Last time I blogged, it was spring and Benjamin had just been potty trained! I can't think of anything too exciting that happened until about June 2013.... After a very long time trying, we finally got PREGNANT!!! It took me one round of Clomid, but things clicked and we finally got that positive test result. Life couldn't have been better! We had a great summer... Joel didn't get much of a summer break, but we did take a couple fun trips! We went out to Salt Lake for the 4th of July and had a blast (as always) out there with Kate, Brian and the kids. I, of course, look forward to the Cafe Rio visits nearly as much as that cute family! :) Later that month Benjamin and I flew down to Irvine, CA and spent some time visiting Bev, Scott, Taylor, Amy and Daphne!!! Some highlights include a trip to the beach (which Benjamin LOVED), and the daily bike rides! We had so much fun that Benjamin renamed his stuffed giraffe "California."In August, we went back out to Salt Lake for a super fun Beckstead family reunion!!! It was so fun to see everyone, and we enjoyed lots of activities. The WHOLE family stayed together in one house! (In fact, the entire Tjarks family squished into one room together!! Haha!) We played games (Minute to Win It and a family quiz game) , spent a day at the waterpark, had a golf tournament and a craft session, took family photos and enjoyed catching up with each other! It was a great trip to cap off a very fun summer.
Alright, now we've made it to fall. Joel started off his 4th and LAST year of medical school! Yippee! In October, we celebrated Benjamin's 3rd birthday with a super fun Trains, Places and Automobiles party. We invited a couple little friends over and played games (Pick the boat with corresponding prize number, Engine Engine #9 on a giant duct tape train, and airplane pinata.) Luckily, Robbie Fitch was there to help us out with that darn impossible pinata!!! I made a fun cake and Benjamin thought he was the most special little boy! It was a perfect party!
Halloween came and went... Benjamin dressed up Batman. (I must confess... I had forgotten who he dressed as and had to ask him. He remembered without missing a beat, of course. The memory this kid has!!!) We spent Halloween with Grandpa and Rara at Bauman's house. My favorite memory is while trick or treating, Benjamin stopped and said to us, "I think I am going to sing the Halloween song at the next house." (The Halloween song is from his favorite show, Little Einsteins.) We didn't believe him, of course, but then he marched off up to the door of the next house by himself, rang the doorbell, and waited. A sweet lady answered and suddenly I heard his tiny voice sing, "We are here to trick or treat, trick or treat, trick or treat. We are here to trick or treat. It's happy Halloween!" The lady about died on the spot, told him how stinkin' cute he was, and basically offered him all her candy. That is such a sweet memory. We couldn't get him to do it again, of course! Ha!
Fall of 2013 was SUPER busy! For Joel, it was interview season! He had finally nailed down his specialty choice... dum dum dum dummmmmm..... PATHOLOGY! It was either path or family med, basically two extreme opposites. But pathology had so much going for it - mainly significantly better hours, meaning more time home with family and more SLEEP! He finds the work interesting and enjoyable. I think it is going to be a really great fit for all of us! Anyway, interview season kept us busy and traveling! Our whole family joined him for his first interview in Omaha, NE. Benjamin and I kept busy that day eating breakfast at a cute little diner and spending the rest of the day at the Children's Museum. We also all drove out to an interview in Salt Lake and even brought Nani with us! That was super fun, since we stayed with Hazens again, of course. Benjamin just loves spending time with his cousins. I joined Joel for interviews in Indianapolis (where we looked for the infamous Annie's Eats, to no avail...) and Iowa City, and he drove himself out to Ann Arbor, MI and Rochester, MN (Mayo Clinic.) We can't forget the interview in Sioux Falls, SD, since that is where he matched! (Just found that out last month!!!) YEAH!!! We are so thrilled to stay home for 4 more years! In the middle of interview season, we all hopped on another plane back down to Irvine (we seriously can't get enough of Irvine), so
Christmas... it was so fun and intense! The Hazens came home this year, and the cousins couldn't help themselves! Chaos ensued! Kate had baby Mitchell James in August, so there was a new little baby to enjoy and watch in terror as Maddie, Zach and Benjamin ransacked the house and had the time of their lives. We also had a new addition on the Garton side. Becky and Brandon had their first baby, Luke Christopher, in November. All those new babies were good practice and a reminder of how fun infants are! I was getting excited for my due date in March! Are we ready to enter the new year? Yes.
Hello, 2014. January and February are sort of a wash. I was heavily pregnant and winter was a REALLY cold one, so we spent a lot of time indoors. We did go to Storytime at the library every Wednesday and made a new friend - Dante. Other than that, we found time to play with friends Tavin and Matilda, go to early Head Start, and find projects to do around the house! March came and we awaited the arrival of our new baby boy!
Well, we've made it to the birth story of Mr. Michael David Tjarks... I think I'll save that for a separate blog post!
