Who's Who?

As I've been staring at Autumn for the past couple of days I've become more and more convinced that she looks like Ebby. I mean REALLY looks like Ebby did as an infant. So this morning I looked up some of Ebby's old pictures. Can you tell who's who?

Quick Pics

A Middle of the Night Surprise!

Twas the night of the 17th; all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung on the wall with great care,
In hopes that our Grannie so soon would be there.

Our dear sweet Ebby sleeping snug in his bed,
While visions of computers danced in his head.
And Daddy with blanket and pillow under cap,
Had just settled their brains for a long winter's nap.

When from Mommy's tummy arose such a clatter,
She sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the bathroom she flew like a flash,
Tore for the toilet and threw up in the trash.

The lights, they flew by, as they raced down the street,
To the hospital racing, the labor to treat.
When, what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But a doc with a needle to stick near her rear.

With such a commotion and such painful fits,
They knew in a moment that this must be it.

"Now push, Joy! Now, harder! Now please push one more time!
Push now, Joy, once more Joy, you're doin' just fine!"
Yell it out from the porch! Shout from atop the wall!
That Autumn's here! Finally here! Go and tell all!

Her eyes-how they twinkled! Her dimples how merry!
Her cheeks were like roses, her lips like a cherry!
Her tiny, newborn brows drawn down in a frown,
With curly dark brown hair adorning her crown.

She spoke not a word, and cried only a little,
Then settled right down without any spittle.
And dear Mommy declared 'ere she turned out the light,
"Merry Christmas my baby, we love you. Good-night!"

If there's one thing I've learned from Ebby it's that you can never tell what he's going to do next. Lately he's been insisting on sitting next to Daddy (not on his lap, not on my lap and always in his own chair) while Andrew's on the computer. I've noticed that it doesn't matter what Andrew's up to on the computer. Reading a blog, gaming, checking or answering emails, it doesn't matter. Often he just sits half watching Andrew and half playing with whatever toy he happens to have at the moment.
On this particular occasion Ebby also insisted that I look at him while he just posed smile after smile. So cute.
(By the way, I can never quite tell what Andrew's going to do either.)

Where did that laugh come from, Ebby?

Andrew and I had some friends over for a little D&D (Dungeon's and Dragon's) yesterday. It was one of the rare times Andrew wasn't the Dungeon Master, our friend Grant was. The funny thing is that Ebby kept 'stealing' Grant's chair. Ebby loved playing with the monster sheets and Andrew's dice tower (thanks Grandpa!). I guess we have a future Dungeon Master on our hands. (Andrew couldn't be happier.)

Halloween Pictures!

Half way through November and I'm just now posting Halloween Pictures. I'm SO on top of things.

Ebby's a mummy, I'm the Old Lady who shallowed a fly and Andrew's a "Red Shirt" from star trek.

My Wonderful Husband

Ok, so these pictures have nothing to do with my post but my mom asked for recent pictures of me. These where taken a few hours ago. Go me.

32 weeks

I know a lot of wives out there think their husbands are wonderful. I am definitely one of those women.
Most of you know that Andrew has started his rotations at the hospital. What you might not know is that sometimes he gets off work early for lunch and when that happens he usually comes home to eat with us.
Well, today I babysat two cute little girls (17 months and 4 years old) so I assumed he'd stay at the hospital for lunch. (How relaxing can a lunch break be if you have three kids eating and playing around you in a LITTLE apartment, right?) But Andrew surprised me. Not only did he eat lunch with us, he helped change a diaper, helped me get lunch together and danced with me in the living room. I LOVE my husband!

Tribute to Tona

I was reading my scriptures this morning and Ebby was playing on the couch. When I looked over I saw him playing with the picture frame we keep on the kitchen counter.

Tona, we love you and miss you!!!

P.S. When Ebby decided he was done hugging and kissing (drooling on) your picture he climbed back up to the counter and gently placed your frame back in it's spot.

Dizzy

There are two possible situations here. Either Ebby likes the Halo theme, or he would rather make himself unbelievably dizzy in order to block the music out. Personally, I believe the former.

