12 month check-up

Tuesday Beckham had his twelve month check-up. I can not even begin to explain how excited/lucky/blessed we are to have not had a single sick visit. He's had a little bit of allergies here and there but nothing that constituted a sick visit. Our pediatrician just praised us for keeping him so healthy. I don't even know what we did really. But, prior to moving into our house it was completely remodeled- new carpet, flooring, sheet rock, paint etc. Pretty much rebuilt around existing walls, so I can't help but think that had something to do with it. As far as going outside, we play outdoors daily. He has eaten numerous bugs, pieces of grass, sticks, dirt, etc. So maybe exposing him to those things has helped his immune system. Don't get me wrong, we aren't feeding him those things, but he's a busy little boy and sometimes it just happens. He's ALL boy! I also know that not having to send him to daycare has A LOT to do with it. He stays with family while Butch and I work and isn't exposed to a ton of kids. He sees cousins and friends all the time, but not on a daily basis. Anyways, I don't know what we are doing to keep him so healthy but we are going to keep doing it. I know he will get sick eventually but the fact that we've made it this long, makes me a happy Mama! My sweet hubby said it was because of my "awesome Mama skills". HA! That made me feel good!

So our well visit went perfectly! Beckham now weighs 22.9 lbs, and is 29 3/4 inches long. He's in the 75th percentile in weight and 50th percentile in height- which is right on target! Our pedi said he's one of her only 12 month olds that has gained weight at this visit. She said usually around 12 months they lose weight because they are so active and developing picky eating habits. But, he gained so that's awesome! He is doing everything that a 12 month old should do and beyond. He's walking, saying two syllable words, eating table food, we have actually been without a bottle for nine days now! He has transitioned to a cup very easily. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. He has six teeth total and she said he's not teething at the moment so who knows when others will pop up. He's even walking backwards! I knew once I started seeing him do it that it had to be a milestone because walking backwards isn't easy- so I asked the nurse and she said Oh yeah! That's a milestone, but not usually until 18 months. Beckham has always been ahead though; he was crawling at six months and walking at nine and a half so I knew he would be reaching other physical milestones earlier than most babies. He's finished with four rounds of vaccines and also had the chicken pox vaccine this visit. As far as food and milk goes, he's supposed to drink around 20 oz of whole milk (we buy organic) and three meals a day consisting of all food groups. But the norm is one teaspoons to one tablespoon of each food group, so he's definitely doing that. I was getting nervous about how much he was eating because the Gerber toddler meals are pretty big and he never eats all of them- or even close actually. He can also have two snacks a day, which we already do. He also had a visit screening and passed, which I was a little nervous about since I am blind as a bat- however, mine didn't show up until sixth grade. So I guess we'll wait and see.

I have to say I felt pretty good leaving this visit, simply because it seemed like we were doing everything right. It was nice to get some conformation on a few questions but overall, we were praised the whole time!

 same fence- how did this happen?

1st Birthday Party: Part Two

Beckham's Birthday was such a success!! We had so much fun!! I stressed all week that it was going to rain because we truly didn't have a Plan B, but thankfully the weather was GORGEOUS! Hot, yes! But it was perfect!! We didn't get a picture of Butch, Beckham, and I or of all of the decorations, but I gave my niece full range of my big camera and she took about 300 pictures, so here's a photo recap/summary of the day!

We gave Beckham our gifts to him Friday night- I think he loves his Mickey Ride-Along!

the grandmas in front of the jump house

hubby workin hard on the hot dog cart

I had a huge beach ball sprinkler on the other side of the yard for the kids to cool off but I didn't get a pic :( It was on sale at Walmart for $8 and a huge hit!

A few notes:
I made my shirt with transfer paper. Super easy!
All of the print outs, including invite were from My Printable Party.
Beckham's shoes were from here, and shirt from here.
The inside of the cakes were tie dye (red, blue, yellow and green). The inside of the cupcakes were blue.
I didn't get a pic of the Happy Birthday Beckham banner on the fence, the cookies with labels, water bottles with labels, or the goody bags. HA! Sorry guys, just imagine them. It was all super cute!

1st Birthday Party: Part One

I'm titling this part one because Beckham is actually having two first Birthday parties. His birthday fell on a Tuesday so his big party is this Saturday but his small party was on his actual birthday at Grami and Pop's house. My father-in-law actually works in Alaska too and he has to go back today so he wanted a chance to give Beckham his presents before he left. It actually ended up working out well because I wanted to do something on his actual birthday and this little party was so fun!  Here's a photo recap.

If you didn't already know, my child is obsessed with the telephone. This cake was perfect for him & the little phone is an actual toy, and probably his favorite present of the night. Go figure?

I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to pick his whole piece up, fully intact. 

We ended the night with a little duck calling with Pop!

