The Beeston Family

Today we celebrated Logan and Taylor's first birthday party. I had been planning this party for 6 weeks. It was a bitter-sweet day, a day I had been anticipating and dreading at the same time. It was exciting to see my little boys all grown-up =), but they're not my little babies anymore =(.
We had a few friends and family members over, ate some pizza and brownies, watched Logan and Taylor play with their cake, open their presents, and eat suckers from the pinata. It was fun!

Thanks, Bon Papa and Bonne Maman. These ride-ons are so fun, with their wheels and buttons to push. We will ride these all the time.

I cannot believe that exactly one year ago, I was laying on a table with a curtain below my chest, waiting for the OB/GYN to cut me open and pull out my two little baby boys.
When I look back at pictures, I cannot believe how much Logan and Taylor have changed, learned, and progressed over the past year. They are both so fun, active, loving, curious, and smart… I love it! I love everything about my two little baby boys.
It seems like it was just yesterday that I first held them, not really knowing what to do. Before I knew it they were cooing, smiling, kicking, laughing, rolling over, crawling, pulling up,...
Some days, I want to relive all these moments, do better, not repeat mistakes, and never let these moments go. But at the same time I look forward to creating new memories that Logan and Taylor will never want to forget.
I love them both so much. They are so loving and forgiving. I now understand why the Lord wants us to be like little children. There are times when I am very frustrated because things aren't going my way, but then there are tender moments and all my frustrations simply melt away.

Logan's stats: Height: 29-3/4 (51%), weight: 19 lb 15.5 oz (12%), head cir: 18-1/2 (69%)

This month, Logan:
- points
- drinks from a straw cup
- imitates sounds, especially animals’
- climbs onto objects to get to things
- pulls on the couch cover to get to things
- fake laughs
- obeyed a commend (accidental? maybe!)
- walked in the sand
- pushes the ball and chases it around the room
- rode the car-cart at the grocery store
- climbed up the stairs
- fed mommy some food
- recognizes his name
- understands NO (and occasionally obeys)
- talks a lot, and even says 2-syllable words
- enjoys smashing and smearing his food on the tray
- still loves to snuggle on mommy’s chest while sucking his thumb
- slaps the table or makes noises to communicate that he wants more food
- went to the mall play area
- had a party thrown just for him (and got a nice birthday kiss)

Logan is also moving away from pureed baby foods and toward adult finger foods. He eats just about anything, waffles, pancakes, watermelon, blueberries, meatballs, cheese,… even cake and suckers. At one year of age, Logan’s favorite toys are balls and stuffed animals. He loves to cuddle with his bears. He also loves to dance and play peek-a-boo or our own version of tag. He communicates so much better than he used to and it makes it much easier to give him what he wants and needs. Logan is one word: affectionate.

Taylor's stats: Height: 28-1/2 (14%), weight: 17 lb 13 oz (1%), head cir: 18 (32%)

This month, Taylor:
- points
- drinks from a straw cup
- imitates sounds, especially animals’
- climbs onto objects to get to things
- pulls on the couch cover to get to things
- fake laughs
- obeyed a commend (accidental? maybe!)
- walked in the sand
- pushes the ball and chases it around the room
- rode the car-cart at the grocery store
- climbed up the stairs
- fed mommy some food
- recognizes his name
- understands NO (and occasionally obeys)
- throws the ball
- got his first kiss on the lips and lick on the forehead- from Skylie
- pooped in the tub with Logan in it, too
- can stand for up to 5 seconds
- teases Logan to get him to chase after him
- gets really excited when daddy comes home
- got 2 more canines (for a total of 7 teeth)
- enjoys being picked up and “fly” in the sky
- climbs whoever is holding him
- loves to rest his head on mommy’s tummy, especially her bare tummy
- slaps the table or makes noises to communicate that he wants more food
- went to the mall play area
- had a party thrown just for him

Taylor is also moving away from pureed baby foods but not transitioning well toward adult finger foods. We are working on that with a feeding specialist. He did have a little bit of cake and some suckers on his birthday, though. At one year of age, Taylor’s favorite toys are balls, stuffed animals, and anything else he can push around the room. He loves to tackle his bears and then snuggle with them and kiss them (or bite them). He also loves to hang out in his boat and read books. He communicates so much better than he used to and it makes it much easier to give him what he wants and needs. Taylor in one word: active.

