Day Out with Thomas

In June we were visited by our fabulous Alaskan friends and we all spent the day with Thomas the Tank Engine in Hood River, OR. Enjoy the pix.

June Beach Trip with Isabelle and Julie

In June we ventured out to Seaside to play in the sand. It was a chilly 68F but bright and sunny. There was a little inlet that was warm so the kids splashed around in the shallow water. Too much fun!!! Enjoy the pix.

Go Sox!

This is a shout out to the Red Sox. We actually ventured up to Seattle to watch the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners (woo hoo!). It was Beck's first official Major League Baseball game.

Post game hangout time with cuz' Scott and Holly. Beck loves wearing glasses upside down and Holly had a fun dress up pair.

Mammoth Vacation

This past week Karen, Beck and I went flew down to Reno and then drove to Mammoth Lakes, California for a week of vacation. We took a gondola up to the top of the mountain:

which was fun, but Beck wasn't satisfied with 11,053 feet. He had to climb higher:

After the gondola ride down, Boppa Skip needed someone to check out his heart, so Dr. Beck stepped up to the plate:

Turned out that Boppa Skip felt hot as well, so Dr. Beck used what he thought was the thermometer to check Boppa Skip's temperature, in the area where Beck gets his temperature taken. Ahem.

Beck also got this cool horse and cowboy hat: he rode the horse around while wearing the cowboy hat saying "Hiho Silver!"

Not satisfied with a fake horse and hat, we visited the old ghost town of Bodie, where we took a family bath:

All the activities put Beck to sleep during dinner more than once:

but that left time for Mom and Dad to kayak around Lake Mary:

When it was all said and done, it was a week to remember:

Also notable during the week: Beck swam in a pool (using floaties) all by himself and we heard the phrases "where are we going?" and "come play with me!" approximately 605,203 times.

You can check out all the photos on Grammie Johnson's Flickr page.

Summer Summer Summer Time

which means cooler heads prevail.

Our Slugger

Beck is now a HUGE baseball fan. In fact, he could play for an hour if he had a catcher. He prefers for us to throw him the ball as opposed to using the tee (he has to keep up with the big leagues). The only difference is that he usually makes contact with the ball on his back swing and occasionally the second back swing depending on how high we throw it. Enjoy the pix:

Haircut

This is a picture of the 2nd haircut Beck has received in a *haircutting store* as he likes to call it. Before haircuts have been courtesy of Aunt BJ or Julie, we can start those back up anytime ;-)

He felt very accomplished sitting up on the big boy chair all by himself, and I just can't get over the neck lining and fish apron - such a *little man.* Here are a few photos:

Happy Easter!

Here are the pictures from our Easter. We begin with:

Dying easter eggs... Next Easter I will buy 2 dozen - one dozen to eat and one for Beck to crack as he drops them into the dyes. I'm learning, slowly, but I'm learning.

Discovering the Easter basket on Easter morning:

We had a 2nd egg hunt in the afternoon at our cousin's house. This is the post egg hunt pic. It looks like he wrestled a few eggs that were getting away...

Our family Easter pic...

This is the post-nap nap. He was one worn out little puppy.

Pocket Pants!

Beck loves these pocket pants that Grammy J made him. You can't tell but he is actually wearing two pairs! He can't wear just one. Grammy picked such cool truck fabric he just can't decide. These are called pocket pants because they have really "long" pockets and can fit just about all of his toy cars and trucks. You should see him trying to reach the trucks at the very bottom, he doesn't quite understand that if he simply bends down he would have no problem. But would mommy show him and risk losing a few entertaining moments?

Quick *boo boo* story. Beck was wearing his sunglasses in the house today, by the way he has finally reached the age where he'll leave them on, in fact he now has to go everywhere with them. It is very dark in our bathroom as there are no windows so he accidentally ran into the molding on the door frame. Only a minor boo boo occurred but as always I picked him up and took him over to where the *boo boo buddy* lives (freezer), only this time instead of the boo boo buddy (ice pack), he thought he'd feel better after having some ice cream. "Mommy I need ice keam, I fee better with ice keam. A bowl?" Not giving in fully, the voice from my past came out of nowhere "he won't have room for dinner if he has ice cream now", which by the way it's scary how that voice just appears, I assured him he would feel better after only a few bites, which of course with every bite he said "I fee better. I fee better mama." If only ice cream could heal all boo boos...

