10:43:00.007-06:00

We had a fabulous day with Caiden on Saturday. He woke up to a decorated dining room complete with balloons. We had eggs for breakfast, Caiden's favorite and then Daddy let him open some presents in his birthday suit. We then met up with the Tise side of the family and all ventured down to Canon City to catch the train to the Royal Gorge. Caiden is loving choo choos right now so it seemed like an awesome thing to do. Caiden loved it. He got to spend time with both papas, Grandma, Uncle T, and Aunt Moshi. It was a gorgeous day and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking.

We then went home to celebrate. We had pizza, cupcakes, and ice cream with Caiden's best friends Bretton, Gavin, and Gretchen. It was a lot of fun and for all who were worried, I assure you he was spoiled by everyone involved.

My Two Year Old

2008-05-10T20:54:00.003-06:00

My Dearest Caiden,

Two years ago today at 12:02 pm I held you in my arms for the first time. You were beautiful from the first moment. You had tons of hair and the most adorable, kissable lips I have ever seen on a newborn baby. From that moment, you stole my heart and I knew it would never be mine again. I remember it like it was yesterday because it seems like it was just yesterday. That makes you being two so hard to believe.

This past year has brought so many changes. You have learned to say and do so many cute things and a few not so cute things. So cute things first: You love to talk and do it non-stop. You call people by name and talk incessantly about bikes, choochoos, and your papas. Some of your favorite things are your deedee (blankie), your bear, beddy nuk (strawberry milk) and your meen (lambie). You say "Mama, help you?" when you need help knowing I will say "Oh, you want me to help you?" You learned to sing and you are brilliant. I will never love any song more than your own words sung to the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle. You learned to love pizza, just like daddy. You learned to run. You learned to fall. You learned that a kiss will heal your pain. You learned to make the raspberry noise. You learned that telling Mommy and Daddy you have to go potty is a way to get out of time-out. You learned that if you don't like a store, start making a ruckus and you will GET to leave. Caiden you are amazing!!!

You are so hilarious! You love a good time and try to make sure every one else has a good time right along with you. You will stand on your head, make silly faces, anything to get a smile.

You are a joy, my Caidenbug. I love waking up to your happy Hi Mama and going to bed nuggling on the couch with you. I know this will pose a problem when your baby brother arrives but I am soaking it up right now. You are loving it and I am not going to tell you that we can't snuggle. You are growing so fast my sweet boy and you are going to suffer some intense changes as your role changes a bit in the next few months. Please know that you will always be my baby.

I am so amazed that you are two years old today. Two years ago my life was forever changed for the better, You have been and are the sweetest, best boy I could ever ask for. I love being your mommy. You are such a joy in my life. I love you, Caiden! Happy Birthday, my darling!

My NuggleBug

2008-04-23T16:12:00.002-06:00

Today as I was going about my busy afternoon of submitting Credentialing paperwork and billing, I got Caiden ready for his nap here in the office. I laid out his bed and got him his blanket and set him down with some water. He immediately popped up and said Momma, nuggle????? I had to stop then and there and decide what to do, get my desk cleared for the day or snuggle with my best boy. The decision should have been quick but I did think for a sec and of course agreed to snuggle. So I sat down on the little fold-out couch with Caiden and dee-dee (blankie), bear, Meen (lambie), his cup, ball and anything else he could have wanted in order to nuggle. We sat and watched part of Ratatouille and all the while I was thinking okay any minute now he'll crash. No luck! I suddenly got a little finger pointing at the owie (zit) on my face and a need for tied shoelaces, and a kiss, and a fly kiss (butterfly kiss). He did eventually crash but in the end unlike so many other times, that was not the best part. The best part was that I got to nuggle with my best boy. I can't believe how big Caid has gotten in such a short period of time. I am taking all the nuggle I can get!!!!!

Doing the pee pee dance!!

2008-04-14T12:34:00.003-06:00

He pee-peed in the pot-tay! Pee-peed in the pot-tay!

We have recently added new fixtures in our bathrooms at the house and Caiden has been interested. He asks to go and we get him to the bathroom, get him all ready(which means completely undressing him, someone told him you pee totally naked), to find out he meant he already went. Fast forward to last week about three minutes before we all danced, jumped and cheered like a bunch of crazies.....

