10 things in 2010 that were totally terrific by Nicole

Not in any particular order, here are 10 things that were totally awesome in 2010.

1. Ila starts walking

2. Having our own business (it was for a short but very sweet time)

3. Trent's job and Mercer Canyons, and watching my husband finally get to do what he wants to do...FARM!

4. Ila's first birthday

5. Living near (or with!) everyone in our immediate families for a time

6. Seeing my best friend and her husband finally get to adopt a baby!

7. Meeting up with college friends who are now married and have babies too!

8. Starting a "read the bible in a year" thing with Trent and sticking with it

9. Watching Ila fall in love with her daddy and being excited to see him and play with him when he gets home

10. Personal growth and relational growth

Before the holidays update! by Nicole

It was the flu and I think we're finally rid of it! Trent got it along with Ila, and that was not fun, but they both seem to be in much better spirits and Ila is going to enjoy a more normal diet today. The BRAT diet, although effective, is not all that exciting for more then 2 days.

Our sister in Boise sometimes blogs about the menu in their house for the week. It's alwa

ys fun to see the same meals on her menu as ours without us planning it! S

o far this week I've only made 1 meal off our menu since the sickies were not into eating my

delicious and flavorful planned meals. That throws off my fridge & pantry stocking entirely, and we have this silly trip to Winco for milk and maybe 5 other things, but we sure save money!

On the development side of things, Ila is doing great. She now prefers walking to crawling and can stand up without the assistance of household furniture. She has 8 teeth (that are really

cute) and weighs 22 pounds (well, before her latest sickness). We're working on expanding her vocabulary but her latest new vocal sound is "wwah wwah" which is her cat meow and her dog bark. It's really cute. Ila loves animals. The last few days we have watched Youtube videos and animals and she just LOVES them.

Trent is enjoying work and I'm enjoying my work as well. We've decided to save some moolah to purchase a very nice vacuum. We've gone through 3 in our marriage so far, and that only counts the time we've spent state-side. We had a nice vacuum in Korea, but that is not one of the 3 I'm counting. I guess they just don't make vacuums like they used too. It think it's the first time we've ever decided to save up for something so specific, which I find exciting!

I finally got around to ordering our wedding photos. Yes, almost 3 year have gone by with our wedding albums sitting empty. I'm excited to get them and start filling

those albums up!

We are heading to Idaho for Christmas and New Years and I am TOTALLY STOKED to spend the holidays with our families. The snow has pretty much melted here. It's in that ugly stage where there is snow in some places and not in others. I'm hoping for a white Christmas this year, so I hope it keeps snowing in Boise!

But the doctor said so! by Nicole

It's hard having a sick child. especially when they are too young to tell you what hurts, how it hurts and what you can do for them. Yesterday was a rough day but I walked away from it (covered in vomit and poop) thinking very positively of Trent and my team work, and making the best choice for the health of our daughter.

Ila's appetite has been somewhat small the last few days. Trent has noticed a lot of gagging while eating and drinking as well, and extra fake coughs from her. She has also had diarrhea off and on for the last week and a fever here and there. She also cut a tooth 4 days ago. Her diarrhea the last few days had been different from the days previous though. Yesterday morning, after breakfast we loaded up in the car and Ila threw up all over. It was nasty, but we got her out of her car seat, took her inside and changed her, and loaded her back up and went to church. Most parents are probably cringing right now, since we took our child to church and let her play in the nursery with all the other kids, while carrying this bug around with her. I will say though that we honestly did not think (at the time) she threw up because she was sick, we just thought she gaged on something or just had too much to eat.

During church, Ila's number flashed on the little box by the sanctuary. That meant that Ila needed my assistance. When I went into the nursery, she was standing on the changing table (with a 80+ year old woman holding her) crying and looking uncomfortable. They younger woman/mother of 6 was also in there looking frazzled. I went and grabbed Ila and they showed me that there was poo up her back. "Oh yuck!" I said. "Thank you for calling me in, I wouldn't wish this diaper change on anyone but my husband!" We all had a good laugh and I got Ila all cleaned up and changed. It was some nasty diarrhea, whitish in color.

The rest of the afternoon while shopping, Ila was acting fussy. She did not want to have anything to do with Daddy and was barely tolerating me. I fed her and she took a nap. Woke up from the nap and spewed all over herself & car seat. Okay, something is wrong with her. Trent and I discussed that we though there must be something in her throat causing her to gag. So we tried looking, and that caused her to throw up a lot more. So, off to the doctor we went. We had limited choices as it was 4pm on Sunday. We went into the waiting room and waited for an hour. Ila didn't really like that, and fussed for most of it.

The not so friendly, very shaky and ready for retirement aged nurse came and got us and did they whole nurse thing. My favorite par twas when she left the room she said, "The doctor will be in." Not, "the doctor will be in shortly." And good thing she didn't! We are estimating it was about another 20 minutes till the doctor came round. He did his thing and didn't find anything wrong with her. Then he said, "well, we'll get a urine sample to test for a kidney infection." Then walked out of the room.

the next 20 minutes Trent and I discussed how exactly they would go about getting a urine sample. I said "with a catheter" and Trent said, "we could just ring her diaper out!" Well, they couldn't ring out her diaper (and they probably wouldn't if they could), since she hadn't peed in a few hours, or kept anything down. Well, we expected the doctor to come in with a catheter, but the nurse and some other lady (probably another nurse) came in instead. We did not have any idea why they needed a urine sample, what signs she was showing that could lead the doctor to thinking she had a kidney infection etc. We were NOT about to let them give Ila a catheter without having a few things explained to us. We asked them what they were planning on doing, and why. Then I asked what the side effects/ risks were, "is there a chance of infection?" I asked. Unfriendly nurse rolls her eyes and snapped of course there is a chance of infection! There is anytime you insert something into the body!" I give her the look, and Trent says sternly but kindly "we're going to need to talk to the doctor again before you do that." They grumble and walk out.

