Beckham update

The tiny boy is doing quite well. He is still in the NICU and will most likely not come home until at least a week after his birthday. I am anxious to be able to bring him home and resume life in our own cozy place.

The biggest issue for him right now is just learning to eat and digest. He has figured out how to suck and loves the pacifier. Beckham has received a few small feedings (of only a few cc's) and he hadn't been able to digest any of it until today. Today, he is slowly digesting, so that is a great sign. I am sure he will catch on very soon, since daddy and brother eat me out of house and home! Until he catches on, he is mostly tube-fed through an IV. He is also a bit jaundiced, so he spends his days stretched out, basking in the purple light. These are normal things for preemies and it just takes time. Howcome everything has to "take time"? I am much happier with instant gratification :)

He gets stronger every day. I can't wait to take the little guy home and snuggle him whenever I want to.

Tiny Beckham

Baby Beckham arrived yesterday, Aug. 26th (4 1/2 weeks early) at 3:00 pm. He weighed in at 5 lbs 10 oz, and is 19 inches long.


About 8 hours before I went into labor.

Matt and I just waiting for the action. My water actually broke at 2:00 in the morning and I checked in at 4:00. I wasn't progressing as fast as they wanted me to so they sent us out to walk for an hour. I was skipping and hopping up and down hills and having a grand 'ol time leaving my mom and dad in the dust...haha. When we got back from the walk, they started the dreaded pitocin drip (I hate that stuff so much). Things went really fast after that.

Tiny little guy, but a fairly good size for being so early. He is 2 lbs lighter than Kaden was and looks SO miniature to me. He was carted straight off to the NICU after he was weighed and given his initial assessment. He scored a 7, and 8 APGAR though, which was impressive to me, for a preemie.

About 30 minutes after he arrived. I am just anxiously awaiting the time to be able to go and see him.

The proud Papa and Nana X 2. I am proudly sporting the chipmunk cheeks.

He spent about 3 hours under the oxygen tent, but hasn't needed it since. He also had a bit of a heart murmur right after birth, but that has also disappeared. He is doing great now, maintaining his O2 sats, temperature, heart rate, etc. Right now we just really want to get him sucking and swallowing so he can eat.

I cannot believe all of that dark hair. I was picturing another strawberry blonde, or a blondie. I had never imagined a dark-haired baby, but I absolutely LOVE it! I am curious to see if it stays dark, or if it all falls out and comes in light.

Day number 2. Not hooked up to so many machines, but still very sleepy.

He wasn't too fond of the flash on my camera. He squinted in every picture. He is precious.

Enjoying the warmth of his heat lamp.

Nana and Kaden giving Beckham some love.

I am going to have to watch that little boy carefully. He is so excited about baby brother. When we were in the nursery visiting Kaden just wanted to hold him, kiss him, hug him, pet him, and love on him.

We are all doing great and are so excited about this new little baby in our family.

Puffed up

My self-esteem should never suffer as long as I have Kaden and Matt. They are so good to me. I have loved spending my days with Kaden. He says the most hilarious things.

Today, while I was getting ready, he was in his usual spot standing on the counter, drawing on the mirror with a bar of soap. Out of the blue he said, "ahhh mama, you are SO perfect". Made my day.

Sunshine Jungle

I can't wait to have a beautiful yard. I can't wait for lush, green grass. I am excited to be rid of mud, weeds, grasshoppers, and sticker-bushes. I am excited to play outside, rolling around on the lawn, shaded by a few trees. We are starting on that process this week, and although I am quite excited, I will miss the current landscaping we have.


A few months ago sunflowers started to slowly pop up. Now, our ENTIRE yard is full of them. It is literally a jungle. Some are over 6 feet tall, and each plant is loaded with beautiful, yellow, happy flowers. They completely surround the whole house. The interesting thing is that our yard is the ONLY one in the subdivision with these flowers. There are quite a few lots around us that have yet to be landscaped, but they just have brown, dry, yucky weeds.




I am SO happy with my yellow, flowered weeds. I will actually miss looking out to a jungle of bright, sun-shiny flowers. I think they popped up just for me, to make me happy and remind me of sunshine. I love them.

Chocolate face

Our wonderful friends Dan and Ashley were here last month and it was so great to see them. We haven't seen them in so long and have missed them like crazy! It was the first time we met Cal, and Kaden just loved him. We went out one night for pizza and ice cream and just had to snap a few shots of the boys inhaling their delectable treat. I wish I had Ashley's pictures because I am sure they turned out much better...but here are a bazillion that I took. I can't get enough of the happy, chocolate-covered faces.

I LOVE this picture of Cal and his daddy.

Sharing with Dad.

The boys were in Heaven being allowed to hold their own giant ice cream cones. They were more than willing to share though!

Meant to Be

5 years ago I married my man. What a wonderful, happy day it was. Describing how I felt that day will never be possible, but it is a tangible feeling I can recall very vividly. I felt safe, secure, and excited to embark on the journey of life with Matt.

