Summer 2010 (finally)

I know, I know. I am JUST finally getting to a summer update! Well, better late than never, right? :) Here's some of the highlights:

JUNE: We had such a great time in Seattle, Washington. I fell in love with the city, as I knew I would. Garrett has always gone on and on about how great Seattle is (he lived there before we met in Ohio.) Well, he definitely was right. And if Seattle wasn't good enough by itself, my parents met us there, and made it even better. Garrett had fun showing us around his old stomping grounds. We packed a lot in: Pike's Place Market, a ferry to Victoria Island, hiking in Mt. Rainier, meeting some of Garrett's old friends, and going on a winery and brewery tour. Lots of fun was had and I decided I would be more than happy if the Air Force sent us there for an assignment.



JULY: Right after our trip with my parents, we spent the second half of our vacation in Montana with the Knowlans. Another amazing place I had never been before. Man, was it beautiful! Garrett's parents were able to find us a great place where the whole family could stay, right along the Yellowstone River, with mountains surrounding the home on all sides. It was like a postcard shot at every angle. We were able to get lots of family time in and the cousins finally got to meet! Beckett enjoyed hanging out with Audrey and Claire, his aunts and uncles, and of course, Gram and Pa. We took a few trips into Yellowstone National Park; hiking, fly fishing, picnicking, and just enjoying our precious time together. We also got to spend some time checking out Bozeman and ate a fantastic brewery. The only thing missing was our brother-in-law Matt!



AUGUST: Garrett got to head down to San Diego for work, getting the chance to spend 3 days on a Navy aircraft carrier (USS Nimitz). So Beckett and I chatted about it and thought the best idea was to join him (or at least head to San Diego--we didn't go on the boat! :)). We even talked my mom into joining us. So while Garrett was on the boat, Beckett, my mom, and I spent time discovering San Diego. We enjoyed some great meals including the BEST fish tacos ever, had fun visiting Coronado Island, found a cool farmer's market in Little Italy, saw Balboa Park, and did some shopping. Garrett also had a blast on the ship, getting to see first hand how the Navy does flight ops on the carrier. He even got a flight off the boat in an aircraft called "the Cod" to come back to San Diego and meet us. He was quite impressed with it all and also left with a greater appreciation for the Air Force (you don't have to live in small, uncomfortable quarters at sea for 6 months at a time). It was such a fun week!

Beckett is 9 Months

I have said it every month since Beckett was born...time is flying! The clock seems to tick a whole lot faster now that I have a child. Being able to witness his growth has been amazing! I can't believe how much he's changed, especially over the past couple months. He had his 9 month check up today and he weighs 17.4 pounds (5th percentile) and measures 27.5 inches (25th percentile).

Beckett has become quite the mover. He loves standing up and crawling, which leads me to his new favorite pastime: crawling after our obese and grouchy cat, Jack. He seems to tolerate Beckett's crawling. Once Beckett works so hard to get right next to Jack, to finally grab a hold of his prized possession, Jack takes off, and leaves a broken-hearted Beckett behind. We haven't broken the news yet to Jack that this strategy will only work for so long...

Beckett has also become quite the social butterfly, taking after Garrett. He laughs, smiles, and "talks" to any child he sees. He still gives us that great belly laugh...Garrett and I just can't get enough of it!

And taking after mommy (I should be so proud) is his love of food. He has always been such a good eater. He loves almost anything we feed him. His favorites these days are sweet potatoes, bananas, and banana puffs. This boy loves him some puffs!

Here's a slideshow of our 9 month old...

a blessed summer

As the end of the summer nears, I am so thankful for all that we've been able to experience this past season. I have been a terrible blogger on updating. But I thought I would start with a backwards recap. Starting with this past Labor Day weekend...

Garrett and I were back and forth on leaving for the weekend or just hanging out at home. We decided last minute to book a house on the Strand (a walk/bike path right next to the beach) in Hermosa Beach with some of our friends. This ended up being the best decision we could have made. Ocean view condo beats our desert home any day in my book. Beckett loved standing next to the waves, feeling the icy cold Pacific on his feet, and swinging on the beach. Mom and Dad loved playing beach volleyball and going out for a dinner date two nights in a row! Thanks to our friends, Jeremey and Tammy, for watching B! It was just what we needed before heading back to the desert and Garrett getting back into the thick of things with Test Pilot School. Just a few more months left til he graduates. I can't believe it...time has flown!

update

We've had such a great summer so far! I am behind on our vacation update. I've had so many photos to upload and sift through...788 to be exact! While I'm working on that, I thought I would put up a few new photos of our growing boy.

Who knew velcro could be so funny?

Wide-Eyed Wonderment

Yesterday evening, storm clouds rolled in and saturated the sky. Then, that great deep thunder resonated throughout the backyard. We headed inside and watched as rain poured in. Oh, how I love me a good rainstorm! It makes me feel like a kid again. Beckett has seen a rainstorm before, but this time he was so fascinated. We stared out the back door for awhile and took it all in.

Pea & Carrots

We have been enjoying this new phase of Beckett eating solids. It's so fun to watch his expressions when he gets his first bite of a new food. Overall, he has liked almost everything we've given him, even though the photos below aren't too convincing. Which one do you think he liked more?

Peas



or carrots?

Fun times at Granny and Grandy's

Beckett has discovered that he doesn't really need toys at Granny and Grandy's when he has:

a new perspective on the world (he's sitting up now)...
bright green grass to discover for the FIRST time...

a newspaper to read...

leaves to touch...

and his favorite so far, a musician (who just happens to be his grandpa) to listen to...