Happy me!

I've added onto this post as I remembered a poignant part in our trip. We were on the airplane flying home to Portland and we were talking about Daddy. How much we missed him and all that we wanted to tell him (literally, Beck started speaking in full sentences while we were away). We walked through the airport all the while Beck calling "Daddy, are you?" We rounded a corner and passed the security where all of sudden we saw Daddy. Beck ran over to him and AJ picked him up. Beck hugged his Daddy for 2 minutes. Then the first words out of his mouth were "Happy (pause) me" with a huge smile. I was in tears, I had never heard him express his feelings. He really did think about what he was trying to say. Our little boy is learning how to communicate what he feels on the inside. Being a parent is one of the best experiences ever!

Our annual trek to Southern California happened once again this past January, and it could not have been a more beautiful week! Beck did fantastic on the one hour plane ride, this again being one of the many benefits of moving to the West Coast, although we really miss all of our friends back in Mattapoisett! Another stellar performance by Beck on the six hour drive to So Cal from Grandma and Grandpa W's. What a great time of relaxing and hanging out. Beck had to be just like his cousins, especially Lucy. She wore a backpack so he wore one too (even though it was as big as him). We'll miss our live-in playmates. Check out all the photos if you have time.

Our highlights were:

Playing with Uncle Mark and Erin

Playing with Grammy Johnson and Uncle Kev who visited for a day (thanks for the pix)

Playing at the Santa Ana Zoo with Abby (okay, I have to say that she looks exactly like her mom did; I couldn't get the flash backs of when I was a child out of my head - wow!)

Other highlights included playing with our cousins Angie, Megan and Lucy!!! We love you all and can't wait to play again.

eating snow: take 2

Little did we know we were in for a nice cold snowy winter. 5+ inches, I never thought Portland saw that much snow. This winter is shaping up to be like our first winter in Mattapoisett where every storm dropped snow on our little town. Since we were not driving anywhere on our unplowed unsalted roads today, we ventured outside to make our resident snowman. As you can tell Beck ate it (again).

January '07 Snowman

February '06 Snowman

It's Been Awhile

So we slowed downed posting to the blog recently. I think it's the combination of having a busier boy that can say a lot of words, the holiday season, lots of travel and ... well, we really don't have any other excuses. Sorry. What we do have is this great picture that Mom and Beck and I took at the mall the day after Christmas.

Happy 2nd Halloween!

I must say this year Beck made an awfully cute elephant (thank you Grammy Johnson). We celebrated Halloween with Beck's cousin Isabelle. She was dressed up as Stephanie from Lazy Town. Originally we were going to meet up with friends at the zoo, but the zoo closed at 4pm (a big bummer). So plan B was to check out a Harvest Party at Isabelle's church. Beck loved throwing the balls into the basket and riding a horsey in the toddler area. All in all a fantastic 2nd Halloween. A few pictures are below.

First pony ride!

Fall in Oregon has been beautiful, but no Fall would be complete without a trip to the pumpkin patch for apple cider donuts, fried apple slices (true! and yummy in a fried sort of way), a pony ride, a carriage ride and lots and lots of running. Here are some pictures:

Beck with his friend Madaline

Riding the toy tractor

Riding the big tractor

Finally the pony ride!!! Mommy I can do this by myself, I'm a big boy now.

Pictures from Hawaii

Mom and Beck got to go to Hawaii a couple weeks ago with Grandma and Grandpa Waterbury (Dada had to stay home and work). Grandma Waterbury has been extremely busy keeping her blog up to date with pictures (unlike us) so I thought I'd steal some of the fun Beck pictures and put them up here for your enjoyment. If you can't get enough of Beck, make sure to visit Grandma Waterbury's site as well! (and thank her for the pictures)

Hanging with Isabelle

This summer has brought many changes: new house, new city, new coast but one of my favorite 'new' things has been my cousin Isabelle coming over to play on Tuesday and Thursday. She and I have gone to the zoo a couple times to see the lions and tigers and bears and giraffes and elephants, we got to go to some of the local farms and pick blueberries (which I eat like candy) and blackberries and today we got to go to the Childrens Musuem. Since summer is winding down (it got a little cold today), I just thought I'd share a picture of Isabelle (or Belle as I like to call her) sharing grapes in my backyard.