Dear Beckham

Dear Beckham,
You are getting so big, so fast. You are determined to be a big boy, but I wish you would just stay little for a little while longer. Your favorite things to play with are anything that you shouldn't be playing with, of course. You love my iphone, the remote control, unrolling the toilet paper all the way into the kitchen, getting out all of the tupperware (the only cabinet Daddy didn't baby proof), pulling the sound machine off of the shelf, climbing on the couch, coffee table, chairs etc. Your favorite thing in the world is to be outside. Anything outside is good with you, so we play outside a lot. You have started to really hate baby food. All of it. You would much rather eat people food. In fact, you are hungry anytime you see someone eating, it doesn't matter if you've just eaten. You also sometimes wake up from a nap if you smell someone cooking in the kitchen. You are the nosiest little boy I think ever existed. You just have to figure stuff out & examine things. If something confuses you, like water running out of the faucet (and you can't grab it) you have to check it out at all angles. I can see your little mind learning and I often wish I knew what you were thinking. You still love taking baths. You sometimes get upset when it's time to get out, I guess you're not done playing or something. Sometimes, if I'm lucky you want to cuddle after your bath. I loooooove those times. You are the best snuggler in the world (other than your Daddy). The other night actually, you were in the best mood ever and you wanted to snuggle so we did. We rocked and sang songs and while I was singing you were giving me the best kisses. It was so sweet and I savored every moment. You've somewhat outgrown your hatred for the diaper. Every now and then you still fight to get a new one put on but normally all you're worried about is playing with yourself. Speaking of that- as soon as your butt hits the water in the tub, your hands are down there. It's both funny and awkward at the same time. It's funny because you're so into playing with it you're not even worried about me. And it's awkward because it's one of those things I really don't need to see. I know you're just a baby and don't really know what you're doing, but still....and I know you'll never grow out of that. Your favorite show is still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! But, you're starting to like other shows too, like Jake and The Neverland Pirates, The Octonauts, and Handy Manny. But, really you're not crazy about the TV- you'd much rather be playing with toys or outside. You are still taking two naps a day and probably will until you start Kindergarten (kidding!). But seriously, you're so active during the day you love your naps. Sometimes, too much is going on and you don't want to lay down, but typically you love nap time, and always have. You usually go to bed around 9:30, but when Daddy is home you stay up later and you wake up anywhere from 7:00a to 10:00a. You are the happiest baby ever. Seriously, it scares me you are so good. I'm sure if you have a little brother or sister they will be the opposite. I thank God every day for choosing me to be your Mommy. You light up my world, little boy. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you tootie!

Compare with six month letter to Beckham.

Happy Birthday!

Six months to one year.
January to July.

I love that goofy smile.
Happy Birthday little boy.
I love you so much.

one year favorites

Beckham will be one year old before I know it. So, I thought I'd take the time to document a few of his favorite things. First and foremost, he would rather play outside (eating flowers, bugs & dirt) more than anything in the world. He begs to go outside, and by beg I mean stand at the door and cry. It doesn't matter if it's 100 degrees, day, night, or raining.....he doesn't care. He loves it!

iPhone- He is beyond obsessed with talking on the phone. Everything is a phone to him; the remote, a random toy, the bottle of powder....everything. His initial reaction to all things hand-held is to hold it up to his ear and say "eeeyyyy!" it's hilarious. But, he especially loves my (and Daddy's) iphone. If he sees us on it he runs over and tries to take it from either of us.
Sander Fisherman's Sandal- Beckham was blessed with a fat little foot. He can't wear most of the shoes he owns but these are nice because they are Velcro and can adjust with the width of his foot. We bought them in size 5 (he's not quite in a 5 yet, but some 4's are too small) because they were $40 and I wanted him to get some use out of them. Of course not I see they are on sale on the website...go figure. Anyways, going a size up has really been great with these also because of the ability to adjust the length using the velcro. Long story short, these shoes are super cute, fit him well, are made extremely durable & easy to clean.
Oball Football- We have both the Oball (in red) and the Oball-Football (in blue) and Beckham has loved them practically since he was born. It's the first ball he could actually grab because it is flexible with holes. The Oball rattles, (the football doesn't) which he loves and is easy for him to grip and sling across the room. Typical boy.
Fisher-Price Discover 'n Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym- I know this is more of a baby-baby toy but Beckham still loves it. We got it from Yaya when Beckham was still really little. He couldn't even crawl at the time. It is the only stationary toy he ever liked. He would lay on this mat and kick the piano all day long if you let him. It has the ability to move the toys onto the floor for tummy time; and the piano turns horizontal so he can sit (or stand) and play with it. At this point he loves to turn the mirror and look at himself (vein) and play the piano while standing or sitting. He plays with this daily so for now, it's staying in the living room.
Step 2 Push Around Buggy- As I said, Beckham LOVES being outside at all times. This buggy is his most favorite toy to play with outside. He would ride in it all day, all around the yard if my arms could take it. It's a little rough on my back because the handle is a little bit low for me to push, so I kind of have to bend while pushing and it starts to hurt after a while. Beckham is starting to like to push it around the yard too but it's just a little bit too high for him. He loves checking out the wheels and looking under the hood- it's like he has a real car. 
VTech Fly and Learn Airplane- I'm not sure why he loves this thing so much, but he does. He pulls the string all over the living room. It talks, sings, and flashes lights. I have every song memorized because he's constantly pushing them. I can't say I'll be sad when the batteries are out in this thing.
LeapFrog My Pay Scout- I loooooove this little puppy. Beckham has just in the last few months started to care about it but I've loved it all along. You plug it up to a computer and can load all kinds of information about your baby. It says his name, favorite color, animal, food etc. It also has a button for two minutes of bed time music where it plays sweet lullabies. It says cute things like "I'm feeling hungry- I love _____ (your child's favorite food)". Somehow it can tell when you give it a hug too; it will say "awwww I love you, Beckham!" and it actually pronounces his name right (Beckham like David not beck HAM like the lunch meat). Scout's little bone collar lights up too.