Nascar Man

Wayyyy back in November I gave Guy an unexpected birthday present.  I was pretty proud of myself because I can usually never keep a good secret when it comes to his presents.  But I think I really surprised him this time!  Fast forward to a couple of weekends ago and he finally was able to use his present.... a Nascar Racing Experience at Texas Motor Speedway!!

Years ago Guy used to be a racing fan and although he doesn't watch the sport now, I knew he would still love to do this.  What guy doesn't love a fast car?  A REALLY fast car?

The Stoners were good sports and braved the crazy high temps to cheer Guy on.

Guyla and B also came for a short while.  They saved the day by rushing like crazy to bring his tennis shoes to us.

By the way - that navy striped action in the background is a very preggo lady.  Poor thing for having to be that pregnant in this heat!  Ugh.

After the training Guy was given his driving suit and waited for his turn.  I did not envy him for having to wear normal clothes + driving suit + helmet + 100 degrees, not to mention all of the concrete and heat from the cars.  

He may have been hot, but he still knows how to "model." ha!

Finally it was his turn!  Here he is waiting for his car.  I think he was actually pretty nervous.  I sure would be!  The max speed on these cars is 185 mph, but you don't go much over 150.  What's weird is that you don't have a speedometer so you aren't told your max speed until the very end. 

Go #29!

I had to laugh about him getting into the thing.  I would have died to be just a little closer.  I mean, Guy is all of 6'1", plus he's a "good eater" so I imagine there was some grunting and groaning about crawling through the window and being packed into that tiny seat.  They even have to unscrew the steering wheel just so that you can get in.

Drivers, start your engines - and he's off!

I'm not sure how many laps he did, but it seemed to go by in a flash.  We did upgrade get suckered in to the eight minute package so that he had some extra drive time.  I was hoping he would have a chance to pass a car, but they staggered the cars so that he only caught up to a slower driver right at the very end.

Look at those big eyes and excited face!  Guy said it was a blast and such a rush.  He felt like he was going at warp speed.  I believe there are future plans to drive an Indy car next.

Guy told me I better smile pretty since I'm now a "driver's wife." :)

And here's his certificate - he went 154mph!  yikes!!

Happy Belated Birthday, babe.  I'm so glad you had fun!

Dear Beckett: 14 Months

Dear Beckett,

At 14 months you are independent, joyful, stubborn, cautious, loving, and observant.  You are also into everything, love being outside, and are always being silly and playing games.

At this age you are learning, repeating, and practicing something new every day.  You love to mimic what we are doing!  

This is one of my favorite examples -  you want to do just what Dada does.

This summer has been H-O-T!  Your whole faces lights up when we ask you to go outside, so we try to go on your beloved car rides first thing in the morning and right before bedtime.

Sometimes we walk up to the school playground so that you can crawl around.

And, of course, we have fun at the pool and with the water hose!

Here is some more info about YOU!

Weight: 24.5 pounds - This is official since we went to the doctor's to treat an ear infection.

Diaper Size: 3 or 4, depending on the brand

Clothing Size: You barely fit into 12-18 month sizes, so we are moving up to 18-24 month clothes.  In shoes you wear a 4 1/2.  

Physical Description:  You have SO much hair!  We have cut it twice now (which was HORRIBLE), but it really needs to be cut again.  You have such pretty blue eyes with long lashes, a long torso, the softest baby skin, and 3 molars!  

Development:  You are walking more and more.  At the beginning of the month you would walk 4 or 5 steps and at the end you walk 6 feet or more before losing your balance or getting to something you can hold on to.  Since you are such an efficient and fast crawler, you haven't been as motivated to walk more - you can get there faster crawling!  But I imagine you will stop crawling all together by the end of next month.  This makes me sad because you will probably stop pushing your books all over the house.

Words: You repeat TONS of words and sounds that we make, but the words you say independently are: dog (constantly), momma, hi, good, yum, truck, yuck, no, yeah, and night night.  You also are demonstrating more sign language - we were so proud when you signed "more!" 

