Christmas Time

Christmas was amazing, no....beyond amazing. Jeremy and I are truly blessed! The activities started off with a trip to the doctor for me. In case you missed the announcement, Jeremy and I are expecting another baby on July 10th. We were able to see the baby and the heartbeat and I am 12 weeks tomorrow. It seems as though everything is going well. Ben is really too young to understand what is going on, but we have been talking to him about the baby in my belly and I am pretty sure the baby knows he is there as he likes to climb all over me. I have been feeling pretty well, I have had some indigestion, food aversions, and I have been very tired. However, nothing to awful. I am definitely already showing, which is a change from my pregnancy with Bentley. However, it is to be expected with having two so close together. For those of you trying to do the math, Bentley and the new baby will be approximately 16 months apart. We had planned to have our children close together. Jeremy was raised with his brothers close in age and it was such a good experience for him, although it will definitely be harder on me. Jeremy and I are very excited! Next, we enjoyed a very nice dinner at Jason and Cari's house. It was so nice to have all the Mark's together (and Cari's parents). The food was phenomenal, right down to the home made (and hand picked) blackberry pie I had. We spent time as a family chatting and enjoying ourselves before heading home. The next day (Christmas Eve) was filled with family and more family. We spent some time at my parents house eating a delicious lunch and opening presents from my grandmother. Then we visited Jeremy's parents for a little quite chatting with Aunt Liz and Uncle Tom. Then, back to my parents house to open presents from my Aunt and Uncle, which my Aunt painted Bentley a step stool (one of the many amazing presents Ben got for Christmas). I will have to post pictures of him using it soon. I was exhausted (remember the pregnancy thing). Jeremy and I exchanged presents and headed to bed. Christmas day started early. We opened Bentley's Santa presents before heading to my parents house to open family presents. My mother and father make a great breakfast for everyone. I wish I had a picture of the presents under the Christmas tree that day, we have a big family and the presents take up half of the floor. We really enjoyed watching the kids open their presents. Next, we headed to the Mark's for lots of family time by the fire. We ate a large dinner. Bentley passed out half way through the present opening. What a wonderful day. Monday, we headed to the lake to visit our friends Nick, Meg, and their baby daughter Jordan. She was beautiful and I wish I would have taken some pictures of her. We also got to spend some time with my cousins who are in from Colorado. Needless to say, we are exhausted and are trying to rest up before daddy has another long weekend. Like I said, we are so very blessed and are so thankful for everything people have done for Bentley this season. He is such an amazing child and fills mine and Jeremy's life with so much joy. P.S.- Santa brought Ben his 4th top tooth!

Likes and Dislikes

I have noticed that Ben has become very opinionated lately. Likes - Dogs- he LOVES dogs - Momma and Dada- He seeks us out if we are not with him. It takes Daddy a little longer to get ready in the mornings because Bentley is all over him. - the couch- he loves to play on the couch and throws a fit when we put him down. - girls- he went to a wedding recently when some girls that were about 9-12 age came by....he jumped out of my arms and gave them big kisses...the girls were flattered. I think we have a ladies man on our hands. - sleeping in his own bed, all night long - climbing- he loves to climb on everything,I think it makes him feel like a big boy - crawling- this is his preferred mode of transportation - food- of all kinds, he eats anything - water- he gets excited when he gets a cup of water to drink Dislikes - getting dressed/diaper changed- he screams the entire time, you would think I was killing him. - his carseat- arches back and cries every time - getting off the couch- he prefers to play on the couch - walking- he has taken a few steps and doesn't mind even walking if i am holding BOTH hands, but if I try to just hold one, he loses it. He would rather crawl. - naps- he thinks they are useless, who needs a nap when you can play all day? (Mamma, that is who) - pictures- it is not that he doesn't like pictures it is just impossible to get him to sit still long enough. Yet we are going today to have some professional pictures made of him and taking him to see Santa, this should be interesting On another note he has started saying some words (we aren't really sure that he knows what they mean). He says mama/dada/doggie/ca(coby)/my (miley)/goo (good)/yeah. Like I said most of them are in babbling. We will say, "say good ben" and he will say goo.

The Holiday Season...

Oh how I love the holiday season....there is so much to look forward too. This Christmas is extra special, because it is Bentley's first. We have started off the season with decorating the house. We actually put lights up this year and we covered our upstairs living/dining/kitchen with paper snowflakes Jeremy made when he was younger. We also took Ben to the Christmas parade. He wasn't overly excited but did watch most of it. He fell asleep a few minutes before Santa came. This upcoming weekend we are going to watch my nephew and niece sing at church, then during the week we go watch my other nephew play in his band concert. Daddy has a bunch of days to take off work, so we are using one of those days to go see Santa!

Bentley has had a rough month with being sick but is feeling better. Let's hope he stays better. He has been so funny lately. He is practicing standing and can stand without holding on to things for a little while. He actually took 2 steps the other night not holding on to anything. He loves to wave to people and even says "hiiiiiiii" or "byyyyyye". He is going to be walking and talking soon.

