Chloe Ellene

The Becker Crew is SO excited to welcome Lucas' new baby sister, Chloe Ellene! She was born last night at 10:46pm and she weighed 7lbs. 2oz.  She is simply perfect and we can't wait to meet her! Congrats, Harucki Family!!!

That's Pinterest-ing - Kid Stuff

So this Pinterest post is all about things I've tried…and how they worked. Pinterest is great for new ideas, but sometimes the ideas are total failures {at least in our house}…

Case in point: 

THIS pin is a Pinterest hit…claiming to keep a toddler occupied for "an hour." To that I say - HA! I got all of the supplies ready and set up - thinking to myself, "if Jack really does this for an hour - I can cook dinner…" {I had a skeptical tone, FYI} So, how long did he last?

 about 5 minutes

FAIL!

For Tyson's birthday I wanted to do something to surprise him. I decided to try THIS recipe for Sidewalk Chalk Paint - to paint a message on our driveway. It was very easy…and looked great!

via Pink and Green Mama

I used regular size paint brushes and was really happy with the way it turned out!

SUCCESS!

Holy Heat

We officially welcomed summer today…with 100 degree weather. HOT! We celebrated by visiting our friends in Tipton, Indiana! More on that later…

Tonight Jack had his FIRST Wee Bear soccer game. The Plex was {a wee bit} HOT - but Jack {and Tyson} did an excellent job! 

 Modeling his new "jersey"

Josephine is modeling her new headband & shades from her Great Aunt Kim. She's ready for the 4th of July. Annnnnd - at Jack's soccer game a lady walked by Josie and said "Oh.My.Goodness! Look at that chunky baby." Luckily Josie couldn't understand her…and I have thick skin. Back off, lady.

Eating…again

Josie is happy to report that Dr. Cohen lifted her NO EATING rule. She is back on the bandwagon and looking forward to lots of tasty homemade foods. She weighed 20lb 10oz - which is still in the 97th percentile…but he thinks she is "slowing down." 

We enjoyed some time in Warsaw last night celebrating Father's Day and Tyson's birthday. We all ate WAY too much! Jack kept everyone busy and I have to say - it is nice to have help in keeping him entertained.

He may have snuck off with Grandpa Jerry to see Ava & Annie's Grandma - Sue. She let him borrow a Little Tikes car…which made his night!

Happy Birthday!

Today marks 31 years for Ty. I can't imagine my life without him in it…and I feel very blessed to have married my very best friend.

If you get a second - send him a note to wish him a HAPPY YOU, YOU {as Jack says}. I know he will appreciate some love - as he works all day.

tyson.becker@gmail.com 

Weekend

Our weekend kicked off on Friday morning with the Carsten's! They were our tour guides around the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Jack was so excited to see his buddies!

Our little monkeys - with a monkey. 

This picture didn't turn out the way I envisioned it. Yes, that is my son - falling head first out of a kangaroo pouch.

Jack did get to feed a giraffe - which was definitely awesome! I was very impressed with the zoo here! I love the Detroit Zoo - but FW has done a great job with making their zoo hands on & interactive!

After an afternoon of no napping - we packed up and took off to the lake to celebrate Tyson's birthday with friends. Sarah, Blake, & Floyd came up from Cincy… you can see Sarah's pictures by visiting her blog TBC. Nancy & Denny were brave kind enough to take the kiddos for 24hr! It was a mini vacation - full of laughter, boating, and maybe a few "cocktails." (PS: Aaron showed up with these shirts for the trio…a tiger, an eagle, and a panther)

Yesterday we {recovered} enjoyed a low-key Father's Day. Jack & Josie are so lucky to have a Daddy that works so hard & loves them so much. Happy belated Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Happy Friday!!

Dude Looks Like a Lady

It's no secret that toddlers love to parade around in their parents' shoes. Jack is no exception. Yesterday he was obsessed with my red high heels. They did match his baseball shirt - I'll give him fashion points for that!

 He was a bit concerned about the holes. Less concerned with wearing them on the correct feet.

Josie is a professional roller these days. And she's moving on to bigger and more important tasks - like sitting up and eating remotes.

Our Family: According to Jack via Little People

Today, while playing with Jack, I realized that he was calling his Little People toys various family members' names. I listened and then started asking him questions. Granted, he has had a chance to spend a lot more time with family - since we've been back…but I think he did pretty well labeling everyone!

Above you will see the grandparents and Josie. Pretty close! Nancy, however, does not knit and, to my knowledge, my Dad doesn't walk around with buckets of fish. Also - Josie may, or may not, be represented by Baby Jesus. Interesting.

As for aunts, uncles, and parents - again - not too bad! Joe and Gina are apparently construction workers…and considering Joe is the only member of our family who owns power tools {and knows how to use them} - I think Jack was very intuitive with his choice. Uncle Jon - being the world traveler that he is - is shown in his safari gear. Uncle Devin is viewed as a hippie drummer… I'm not exactly sure what's going on out in Idaho, but I have never heard any mention of drum circles. Kristin - aka: a Wise Man - is looking very friendly. To Jack's credit he may have mistaken the headpiece for a wedding veil. Tyson - aka: Joseph - is looking pretty awesome in his robe & sandal ensemble. Me? Well, I was the one that didn't quite belong with the rest. And apparently I squint a lot.

Here's the kicker…are you ready? When I asked him which person was "Jack"…he chose:

Someone has a big ego. And perhaps a skewed view of himself.

For those people less familiar with our family members - you can use the visual below to see how Jack did.

Shhhhhh

Yesterday I felt sorry for Josie and temporarily lifted her "diet."  She seems hungry. Just look at her. I'm pretty sure she's lost a few rolls. She goes back to the pediatrician on Monday…but I just felt so bad eating lunch in front of her...

I decided to give her some bananas. And she loved them. Of course.

Jack was in on the little secret. By the way - fully aware that he is in MAJOR need of a haircut. It's on my To-Do {when I find time} list.