Now I'm mad and ready to just leave. Trent, my awesome and wise husband suggests we talk to the doctor before leaving. We discuss together, while we wait, how we don't see a reason for the catheter and urine sample. Then we call Trent's mom, a nurse of 20+ years and she tells us why the doctor wants the sample, and discusses it with Trent etc. The doctor comes back in 15 minutes later) and we have a little chat. He says "well, it's most likely a flu. You can tell by how she is acting, they she is not in much pain and she doesn't have a fever. I can't tell 100% for certain without testing for other things that it is the flu, but I'm sure it probably is." We discussed signs to watch for in the next couple of days that would tell us if it's something more serious. We decided NOT to get a urine sample as it seemed quite unnecessary for something that is probably a flu. Other possibilities are a kidney infection, an obstruction (which is what Trent and I are thinking it is, if it's not the flu) or some sort of liver problem. The main concern at this point is dehydration, but she seems to be doing pretty well in that camp and the white stools. Don't google "white stools" because it is all doom and gloom. It is something to watch closely for sure, but it could also just be a symptom of the flu, according to the doctor.

As we made our 1 hour drive home I was so pleased that we didn't put Ila through something as traumatic and painful as a catheter for something that probably the flu. I was really pleased with the unity Trent and I had in making good choices for the health of our daughter. I was NOT pleased with the ease the doctor and staff had about getting a urine sample from Ila. I cannot believe that the doctor didn't have conversation #2 with us BEFORE sending in the catheter team. We could have saved all of us 30-45 minutes, and a whole lot of patience and warm fuzzy feelings. The only real good thing about the experience was when they told us they would not charge us for the visit. That was a total blessing from God, as we are 2 months away from our insurance with Trent's work starting up, therefore uninsured!

To sum up, we are thankful for doctors and their wisdom, but parents need to make wise and informed decisions about the health care their children are getting. We should not make medical decision just because "the doctor said so!" We are still a bit concerned about Ila, but she seems to be happily playing and drinking and eating. Please pray that it really is only the flu and that she is healthy again soon!

I forgot to tell you my favorite part about the whole thing. Since we live an hour outside of town I have to have super prepared and stocked diaper bag. By the time we got to the doctor, Ila was wearing her ONLY unsoiled piece of clothing (other then her diaper of course), a sweatshirt. She had no pants left so we wrapped her up in a blanket. It was kind of embarrassing.

Hearing Myself by Nicole

It seems I have more time to think out here. Maybe I'm thinking the same amount, but I certainly hear myself more nowadays. Lately I've been quite reflective and thinking about how our life has changed so much, and how it could be different.

I had a miscarriage several months ago. I've been thinking about it quit a bit lately, probably because if I hadn't had the miscarriage I would be about 8.5 months pregnant. It's strange to think that we would be welcoming a new member into our family in the next few weeks if I hadn't had the miscarriage.

It's interesting where my heart is at with the matter. I am not sad about it (now), and not glad. I guess what I am is aware that God really knows what is best for us. I'm not saying that God causes miscarriages or anything like that, but what I am saying is that God knew that having a newborn around this time was not right for our family. I can only imagine that I would be really stressed and worried about how I was going to manage 2 children while Trent is still adjusting to his new job. How would I cope with being in a new place, way out here in nowhere land, barely knowing anyone? I don't think it would have been very pretty.

It's not that I don't think I'm capable of dealing with all of those things, I'm sure I would do alright if it were the case, but I think it's better that it's not the case.

This isn't the most concise blog, its just me spitting out thoughts that needed to come out. We didn't tell the world about the miscarriage when it happened, because it seemed really personal, even borderline embarrassing. See, a lot of people are very open in sharing there thoughts on the "proper" spacing of kids. Trent and I had decided long before Ila was conceived that we wanted to have our kids close together in age, which we have now discovered is not as socially pleasing as kids spaced 2+ years apart. After we had Ila, we started hearing people warn us to make sure not to get pregnant too soon and all that jazz. The worst was after we found out I was pregnant and people kept saying things like"don't get pregnant too soon!" and "make sure you are being careful, you don't want to have your kids too close together!" Trent and I usually snickered in secret to one another, but I felt concerned that when we told people we were pregnant they would judge us, or think we were foolish. I am easily hurt by people saying negative things about something I'm excited about. For example: "I'm pregnant!" I would say. "Wow, so soon? You are really going to have your hands full." Maybe I'm a little over sensitive, but that kind of reaction would have hurt my feelings.

It was a breath of fresh air when I ran into one of my sisters at the Obstetricians office and our secret was outed to her. She was nothing but happy for us, and encouraged us that we would do great with kids 13 months apart! It was so nice to have someone say "good for you!"