Mike was sitting Caiden in time-out for something he had done, when in tears, Caiden said he had to go potty. Mike, nicer than I said okay (I would have assumed he just wanted out of time-out), and took him to the bathroom. Mike got him totally into nude dude mode and sat him down. He walked away as Caiden began to sing to himself and then went back a few seconds later to find that he had in fact gone. He pee-peed on the pot-tay! Pee-peed on the pot-tay! He got a big Sees lollipop! We partied, danced, sang, and acted like the crazy people we are.

Fast forward to Saturday......He did it again!!!! My boy is getting so big and makes me prouder and prouder every day!!!

Yay, the idea of having only one in diapers at a time MIGHT be feasible.

The Easter Bun

2008-04-12T12:20:00.003-06:00

The Easter Bun (as Caid called him) came to both our house and the church on Easter. We collected all the candy and treats we could and then had brunch with Mama, Papa and Uncle T (Aunt Marci got roped into working for someone) . It was such a fun day with Caid.

One of the biggest highlights was getting to see Uncle T's new bike.

Call me the Easter Grinch

2008-03-25T09:20:00.006-06:00

We spent Saturday evening at my parents' house with my parents and Marci and Todd. My mom made a delicious batch of Mexican food and we spent the evening dyeing eggs. Caiden loved this so much! He would not gently put an egg in the container but chuck them into the containers sending dye everywhere. He could not get enough of dyeing Easter eggs, but I could! :)

Just Me and My Hubby

2008-03-21T06:25:00.006-06:00

It did happen!!!! No really, it did! We had a night out, just adults, no Caiden! Although I love him dearly, I needed a night without him, or VeggieTales, or snotty noses, or dirty diapers. Oh my gosh, I didn't even have to take a DIAPER BAG!

Mike and I were invited out for our friend Brian's birthday in DENVER. We were so happy to go with them. We have recently been spending more time with Brian and Lori and enjoying their friendship. So Caiden stayed with Mama and Papa and we spent the day in Denver shopping and then going to dinner. We had a blast! It is definitely something we should do more often.

So I know the criticism is coming but we went out for.....Sushi. And yes, I did have some. Eek!!!! The baby is fine for all who are now praying for him. But thanks for the prayers. Mike did find sushi he won't eat again, a first for him. It was scallop with a raw quail egg on top. For everyone who wonders what it tasted like, he says a horrible paste. Not recommending it. So for the evening , 5 stars for the company, 5 stars for the evening, 0 stars for Uni with a quail egg.

Just Like Daddy

2008-03-20T08:02:00.006-06:00

Caiden has been wanting to help Daddy with every repair on the MG so Mike let him work on his own little car for awhile. He now asks every day if he can help work on the car. Sooooo cute!!!!

And the answer is.......

2008-03-12T13:51:00.006-06:00

If you use some serious eagle eyes, you can find the answer to the question of the week in those ultrasound pictures. If you look carefully, you can even see the protrusion between our baby's legs.

Yes, to all who have still not gotten it, we are having a SON! A little boy! A baby brother for Caiden! We are so incredibly thankful and excited!

Michael was so much fun to watch. He was just so ancy to get on the phone and tell the world in between the ultrasound and seeing the doctor. I imagine that the smile has still not left his face while he's back at work. I'm so glad he is so happy!!!!

I guess there is more to be said for mother's intuition than I had thought. I have felt all along that this baby was a boy! If I had placed bets, I would be a rich person. I just had a feeling. I would talk to Mike about this baby and refer to him as a him. I would pray for him. This morning was the first time I prayed for him and thought, wow what if its not a him. Weird!!! Well no worries the ultrasound technician said it is a boy without a doubt.

Everything else with the ultrasound went well. We got to see the baby's heart, bloodflow, bones, brain, arms, legs, face, etc. He looks amazing!!! I am bias but really if you were there you'd think so too!

To answer your next question..... no he does not have a name yet and no we are not keeping it a secret at this point. We have no idea what his name will be. I have asked Caid and his votes are Shoe and Grandma. I have decided he doesn't get a vote. Sorry buddy!