Happy Birthday Daddy

On July 15th, we celebrated Daddy's birthday by going to the Oregon International Airshow at Hillsboro Airport. It was hot, but Beck LOVED the planes and wanted to tour each one. Especially the ones he could sit in the cockpit and press all the buttons as you see in the pictures below. I don't know who had more fun Daddy or Beck...
See all the pictures to decide.

Can I stay? I like it here

What happens when I press this button?

How can I make this start?

Note from Dad: Beck didn't particularly like the flybys by the two Oregon Air National Guard F-15 Eagles. It's also important to note that Beck had to be forcibly extracted from the cockpits of the planes and helicopters that he got to sit in. I'm pretty sure that if someone designed a crib that had as many buttons as a cockpit, we wouldn't have any problems getting him into his crib at night.

Boppa and Grammy's visit

Boppa and Grammy Johnson visited this past weekend and our yard toys doubled. Funny how that happens. We love it and mommy likes a busy boy. Here are the pictures that Grammy took.

Boppa Skip

Look Holyn, just like yours. . .

Portland, California???

Since our move West in May, the weather here in Oregon has been astonishing. During the usual rainy, gloomy month of June we were downright hot with a number of days in the 90s and even 100's. This California weather is going to come to a crashing hault in October/November and the real test of acclimating to the Pacific Northwest will begin. In the meantime we will soak up all the rays we can get. Did I mention we have not seen any mosquitos yet?

Beck is now saying *bu* for blue, *nauh* for no, and *maur* for more.

Some highlights from the past couple months are below. We have not taken many pictures and mom hopes to take a photography class *really soon* Check out the whole shebang. . .

The expert unpacker

Trying to beat the heat

Grammy is this a truck or a gwuck?

Grammy has been busy. . .

So Grammy J was out to help us get packed up (thanks Grammy!) She also took some fun shots - you'll want to see them all. Here are some highlights from her visit:

How big is Beck?

Here's Beck exploring the dynamics of floating a flower in water. Will it sink or float?

I love my dad!

And my mom!

Come on in, doesn't this look like fun?

And Holyn - I'll miss you Holyn especially your plastic car...

April's Showers

Okay, so we really haven't had much in the way of April showers, despite our dire need. But we have been getting nice and dirty outside. Some highlights for April were that Grandma W came for a visit. She taught me how to keep my hand flat to feed horses, how to dust off my hands after I fall in the dirt, climb chairs and stairs *carefully*, at least that is what she kept telling me I was doing. Below are fun pictures of the last few weeks.

Messy Face!

How about letting me cut the side yard?

A new outfit from Grandma

The replacement truck as mommy ran over my other one (an eighth of the size of the new one).

Brandt Island hike and picnic

Look at all the Easter Eggs I colored (my mommy didn't wipe my nose before the picture - shame on mommy)

Can I ride to church on my Fire Engine?

Let the egg throwing begin!

March Happenings

Big changes are coming! We are packing up and heading West. Portland, Oregon to be exact. We are very sad to leave our wonderful friends here in Mattaopisett, but we are looking forward to a 2 hour flight as opposed to a 6 hour flight to see the grandparents.

Here are a few pictures of March activities. Beck loves to climb, play in the dirt, run and throw balls. The weather has been nicer lately so we HAD to go to the beach because soon we'll have no more beach (5 minutes away that is). As always Beck loves his bath and Jazz's water bowl (aarrgghh). Check out the gallery to view all the pictures.

Mommy got a mac

so the truth is, mommy has been trying to figure out all the ins and outs of the mac. I must say I love it so far. I haven't figured out how to load albums up, but that's moving up on the priority list. For now I'll post single pics. Enjoy, these are from our first big snow mid-February as well as a pic of Uncle Kev and Beck in California.

