A Celebration of Joe Becker!

 We kicked off the day of my dad's celebration dinner with donuts!  Graham stayed on Eastern time for his wake-up times, so we were up bright and early most mornings...  Yesterday, we chose to use that time wisely and go get donuts for everyone!  LOL  Guess who LOVES his chocolate munchkin?

We pretty much went from eating one delicious thing to the next since the Conners came over to have Herms with us for lunch :)  We were THRILLED to spend the morning with them!!!  We didn't manage to get our usual group shot this time, but here's a cute one of Paige and Graham!

And we got one of Paige and Jackson at Herm's while they were playing the games at Herms!  I swear Lexi and Caleb were there too!  These kids play so nicely together--we love getting to spend time with them!

Late in the afternoon, we headed over to hotel where my dad's celebration was.  We actually had our babysitter come stay at the hotel because we wanted Jackson to join us downstairs for the program portion of the evening.  So, Amanda stayed upstairs with Graham while he slept and played with Jackson until it was time for him to join us.  Unfortunately, Jackson was feeling under the weather, so he mostly rested.  But he was so anxious to come down and be part of Bampa's special night anyways!

Cocktail hour was such a fun time!  There was a great mix of people present to celebrate with Dad.  

There were old babysitters,

old friends of mine,

friends of Mom and Dad,

family members from out of town,

and these guys!  They sure felt important when the photographer took a shot of them :)

 Larry was the emcee for the whole program, and he did an amazing job!  His speech was very thoughtful, but he made sure to include plenty of humorous anecdotes :)  

I LOVE these two pictures of my dad listening as people spoke about him and the legacy he will leave for Roycemore!

There were three special speakers to talk about my dad in one way or another.  Sara Dreiling spoke first--she is currently the Head of the Middle School, but Larry actually had her as an English teacher when she first started at Roycemore.  Margaret McCamant was next.  She is a past parent (her daughter, Jane, and I were friends) and past Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  Lanie DeWolfe.  She used to go to Roycemore, was on the Board of Trustees, AND was one of my old babysitters!  They each did a wonderful job--it was really neat hearing people talk about all different parts of my dad's 44 years with Roycemore! Tom Ellis was the last to speak, and he is the current Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  He had the special job of presenting my mom with a beautiful, engraved clock recognizing all of the support she provided my dad over the years.  He also presented Dad with a very handsome plaque, as well as the news that the gym at 1200 Davis St. will be named The Joseph A. Becker Gymnasium!!!  

One of many standing ovations during the evening :)

Dad spoke at the end of the program, and it really made me stop to think about how MANY speeches I have heard of his over time.  Of course, in the beginning, I didn't really listen, and they just seemed really long.  But, as I got older and started listening, I realized what a wonderful speaker my dad is.  Everyone who spoke about him last night mentioned that.  I am so glad we were there to hear this important speech :)

A classic Joe Becker speech pose.

Jackson came down to join us after dinner for the program.  He looked so pathetic, but he sat so nicely!  He looked so handsome in his button down shirt and khakis :) 

 I was so excited that Katie came into town for the celebration!  We had a great time hanging out and catching up with some other old friends that also came!

 Larry, Katie, Kelley (Katie's brother) and Me

A group shot of the Beckers and Smiths and the Wunders and Conners!  I can't believe how well this turned out considering it was quite an effort to get us in one place all together!

The night was WONDERFUL!  We loved hearing everyone share memories about my dad, tell funny stories, catching up with old friends and teachers, and watching a video all about him.  What an amazing 44 years!  Many people said it, but my dad's legacy will forever live on at Roycemore :)

The professional photos I included were taken by Evanston Photographic Studios.

Good Friends, New and Old!

We are some lucky people since we just took off for Evanston AGAIN! It hasn't been much more than a month since we left!  We are in town for my dad's retirement party, but we snuck in some visits with friends too!  The boys did SO WELL in the car!  We picked Jackson up from school on Wednesday and headed out.  We stopped for dinner and the boys slept most of the time after that.  We got into Evanston after driving for just under twelve hours--not too bad!

 Our first stop once we got to Mimi and Bampa's was meeting up with Kim and Baby Mia!  Jackson was super excited to meet Mia since he was too little to visit her in the hospital a month ago.  He wanted to hold her as much as possible :)  Graham didn't think too much of her, but he did enjoy the train table!  He was so cute standing there "playing" with the trains.

 Kim was amazing and helped keep an eye on Graham so I could snuggle HER baby! Such a good friend :)

 We headed back home to meet Josh and Larry at Herms for lunch--the first time Josh had had it since New Year's--it was a long time coming!  I escaped during naptime to get a manicure and pedicure--it was a lovely treat--and then we got to get ready for our date!  