This last week, our little family went to the Omaha zoo with Billy's brother, his wife, and their son Kai. We had been to the Des Moines zoo before, but this was our first time going to this zoo. It was huge and impressive. We will only be out here for another year, so I am glad we got to check it out.

Last night, I watched a show that was really inspiring – it was called “What Would You Do?” In the one-hour show, hired actors acted out a situation in which other people could step up or simply walk by.
In one of the situations, there were three guys beating up another guy, a Latino. A few people called the police, but the majority of the people witnessing the beating simply walked by, ignoring what they were seeing. Only a handful of people actually stopped and intervened.
As I thought about what I would do, I was embarrassed to come up to the conclusion that I would call the police but would probably not intervene. I would not only be scared for my own life, but also for putting my family in a situation where they would have to live without a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister – not that it’s a justifiable excuse.
And then something happened. As I continued to watch people’s reactions to this beating, a car stop and a 5 ft 2 woman step out. She put herself between the aggressors and the man and told them to stop and leave him alone. I was so impressed with her courage, selflessness, and willingness to put herself in danger to save this man’s life.
It inspired and motivated me to be the best person I can be, to always put others above myself and their needs above mine, and to help those around me whether they are friends or complete strangers. I recommend anyone who hasn’t watched this show to watch it – it will change your perspective on how you can make a difference in others’ lives.

There are days when I know without a doubt that I am doing what I am best at while Billy is doing what he is best at.

Me: Honey, I am so glad you’re home! I had to deal with the grossest thing ever today!
Billy: What’s that?
Me: So I was in our bedroom, picking up clothes off the floor, when I saw this thing that looked like a small stick. It looked like a brown cylinder that was close to an inch long. So I leaned over to take a closer look and, I’m not very good at naming bugs, but it was like a worm but with lots of legs.
Billy: (He probably wanted to roll his eyes at that point, but he was really trying to be supportive.) Ohh.
Me: So I ran to the bathroom to pick up a few sheets of toilet paper, ran back to the bedroom, and picked the thing up. But I was afraid it would get out and crawl over me, so I squeezed it between the toilet paper sheets, and it made this really crunchy sound. It was so disgusting that I literally got chills all over my body and my stomach made a 180 twist. And then I flushed it down the toilet. Yuck!
Billy: I’m sorry you had such a tough day, honey. You wanna hear about mine?
Me: (So I’m thinking that it can’t be too bad since he’s doing a family medicine rotation.) Yeah, okay.
Billy: So this girl - in her early 20s or something - came in. I asked her what brought her in, and she said that earlier that day, she was sitting at work, wearing the same mini-skirt that she was wearing then, and no underwear, and all of a sudden, she felt something on her inner-thigh, so she looked down, in between her legs, and saw a worm coming out of her vagina.

Not only did I get chills all over my body, but my stomach made another 180 twist, AND I literally got nauseous visualizing what Billy was telling me. I definitely do not have the stomach to deal with this type of stuff. I think I’ll stay home and be the best mom I can be while Billy goes to work and becomes the best doctor he can be.

Feeding Taylor has been very frustrating these last couple of weeks. He refuses to eat anything from a spoon unless he has toys to play with, and even then it is still difficult. He eats some finger foods, but only the crunchy kinds, which do not have a lot of calories and are not very healthy. He occasionally eats foods that we load up with calories, like bread dipped in butter and fruits soaked in cream. Who does that??? Well, we do!!! We’ll worry about getting Taylor to eat healthy foods when he can afford to do it.