I say the miscarriage was borderline embarrassing because I thought people would think that it happened because my body wasn't ready yet and that it was too soon after having Ila. I suppose I felt like people would have an "I told you so" remark going off in their head as they would tell me how sorry they were. I also felt like something was wrong with me for sure. I had a successful pregnancy with Ila, so why didn't this one take? It's taken some time for us to come to terms with the whole situation, and to understand it fully. I think I'm finally past the "something must be wrong with me" stage. We know that there was nothing wrong with me, making me unable to carry a baby, but that it was just not meant to be. I didn't understand why at the time, but now that I'm so close to the due date I understand that with complete confidence.

To wrap up I'll say that there are so many questions with early miscarriages that will not be answered this side of heaven. Sometimes that bothers me and other times I'm at peace with it. I am totally at peace with what happened though, and I am in awe that God knows us so intimately and knew that this time was not right for us to have another baby. I've also learned that telling people how to go about spacing their kids out is not my place. I don't know if I ever did that anyway, but if I did, I sure won't now!

Also, miscarriage is hard, scary and heartbreaking, but nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of. There is always a reason, but I don't need to know why in order to accept and heal. God knows, and He is in control, and that's good enough for me.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Weaned, Walking, One & Washington by Nicole

Ila is now a weaned, walking, one year old who lives in Washington. It's pretty exciting to say the least. She is the cutest little walker! She is also a waver and pretty wild and her parents are weird. She has 6 teeth and will probably have 7 by the end of this week at the latest. She seems to be able to eat everything without problems, although we have yet to introduce peanut butter and honey. Washington is the 3rd state Ila has lived in since she was born. We live in her 4th

house and if you consider that she was conceived in Korea and spent 7 months in utero there, it's technically her 2nd country and 5th house

she's ever lived in.

Happy 1st birthday to our little girl! Being one sure is fun! We had an awesome birthday celebration for Ila on Friday night. My parents got to come celebrate with us and Trent's parents joined us via skype! We ate lasagna and had tasty butterfly cinnamon rolls that I made just for my girl. We opened lots of presents and played. We also measured Ila and compared them to her newborn measurements. Boy howdy has she grown a lot! Trent and I got her a drum with fun shakers and other musical instruments. She loves it, but mostly chews on the drumsticks.

Ila is a very social baby. She is always trying to strike up conversations with strangers at the store. She doesn't mind being held by unfamiliar people and she has a smile for anyone. She says "hi dada" to pretty much everyone, which can make me a little uncomfortable, and also the person she is calling "dada." She does however call her daddy "dada" and it soun

ds different then regular "dada." The words I clearly understand her saying are: Hi, dada, fish & that. She likes to point to things and say "that."

Ila's personality has sure blossomed a lot in the last

year as well. I remember wondering what kind of girl she would be when I was pregnant. Most people call her an "easy baby." Well, I'd have to agree that she seems to be a pretty easy baby in comparison to some I've been around. These days she keeps me on my toes 24/7. The days of "easy baby" left when Ila became

mobile, and now even more since she is walking and tumbling a lot more! She is very passionate about eating/drinking, playing and sleeping. Most of her crying is in direct relation to one of those things. She doesn't really cry much though, and she is getting so much better at communicating in other ways. For example just 2 days ago she was getting a little tetchy and got into something she shouldn't have. I said "Ila, no!" and she protested. It seemed to be a bigger protest then usual so I said "Whats

wrong Ila? Do you need something?" She signed drink & eat. So I got her some

food and drink and she was as happy as could be. It was a pretty big moment for us! Anyway, she is strong willed (which is no surprise with Trent and me as her parents) but she seems to listen pretty well. She is getting more and more mischievous though, and reminds me of her daddy lots more. She is a quick learner, but likes to see how far she can push the boundaries in the house of rules. She often knows when she is doing something she shouldn't be, because she usually looks at me first and smiles, then goes ahead and does it until

I say "Ila..." in my special tone. She has lots of freedom to roam and explore the house and loves the tupperware cupboard in the kitchen. She can play in it all she wants, a

s long as she stays out of the glassware cupboard!

Ila mimics her daddy more then anyone. She

is fascinated by his sounds, movements & facial

expression. She even favors her left hand. She is also built like him, with broad shoulders and a small waist. I'm very thankful for that. Oh, and she pretty much has a 6-pack like her daddy too! When he comes home from work, she races to the door and they say "hi' back and forth while Trent takes his boots off. They are pretty inseparable until bedtime after that!

Ila has blessed us and taught us so much in the last year and we look forward to more years to come! Thanks for the great times Ila, we love you!

Rat-a-tat-tat by Nicole

We live in the middle of nowhere and I actually mean that! The closet towns are Prosser and Mabton which are about 30 miles north of our little place. We live on a ranch, 8.5 miles away from Mercer Canyons farm, where Trent works, A LOT since harvest is coming to a close. I can see our neighbor's (the ranch owners) trees, which surround their house about 1 mile away. That's the only house I can see from ours.

It's really nice out here, peaceful & beautiful, a wonderful place to raise kids. The obvious downside is of course having to drive 45-60 minutes to get back into "civilization." It hasn't bothered me one little bit though, the drive is quite beautiful, mostly along the Columbia river and it goes pretty quickly. There are other downsides though, not nearly so noticeable, but downsides nonetheless....

Trent noticed it right away, strange droppings on our front deck. Not your run of the mill mouse droppings, quite common on ranches and farms, but no, much bigger then mouse droppings. "It's must be a gopher" he convinced himself of one day, "but I don't see any gopher holes." This went on for days, he would ponder what on earth was living under our deck, and pooping on our front step. I pretended not to notice, and always stepped over the little droppings on my way in and out. Mostly I stayed inside though. See, I'm not much of a bug, insect, rodent, small wild animal fan. I pretty much despise those sorts of things and avoid them at all cost. But my curiosity got the best of me.

