Friday Flashback

In honor of IU's win last night - I'm flashing back to "sometime in the 90's." Our neighbor was Steve Alford - who, at the time, was coaching for Manchester College. He brought in one of my ALL TIME favorite players, Damon Bailey, for his summer basketball camp.  When I heard that Damon was in town - I just about LOST it! He was not only an awesome basketball player, but also a pretty cute guy! Swoon.

Bath? Yes, PLEASE!

Before Christmas...when we asked Jack if he was ready for a bath - we were met with a very stern "NO!" Playing was too much fun. But AFTER Christmas - bath time become WAY more fun thanks to TWO new bath toys!

Our friends, Blake and Sarah (& Floyd), gave Jack a new boat for the bath tub. HUGE hit! He loves it!

Look at that bathtub "soup."

Jack's Great Aunt Sally got him foam letters - which are also a BIG hit! We spell words (okay, I spell them, Jack tries to spell them) and we sing the ABC's while we put them on the bath tub wall.

Mommy lesson #876

You know when moms say: "If you don't eat your dinner, you're not getting anything else. You'll go to bed hungry!"? Well, I learned last night that is a TERRIBLE idea!

Jack was up three times and I finally figured out he was hungry (at 4am) because he refused to eat his dinner. He did eat a few noodles, but obviously it wasn't enough. At 4:30 I sent Tyson downstairs to get Jack a breakfast bar. Problem solved.

Never again.

Happy Friday!

Back to Idaho they go...

Devin and Kristin were back in Royal Oak for a couple days before leaving for Idaho yesterday.  They spent New Years Eve in Bloomington - watching the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes! Tyson was incredibly jealous. It was nice to have them here. Jack LOVES both of them and had fun playing.  They got him a kid's set of "disc golf" (aka: frisbee golf) for his birthday.  That is Uncle Devin's sport of choice in Idaho. Kristin, Josie, and I went to a bridal shop and we *think* we found Kristin's wedding dress! Awesome! And on Tuesday night we enjoyed a dinner out in Royal Oak - while Jack & Josie stayed with a babysitter. We all wish they lived closer...

Jack loves his Uncle Devin and Aunt Kristin...we have officially started calling her "Aunt Kristin" because July is just SIX short months away!!!

They were excited to meet Josie! I'm not so sure they were excited to hear Josie wake up a few times a night...

Lots of LOVE sent to Idaho!

The FIFTH Lake George Baby Has ARRIVED!

We are SO excited to share that the FIFTH lake George baby of the year arrived on December 30th! Our good friends, Lindsay and Dale, welcomed Ava Marie! After spending some time in the NICU (for breathing) - Ava is healthy and home with her Mommy & Daddy! Tyson and I couldn't be more excited for the Koler family! Congrats!

Ava was the last baby of our Lake George friends to arrive. Next summer (and all of the summers to follow) will be SO crazy fun! Jack is excited to lead the pack: Tripp (born in July), Ethan (born in October), Madison (born in November), Josie (born in November), and now Ava (born in December). Talk about a BABY BOOM!

Little Friends

Jack, Molly, and Lucas enjoyed a playdate at a local community center today. It's always fun to watch them play and interact with each other. We are sure going to miss days like this...

Reunited...and it feels so good.

"Juice is delicious. AND hilarious,"

Jack and Molly were reunited yesterday after two LONG weeks apart. Brooke and Molly stopped by and surprised Jack when he woke up from his nap. Then Jack and Molly ran around the house playing and making each other laugh. It was clear that the five adults in the house (Tyson, Devin, Kristin, Brooke, and I) were not "in" on the toddler jokes.

I received this picture from Tyson one morning. He and Jack were going to get coffee. Jack insisted on bringing his entire entourage from his crib: Gigi (his monkey), "baby" (that he stole from Josie), Woof-Woof (the blue dog), nigh-nigh, and Pass. Judging from the picture, I think Daddy is a bigger pushover than Mommy.

Sleepy Owl

Like most babies - Josie enjoys a car ride because it lulls her to sleep. She's a good little traveler - for now.

Happy New Year!

This is our first picture of 2012. It may also be our first picture as a family of FOUR! Josie is a month old...that's sad that we don't have a family picture yet.

We rang in the New Year with a BANG! No, that's a lie.  Jack was in bed by 7:30, Josie was asleep (but thinking about waking up for her 12am feeding), and Tyson and I were watching House Hunters International.  We are the epitome of "losers." Ty and I actually changed the channel in time to count down the last minute of the year...but I realized I had nothing to toast with - so I sprinted (yes, I can sprint again) upstairs and grabbed an open bottle of wine . And then, being the classy person that I am, I drank from the bottle at midnight. Cheers.

Despite being lame, we all made New Years Resolutions.
Josie's: to sleep through the night, to learn to crawl, and to survive her first year with her wild brother


Jack's: to get potty trained and give up the "pass" (pacifier)


Kady's: to get a job, to not be pregnant in 2012 (I've been pregnant in 2009, 2010 (for 8 days), and 2011 - I think I can skip a year), and to stop using "choice language"


Tyson's: he claims he hasn't thought of one yet... If I had to guess I would say he wants a successful first year at Zimmer, to find a house in Fort Wayne that meets all of his demands needs, and to get to Bloomington more often for IU football/basketball games

Dirt Devil

Dear Future Mrs. Jack Dyer Becker -

I'm training him well. You're welcome.

-Your Future Mother-in-Law

Nancy got him this Dirt Devil for Christmas. He LOVES it. For a half second, when he opened it, I really thought it vacuumed. My heart jumped with excitement. But then, the truth was revealed...it really was "just a toy." 

Never fear - My dream isn't dead...perhaps I will invent a little "Dirt Devil" of my own...that actually WORKS.  And that's how I'll make my millions.  (I wrote it down, does that count as a patent? Lawyer friends, draw something up.)