Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Hair

I've been putting off the inevitable. Now that it's 2 days before Christmas I guess I have officially put it off until after the holidays. "It" would be, Joey's first haircut. I think his little curls in the back are so cute, and I know that when I cut it, I will very quickly be looking at a little boy, and not my little baby. It's a small thing and of course we will cut it sometime soon, but maybe just a few more weeks....






Now this, at 4, would be too much for me.

Beardsley Family

I think it's been a while since I've posted a family picture. Here we all are on Thanksgiving.

Ahh, Renovations...

I'm a little backed up, blogging about our home renovations. So, without detailing every picture, I'm just going to post a bunch of them and tell you here what they are. We have been focusing on Matt's studio. We have painted (it was beige-y colored with a big pink/maroon, wall) So we pained 3 walls white and one wall black. We still have to finish the majority of the ceiling and the area inside 2 of the 4 skylights. BUT..... last night and the night before we were able (through Craigslist of course) to get ride of the huge piece of carpet we pulled out and all of the tiles. We advertised them as free and said that someone had to get them all and we got rid of ALL OF IT!! (This was a sizeable amount of stuff - to get rid of it ourselves we would have had to borrow a truck for a whole day or rent a dumpster for the demo). Yea for Craigslist.

So here are pictures of some of that. We have our new floor (a very dark laminate) and now that the carpet is out, we'll paint the ceiling and put in the floor.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Today we 3 Beardsleys are relaxing at home watching the Macy's Day Parade and cooking. In the afternoon, we'll go and join some friends for Thanksgiving dinner. We're bringing the green beans, apple pie, appetizers and rolls. Mmmmm. There is lots and lots of dough rising in our kitchen right now!

It's so nice to be at home with family today and tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday. I'm so happy! Hope you all have great holidays!

14 Months Old

A week ago Joey celebrated his 14monthday. We are so excited to have this happy guy in our family! He is now walking!! Yea!! It started with a few hesitant steps here and there and then for distances he was sure he could cover without falling down. Now, he goes anywhere he can, walking. He still can't stand up when he has fallen unless he has something to pull up on, but he is going pretty long distances!




Although he still isn't saying or signing too much, he understands alot of what we say. He knows where to look for airplanes and likes to point at them. He is increasingly interested in children closer to his age and touching them and playing with them. He likes to build with blocks and understands how to connect them and take them apart. He loves pushing his walker around, and playing with Mocha and getting into any cabinet that we don't have a child guard on. Matt has seen him sign "milk" and "juice" but I have yet to see.

We are working on eating right now. Although he is a really good eater and not very picky about food types he is VERY particular about food textures. He really hesitates to eat anything that is not pureed which is starting to become a wee bit difficult. For example, he'll eat pureed chicken, plain, but won't eat chicken cut into very small pieces. He's only just now starting to eat little teeny pieces of soft bread, although he's been eating and chewing up crunchy crackers for months! Children are so strange! He'll eat beans (like black beans or black-eyed peas) mushed up, but acts like they are a totally different food he's never tasted before if they are cooked and soft and whole. There are lots of times that it would be helpful to smear a little peanut butter on a piece of bread and give it to him, but he's just not there yet, so we are hoping in the next month or so to expand his little palate. He's JUST started eating whole cooked peas and carrots in pieces although he's been eating the pureed ones for nearly a year. whew.

Right now Matt is feeding him and he is eating bread that he adamantly refused 15 minutes ago and pineapple pieces that he spit out last week. If you are looking for consistency, look to God, not to your child! :-)

Aside from the minor food battles, Joey is weighing in at 22 pounds which puts him somewhere between the 10th and 25th %. We're excited that he is catching up to his age group. He has a great time with the little boy that I take care of and on those days is usually napping once. He can still easily take two naps in a day, but one is pretty short, 45 minutes or so and one is 2+ hours. Most days he just has one nap. He is working on learning how to go down stairs but will still try head-first if left to his own devices. He sleeps about 13 hours at night from about 7:30/8 to 8:30/9. Although I didn't mention it, Joey is totally weaned and has been since 12 months. He was nursing 2 times a day for the first part of his 12th month, then once a day in the morning and towards the end not at all. He didn't seem to miss it or mind at all.