One afternoon the ranch owner, Doris, called me to check how things were going. I updated her then I started explaining the droppings on the deck and telling her that Trent thinks it's a gopher and what not. She listened, and then when I finally stopped babbaling she said "I think it's a rat. We get them in the barn sometimes and I saw the droppings the other day and it looks just like a rat to me."

"A rat? Like a rat, rat?" I asked, very unhappy and disgusted to be receiving such terrible news.

"Yeah, so make sure you get some poison out right away, because they can get in your car and cause a lot of damage."

"In my car? like inside?!?!"

"No, not inside, but under the hood."

That night when Trent got home, I had him put out poison right away. The next morning it was pretty much gone. Trent and I were shocked to say the least and put out more. Apparently to kill a rat, it needs to eat poison for about a week straight. But we were committed to getting rid of this thing.

One day I was out in the van with Ila, coming home from a shopping trip, and I though I heard something near the hood of the van. I was pretty freakout, and will admit that i jumped back into the van and slammed the door. I had a terrible feeling that that rat was scoping out the van or something, or worse, in it. I kept telling myself I was hearing things, but the sounds didn't stop. Trent said he had heard something out there too one night, but didn't think too much of it.

On Tuesday Doris (and her 4 dogs, 2 or which are skilled rat hunters) came over with her son and his friend to get some stuff out of the spare room they had stored here. She asked how the rat hunt was going after seeing the droppings on the deck. I told her we had been poisoning it for about 5 days and her son said it takes at least a week and to keep on it. A few minutes later, one of the dogs went missing and Doris went around the side of the house to find him. On her way back, she passed by the van, and one of her rat hunting dogs was pacing back and forth in front of the van. "Um, Nicole, the rat is in your van!" she said.

"What?! It's in the van?!" I yelled.

Then the son (I can't remember his name) and Patrick (the friend) came over. "If you pop the hood we can check and see if it's really in there." her son said. So, I popped the hood. He opened it as the three of them stood over it, and all at once they jumped back! "Huuooo! I saw it! Did you see it? Where did he go?" Doris cried. "It's down in there, I can see his tail!" said Patrick excitedly! Meanwhile, the son reached his hand into the engine area and pulled out a huge (the size of a deflated basketball) rats nest.

I ran inside with Ila and called Trent "It's in the van, the rat is in the van! It's in the van! there was a nest in there and everything!"

"What?!" Trent said. "It's in the van?!"

"Yes, Doris' son and friend are over here and they are going to try and kill it and get it out, I'll call you back later!"

I'll skip the yucky and lengthy details here and tell you that they did kill the rat, and got him out. It was a big rat, with big teeth. It was pretty nasty, but I did manage to snap a picture of him with my phone so Trent could see it. They disposed of it somewhere for me.

So, our grounds and our van's engine are rat free now, and we'll do everything in our power to keep it that way! I have a lot to learn about farm like, but one thing I will NOT learn to do is put up with rodents! If they want to eat poison and die they can come on over, but hopefully they'll just keep away! Also, we finally found the perfect name for our van! Remy. Some of you may know where we got that name, and others, you'll just have to brush up on your Pixar.

Mercer Canyons by Nicole

When we moved to Idaho from Baton Rough back in March Trent began the job search of a lifetime. As every one knows, it was about the worst time imaginable to be looking for a job in our lifetime. Again and again we seems to strike out and we realized that getting a job where Trent could use his farm life experience and agriculture education was not in the cards for us. He interviewed for a job in Prosser Washington that was basically his dream job and when he didn't get it we found that the Lord was pulling us in another direction.

Becker Bros. LLC was established and Trent and his father started a business doing tree work and home repairs/renovations. Trent and Daniel have been enjoying spending their days together working hard and making a living. Self employment is hard, rewarding and a bit nerve racking all at the same time. Never sure of exactly how much you'll bring home and the end of the month has grown us in our faith and reliance on God. I seem to be constantly reminded of God's love for us and have enjoyed watching Him provide again and again business and finances to pay the bills every month!

Last week Trent received a call from his dream job interview place I mentioned above. Mercer Canyon Inc. is a VERY large farm (about 10000 acres) in Prosser Washington. The call Trent received was a job offer, and a good one at that! He came home and told me he was offered a job and I was in SHOCK! We discussed it together and with our business partners and we all agreed that it seemed like a great opportunity and that if all the things were right (job description, salary, insurance, housing etc) we should take the job and move out to the farm. The next day before Trent even had the chance to figure out the logistics Mercer Canyons called and offered Trent ANOTHER job. So now we had 2 job offers in 24 hours!

We went to Prosser last Friday and got all the logistics worked out and all our questions answered and Trent decided to be a farmer (his other choice was a logistics person, more like desk work and what not)!

So, sometime this month we'll be relocating to Prosser Washington, moving onto the farm and starting Trent's life long dream of being a farmer. We couldn't be more shocked & excited for this new development in our lives and are looking forward to starting this new, and hopefully long chapter of our lives.

11 months by NIcole

Our little Ila is not so little anymore but still pretty little in the grand scheme of things. She is still whistling, still crawling and still super cute. She has the ability and coordination to walk but apparently not the confidence.