Beck loves to eat snow - we did this alot that day.

It was so warm that day that we watch the snowman melt away...

Gathering more snow to eat

Little Red Fire Engine

A special package came in the mail today. . .

Boppa Skip and Grammy Johnson have been busy this past January. We love it - for all the pictures click here.

Birthday, Christmas and New Years!

Here's a recap of our travels to California and New Years celebration in Mattapoisett (click here)...

Happy Birthday Beck!

Well, not yet.. but he did get to celebrate his birthday early with Grammie Johnson, Uncle Kev and Uncle Kev's girlfriend Belen:

Grammie made him a cake:

which he proceeded to (slowly) destroy:

He and Mom got to play his favorite game (How big is Beck?!! [raise your arms above your head] SO BIG!!!):

Finally, Beck got this cool bomber jacket from Uncle Kev:

You can see the full photo gallery here.

Johnson Family Christmas Pictures

We had the family photographer over today to snap a couple pictures for our Christmas picture (that you'll all be getting soon). Here are the two best ones:

We'll be in California with family this Christmas (and for Beck's first birthday) so if we don't see you, have a Merry Christmas! or as Beck might say "BARARARA"!

Hallo-mousey-ween

Tonight I got to dress up like a mouse (which my dad says is 'cheesy' but whatever) in a costume my Grandma J made for me and it was really weird because all these other kids dressed up too! My friend Sammy dressed up like a lobster (he told me his outfit was kinda steamy) and we took a walk through the village in Mattapoisett because there was this parade and then we went to the school where they had this big contest for all the best costumes and stuff. My pal Mike took a bunch of pictures of me and my mom and Sammy and his mom Jamie and Shena and ... oh ... Dad says I'm rambling. I guess that's all for now. You can see all the pictures here.

Fabulous Fall!

What New England Fall would be complete without the annual pilgrimage to the apple orchard? I must say though, the apples were really small this year (just my size). I think my mom had to use 12 to make one apple pie. Here I am chompin' away - yummy!

I'm getting really excited about Halloween also. My Grammy from Mammoth Lakes made me a "wireless mouse for the laptop" costume. It's a little big but I'm sure to win the prize for most original costume at our local parade and festival.

To view the rest of the pictures, including me playing in my room wearing a sweater that grammy J made, a cranberry bog that's near my house, and my new favorite place to hide (under the table) click here.

October Days . . .

These days we've been trying to stay dry, which means lots of indoor playtime. I've been testing out my walkin' legs with my *girlfriend* Holyn's walker she loaned me. It works great on carpet (slower than on wood floors and of course, makes for softer landings). You'll notice I'm sporting my Patriots jersey from the Orr's. It finally fits (sorta) - Go Pats!

My mom got this superyard and I don't mind being in it for a little while, but after a while I'm ready to explore the rest of the house. So I try to break out. Usually I'm caught though, like below. Click here for a pic of when I crawled over (baby sprinting) to see my daddy when he came home from work.

Here I'm showing off a sweater Martha Neu (friend from Boston) made for me.

To see all the pictures click here.

October 1st

Here are some fun shots. To see all the pictures click here.

First is Beck with *bedhead* Now that his hair is getting longer and curlier it likes to go all over.

This is Beck playing in Holyn's sandbox. You might recall the pictures of him playing in it without sand at Holyn's first birthday. He looks like such a big boy!

Aquarium Visit and Birthday Party

This past weekend was full of lions (sea lions), tigers (tiger sharks) and bears (as in I head to "bear" my dad telling me about all the different kinds of cool fish and stuff). We got to visit with my new pal Veronika and her parents Brian and Lena at the New England Aquarium on Saturday and then on Sunday we got to go to my next door neighbor Holyn's house for her 1st birthday party. I got a goldfish! I haven't named it yet, but I'll let you know when I do.

In the meantime, check out all the pictures from my weekend here.

Beck at the beach

hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I hung out with Mama last week at the Mattapoisett Beach. I had a great time playing with the seaweed and the sand. The waves kind of scared me, but I got over it. Check out all the cool pictures she took of me here!

