Merry Christmas to All...

...and to All a Good Night.

7 Weeks Big and a Blizzard

Penn is still a super sweet baby with his only vice being he wants to be held all of the time. But otherwise he sleeps at least 4 to 5 hrs a night, is a terrific nurser and puts up with his big brothers slaps and kisses.
We had a blizzard here in Minnesota over the weekend. 20in fell over Friday night and Saturday. Luckily, church was cancelled so we could finish digging ourselves out. Brent just completed eight weeks of a more time consuming rotation on Friday so it was nice to spend the entire time home together. Here are some shots of the D man heading out in the snow.

Penn at 2 Weeks

Remember when I said he looks like Darwin but with lighter eyes and less hair. Well he doesn't look much like Darwin.
He's been an amazingly good baby.

Introducing Baby Penn

Penn Jeffrey Bedke joined our family on Sunday October 24th. We arrived at the hospital at 11:30am and he was born at 5:16pm. He was 7lbs 2oz.He looks a lot like Darwin but with lighter eyes and less hair. He's a terrific eater and sleeper. Besides a little jaundice, he has been a perfect baby.

Darwin loves to help baby with his binkie and likes to hold him at least once a day.

Mark's Wedding

We took a week long trip back to Utah last month for Brent's little brother's wedding. It was so nice to have Brent not working for the whole week and for him to make both the flight out and back with us. The wedding was great. We were so glad that Mark settled down with girl so cute and nice as Courtney. We ate lots of yummy food and basically just relaxed. Overall, it was a great vacation!
Here are some pictures from the big day.

Brent's family - Don't ask me why I am holding Darwin like a prize zucchini. He doesn't look like he likes it much either.

Darwin with all his cousins.

Family picture...Brent and Darwin look cute. I just look eight months pregnant.

It was a windy day.

My handsome boys.

Summer

A good laugh

Al-Qaeda Calls Off Attack On Nation's Capitol To Spare Life Of 'Twilight' Author

Darwin - 21 Months

As you can see, likes to wear my shoes around the house. He must think mine are prettier than Brent's because he doesn't wear his.

Likes jokes and teasing. He smiles when we tell him no, like its a game.

Loves to get tickled.

Can say over twenty words, but most of the hard sounds are the sound of a g. Like 'thank you' is 'gank goo' and 'tickle tickle' is 'geego geego'.

Loves his gaggy(daddy) and is very excited when he comes home from work. Brent usually leaves for work before Darwin and I get up and lately after Darwin is up he has been yelling for him around the house looking for him.
Likes to help Brent with projects in the yard. Brent is putting a retaining wall up and Darwin is a big help:)

Favorite foods are pasta(spaghetti, mac&cheese, noodle soup), cheese, pretzels, banana bread, corn on the cob, grapes and pears. He has started to like chicken and hamburger as well. All in all, a pretty good eater, although I would like him to eat more vegetables.

Has a new fondness to babies since our friends just had a new baby and he goes over and plays at their house a lot. Plus, we've tried to get him used to the idea that he is going to have a baby brother soon. Now we are afraid he will like the baby too much!

Is either a perfect angel or laying down crying over something he can't have or wants to do. Has a very hard time sitting through sacrament meeting.

Is obsessed with Brent's iphone and cries if he can't have it the moment after Brent gets home from work.

Is still a really good sleeper. Sleeps a little over ten hours a night and takes at least a two hour nap in the day. About a month ago, stopped taking a bottle for naps. Now he goes to sleep an hour and a half later so he can eat a big lunch and fill up before going to sleep.

Just got a pillow in his crib and he loves it. He thinks he is a big boy with it.

When given the choice between watching Oprah or Ellen, he chooses Ellen hands down. If I change it to Oprah he picks up the remote and gives it to me and says, "Eh Eh." He loves the dancing and music on Ellen I guess.

If I want Darwin to do anything like come inside or stop doing something I can just say, "Want to take a bath?" and instantly he will stop what he is doing and head up the stairs to the bath tub. He loves his baths, getting wrapped up in the cute animal towels his great grandma Pett made for him and when we get downstairs to get him dressed making a naked mad dash around the house while giggling.

I have to keep clothes on him or at least shorts on or he will take his diaper off and come to me and point out his genitalia to me.

Loves reading books and stacking blocks and knocking them down.

