Nine

Happy Anniversary to Tyson! We are celebrating NINE years today! Life is hard, marriage is hard, kids only add to the "hard" - but he's been my best friend since the day we met at DePauw...and I love him so much.

Here are some highlights of our years...

 The very first picture we took together - Sept 2000

 Just me and my best friend..."I could NEVER date Tyson"...

 Oh wait, never mind. Married November 26, 2005

We QUICKLY added to our family...with our Cleveland street dog, Cooper.

And then our family just kept growing!

We've dealt with our fair share of this:

And PLENTY of this:

 

 Our kids are SO lucky to have you as their Daddy!

And I'm blessed to have you as my husband. You still make me laugh...even when I'm REALLY mad at you. You are my birthing coach (x3) and I must say, we're a good team. You are my sounding board, the person who keeps me grounded, and the person I couldn't live without. And all these years later - you're still my best friend. I love you.

PS: Next year is #10...and we will FINALLY take our honeymoon. That's final. Now who wants to watch our three kids?!?!

That moment...

That moment Nolan realized his Daddy can get "a little crazy" about IU basketball. Go Hoosiers.

Josie is {almost} 3!

So I recently realized that Josie will forever have a birthday that interferes with two important things: 1) her parents' anniversary and 2) Thanksgiving. Our anniversary doesn't mean too much right now - but LOOK OUT - pretty soon we will be traveling to exotic locations. {probably not} But Thanksgiving is a legitimate concern because her friends will probably always be out of town or busy. Poor Jos.

Since her cousins were coming to town, I called up Betty's Cake Shop and we planned a Birthday Party for the {almost} 3 year old.

Tyson's cousin Blake, his gf, Laura, and Nuala came to celebrate with us!

Bad News: my camera was on a weird setting and all of the fun pictures - party scene, blowing out candles, etc. turned out blurry. The Good News: Josie had a blast! She loved having people sing to her, she loved blowing out her candle, she probably won't miss the crummy pictures.

That's the face of a very happy {almost} 3 year old! The booze in the background were for the After  Party. Adults only.

And - it's official - she's a BIG GIRL! She has her very own sleeping bag!

Snow. Seriously.

Unfortunately snow season is upon us. I used to think winter was only a few months - but then last winter was so long, I'm still scarred from it. So when snow started falling on Metro Detroit - it was everything in me not to start cussing out Mother Nature. Because, seriously.

Of course, I tried to stifle my disgust - Jack and Josie were so excited and really wanted to play outside.

15 minutes to get gear on, 10 minutes of playing in the snow, 15 minutes to get the gear off.
Lord, help me.

If you live in a state that thinks 50 degrees is cold...{ahem, Florida!} - we don't want to hear about how awful it is to throw on a sweatshirt before you leave the house. And here's a heads-up...if this snow BS continues - you may just have "Becker Party of 5" (plus two dogs) knocking on your door. Except we will have a moving truck instead of a suitcase. #truth

Nolan is 3 Months old!

This little guy is 3 months old today! Its getting hard to remember life before he came along - but that could be the 3 months of not getting a full night of sleep...

Regardless - it is safe to say he is very well loved on in this house! He is smiling so much and has even let out a few giggles. So far I'd say he reminds me of his big brother. Which means I will need significantly more booze in my life in about 12 months! {send wine}.

See what I mean...so much love.

Ridiculous amounts of love.
I keep telling him to enjoy it while it lasts because pretty soon they will be ratting on him for everything from breaking their toys to sneaking beer from the fridge.

Happy 3 months, NoNo. We all love you to the moon!

Me & my Boo

Just messing around with my new computer (early Christmas gift)! Nolan wasn't as excited about it as I was.

That's me with twin Nolans. I kind of look pissed. Probably good I have babies one at a time.

Oh and this is me with my identical siamese twin. We both had babies - and we're freaked out by it.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for providing me (and my children) with endless entertainment via PhotoBooth on Apple Computers.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh Josie, oh boy, oh boy

The Carsten Family came to visit us last weekend! It always fun to spend time with them! We now have 5 boys and Josie is the lone girl.

 The older boys tuned in to some Saturday morning cartoons.

Devin is 16 months now and he is getting WAY too big, WAY too fast. He has an ornery side - which I find hilarious, because I once had a very ornery 16th old boy.

Nolan - chilling with the dads. "Is it always this crazy? Because I can't wait to join in the fun!"

A big ol' pile of kids. Six kids - ages 5 and under.

So you may be wondering if the parents enjoyed some adult beverages...answer YES.

 The first three outtakes of a group picture.

And then finally one that worked:

It's always so fun catching up with the Carsten family! You can see some of our other get togethers HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

What's up...

...with the Becker Three.

Jack has been REALLY into building things with Legos. He was recently introduced to the regular size Legos and Tyson & I have enjoyed watching his creativity come alive. Here he is showing a "Robot Monster."

Josephine is still enjoying her Mommy & Me class. Last year I worried that she would be sad to be away from me...and now I know that's entirely FALSE. She would be JUST fine without me.

Nolan spends his days cuddling with his mom, napping in his carseat (because we are always on the go), and he's also earning his keep as a MODEL for the Printed Poppy.

Last Friday night we had family pictures taken. If ever there were a person who didn't believe that the TERRIBLE 3's are worse than the TERRIBLE 2's...just come hang out with Josie when she's tired. She's hands-down the most stubborn child I know. She wasn't interested in taking pictures. So heads up - our Christmas card might be a little on the "BAH HUMBUG" side.

And finally, Nolan recently received an elephant towel from two friends he will come to know & love - Mark and Karen Dixon (lake buddies). Bath time is his favorite time of the day, so this towel is a big hit. Tyson didn't believe me when I told him how excited Nolan gets for bath time. He can anticipate it. Then I had Tyson give him a bath and he saw it for himself. Pure joy.

A Convo with Noley

Nolan recently had a conversation with Tyson and his Grandma Nancy...I believe it went something like this:

Nolan: "Isn't milk the greatest, guys?? It's so delicious. I love milk."

Tyson & Nancy: "Milk is pretty great, Noley...but there is a whole world of food for you discover. Wait until you try fruit, and chicken, and CAKE."

Nolan: "Cake? I have no idea what that is but it sounds AMAZING! When can I have some?"

Nolan: "Seriously though - how many chins do you think I'll have once I can eat some cake?"

Happy Halloween!

Last night was Trick or Treating in Northville. We had two ninjas and a last minute costume change, Josie decided to go with her Princess costume 100%. She was a pirate for school, but by 4pm her costume was trashed. Good thing we had some backup options.

 Nolan's FIRST Halloween. HI -YA!

 The red ninja is ready for candy.

It was cold. VERY cold. And windy, and rainy, and awful.

Tyson and I needed adult beverages to help warm us up! Our drinks got colder the longer we were out with the kids.

Success! Lots of delicious candy to rot our teeth!

Don't worry - Nolan didn't participate in trick or treating. He passed out candy with grandma & grandpa at home.