Birthday Surprises...

I am happy to announce that I surprised Jamie for his birthday this past weekend. I decided to take Jamie into Vancouver for an overnight getaway. I had been planning it for weeks and there were so many times that I almost spilled the beans. Jamie and I are horrible and keeping secrets from each other. We just get so excited that we just want to tell the person what is going on. However, I stayed strong and got him good.

Friday afternoon Jamie came home just after 3pm because he thought I had a massage therapy appointment at 3:30pm ( I didn't have an appointment). When he came home he called out (like every other day) and it was only me who answered. He immediately asked where the boys were and I told him they were gone. He asked more questions and I finally told him that we were going into Vancouver for the night and wouldn't be coming back until tomorrow. He was completely shocked. I thought for sure he knew something was going on but told me he had no clue. He had just decided to not ask too many questions because in the past when he has done that he has ruined surprises.
Our first stop was to check in to our hotel. We stayed at the Sylvia Hotel right down on English Bay. The only down fall was the fact that it was just so cold and rainy that we couldn't really go walking on the beach. I really had no idea where to say when I was picking a hotel. I heard of the Sylvia hotel from Jamie's mom and when I heard where it was located I decided we would stay there. It is a old hotel but well kept.

For dinner we went to the KOBE Japanese Steakhouse. It is a really neat restaurant. We had never been but we had a coupon in our Entertainment Book. You order your food and then they bring it out and cook it in front of you. You do not have a table to yourself but rather you sit in a U shape with other people at the same table. It is a great place for a group to go and eat. We would really like to go back with a group of friends some time.

After dinner I had given Jamie a couple of options that we could go do. He picked going to UBC for a men's basketball game. They were playing Saskatchewan and it was a really good game. UBC is ranked quite high in their division but it was a good close game. We hadn't been back to a game their since well before Aidan was born. We felt old.

We were rather excited that night to be able to sleep in the next morning but when morning came I was up before 9am and we had checked out before 10am ;) We just had to laugh because our lives have truly changed. Jamie was always a one to sleep in until 10-11am and I was learning to enjoy that time as well. I don't think I ever slept in as late as he did but I did like to sleep in.

We went to Sophie's Cosmic Cafe for breakfast and then headed to Langley to do some Christmas shopping. We knew that if we didn't start it now life would get away from us and we would be scrambling closer to Christmas.
It was so fun to go out just the two of us for a 24 hours. We truly had a great time.

Thanks Mama B and Pa B.

On Sunday (Jamie's actual bday) we celebrated with his parents after church. Mama B made crepes at Jamie's request. We had fun playing a new game that he got for his bday (Ticket to Ride Europe). We have the North America Ticket to Ride so it was fun to play something new and a bit different.

And why not? He has definitely found his nose and loves getting a reaction out of us when he sticks his finger up his nose. That is the only reason why he does it these days because he can get a reaction.

Jaxon loves books....can you tell? Almost everyday I find him behind our couch in a sea of books. He thinks it is important that he look at every single book and take them all off the shelf. I may not like the mess but it keeps him quiet and contained for a bit so I can't really complain.

Here is just a better shot of the disaster zone he creates.

Gotta love boys!
This week will be a crazy one as Jamie is in basketball season. He has had tryouts for the last couple of practices and will be formulating his team this week. It is practice every day after school right now and soon the games will start. He has two tournaments the first two weekends of December and he is helping out in a tournament the last weekend in November so life is all

about basketball. I will take the boys to as many games as I can. Aidan always loved watching the basketball games so we will see how Jaxon does this year. Last year it was easy to just hold him but now that he is mobile we will see how things go.

Just Because...

I thought I would share some pictures that I took yesterday. Jamie had the day off because of Remembrance Day / Veterans Day. We had been talking for weeks now that we needed to rake up the leaves in our front yard since our Japanese Maple was shedding. When Jamie went out with Aidan I realized that we didn't even have a picture of the "new" house that we moved into in May.

