Go BLUE!

Go Blue! The Wolverines got their first win of the season this past Saturday, despite what looks to be a frustrating rebuilding season. Whatever the outlook, you can be sure to find the Frego/Beckham family parked in front of the TV at Grandma and Grandpa Frego's house every Saturday this fall. It's a family tradition that we all look forward to. We are especially looking forward to a new style of football, thanks to the hiring of a new head coach, Rich Rodriguez. The old school days of Schembechler/Carr are gone! We'll give the Wolverines a one year grace period to adjust to the new philosophy, but next year we expect big things! In the meantime, we'll just enjoy another fall season of college football, including all the antics involved in a typical Sat. afternoon ... approx. 14 people packed into Grandma and Grandpa's livingroom to watch the big game; Mya and Sam wrestling on the floor; dad yelling at the ref's or coach or whoever he can point a finger at to place blame for another idiotic Wolverine screw up; Grandma shuffling in and out of the kitchen to replentish the coffee table buffet of fabulous snacks; Brian falling asleep at 1/2 time and most of the 3rd quarter; and of course, Grandpa leaving the room anytime the Wolverines blow another big play! :)

I couldn't resist this picture of our little Diva Mya...wearing her Wolverine poncho, accessorized with the perfect floral purse! :)

First smiles

Carter has been smiling for a couple of weeks now and is starting to make cooing noises too...it's so cute and I love his sweet smile. He is especially happy when his tummy is full. Typical male!

Gotta love that spit up all over his shirt!

1 month old already!

I can't believe that 1month has gone by already since our little Carter Jacob was born. He is gaining weight like a champ...I stood on the scale with him and it was 9 lbs. heavier! If my calculations are correct, he has probably already gained almost 3 pounds! His newborn clothes are too tight and he's starting to fit in 0-3 months clothes. Carter is very much a cuddler and likes to lay on either mine or Brian's chest to fall asleep. We try to put him down in his crib before he actually falls asleep, but most of the time he starts crying shortly thereafter and we end up holding him until he's sound asleep. He has big problems keeping the pacifier (a.k.a. "pipe") in his mouth. It's a pain to keep popping it back in, but sometimes it's the only thing to keep him from fussing and crying. He has also developed a lovely case of baby acne, but he's still a cutie and I think he's going to look a bit like Sam. He has the same nose and mouth as Sam (takes after mommy), but his eyes are shaped differently (more like daddy's). He makes a lot of the same expressions that I remember Sam making, but has very light colored eyelashes and eyebrows...different from Sam's dark, thick eyebrows/lashes. When he raises his eyebrows, it caused his forehead to crinkle into "bulldog wrinkles" just like his daddy! It makes me laugh. Also similar to Brian (& Sam), he has big hands and feet...so we're hoping our boys turn out tall or they're going to be very oddly proportioned!

Overall, it's been a pretty good first month (I've only had 2 major meltdowns!) Typically Carter falls asleep around 11:00 and sleeps until 3:00 a.m. (sometimes earlier, sometimes later). Then he wakes up again around 6:00 a.m. After this, mommy really wants to go back to sleep, but Carter often does not. So...I end up snuggling with him in my bed and generally we both fall back to sleep until Sam joins the snuggle fest at 7:30. (my favorite time of day) :)

Here's some pics from the last month...

Moments after birth

Proud papa

Relieved mama

Carter's 1st visitors...Grandma Judy & Sam

Samuel refused to hold Carter at the hospital. Since then he has adjusted nicely and is a great big brother, but he still prefers not to hold him. He loves to be a helper and bring me diapers and burp clothes when I'm busy. He's even becoming a pro at popping in the pipe because he hates it when Carter cries. The other day he commented to me, "Mom, I'm sick of putting in this darn pipe! It doesn't help anyway!" :)

Grandma Judy

Grandpa Ron & Grandma Judy

Grandpa Sonny & Grandma Ellen

Uncle Jon, Aunt Jen & Cousin Mya

Uncle Alex

Aunt Haley

Great-Grandma & Grandpa Henne & Rudy Kleinheksel

Great-Grandpa & Grandma Don and Arlene Frego

Staci, Nina, and Maya

Dave, LeAnne, and Anna

Our new nephew...Owen Louis!

On August 11, Jon, Jen and big sister Mya, welcomed new baby Owen Louis to the family! He is so precious and cute. Our little Carter and him are only 1 month apart and will have so much fun growing up together and probably causing lots of trouble. :)Baby Owen

Jon, Jen, and Owen (minus Mya)

The Beckham family and Owen

Cousins...Owen and Carter

I can't believe that Carter has already grown this much! Owen weighs 7 lb., 6 oz. and Carter was 6 lb., 9 oz. at birth and he's only a month old! Wow, has he grown or what?!

Carter Jacob Beckham has arrived!

On July 16 at 11:05 p.m. , our beautiful baby boy...Carter Jacob Beckham was born. He weighed 6 lb., 9 oz. and was 19 inches long. He is so precious and our hearts have already made room to love another little boy as much as our first born.

