Because-It-Was-Too-Hot-To-Do-Anything-Else Photo Shoot

We Southern Californians have it pretty good in terms of weather. Those of us living in a beach city, even better. That said, we are always ill-prepared for a heat wave. "Just go the beach, you big baby!" one might say hearing a South Bay-er complain about the temperatures, but understand that you can't LIVE on the beach and few of us have air conditioning in our homes. Our upstairs is totally miserable, so we live downstairs. This is where the following photo shoot took place. It was mainly Hamilton's idea, who especially enjoys the instant gratification a digital camera brings. The boys are wearing diapers only because it's so hot...I'm wearing something similar, so am not in any of the pictures. Kidding.

Hamilton directed all the shots I took, which may come as a surprise, as most of you know how obsessed I am with Lightening McQueen...








We had to do a few takes of this last "action" shot of him "swooshing" Lightening through the air.

Beckett is Seven Months!

Well, I cannot believe it...my little baby is SEVEN months!( Awesome, but I've now lost the "I've just had a baby" excuse for my current weight. So sad.)

Becks is just getting cuter and cuter, in case anyone worried this belated post was due to a decrease in cuteness and sweetness. It's actually totally due to Hamilton NOT taking naps regularly, which used to be my blog reading/writing time. But, I digress...

Here are some highlights of our little guy...

• Favorite foods so far seem to be oatmeal and squash
• Can sit up on his own, but a big brother makes this a rare practice if Mommy's not in the same room.
• Can ROLL OVER! Yea! Yeah, I know babies usually hit this milestone earlier, but if Beckett's on his tummy, he can't see Hamilton coming. So, smart Beckett put that physical feat off a bit.
  
• Shows his excitement by catching his breath and kicking his legs and arms.
• He is making "B" sounds, which I credit to his hearing "Boo Boo Beckett" all day. The "B" sounds are a bit of a pain when I'm trying to feed him. He is also clicking his tongue.
  
• Current toy he loves chewing on: a small stuffed blue elephant (that I left somewhere, of course...hopefully, my grandmother's?)
• Watches way too much TV thanks to Hamilton (the "way too much" is compared to Baby Hamilton's "none unless sick")
• Has TWO little bottom teeth. Reasonably smooth teething experience...just a few sad times.
  
• Loves his mommy (I mean, check out the jammies he's wearing!). A recent time in Kid's Club (daycare at the gym), he wouldn't stop crying until I held him. Stuff like this still trips me out...you mean, he knows I'm his mom and it makes a difference? What?!
• Hamilton cracks him up...and scares him. This will undoubtedly be their relationship for the next decade at least.
• The two boys' personalities are pretty apparent in the following photo shoot. :) Chill Beckett does give a "behind the pacifier" smile in the last shot.
  

Conversations with Hamilton

The following post is to remind me that Hamilton is a cute, charming little boy and not just the sleep-deprived monster I've been dealing with all week....

While changing H's diaper during B's nap...

Hamilton: That's my peanut.

Me: Yep, that's your peanut.

Hamilton: Beckett's peanut is sleeping.

In the drive-thru line at McDonald's...

Hamilton: Are you getting chocolate milk or a Diet Coke?

Me: Probably a Diet Coke. [note: drinking a lot of this lately...hardest thing I can drink as a Mormon...]

Hamilton: I'll probably have chocolate milk and French fries.

While trying to get Hamilton's shoes and socks on...

Me: Argh! Will you just stay still? You're driving me nuts!

Hamilton: I'm NOT driving you nuts. I'm driving you bananas.

At the park, from out of nowhere...

Hamilton (in a sweet, little voice): You're my mommy forever.

Happy (Belated) Six Months, Beckett!

I'm not a horrible mom, I promise...at least not for this late blog post. It is Beckett's fault. A few low sleep nights kind of put me in slow motion and behind on stuff. So, here it goes...

The Stats...

• 18 pounds! No one will believe me there was a period where he wasn't gaining weight. (50-60%)
• 26 1/2 inches tall (50-60%)
• 44.5 cm head circumference (65%)

The Boy Himself...