Well that is the news for the day!

A Day at the Zoo....No Not My House, The Zoo

2008-02-19T13:07:00.009-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, we spent a day at the zoo with Caiden's best friend Bretton and his mommy and daddy. It was a gorgeous winter day in Colorado. We could not have asked for better weather or better behaved one year olds. They were awesome!

Where to First?

Not so sure about giraffes

Caid and Mommy

My Boys

My Sweetheart

2008-02-14T10:29:00.002-07:00

Michael,
I am so lucky to be able to call you my Valentine. You are such an amazing person, husband, father and best friend. I love you for so many reasons but here are a few:

1. You are a wonderful husband. You provide for my every need. You give me love, laughter, hope, security, your honest opinion, and the best life I could ever ask for.

2. You love God and our church and make it a priority in our home, in our week and in our lives.

3. You love to shop!!! I don't know what I'd do if you didn't!

4. You are selfless. You work so hard and give your all on everything, not for yourself but for your family.

5. You are an amazing friend. You will talk on the phone, email, make yourself available at any hour, and even handwrite letters to keep friendships.

6. You spend every minute of your off time with your family. We are so lucky that you like us as much as we do you.

7. You make the bed just to make me smile, even though I know you think it is stupid.

8. You always say my cooking is good, even though 85% of the time I make a simple grilled cheese it is with extra CRISP!

9. You are a neat freak. And you love when I'm not. We are quite the pair!

10. You love life and I know you live every day to its fullest.

I love you! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

New Caidenese

2008-01-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

Caiden has really started to add his own twist on some of our most common words. There is no rhyme or reason to some of them.

Puttputt-Caiden's new favorite cheesy food, pizza!

Oooooo Pete's- Something he likes to point out that every client walking through the door has these. Pants! He sounds in awe every time, probably because he would rather not wear them and is shocked that other people do.

Poon- This one makes more sense than some of the others. Spoon.

Peen- Airplane.

Boobools- A bath can not be taken without these in our house. Just the word bath gets a response of boobools and running towards the tub.

Cars- This is obvious but applies to any part that might be on a car. He will point to his bicycle wheel and say cars?

He also is able to say:
*Door
*Owee
*Papa
*Count 2 and 3 (not one) When he does start counting, watch out. You will be jumped on and pummeled at 3. Remember, he only starts at 2.
*Done
*Don't
*Yesh
*Baby

Christmas Picture Outtakes

2008-01-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

These are some of the pictures that just didn't cut it for Christmas cards for various reasons.

The only picture where the hat was dry

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

Oh the Mayhem!

Well I have not had access to a camera for awhile, ours broke. But, I was able to snatch my mom's and pull off pictures from her house for the blog. So here are some pictures from Christmas Day at the Tises' house.

Caiden got a tricycle and hat from Santa. He wore the hat almost all day!

Another favorite, his rocking horse

Caid and Grandpa

The guys really had a beer that early!!!!!

White Christmas!!

Nude Dude

2008-01-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

So in last couple days my son has decided to stop wearing clothes. I blink and next thing you know he is stripped down to his birthday suit, diaper and all. He loves to run around without anything on and at first it was mostly just before baths or when changing from jammies to clothes for the day, etc. Now it is constantly. He used to be able to just run around in a shirt and diaper, no more.

I have come to the conclusion that I cannot reason with him to get him to keep clothes on. I've tried telling him how cold he'll get, how cold he looks, how one year olds wear clothes, what if it stops snowing we could go outside if you had clothes on, you need pants on to ride your bike. Nothing works! He wants to be naked! So I am just going to have to keep him in overalls, I guess. He has not yet figured out how to get those off. I guess we are going to the OshKosh outlet this weekend. Any other ideas? I will take them.

As to all who got the text of my son running around in nothing but a birthday hat:
1. Now you have a visual to go with this blog post.
2. I have cleaned the ottoman after he climbed around on it naked.
3. I did not set him up with the birthday hat. That was all his doing.