Dave, Amy and Luke visit!

My parent's friends David, Amy and Luke from Chicago came to visit, yeah! They are really cool and actually live in the city. Hopefully my parents will take me to play at Luke's house soon. Luke is about six weeks older than I am and he shared a few "verbal expression" tips - I showed him a couple of crawling techniques and he ended with showing me what happens when he bites his mommy's toe (ouch!).

Here are a couple of pics. For the rest of the pictures click here.

Grandma and Grandpa W Visit

Grandma W came to play with Beck for almost two weeks and Grandpa W came out for the first time since Beck's arrival for a long weekend. We had lots of yard work waiting for him - Thank you! The weather was the best we had all summer. We visited the zoo, went out to eat, gardened, and even sewed - thanks for the picnic quilt Grandma!

Here are a couple pics - we didn't take too many, we were busy having fun...

Outdoor Adventures

Okay so we really haven't had any outdoor adventures yet, but we are planning some with our new Burley trailer for Beck. It doubles as a jogger as well.

August Pictures

hi friends & family! Sorry for the lack of updates, the hot August weather has slowed *some* of us down a little. Unfortunately, the fast ones are low to the ground and hard to pick up, especially now that he's crawling, sitting up, standing up (by pulling himself up) AND going to his first baseball game (Pawsox, the Red Sox AAA team near Providence, RI). You can see all seventy one of the pictures we've stored up over the last couple weeks here. Below are a couple highlights:

July 2005

What a month! Summer is in full swing in New England and Beck is non-stop action. To see all the pictures click here.

Here are the highlights:

Food is fantastic - here I'm enjoying some fresh zucchini from the garden Grammy J planted (thank you!)

I'm all about being on my tummy and can get to anything that is on the floor - mom and dad watch out!

Once a week I enjoy cooling off in Holyn's pool with swim lessons. We blow bubbles, and do scoops and kicks to nursery rhymes. I love the water! Thanks Uncle Kev for the awesome swim trunks.

Just like Lance won the Tour de France, I'm the winner of the Tour de Mattapoisett! Thanks Jen and Dan for the cool outfit.

Del Mar California Trip 2005

Mom is tired tonight so she relegated writing duties to Dad, or Big Buddy as I like to call myself, in contrast to Hairy Buddy (Jazz) and Little Buddy (Beck). Anyways, a couple weeks ago we got to hang out with Great Grandma and Grandpa Werner, Grandma & Grandpa Johnson, Uncle Kev and even Uncle Mike, Aunt Karen and cousins Megan and Lucy in Del Mar California. Beck had a fantastic time playing in the pool, watching his cousins, and helping Dad take sunset pictures. You can see all the pictures we took
here.

California Trip continued(3)

Grandpa is reading to Beck at Marie Callendars...

First time in a swimming pool!

Here he is with Uncle Mark...

California Trip continued(2)

Beck only has Jazz (black lab) at home, so a live kitty is something new. He would watch Freckles go around and around the chair. I don't think Grandma finished the book...

California trip continued

Visiting Great, Great Aunt Grace - Beck especially liked her stuffed kitty.

California Trip

On Thursday, 6/9, Beck and Mom traveled all the way to Stockton, CA to visit Grandma and Grandpa W before meeting up with Dad, Grammy and Skip, and Great Boppa and Grandma Werner on the 19th for a week in Del Mar. Single shots will be posted here for you to enjoy.

Arrival at the airport (Grandma and Beck both look great in lime green)

Beck konked out after the 6 hour plane ride (finally he sleeps...)

Friday we took a walk. He's stylin' in his shades...

The theme for this week is *teething*. Along with teething comes crankiness, not wanting to nap and generally unhappy - all new traits for Beck. Here is one way Beck was soothed (no food yet though).

Just hangin around

Here are some fun pictures of Beck hanging out in our backyard and practicing sitting up. Notice the long sleeves on June 3rd - only in New England. For all the pictures click here.

Grammy J Visit

Grammy J came all the way from California to plant me a garden, well okay, my mom a garden. It was especially nice to have her out as I came down with my first cold (yucky!). She coaxed my mom through it.