• First reactions to seeing me when he wakes up are kicking feet and a big smile
• Is usually sleeping through the night
• Still not rolling over, but he's getting pretty good at sitting up
• Had his first long vacation (visited family in Utah) and was pretty awesome in the car and pretty ok at adjusting to new places
• I know he's sleepy when he nuzzles his head into my neck, which might make you think he falls asleep there. No. My boy prefers to be lying down on his own with his blankey and pacifier. He only fell asleep at church when I stopped holding and rocking him and put him on another chair by himself.
• Is enjoying the exersaucer...except when Hamilton is playing with it at the same time
• 2nd attempt at rice cereal: much more successful, but he's not really into it.
• Cereal + carrots = rough, rough night
• Sweet potatoes = so far so good
• Is enjoying books now. I started reading to Hamilton at like 2 weeks. Poor neglected 2nd child.
• First trip to the beach. Liked the sand...not so much the ocean itself.
• Loves bathtime. He starts kicking, smiling, laughing when I put him down on the mat and start the water...this is even if he was fussing moments before.
• Still thinks Hamilton is hilarious. One can often hear Hamilton requesting, "I want to make Beckett laugh," which is accompanied by his removing Beckett's pacifier.
• Starting to exhibit signs of serious "I love Daddy"--super happy watching Alex teach Gospel Doctrine and seeing him come home. Darn...one more on Alex's team.
• Beckett's favorite toy is his squeaky giraffe.
• He can grab his toes...he is fascinated by those toes.

Just because...

I have lots to post about (vacations, the beach, etc.), but I couldn't resist posting these photos of Beckett modeling his post-bath robe.

Loving Hamilton...

Throughout the entirety of our recent family vacation, Hamilton tried to convince Alex to drive away without me. "No! No Mommy! Don't come!" is what I heard every time I got into the car. I went from amused to slightly annoyed to hurt, so I have been relieved to be home and back to our normal (mostly positive) routine together. Today seemed especially nice, and I didn't want to forget it. Nothing too amazing...just a snapshot of one of our days.

• Played trains together in the morning. He's getting better and better at putting those tracks together. He likes playing "I think I can...I think I can," but today the uphill ended in a "cliff," so the poor train's accomplishment turned immediately tragic.
• Went to "Park Day" (fab park overlooking the ocean---some parts of my life are truly awesome) where Hamilton played for about two hours with one of his best buddies, Stockton. Stockton got hurt, and I gave him a piece of licorice (trying to teach emotional eating early). When he got hurt again, Hamilton came running over saying, "Licorice boys!" He also climbed halfway up a very tall chain link fence, which he called a "web"--kind of clever, I thought.
• Ate "kabobs" and grapes for lunch. The "kabobs" are actually chicken hamburgers I cut up and put on toothpicks. Last Saturday Hamilton heard a sample lady at Costco saying, "Kabobs! Try some kabobs here!" and became obsessed with eating one. It was, of course, a crazy crowd around her, so we got him a hamburger sample instead and called it a "kabob." He ate it and liked it, so we bought some. But Hamilton has suckered me into buying stuff before, so I decided to keep to the sample presentation. It's working.
• A couple books and a "scuba diver story" (he insists on this latter one---one we make up-- everytime), and he was out. Thank you Park Day!
• When I picked him up from the gym's Kids Club, he ran up to me with a "surprise." He'd made me a helicopter out of blocks. It was actually pretty good.
• As we pulled into the Target check-out line, Hamilton was singing "Farmer in the Dell" at the top of his lungs. He then turned a little grumpy when I denied him candy. After I gave him a "mommy look" for screaming at me, he turned to the guy next to us and said with great seriousness, "We're in really big trouble."
• His music request for FHE was our version of "We are a Happy Family," his announcement (as usual) was "green," and when Alex asked him to name one of his friends, he said, "Mommy."

Man, I love that kid!

Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow

When I first heard about moms who couldn't bear to have their kids' hair cut off, I thought they were a little crazy. Fast forward to me having a little boy who grows awesome, adorable curls. The two times his hair has really grown out and really curled up, I've felt sick about cutting it off. In both cases though, he's been just as cute after as before.

Thank you to the fine people at Floyd's for managing to cut someone's hair who is increasingly NOT loving the whole haircut business. This last time Hamilton sat in my lap in fetal position shouting, "I don't want it! I don't want a haircut!" Not even promises of suckers calmed him down. After it was all done, though, he couldn't stop admiring himself in the mirror.