Is overall the joy of my life. It's hard to think we will soon have another little boy and that its possible for us to love the next one as much as we love this little guy. My mom says the love just happens the same way for all of your children as soon as they are born and since she has seven, I guess I'll take her word for it.

The Red House is for Me

This is so good I had to post it. I got it from my friends Ed and Sedra who live in Alabama right now and this was an actual local commercial there. For reals.

Trip to Grandma's

Even though they look totally miserable, they wouldn't let me stop pulling them in this wagon.

I like this guy

because he is so good at taking pictures, AND


he lets me give him bad haircuts.

Baby Bedke Number Two

That's right, we are having another baby and just found out today that it is another boy! The ultrasound tech said he was quite the show-off about it.


Baby Bedke number two due October 28th.

How do you know your child is a handful?

When he does this.


I was cooking breakfast saturday morning while Darwin was playing with blocks in the living room. I should have known that he was in to something because it was so quiet, and when I went to check on him I found out why. He got into a huge container of petroleum jelly that usually is out of his reach.
Petroleum jelly is suprisingly hard to clean up. Maybe that is why it works so good on diaper rashes. I finally had to throw these pajamas away because there was no getting it all out. Good thing I got them at a garage sale, but they were my personal favorites of his.
Can you tell how pleased he was with himself?

Easter Fun

This cute family came and visited us. Darwin is sporting a nice scowl in this photo.

Had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard.


Meet Darwin's nemesis, Brielle. They were born just a few days apart.

Cute Olivia

Getting cozy with the Mayo brothers on our night out without kids.

Sadly for us Dave, Jenn and their three adorable girls are moving to Utah this summer so they won't be as close as they were this year in Chicago, but we are very happy for them to get back closer to home and put down some roots now that they are finally finished with the long road of med school, residency and fellowship. Well done!

Business in front

Party in back.

Utah Trip

We've been back from our trip to Utah for some time now, but I haven't posted anything about it yet. Let's just say it was three weeks of pure fun. Brent got to come out with us for a week but then returned to MN to work. D and I then headed out to Vernal for five days, then to American Fork for six days to watch my sisters kids and then back to SLC for a couple of days before making the flight home.

It was a really great trip but when it was time to come home, I was ready. Darwin missed his daddy but I think he is having animal withdrawals since he got so much one on one time with them.

Darwin and my sisters cat Tippy. He loved this cat so much, but she didn't like him at all. In fact, she told him so by swatting him in the face a couple of times.

He still likes to eat dirt.

Since my dad is semi-retired, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of owning a pontoon boat, aka a party barge. This is my parents and brother basking in the twenty degree weather after my dad gave us the tour.

Darwin with my little brothers blind dog Chance. I don't think that Chance liked Darwin that much but luckily for Darwin, Chance is blind and couldn't get away very easily. Darwin liked to throw dog food on to his back and laugh.

One of Riley's cats that, again, didn't like Darwin. He figured hanging out by the food was a good strategy.
Sorry that most of my pictures are of Darwin and animals. We also spent a lot of time with friends and family which I never properly document.

Favorite Picture Right Now

My Boy at 15months

Now when I get him out of bed he immediately pushes me away because he wants to get down to walk.
Loves his blankie that Emily was so nice to pass on.

Is most interested in things that he can drag around. Ex. belts, extention cords, my hand mixer.
Sleeps 11-12 hours a night, and most of time takes a three hour nap.
Just started liking meat.
Loves to play chase around the house. Usually it is Brent chasing him around the house and me helping him to escape, but the other day he realized that he is capable of doing to chasing.
Likes putting things into other things and taking them out. He has a big bin of blocks that he takes out over and over. But he also like putting food into cups.

Thinks he owns the computer so I can't be on it much except when he is napping.
Has had two bloody noses in the last three months. One from jumping in his crib and another from tripping and smashing his face into our headboard.
Wishes he could go out and play outside. He cries sometimes when I get him out of the car and take him inside because he wants to stay. Maybe now that it isn't -12 outside anymore we will give it a try.
Loves playing peek-a-boo.
Is in constant motion. (We'll see how he does on the plane ride to Utah next month.)
Freaks out around dogs and cats because he loves them so much.
Very eager to be around other children.

Pretty much happy all of the time.

Gives this innocent look when he knows he is into something he shouldn't be in.
Has such a mane of hair that after cutting it several times, it might be more than my skills can handle and I might be taking him to a professional for his next cut.
Likes to make faces for the camera.

His mother loves him too much.