Two Months

Oh this sweet girl.

She is squishy and cute. Her cheeks kill me, and so does her fuzzy hair.  She also has the longest tongue and loves to stick it out.

She is a smiley girl, especially when someone sits and talks to her.  She always wants to be held upright.  She is getting better head control and loves to push up on her legs.

She is my first to not like sleeping in the swaddle.  She does great sleeping on her stomach and only wakes up once a night most nights.  She may be my best sleeper yet.

She is definitely growing but still is my petite lady (at least compared to my boys.). It is fun to dress her up and put bows on her.

She loves bath time and showers. She loves being outside.  She loves being snuggled with a blanket and her binky.  She does not like being cold, and she really doesn't like her car seat.

We love having little Everest in our family.  Ephraim thinks she is the cutest thing ever and loves to talk to her.  Asher kisses her all the time and so do I.  I can't resist those cheeks.

We love you little Everest.

Everest's Blessing

Little Everest was blessed in church today.

As usual, we had so much support from our family and friends.

Also, Stephen's Mom came to visit and show her love the week before the blessing.

Stephen, his dad, my dad, Jonathan,  Zak, CJ, Ben, and Mark Cook were in the circle.  In her blessing she was given a name: Everest Rose Beckman.  She was counseled to look up to Ephraim, Asher,and especially her elder brother Jesus as an example.  She was told to seek exalted things especially eternal marriage and temple blessings.  She was also counseled to look to her mother as an example and serve a mission if her heart desires it.  She was blessed with the things Heavenly Father wants for her.

Here is the story of how we chose Everest's name:

As usual, we struggled settling on a name we both liked.  Right from the beginning I suggested Rose.  Stephen didn't love that one, but Ephraim did.  Ephraim really wanted to name the baby Rose and then Zelda Rose.  Stephen liked Zelda, and Samus best and I liked Paula and Naomi best.  We also discussed Evelyn, Ada, Dorothy, and Jean.  Neither of us were really sold on each other's favorites.

Once she was born I really pushed for Paula and Naomi.  I loved that she was such a tiny little thing and that Paula meant small or little.  A day passed and one of the only things holding us back from going home was selecting a name.  I really thought she would end up being Naomi Rose, but I came back from leaving the room for a minute and Stephen said, "What do you think about Everest?"  I kind of felt it was out of left field, and it took me a minute to wrap my head around it.  It kind of was inspired by Evelyn, but Stephen liked the symbolism of Mount Everest and how she would be able to do hard things if she set her mind to it.

As I thought about the inspiration behind it, it grew on me.  We kept Rose as the middle name because Ephraim loved it so much and it is Stephen's Grandma's name.

Our little Everest Rose.  She can do hard things and is so loved by her brothers, and that is what her name means to us. 

Five Years Old

I am seriously so in love with this little boy.  I am still trying to wrap my head around how my toddler turned into such a big kid!

He is one of the friendliest people I know.  He will talk to and play with anyone who he can recruit.  He loves to say hi to everyone we see.  In preschool he was given the "Mr. Goodbar" award for being such a good friend to everyone.

He has endless energy.  He loves to wrestle and run and play games.  His favorite games involve pretending to be Pokémon.  Everywhere we go he starts up a game of Pokémon or Zelda or Pokémon Zelda with anyone who will give him a chance.

He is a sweet brother.  Asher is a typical two-year-old who is sometimes hard to share and play with, but he always looks out for him and they love to chase each other.  Every night they cuddle together and sleep in the same bed.  He always checks in on his little sister and thinks she is the cutest thing.  He loves to show them off and tell everyone about his baby brother and baby sister.

He is super independent.  He likes to do everything himself, and sometimes he thinks he knows better than I do and tries to argue with me.

His favorite thing by far is Pokémon.  Anything Pokémon. He also likes Zelda and Minecraft and anything he can play with his daddy.  His favorite games involve sword fights and pretend Pokémon battles.

He is still a pretty picky eater.  Dinner is a battle pretty much everyday.  All he really wants to eat is waffles and pizza pockets.  And treats of course.

This next year will be a big one.  He is starting Kindergarten.   I am feeling sad that I won't have my main little buddy with me all the time anymore but he will do great.  I hope he brings his enthusiasm for life with him wherever he goes.

I love you Ephraim.  Thanks for being my boy.