I think that's all I can think of for now. Hope you enjoy the video!

Citrus Trees and a Project

We are really lucky to live in a place where we can grow, in our own yard, citrus fruit! Last week as a housewarming present to ourselves, we bought a grapefruit and orange tree. Our last house had a great lemon tree and we loved having it.
Here is a picture of our new trees:



The great part is, they weren't expensive, and they will grow and produce fruit. The bugs here are so minimal that the climate is ideal for growing!! Which brings me to my project. The side of our backyard was full of some overgrown bushes, LOTS of rusty yard "ornaments", toys, and other randomness under said bushes. I spent my last day off, digging, pulling, panting and wrestling these beasties out of the yard. Here are some in-process pictures:


This is the area that was going to be gutted. At first I thought I'd be removing 3 plants....


Here I've removed the first. Much harder than I thought!


4 out now. Already more than I thought were even there. The last one on the left turned out to be 2, 1 very large one, and 1 tiny one.



And here's the spot now that it's all gone. Now we have a place for some plants and our great citrus trees. I had a really good time doing this. It's really neat to know that you are working on something that belongs to your family! I can't wait to show some pictures of the yard later on. And another cool thing is, even though we don't have the cold cold weather and the snow :-( We are able to plant vegetables and flowers (different kinds) all year long!! Stay tuned for pictures of lettuce and broccoli plants!!

Our Halloween

Matt and I carved a couple of pumpkins....







Joey helped us, by holding some of the candy we were going to pass out later. When we got to the neighborhood where we were going trick or treating, we found out that Joey likes chocolate!


I guess that's what teeth are for!

Then we put on Joey's costume. It was lent to us, by the people that I babysit for.



Joey had a great time! Last year he was only a few months old, so we stayed home and passed out candy, but this year, he really got the hang of it. Even though he couldn't say "trick or treat" he learned to pick out a piece of candy from the bowl and even got to eat a little in the end. He loved watching all the kids walk around in their costumes, and was cheery far past bedtime. We all had lots of fun!

Do you have a newborn??

And do you use disposable diapers??

http://www.babycheapskate.com/

I am tempted to get them and keep them for a Baby Shower gift!!

Voting Really Takes It Out of Me

Vote!

(and get free stuff!)

If you're going to be politically responsible, then you should enjoy the benefits.....

http://jsnotes.com/2008/11/03/free-stuff-for-voting/

I am definitely planning on getting the Starbucks, since they are on every street corner, and am considering taking Joey for his first Krispy Kreme since tomorrow is my day off! Now I just have to decide if it is worth a 15 mile drive. I am seriously considering it though....

So Funny

Beware!

I'm sure you've all seen this skit from Saturday Night Live, but since we've only got a few more days before the big serious day, here it is for your enjoyment!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/34465/saturday-night-live-palin--hillary-open

It's a crime that SNL let Amy Poehler leave. She made Clinton, who is really not at all humorous, hysterical.

Oh GREAT, now someone has to go home and change!

Can boys match without being embarrassed? We decided yes, so here are Joey and Ethan sporting their matching Jammies. We hope that these guys can be great friends as they get older!


You hold my baby, and I'll hold yours.. (notice Ethan is nearly as big as Joey!)

Happy Halloween!

And a little reminder from Josiah....be careful not to eat too many things you shouldn't!

Something I enjoyed

I came across this blog a few weeks ago, reading a friend of a friend's of a ...... etc. The blog entry is called, Some Subtle Effects of The Birth Control Culture. While I don't share all of the author's views I agreed with many and found myself guilty of much of what she talked about.

For example the first 3 points of her article, I could definitely sympathize with. I felt like it was viewed as irresponsible that we got pregnant right away and almost like I had to explain Joey as an "accident". I'm embarrassed now that I felt that way, and I wish I could change all the times that I made a joke about it. It also seems like it's o.k. now to ask if child was "planned", a question that no one would have thought to ask years ago, because it would have been incredibly rude.