I have a new toy called an exersaucer which I LOVE. When mom is in the kitchen cooking I can eat the rubber flower and butterfly.

Other big news of the day: I rolled over from my tummy to my back - three times!

For all the pictures click here.

A Spring Hike

Check me out in my hiking gear...

For the rest of the photos click here.

Fun with Tupperware

Today we practiced more sitting which ended in reclining. Doesn't he look comfy?

AND for something new, we introduced Tupperware. Beck was happy to wear it on his head as it was at perfect mouth level:

For the rest of the pictures click here.

Happy Mother's Day!

We had a fantastic Mother's Day weekend as AJ likes to call it. Breakfast at a darling little omelet restaurant in Fairhaven called Morgan's, then Mommy got to take a nap while Daddy played with Beck. And our evening ended with filet mignon topped with cilantro garlic butter, fresh bread and roasted summer squash. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy click here.

I have feet!

Beck is now into the next phase of development: multi-tasking. Chewing and grabbing his feet at the same time! For all the pictures click here.

Beck Visits with Noah (and Joe and Amy)

Beck got to meet his friend Noah this past weekend. Noah's dad (Joe) took some great pictures and kindly sent them to us so that we could post them on Beck's blog. Not only did they send the great pictures, they gave Beck his first pair of sunglasses, which you can see below. It's warming up here in Mattapoisett, so I'm sure we'll be taking advantage of them soon! You can see them all here.

Four month birthday!

Beck had the privilege of having his four month doctors visit on the same day as his four month birthday. He is now officially 16 lbs. 4 oz. and 26.5 inches long. A growing boy! You can see more pictures here.

Spring Pictures

I've asked Mommy to take over the site updates because at night Daddy is busy hanging out with me and giving mom a break. Besides she changes my diaper more which has to come with some perks. The last two weeks have been filled with new discoveries. I'm easing my way into tummy time. I think I'm up to three minutes a couple times a day which is progess since 30 seconds was my time to beat. I'm able to roll over to my left side while on my back (mommy kept putting the rattle in my left hand and I'd automatically roll to the side - didn't happen when she put it in my right hand). I'm getting ready for the spring soccer sign ups - I prefer my bare feet and no diapers.

I've gone on a couple trips too. One was to help my parents friends Craig and Kristen move into their new house - Kristen's dad Cal worked hard by being my personal burper. My mommy also likes to visit Sammy's mommy a couple times a week. He has a great play room and I get to test out all of Sammy's toys since he is three months younger than I am. Here's a picture of Sammy at 3.5 weeks (he sleeps alot - I can't wait til he is awake long enough to play).

Mommy tried to play a guessing game with me - I humored her as she put my toys in a container, shook them and let me chew on the container until I was bored, and then she would give me the toy. I'm a HUGE fan of gloworm! I also like to grab my hands and try and put them both in my mouth at the same time. Check out all my pictures here.

Spring Pictures

I've asked Mommy to take over the site updates because at night Daddy is busy hanging out with me and giving mom a break. Besides she changes my diaper more which has to come with some perks. The last two weeks have been filled with new discoveries. I'm easing my way into tummy time. I think I'm up to three minutes a couple times a day which is progess since 30 seconds was my time to beat. I'm able to roll over to my left side while on my back (mommy kept putting the rattle in my left hand and I'd automatically roll to the side - didn't happen when she put it in my right hand). I'm getting ready for the spring soccer sign ups - I prefer my bare feet and no diapers.

I've gone on a couple trips too. One was to help my parents friends Craig and Kristen move into their new house - Kristen's dad Cal worked hard by being my personal burper. My mommy also likes to visit Sammy's mommy a couple times a week. He has a great play room and I get to test out all of Sammy's toys since he is three months younger than I am. Here's a picture of Sammy at 3.5 weeks (he sleeps alot - I can't wait til he is awake long enough to play).

Mommy tried to play a guessing game with me - I humored her as she put my toys in a container, shook them and let me chew on the container until I was bored, and then she would give me the toy. I'm a HUGE fan of gloworm! I also like to grab my hands and try and put them both in my mouth at the same time. Check out all my pictures here.