Big News

2008-01-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I was wondering when my less than favorite monthly friend would stop by when I decided to pee on a stick. To my surprise there were indeed two lines. As I sat there and stared at it, I could almost hear cells dividing into an embryo from a blastocyst. Or more simply put, I knew I got knocked up, have a bun in da oven, eating for two, preggo...take your pick.

Now everything makes perfect sense...no wonder I am asleep by 7:30 every night. No wonder I get dizzy every time I stand up. No wonder this indigestion has gotten terrible. It is making so much sense!!!!

For all the people wondering given our track record, YES this was planned. We didn't think things would happen so quickly but it is all coming together. I did just send my maternity clothes to my aunt, so of course I would need them. I did get down to the lowest weight I've been in 6 years, so of course I'd get pregnant. I just took on a new job at the school tutoring, so of course I'd get pregnant. It all adds up now!

We had our first appointment and got to see our little peanut on ultrasound and hear its heartbeat. Everything looked good and the heartbeat was at 148 beats per minute which is good. We will do another ultrasound at the end of January and then the big one will be in March.

We are ecstatic!!!! We are trying to teach Caid about the baby, so if you ask him where the baby is...he knows its in someone's tummy. I will ask him where the baby is and sometimes he will point to my tummy, sometimes his, sometimes my chest (somewhere around there), sometimes other people's tummies. It is really cute. The baby is due August 9th so please keep us in your prayers that this will be a healthy pregnancy for me and the baby.

I've been tagged

2007-12-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well Megan tagged me, so I thought I would respond.

Her tag was to tell 7 interesting facts about yourself. So here it goes:

Uno (been watching a little too much Dora and Diego lately): I love ice cream!!! I will mow done a small child for a cup some days. I love, love, love it!!!

Dos: I hate unmade beds. They drive me NUTS! A room can not be clean with an unmade bed. How do people get into unmade beds? The sheets are all twisted, pillows out of place, ughhhhh!

Tres: I hate the dark. It creeps me out! Torture for me is a dark room alone!

Cuatro: I collect children's books. I probably have 1500 easily in the basement. I have no desire to part with any of them. I love children's books for the simple wording, beautiful pictures and the images they conjure in your mind.

Cinco: High pitched whistling drives me insane! It makes my skin crawl, my blood pressure rise, and my fists clench. I can't take it. If people do it, I will try to make conversation with them just so they can't do it.

Seis: Dance, Swimming. I would love to get back into so many things that I once loved, just to see if I would love them the same. If it weren't for the risk of looking like an idiot, I probably would try them.

Siete: I love All My Children. It is my guilty pleasure. I DVR it EVERY DAY.

Soooooooo.....I now tag Mel. Heee heee!

Wonderful Weekend

2007-11-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful weekend for Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving dinner with my family the weekend before so we were able to spend Thanksgiving day with Mike's extended family in Castle Rock. It was good to be able to do something special with both sides.

Marci had to work on Thanksgiving day so we had Thanksgiving the Sunday prior. It was the first major holiday Marci and Todd hosted in their new home and they did awesome. We had the most delicious gluten-free meal ever. Their house is so cozy and warm.

Mike was off on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we did some running around town, Santa shopping and stuff. I know he loved having an extra day off, while Caid and I went to work. It meant sleeping in finally.

On Thursday, we got up and decided we would put up the Christmas tree. Putting it up is not difficult. It is the lights that are difficult. It is prelit but you have to connect everything just perfectly. Ughhh!!! My sweet husband was so patient as he played the role of Clark Griswold in trying to sort out the light mess. Yay Mike! We then headed up to Castle Rock to spend Thanksgiving with the Smiths. Mike's Grandma and Aunt Meg made the trek out from California. It was so fun to see everyone.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing, watching movies, cleaning, putting up decorations, organizing, wrapping presents and just being home. It was awesome!!!

Mike did buy Caid a choo-choo this weekend and they set it up under the tree. He loves it!!!! When you turn it on, he starts up with weeeeeeee weeeeeee. Tucker just wants to attack/nip at the train as it goes by...it is too funny!

Here are some pictures as I know it has been awhile!

Caiden's ornament branch

Sheeit!

