Spring Training

We spent Spring Break in warm and sunny Phoenix, AZ and had such a great time!  We did the same thing two years ago and had a blast and vowed to do it again sometime.  The main draw to Phoenix is it's where the Texas Rangers have their spring training, and Kolby was itching to take his boy to go watch some baseball, so off we went!

If the concept of spring training is foreign to you (like it was to me), it's a month where baseball teams (the major league players plus the minor league players) each have a training complex with several fields and every morning they have practice and every afternoon they play real games against each other.  It's really casual and you can see all the players up close and meet a lot of them and get autographs and such.  And for the die hard fans like Kolby, you can scout out all the hot new prospects for the year (nerd alert!).

I'll admit that I've become somewhat of a baseball fan over the years so I do enjoy that aspect but I have to say my favorite part is the weather!  Phoenix is warm and endlessly sunny in the spring and it's such a welcomed break from the dreary Texas weather.  It was so nice to just get away as a family and spend such a fun week together!  And the best part this year (other than having Beckett along!) was that both sets of our parents joined us for part of the week.  It was amazing.

Here are way more pictures than you care to see!

First I have to share this picture from the flight there.  I feel like it perfectly captures what it was like to fly with a VERY active one year old.  It was a totally full flight and we had a 45 minute delay on the runway and were so cramped for space because of course we are too cheap to check bags so we had stored a ton of stuff in the floorboard.  Beckett was oblivious to the cramped quarters and kept popping up between Kolby's knees and cracking himself up.  

Oh, and he did possibly the funniest thing we've ever seen him do on the flight there.  He was flirting with this pretty, blonde, mid-thirties woman across the aisle from us.  She had the window seat, so there were two other people between her and us.  At one point, completely out of nowhere, Beckett blew her this big, slobbery, two-handed kiss... and to make sure she knew it was to her and not the people between us, he immediately followed the kiss with this exaggerated finger point, like "that was to YOU, baby!"  Oh my, we are in so much trouble with this little flirt!

On to the trip...

The morning of our very first day we stumbled upon Colby Lewis (star pitcher for the Rangers, and Kolby's favorite player) walking between fields and he was so nice to stop and meet us and hold Beckett and sign his baseball card.  He told Beckett that one day he'll be big like him!

Some more pictures from morning practices:

Beckett switched to walking full-time less than a week before this trip, so it was perfect timing for him to get a chance to roam around and practice his new skills!

 I have about a million pictures of Kolby and Beckett walking around like this and they make my heart melt into a puddle.  MELT.

 Grams and Grandpops!  I love how Beckett is pointing to his head and saying "hat?!?"  He's still obsessed with hats and was in heaven seeing all the baseball hats around!

 Ready to get his baseball and baseball cards signed! 

I need to take a minute and brag on myself for getting Beckett's Yu Darvish card signed for him.  I worked hard for that one.

Catching a ride with Grandpops.

Beckett's favorite part was definitely playing on the golf carts and gators that the coaches used to move between fields.

Love these two guys!

Beckett meeting Martin Perez, another Rangers pitcher.

One really cool thing about this year is that our family friend (and fellow Allen Eagle and Baylor Bear), Shawn Tolleson, was picked up by the Rangers in the off-season so we got to see him pitch at spring training and it was really cool.  So excited to cheer him on this season!

And here are some pictures from the afternoon baseball games:

Hanging out with CeeCee and Poppa.

 After several weeks of Kolby practicing with him at home, Beckett finally got the chance to boo the Angels.  Cutest heckler there ever was.

 I can't tell you how much fun Beckett had running all.over.the.place.  Busy busy!

The whole gang!

We did a lot of other fun things in Phoenix too... went to the park, the zoo, the botanical gardens, and some really cool restaurants.  I don't have a ton of pictures of all that but here a few.

Beckett living the high life will all his favorite people in one place!

Admiring the monkeys (his favorite animal BY FAR) at the zoo.  The orangutans basically blew his mind.

Checking out the zebras.

 His first splash park experience.  This kid has always loved everything he's ever done or tried, but we finally found something he's not a fan of: cold water! 

Brushing a goat (this was right after a game so please excuse the Rangers gear overload).

 We don't go out to eat just the three of us very often but on our last night in Phoenix we went to a hip restaurant at like 4pm and it was great.  Beckett was hamming it up for the camera.