We've been exploring food more and more, sleeping 11-12 hours through the night and only nurses 2 times a day now. It looks like we"ll have a weened baby by Ila's first birthday! These days Ila's favorite food seems to be scrambled eggs and she enjoys a cup or two of rice milk throughout the day.

Ila has been communicating quite a bit these days as well. She says "uh oh" every time something falls, she drops something, or hears someone else say it. If you say "oh no!" she'll put her hands on her head (by her ears) and makes the "oh no" face. When sh eplays by herself she usually talks to her stuffed animals (and chews on them!) and "read" books outloud. She knows who her daddy is and points at him and says "Dada." She mimics pretty much everything her daddy does but not so much her mommy. I guess she is used to being around me all day, so I'm not so exciting to mimic!

Today we had Ila's baby dedication and we got to share it with out church family and also her Marma & Poppy, Grandpa & Grandma, Granny, GG, Great Aunt Carol Lea and Uncle Jon & Aunt Telcia/ Ila's Godparents. It was a lovely day and we finished off the celebration with a great meal at Marma and Poppy's (Trent' parents) house!

10 Months Old, by Trent & Nicole Becker

Well well well. Ila is 10 months old and loving

every minute of it. Well, almost every

minute of it.

We celebrated 40 weeks of being out of the womb on August 5th. Ila didn't seem to be phased about the fact that she'd been post birth longer than she was a fetus / embryo.

Ila likes to crawl, walk along furniture and stand all by herself when distracted with a toy. She sits down when she realizes she is standing though. We're hoping she gains confidence soon,

because she has all the muscles and balance to walk, she just needs to be brave!

She is a brave little whistler though, and she'll also bravely do almost anything she sees someone else doing. But if you really want to see how brave she is check out this picture of her chilling out in the stock pot on top of the wood stove!

While Ila was turning 10 months old she was sharing celebrations with some

future friends, Emanuelle Keafer (6 weeks old), Leo Tschida (8 weeks old), Jonathan Waters (4

months old). Coincidently, they all turned their respective ages on Sunday, August 29th, 2010, while we were celebrating together. It's a coincidence because we hadn't planned to celebrate all of these milestones in their ages, but rather that we had all done so much with our lives since graduating / parting company back in May of 2007.

All 3 of us had a wonderful time re / connecting with the ol' Idaho Gang, and we look forward to opportunities in the future to do the same.

In the mean

time, however, we're busy getting settled in our new place here in Twin Falls. We are still finding time to enjoy the summer as is winds down. Below is a picture of Nicole and Ila at Shoshone Falls. It was Ila's first experience at a waterfall.

Flying time, here's month 9! By: Nicole Becker

Well, it still amazes me that Ila can grow so much in a months time. She is still crawling all over the place but lately prefers to pull herself up to anything she can. Couches, chairs, barstools, and in her bed of course. She is just starting to move along whatever she is holding on to but still seems timid to move much once standing. It won't be long till she is walking all over the place!

A few weeks ago Ila learned how to wave hello and goodbye. She needed someone to wave at her first then she would wave back. Now shes learned to wave when she hears the word "hi" or "bye!" It is the cutest thing, and we are proud of her awesome development. She has two waves; the full straight arm wave, and the small hand opening and closing wave.

Ila has also been enjoying more and more foods and has a love for noodles. This is no surprise to us, since she has had a liking to all danglingly things such as string, fringe, shoelaces and bag straps, since birth. Watching her feed herself noodles is entertaining for everyone but especially exciting to Ila!

We went on our first "vacation" a few weeks ago. I say "vacation" because it was not really a vacation, but a trip up to Spokane for a wedding. We went with Grandma and Grandpa and stayed at a hotel. Ila was great the whole time we were gone. The wedding was during her bedtime but she was super happy the whole time, and quickly fell asleep when we got in the car at 10pm.

Ila now weighs 20 pounds has grown another inch since last month. She seems to be getting longer and thinner the last week or so. the last 5 days Ila has had her first real sickness. A common virus in babies called Roseola. She had a fever for 4 days and then broke out in a rash all over the place. Apparently the rash is a good thing as it marks the end of being contagious and the end of the virus symptoms: swollen glands, sore throat and high fever. We are delighted to see her returning to her normal, happy self. She was a bit grouchy when under the weather, as we all are.

July was a very productive month for some friends. We have now had six friends have babies all in the month of July! Talk about a baby boom! We are looking forward to introducing Ila to as many as possible of her new baby friends soon!

Keep on growing little Ila, we love you!

A big month for our 8 month old!

Ila, you are 8 months old now! Time is flying by as we watch you grow and we enjoy and cherish every moment!

You have had a VERY big month! You got your first 2 teeth, the bottom front teeth in one weekend. They finally cut through your gums on Father's day/ your Grandpa's birthday. You teeth like a champion, needing just a little bit of Tylenol to help with the little fever you got for a few days.

On your 8 month birthday and your Poppy's 60th birthday you tried table food for the first time. You've been enjoying pureed foods fed to you by mommy, daddy or a willing grandparent or 2 for a few months now, but you hadn't tried feeding yourself yet! we gave you some rice and you LOVED trying to fed yourself and feeling like you were a part of the dinner party. Most of it ended up on your arms, stuck in your palms, clinging to your jammies and a few pieces in your hair.

Those are the 3 big things you did this month!