So, here you go. Welcome to our home... The maple tree has been absolutely beautiful this fall. I think we will need to do a bit of trim work in the spring. It is nice having it right in front of our main window. It will be a bit strange being able to see more out of the front window now. I suppose I will have to close our curtains more now so that we don't become the neighborhood show.

We are so happy that we made this move. This house is perfect for us and we love it! There are definitely things we want to add/change as time and money become available but so far so good!


Aidan was so excited to help Jamie rake the leaves. He didn't do too bad. He would rake a pile together and then Jamie would pick them up and put them in the bag. Every now and then Jamie would take the rake and make a bigger pile so that it didn't take all afternoon.

After we raked the leaves we took the boys to Walmart to fill our Operation Christmas Box for a little boy Aidan's age. We talked with Aidan on what and why we were doing this. At first he thought we should be getting presents for him but when we talked a bit more he seemed excited to pick things out. We would give him a couple of options and then he would pick out each items. It was also a great way to start thinking about Christmas presents for our boys. I really haven't given it a lot of thought lately but Christmas will be here before we know it.

Last night after dinner the boys were playing so well with each other. Aidan was playing with a couple of matchbox monster trucks and Jaxon was sitting and reading a book. They weren't really playing with each other but at least they were together and not needing us to play with them. They have their moments where they actually do play with a toy together however, they are good and playing individually but in the same room. Jaxon really wants to be wherever Aidan is so he will follow him but then start playing with his own toy.

This morning Jaxon grabbed a book and sat down by the fridge and read a book. It was really quite random but cute all at the same time. Jaxon loves books! I think if we would read to him all day everyday he would be happy. When he wants to have you read a book to him he brings a book and says" Bee ba book" So cute!

The other thing that Jaxon loves right now is our cat, Max. Every morning Max comes in from being outside and Jax runs around following him. This morning Max was sitting in the kitchen and Jax decided to read him a book. It was so funny! Max has learned to put up with the "love" he receives and I think he secretly likes it.

This weekend is Jamie's bday....stay tuned for what we are doing for his special day...

Trick or Treat

I love halloween now that we have kids. We get to dress them up and take them out and watch their faces as people give them candy by just knocking on their doors! Leading up to Saturday we had been talking to Aidan about what he wanted to dress up as...he was a bit torn because he didn't really want to dress up but he wanted to get candy. When we provided numerous options to him he informed us that he didn't like costumes. So, we decided to keep it simple. He finally decided to be a basketball player (are you shocked?)
We decided this year we would go trick or treating around our neighborhood with our friends that also live in the same neighborhood. We are still new to the area and are still getting acquainted with our neighbors. Before we started trick or treating we headed over to Mimi and Pa's to show off our costumes and get our first handful of candy.

Jaxon's teddy bear outfit was so cute! We found it at Value Village for $5! At first he didn't want to keep his hat on but once we were outside in the cold he kept it on. I lugged him to a handful of houses that we stopped at and let him stand with his own bag to get candy but once he started getting heavy in the stroller he went. Which he was totally fine with. He seemed to enjoy watching the rest of the kids run from house to house.

Aidan was so thrilled with the candy. He has told us on a couple of occasions that we should do this next week again! If only it worked that way.

He was so polite to the people giving out the candy. I would remind him to say, "thank you" and he would look them in the eye and say it! So cute!

He really liked Mimi and Pa's box of candy choices and after Mimi gave him his candy he just kept looking in the box...almost like he wanted to grab more.

He did so well walking the neighborhood. He kept up with the rest of the kids so well and did over half of the candy route on foot all by himself. Then once he started getting tired he would ask if we would carry him and then once we got to the next house he would run up to the door, get his candy and then come back for his ride. When we were done he was going through his candy and one of his favourite things was a juice box! Silly kid.

I am looking forward to more Halloween's in the future in our new neighborhood. Next year hopefully we will be at our house and be able to hand out candy. I want to get to know the kids in our neighborhood and I believe this is another way to connect with them.

n

Family Fun, Fall and Kai!