We had such a fun time and I'm so thankful that we got to spend some great time with our parents and just us three, playing all day together!  No words could do justice to what a ball this kid had.  He's a true baseball fan already!

First Haircut

When Beckett was first born, or maybe even before, Kolby's grandfather mentioned to me that when it's time for Beckett's first haircut that he wanted he and Kolby's dad and Kolby and Beckett to all go to a barber shop and get haircuts together, all four Millers in a row, and take a picture.  Four generations.  One middle name.  And a couple Sundays ago, snazzy new haircuts for them all!

 My little dapper boy! 

Beckett at 14 Months

I know it’s not realistic to keep up with monthly Beckett posts, but he is changing so fast I want to try document things as best I can.

One of the biggest changes lately is that Beckett is starting to talk.  At his first birthday he was definitely saying dada and mama and it sounded like he was trying to say CeeCee (Kolby’s mom).  Later he started saying a very clear hi and bye, fish (“ish”), socks (“sssssaaaah”), yes (“ess”) and simplified versions of diaper, hat,  and outside.  He then added Poppa (Kolby’s dad), Pops (my dad) and a really cute version of Tucker.  Now he's added even more words: book, dog, night-night, Brad, help, yeah, ball, puppet, banana, and boo (Kolby taught him to boo).  And tonight he said his first sentence.  Kolby's dad was over and in the middle of dinner Beckett said "Hi, Poppa!" as clear as day.  

He has picked up some new signs, like dog, help, book, bath, thank you, swim, swing and bike.  It's funny, we never planned on using baby sign language but Beckett loves learning them and using them and it's pretty cool so we're just going with it.  He even invented his own signs for hat, glasses and phone.  And this sweet couple at church have this bit with him where they beat their chest like a gorilla and he does it back to them, and we realized last week that he now uses pounding his chest as a sign for “Chip and Sherry” which his hilarious.  He understands so much, it’s always surprising me.  I can ask him to go certain places (the play room, to his high chair) and he’ll go and I can ask him to do certain things (bring me this or that, give that toy to a friend) and he’ll do it. You know, unless he doesn't want to :).  He also makes this precious motor sound when he plays with his cars and airplane.  Little boys are so much fun!

He also is starting to show some signs of independence, wanting to brush his own hair and teeth, use a spoon, and try to put his own shoes on.

Speaking of independence, he took his first steps!  It happened the day before he turned 14 months old.  Kolby and I were playing with him on the floor and were helping him walk to each other to get a hug.  We'd done this the day before and he was so close to taking a few steps on his own so we tried it again and sure enough he took 4-5 steps all by himself, several times.  It was so exciting!  The previous few days we'd noticed that he started to prefer being on his feet than on the floor, and over the couple weeks before that he'd really shown that he was enjoying walking (with help) and pushing a walker toy all around the house, and he'd stood on his own for a couple seconds at a time and would even bend down for a toy and stand back up.  Although he's now taken his firsts steps, I'm in no hurry for him to turn into a full-out walker.  I feel like he’s my little baby as long as he’s crawling but that he’ll become a toddler once he switches to walking.  I’m not ready for that yet.

I can say that Beckett has officially had his first obsession.  Hats.  Oh my word this kid is OBSESSED with hats.  It started at Christmas seeing Kolby's grandfather wearing a hat and then watching Tucker wearing hats and getting to play with them, then he started gradually increasing his interest and now we are all out in a hat phase right now.  He LOVES wearing hats.  He puts them on himself, usually sideways, and stacks more than one on at a time if he has any extras.  He enjoys taking them on and off and on and off (of himself and other people) but also just likes wearing them in general—around the house, in the car, playing with toys, running errands, etc.  If he doesn’t have a hat he asks for one literally every five seconds, sometimes more.  He goes to sleep asking for a hat and wakes up asking for it again.  It is nuts.  And his radar for spotting people with hats is insane.  We were visiting a preschool program the other day and he said hat and pointed at his head (typical) and I was about to tell him that no, there isn’t a hat when I saw this small picture in the corner of the receptionist’s desk with a guy with a hat on.  I could go on and on about his hat obsession because it is seriously all-encompassing, but you get the idea.  The mental image I have in my head of Beckett at this stage is him pointing at his head and saying, “Haah?  Haah?” over and over again.