You seem to have a love for books, and always want to grab the pages or chew on the covers. You are content playing by yourself with toys for a short period of time, but you like it when people look at you and talk to you from time to time while you play. You love music! You love it when people sing or whistle and you love your toys that play music. You especially like playing your little piano. You have even accidentally whistled a few times too!

You are really enjoying the special time you get to spend with Uncle Jon (and his awesome watch) and Aunt Telcia, who loves to "rescue" you from your naps (she comes and gets you when you wake up). Aunt Telcia REALLY helped teach you how to get crawling.

Your personality is coming through more and more everyday, and you seem to be pretty easy going. You don't fuss unless you are tired or hungry. When you are sleepy you grab at any face that comes near you and try to eat it too! It's pretty cute, but it can hurt too, since your hands are pretty strong little pinchers!

You've recently figured out when you've had enough milk so you stop before you are so full that you spit up a bunch!

You love when people hold your hands and walk you around, and are starting to enjoy standing up while holding onto the couch, chair, or nearby leg.

Lately you've been yelling, not because you are upset, but because you are excited, or you see something you want. It's a really explosive yell, and I think you inherited it from me!

We love you Ila, and are looking forward to another month of growth!

7 months and growing!

Ila, you are now 7 months old, Yipee! You are 26.5 inches long, and weigh something like 18 pounds. You are one sturdy girl.

Lately you've been rolling. You just really started rolling from your back to your front this last week. You like being on your back still but you enjoy rolling all the way across the floor to get the toys you so love. A few days ago you even got up on your knees and acted like you were going to crawl, but didn't. You are starting to scoot though as you slowly figure out how to move your arms and legs in sync to move around.
Speaking of toys, you really like toys, but books are your favorite. Grown up books, or baby books. Cloth pages or paper, you like em' all. You REALLY enjoy going ot the library with your mommy and daddy. We take you in the baby carrier and you face out and R-E-A-C-H for all the books we are looking at. You want to take the pages and crinkle them up and put them in your mouth.
You have excellent control of your hands now and you are one little pincher. This is not your mommy's favorite thing, but she knows that you don't mean to pinch her!
You are still eating just 2 meals of "solid" food a day. Yesterday, on your real 7 month birthday, you had sweet potatos for the first time, and what a treat that was! It's your favorite food so far, by the way you ate it up!
So there you have it little Ila. You are a growing, sitting, rolling, eating, happy little girl. You bring your parents a whole lot of joy and we sure love you!

Here's to eating healthy and serving others!

I like to cook and I like to eat. Since I like to eat, I should be making healthy things, so I can be fit and healthy! I find joy in making things with my hands, and watching others enjoying my hard work! I was starting to get into the groove of Trent and I's decided diet before we left Baton Rouge. Not a diet in the idea that we are "going on a diet to lose weight, blah, blah, blah" but a diet in the "this is how we are going to eat from now on" sort of way. We were eager to find our desired diet before Ila started eating with us, because we want to raise children with healthy eating habits!

Our way of eating is all about more produce and less processed foods. We shop the outside aisle at the grocery market. That's where you find all the yummy produce, meat & fish, dairy and breads. We venture into the inside aisle for things like rice, canned veggies (for when those fresh once are gone, or if you're in a pinch for time) and whole wheat pastas. Have I mentioned yet how great it is to be back in the vicinity of Wincos? It's great. They have granola, quinoa, oats, flours, sugars and everything else we buy frequently in the bulk section. It's awesome.

Now, back to my groove. I was really starting to get our new way of eating down when we moved. We were really enjoying the yummy things I was making too! Now that we are back and staying with Trent's parents for the time being, I'm making things things for their diet. I'd say the main difference between our diet and theirs is the meat. They don't really eat meat anymore, or fat. We were starting to eat a significantly less meat in our diets, which I think prepared me to eat very little while here. At first, I internally rebelled this idea of cooking with no meat, but I really wanted to serve my in-laws. So the rebellion was shot down, but it took me making one heck of a good meal without meat to kill my rebellious spirit.

The meal was spinach and rice enchiladas, that I made completely from scratch, minus the corn tortillas. I made the stuffing & the sauce and it was delicious. The meal was meat free, and fat free (that's right people, FAT FREE!) until we sprinkled some cheese and some sour cream on it (and it was fat free sour cream, and we only used a little cheese!) Anyway, since then, I've really felt joyful making these meat/fat free meals for my in-laws. I like seeing how happy they are to come home from work to a meal that they feel good about eating.

Trent and I usually have some meat with our lunch, and I find that is a great balance. I've had a great time looking for vegetarian recipes that I can alter to be fat free as well. We have checked out about 12 recipe books from the library in the last 3 weeks!

All this to say, it's nice being molded by the Lord. Sometimes I feel really set in my ways, and it's nice to not be stubborn here and there! I really enjoy serving others, so this had been a rewarding time for all of us, I think. Soon, Trent's youngest sister and her husband will be here and they eat the same way that my parent in-laws do, so I will be serving even more people by cooking this way!

It has been a nice time of growth for me, as I was struggling most with the amount of meat to incorporate in Trent and my meals back in Baton Rouge! It's hard to switch your brain from planning a meal around meat, to planning a meal around veggies, and having meat as a side dish, or occasionally no meat at all! I'm glad that I have finally found the balance Trent and I were looking for, and glad I can make yummy veggie based dishes for all to enjoy.

Yesterday's yummy and non-fat treat:

Soft pretzels, plain and Parmesan (not non-fat, but still not terrible for you!).