2007-11-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

No, I am not swearing in the title to this post. This is the dear way my sweet baby boy says SEE IT. It somehow gets globbed into one very embarassing, rude sounding word. He is so excited about everything lately and constantly wants to point and yell Sheeit! It does make it a little embarassing when standing in lines at the grocery store or in the mall when your child does point and yell sheeit! Everytime I feel I have to make the point to say, "I know, I SEE IT!"(being sure to articulate) That is modeling for him and also for all the people glaring at me for teaching my son to say something so profane, that he really means SEE IT.

For all the Washington family who can't wait to see this sweet little guy (in 35 days might I say), he is still sweet and we have not taught him to swear.

18 Months

2007-11-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my sweet baby boy is already 18 months old. The time has just flown by. The little Caidenbug I brought home is now running with me in tow, yelling, talking nonstop, and more adorable than the day he was born.

We went in for his 18 month appointment today and all went well. He is still little but is growing so all is well.

Height: 31 inches 25th Percentile

Weight: 20 lbs 2 oz STILL not on chart

Head Circumference: 48.5 55th Percentile

The doctor we saw was a different one than we have seen in the past. He was a bit more concerned about the Vitamin D deficiency. He said he has not seen this since 1976. He said people always look at him funny when he recommends vitamins for tiny infants and that he will tell them about Caiden's case in the future. Anyways, he ordered more tests to check the vitamin D levels again. Caiden already got 2 shots today so I didn't have the heart to make him do bloodwork too. We'll save that for another day.....something to look forward to, huh?

Fall Leaves

2007-11-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

My parents had tons of leaves in the backyard the other day. While we worked to clean them up, Caiden thought it wold be more fun to spread them around. He loved playing in the leaves.

We spent last Saturday at the Army vs. Air Force Game. The game started really well with scoring back and forth but did not end so well for Army. We were faithful fans till the end. My grandma got one of those huge turkey legs and did not get to eat too much of it. Caiden went crazy for it!!!

Caidenisms

2007-11-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

1. Tookie- Caiden talk for a sweet, round treat Grandma uses to bribe him to leave her office. It works EVERY time!

2. WO WO WO- Caiden talk for no no no! He shakes his little finger while saying it. Everytime he sees my Grandma he says it to her. I think he thinks it is her name.

3. WOOO- Everytime the Halloween bowl catches his eye he says Wooooo! in hopes that we will give him some candy. Also used when grandpa was whistling and clapping at the Army/Air Force game. Caid can't whistle but he can hang with Grandpa with his woooo.

4. Cheez- Caid talk for Please.

5. Chay choo- Caid talk for Thank You.

Little Stinker

2007-11-01T10:12:00.000-06:00

Halloween was great this year! Caiden and I had a half day at work and spent the afternoon with my grandparents who are visiting from California.

Caiden was the cutest skunk ever. I'm just a little biased as you can tell. Mike had done a fabulous carving pumpkins that looked awesome. He displayed them so proudly at a church event, our church's version of trunk-or-treat. It was bitterly cold but Caiden was a trooper till the very end when it just got too cold for all of us. I think the hot cider and and smores helped a lot.

Just a Quick Stuck Story

2007-10-31T08:18:00.000-06:00

Last night, Mike was finishing carving a pumpkin and I was playing with Caiden and the dogs. Well Caid threw a ball for the dogs and it went behind the barrel in the corner. Caiden, Tucker and Whidbey went crazy all wanting to be the one to get it. So while the dogs tried to get it on one side, Caid tried on the other. Once again he got his head stuck in between the wall and the barrel. It was soooooo funny!!!!

I will post pictures of our little skunk later. Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the Cat's Away, Part 2

2007-10-25T08:16:00.000-06:00

Caiden continues to find so many "fun" things to do while Mike is gone. It is making me crazy, ugh!

1. There are lots of things that are not supposed to go in toilets but are fun to put in there. Examples, toothbrushes, whole rolls of toilet paper, and TV remotes?

2. Climbing on the back of chair will prove dangerous when it falls on top of you.

3. When chasing dogs, if they stop to avoid a piece of furniture, you should follow. Otherwise you can end up with serious owees on your head.