We used to take Taylor to our family doctor, but she was not very helpful. This is how our conversations went:
Me: I am very concerned about Taylor not gaining weight. What can I do to help him?
Dr X: You could try to feed him more formula.
Me: I’ve tried that, but if I try to get him to eat more than he wants, he just gets upset or throws up.
Dr X: You could try to feed him more often, like 6 to 7 times a day.
Me: I’ve tried that, too, but he doesn’t eat anymore that he normally would. He just eats smaller portions.
Dr X: Well let’s try that again and see how it goes.
(Me: So basically you are no idea what to do and you are setting me up for failure.)

Since then we have transferred Taylor to a pediatrician. He was so much more helpful from the first visit:
Me: I am very concerned about Taylor not gaining weight. What can I do to help him?
Dr Y: Have you tried to add calories to what you are already giving him? You could add a tablespoon of heavy cream in his formula or cook foods with lots of oil and butter. And if you are still concerned I could refer you to a feeding specialist.

So this week I took Taylor to a feeding specialist while Billy watched Logan.

During the evaluation, the therapist noticed that Taylor did a great job on:
- eating hard crunchy solids
- trying and eating a pancake (which he hasn’t done since)
- showed a good acceptance of the highchair and mealtime
- drank from the straw easily
- touched a variety of foods
In the next couple of weeks, she would like him to:
- eat larger amounts of food to help with growth
- eat more textures and purees without needing distractions
- accept purees off the spoon by leaning in
- become stronger at his mouth to increase his confidence with many food textures
So what I need to do is:
- offer hard meltables (crunchy foods) to target chewing and tongue strength
- offer him a spoon dipped in the puree for him to “play with”
- jazz up his foods with spices/seasonings or change the temperature

I believe there are two reasons for Taylor’s refusal to eat from a spoon, (1) he wants to be more independent and, (2) I sometimes encouraged him to eat more than he wanted.

So now he wants to be independent and feed himself, which is okay, but the only foods he will eat are crunchy and low in calories, which is not okay. I don’t think I’m a control-freak, but when it comes to feeding Taylor, I have had a really hard time letting go of my control over what and how much he eats during feedings. Hopefully by continuing to place foods high in calories on his tray, he will eventually touch them, play with them, bring them to his lips, and eat them.

I wish I could go back to when I first introduced solids. If I hadn’t encouraged him to eat just 5 more spoonfuls, maybe now he wouldn’t have such a dislike for anything coming from a spoon. If I hadn’t distracted him with toys so that he would eat, maybe now he would feel in control even when I’m the one holding the spoon to his mouth. All I can do now is try to reintroduce a new way to eat solids, where he decides whether he wants to eat and how much he wants to eat.

In the next few weeks, I hope that Taylor will be okay eating from a spoon again, with a sense of control over whether and how much he eats, and without a need to have toys as distractions. I also hope that he will be willing to try out new foods that will help him to gain the pounds that he needs to put on. And finally I hope that mealtimes will become more pleasurable for him and for me.

This little guys is so dang cute that he makes it all worth it!

Sneaked on the boys laughing with each other.

Taking the boys on a boat ride.

I love this stage!!! Logan and Taylor are interacting with us, and with each other, so much more than they used to. We can teach them fun games and they play them.

We tried these sippy cups almost 3 months ago. Logan and Taylor never drank much from them, instead they chewed and played with them. So...

As much as I love my parents and my brother will all my heart, I also love having my own family, and creating our own family traditions.
Those who know me well know that I am an orgaized freak. Just like I keep a to-do list, I also keep a traditions list.

New Year:
We'll rent a cabin and go snowmobiling/snowshoeing/skiing/sledding.
When we get back home, we'll take the Christmas tree down.

Super Bowls:
We'll watch the game while eating some not-so-healthy-food, maybe pizza or burgers.

Chinese New Year:
We'll have Chinese decorations.
We'll have an Asian dinner.