Tonights dinner:

homemade Naan (Indian flat bread of deliciousness), stuffed with spicy potato mix (potatoes, onion, bell pepper, celery, carrots, spinach, garlic, cumin and tomatoes). If that doesn't make your mouth water and your tummy cry out "feed me THAT!" then seek immediate help!!! ;)

Naan

I've also got to give a shout out to Quinoa (pronounces qeen wah). It's practically a perfect food.

Anything rice can do, quinoa can do better (well...i mean...practically) ;) Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa to learn more and http://allrecipes.com/ to find some tasty recipes.

If you are interested in learning more about our diet, check out the "Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno. Here's to happy and healthy eating for all and serving others! :)

The Biz

Things are really starting to fall together for us, and it's exciting. It's been a long drawn out process of figuring out the next step in our lives, but we are finally arriving!

What is that next step? Well, after prayerful consideration, and some long talks and planning, Trent and his father are starting business together! Actually, they are starting one business together, but it is publicly knows as two businesses. We've got Magic Valley Arbor Barbers and Daniels Quality Home Repair. I think both names tell you what the business is, but I'll sum up for you as well. The MVAB's are a tree service, and landscape service. They do all sorts of tree & shrub trimming, pruning, & removals, and can landscape your yard for you as well. They'll fix your sprinkler system, and fix the fence that the tree ruined! DQHR, is just that. Quality home repair, remodels, renovations and general fix-it stuff. You can even special order handmade wood crafts, stools, beds, candle holders etc., for a small price.

We are pretty excited about the business and are happy that jobs are coming in! We could use prayers, happy thoughts, and help spreading the word about our business (if you live in the Magic Valley area) if you want to lend a hand!

Our housing is still up in the air, which at times is a little frustrating. We are ready to get settled, as it's been quite awhile since Trent and I had a home where we really felt we could settle into. In fact, we have not lived in once place for more then a year, and the longest we lived in one place was Korea, which didn't quite feel like a place to get really settled into for me! We are looking to buy a place but that could be a bit further out in our future.

As for Ila & myself we stay pretty busy playing, cooking and doing laundry. I bet you can guess which of those Ila participates in! I just started a spinning class as well, which was actually kinda fun, other then the aftermath the bicycle seat had on my bum (I guess most people wear padded shorts in spinning class, and I can see why!).

Ila has has a big week. She now sleeps 8 hours through the night, eats oatmeal in the morning and rice and veggies in the evening along with nursing every 4 hours. Also this week, she is learning how to sleep un-swaddled, which we never realized would actually be hard to train her to do! She loved being swaddleed, so we always swaddled her to go to sleep, but now that she is bigger, and summer in here, she is WAY to hot at night to be swaddled! And of course, it's got to stop sometime!

We are enjoying the warmer weather and looking forward to all the fun things summer brings!

PHR & Swimming

Yesterday Ila helped her Marma (Trent's mom) make Parker House Rolls (PKR). She really likes helping her out, as you can see in the pictures!

Today we went to Banburys, where we Beckers like to do our swimming! Ila went swimming for the first time ever and had a blast! She didn't fuss one little bit or act scared in any way. That was a relief! I think we took her at the perfect age to start swimming, if you don't want to go through pool fear! Hopefully she'll just keep on loving swimming as much as her parents do!

Ila is 6 months old!

I've been inspired by one of my friends, and bloggers to write this blog for Ila! Thanks Bobbinoggin :)

Ila, You are 6 months old now! Congratulations! You love playing in your Bounce Bounce baby and think it's pretty cool when you touch a button and music plays.

You love chewing on things and will put anything and everything in your mouth!

People say that you are a very vocal baby, and your daddy and I love that about you. You mostly make "hooo" sounds, like an owl, when you are playing by yourself.

You sing along with music and even dance! It's really precious.

You eat every 4 hours during the day and sometimes go 6-7 hours at night. When you wake up in the morning, it's not to eat, but to play! After about an hour of playing you are ready for breakfast and then it's back to bed for another 2 hours or so. You wake up talking and happy! You eat rice cereal in the evening time and a little bit of Squash. You like the cereal more, but nursing is the greatest thing ever to you.

You can sit up all by yourself now. You can even suck on your toes and then sit back up, instead of falling on your face! You fall over after about 10 minutes of sitting, but I think you do it on purpose.

When you are on your belly you can turn in circles.

You love love looking in the mirror and think that the little baby you see in there is pretty funny.

You fill every day with Joy fr your parents, and anyone else who is around! You don't mind strangers on bit, and will let anyone hold you (as long as mommy says so!). You are happy, and friendly and we love you!

Happy 6 months (yesterday!).

Since I last blogged, we have moved back to Idaho! We planned on being in Louisiana for 6 months, so when our time there was done, we packed up our van (that we got, after selling our car) and hit the road!

Our trek across the country went really well and Ila got to meet lots of family on the way. First we stopped in Kansas City, Missouri and stayed with the Kelly's (our pastor from college and his wife, my best friend). Then it was onto Fort Morgan, Colorado where we stayed with my mother's parents and Ila had a great time meeting her great grandparents! We also got to see Trent's cousin Tyler while we were there. Then we headed up Casper mountain to visit Trent's cousin and her 7 kids! Trent's parents were also there, enjoying winter activities like snowmobiling and dog sledding, and working on house stuff for their spring breaks!