Spring is coming!

Hey! It's getting warmer! Well, it's at least a little warmer than it was 2 months ago, I'm not sure that 50 degrees is really warm, but at least we can get outside now. This set of pictures includes Dad and Beck doing their best Pokey Reese impersonation (too bad the Sox couldn't bring him back), Beck getting kisses from Jazz, and Beck hanging out in his new 'exersaucer' or just check them all out!

California Trip Pictures

Dad has been a wee bit slack in the posting of pictures lately. Grandma Waterbury and Grandma Johnson sent these pics in from Beck California Tour 2005.

Beck On Tour: Stockton, CA

Mom and Beck are in California for 2 weeks visiting with family. You can catch Beck: California Tour 2005 in Stockton this week and then in Newport Beach next week. Here are some pictures Grandma Waterbury sent:

Mall Walking

Karen and Beck drove up north to the Burlington Mall this week to meet up with our friend Kristen and her daughter Corrin for a quick catch up and mall walk (which is how you get 'outside' in the wintertime).



In other news, my dad and brother have fully prepared Beck for life as a major leaguer, sending along a 34 ounce customized 2004 World Series commemorative Louisville Slugger with his named etched in the sweet spot. My dad made a bat holder as well, the laces in the glove are from the mitt he's been playing with for the last couple years in the Mammoth Mountain Softball League. In the picture below, you can also see a photograph of my grandpa, Harold Johnson, in his baseball uniform. He's the one on the far left.



You can find all the pictures here.

2 Months!

Some of you (you'll remain nameless for now) can't seem to get enough pictures of Beck. I can't wait till the kid can type and use a mouse so that he can post his own pictures. This last week (click on it! there's pictures in that there link!) included a visit to AWC where Karen used to work to see friends including Kristen, John and Catherine. Saturday our friend Lissa came down from Boston to spend a couple hours with us (at least she said she came to see us, I think it was just to see Beck). Unfortunately, she's a secret agent so we can't show her face (actually the photographer [cough... Karen] didn't get Lissa in the picture... oh well, next time k Lissa?).

Since the last time we talked, Beck got his shots and got weighed. He came in at 13 pounds 6 ounces and has grown an inch and a half since he was born. I'm learning scheme in my classes at school right now, so at the rate he's growing right now (1.5 inches in 2 months) he'll be:

> (/ (* (/ 1.5 2) 12 20) 12))

which if you don't have a scheme runtime installed works out to be about 15 feet tall by the time he's 20. I'm not sure I want to work out the weight because I remember how much I ate when I was 14.

If you're still reading this, you need to go look at the pictures now.

Outfit from Great Grandma & More Bath Pictures

Karen wanted me to snap some pictures of Beck having his "bath time" (I wish I had bath time) which he seems to enjoy alot. He expresses his enjoyment by waving his arms and kicking his legs like he's riding a bike or something, which I guess is natural if you've been cooped up in a womb for 9 months. Probably feels good to stretch out now and then. The last shot in the sequence is him mooning my mom.

Super Bowl Sunday

Mike, Shena and Sara all came over to celebrate the inevitable Patriots win in the Super Bowl. Shena and Sara were both brave enough to hold Beck, Mike apparently doesn't think he's as strong as Sara or Shena so he opted out of the Baby Holding Experience (BHE). We took a bunch of pictures before the game of Beck hanging out on the bed with his toys, which he seems to enjoy while he's having his FB time (it's a guy thing).

Chillin' Around the House in February

Pictures from February 4th (the birthday of Rosa Lee Parks and Charles Lindbergh).

Beck Meets Allison

Allison came over to hang out with Karen and Beck and we snapped a couple pictures before having Grilled Quesadillas with Sweet Corn, Grilled Shrimp and Jalapeno Pesto along with Charred Corn Guacamole (all courtesy of Dad via Boy Meets Grill). You can see the pictures here.

More Smile Pictures

Karen took a bunch of pictures of Beck sporting his new smile. He apparently has warmed up to the times when the diaper comes off and he can "air out" a bit, these pictures are proof.

