Curtis, Cami, Will and Ben

Benson Craig Beard

2010-07-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

6 lbs 6 oz 19 inches
July 9, 2010

It's been a while

2010-05-11T15:50:00.001-07:00

So, its been a long time since I've blogged. I decided to do something different for our family journal, so I probably won't be posting very often.

First, for the big news... I'm going to have a baby boy in July! We are so excited. Will doesn't quite get it, but he does know to say baby when I ask him what's in my tummy. He's still convinced its a girl though.

Will turned two in January. He is getting so big. He is talking a ton and loves to learn new things. He can count to ten by himself and knows all but three letters.

Mmm...Wendy's

2009-11-06T15:11:00.000-08:00

While we were at the grocery store today,

I told Will we were going to get some pears.

He folded his arms for a prayer. What a good little boy!

Will loves Wendy's. He gets sad when we drive by and don't stop.

Today when we were leaving the grocery store,

I asked Will if he wanted to go get some chicken nuggets.

He told me "fries." He cracks me up!

Rocko's hoping to do some clean up.

Halloween

2009-11-05T15:09:00.001-08:00

Will was our dog Rocko (Gocko Gocko) for Halloween. He looked so cute!

This is what happens...

2009-09-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

when you leave Will alone for a few minutes.

Rocko probably had a weeks worth of treats before I caught them. Lucky dog!

This is actually the second time this has happened.

I think I learned my lesson this time!

the cabin

2009-08-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

We finally made it up to the cabin this summer. The weather was perfect so we spent a lot of time outside. It was so nice to get away and just relax all weekend.

Will reading cookbook magazines with Grandma. They like to pretend to eat the food in the pictures.

Will thought it was fun to put things through the cracks in the deck. I lost an earring up there. I bet it is somewhere under the deck!

Isn't that the cutest little airplane swing?

Will's first Rhino ride.

18 months

2009-08-14T11:42:00.001-07:00

Will's Favorite Things:

cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, airplanes, and helicopters

playing with the hose

Blue Bear and blankies

doing laundry

feeding Rocko treats

Grandma's house

Barney

working in the yard with "dad dad"

sprinklers

24th of July Weekend

2009-07-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty good 24th weekend. We had a barbeque at my parents and lit some fireworks. Will just sat quietly and jumped a few times at the loud ones. At the very end I think he realized that it was fire and he started screaming and clapping. Too bad he didn't enjoy them that much the whole time! We let him do a sparkler and he loved it. Rocko didn't seem to mind the fireworks. I was very surprised.

I hardly ever post pictures of Curtis because he flips off the camera so I won't use the picture for anything. I was pretty ticked when I saw these pictures and Curtis couldn't stop laughing. I've decided to start doing some quick editing so I can still use the pictures. Maybe that will get him to stop doing that and I can finally get a cute family picture!

I got sick Friday night and ruined our plans to go boating and to the cabin :( I guess it was nice to have a relaxing weekend at home though. This is what Will spent a lot of the weekend doing. I think he would play with the hose all day if I would let him.

Happy Birthday Curtis!

2009-07-12T08:19:00.001-07:00

On Curtis' birthday my mom watched Will while my dad, Curtis, and I took my dad's Rhino for a ride up Mineral Basin. We had so much fun. It was a beautiful ride, but a little bit scary at times!

Holy crap! You can't really tell from the picture, but the front wheel is about three feet off the ground. I really thought it was going to tip over. I don't know how my dad didn't laugh at the face I was making! I got out right after this :)

When we got back we had Five Guys Burgers and Fries for dinner. Will really wanted to eat the cajun fries. I was surprised he liked them, but he kept sticking out his tongue because it was hot.

Thanks for being such a wonderful husband and daddy. Happy birthday Curtis!

Grandpa's Birthday in the Canyon

2009-07-10T15:18:00.001-07:00

We went up the canyon to celebrate my dad's birthday on Wednesday. It is so pretty up there, I don't know why we don't go more often.

Helping Grandpa start a fire

Wilbur sure enjoyed his watermelon!

Will was ticked pretty much the whole time because he wanted to touch the fire. He is a little obsessed!

Poor Rocko! We didn't realize that dogs aren't allowed in the canyon. He had to stay tied up in the car the whole time.

S'mores anyone?