We just missed a large snow storm as we headed into Idaho, driving through the Teton Mountains, which were BEAUTIFUL! We were pleased to make Idaho Ila's 7 state she has ever been in.

Since we've been back in Idaho, we have enjoyed seeing family and introducing Ila to all sorts of people. She really seems to be a social baby, and doesn't mind being passed around, and having everyone make crazy faces and sounds at her. It's really nice to have such a sweet baby! Her best friend is Haro, her cousin that is 2 days younger then her. They like to sit on the ground, facing each other and babble back and forth. The other day Haro was fussy, and every time he let out a whine, Ila started talking to him. It was so cute. Tawna, (Haro's mom and Trent's sister) and I just knew that Ila was telling Haro that everything was alright, and that there was no need to fuss!

So Ila and I stay busy meeting up with friends and family, while Trent continues the job search of a lifetime. He has also stayed very busy painting my parents kitchen, and ripping the floors out. He will stay busy this week by tiling the floors in there. He also organized my dad's tool bench. He loves to work, and is anxious to get a job!

Developmentally, Ila is doing just great! She can sit up (with supervision) and grab things and put them in her mouth. She loves to laugh and smile, and play peek-a-boo. She eats rice cereal once a day, and may start eating oatmeal once a day here pretty soon. She loves to sneeze, which is really cute! Her new favorite thing is a baby bouncer, with toys all around it. She loves to stand in it and try to eat everything attached to it. She is 5 months old, weighs 17-18 pounds has moved into size 6-9 months.

So that's the latest from these Idaho Beckers! Hope you all are well :)

Holidays, Visitors and an update of Ila Vieu, by Nicole

December was an eventful month, with lots of visitors, but before visitors Ila started smiling in response to us, instead of just smiling here and there. She has a big goofy smile that is just like Trent's "goon face" he used to make as a baby. She also has a side smirk that is as cute as all get out, and a regular smile that can only make viewers smile back. It brought us so much joy when she started smiling, and the joy has not worn off in the least bit. I can't help but smile or laugh when I get a grin from Ila, and when we smile at her, she just smiles even bigger. So we have an on going cycle of smiling at our house, and that's fine and dandy with me!

My parents and brother came to meet Ila in mid-december and we had a great time seeing them all. They loved Ila (how could't you though?!) and Ila loved them too. Uncle Chris got Ila "Sunny Sunshine" which is a friendly looking sunshine face with colorful rays that light up in sync with a few classical tunes. Ila lights up every time Sunny Sunshine comes out to play. She kicks her legs and smiles at him, and waves her arms wildly about. We have a lot of fun with that.

At Christmas time, Trent's parents came to visit and meet Ila and we had a great time with them too! Telcia and Jonathan, Trent's youngest sister and her husband joined us for Christmas as well. We all had fun spending time together, eating good food and playing games. We were sad to see them go.

Right before Trent's parents came, Ila laughed for the first time, and hasn't stopped since! She has the funniest little laugh, quick inhales with a little sound. It's hard to explain really, so just know that her laugh is adorable! She has been laughing more and more lately and laughing harder too. I didn't think anything could bring me more joy then her smiles, but I was wrong. Her laugh does!

In January, Ila got another cousin, when Bonnie (Trent's brothers wife) gave birth to Anza Elizabeth. It was sure strange to see a newborn and Ila at the same time. I guess Ila really has grown a lot since she was born. It's hard to believe that she was even smaller then little Anza, but the scales don't lie (or do they?...)!

Now, about Ila. Ila is a very strong girl. At her 2 month appointment she weighed 13 pounds and we estimate that she weighs 15 or so now. She'll be 16 weeks old this Thursday. She loves to play, and her favorite things to do are to dance with her Daddy, and fly on her mommy's legs. Trent likes to to the chicken dance with her, and she thinks it's pretty great! She loves to stand (with help of course) and has strong legs. Ila eats about every 4 hours, and skips a feeding during the night, which is certainly appreciated by me! When she goes through growth spurts, she eats every 3 hours, and may or may not skip her night time feeding. It seems like her big growth spurts occur about every 4 weeks, and last for 3-4 days. She is sleeping less as she grows up, so we have more time to play, but she still sleeps a significant amount of the day.

These days Ila is discovering her hands. Often times she catches a glimpse of them while her arms are flailing about and then she looks for them. Once she finds them she just stares intently at her fingers, moving them a little here and there. Sometimes she can grab an object in front of her, but has not quite mastered that skill. She is also getting more and more vocal. In the beginning of January she started "talking" to us. It is awesome. At first she was only doing it when prompted by our "ooo's" and "aaahhhhs" but now she just lays around and talks. Often when she wakes in the morning, or wakes from her naps, she just lays in her bed quietly, looking around. Pretty soon, she starts talking, and when I look into her crib she smiles and kicks her legs and "ooo's" at me. I prefer this over crying when she wakes up, which she also does, when she wakes up and is hungry!

Trent and I are loving parenthood more and more everyday, and feel so blessed with what God has given us. We are learning so much about each other, about Ila, and about God's love. At times it can seems crazy that so much has changed in our lives in such a short time, but never has it felt strange that we are now parents. The moment Ila was born, we became parents, and it just seemed right and natural, as if it was just meant to be. Every time I say "Ila Vieu" I'm reminded of God's love and reminded that there is no limit to the love I can have for others. Being a mom, has shown me this too, but that is for another blog, at another time! Stay tuned for more, I'm going to blog more often! :)