Ho Ho Ho

Boo

Beckham was an elephant for Halloween. After spending many many hours making his costume (why do I do this to myself??) I was glad that he kept the headpiece on reasonably well.

We had a busy Halloween weekend, with a fun baby boo bash, trick or treating in downtown Los Altos, and a ward Halloween party complete with trunk or treating.

Beckham LOVED the haunted house at our ward party. After an older kid growled at Beckham he laughed, then walked around in the dark spook alley growling and "roar"ing at everyone.

Who Dunnit?

Last night our friends hosted an amazing Roaring 20's themed murder mystery party. The costumes were fantastic, the food was fantastic, and of course the company was fantastic. This was my first murder mystery party and it was love at first...play.

No, I didn't cut my hair - it's a wig :)
The lovely ladies.

The fellas.

Refined Palette

Could it be because he spent his first weeks living in Italy??

Beckham's favorite food (no kidding) is arugula with balsamic and olive oil. He gobbles it up.

L.A. Ladies

My good friend had a birthday this weekend so we surprised her with a girl's weekend in Los Angeles. We showed up on her patio Friday afternoon decked out in scarves, red lips and big sunglasses (our best attempt at old Hollywood glam) and gave her thirty minutes to pack her bags and get in the car. It was an amazing weekend of laughter, food, and fashion.

We did hours of shopping on Santee Alley in the fashion district, but one of my favorite shopping destinations was Michael Levine Fabrics. It was enormous and we scored some fabulous finds on notions and $5/yd fabrics.

Saturday we went to a fabulous fashion show. We had such a great time people watching before the show, and the designs were amazing. It was my first fashion show and I am hooked!
We tried our hand at celebrity spotting by having dinner at The Ivy, but the only celebrity we saw was the next day in Venice Beach - Kim Raver (Dr. Teddy Altman from Grey's Anatomy).
All of the girls I traveled with are major foodies so they put tons of research into all the restaurants we ate at, even using Zagat points to get us into the exclusive ones. The food was so amazing, our favorite place being Gjelina in Venice Beach.
Tons of shopping - and window shopping. So fun!
And girl talk into the wee hours of the morning.

The Great Pumpkin

Some girlfriends and I drove to Half Moon Bay today for a fabulous play date at the pumpkin patch.

All of Beckham's besties
Oh - and his other bestie :)
He found his pumpkin! (actually he couldn't have cared less about the pumpkins - he just wanted to sneak into the pony ride)

"You've found it Fritz! The perfect pumpkin!" Beckham says excitedly.
And...he's done! No naps and too many photo ops make even this easygoing babe worn out.

Dining Chairs

Before:

After:
I love the fabric - P. Kaufmann Suzanni Jewel

What a fun, quick project. Now the not so quick (as not as fun) project I am working on - recoving two Crate and Barrel couches we got free on Craigslist. Hopefully I'll have that posted in the next few weeks.

Labor Day

One last trip to the houseboat before summer ends...

Enjoying the sunset with Daddy.
Who keeps giving this kid licorice?
Brooke, Christian, Friz, Kelly, Tessa, Beckham and Brendon - loving the water
Beckham's best friends, Fritz and Tessa
Beckham's favorite thing to do is be naked on the deck of the houseboat for hours (literally) playing with the hose. He looks freazing in this picture - but that didn't stop him from laughing in the water until dark.

To Grandmother's House We Go

We took a last minute trip to Utah and surprised Grandma Jeri. Beckham had so much fun playing at his grandparent's house. He especially loved the horse grandpa dug out of the attic.

Excuses, Excuses

We didn't have internet for a few weeks, and we've been crazy busy around here... so the posts have been lacking (or non-existent I guess). Here's what you missed:

*We MOVED! We stayed in Palo Alto, in a lovely little apartment. We are thrilled.

*Beckster learned to walk. He is so thrilled with his new trick - he's a much happier boy now. He has changed in the last few weeks from my little baby to a total grown up boy who walks around and holds my hand. My favorite new thing... he's become a cuddler!

*We've been out of town every weekend (Gridley, Utah, Gridley again)... and have been trying to unpack the boxes in between unpacking the suitcases. But it has been great to see the family.

Clay Sannar

I'm sure most people have heard about the tragic murder of LDS Bishop Clay Sannar. He and his family are from my small town of Gridley, and more importantly are my cousins. We grew up working on our grandfathers' peach farms together, and although he was much older than me (or so it seemed at that young age) I have fond memories of peach fights with the Sannar boys, and of swimming at Aunt Maureen's pool.

Please donate to help his widowed wife and six children:

http://pledgie.com/campaigns/12975

My thoughts, love, and prayers are with the Sannar and Daddow families at this time.

Happy Merkley Birthdays

Brendon's, Beckham's, and my birthday are all within weeks of each other, so we combined them all this year to do one party for the three of us.
The Gingham Gang - CB, Brendon, and James
The Gingham Gang Junior (not in gingham...but children of the GG) - Fritz, Beck, and Tessa - future BFF's
Beckham had lots of help opening presents



61 candles (our cumulative age)
It was so fun to have our friends celebrate our birthdays with us our last weekend in Escondido Village (sob, sob).

A Year Ago Today...

[after 30 hours of labor and an emergency c-section] this little buster joined our family. Totally worth it!Happy 1st Birthday Beckham! We love you so much!

{eating his birthday cake on the houseboat last weekend}

I Almost Forgot...

Beckham kneeboarded (with Brendon) for the first time. He loved it.

Water Baby

We spent the 4th of July weekend (our favorite holiday!) on the houseboat at Lake Oroville. As we learned in Hawaii - Beckham LOVES water. He had a blast. It didn't matter that he didn't get any naps the whole weekend - he was in good spirits the whole time as long as he was near the water. His good mood may also have been a result of his crawling around the floor sneaking junk food off everyone's plates. He developed a love of bbq potato chips and licorice this weekend. His mama's boy for sure!

Beckham loved to stand at the baby gates at the back door and look at the water and the other boats driving by.
Beckham and Daddy feeling the wind in their hair!
Drinking water like a big boy with Grandma Lynn.
Splashing in the lake!!

Just chillin' in the water. I think adult life jackets need that relaxing neck support.
The whole fam damily. My little brother surprised us by driving down from Utah spontaneously so we were all together. How wonderful.
One of our favorite things to do is play "human chain" behind the boat - whoever can't hold on (the boat is moving slowly) is mocked and teased as the weakest link!