Houston's Gingerbread Party

Houston got invited to his first party! He got the invitation from Madonna, a nurse that Derek works with. Her kids have all grown, so she wanted to have a Gingerbread Party with her "boyfriends." We made gingerbread houses (while Houston tried to destroy them), decorated gingerbread men, ate pizza, and opened a fun gift from Madonna. I didn't get any pictures at the party, so these are after we got home. If you look closely, Houston's shirt is now pink thanks to the peppermint he snuck into his mouth.

On another random note, Houston likes to eat things. Everything, actually. He can't even pass the dishwasher without trying to eat it.

Brushing Teeth

Because Houston has so many teeth (6 already), and thanks to having a dental hygenist for a sister, we decided we need to start brushing Houston's teeth. We bought the smallest toothbrush we could find, brushed his teeth with warm water, and then Houston decided he wanted to do the brushing. He LOVED brushing in front of the mirror. So cute!

He's Such A Boy

Need I say more?

Happy Halloween!

We had a blast for our first Halloween with Houston! Some of you might be thinking how sick it is to dress up a cute baby as a VAMPIRE, but you have to understand a little something about Houston. He is getting his teeth so quickly, but in the wrong order. His little vampire teeth on top came in before the middle top ones, so we had to take advantage of it and make him the perfect vampire while we could. Isn't he so cute?? We tried to get him to flash a perfect smile to show off his teeth, but this is as close as we got.

Hilarious, isn't it??

Of course, we also had to carve our pumpkins. What kind of parent would I be if I didn't let Houston live it up and get down and dirty?? He loved it!

Trip to Colorful Colorado

A week ago I got to take a trip to Colorado with Houston and my little sister, Sarah. We had a blast!! I haven't been back in almost a year, and I can't believe I ever went that long without my Colorado! We had so much fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Lathen and Daniel.

Houston was so afraid of the leaves, especially when we tried to rake them. Derek's got his work cut out for him!Among many other things, we all went to a corn maze near Chatfield. So fun!!

Houston and Grandma Lathen

Houston and crazy Grandpa Lathen

Holy cow, Houston is in LOVE with kettle corn!!

Porcelain Always Wins

A couple days ago Houston got in his first fight with none other than the toilet! Surprisingly it wasn't from pulling himself up onto it then falling down... which is how he receives most of his battle wounds. No, he decided to ram the toilet full throttle with his forehead. He's Derek's child, not mine!! The pictures were taken right after, so now he has a beautiful, purple bruise over his eye. Round One: Toilet!

My Little Monkey

Well, he's done it. Houston is barely 8 months and is now pulling himself up onto things. I was doing dishes and glanced up to find Houston standing up on his bouncy chair thingy, and he's been pulling himself up onto things ever since. He's no longer content to just sit on the floor or scoot/crawl around. He HAS to be standing.

Houston's Very Own "Playground"

The new love of Houston's life is the dining room table and the shower curtain! He can be well entertained for fairly long stretches of time with those two things. What I wouldn't give to be so easily amused!

Check out his cute vampire teeth!

Ducks Are Awesome!

Derek, Houston, and I went to the duck pond just south of the BYU campus today. Houston and I had been there before with my little sister, Sarah, but this time Derek got to come, too. We could never get a good picture with Houston looking up because he was so fascinated by the ducks!

Sometimes Houston decided he'd rather eat the bread than give it to the ducks...

Those were some hungry ducks!

They were eating right out of Derek's hand... and caught
hold of Houston's hand a couple times, too.

Hangin' With Mom and Dad

As Houston grows we get to do more and more things with him. We've taken him swimming several times this summer, and he absolutely loves it! We're so sad our apartment complex is closing the pool already.


We also went and checked out Discovery Park here in Pleasant Grove. It was incredibly fun... but it would probably be better if Houston could move around on his feet rather than his belly! We can't wait until next summer. Then we'll take full advantage of living so close to that awesome park!

We also had a fun time hanging out with Aunt Sarah (who came back to finish up at BYU) and Grandma Lathen (who came as the moving crew).

The whole time Grandma was here we were hoping that Houston would figure out how to sit up on his own. And guess what?? As soon as she left, he figured it out! And check out those teeth!

Battle at Flaming Gorge

This last weekend Derek went fishing at Flaming Gorge with his friends Jared and Kyle. As you can see from the pictures, he was just a little successful. They caught lake trout, bass, and crawdads. The first day Jared's dad caught a 20 lb lake trout, and Derek got skunked by 6 of them. He was thoroughly disappointed but resolved to make up for it the next day. And I guess you could say he was fairly successful. After fighting with the fish for 20 minutes, he reeled in a 30 lb lake trout!

Houston's Growing!

Well, Houston will be 7 months old this week, and I can hardly believe it. I was putting away his old clothes, and it was so sad to see how little he was when he was born. He's grown up so fast!


Houston was holding his head up the day he was born and even since has proven to everyone that his goal in life is to be mobile, not stationary. As a result he has absolutely no desire to sit but instead has been trying to crawl for the last month. If I can get the video below to work, you'll see that even crawling can be over-rated! He obviously can get around just fine without it! He's already attacked some of my dried roses, meaning it's time to me to redecorate! And by redecorate, I mean pack stuff up so it's out of reach.



Houston's also enjoying the wonderful world of teething! Yeah!! While the two teeth he has are adorable, he has days where it just hurts. I feel so bad for him... and just wait till those molars come in! Yuck! Hopefully someday I'll get a picture of him with his teeth, but for now he doesn't even like showing them off to Derek or me.

Up And Running!

Thanks to Ashley, my wonderful, talented, beautiful, and technology-savvy sister-in-law, the Beckstrand Bunch Blog is finally up and running... for the most part! We still have a long way to go to get this thing where we want it, but at least it looks cute! At the end of the week Derek will be taking a 3-day fishing trip with his buddies up at Flaming Gorge, so I can guarantee I'll be putting a lot more on here while he's away. So come back soon and hopefully you won't be disappointed!