Awhile ago, my dad started clapping his hands like he is in the picture and saying "sssssssnap." Will thought it was hilarious and has been doing it ever since. He just puts one arm up in the air and says "ssssssss," and wants you to do it back to him. He does it if I say anything about Grandpa and right when we pull up infront of his house. He also does it to anyone who makes eye contact with him at the store or at church.

Hope you had a happy birthday Dad. We love you!

Washing Cars with Daddy

2009-06-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Last night for family night we washed the cars - well, Curtis and Will washed the cars and I took pictures! Will is such a boy. He loves cars, trucks, motorcycles, and airplanes. He gets so excited walking through parking lots. He especially loves red cars and his daddy's red motorcycle. He's gotten pretty good at saying "vroooom vroooom" while he pushes his toy cars around.

What a good helper!

Curtis is such a fun daddy

Then it was time for a tubby and bed. (I was in a picture taking mood, so these are just pictures I thought were cute)!

Who needs bath toys when you have a cup?!?

A few weeks ago, Will decided to stop drinking milk (hopefully he'll change his mind soon). I decided it was a good time to stop giving him a bottle. I know your not supposed to let them have a bottle in their crib, but it was the only thing that would make him not cry himself to sleep. After a few nights of not having a bottle, he started to love getting into his crib. As soon as his Primary bedtime songs are turned on, and he's holding his favorite Blue Bear and the tag on his blankie, he dives for his crib with a huge smile on his face. It is the cutest thing ever! It is so nice to end the day happy :)

I love this little guy!

The Zoo

2009-06-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today I took Will and the boy I'm babysitting this summer, Kyler, to the Zoo. Will loved it!

Eating Fruit Loops while looking at the giraffes

I think Will's favorite animal was the peacock. Every animal we saw he would point to it and say "this" or "that."

The train ride

Close-ups

2009-05-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

BLACK EYE

2009-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

Will got his first big owie today. We were playing in my mom's backyard and he tripped on the grass and bonked his eye on a little kid chair. It wasn't a big fall, but he must have hit his eye just right to make a huge bump and bruise. He didn't cry very long. I think the OtterPops helped take his mind off it. Poor baby!

This is right after it happened

This is a few hours later at dinner

Good News!

2009-05-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

I think Will's gagging himself till he throws up phase is over. Yay!

The Doggie Door

2009-05-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Will has been trying to go through the doggie door for awhile now, but I always grab his ankles and pull him back inside. I was afraid he would fall down the stairs head first, and I wanted to teach him that he's not supposed to go through it. Today I guess I just got curious what would happen if I just let him do it. (Good parenting, huh?!) He actually turned himself around as he went through it and slid down the stairs on his tummy. He was pretty proud of himself. I guess now I don't have to worry about him getting hurt if I don't get to him in time. Or I could just keep the cover over the doggie door when Rocko's not using it, but what fun is that?

Notice all the toys he's put through the door. If we ever can't find something, we know where to look!

Will's been trying to step down and up from little steps. He's gotten pretty good at it and he is perma-grin the whole time he is doing it. As soon as he got outside today he tried stepping off the deck, which is a pretty big step. I kept telling him to turn on his tummy, but he was determined. We thought that he would figure it out after he fell a few times, but that never stopped him. Atleast the grass is a soft landing!

Here are some other pictures that I think are funny. Oh, the joys of having a dog!

Notice the wet pants and socks. Sometimes you just have to let them do whatever will keep them busy for a little while :)

Happy Easter

2009-04-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

My handsome boys

Easter morning we went to my sweet Grandma Scholte's house for a yummy breakfast and an Easter egg hunt.

We went to Curtis' parents house for dinner and another Easter egg hunt. Will got pretty good at picking up eggs and putting them in his basket. He's been enjoying all of his candy, especially the Peeps!

Will's getting good at walking!

Will's cute cousins, Jayda and Taylor, helping him pick up his eggs.

Funny Boy

2009-02-25T13:50:00.001-08:00

Will's new thing is to use Rocko as his pillow or chair. It cracks me up because he doesn't do it to be funny. He is totally serious when he sits or lays on him. Rock is one patient dog!

His other new thing is more disgusting than funny - Will thinks it is hilarious to gag himself. He puts three fingers down his throat until he gags, then he laughs so hard. He does it when we are driving so I can't pull his hand out of his mouth. He's made himself throw up four times now, and he still thinks it is funny. It's horrible! I'm hoping he grows out of it soon.