He was my best friend. He made me laugh from the day I met him. We clicked instantly, had chemistry, had fun, and it just felt right. We stayed up way too late, way too many times, talking about the serious and not-so-serious matters of life. I think that there could be a number of people that could be right for any one person. But, for us, there is much more to it. Our meeting, dating, and story of us has always testified to me that he was supposed to be mine, and I his. I have said, and will still say, I truly believe that Matt and I were meant to be together.

Things have evolved and changed over the years, as life naturally does change and evolve. Every couple has their own story that unfolds as days and years pass. Matt and I have quite a story and it continues to unfold and reveal new lessons, perspectives, and appreciation. Matt is still my best friend. He still makes me laugh. We still talk about the serious and not-so-serious. I still know we were meant to be. I am still excited about our adventure of life together.

I came home last night to this beautiful bouquet. I can't describe how happy it made me. It is a really big deal that Matt got these roses. He wasn't reminded once of our anniversary and he never remembers things like this on his own. When I got home last night and saw these on the table I was so excited and just asked ,"Matt, are these for anything special?" He said, "BABE! You are special, and tomorrow is our anniversary!". It totally made my night. I love him.

Happy 5 years, love.

Names!?!?!?!

This name game has been hard! We were so set with Kaden and with this little guy we have no clue. I have a list of about 15 names I like. I go back and forth between them, but at this point in time, these four are my favorites. I would like some input...but only the good kind...so let me know which one you like! Okay, if you think any one of these will cause him serious issues for life, you can let me now that too.

Who knows, I may not go with any of them. Matt has not been too helpful at all...so I told him that if he doesn't give me input I will have to just choose and he won't be able to complain. He said, "well that sounds totally fair babe..." haha. We'll see...

Teeny Rascal

It's been a little adventurous around here the past few days. Teeny-tiny boy made up his mind that he was ready to make his debut into the world. Thursday was a busy day around here, and Matt and I took a nice long walk around our neighborhood after dinner. It is quite hilly and I started getting very regular contractions. I waited it out through the night, but they were about 2 minutes apart so I called in to see what to do. Maybe I waited too long!

My dad was just about to go down to New Mexico to be with my mom and sweet Grandma and I had to call him last minute to have him hold off. I wasn't concerned at all, really, and thought I would just be in and out really quick. My awesome neighbor Susan took Kaden for me with 10 minutes notice, and I sent Matt on his way to work. I figured there was nothing to stress about.

I ended up staying ALL day Friday and half of today in the labor and delivery room. It took forever to stop contractions, but for some reason I still didn't feel worried. I guess it turns out I am only 34 weeks, so that is a bit early for teeny people to be born. I got shots, tons of IV's, pills galore, the whole works. The most painful part was that I thought I would die of boredom. I sent my dad on the road and he called every hour to see if he needed to come back. I read magazines, watched more tv than I have watched in a year, and talked on the phone all day.

The nurse said she felt like she was "wrestling a monkey". The little guy would NOT hold still. She would find his heartbeat, and 2 minutes be back in the room, only to fish around for it again, finding he had completely done flips. She had me turning left, right, sitting up, laying down...we were like a circus act in there.

I was bummed to have to stay the night. It's hard for me to ask for favors, but I managed to ask for dinner for Matt, Kaden spent the night, and I had someone take Matt to work today. I am always just overwhelmed with people's kindness and concern and willingness to do anything and everything to help out. I have no idea how to even begin to express enough thanks.

So finally this afternoon I escaped out of there. I have to be on several prescriptions for the next 3 weeks, and am supposed to be on "bed rest"...whatever that means! I have no idea how to do that, but I guess it's a good excuse to be a little lazy. I am just really glad that the little monkey is still safe and sound, and it seems that things will be just fine.

I just love my doctor-he is such a crack-up. This morning he said, "sorry if we freaked you out yesterday. We had to be quite aggressive because that little guy was dead-set on coming." I was sort of surprised and just said, "oh, I figured you totally had everything under control." He said, "Well, we like to appear that we do."

Everything seems to be completely under control now and I am happy to be back home. I missed putting my baby to bed last night, and kissing Matt goodnight.

Glad I'm not an elephant

even though I might feel like one sometimes.

An elephant's gestation is 22 months. That is a LONG time. Nine months is starting to feel like a long time. Pregnancy has been a bit more tiring this time around. Chasing Kaden, working, and such has made me more achy and tired. As the date gets closer, we all get more excited and a bit more anxious too. I am excited to meet the new baby boy. We have not even come close to deciding on a name...any good ideas?

35 weeks (and hoping for only a few more). I had an ultrasound the other day and things are good. He weighs in at about 5 pounds and squirms around all of the time. He seems to look almost identical to Kaden, but what can you really tell from an ultrasound?



I'm so excited to have 2 little boys. It will be so fun to watch them grow up together. Kaden is so excited about "baby brudder". He talks about him all of the time. He smothers other little babies we see. He is so full of love and kisses. My friend's baby was crying and he was so worried about him. He kept bringing blankets, bottles, binkies, rice-crispy treats, and loves to the baby. He might end up being TOO helpful, but I am excited to see the love he will show for the baby.