7 lbs 7oz, 19.5 in and super CUTE!

Welcome to the World Miss Madeline Irene Beck!

This is your Mama speaking so you better listen up. I love you so much and I think that you are just the cutest little miss I have ever laid my eyes on. Now let me just say I won't hold my 10 hour labor against you (at least I'll do my best) because I wanted you here. But I do hope that you'll take my advice about boys because they can be confusing. And if you want to start wearing make up, well, I'm not the one to go to but I'll try to help and learn more about it. If you want to run around I can do that, I can run by your side and have some fun girl talk, that I know how to do. If you want me to do your hair, you'll need to be patient with me because I don't really do my own hair but lucky for you we have the internet with loads of fun information about hair styles and tutorials that go along with it. We can have fun! There are a lot of things that I know but a lot more things that I don't know but one thing I know for sure is I LOVE you and I promise I'll be here for you. I'll help guide you when you feel lost, I'll answer any questions you may have and if I don't know the answer we can find it together. And I love our Savior and through Him you and I can be together forever, along with Daddy and Oliver and any future siblings too of course. We are a family and I just want to thank you for joining us! Big hugs! Big Kisses!

Special thanks to the Noyces for watching Oliver while we were bringing Miss Madeline into the world and for the beautiful flowers. You guys are the best!

And to my wonderful parents who were willing to come out to help me get back on my feet and to keep me safe from myself. I am quite stubborn and strong willed at times so it was nice to have someone tell me to take it easy and to rest and sleep. I know, How crazy is that! I needed someone to tell me to sleep! I kept saying I was okay and that I felt great until I got a fever and didn't feel so great. Stubborn me. Good thing they were here to watch Oliver and help with little miss. Oliver will greatly miss his Lolo and Lola and so will we.

                                                           Thank you Lolo, Lola!

Atlantic City

       So its been a while since memorial day but I really wanted to post this fun day because we had a blast at the shore. We had great company, can you guess who, that's right our wonderful friends the Noyces. We took their car because its a little bit wider than ours and with a car seat in the back it makes for a very cramped space which wouldn't have been fun at all for anyone. The ride itself to Atlantic City was so much fun, jammin' to some awesome music and making fools of ourselves, Weston and I are really good at that. It's why we fit so well. Anyhoo we got there in good time and went to the beach and soaked in the nice cool water. It was freezing but I think the water helped my swelling feet for later in the day when we walked down the boardwalk. It's a very long boardwalk, miles and miles. And there's a pier with a mall on it! Gasp! I know so cool!
        Oliver and Weston of course had a blast and Zack was kind enough to go with them towards the ocean since I was a waddler at this point in the pregnancy, and it was just fun to soak. Zack and ShaNae also got Oliver some sand castle molds that Oliver wanted to just knock over. We had to keep telling him not to until we were finished. Then he graciously demolished it after our hard work. And we also buried Oliver. He was kind of oblivious to what ShaNae and I were doing cause we told him we were making him a chair, we were except reverse. Instead of making a mound and a back to the mound we dug a hole and added some sort of head rest so it was really easy to transition the chair to a burial (hehehe). He was okay at first then he got scared and wanted to get out but we were able to get a picture before he escaped.

    After all the fun we walked along the boardwalk and had some fun in some of the stores with interesting little knick knacks. And the boardwalk was a blast. Weston and I really enjoyed seeing some of the names from the monopoly board. I liked St. James Place the best.

This day was also very very hot. Guess where we stopped by to cool off. That's right...RITAS! Worlds best wudder ice. Thanks to the Noyces once again for introducing it to us. Weston really wanted cotton candy but he had to have root beer. He had hoped that I would get cotton candy but I didn't I got mango (sorry dear). Weston's current goal by the end of the summer is to get a Ritas cotton candy wudder ice.
                                       Overall it was a great day with friends and the family.

PS I didn't realize I was getting burned. Me being stubborn and thinking my asian skin can save me from the sun's rays I didn't put any sunscreen. Lo and behold, the following day my shoulders were a nice obvious red, and I did peel, eventually. Learned my lesson ^_^

Baby Shower!

      May 14th our one and only ShaNae held a baby shower for me and it was AWESOME! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures but let me tell you, it was CUTE! It was an animal themed party because she was trying to go for gender neutral for me. I'm not huge on girlie stuff (by the way, it's a girl) so it was great. There were animal stripped balloons which were adorable! Animal crackers, one of our staple snacks here at home! And some yummy food and cupcakes and cookies! There was also a three tiered diaper cake with some cute monkey ribbons around each tier and of course topped off with a stuffed monkey which we have named Ernest. Oliver likes Ernest a lot! I hope he'll be able to share Ernest when baby sister is born (we haven't decided on a name yet and she's almost here! YIKES! 9 months isn't long enough for us).
    We also had some great quality company at the shower. Some ladies from the ward were able to come that I don't get to talk to very often but they were so sweet and funny and wish they didn't live so "far" away. Since this is my second child I have most of the basic things except GIRL clothes, which terrify me. I don't know why. Perhaps two years of boy clothes with trucks, dinosaurs, monsters, or any other mode of transportation, is what appeals to me. This baby shower has introduced me to the world of baby girl clothes of ruffles, bloomers and bright pink tights-it's not so scary (for now...dun dun duuuunnnnn). All the clothes were absolutely adorable and I love each one. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! My daughter will be dressed very well. And THANK YOU ShaNae for the cute baby shower! She's awesome!

cookies

The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies were yummy!