First Smile On Camera

Beck has been smiling or at least making us think that he was smiling for awhile, but his smile is elusive and hard to catch on camera (kind of like a snipe). Anyway, Grammie and Skip caught him on camera tonight after dinner (our dinner, not his), which you can see below.





And just because they're fun, check out these feet:





If you just can't get enough of Beck, you can get your latest fix here (and thanks for Mike for the new Beck Photos header image, you did know that you can customize your Picasa templates right?).

Another Picture Update From Grammie Johnson

Grammie Johnson took a bunch more pictures of Beck including pics of Beck with Grandpa Johnson (aka Skip) and Uncle Kevin (aka Kev) and a trip to the pediatrician (where we found out that Beck weights 11 pounds 2 ounces, go team!).

More pictures from Grandma Johnson

Grandma Johnson has chosen to go by the name Grammie in case any of you were wondering... Here are a couple more shots she snapped this week.

Pictures From Grandma Johnson

Grandma Johnson arrived in town two days ago (it seems so much longer!) and brought her USB cable so that we can get more photos than anyone really needs to see, but hey, I'm sure there are a ton of Beck fans out there. Click here for her pictures.

Bundle Me Up

Two of I'm sure many pictures of Beck in something that you all bought for us (I hope we can use it all!), this one from Chris and Sara (thanks guys!) The Bundle Me blanket goes in Beck's car seat and keeps him warm during chilly stroller walks and drives around town. You can click on the pictures to see the full size, suitable for printing (and yes, he is underneath the blanket in the second picture):

First Doctor Appointment

On Monday morning we drove 1.9 miles (aren't small towns great?) to see Beck's pediatrician for the first time. He got his weight checked out (multiple times it turns out because the scale hadn't been properly calibrated which resulted in more screaming than necessary because Beck didn't appreciate laying on a scale in a cold room for any longer than humanly necessary). Anyway, it was our Karen's first trip out of the house since coming home from the hospital on Friday and there was alot of snow on the ground so everyone was bundled up. Check out the pictures here.

Christmas Day and First Bath

Christmas Day was pretty uneventful in the Johnson household: feeding, sleeping, some crying, a bath and being with family. You can get the picture story here.

Christmas Eve & Arriving Home

We packed up Karen and Beck this morning, got our final checkups done by the nurses & doctors and hit the road to get home for Christmas Eve. Pictures are available here.

Day Two

Day two is in the books. Grandma, Dad, Mom and I hung out in Mom's room all day, got poked and prodded (as did Mom) and cried a couple times when I got hungry. Check out the cool hat that Grandma made for me and wow.. look how beautiful my mom looks a day after delivering me! Click here to see all the pictures.

He arrived...

Beck arrived this morning at 12:36pm weighing in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and measuring 22 1/4 inches. Click here for more pictures.

Cradle & Nursery pictures

My dad whipped together a cradle for us over the last couple months and it got here just in time this week. Grandma Waterbury (or Grandma Waterford as my friend Mike calls her because he can't remember that it's Waterbury!) and Karen put it together on Wednesday and then the mattress arrived in the mail on Thursday. There are more pictures of it and the rest of the nursery here.

Our Rocker Arrived...

Our baby rocker arrived this past week from Target (thanks to everyone who got us gift cards from Target!). If someone would get around to having a baby, I could show you the chair in action. Until then, enjoy the picture.

Mom To Be and the Christmas Tree

My mom (Betty Johnson) made sure that I took a profile picture of Karen before Beck arrived. I took this one the night we setup our new fake Christmas tree from Target, which also happened to be her birthday (12/6/2004). Happy Birthday Karen!



update 12/21/2004: We measured KJ the day she was induced and her circumference was 39 inches.

December 6th Ultrasound

This picture is a close up on December 6th. At this point they estimated that he weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces.

July 21st Ultrasound

The ultrasound picture from July 21, this was the ultrasound where we found out we were having a boy. It kind of looks like he's got his hands behind his head and that he's just chillin' out, but that's just me.

May 11th Ultrasound

Here's a picture of the blob that turned out to be Beck on May 11, 2004 which was our first ultrasound. There's not much going on there other than to confirm that yes, you are pregnant.