Just an interesting article for thought and I hope you all enjoy it. I don't personally have a problem with birth control, but I can see how the culture now has a sense of so much control over that planning element of life, that it has changed the way we think and talk about children. Especially to other people. I hope that I never forget how incredibly lucky Matt and I have been to be blessed with Josiah, and I pray that the Lord will chose to give us other children!

Some Subtle Effects of the Birth Control Culture

Play Play Play

Yesterday I was rushing to get Joey's update done before we needed to go to work. I didn't get to write about Joey and his play!! Which, of course, is pretty much, his life.

Joey got a Little People Noah's Ark set from Matt and I for his birthday. We wanted to give him something that we could explain to him in stories and show him in the Bible when he is a little older.



So now, at the top of this picture, you can see his best friend, Noah. Joey loves to play with the animals, but his favorite toy is definitely Noah. Noah goes in to the boat, and out of the boat, and in and out, and Joey holds him while he crawls across the floor and cruises around. He likes to carry Noah around and put him on top of bookshelves and tables and talk to him. It's fun to watch him get so excited about something.

Joey also loves (judge not other mommies) anything electrical. Matt thinks it's a boy thing, but if Joey can find a cord, then he is in heaven. He doesn't (obviously) play with anything plugged in, but he'll be happy for an hour with a cell phone headset and cordless phone (sans battery). It an object has a cord or plug then he tries to put things in it (yes we have our outlets covered!), even if the object isn't electrical. He likes to try to see if he can plug things in to other things. It's so funny to watch and really neat that he understands how that stuff works.

Joey also really enjoys putting toys (or rocks or anything) into buckets or cups or anything with a space to fill. He likes knocking over towers that we build, and building them up again. Last night he spent like 20 minutes putting blocks into an empty coffee can and then dumping them out again, and putting them in again. He is always trying to figure things out and then practice doing them.

He has finally become brave enough to splash in the tub, and I mean not like 5 month old splashing and smiling. I mean like, after a bath Mommy has to change her clothes and wipe down the walls. He soaks himself and his face and eyes and he could care less. As long as there is water flying EVERYWHERE and me shrieking in the background.

This little guy is so much fun!!

13 Months of Sweet Lovin'

Last week our little one was 13 months! I can hardly believe how the time has flown. I am so sad that I haven't had a chance to post about him in so long, but I hope to download some pictures soon and have news about the house and life in general. For now, I wanted to update on Joey!



Joey had his one month appointment last month and he was in the 12th percentile for weight and 15th for height, so still a little guy....but in the last month he's gained 2 lbs!! I don't really know where that puts him. Let's hope he didn't gain it in his head because he was in the 75th percentile there :-)

Joey is talking ALOT but still not saying anything. He used to say "Hi" sometimes to himself, and he'll still wave it to people when they say hi, so I know that he knows what it means but he doesn't really direct it at anyone. He says Dada and Mama alot but not really to us, and is really more likely to scream "Nananana" at me if he really wants something.

Josiah would really like to walk I think, but it's still a little too risky for him :-) He likes to be VERY sure that he can do something before he will even try. He will walk with us holding one hand. He'll stand on his own, with nothing to hold on to, and sit down. Stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. It's like he is practicing! He goes up the stairs but hasn't really figured out how to go down backwards yet, so we have to keep a close watch.

Joey is usually taking only one nap now, because of my work. He ends up just falling asleep in the morning when it is time for me and him to leave, but he and Will (my other little charge) take a nap at the same time in the afternoon. Joey LOVES to play with Will. Will is very sweet and gentle and patient with him! He is an only child and doesn't really "get" Joey, as a baby, and is always asking questions like "Can Joey pretend that my Thomas the Train is arguing with Gordon." or something like that, and I have to explain that Joey doesn't pretend yet, or at least not out loud. Joey really enjoys Will though. He follows him all over his house and loves to play with his (exciting and different) toys. I have Tuesdays off, and take Joey with me to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays and then on Mondays and Fridays, Matt stays home with Joey because he does not have class. So there are still some good napping days in there for Joey. It's hard to change things around though depending on the day, and I suspect we'll have permanently dropped the morning nap in a month or two.

Joey still sleeps like a champ at night and seems to have adjusted well to his new room. He stays up a little later now, going to bed at 7:30 or 8 and getting up between 8 and 9. He is usually pretty cheery throughout the day, although very impatient to be up and moving on his own. I am hoping he will start walking soon. He is getting heavy to carry!

