Happy FIRST birthday, Josephine!

 Hard to believe our baby girl is ONE today! I won't reflect on what I was doing a year ago - at this moment - because I don't wish to recall that pain. Obviously, it was worth it! We are so blessed to have this little girl in our family! Love you, Josie!

Gee, thanks for the suppositories!

We'll be celebrating Josie's birthday with her grandparents and aunts & uncles on Sunday… typical 2nd child birthday… I promise it will be CUTE. Pictures to come...

The Rest of Thanksgiving

Josie and her 2nd cousin - Kinley. They are only two weeks apart! Big birthday celebrations coming up for these two!

As is the norm for Becker Family get-togethers - the men solved all of the world's problems. Never a dull moment.

And of course, it wouldn't have been Thanksgiving without Denny's albino turkey making an appearance. This one if for Devin & Kristin…because I know they missed the albino turkey this year. And Nancy worked really hard to dig it out of storage...

Kim's Birthday

 On Sunday we celebrated a BIG birthday for Aunt Kim! Jack was super excited for the cupcakes and picked his out as soon as we walked in the door.

You can imagine his excitement when he actually got to eat it...

 And of course - the cupcake was THAT much better because it had BLUE frosting! He dug right in.

Kim joined him in his cupcake-eating-ways… You're not really eating a cupcake unless it is ALL OVER your face!

Caitlyn worked with Josie on her ballet skills. I think there is some potential there.

Proof

Turkey makes you sleepy…and here is the proof:

 Josie just finished eating some leftover turkey.

And….she's asleep in her highchair.


So - I am out of space in my Picasa account. I'm blogging from Tyson's account until I decide whether to PAY to upgrade my account. In the meantime, when it posts as Tyson - it's ME. Don't think he's stepping up and blogging… He's too busy FLYING down to Bloomington for IU vs. UNC games. :)

Just Your Typical Thanksgiving

Kids racing horses.

I have more pictures - but a) I'm dead tired. b) my computer is slow and it's making me crazy. c) Blogger is telling me I'm out of space for pictures…(i.e.: I've put too many on here) 

Let's all hope that's not really the case…

Happy 7 year Anniversary to Tyson! Lucky #7! 

The traditional gift is WOOL…but I'm perfectly happy with dinner out (without children)!

Weekends at Home

 Josie got a new carseat for her upcoming birthday! And the box was quickly claimed by Jack as his "house."

We cut a door, added some door handles…and he spent lots of time going in & out of it all day Sunday.  So family - if you're wondering what to get him for Christmas...

We also cut a window so he could watched the football games and Josie could spy in at him (which made him mad).

 Speaking of Josie… Remember when I claimed she was ornery?!? Some of you probably doubted me.

This is her new favorite hobby. Empty-the-cupboard Game.

Who made this MESS, Mom???

The funniest part was Jack was in the basement playing with Tyson and when he came upstairs the mess was still on the floor, but Josie (of course) had crawled away. So I pretended like I didn't know who did it and said, "Jack, why did you make this big mess?" He didn't hesitate one second. "No, MOM, I didn't do it. Josie did it. JOSIE! Bad, JOSIE! I clean it up." At least he's helpful…

Stairmaster

Josie is obsessed with climbing the stairs. Every chance she can get - she goes right to them and starts climbing. Nevermind that she doesn't have the best record on them (she fell down a few last week)...

I honestly thought she was my "calm child." She put on such a good front for 9+ months. But she definitely is starting to show her true self and an ornery side. Lord help me.

Jack's First Santa Sighting

 Saturday night Santa made one of his first appearances - stopping by Jefferson Pointe Mall for the lighting of the Christmas Tree. Jack was pretty excited to go see "Ho Ho" (as he calls him).

Josie was cold and not impressed with Santa. And she thinks he's greedy for eating everyone's cookies. She says she's not sharing her cookies with that man.

Jack's reaction to the lighting of the tree! It's a HUGE tree - beautifully decorated and the lights "dance" to the music.

Putting up Christmas decorations was on my "To Do" list this weekend…but I feel like I need to celebrate Thanksgiving first. The poor turkey is totally getting squeezed out these days.

We came home and were just getting ready to take the kids to bed - when I saw FLAMES and sirens across the pond from our house. A neighbor's deck/house caught on fire. No less than 10 fire engines, 2 ambulances, and multiple police cars were lining the street. Luckily - no one was hurt. The homeowner escaped and the firemen rescued the pets! Thank goodness! HERE is the story…

Two day work week - YAY!!

