Beckett's Birthday!

My baby..scratch that...my toddler turned one today! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Beckett brings us so much joy and happiness. We are so blessed to have him in our family. We kept the day pretty low key. We enjoyed a nice a run to the park, played with some friends for a while and then hung out at home for a family birthday party. Beckett, obviously, had no idea it was his birthday--but Tayden sure had fun singing Happy Birthday to baby brother ALL. DAY. LONG.

I had this cute birthday outfit for picked out for him all week long. I didn't let him wear it all day in fear it would get dirty before pictures. I had an exact idea how the evening was going to play out and when we would change him into the outfit--blah blah blah. It didn't pan out. Instead, we had dinner and got Beckett good and dirty with spaghetti sauce. Then, Scott decided to just do the cupcake while we had a mess anyway. Then, I decided he was in a major need of a bath. After bath we opted for jammies instead of having to wrestle him into a cute little outfit just for the sake of pictures. Whew--with that said, he's clothes ended up being a little grungy. Oh well. It is what is it, right?

Beckett LOVED his birthday cake. Which is really no surprise to anyone. This boy can eat.

Tayden was screaming for some camera attention, too.

B loved his cupcake...alot. He was full of cheesy grins when we asked if he like it.

Presents were opened after bath. Tayden loved taking the gifts to brother and 'helping' him open them. He got spoiled from his grandparents, that's for sure.

We love Beckett so much. I am constantly in awe of this little boy. He brightens my day, and as my mom said, makes this world  better place.

At 1 year Beckett Sean:

-Is so happy, most of the time. He is normally very smiley and easy going. He lights up a room with those big blue eyes and can turn a horrible day upside down with that contagious smile.

-When he isn't happy he can throw quite the fit. He whines and cries and knows just how to get his way. Luckily, we don't see that side all to often. (Although my husband may not agree.)

-Is walking all the time and is working on running.

-Picks on Tayden. He likes to take toys away from him on purpose and run. He can be a little sneaky stinker at times.

-Can say BITE, DA-DA and makes a Buzz Lightyear laser noise.

-Loves to play with the big boys. Everytime Scott and Tayden are running around, Beckett joins in. He just kind of wanders and laughs, but its the cutest thing.

-Goes to bed all by himself. Completely unassisted. A nice change from the eldest.

-Points. I love this. He either will make a noise asking what it is or talk up a major jibberish storm about it.

-Climbs on everything. Is into everything. And keeps me on my toes all day.

-Loves to carry around a plastic golf club and hammer. If he has something in his hands, he's content.

-Goes up and down stairs.

-The only time he crawls is to try to sneak under us to get to the fridge.

-Peaks around stuff. Like the table leg, his crib, the corner or the couch. 

-Plays cars on the tile or any other surface where the wheels will turn. 

-Loves to be outside. His favorite is the park. He goes up the stairs and down the slide over and over and over.

-Had bright red hair and big blue eyes.

We love this little boy more than words can say. I'm thankful for his sweet spirit and all the joy he carries with him.

Happy Birthday, Crocodile. We love you.

Tan Tan

Meet Tanner

Sweetest dog you ever did see. We've had Tan for about 5 years now. As much as we complain about the 'dumb dog' we really do love him. He's getting older and as sad as it is...he's not going to be here forever. So, I would like to write a little bit about him. Especially for my boys. Since I print individual copies for them of the blog. I want them to remember their first childhood pet.

Tanner is a happy little dog. This dog seriously smiles when he is happy and tries to talk to us on a daily basis. He is getting a bit cranky in his old age, but for the most part is very tolerant of the shenanigans the kids put him through. 

He is a yapper. He was always quiet while we lived in apartments, but once we got into a house, I let it get out of control. It made me feel safe because nobody could get near the house without me knowing. I still stand my ground that I don't mind the barking, even more so since Scott works so much. It gets a tad old when the kids are napping, but I don't know that'd I change it.

Tan Man is smart. He catches on to things really quickly. He took a day to potty train. He knows when we're talking about him. If he's done something naughty, he tries to be super lovable until your not mad. He knows how to work the system.

Tanner loves to play. Tayden is at a great age to play with him. They chase each other, play ball and wrestle around. Beckett on the other hand...that's still a different story.

We get so many compliments on him. We've had people ask if he's part fox or a little husky. They always think he's a puppy. He gets more comments when we are out going for a walk then my adorable kids. Okay, not true..but pretty close.

He is my dog. Scott likes him too, but he's mine. He sits with me, follows me around, it ultra protective of me. The whole works. I didn't mean for that to happen, but some where along the lines it did. 

If we let his hair grow out to long he gets naughty and sulky. Once we get it cut--he acts like a whole new dog. We even had our trainer comment on the same thing. 

He broke his leg the second Christmas we had him. Jumped out of my arms and landed in a shoe. Most expensive vet bill I have ever seen. 

It's incredible the amount of unconditional love a dog can give you. He is extremely loyal and loving to our family. I tell Scott all the time I will never get another dog, but in all honestly- we'll probably be dog family for the rest of our lives. 

Tanner is good boy. 

We love him.

Thanks Tan Tan for being the best little dog ever.