Personality: Oh what a funny boy you are!  Any time you have the opportunity to be silly you take it.  You are still very independent and like to play by yourself.  In fact you are obsessed with shutting doors and keeping us out of a room!  At the beginning of the month I took you to a play group with about ten other babies/kids.  It was a new surrounding with lots of activity so I wondered if you would cling on to me or act shy.... nope!  In fact you were perfectly content to play by yourself or with another baby and never even looked for me.  

Favorite Books: Any book with dogs and your Caterpillar book

Favorite Games: At the end of the night when your Dada and I laugh and tell stories about you, we always crack up about how you love to play chase.  All we have to say is "I'm going to get you!" in a really deep voice and you squeal with delight and crawl away as fast as you can.  One day you got so overexcited that you turned around and plowed head first into the wall.  We all laughed so hard!

Favorite Things to Do: Give kisses!  You kiss everything you love - people, dogs, favorite books, moose, Woody.... it's just the sweetest thing. 

Favorite Toys: The iPhone and remote control are now two of your favorite things to play with.  

Favorite Foods:  This is a toss up between cheese and smoothies.  You have both every day and light up when it's time for a snack.  

Sleeping:  You still take two naps a day.  Your morning nap is from 9-11:30 (Sometimes until 12:30) and your afternoon nap is hit or miss 3:00-4:30.  You ALWAYS sleep with moose.

We love you.

Love,

Mom

LIfe on Autumn Trail.... Our Pictures!

I am an expert procrastinator when I want to be.  Today, for example, I have a list that is a mile long of things I MUST do today.  Like really MUST do.  And Beckett is peacefully sleeping away, which means this is the ideal time to buckle down and tackle the important things like Facebook and blog reading.  Which brings me to this post.

I noticed that Kelly at Kelly's Korner was doing one of her Friday Link-Ups on a topic that I have actually been meaning to post about.... displaying pictures.  I have never done a link-up before, but I thought "why not?"  I will only be up until 3:00 am working on my to do list.  Anyhow, you may remember (or not), but awhile ago I decided to do several wall galleries since I have about ten trillion pictures of Beckett that I want to display.

Let me preface all of this by saying that my procrastination does have some limits - these pictures are straight from my iPhone and I didn't even bother trying to make anything look "nice."  I just don't have time to be a perfectionist.

Ok, here's the grand tour... 

Here is our entryway.  This was actually quite a project, but pretty cheap.  My mom gave me a bunch of gold pictures frames.  I worked for awhile on picking different arrangements and colors and then painted, sanded, and repainted them all to get that "worn" look.  The most expensive part was getting custom frames and glass, but I think they turned out well!

The one with the big M on it has a chalkboard inside.  I plan to add a picture to it, but I think I will wait until B gets a little older.

To the left of our entry way is our dining room.  These watercolors were done by my great uncle.  They are different seasonal landscapes and I love them!  The picture frames are from Aaron brothers and I had custom mats done at Hobby Lobby.

This is our living room.  I found these oversize frames at Z Gallerie.

The shelf collection is all from Pottery Barn about 9 years ago.  I am not crazy about it anymore, but that's one project I am not messing with for awhile!

Moving on to the hallway....  I ordered these canvas prints from Costco.  They are a great deal and a very good quality!  

And, finally, our bedroom.  This was another major project for me.  I wanted a sorta eclectic look, but it ended up being a pretty standard wall gallery.  I am pretty proud of myself because I did all of the arranging, measuring, drilling, and hanging by myself.  Which means I better sleep with a pillow over my head just in case my DIY skills aren't really so great!  ha!

All of the frames in our bedroom are also from Aaron Brothers.  I am a big fan of their penny sale!

Below are some really cool watercolors that my grandmother got in Paris in the 1950's.  I love art that has sentimental meaning!  

Well, that's the big tour.  Thanks for stopping by!