He’s such a healthy kid and for that I’m so grateful.  There’s been a lot going around this winter but so far he’s avoided getting sick. Other than pink eye last fall he’s yet to be sick a single day of his life.  He had a couple coughs that sounded like croup last week but it never turned into anything.  So it seems like his immune system is strong.  Praise the Lord.  ***Update: Well, I jinxed it.  In the few days it took me to add pictures to this post Beckett came down with a stomach bug and has had a 104 degree fever for two days.  And poor Kolby is laying on the couch right now and is clearly coming down with it.  Should be a fun night ahead!***

Some pictures...

At our city's Christmas village

 Meeting Santa. He really wanted to ask for his two front teeth but got sidetracked and just pointed at something shiny in the room.  Rookie mistake.

We asked for the one year old special at the tree lot, having the guy cut off all the bottom branches.  Didn't keep this guy from dreaming of the perfect place for his ornaments. 

Spaghetti face (his two front teeth finally poked through a few weeks after Christmas)

First family bike ride 

 Taking Dada's boots for a spin

 Those cheeks...

Why just one hat when you can wear two?

Sporting his favorite hat around town

Did I mention he likes hats?

  Messy eater

 Headed out to visit Mother's Day Out programs for the fall (for the days that I work).  Who wouldn't want this precious face in their class?

 Beckett and I started swim lessons, with my friend Laura and her son Declan.  He's a total babe at the pool.

Cheering on the Baylor Bears with Grams and Grandpops (he's mastered the sic 'em!) 

 He went through a phase where he'd smile with his nose all scrunched up.  We called it his stinker face.  Thankfully his pure smile is back now!

 Speaking of stinker, he figured out how to help himself to snacks 

 And lastly, his first steps!

First Steps! from Kolby on Vimeo.

Top 10 Older Baby Items

As a follow up to this list of our top 10 baby items just a few months after Beckett was born, here's a list of some new favorites now that he's a bit older.

In no particular order...

1.   Silicone bib with pocket

Babies are disgusting eaters.  That is just a fact.  The food catcher pocket at the bottom of bibs is genius.  Beckett’s fills with food every meal and after he’s done eating he literally lifts this bib up and funnels the leftovers into his mouth like it’s the end of a bag of potato chips (genius).  This bib is our favorite because the the food catcher pocket is structured so it stays open and it's much easier to clean than the flimsier ones.

2.  Immersion blender

I started using this when Beckett was around six months old to make batches pureed baby food for him.  When he moved on from pureed foods to finger foods he went through a several-month phase where he would eat any and all foods that we’d serve him.  The kid didn’t meet a food he didn’t love.  But all good things must come to an end, and shortly after his first birthday he started turning his nose up at foods he used to eat all the time.  I guess we’re entering into that picky toddler phase.  He’s still a great eater so I can’t complain, but it is particularly tricky to get green veggies into him (and the top question our doctor asks at his checkups is "Is he eating green veggies every day?" Arg.).  Our solution:  smoothies with tons of kale or spinach hidden in them.  We dusted off this blender and now 3-4 times a week we make him a smoothie with a banana, several strawberries, yogurt and milk, and a big ole handful of kale/spinach.  He LOVES them.  Once he was convinced that he liked them, we just keep upping the kale/spinach and he has yet to complain.  You would seriously not believe how many greens you can fit in a smoothie.  Now we’re experimenting with putting other greens too, even green beans and broccoli, and I don’t even think he’s noticed.  I guess the fruit still puts off the strongest flavor.  Anyway, this blender has been our secret weapon for sneaking him green veggies.  Any blender or food processor would do, but they are such a pain to clean.  This immersion blender is seriously quick and easy to clean.

On a related note, the least-messy way to serve smoothies are in reusable squeeze pouches like this or these or if we make the smoothie thin enough, a cup with a straw like these.

3.  Child bike seat

Kolby got this for Christmas and we’ve already taken several family bike rides.  Beckett has a blast and anytime he sees a bike he asks to go on a bike ride (by making a hand motion we invented to mean bike or by pointing to his head and saying “hat” because he knows he’ll get to wear his bike helmet).  We’re looking forward to the spring and warmer weather to get to use this even more.