Surprise! We had visitors...

You know what NEVER gets old? Living close to our families. We love it. Last weekend Jack & Josie were lucky enough to have Uncle Joe & Aunt Gina babysit them all weekend. They had a blast. Tyson and I were in NYC for Cousin Catie's (gorgeous) wedding.

Tonight Uncle Jon and Grandpa Jerry came over for dinner. Jack talked them into playing with him…and he convinced Uncle Jon to sneak him a brownie. I think Josie may have gotten a couple bites from Grandpa, as well. Jon and my Dad are heading to a warmer climate tomorrow…and we're jealous.

FYI - not that any of you care - but now that the "original" Catie Becker is married - I'm officially the only Kady Becker. This will clear up some confusion during Becker Family gatherings.

Happy Friday!!! Two more work days (after today) and it's THANKSGIVING! I've never been so excited for a break - ever.

Hi Grandma Shirlee

This is a special HeLLO to Jack's Grandma Shirlee - who has been hounding me to update the blog. There's this little thing called a j-o-b that is really making it hard to do. So here are a few pictures of your favorite grandson to tide you over for a little bit.

This is Indiana

Today marks TWO special occasions - Veteran's Day. (thank you!!) and the start of INDIANA Basketball Season. Jack is dead serious about IU basketball. He's definitely his father's son…and his uncles' nephew.

Every night - (since Jack was a tiny baby) - I sing him the IU Fight Song. Every.Single.Night. And if I forget - he reminds me, "I want IU."  We've added the "This is Indiana" chorus to our nightly routine and the video below shows he's learning the words.

GO HOOSIERS!

"Follow Tom Crean - he's gonna take us back to greatness."

And the original…for those of you who need to get into the IU spirit!

Halloween

Last Wednesday we took Jack and Josie Trick or Treating for Halloween.  It was a cold, rainy, and windy night - all three make a really BAD combination. Add two kids to the mix and it's a recipe for miserable. Regardless - it HAD to be done. I'm an advocate for "childhood."

Josie wasn't really into it. That's pretty apparent.

Jack knew he was getting candy with each stop - so he reluctantly got in and out of the wagon, in the name of sugar. We only made it to a few houses before all four of us conceded to the weather and went home.

 Jack's reward was pretty sweet, though. He has enjoyed ONE piece of candy each night after dinner.

Jos even got in on the fun - Halloween shaped PRETZELS! She'll be working on her trick-or-treating skills for next year.

Fire!

We finally used our fire pit a couple weekends ago. It was FREEZING outside, but we all enjoyed it. And I learned that I need to keep fresh marshmallows in the house at all times.

NOW ** please** GO VOTE!!!

Ritz4Education

So the elections are just a few days away - and THANK GOD for that! I've had about enough of the Political Ads on TV. Seriously. Enough.

BUT - I have one plea…and it's especially directed at my Conservative friends & family. Yes, my Republican friends - I'm asking you to vote for a "Democrat." But HEAR ME OUT!

You may (or may not) be aware that there is a very important race for Superintendent of Public Education happening this year. The incumbent, Tony Bennett, is facing Glenda Ritz. Below are some important things you should know about Glenda:

1. Glenda Ritz is an EDUCATOR. Yes, she teaches children and she knows what is happening in our schools. Friends, the state of education right now is bad. Scary bad. We're so focused on testing and teaching TO THE TEST - that we are leaving kids helpless when it comes to THINKING. Children are more than a test score, I promise!

2. Glenda IS for teacher accountability (and I AM TOO!!). But she also realizes that the current pressure on teachers is causing animosity and is making teachers focus on something OTHER THAN TEACHING. I can tell you - teaching under this pressure is stressful and in the long run, detrimental to the success of students.

3. Glenda supports the ARTS. Come on, I think we can all agree that creativity should be embraced and supported in Public Education. Not every child will grow up to be a doctor, lawyer, scientist, or scholar. We need artists, musicians, poets, and authors. Creativity is lacking in our classrooms…and not because teachers don't value it.  Unfortunately, the current Superintendent doesn't value it because it can't be measured on a test.

If you would like more information on Glenda Ritz - please visit her WEBSITE. And if you don't want to take my word for it - ask ANY educator you know. I bet most of them will tell you "we need a change!"

Thanks to my family who voted early - and didn't vote straight ticket!!  :)  Jack and Josie will soon be sitting in a Public School classroom and they say "THANKS!"