Sorry for the gross story :)

Winter Cabin Trip

2009-02-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

We had a fun family trip up to the cabin this past weekend. It is so fun to go in the winter with all the snow. The cabin was freezing when we got there and it takes a long time for it to warm up. It was cute to watch the little grandkids cuddle up with grandma by the fire to get warm. Poor Rocko was shivering like crazy, and somehow he ended up wrapped in the only electric blanket. He's a spoiled dog! Saturday was Valentine's Day. We all went sledding on a big hill by the cabin and played in the snow for a while. Will loved it! He crawled around as fast as he could the whole time. I took him down the hill on the sled, but he seemed to enjoy crawling around more. We frosted heart sugar cookies with the kids, and had a steak dinner with the whole family. Not the most romantic Valentine's Day, but we had a lot of fun.

Will took his first step up at the cabin! He's getting more brave and yesterday took three steps in a row. It won't be long until he is running around!

Will kept biting his gloves off, so we taped them on. It worked great!

Miley and Will (the twins)

Rocko hates being cold, but he sure looks cute in his hoodie!

Grandma is so loved!

This is where Rocko (and I) spent most of the trip.

Will at ONE

2009-02-11T11:51:00.000-08:00

Since we are using our blog as our family journal, I wanted to write about what Will is doing now that he is one.

Will is our little guy at 18.5 lbs and 30 inches. He has the cutest raspy little voice and the cutest laugh. He says "mom, dadda" and "doggie." He has 7 teeth (3 on top, 4 on bottom) and has a sweet smile.

Will is a fast little crawler. He can stand on his own, but we are still waiting for his first step. He loves to go up stairs and is getting pretty good at it. He plays a game where he crawls to the stairs, peeks around the corner and laughs until I come to get him. Then he takes off as fast as he can up the stairs and laughs the whole way up. Sometimes I purposely leave the baby gate down so we can play his little game.

Will's favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, Trix, and mandarin oranges. He also loves sips of daddy's Dr. Pepper and Mt. Dew! He's a pretty good eater, but it seems like half of what I give him he feeds to the dog. Rocko doesn't seem to mind :)

He loves to be sung to. His favorite song is "If You're Happy and You Know It." He starts clapping as soon as he hears it.

Will is all boy! He spends a lot of time pushing his truck around the house and playing with his drill. He also loves his puppy and has started trying to play with him. Will gets toys and tries to push them in Rocko's mouth so they can play tug-o-war. Will laughs so hard! Luckily, Rocko is very gentle with Will. Sometimes Will holds on tight and Rocko drags him across the floor. It's pretty funny! They are good little friends.

Will loves to be held by mommy and play with daddy. He gets so excited when Curtis comes home from work. Curtis can always get him laughing really hard.

We have so much fun with Will. He cracks us up everyday. We love you Will!

Birthday Boy

2009-02-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

We had Will's party with Curtis' family. Will was sick, but we still had a fun time. He loves his cousins and was happy to see them. Hopefully he will be a little more up to partying next year!

The kids had fun playing Birthday Bingo.

He got some fun toys and cute pajamas.

The poor baby didn't eat any of his cake. He must really be sick!

Jayda and Taylor looked cute in their party hats!

Will's Puppy Party

2009-01-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is ONE! We had a fun puppy party for him on his birthday. We had hot dogs for dinner and played a few puppy games. Will had fun opening his presents and got a lot of fun toys. His favorite part of the night was digging into his dog bowl birthday cake. He was actually a lot cleaner than I thought he would be!

I have a little doggie and he won't bite you ... and he won't bite you ... but he will bite you!

Everyone played "Pin the Paw on the Puppy." It was pretty funny to watch the adults play.

The kids had to eat Trix like doggies.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! We love you!

Water Baby

2009-01-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

I took Will swimming today with his cousins and some other friends. He loved it! He wasn't too sure about it at first, but once he got used to the cool water he had a lot of fun. He wore himself out and took a great nap when we got home. Maybe I should take him swimming more often!

Luke, Will, and Miley are good little friends.

Will loved crawling around the kiddie pool. His knees and the tops of his feet were bright red when I got him out. I think he was having too much fun to notice.

Miley and Will had fun splashing with each other.

Will's First Haircut

2009-01-15T17:05:00.000-08:00

For some reason Curtis thought it was his responsibility to give Will his first haircut. He actually did a pretty good job! Erin and Kenra were there to help me keep Will entertained and to take pictures. Will was ticked by the end, so we didn't take an after picture. He looks pretty handsome though!