Here's some evidence to support my case.Ebby in fact. Moved Andrew's chair to the position you see then moved his chair in front of the computer and started playing as if it was his last chance to do so before being sentenced to live the rest of his life on a desert planet.

Love this blog

Andrew stumbled on this blog and thought I'd like it. I did. So much I'd like to share it with ya'll.

Lovin' Daddy's Shoes

After our weekly grocery store outing, Ebby really wanted to go out with Daddy again. Or, now that I think of it, maybe he just wants to be Daddy. He brought Andrew's shoes over to me and insisted that I put them on him. I'm such a push over.

Balloon Fun

For Andrew's and my date tonight we decided to grill up our our bison steaks. (So good!) This meant that we needed to go to the grocery store where the employees at HEB gave Ebby a balloon. He played with it until his afternoon nap and again after dinner. I knew he'd like it but I had no idea he'd love it SO much.

This is kinda long, I know, but I couldn't decide which part to edit out.

Dadda

Ebby's starting to love hearing the sound of his voice. He has a few favorite sounds: "Dadada", "yeah" but mostly " 'eeess" (please). It's interesting how these sounds can magically transform into "up", "I want that" and "I'm tired". Sometimes his changing words are just funny. Tonight we were watching a kid show about zoo animals. I kept on pointing to the monkey's and saying, "Monkey's!" to which Ebby would respond "Dadda".

Summer Vacations

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Yep.

Finally a look at our new baby!

After 13 weeks we finally were able to have an appointment with the doctor and see our new baby. With the move and insurance and what not it's been a long journey just to get this far. But it was all worth it. Our baby looks healthy, everything looks alright with me and I'm done with the first trimester. I must admit I'm pretty excited about that last bit. During this pregnancy (as with Ebby's) I've never thrown up but I've been REALLY tired and sick to my stomach after eating. I'm so excited to put that part of the pregnancy behind me and experience more of the fun parts coming up. Feeling the baby, finding out the sex of it and having it be ok to eat more. Yeah, really excited for that last part.

Sweeping

I've never really swept in front of Ebby. I do some light cleaning but usually save the more hard core stuff for when he's napping. So you can imagine my surprise when the one time I do really clean with him around he picks up the broom and tries to help me. Gee, I hope this lasts.

Another Present!?!

A huge thank you to the Stotts. Ebby LOVES them.

The Sultan of Brunei's party it was not

Ebby's a year old. This came as a huge surprise to me (Andrew) as I was under the simultaneous and contradictory impressions that he had a) just arrived and b) always been a part of our family.

The infant in question

We set about Ebby's birthday preparations with all the zeal of parents who, in spite of their impoverished circumstances, were fully aware that it is unlikely that he will remember any of it. One corner of a room was lavishly decorated with a "happy birthday" banner, 25 half-inflated balloons, and a castle I built out of his blocks for him to destroy. Several toys were in attendance, as well.
Shortly after we woke him from his afternoon nap, Ebby was presented with the following:

Royal Trappings

The Beesley family has never been big on ceremony, and Ebby showed his heritage well by tearing off the crown the instant we placed it upon his head. No crown need adorn the head of our king for a day, as he needed no such symbols to remind the world of his dominance.
Having been put in our place, we sang 'Happy Birthday' accompanied by Mom and Dad via cell-phone and Skype (cell phone for the audio, since Skype's sound-transmitting software had apparently been shut down in honor of Ebby's birthday and we could only get video on it). We then offered Ebby some cupcake, prompting this response:

"What is this garbage?"

Apparently the name (or middle name, in Ebby's case) 'James' imparts a general distaste for things the rest of the world views as delicious. Just like his uncle, Ebby was at first perplexed and then revolted by the cupcake I had slaved over for countless minutes. Good thing I used a mix and packaged frosting, or this rejection would have cut deeply.

Here we have Ebby's initial reaction to his birthday festivities. Though it may appear that he is running to Joy, the monitor with my parents on it, and me in turns because he's so happy to see us, the truth is that he was scared of the balloons. That fear had passed by the end of the night, and he destroyed several to celebrate having overcome his fear. And to teach the balloons to never cross him again.