We went out with Mom and Dad and Larry to celebrate Larry's and my birthdays--it was a really fun night and delicious food!

 On Friday we met up with the Buerstattes at Chick-fil-a!!!  We were SOOO excited to see them, play and catch up!  Kaitlyn, Jackson and Liam got to eat at a table all by themselves!

We got three out of the four in the picture...  

On the way home, we stopped at Barnes and Noble to spend a rainy afternoon playing at the train table, reading books, and drinking tea--Mimi was able to meet us there after work.  That night we FINALLY got some delicious Lou's pizza in our bellies :)

Date Knight at Chick-fil-a!

My handsome date for Mother-Son Date Knight at Chick-fil-a!!!  He was SOOO excited!  I made our reservations a couple of weeks in advance, but I went ahead and told him because I was so excited!  He kept checking the calendar to see if it was "6" yet :)

I didn't get a super great picture, but you can sort of see the cow on the right side--dressed as a knight of course!  The whole section in the back was reserved for this event, and it was all decorated to look like a huge castle!  It was amazing!

A view of the inside of our dining area

 Jackson and the knight

 Our reserved table :)  Complete with red tablecloth, special napkins and silverware, a shield for Jackson to decorate, special placemats, treats, and our name!

 Close-up of table decorations

  After dinner, everyone was brought ice cream!  We were thrilled!  There was even a special area with toppings galore!

  Jackson said, "Yes, please!" to everything except Skittles and worms

 Back home reunited with our junior knight :)  Yes, that is a tiara on my head and a flower corsage on my shirt!  Each mom received one of each upon checking in!  Jackson LOVED that I was a princess and he was a knight!  He received a goody bag on the way out filled with a Chick-fil-a cup, a bouncy ball, a pencil, a stuffed cow, a medieval horse figuring, and a plastic sword!!!  I received a flyer with date night ideas and coupons!

 Date Knight Still Life

We also received this framed print of the two of us minutes after the photographer took it!

Thanks, Josh, for hanging out with Graham so Jackson and I could have our special date!!!

Graham is Eleven Months Old!

What a busy month Graham has had!  He continues to be a super happy and content baby--we are so thankful!  We definitely goes with the flow as the second kid...  He has become a much more stable stander, and he is starting to show some interest in the stairs.  We should probably get the baby gate installed sooner than later...  

 He loves to clap, particularly at Jackson's soccer games--he's a fantastic fan!  He hasn't waved in the traditional sense, but he just holds out his little hand towards people, and I'm pretty sure this is his version of a wave.  It also works as a high five :)  Unfortunately for Josh and me, he LOVES when Jackson wrestles with him!  That does not help us make our case for how Jackson needs to be gentle with his little brother since Graham grins ear to ear when Jackson rough-houses with him.  They are ganging up on us already!  LOL

 Clearly, he LOVES to eat!  He will eat anything, including baby food, but more often than not, his meals consist of table food!  He loves pancakes and bananas for breakfast and fruit, hot dogs, chicken, ravioli, macaroni and cheese, green beans, peas, and bread for all other times.  

  We have baby-proofed the play room, so Graham enjoys playing in there with all sorts of toys!  He enjoys trucks, cars, musical toys, stuffed animals, and balls!  He loves to chase balls around, especially the one we have that lights up!

 Showing off his standing skills at Mimi and Bampa's house!

 Showing off his Grahamalicious thighs!

He looks like such a big boy!  I can't believe he is going to be ONE YEAR OLD in a few short weeks...  We are in full party planning mode!!!

Teddy Bear Day!

Yesterday Jackson had Teddy Bear Day at school!  They talked about teddy bears all week, and then they each got to bring teddy bears to school for a picnic on Friday!  Jackson was super excited to bring Old MacDonald to school with him.  He also wore his special shirt from Uncle Larry--a teddy bear shirt from Israel :)

A Little of This, A Little of That

I cannot get enough of watching Graham play with other little friends!  He and Levi both LOVED the Handy Manny toolbox.  As all children do :)  Levi is twenty months, and we have a neighbor with a little boy who is 14 1/2 months, and the three of them are so cute when they are sitting outside together!

Just some sunglass cuteness on the way to soccer :)

Soccer game #2

Graham Joey and Daddy

Jackson and Rachel with their matching watches!  After soccer, we headed to the Yanceys to take them dinner and hang out.

On Sunday, we went to the Sacbibis' for dinner, and Graham enjoyed the fresh air by eating dinner on the porch. 

All dressed up in his little tie onesie from Aunt Michelle and Uncle Larry :)