4. Chapstick rubbed all over your tummy feels greasy and Tucker says you smell good.

5. Diapers are no fun to wear anymore.

6. Tucker can share a toothbrush with Caiden. This is one of the grossest of all. Caiden brushes his teeth, then Tuck's, then his own, etc. etc. (We now have new toothbrushes)

I can't wait for Mike to get home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pickin' Punkins

2007-10-23T15:57:00.000-06:00

Saturday was punkin pickin' day!!!! There was a huge dust storm going on but that didn't ruin our time, just meant we were grimey when we got home. Hey, it was a pumpkin patch, what did we expect!

When the Cats Away....

2007-10-21T22:39:00.000-06:00

Mike is out in Houston right now for some classes his work has sent him for. I thought..okay, we haven't seen each other much in the last few weeks but we will make the best of it. So after we dropped him off at the airport, we went to church and then came home, put on jammies, made spinach dip and watched movies...and All My Children, of course. It was totally my kind of day. Caid was less than enthused with the movies. So now Caid is in bed and I am here to ponder the weird sounds you hear only when your husband is out of town. I am really paranoid about every little one....which is odd because now I am broadcasting to everyone that my strong, brave husband isn't here. But he'll be back. Oh yes indeed-eo, he'll be back. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, actually any minute now!

So Caiden was less than thrilled about All My Children and Chick Flicks so he decided to do some redecorating.

1. He pulled the shells for the hard boiled eggs for salad out of the trash and onto the floor and then decided to dance on them.

2. He decided a bottle of wine looked better on the floor, broken, spilled and sticky under the wine rack.

3. He got a hold of A&D ointment and Tucker miraculously was wearing it. Gotta love that smell!

4. 10 CDs look better on the floor than on the rack.

ALL in a MATTER of MINUTES!!!!!!!!

17 Month little boy wreaking havoc on a house in minutes, up for grabs! Good rates on shipping! Contact me soon, he's cute even when making a mess.

His Daddy is going to kill me when he reads this. He spends so much time on keeping the hardwood clean and polished. I love you for it, babe!

I'm All Yours

2007-10-08T22:51:00.000-06:00

A!Wake!Up!Call! Unfortunately, Michael had to fly out to Las Vegas for the funeral of a dear friend. The loss was completely devastating and tragic. But, in all things we will find some good, right? In this we have had the clear wake up call that this life is precious and oh so very fleeting. That we need to take the time to do everything we can to love those around us now. We need to tell people the things we need to say now. We need to enjoy every little second. So today I decided, who cares if the laundry gets done, who cares if Caiden runs around in a diaper today, who cares whether we can get everything done...my little boy learned he has and could stick out his tongue, constantly called a ball a boom(Caiden talk for balloon), and got all of his mommy TODAY when he needed it, not when I did. I have decided I can get all worked up about things or I can enjoy what I have here and now. I choose enjoying here and now. So to Mike and Caiden, you get all I have, all of me!!

Not My Fifteen Minutes

2007-10-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

Does anybody else's child constantly get stuck? Caiden is always getting himself stuck somewhere. Just last week, he was screaming and I walked around the corner to find he had gotten his head stuck between the dryer and the laundry room wall. He was bent over with his head stuck! He got pinned under the train table yesterday and got stuck under my desk just this morning. I'm a little worried. I mean, I really don't want my fifteen minutes of fame wasted on my child getting stuck in a wierd contorted position. Just think...Baby Jessica. That mom's fifteen minutes gone.

Trip to Breckenridge

2007-10-01T13:11:00.000-06:00

We spent the weekend with our dear friends, the Potters. We stayed in an amazing cabin just outside of Breckenridge where we spent some time hiking. Caiden and Bretton were so cute together! We went into Breckenridge and walked the streets there, such a cute town. We spent the evenings playing games and talking. We woke up on Sunday to snow. It was just enough to coat the ground and trees and make the scenery just breathtaking. It was such a relaxing time in the mountains!

Caiden and Bretton collected lots of rocks

This is relaxing in the mountains

Quality time with Daddy

Auntie Melissa will be so impressed!