True horror

Our Adventurous Ebby

So, A lot of people have told me that little boys tend to be more adventurous than girls. And for the longest time I thought my little Ebby was just another typical boy, but I'm starting to have my doubts about that. For example, Andrew and I know that Ebby LOVES to go for walks. He usually holds one of our hands and so for our date we decided to go to the mall and walk around. Oh, there was so much for Ebby to see and try to interact with. I still think it was a good idea to go but from almost the second we entered the mall Ebby wanted down, he wanted to walk by himself and he didn't care at all if we were following him. Rather than deal with a screaming kid at the mall we decided to just let him wander. Don't worry, we were always within two feet of him but he was definitely free. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. After about an hour (yes an HOUR - he's almost 1 and he was running around for an hour!) he was so tired he didn't mind going home. Thank heavens. I will say this about our little boy: If he ever gets lost in the mall we'll know exactly where he'll end up - the kid zone. I love our little Ebby.

I was feeding Ebby one morning and he looked so cute I had to get the camera out. Then, he started posing. No joke, posing! Here are two of the best.

Ebby tried getting into his highchair all be himself. It's a little wrong but oh well.

Ok, I couldn't help but put this one on the blog. He looks so, so ... sinister. Can I say that about my own child? It's so weird because this isn't like him at all. I hope it's not a sign of things to come. Ok, I'm sufficiently freaked out now.

Again I don't know why Ebby decided to be more difficult. It's so not like him it's actually pretty funny.

Our vacation in California

Our vacation in California was GREAT. Not only was Julia and McKay's wedding beautiful but we (especially Ebby and I) got a lot of time to socialize with the Beesley clan. Ebby loved playing with cousins, hanging out at Disneyland, and getting lovins' from Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Nicole. I, of course enjoyed watching everything and just spending time with everyone. Ebby REALLY liked Casey (the family dog). I knew he'd like everything else but I was real surprised when he took such a shine to Casey. Ebby has never seemed the least bit interested in animals. I guess I was wrong.

More Walking

Ebby Walking

Yesterday I was taking some pictures of our new apartment when Ebby started walking to me! He's been taking a couple of steps here and there since Sunday but never this many. I'm so glad I had the camera on hand.

Girl or Boy

So for the past little while I've been babysitting a 4 year old boy for a friend. It's just been two days a week except for this week. (The other lady who watches him is out of town so I get him every day this week.) It's definitely made my life more interesting. For fun (and out of necessity), we've been going to the local park for lunch every day. You never know who will be at the park. Especially since there is a dog park attached to it. Sometimes there are teenagers skipping class, sometimes a bunch of people with their dogs and sometimes there are other parents with their children. Today there were three young asian women with their babies, all between one and three years old. As we were all swinging one of them asked me how old my little girl was. 'WHAT?' Ebby was in gray pants and a white and yellow top. (Not the most fashionable I admit but hey it wasn't that bad.) She apologized but added. "He really looks like a girl." After a while I got another question: "What is his name?" I said, "We call him Ebby" thinking 'no way is she going to think that's a girl name.' I was wrong. "Oh ... that's such a girl name." 'WHAT?' I tried to clarify by stating his legal name is Edward but was rebutted by "I guess that's a little better."

Now I need people to be honest here. Does my baby look like a girl or a boy?

"Da Da Da"

Andrew was feeding Ebby after church today. Every now and then Ebby would rest his head in his hand. SO cute! So, Andrew quickly grabbed the camera and was just in time to film this:

Ebby Conducting

I don't know if it's because Ebby sees me conduct the music in Sacrament meeting every Sunday or he just picked it up from watching conference but this was too cute to keep to ourselves. Enjoy.

And here are new videos and pictures

Ebby's most favorite place to be in the whole wide world is the kitchen. This time he had to open every cupboard to see which one 'had the right stuff.' Right after this picture was taken Ebby found the hand mixer and started pushing it across the floor.

