THE BECK FAMILY: November 2012

November was a whirlwind for us. Unfortunately all four of us came down with the stomach flu, which was debilitating and kept Aaron home from work for four days. About a week later Elle started running a fever. After a trip to the doctor, and then to the ER, we discovered she had a bladder infection. Poor, sweet girl. Aaron spent four days away from us in Seattle, Washington for an Analyst conference. When we were healthy this month we spent a lot of our time outside as the weather was beautiful! Fortunately we finished the month well by spending five days in Visalia celebrating Thanksgiving with family.

The weather was so nice we were able to swim at the Community Center!

Poor baby. Elle's temperature fluctuated up and down for an entire week. When it was high she slept, and when it went down she was her happy self. She was a trooper.

Lunchtime fun practicing "cheese" smiles for the camera!

Reece and Jeffrey had their hair cut at the local barbershop together.

Sliding down the dirt hill in Garrison and Leeland's new backyard.

Kayla, Grace, and Keegan took Reece bowling while Elle was sick. I love seeing Reece and Grace's relationship develop. They love each other and treat each other just like brother and sister!

Ashlee's classroom (my old classroom) is one of Reece's favorite places to explore. His favorite things are her bean bags, the calculators, dry erase boards, and M&M dispenser (of course!).

Elle does not like to keep her barrettes in her hair. She knows I like them in, so she takes them out and then makes sure to get my attention with a sassy grin. Lately she spends half of her day with her hair in her eyes, so we like to call her Cousin Itt.

Reece has been using the little potty for a while now. He usually goes in the morning, before his bath, and whenever he wants a Starburst jelly bean (smart boy!). I thought he was ready for the real-deal, but after a day of accidents I realized that he had never really used the toilet in public. We are now practicing so that he feels more comfortable using one no matter where we are.

While in Visalia we took a day to explore the great outdoors. The cousins all had a blast together... we did too! Here are pictures from our hike through Kaweah Oaks Preserve and at Reimers Candies in Three Rivers. This day brought back a lot of good memories and I look forward to returning soon!

Our guide... Reece LOVES maps.

Buddies

The making of a Christmas card...

Miss Independent

Nana practiced her Limbo at the back of the pack!

Everyone had ice cream except for Reece who picked out gummy frogs instead!

I just love this picture of Papa and the river. He is at peace here. The Sierra Nevadas have a big piece of his heart.

Here are a few extra pictures from Visalia. Enjoy!

Elle was able to stack the blocks and little people successfully with Papa. She is getting too big, too fast. She absolutely adores Toby, as you can see by the tickled look on her face here!

Swinging with Nana and Sawyer.

Reece and Dakota found some dirt and made it into a construction site.

Dakota and Sawyer were so sweet to share their new lip gloss with us!

We loved our family time in Visalia and look forward to returning soon!

Here's to a healthy and adventurous December!

We are thankful for all God has blessed us with!

Throughout the month of November we talked about the things we are thankful for. After a slow start Reece was able to come up with a lot of ideas. My favorite moment was when I drew RuffRuff and Reece very seriously reminded me to draw his tail (Reece rubs RuffRuff's tail for comfort). It was so sweet!

TRYING to take a Christmas card photo with Papa and Nana is becoming quite the tradition!

Nana bravely brined the turkey for the first time this year. It was delicious and a must-do for next year!

Papa and Nana brought gingerbread men for the kids to decorate. As usual, Reece enjoyed eating over decorating! Elle was content to walk around and chat with everyone.