2007-09-27T14:14:00.000-06:00

Bed Head

(No Grandpa Beagley, Mommy didn't pinch me)

My Great Transformation

The ladies at church look at Caid's new hairstyle and think he just got up. I have to tell them that in all actuality, we do that on purpose. I like it. Some of the ladies at church don't get it. Oh well.

I'll Rule Over This Land

2007-09-26T11:07:00.000-06:00

So many people ask me, what does Caiden do when I go to work. I tell them, well he goes with me but I think most people know that and are wondering what keeps him busy at the office. My reply is what doesn't keep him busy. This office used to have a bouncer, exersaucer, Bumbo seat, play gym, rattles and Baby Einstein. Caiden is into everything...my desk, Grandma's purse, the coffee grinds in the coffee pot, the trash (now sitting on top of the entertainment center), the punches from the 3 hole punch. Anything and everything is fair game. We decided that Caid needs toddler toys now. So gone are the infant things and now enter Caid's new train set!!!!

He could teach some world leaders a couple things, stand tall and scream a lot!!

Even world leaders need a break!

Back to my little control issue

Nice, Relaxing Weekend...Yah, Right!

2007-09-24T09:15:00.000-06:00

Mike said last weekend that he wanted to go to Utah for the BYU-AF game. I told him that he should go and enjoy. I surely would miss him but could use some time housebound. My mind was reeling with the prospect of hanging out in jammies all day with Caid, getting some scrapbooking done, working in the garden, catching up on All My Children....

Not long after, my mom called and asked me to do some canning with her. Well I of course agreed, loving domestic stuff like that. So I told her I would, so long as I had some of the weekend to relax. Let me just say, we ended up picking all our own produce first, then prepped it and then canning and freezing it, ALL! IN! ONE! DAY! So much for All My Children. It was really fun! We put up/stored 18 quarts of tomatoes, 60 ears of corn, 50 pounds of potatoes, 35 pounds of onions, 15 pounds of peppers, and more. My sweet dad entertained Caiden all day. So now Caiden knows how to make a running tackle and spit. Lovely, huh? Caiden got so upset when my dad left to go running that he sat at the door waiting for him to get back. Gotta love Grandpas!!!

Helping Auntie Coogan, shuck corn

Yummy!

He loves it!!

Waiting for Grandpa

10 Surefire Ways to Tell Your a Mommy

2007-09-21T08:31:00.000-06:00

#10. You can sing "We're going a trip in our favorite rocketship. Well go to the sky, Little Einsteins." and "Hot Diggity Dog" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at any give time.

#9. You know that your lunch for the day will consist of the leftover sandwich, pretzels and fruit that your kiddo doesn't eat.

#8. You know that milk left in a sippy cup for too long does change properties, from a liquid to a solid.

#7. You know that sweeping the floor while your kiddo is awake is an impossible feat. They think that your dust pile is just a small sandbox.

#6. Your chid spits things out in your hand and you catch yourself trying to put it in your pocket just so its not in your hand anymore.

#5. You sigh when you can use the restroom without the dogs and kiddo with you. It's the little things in life.....

#4. You put your hair up in a ponytail everyday for weeks on end because there is just not enough time to deal with it.

#3. Your car is always a disaster! At any given time, you can find shoes, clothes, diapers (clean, most of the time), food, and solidified milk in a sippy cup.

#2. You constantly are frustrated because no matter how hard you try your child looks like a little homeless kiddo with one shoe (if you're lucky), dirty clothes, dirty face, and bed head.

#1. You marvel at your kiddo no matter what he looks like, what he is wearing or not wearing, and what noise is coming out of his mouth or other orifices.

Confusion

2007-09-20T08:15:00.000-06:00

Well Caiden has recently become confused about some words, which is almost completely my fault.

1. Everytime Caiden has a ball he inevitably drops it and we say uh-oh. Now everytime he wants a ball, he points to it and says "uh-oh." It is so cute.

2. He likes to look at the hamster my mom has in the office but it is a little smelly and I don't always want to take it out. So I will lift him up so he can peer in the cage and tell him say hi to Houdini. Now he stands below the cage, points towards it and says "hi", sometimes he'll even wave. Even cuter!!!

I really have to watch how I label things for him. Who knows what he might end up calling things?