Weekend in Island Park

Every year we look forward to going to Island Park with all of the Likes family.  

It was especially fun this year because we actually had some real live SNOW to play in!  

(I'm not even joking.. it's the middle of Feb and we're barely getting snow at home!).  

Going snowmobiling is what I look forward to most in IP! The first time I ever experienced it was when we were engaged.  Until then, I never knew what I had been missing out on.  There is just something freeing about breezing through the white powdery snow with no care in the world.  Derrick let me sit in the front for part of the ride and lets just say I might have stood up with eyes closed, arms and the air, and yelled,"I'm the king of the world!!".... but like I said.. I only MIGHT have done that... ;)

Beckham enjoyed the snow too! We got him all layered and bundled up and took him outside.  

He loved it.  It was so white and beautiful he just stared at it.  

And because Beckham has been into tasting almost anything lately, 

we had him try out the snow.  I think he liked it.

The cabin we stay at is perfectly secluded and well equipped for a whole gang of us.  

We played games and ate way too much:) 

Some of us got a little worn out from all the fun.

Sunday just isn't the same without a good old fashioned church service. So it's pretty awesome that anywhere we go there is usually an LDS church nearby! The church in Island Park is very used to having tourists there.  The entire gym was packed full of visitors. 

 Then before we left, we took the traditional Likes family picture on the stairs :)  

First Snowfall

I cannot believe the winter right now.  I mean.. I'm not complaining or anything... but it has been WARM!.. okay warmER than last winter that's for sure.  Last week it started snowing, I surprised myself when I ran to the window and thought, "Yes it's finally here!".  So when Derrick got home we got Beckham bundled up and took him outside to document his first experience of snowflakes landing on his pretty little face.  He was totally chill, it was so cute!

 It was so sweet seeing my two favorite boys having a fun time outside.  

And now? The snow is gone!

But once again.. not complaining:)

Beckham Lately

He is just a week shy of 4 months old! 

Maybe I should just wait til then to post but I couldn't help it.  

Just recently, he has discovered his cute little feet.  

They are the first thing he grabs onto as soon as he wakes up.  

Remember when he was about 2 weeks old, his hair started to fall out?  He had an old man cul de sac look going on for a while, but not anymore! His hair is growing in dark and thick.

He hasn't completely rolled over yet.  

He rolls almost all the way but then his arm gets stuck and he doesn't exactly know where to go from there.  

So then he decides to gnaw on his hands.

I will most likely say this in every post about him, but it's just...

He is growing up so fast!! 

He is super curious and always wants to see whats going on.  He smiles at everyone but rarely at the camera because he just wants to know what that thing is thats always flashing at him!  Get used to it little boy, I can't stop capturing every second of your little life! You're the love of my life Beckham cake... i won't tell daddy if you won't.. xoxoxo

Christmas in Idaho

This was our first Christmas in Idaho since we were married. 

We were pretty excited about making Christmas memories as a little family.  

Even though Beckham is too tiny to know it, we did everything to make his first Christmas super special.  

The night we brought home our first real tree was so much fun! We watched the Christmas devotional while we strung ornaments and listened to Michael Buble Christmas while we hung them.. then when baby boy was asleep we turned off all the lights and danced next to our brightly lit tree:)

Decorating cookies is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time! Jessica and I tried to get super creative with our decorating skills... but then the boys got involved.... haha we had lots of fun though:)  Meanwhile, Derrick and Melanie made their traditional Swedish Rosettes, 

which turned out both beautiful and yummy.

 On Christmas Eve we had fun party at Grandma and Grandpa Esplin's house.  There was so much food and it was a packed house full of family. We had a sweet little Christmas program that I just loved! 

On that same day Beckham turned 3 months old!

My little boy is getting bigger and cuter every day!

We're pretty sure that Beckham's gift to us that night was sleeping for nine whole hours!  

It was so nice.  

Thank you for being so thoughtful with our Christmas gift this year son:)  

Waking up Christmas morning was so fun! Derrick and tip toed out of bed like little kids on Christmas morning and went in Beckham's room to wake him up.  I think he was surprised to wake up to mom and dad's smiling faces hovering over his crib.  When he opened his eyes we said,

 "Merry Christmas Beckham!"

... we were definitely more excited then he was, but he did give us a huge smile:)

It was pretty sweet that Christmas landed on a Sunday this year.  After opening gifts and playing with baby boy, we hurried and got ready for church.  The choir and primary kids put on a Christmas program that Melanie played the flute in. It was a perfect way to set the tone on Christmas day.

 We spent the rest of the day at Rick and Melanie's.  

The gift exchange was so much fun, everyone's gifts were so thoughtful and we loved them all!  

After gifts we had a delicious meal followed by lots of games and Italian sodas.  

It was an awesome Christmas day!

After Christmas the fun didn't end, we went to dinner, and looked at Christmas lights, had more game nights, and our favorite day was when we went to a festive sleigh ride, dinner, and a show at Mountain River Ranch.  The food was delish and we just had so much fun together.  

Christmas 2011 was a blast!! 

Thanksgiving in California

On November 17th we packed up our favorite things and for the first time ever,

the three of us took a long drive to the great state of California!!