4.  Fleece sleep sack

Beckett slept swaddled and on his back until he was almost six months old.  Then we moved him to his tummy and he just slept in a pair of footed pjs for the summer.  But as it started to get cold I got one of these to try out, and he’s worn it every night since.  It keeps him warm but gives him the freedom to roll around, toss and turn, stand up, etc.  At some point we’ll move to using a blanket, but right now I know it wouldn't stay on him at night and I want him to be nice and cozy while he’s sleeping.

5.  Toys from Lakeshore Learning Center

If you’re looking for a gift for an older baby and want to venture outside the Target toy aisle, Lakeshore Learning Center is an amazing place.  It’s expensive, but you can sign up for coupons.  We have several toys from there, like this fishing set, these flash cards, puppets, and this ball set.  They are among Beckett’s favorite toys for sure, and are more dynamic than more traditional toys.

6.  Car seat with HERO harness system

I have no idea what HERO stands for but it means that the straps can’t twist.  Anyone with kids in car seats, can I get an AMEN?!?  Beckett outgrew his infant car seat at 11 months old and after some research we narrowed down our choices to the Recaro Performance Ride and the Britax Marathon.  Both awesome and as safe as you can get, but straps getting twisted is such a hassle so we were sold on the Recaro.  We love it.  The fabric is really durable and easy to clean, which is a plus.  And most importantly, it’s so easy to get Beckett buckled in properly because the shoulder straps are sewn into place and the straps can't get all twisted in the buckles.

7.  Bookshelf within reach

We are in love with our bookshelf!  There are a lot of great options for displaying books within reach of a baby (our bookshelf is from PB Kids).  The picture above is of Beckett at nine months old.  He loves to grab all the books out and sit among a pile of them on the floor and read, read, read.  

8.  Stride Rite cruise & walk shoes

Beckett got a pair of these for Christmas and I absolutely love them.  They are his only shoes that fit right now so he wears them every day, and they hold up so well.  They are the perfect combination of durable (especially at the toe which drags on the ground as he crawls) but have flexible soles so they aren’t cumbersome as he practices walking.  They are easy to put on but impossible for him to take off himself (win-win).  When he outgrows them I’ll definitely shop at Stride Rite for his next pair.

9.  Spill-proof water bottle

In January I ditched my diaper bag for a tote-style purse.  I love that I can just toss anything I need for Beckett down in there, but that means his sippy cup isn’t help upright like it is in the handy diaper bag pockets, and all sippy cups leak a little.  Beckett got this water bottle for Christmas and I keep it full and in my purse.  It doesn’t ever leak and the spout is covered so it stays clean (not that cleanliness is a real priority for me, that’s a losing battle with kids for sure).  I'm glad someone gave it to him because I don't know how long it would have taken me to realize he was old enough for a water bottle.. it's easy to get stuck in the world of sippy cups.

10.  Little Blue Truck board book

This and the companion book, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, are Beckett’s favorite books and from what I hear, he’s not the only one.  At first it was annoying how much he liked them—he would literally wake up pointing at one of them on his bookshelf—but then I realized that unlike most baby books, they have a legit story line and are the lesser of evils if you will be reading the same book 20x a day for weeks on end.  Plus there is a moral to both stories.  P.S. I'm not sure when babies are ready for regular books (rather than the board book style) but Beckett so far is showing no signs of being able to resist tearing or eating pages.

As far as some of the items mentioned on our first list, we still love our Ergobaby carrier.  Kolby carries Beckett in it on walks all the time.  And we still love our cloth diapers.  Not having to buy formula or diapers meant that Beckett has been about as budget friendly as a baby can get.  Although I won't lie to you and say that dealing with poop after he started eating solids has been fun, but that's a story for another day (or if you're lucky, never).  And in case you are keeping track, yes we still use the huge exercise ball to get Beckett to fall asleep for naps.  [Insert look of shame here]  Y'all, I don't even know how we got to this place.  Yet here we are, bouncing a 25 pound 14 month old to sleep twice a day on an exercise ball.  And not just us, our babysitters do it too because it really does work like nothing else does.  Sigh.  We keep telling ourselves that when we move him to one nap a day here in a few weeks we will teach him to fall asleep on his own at nap time, like he already does at bedtime.  But at this point, who am I to say that we won't keep caving?  But that's the plan.