Joey is getting a BUNCH of teeth now. He's had 8 for a few months, top and bottom 4 but is now getting 2 more on top and on the bottom. They look like his first molars. Although all his other teething hasn't really bothered him, he can't seem to keep his fingers out of his mouth this time around. I am hoping they come in quickly for him!

He continues to eat well and much more on his own now. I think his favorite foods would probably be tofu, or bananas, or really any fruit that he can eat on his own. He eats crackers and cookies, and fruit by himself, but still prefers his meats and veggies pureed although he doesn't give us a hard time about eating them.

Joey continues to be a joy for both Matt and I. He is truly a happy child and an easy one. I love the relationship that Matt and Joey have, and it warms my heart to watch them together. We are truly blessed to have this sweet little boy!

Shout Out

Oh yes I did..... ;-)

Our friends just started a blog!! Please check out the link for "Aaron and Sarah", so see what our crazy, adventurous friends have been up to. Matt has been friends with Aaron and Sarah since high school and they are planning to do some serious traveling soon. We love to hear about their adventures and I am so glad they have a blog now to share those experiences!

Peach Pickin'

A while ago, we had a wedding-free Saturday, so drove to Brentwood, about 25 miles from where we lived in Martinez. Brentwood is the like Orchard-ing region in the Bay area and there are TONS of farms with orchards. We were able to pick tomatoes, peaches and nectarines. They also had plums and cherries a few weeks before and vegetables all through the winter and summer. We had a great time and the peaches and nectarines were very inexpensive. The guy there told us to make sure to try lots of peaches, he said, one tree could have great fruit and the one next to it might not taste the same. I think between the 3 of us, we ate more peaches than we took home!







...What do you mean "I've had too many peaches!" ??


What he can do to a bushel of peaches is a beautiful thing!

In the Spirit of Catching Up...

I have had so much that I have wanted to post about, but juggling the move and new job has proved to be too much! :-( Sadly, I'm not going to try to backtrack that far.... but I had very good intentions of posting more pictures of Joey with birthday presents!! He got some very cool presents from family and friends, and he is hoping to write his thank you notes soon! :-) Gosh Joey, get on that!

Thank you all, our dear family and friends for Joey's thoughtful birthday presents!

So a few updates:

We are safely moved into our new house! We have had meetings with just about every security company in the area and will make the final decision and have the house alarmed the beginning of this next week. We've been very lucky so far! We are also getting a new (motorized!) garage door this week! Our current door is a wee bit rotted, and won't open or close and is not automatic. We are examining samples of flooring also for the new floor in Matt's studio. We are hoping to lay that within the next 2 weeks. Whew! Matt did some electrical work last night and fixed some light switches that were not working and added some into a great attic space that is currently unfinished. He ordered some plywood to add a floor, and we will soon have a new space, nearly as big as a bedroom, for storage! It is very nice to know that we are starting to take the first steps toward adding resale value to this great house!

Matt's schoolwork probably suffered the most with the new move, but he has valiantly pushed forward and completely caught up producing some seriously praiseworthy images. He stayed up soooo late for several nights catching up with his wedding editing and school assignments. He is a natural and I am constantly amazed at how well he balances everything in his busy life. I have such a great husband!

Joey is doing great and seems to love the new house. There is a lot of empty room for him to "zoom" around with his walker. He gets a big smile on his face, pushes his belly against the front and takes off. No real walking yet, but he'll stand up and sit down, and cruise and cruise, and walk forever with someone holding 1 hand. When we saw the Dr. for his 1 year appointment 3 weeks ago, she said, (watching him move)... "he'll be walking in a week!" pshaw. ;-)
We don't mind that he takes his time!

I'm hoping to post some pictures of the house soon. I think I know where my camera is....

Just a Word...Really....One Word.

MOVING.

Fotos

Chris tries Bubble Tea!


Advantages to having a small child...

You can fold him up!

Muir Woods


The Domaine Carneros Vineyard in Napa.




Behind the Lens...


Overlooking Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe. While we were there, we swam. It. Was. Cold.