Recent Happenings

    So I was looking through some pictures that we had taken recently and wanted to share. We went to a Japanese house out in Fairmount Park with the Noyces (our wonderful friends that found us our apartment) but I shan't talk about it because Weston wanted to do a post on it; he's got dibs on that one. All I will say is, it was exquisite and absolutely beautiful. The End.

       Mother's day was fun and relaxing. Weston had bought me some beautiful flowers that I got to proudly display on our dining table. I had fun taking pictures of it. Mid-afternoon we all went for a nice spring walk down our block. The trees were just so gorgeous with it over hanging the street we had to take the time to soak it in. We topped off our day with some games with the Noyces, which is always fun. It was a perfect day.

 

      We also finally planted some seeds into our small plot of land that we are now thinking of extending because it just looks so sad compared to all the other more experienced gardeners around us. The other day we went to check up on our seedlings and we can't really tell if they are sprouting or if its just weeds already taking over.  I don't think we were blessed with the green thumbs. Although the seeds that we started growing in a little pot at home have been growing so maybe our green thumbs just need a little bit of practice.

It's hard to tell but there a blue piece of yarn claiming our little plot of land. We hadn't planted anything yet at this point. It was a cold day. Can you tell?

   Not too long ago it was our friend Zack's birthday which we went to and played games and had some awesome sugar cookies. Oliver absolutely adores both Zack and ShaNae and loves it when we get to hang out with them. They are fun people! So glad they decided to accept us as their friends. We think they are too cool for us so we are grateful that they could accept us into their lives :P

Oliver likes to help ^_^

    Wow, those sugar cookies are calling to me but I don't make very good sugar cookies, so I'm going to make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies instead and continue part II later. Ciao!

Rainy Day

     This morning Oliver and I wanted to ride the apartment shuttle with Daddy since it would be the last time it would run till next fall, and Oliver just had a blast. Before our shuttle ride, Weston and I were trying to get ready to get out the door in time to make the shuttle. Though we were able to get breakfast into our bellies and get dressed in record time, for us at least, I forgot the stroller for Oliver and an umbrella and I forgot to put snacks into my bag to take with me. I'm sure you can imagine after dropping daddy off to his building it took a long time to get home ( we live on 47th and Pine and we got dropped off at 36th and Spruce, its a long walk, trust me) We did pretty good at first; played with some steps, balancing on some bricks that lined a plant bed, went to the bookstore and read some books. We even saw some awesome construction machinery that Oliver could have watched all day.      
       By this time Oliver was getting tired and our little jaunt was done within a two to three block range.  I just knew that I would be carrying him most of the way on our way home. We walked a little bit further and had it not rained I would have made him walk most of the way but we were getting wet and Oliver didn't particularly enjoy it and we were going extremely slow. So I carried him.  The rain wasn't too bad, but it was one of those steady trickles of rain that can still get you nice and wet after a long walk plus there was a cool breeze that made it seem cooler than it was. Luckily, I remembered Oliver's jacket so he was covered a little. Our journey home was tiring and Oliver seemed to be getting heavier and heavier and the rain made my shirt feel uncomfortable. I then passed an Indian lady and she told me that I needed to take care of Oliver or else he would get sick. By this point I had already decided to take a stop at a CVS pharmacy to buy an umbrella since it was on the way home. I told her I was going to stop at the store and she told me to take her umbrella to cover my little boy and she would walk with me there. I nearly cried. It was so nice. Her apartment complex was right next to CVS so when we got there she said that she would just give me her extra umbrella from home because the umbrellas were too expensive. Heavenly Father was really looking out for me today and I thank him for helping me and sending someone my way to help. I am grateful for that woman and her willingness to share her umbrella and to give me something that I didn't even ask for. I know it was a small thing but it was very kind and I thought that it would be nice to share.

     There are people out in the world with big hearts who are willing to help others and at times I admit, I forget that. Sometimes I get caught up with what's wrong with the world that I forget that there is still so much good. I'm grateful for the reminder and I hope that I can be one of those people that are willing to get out of their way to help someone in need.

ALMOST DONE!

      This is the picture I'm posting of my belly and me because I'm feeling quite self-conscious about my bloated face, and I like my profile in this picture. I know there's nothing all that great about it but I like it and it's the best I have, for now, maybe. Anyway, I just wanted to express my joy of almost being done with pregnancy with no complications-no bed rest! OH JOY!!! It has been a totally different experience with my baby girl and I have to say, I LOVE IT!! It's definitely nice to be able to walk around and be mobile. Though at times I wonder how I am even able to move with this belly growing, what it seems like, exponentially.
      Let me just tell you though, that being on bed rest with Oliver around this time, I didn't get to experience the frequent bathroom visits since I had a catheter in the hospital for a couple of weeks, which surprisingly, I wouldn't mind having during the night. It would be nice to sleep all through the night but, its worth being able to get up and not worry that the baby is going to drop out. Yay for different experiences!
      Well, it's late and I need to use the bathroom. Adieu!