christos anesti!

last sunday was greek easter. sometimes greek easter is on the same sunday as easter easter, but usually not. this is because... i have no idea. actually, i have no idea how it is decided what day easter easter will be on. i have even looked it up, and still i am confused about it. maybe it has something to do with the moon? somebody should really explain this to me. kate was up visiting for greek easter (actually for her bday) and we had a greek easter picnic at the park. really, there was nothing about the picnic that made it greek easter themed... it just happened to fall on that day. i have actually never celebrated greek easter. i thought that you dyed eggs red and then smashed them on each other, but matt tells me that is not correct. i clearly have some research to do on this subject.  

our water baby

we started swimming classes last week with beckett. we are doing water babies... coen, quinn, and fox have all taken classes with them and we are followers, i suppose. the classes are kind of intense with lots of rules, and i have to wear a swim cap, which is silly, but i like the program... so i'll put up with it. b did great at his first class. he was a little nervous (it was his first time in a pool!), but most of the kids in the class were totally crying and big messes and he was not. also, he is the cutest in his swim trunks (which have a ridiculous reusable swim diaper underneath them that looks like a speedo). after the first class matt asked me, "why do all the other kids in the class have dumb baby faces?" um... what? biased towards your own child much? ha. we will probably become friends with somebody in the class and i will have to come back here and delete this post, so they aren't offended about their baby and its dumb face. 

a garden party

on easter we went to a garden party that our church held and here is a really sad thing that happened. i brought the camera with no memory card in it! oh, the horror! i was traumatized. whitney had her camera and took lots of pictures, but i was a little skeptical about how that would pan out because she also took a picture of our family last easter and um... i never saw that picture. good news though... whitney sent me pictures! go whitney... you impressed me indeed. anyways, the garden party was very nice and we had good weather and yummy food and beckett tried out his first bounce house. he loved it at first, but then it suddenly  headed downhill fast. please check out harper's concerned face on the very edge of the picture. i also FINALLY got to hold sweet baby sawyer. what is better than a new(ish) baby on easter? not much. 

sibling appreciation!

did you know it's sibling appreciation day? yes... it's a thing, i guess. ridiculous i know, but we sure do appreciate our siblings! and if you happen to be matt (with 8 siblings!) that's a lot of appreciation to give out! i really do love my siblings and matt's siblings and i can not wait to give beckett some siblings (no announcement on that yet... so don't get all excited!) here is a big fat awkward virtual hug to all of our super cool sisters and brothers! we heart each and every one of you! including, but not limited to... mike (and shawna), michelle, marc, daniel (and sarah), kate (and zac), john, james, sean, brandie (and ray), AND saige! i guess it is limited to because this is a pretty all inclusive list. love you peeps!

a hunting he will go...

on easter morning we did an egg hunt with beckett... his first one! i wasn't sure how it would go, since he is a baby and whatnot, but we were pleasantly surprised. i stuffed and hid a dozen eggs after b went to bed saturday night and when he woke up i told him the easter bunny had come and left him eggs. i asked him if he wanted to go find the eggs and he enthusiastically answered, "uh huh!" to be fair, he verbally confirms things all the time when he has no idea what is really going on, but i feel like deep down he really grasped what i was saying. we gave him a basket and he went around and found all the eggs! how adorable. i love when you plan things in your head and then you execute them and they work out just like you planned. that's nice. plus, beckett thought it was just such a fun thing. and then he realized the eggs were filled with annie's bunny cookies and gummy snacks and it became such a super fun thing. i love celebrating holidays with beckett. he makes everything way more fun. 

beckett kol at 15 months

so, i missed doing beckett's 12 month review, but no biggie... what is so important about turning 1? oh yeah, everything! i have been feeling a lot of guilt over it. time to let go... and move on... to 15 months! i can not believe that we are a quarter of the way through beckett's first year. man, it is so obnoxious how parents non stop talk about how fast the time goes and how you have to relish every precious second... and now i am forced to be that obnoxious parent. why do they grow so quickly?! ahh! really, i a little bit love it too. b and i took a walk today and watched the kids at the elementary school next door playing during recess. one day in not too long b will be one of those kids. mind blown. 


nicknames: b...beezus...beezaroni...bkol...beckenheimer

you are an expert walker. you never, ever crawl anymore, even when you get to the small landing on the steps, you stand up and walk the two steps to the next stair. you are pretty fast, but use a lot more caution when you are outside. you do not like to fall down and accidentally be forced to touch disgusting things like grass, dirt, or (god forbid) the wood chips on the playground.  

you are using more and more words all the time. you say "bless you" when somebody sneezes, sometimes "thank you" if you feel like it, and "heeeeey" when somebody comes into the room. you also use the signs for "all done" and "more" for everything. when you want to get up on the couch you sign "all done"... like you are all finished with being on the floor. also if you want something opened or adjusted you will come over to me or your dad, grab our hand, open it up, place the object in it, and sign... "more". 

you are great at snuggling. when you hug somebody you put your head on their shoulder and say, "mmmmm". i think i maybe used to make that noise when i cuddled you... and so you just think that is what you do. when you are stressed out you need hugs right away. every time we pour water over your head in the bath, you get upset, and then need to hug it out. 

you looooove the dogs. you chase them around the living room and you laugh and laugh as they scramble away from you. i think you think they are enjoying playing the game with you, but they are not. really, you are good with them and give them very gentle pets most of the time. you also give ford snuggles and kisses when you can catch him. 

you have a crazy good sense of humor. you think it is so funny when your dad fake sneezes. you laughed out loud during an episode of mickey mouse clubhouse when they talked about goofy having stinky shoes. at the pet store where we buy dog food there is a huge parrot named tiki that just hangs out and you about lost it when she flung some seed shells at you. your dad also taught you to smack your own butt (he says, "give {whoever} a booty smack!") and you just know that is a funny thing to do. 

you love dancing. when i make up crazy songs with your name in them you just spin and spin until you fall down. you also like to clap and shake your bum and throw your hands above your head. 

i could really go on all day. you have SO much personality... i can't handle it. everything about you is so adorable and you seem so much bigger and grasp new concepts everyday. i love watching you turn into a fun toddler and feel so lucky to be your mom. you are really my all time favorite tiny person.