Wow... It Has Been a LONG TIME!

I can't believe it has been over a year since my last post.  Time flies!!!  The last time I posted was on Kevin's birthday, which was around the time that my Grandma's health started to go down hill quickly.  I held off posting during that time and when she did pass away, I couldn't come to terms with posting about it.  It was still so fresh and hurt too bad (it still does).  But, what a difference a year plus can make.  Our lives are completely different and is going in a different direction, yet life is so good.  I will be making more posts in the next few days about life now, but for now to catch you all up on the last year of our lives:

November 2009:

We spent a weekend in Leavenworth with a few close friends to celebrate Kevin's 30th birthday.  It was a surprise.  I had told him that we were going away for the weekend, but he didn't know where.  He somehow got it into his head that we were going to Houston for the Sounder's playoff game.  Marco, who Kev has Sounder's season tickets with, and I played on this and acted like Marco was going to the game, which made it more fun.  When we arrived in Leavenworth and Marco was there, Kevin was bummed.... he was really hoping Marco was going to the game.  We had a great weekend though!  Later in the month, my Grandma made the hard decision to stop all treatment for her cancer.  It nearly killed me when I found out she was going into hospice care.  I don't care what anyone says, you can never be prepared for something like that.  She made the decision the week before Thanksgiving, which made the beginning of the holiday season (something that she loved so much) extremely difficult.

December 2009:

My Grandma lost her battle with Ovarian Cancer and gained her angel wings on December 6th.  She was surrounded by my Grandpa, my family and my aunt and uncle when she took her last breath.  It was the most difficult thing I have ever been through and witnessed, but to know she is no longer in pain is what makes it as easy as it can be.  I never thought I would have to administer medication to her, but I know that if the situation was reversed, she would have been doing it for me.  I lost not only my Grandma, but alos one of my best friends.  It made for a very difficult Christmas, which was something that my Grandma loved most.  Kevin and I spent my Grandparent's Anniversary (the 22nd) with my Grandpa.  We also took in my Grandma's dog.  To put it nicely, she was too much for my Grandpa to handle, and at times is too much for us to handle, but I love having a special piece of my Grandma with me every day.  She is such a cuddler, which Molly isn't, and has been a good playmate for Molly.

January 2010:

Not much happened this month.  We were all in recovery mode from Grandma's death and the holidays.  My Grandpa had some health issues flair up, which threw us all for a loop considering it was so close to Grandma's death.  We really focused a lot of our time and energy on that.

February 2010:

Much of the same from January.

March 2010:

Grandpa endes up in the hospital again and doctors were throwing out the horrible "C" word, Cancer.  I found myself extremely emotional over this.  I wasn't prepared to go through this again and was still in recovery mode from Grandma's death.  We were so happy to hear that it wasn't cancer, just inflammed biles in his pancreas.  On March 27th, Kevin and I found out the most exciting news.... that we were expecting! This was something that we had wanted for a while.  It was an emotional time as I was wishing my Grandma was here to experience it with me, but I knew she was looking down on us.

April 2010:

Started preparing for the little one by reading books and talking about the entire thing.  The shock wore off and excitement and nervousness set in.  We also announced the news to our family and closest friends.  I had my first appointment with my OB and found out my due date was Decemeber 2nd.  Only 4 days before the 1 year anniversary of my Grandma's death.

May 2010:

Much more of the same.  We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time and had our first ultrasound.  It was the most amazing experience and made me a little teary eyed!

June 2010:

We found out we were having a boy!  I got to surprise Kevin since he was on a business trip for that appointment.  He was nice enough to let me find out because he knew I couldn't wait.  When I found out, I went and bought a few boy outfits and put them in a pink bag to throw him off.  When he got home, I gave him the bag and he immediately said, "It's a Girl!"  I told him to open it, so he did and said "I am confused".  I then said, "It's a boy!"  We also went on our first cruise together, which was to Alaska.  Let's just say it was really wet... and that is coming from two Seattle natives!  But, it was also beautiful... the glaicers were absolutely amazing and we lucked out with beautiful weather during our scenic cruising in the Tracy Arm Fjords.  That itself made the trip.

July 2010:

We got majority of the nursery put together over the 4th of July weekend.  It was a little early, but I was happy to get it done.  We started talking about baby names... which turned out to be nearly a never ending dicussion.

August 2010:

More baby preparation and we celebrated my 26th birthday.  Kevin got really sick with pnemonuia (sp?) and was out of work for a while.  I was lucky enough to not get it.

September 2010:

More ultrasounds and baby prep!  We had our first of 5 baby showers.  This one was put on by Kevin's mom and sister and was for their family and friends.

October 2010:

Had the last heart echo and was relieved to find out that everything looked good.  We also found out that the baby was measuring in 2 weeks ahead of schedule.  He was meauring 5lbs at 32 weeks.  The ultrasound tech informed me that if I made it to term and the baby gained 1/2 pound a week (which is average) then I would be looking at a 9lb baby.  I started to get worried about what labor and delivery was going to be like.  I also had 3 more baby showers.  One was put on by my Aunt Amy and Aunt Lisa for my dad's side of the family, a second was put on by Jenn and Sarah for friends and the third by my mom and sister for my mom's side of the family and some more friends.

November 2010:

Had my final baby shower which was put on my Mary for my hockey friends.  We had the last ultra sound at 37 1/2 weeks where the baby was measuring 7lbs 11 oz.  My doctor didn't seem too concerned at that point, but started preparing me for the fact that a c-section may be necessary.  I was starting to get extremely uncomfortable and was dealing with some huge feet.  My feet were so swollen and so painful!  At this point, I was more than ready for him to come!

December 2010:

Had some false labor and was still preganat and at work on my due date.  We eventually had to be induced and welcomed Jackson Oliver Beck into this world on December 8. 2010 at 10:56pm.  This truly was the best day of our lives (birth story to come in a late post).  It was a blast celebrating his first Christmas with him!  Kevin was able to take 2.5 weeks off to be with Jackson and me and went back to work on the 27th.

January 2011:

Have loved being home with this little guy and watching him grow and change everyday.  I realized that I have always meant to be a mom!  I have enjoyed being with him every second of the day.

February 2011:

Enjoying being home!  Preparing to go back to work at the end of the month and have been emotional just thinking about not being with him all day everyday.