I've started babysitting a four year old most Monday's and Friday's. Ebby LOVES it. Kaynen still isn't sure he likes having a 9 month old shadow.

Cutie in the Cupboard


Stand up and Dance

Here are some newer videos that are now older, sorry

Ebby Dancing


Ebby or Casey


Happy in the Hamper

Here Are Some Older Videos

Ebby. Come here.


I want ... the Camera!


Neck Lovin's.


Peek-a-Boo.


Running (little) Man.

Yea or Nea?

For some time now I've been wondering what to do with Ebby's hair. Should I cut it? Should I just let it grow however it wants to grow? I like it when it's all messy and sometimes it's a little curly but I also don't want people to think he's a girl or that I don't take pride in how he looks. So today I made the choice to cut. Tell me what you think. Was it a good choice or not?

Bath Time!

I recently started bathing Ebby in the real bathtub, rather than his sink tub, and he is loving it. He can't wait to get in and doesn't want to get out when bath time is over. Here are a few photos of Ebby in the bath-in-the-sink days and videos of him having a ton of fun in the bath:

Good-bye to a friend

Christmas and New Years have been wonderful but not for everyone. While we were at my parents house we really enjoyed seeing Kim Boothe. Kim is a dear family friend from Modesto who has really helped me and my sister, Sarah, get through our teenage years and with our testimonies. She was my Sunday school teacher for a long time and a friend for even longer. She also has been suffering from breast cancer. Months ago she moved in with my parents in South Jordan so she could get treatments. Things looked like they were going well but then things took a turn for the worse after we left. I wasn't there but my sister, Sarah was. I've copied this from her blog so you can all have the facts. I love Kim and will miss her terribly.


"This past week has been very...emotional. Michael, Ellie and I were going to house-sit for a week starting the 5th for the Nielsen's while my mom went to Arizona to babysit for my sister. We got a call on Monday the 4th asking if we could come a day early because Kim (my friend - she has breast cancer) was needing help and was thinking about calling Hospice. We went over and it was decided that Kim would go to the doctor on Thursday before deciding what she wanted to do.

It was immediately apparent that Kim needed help. We took over her medication to make sure that she was getting what she needed and when. We also realized that her right arm was too painful to move so we made a sling and started helping her change her clothes, etc. She seemed very uncomfortable and at times incoherent. Thursday arrived and we took the trip to the doctor's. After much discussion about possibilities and pain we took an x-ray of Kim's arm. We learned that her upper arm was indeed broken and that she had cancer in the bone, at that site, about the size of a golf ball. No wonder she was in so much pain.

That night I noticed that her breathing was extremely labored - like she'd been running a marathon. At about 5 am I couldn't take it anymore and asked my dad what should be done. A chest x-ray was scheduled for Friday. It turned out to be pneumonia and/or cancer in the lungs.

We admitted Kim into the hospital Friday night. Her 3 boys and 1 daughter-in-law drove through the night from California to be with her on Saturday. On Sunday we got the news that Kim has cancer in her lungs. She left for California on Wednesday.

Kim is a wonderful person. She taught me the gospel and helped my testimony grow in a time of my life that I desperately needed it. She wasn't the only one, but she was pivotal. I feel blessed to be a part of her life and blessed that I could give service to her in her time of need. It's an unpleasant feeling, knowing that you are truly saying goodbye to someone for the last time. I feel grateful that I had that chance. I really don't know what I'd do if I didn't know what was coming for her. If I knew I'd never see her again. But I will. I will see her. It's only goodbye for a little while. I wish her well in her journey."

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Andrew and I are so happy with the way our lives are right now. We still have plenty of stress and sleep deprived nights (sometimes weeks), but we feel SO blessed. We’re still madly in love with each other, we are constantly trying to improve ourselves and help uplift each other—which is very rewarding. And we have our beautiful little baby Ebby. Though every day he seems less little baby and more toddler. I love it when Amy sections her Christmas letters by family member so I’m going to do the same.