MY LABOR STORY

My labor began at about 3:00p.m on the afternoon of July 16. I was sitting at my girlfriend's pool and I started having some contractions. I had these same type of contractions the night before but they went away after a few hours, so I just figured these would too. After arriving home at about 3:30, I let Sam watch a video on the couch (and he promptly fell asleep). Shortly thereafter, Brian arrived home from work early with a monster headache, so the two of us layed down for a quick nap before the church picnic. It was during this time that I realized that my contrations were consistently 2-3 minutes apart. This seemed a little odd since I thought contractions were suppose to work their way down to 2 minutes apart.... not start at 2 minutes apart! So, I decided maybe I should start writing them down and timing things...just in case.

While getting ready for the picnic, I continued to time things and the contractions got a little bit more intense. Thinking this was still "false labor" we went to church and while there, the contractions got a little worse. Everyone thought I was crazy for being at the picnic and my girlfirends insisted that I call the doctor.

Next, we dropped Sam off at another church for Vacation Bible School and while in the parking lot I called my doctor. The on-call doctor, Dana Kraker, called back about a 1/2 hour later and asked me to rate my contractions on a scale from 1-10. Playing it on the safe side, I estimated about a 3 or 4. She told me I could come in and get checked if I wanted to or I could wait an hour. I decided to wait and in the mean time, finished packing my bags.

Around 7:30 some really dark storm clouds started rolling in and the TV was warning of severe weather. At this point we decided it was time to go to the hospital to "get checked" before the storm arrived. I was fully prepared that they were going to tell me that I was not in labor and to go home, but I also didn't want to push things too far.

At the hospital, the nurse checked me and announced that I was dilated to a 5 and in active labor. In her words, "Honey, you're having a baby tonight!" My heart started racing as I realized I would NOT be going home and that this was the real deal. My due date wasn't for another 2 days and I was so sure that this baby would be late and that I would have to be induced. I was so excited and relieved that my little boy would soon enter the world. I was definitely sick of being pregnant and ready to rid myself of the extra 30+ pounds, but I was also terrified of going through another labor experience like I had with Samuel.

From 8:00-9:45, I tried to "tough it out", but my contractions got progressively more and more intense until I told the nurse it was time for the epidural. At 10:00, praise Jesus!, the doctor arrived and administered the "good drugs" and in no time I was feeling no pain.. :) From 10:00-10:45, Brian and I watched a little TV and then suddenly I felt A LOT of pressure and the urge to push. I told Brian to call the nurse and upon checking me, she said, "Oh my, you're dilated to a 10, 100% thinned and I suggest you do NOT cough or laugh! That baby is about to fall out!" The doctor came rushing in (Dana Kraker) and said, "This is only going to take about 2 pushes!" Sure enough, by 11:05, Carter Jacob Beckham was born and our lives will never be the same again. He is a blessed addition to our family and we welcome him with lots of love.

Our family

My boys

39 weeks!

Only 5 more days until my official due date! Ahh! I was really kind of hoping that Lil' Beckham would arrive early, but now I'm hoping he holds off until I get over the nasty sinus infection I developed this weekend. (prayers please!) These pics were taken today after church...another beautiful Sunday! Today we attended a small congregation in Grandville where Brian was asked to lead worship. He did a great job and it was a cool experience for him to use his talents to serve God and bless others.

A Fabulous 4th!

What a gorgeous weekend! We had a fabulous time just hanging out as a family, especially since Brian got a 4 day weekend! Sam enjoyed the extra daddy time and it was so much fun watching those two interact. I'm so lucky to have such a great husband who loves his son so much, spends quality time with him, and in return Sam totally adores him. Sometimes I wish he (Sam) put me on the same pedestal that Brian has achieved in his eyes, but I understand that there is a special bond between a daddy and his son.

So...to begin our long weekend, on Thursday Brian went with me to the Aquatic Center to watch Samuel's last day of swimming lessons. As his teacher exclaimed, "Your kid has no fear!" Yeah, we could have told you that lady! At the bottom of this blog I have attached a video of Sam swimming and jumping off the diving board. He was the only kid in his group who dared to jump off without the help of the teacher. He just LOVES the water!

For the rest of the afternoon, we spent time just hanging out on our deck blowing bubbles, swimming in the kiddie pool, and playing baseball. Yes, we know his hands are not lined up correctly, but for some reason he has his mother's stubborn spirit and does not like corrective criticism....so we're just happy that he's asking to play. :)

Friday we spent the day with the Timmer's. Brian and Mark went fishing all day, while Cory and I took the kids to a pool for the afternoon. In the evening we had a cookout and then later we watched the fireworks at Kollen's Park. The kids had a blast, but were totally pooped out by the end of the night.

Finally, after church on Sunday, we headed down to the lake and spent the afternoon enjoying an absolutely perfect day. The water temp. wasn't too bad so Sam and Brian spent most of the time either in the water or burying each other in the sand. I, on the other hand, sat and sunbathed like a beached whale at 38 1/2 weeks pregnant! (12 days to go!)

Why can't weekends last forever?!