It has been way too long since the last time I blogged. With that said, there are many pictures to post and stories to tell.

We headed to Quesnel Thanksgiving weekend and had a good time with everybody. Everyone was excited to meet the newest addition to the Beck family. We all took our turns holding and loving on the little cutie.

Jaxon liked petting his head and giving him kisses.....

Aidan was thoroughly excited to hold Kai. He warmed up to him towards the end of the weekend. He was excited to watch CARS with him since he knew that Kai was too little to play.

Yes, I got my turn to hold the bundle. It was fun to have an baby around but I was so glad to give him back to his mommy :) I definitely love babies but I don't really like the lack of sleep that comes along with them.

It looks like they had a good conversation. Kai loves it when people just talk to him. He looks intently at you.....makes you wonder some time what he was thinking.

The boys were excited to have some Unkie Matt time. Unkie has always been a favorite and has always gotten right into to playing with them. Makes for a loud house and great times. The boys have really started to enjoy sitting and reading books. At home you can't sit on the couch for more than a moment before one of them comes with a book to read. By the end of any given day we have books everywhere!

They decided to make a fort with Aidan's bed. They absolutely loved it! Oh the shrieking that came from that room.

Aidan emerging from the fort! Both boys love playing in "caves" and/or "forts" We have used our kitchen table as a fort and Aidan's bed and train table. It has been fun watching the two of them play more and more together. They just sit and laugh inside their forts.

Thank you Heather and Matt for having us all at your place! It was a fun time being together. Can't wait to see you soon.

Nana with her boys!
Yes, Jaxon is in Christmas pj's.

The boys have started to eat apples this fall. Aidan will actually eat almost the entire thing. He likes to get to the point that he can see the seeds. Jaxon just likes to do whatever his brother does at this point. He doesn't really eat the apple; he just bites into it and makes a mess. He spits out any pieces that he does manage to get.

Aidan has been doing swimming lessons on Saturday mornings; he is a Sea Turtle. There are only three kids in the class and he has been doing really well. Every time he goes he gets more and more comfortable. It has been fun watching him become more and more independent. It has taken some time but he now goes into the water with the other kids without any need of having Daddy there.

Jamie and I constantly are amazed at how fast he is growing up. Of course, he still has many of his moments but it has been fun watching him grow....

We can't believe that October is almost over and that means we are getting closer to Jamie, Papa and PaB's bday's and Christmas. The other night we were heading out with the boys and we drove past a couple of homes that have their Christmas lights on their house already and Aidan proclaimed that "those lights mean it is almost Christmas time."

Welcome to the Family, Kai!

Here is the latest edition to the Beck family.

Matt and Heather gave birth to Kai Benjamin on September 24th. He looks like quite the cutie! We can't wait to meet the little one. I now understand (a bit more) of what my family goes through as they live so far away. Matt and Heather only live 7 hours away but it does make it difficult to just get in the car and go for a visit. My hope is that we will be able to go and visit soon (after the grandparents get their turn).

Love you and miss you Isaak's! Can't wait to give your little one a squeeze.

The End of Summer

The pictures on this post have been taken during this last week of summer. We have had a great summer filled with so many memories.

This past week we spent down in Washington at our timeshare. The condo unit that we stayed in overlooked one of the holes on the golf course. Aidan was mesmerized by the view. He could watch golfers and the golf carts to his hearts content. Even Jaxon enjoyed watching everything.
It was so fun watching the two of them interact more and more. Jaxon just absolutely loves his older brother and loves to do everything he does. My prayer is that they will grow into great friends and love spending time together.

This past week was fun for us because we were able to go on vacation with friends of ours. We both have timeshares with the same company and we decided it would be fun to go at the same time. It worked out well. We were able to spend time at the pool and let the kids play with each other and just enjoy the company. The kids did great and seemed to enjoy having other kids to play with.