The Holidays

2009-01-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome Christmas this year. We moved into a home in Sandy just three days before Christmas! What a great present! We've been busy doing a little remodeling, so I'll post pictures in a little while.

We went to Curtis' parents house on Christmas Eve. I didn't take any pictures there, but we had a great time. On Christmas morning, we went to my parents house. Will opened his presents there since we didn't have a tree.

Will played his drum really loud all day! He concentrates so hard on the sticks that he goes cross-eyed!

My dad has made all of the grandkids a camo blanket. He didn't want to leave Rocko out so he made a camo doggie bed. Rocko loves it!

Will loves his train from my parents!

We had our traditional fondue party on New Years Eve at my parents' house. Curtis ate a ton of steak cooked in oil. Will loved the chocolate. He was a huge mess by the time we were done! Will made it till 11:00, which I thought was pretty good! Must have been all the sugar from the chocolate.

The little party animal

My cute little niece Kenra tucked Rocko in with her blanky and Ellie. Rocko always sleeps with his tongue sticking out. How cute!

We had a fun time partying. The best part was, when it was time to go home we only had a three minute drive!

Our Little Drummer Boy

2008-12-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

Will loves watching Curtis play the drums on Rock Band. It is one of the few things that keeps his attention for a long time. When Curtis is done playing, he gives Will the sticks and he goes crazy!

Christmas Party

2008-12-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last night Will and I went to my parents Ward Christmas Party. It was outside, so Will was all bundled up in the hat and scarf my Grandma Scholte made for him. He looked so cute! My dad drove Santa in on his Rhino covered in Christmas lights. I had Will sit on Santa's lap, but he wasn't too sure about it this time. He still didn't cry, which surprised me. I think Will's favorite part was the bonfire. He couldn't take his eyes off it.

Santa

2008-12-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

Today I took Will to the Festival of Trees with my old school kids. It was fun to see the kids and everyone I used to work with. This was Will's first time seeing Santa. I couldn't get a smile out of him, but atleast he didn't cry!

This is one of my old students William. He loves "Baby Will" - I think because they have the same name! I called him from the hospital when I had Will to tell him what I named the baby. He was so excited he screamed!

I love those little teeth!

Photo Tag

2008-11-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

Here's how it works: Go to your pictures and select the fourth picture in the fourth folder and explain it.

I love this picture of my boys! I was just taking pictures of Will in my studio for his 6 month picture and Rocko jumped up there with him. I was lucky to get a picture of them both looking at the camera!

I tag Becky, Natalie, and Ally and Erin (now you guys have to start a blog)!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

Will wore the standard baby costume for his first Halloween, but he made a very cute pumpkin. He didn't really wear it much since it has been so warm -not that I'm complaining! I didn't have any pictures of him in his costume so we played out in the leaves in the backyard so I could take some pictures. He loved eating the leaves!

My dad cut his hair into a mullet for Halloween. It's a good look on him!

Will's Crawling!

2008-10-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Will just started crawling on the first of October. He's been close for awhile, then one morning I put him down and he just took off! He climbs up on everything now and can pull himself up to stand. It won't be too long before he's walking!

Will tries to escape anytime the door is left open.

He loves to play in the grass. This was probably one of our last times for the year:(

Cabin or Camping?

2008-09-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

We were going to go camping last week end but it was too cold so we went to the cabin instead. We went with my parents and Erin's cute little family. When we started making dinner we realized that there wasn't any propane - no hot water, stove, or oven. We couldn't take showers and we had to cook our food on the barbeque or on the fireplace. We had the camping experience after all! We had a fun week end. I love cuddling up infront of the fire. Curtis played lots of Guitar Hero with Wade, and Will had fun rolling around on the floor with his cousins. I think Rocko is in heaven up at the cabin. He gets a long car ride, gets to go on hikes, then sleeps the rest of the day on the big bean bag.

Our Family...From the Beginning

2008-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

We were married on December 16, 2003 in the Salt Lake Temple.

I graduated from the U of U in May 2004 in Special Ed: Severe and taught for four years.

We got our cute little puppy, Rocko.

Will was born on January 29, 2008 and weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz.

Will was blessed April 13th. He looked so cute in his little white tux!

Six months old. He is growing so fast!