Ebby has both bottom front teeth and is acting like he’s teething again. He learned to crawl over Christmas break and just today I found him pulling himself into an almost standing position with the aid of the furniture. I cannot believe it. We had no idea he’d progress this fast and we feel a little unprepared. But such is life, right? Ebby loves to explore. One minute he’ll be across the room playing with the DVD’s and the next we’ll find him under our chair. He also loves to sit and concentrate on a single object. It’s only for a few minuets but he’s EXTREMELY focused. He obviously likes to learn and I love seeing him try to figure things out all day.

Andrew is liking school but is sometimes overwhelmed, I think. And who can blame him—it’s med school. I love seeing him come home from his perceptorships with his face aglow as he tells me about his day. I know it’ll all be worth it in the end. I also like it when he teaches me what he has been studying. It’s a refreshing change of pace for me, I know it helps him and it’s nice to see a glimpse of the awesome doctor he’s going to be at the end of all this. Apart from school (and of course computer gaming) Andrew and I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons. It’s a pencil and paper role-playing game. Andrew DM’s and makes the terrain (game board) and I paint the figurines. We play with four friends here in College Station and introduced it to the Nielsen/Babcock family over break. I think everyone really enjoyed it.

Most of my days are spent trying to keep the house and our little Ebby out of ‘trouble’. I never new being a stay-at-home mom could be so demanding and exhausting. I definitely have a new found respect for moms everywhere. I’m so grateful both Andrew and I have such wonderful examples to try and emulate. Currently I’m trying to find us an apartment in Temple. We’re moving this May. I’m excited but am not looking forward to all the work of moving to a new city.

Hope all is well with y’all!
May the Lord bless you!

Joy, Andrew and Ebby Beesley

This is the first book Ebby's actually taken an interest in. We hoped to get it on film. It was the cutest thing. He went crazy when we unwrapped it. Thanks Sharon and Rulon for the wonderful gift!

Ebby and Ellie had a wonderful time playing together. There were a ton of wonderfully cute moments. Here's just one.

Here are some fun videos

I have no idea where Ebby got this side-to-side head thing. At first I thought it was his way of scratching his head but then he started doing it while sitting up. Funny baby.

Andrew loves 'surprising' Ebby and Ebby loves it too.

Fun Christmas

Andrew and I have loved playing Dungeons and Dragons in Texas and Andrew thought it would be really nice to try and share that with my family. We were so excited to see so many in my family try it out. I believe some liked it more than others but we ended up playing a lot of D&D. When I finally thought to take out the camera we were on our last session. My apologies to everyone who played who isn't in the picture (and yes Jared, you're family). It was so nice to sit down and have some quality time with so many people. Next time we need to convince Grannie and Pops to play. :)


Ebby found my parents' stash of toy cars. He was in heaven! We definitely have a boy.

Ebby hadn't quite figured out how crawling can work to his advantage at this point. He kind of shimmied his way under the credenza and couldn't figure out how to get back out.

Yeah! I finally have a picture of Ebby and Julia. It's about time. During our trip we were able to see Andrew's family a few times (thanks to James and Jess for getting married and to Sharon and Rulon's decision to stay in Utah for Christmas). This was when we went to see Princess and the Frog. Good movie.

This was at Grandma and Grandpa Beesley's for Andrew's birthday dinner. We wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa Palmer latter in the week but both Andrew and Ebby got sick. Andrew still has a little cough but thankfully Ebby is back to normal.

We're finally back!

Things are finally starting to settle down for us. YEAH! Ebby's not sick anymore and Andrew's much better. Ebby's kind of back to his normal schedule. And I got my D&D painting done for the rest of our last encounters. SAD! Now that I feel like I have some semblance of sanity I can finally update our blog. The thing is there is a lot to update. I'll have to do it piecemeal but I'm sure I won't get any complaints, as long as I actually update it.

My first has to be Ebby's crawling experiences. Here are two videos. The first was at my parents’ house over Christmas Break. I know it'll be hard to believe but Ebby was fighting a 104 degree fever when I shot this. It's his first 'crawl'. Go Ebby. The second was a couple of days ago. It's amazing how much the kid can learn in a week. (And how much baby-proofing I need to do.)