Once night after dinner I was trying to get the boys to turn around and let me take a picture of them however, there were golfers on the green and there was no way I was going to pry Aidan's eyes away. So, I leaned over the railing and took a picture. I have to say, I kind of like it. How can one not love this smile.
Jamie had the fun idea to make a hat out of a pop case. Jaxon has always seem to really love putting things on his head so we knew he would love it! He thought he was such hot stuff.

Then they thought it would be fun to run around the house with it on their heads and get chased at the same time. It was so funny because the hat would come flying off. Aidan would try to hold onto it as he ran. Everyone got laughing so hard. Who knew a whole family could have so much fun with a cardboard box. :)

I decided to make cookies on Saturday afternoon because I knew that Jamie would appreciate them to add to his lunches for school. Aidan was thrilled because he loves watching me make them and then licking the spoon. Jaxon hasn't quite clued into the yummy goodness of cookie dough yet. So, after dinner the boys both got a cookie for desert.

Jaxon has a rather an art to eating his cookies. The cookie is always about the size of one of his hands (if not bigger) so he always holds it with two hands and he savors every bite. So much so that at the end there is no doubt that he has just eaten a cookie.

Pure enjoyment! Don't you think??!

Tomorrow is our last day of summer as Jamie heads back to school on Tuesday and our lives here at home go back to "real life". I know that it will be a shock to the boy's systems as they have gotten rather use to having their daddy home for the last 10 weeks. It has been nice having him home but I think for all of us it will be good to get back into routine and a schedule.

Birthday Boy!

My little boy is three today!

In the last three years Aidan has learned so many things....there are too many to list but one of the most special things about him (to me) is his soft heart. He can be a stubborn child but when it comes down to it....he's a softy!

These pictures were his early bday party with Nana and Papa while we were in Michigan. We did a combined belated/early birthday for Aidan and Jaxon while with my parents.

Lately, Aidan has really enjoyed cupcakes and you can never have too many sprinkles.


Trying to blow out his candles for the first time. I don't think he realized that he could get burned by the flame because he got really close the first time. It was so cute watching him try to blow them out. He needed a bit of help but we got them.

Can't tell they were excited to have bday cupcakes, can you??

This weekend we decided to take Aidan to the PNE. We realized that since Jaxon had joined the family, Aidan had not had both Jamie and I together just to himself. We dropped Jax off and Mimi and Pa's and headed out to Vancouver. Aidan was super excited to be going and I think it was extra special since it was only for him. He had our undivided attention for the whole day. Jamie and I really enjoyed it because it was time that we could devote to him. I think that we will try to do this with both boys every now and then.

Here's our self-portrait as we waited for the pig races to start. Aidan was being really silly because I had given him some gum to chew. You can see it stuck to his front tooth.

It's kind of funny as I look at this picture I remember taking a self-portrait with Aidan's ultrasound picture when we met him for the first time; then we took a family self-portrait when he was only a couple of months old always with him in the middle. Now, here he is at three! I can almost see what he will look like at 13.
What a joy you have been!

We went to watch the motor cross "On The Edge" show and Aidan was mesmerized. I think every picture I took of him all look like this. He couldn't get enough. When the show was over he said he wanted to come back and watch it again later.

This is what he was looking at. They had quad races...

Anything loud and with wheels seems to capture my boys hearts :)

Here we are watching the Rock N' Roll parade that was going through the grounds. Aidan loved the drum set that was on top of a car. We had to peel him away from watching the 4H cows being weighed to go watch the parade. He wasn't thrilled at first but as soon as the floats and the music started going he was hooked.

Here he is watching the parade at the other side of the fair grounds. This is pretty much the face of Aidan all day. He just watched and watched and watched. When we left that evening I was asking him what his favorite thing at the PNE was he exclaimed, "I liked all the seeing" A boy after my own heart.

Sunday we had a pool party for him with some of his friends (and our friends too). He was a good day. Aidan spent so much time in the pool. I have to get pictures from Mama B.....pool pictures to come soon.