I really loved packing Beckham's tiny little things:)

I like our road trips, hubby and I always have fun talking about everything and when we run out of things to talk about we're singing to our favorite Pandora stations. As for baby boy, I was afraid he'd loathe the sight of his carseat after being stuck in there for half of a day.. but luckily he was sleepy enough that the ride was no big deal for him...

which meant a pretty peaceful ride for us.

I have to admit that Beckham got a little spoiled over there.. but so did I!

It was pretty nice to have so many babysitters in one house.

He definitely got mucho love from everyone.

We had a very eventful 10 days.. from witnessing Beckham's first (and only) projectile vomit (sorry you had to be a victim of that incident Kari), to me having to be rushed to urgent care due to mastitis (no bueno), and Derrick's truck having a random electronic difficulty (which cost us a pretty penny to fix).. we still managed to have a fun time with my family

... but of course we did..

We're talking about THE STEPHAN FAMILY:)

1. We got to CA just in time to celebrate my dad's bday.

2. He's pretty awesome right? Happy Bday Papi!!

3. Derrick and I just loved our little family walks.. baby boy was nice and cozy.

4. He's just cute. What more can I say?

5. Auntie Kari.. aka The Baby Whisperer. She was so good with him! Thanks Kare:)

6. After a few days we finally got to see my Dahv and his lovely wifey. Miss them so much!

7. How awesome is this. My little hippy baby.

8. Now the BEST thing about having so much family more than willing to take care of little Beckham was that we got to have our own little one night getaway:) Derrick surprised me with some yummy sushiiiii!... dang it I'm craving this now...

9. We went to downtown San Diego and stayed at a very pretty hotel, The US Grant. It was lovely.

10. Shopping at Fashion Show Mall, tomato basil soup at Nordie's cafe, and galavanting in SD was amazazazing. But the best part? Getting a full night's sleep!!

11. On Thanksgiving day Beckham turned 2 months old!

12. We got up early that morning to watch the boys play football.

13. Dad, Rebecca, and Madi ran on the track and watched the boys play too.

14. It was a beautiful day for football.

15-18. Cooking together on Thanksgiving day is my favorite. That and the ham:) (Thanks for the photo Rebecca.. hehe)

19. My dear friend Haley and her beautiful family came to visit! We tried to get the babes to at least look at each other but it wasn't happening.. we're devious matchmakers:)

20. When she wasn't looking my dad was so sweet and planned a bday surprise for my mom. We ate at our fave bbq place Lucille's. Love you momma!

It's not every day that we get to see this family all at one time.

We love you guys more than you know:) xo

The first 7 weeks

Look how much he has grown in such a short 2 months!!

This little babe is bright eyed and a curious little george. He is always looking around at everything going on around him. I wonder what he is thinking of this brand new world he is in.

I have been an avid blogger since I started this blog in April.

I wanted a place to record the many random and significant things that happen in our lives. I was even more determined to get this started after we found out we were having a baby. I really want all our kids to one day look at this like a photo album/journal of our lives together.

(kids if you're in the future and reading this now, i love you and come give yo mama a keeyiss:)

Beckham was born more than two months ago and I have been slacking!! It's not that I haven't wanted to blog, but jeez, this little guy can be a handful!... a cute handful:) I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. Allow me to give a little recap on the first almost 2 months of our little Beckham's life.

When we came home from the hospital we were greeted by my mom. She had driven out here with my dad and then decided to stay a couple of weeks to help me out with Beckham.

It just so happened that he was born just a day after Potato Harvest started.

Derrick had to work 7am-10pm everyday, so having my mom here at home with us was a lifesaver.

It's a big deal bringing a little one into your life, I loved getting to know my little babe.

Just a couple days old, he was always so sleepy, but still managed to keep me up all night:)

At 4 days old we took him to his first doctor's appointment.

Doctor said he was a healthy boy... he peed on the doctor.

1 week old, so deep in thought.

We're pretty much in love with him.

After 2 weeks, the new grandma had to go home:( She had really helped us out so much. She made yummy food and even did the dishes for me! And of course, she spent lots of time loving on her new little grand baby:)

Thanks so much mom, we love you!!

3 weeks old- I was sadly surprised to notice that his hair started falling out on the top of his head! He had the old man hairdo going on. We called it a "Skullet".

4 weeks old- He was our little monster for Halloween.

And at 4 weeks, he graduated from sponge baths and started bathing in his little whale tub. At first he didn't know what to think, he screamed and looked at us like, "Why am I naked and wet?!". It only took a few more times for him to enjoy bath time.

When he was 5 weeks old we had a fun little photo shoot.

Then, we he was 6 weeks old, Beckham started to really smile!! Derrick was at work when it happened for the fist time so I took some pics from my phone. He was super jealous that he had not seen a smile in person yet, but Beckham just smiled more everyday:) It was so nice to see his smiles, I felt like we were learning how to communicate better just by that sweet little expression.

On November 13th, Beckham was 7 weeks old and received his special baby blessing at church. My parents and sisters came to Idaho for the occasion. This was the first time that the new aunties met Beckham! Their trip was only for a short weekend but it was so nice of them to come all the way out here for his special day. The blessing that Derrick gave Beckham was so special and sweet. I could hear it in his voice, this daddy definitely loves his son:)

I can't believe how fast he's grown. I feel so much better getting all caught up.

Next post: Thanksgiving in California!