Childrens Museum

Scott and I took the boys to Lieds Childrens Museum today. We had LivingSocial coupon, so the whole trip was whopping $8.50. Which is a good thing, because I was a little less than impressed with the experience. Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but I was expecting a little bit more. I was hoping it would be like the Discovery Museum in Dallas. Also, Tayden was a little young for a lot of the exhibits--and Beckett wasn't exactly patient while we attempted to read and teach Tayden about all of them. 

 Tayden standing tall at 36 inches. Give or take.

 Scott was a little too tall.

 Notice Becketts fat lip? He's had a rough week. He had run in with a chair that resulted in a bloody nose and nearly black eye. He stumbled down the stairs. And he tripped leaving his fat lip. I need to invest in some bubble wrap something.

 Almost bubbled!

We loved the pull your own weight. I got up. Scott didn't. Haha.

The hurricane tunnel was pretty fun too. Tayden enjoyed it. Lots. So did my hair!

Regardless of the little let downs-- we had a good time. It was super fun spending time as a family and getting out and exploring the great town of Las Vegas. 

Taydens Sleep Story

A few weeks ago, Tayden stopped staying in his room at night. He has never been a great sleeper, but the problem was getting obviously worse. I am normally not a 'rewarding' kind of mother, but thought maybe if I did something new it might be fun and Tayden would be more willing to participate. So, we went to Walmart and picked out a super cool transformer. The deal was, if he stayed in his room for 5 nights, he could have his toy. 

The first night he stayed in his room, we came downstairs and colored in a square on my super cool sleeping chart. 

After I colored in the first square, I went upstairs for something. When I came down he declared he was ready for his new special toy. I explained to him again he had to wait until all the squares were colored. At that he remarked, "But mom, they are all colored!" and handed me his sheet.

The darn kid had colored in his squares so he could get his new toy.

I love this story because

A.) T doesn't have the patience for coloring. He never has. He doesn't like to sit still if he can avoid it. But he sat and colored each individual square. It may be scribbles, but it made this mama proud.

B.) He totally thought it through. He knew what had to be done to get his toy and seriously thought he was tricking me.

Man oh man I love this little boy.

So, did it work? Yes and no. It worked for the 5 days, but he was up again the next night. I think its going to be an ongoing battle with him. I am so grateful for all of the things he is good at, but really wish he was better in the sleep department. 

Any suggestions?

Monday Morning Hike

Mondays are a great day at the Packard house. Its Scotts last day of his 3 day weekend. We had planned on going to the childrens museum, but turns out they were closed. The weather is beautiful here, so we decided to get out and get moving.There is a hill(ish) mountain, with some fun hiking trails about 5 minutes from our house. We loaded up the kids and went off to, in the words of Tayden, climb a mountain.

 Funny story about this shirt. He calls it his reindeer shirt, because you wear camouflage when you go hunting to shoot deer. I was explaining to him its called camo and he looked at me said, "No mom! Its not a camel shirt! Its for deer!". haha

 Loved walking the dog.

 Such a beautiful view of the strip in the background. We only made it half way, the stroller wasn't exactly hiking material!

At the base of the mountain was a fun park. It was huge and Tayden had a blast!

 See the little girl at the bottom? She and Tayden got married in the stagecoach earlier that day.

It was a fantastic morning! Followed by a nice long family nap. Dinner at Red Robin, that was comped by the manager due to wait time for our food. And finished up with Neilsons frozen yogurt.

Great start to hopefully a great week!

Laundry Love

If only I loved the laundry as much as Beckett...

...it might get done more often!

Star Command

Tayden got a new bedspread and room decals for Christmas. (Thanks Aunt Jo) He loved them in the box, but loved them even more when we put them up. We also decided when we put the decals up to move Beckett into Taydens room. I have been toying with the idea for a few months and decided it was perfect timing. We converted B's old room into a play room, which is a huge success. I have been promising my mom pictures of 'star command' (the name of the boys room) for a few days now. 

 Scott got some smaller decals to match. We let Tayden decorate is closet door.

Since we are renting we haven't really wanted to put too much on the walls, so this is perfect. It makes it feel like a cozy little boys' room now. I love it.

I have attempted to take pictures of the new play room for a few days, but it is always a mess. The boys absolutely love playing in there, so its hard to clean it up with them around. Which is fine by me. That's the whole purpose of the room and its helped keep my house clean. Its a win/win for everyone. We didn't want to worry about T breaking the closet doors to get to his toys so we took them off to allow for easy access. We still need to hang curtains and do a few things to liven it up, but here are some pictures of the progress.

 It is also the new home to Taydens art.

Its been a crazy few days trying to get everyone settled in their new space. But honestly, the boys have done fantastic. I think they feel a sense of security having each other in the same room while they sleep. Tayden has never been a good sleeper. He does alright, but usually comes in to get me at least once a night. With the big change, he's slept through the night two nights in a row. A big success for us. Beckett no longer cries as he goes to sleep, but just chats with Tayden for a few minutes and drifts off. It's been wonderful.

It's weird, but something about them sharing a room melts my heart a little bit. 

I can't put my finger on it.

But I love it.