Valentine's Day:
We'll have decorations.
We'll bake sugar cookies and decorate them with pink, red, and white frosting.
We'll get a babysitter and go do something nice.

Easter:
We'll have Easter decorations.
The kids will get Easter baskets.
We'll paint and decorate eggs.
We'll have an Easter egg hunt.
We'll read the story of Christ's resurrection.

Conference weekend:
We'll go out for breakfast on Saturday morning.
We'll have a nice breakfast home on Sunday morning.

Anniversary:
We'll get a babysitter and go on a nice trip, just Billy and I.

Mother's Day:
Mommy gets breakfast in bed and gets spoiled all day.

Father's Day:
Daddy gets breakfast in bed and getes spoiled all day.

4th of July:
We'll have patriotic decorations.
We'll decorate sugar cookies with red, blue, and white frosting.
We'll have a BBQ.
We'll go watch fireworks or have our own.

Labor Day:
We'll rent a boat and go waterskiing/fishing/sunbathing.

Conference weekend:
We'll go out for breakfast on Saturday morning.
We'll have a nice breakfast home on Sunday morning.

Halloween:
We'll have Halloween decorations.
We'll decorate sugar cookies with black, purple, and orange frosting.
We'll go to a pumpkin patch and pick out pumpkins for everyone.
We'll go home and carve the pumpkins.
We'll go trick-or-treating in costumes.
We'll go to a corn maze (and later a haunted house).
We'll rent a Halloween movie (not too scary for the kiddos).

Thanksgiving:
We'll have Thanksgiving decorations.
We'll cook dinner together and invite a few people, maybe even the missionaries.
The guys will play football in the morning, then we'll go inside and watch the games on tv.
We'll go pick out a Christmas tree as a family.
We'll decorate the tree.
We'll go Christmas shopping on Black Friday.

Christmas Eve:
For the "25 days of Christmas," we'll do an act of service every day for a family in need.
We'll decorate sugar cookies with green, red, and white frosting.
We'll cook a nice and fancy dinner, with several courses.
We'll open our stockings at midnight.
We'll leave cookies and milk for Santa.

Christmas:
We'll open presents early in the morning, when the kiddos wake up.
We'll play with the presents.
We'll read the story of Christ's birth.
We'll watch a Christmas movie.
We'll cook another nice and fancy dinner, with several courses.
We'll do our final service project, which will be spectacular, according to the family's needs.

New Year's Eve:
We'll have some people over for a nice party.
We'll go watch fireworks.

Birthdays:
We'll have a friends' party on a Saturday.
We'll have a family party on the actual birthday.
We'll have a cake in the shape of something the birthday boy/girl enjoys.
We'll have a pinata for spring
We'll watch the game wand summer birthdays and...
something else for fall and winter birthdays.


Sundays:
We'll have Mexican food for dinner, and every one can be in charge of something.
We'll have discussions about what we all learned in Church.
We might even have FHE on Sundays, depending on Billy's schedule.
Someone will lead FHE,
someone will say the opening prayer,
someone will lead the music,
someone will teach the lesson,
someone will say the closing prayer,
someone will plan the game/activity,
and someone will bake a treat.

Taylor LOVES to take baths! He just keeps on splashing and splashing and splashing the whole time that he is in there. In the meantime, Logan and I sit outside the tub, getting wet, and watching him in amusement.

Soon I think I'll put Logan in there as well, in the big-boy tub. It will save me at least 15 minutes to bathe them together. Hopefully Taylor doesn't scare Logan with his wild movements and loud screams.

This weekend, I decided I had enough of these booster seats. I got them for free, but they were a yucky green, so I painted them blue, they are super hard to clean, so they always have food all over them, and the boys always drop food on the chairs, so they get really dirty, too.

I started looking on Craig's List and found these 2 high chairs for $40. I was lucky to find matching ones. I actually didn't even know they were the same until I picked up the 2nd one. It was a much needed upgrade. The boys love them and I don't even mind cleaning them.