Thanksgiving

So the week before Thanksgiving we took Bentley to the doctor for an upper respiratory infection. He was put on antibiotics and was feeling much better by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. We enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch with my family and dinner with Jeremy's family. To say we were stuffed would be an understatement. So much delicious food and so much to be thankful for. I really do have so much to be thankful for. My top 5 things:
1. My wonderful family. Jeremy, Bentley, my family and Jeremy's family.
2. My doggies. Although they are not the most well behaved dogs. I am thankful my husband allows me to have them and that they are not sitting in an animal shelter. I also love that my son LOVES dogs!
3. A roof over my head.
4. That I am a stay at home mom. I get to love on my son all day long and never have to miss a first. He is such a happy boy as well.
5. That my husband has a good job so that I can be a stay at home mom.

Little man is sleeping in my arms, he has had a fever of 101 all day. Looks like tomorrow we will be headed back to the doctor!

MIA

Sorry I have been MIA...my computer crashed, so I have been using Jeremy's computer, which never stays connected to the internet for long.

Things have been good here (minus the computer crash). We enjoyed our first Halloween with Bentley and being parents. It makes the holidays so much more special when your a parent (I cannot wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas). Bentley dressed up in a monkey costume, and really seemed to enjoy being dressed up. He didn't fight the hood or outfit at all. We went to school to visit Yvonne and stopped by some family members houses before landing in our neighborhood at my parents house and our house. We had dinner with my family and then Joe, Yvonne, Dusty,Danielle, and Sawyer came over. It was the perfect day (Jeremy had also taken the whole day off to hang out with us).

Bentley is such a fast crawler and a curious little boy. You can see his mind working as he plays and I enjoy watching him. He loves to climb over and under things. He even pushes toys around so he can climb on them to get where he wants to go. He has also started pointing his hand in the directions of things he wants trying to communicate with us. When he wants something his arm goes up by his head, in the direction of what he wants, and he makes grabbing motions with his hand (it is really cute). I cannot believe he is 8 months old! Shew, time flies when you are having fun.

I a taking a cake decorating class for the next month, every Monday for 2 hours in the evening. Just a way for me to get out of the house since I am home all day, and I would love to be able to make some neat cakes for Bentley on his birthday!

Jeremy's Grandpap is moving down from Pittsburgh either today or tomorrow. I must say the family is excited that he will be around and we will get to see him more often! I really think he will enjoy spending time with Bentley and Sawyer. We are so blessed that he will be around more often!

Well...looks like I better go chase Ben around the house...he is trying to give the dogs a treat right now!

Rainly Day Fun and Pumpkin Patch

This past week was a little rainy. We spent most of the days inside snuggling. After 2 to 3 days of rain what are you going to do with a child to keep him entertained? That is right, build a tent. So, out came the blankets and we made a good ol' fort right in the middle of the living room (I might need to brush up on my fort building techniques...as I have not made one since I was little). Ben had a great time sitting under it and playing with his toys, it was like it made each toy new again and he did not want to come out from under it. See pictures below!

This weekend the weather cleared up and we headed to the pumpkin patch for a little October fun. I have been looking forward to this event since I was pregnant last year. We drove out to Sinkland farms which is a beautiful farm that offers weddings, horseback rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, pumpkins, corn mazes, hay rides, and yummy food. While some of these things we will have to wait for Bentley to be older (like the horseback riding), other things were a lot of fun. He enjoyed walking through the toddler maze, the petting zoo, hay ride, and even got to pick out his own pumpkin and he loves butternut squash so we even bought him one to eat. The weather was beautiful but a little windy. It was the perfect way to spend the Saturday!

Trip to DC

This past weekend we took a trip to DC to visit our friends Nick and Meg who are expecting their first baby on November 1st. They let us stay at their house, which is extremely nice considering the amount of things we have to bring for Bentley. We arrived late Friday night and spent an hour or two catching up. The next morning we walked to a nice place for breakfast then sent the boys to the bro shower (just picture lots and lots of drinking). Meg and I took a short walk and let Bentley entertain us. We even took a quick nap before going to pick up the guys at 8 p.m. Yes 8, Jeremy wanted to be around to help put Ben to bed. We were even in bed by 11, not bad for being out of town. It was so nice to see Nick and Meg and we are so excited for their baby girls arrival!

Ben has been doing well. He is starting to let go and stand on his own, not holding on to anything, but he is very inconsistent with it. He is clapping now and is notorious for waving bye after someone has just left, so I am the only person to see it. (I swear he does it, I even swear he occasionally says "ba ba" as he does it). He LOVES LOVES LOVES doggies! He will chase a dog down, not be scared, and giggles the cutest giggle when they lick him. We have even been practicing sharing. He will play with something and then hold it up for me to play with, but sometimes when he holds something out to "share" with the dogs and they sniff it he burst into laughter. He is so cute and entertaining.

We are going to the pumpkin patch this weekend!

Breastfeeding 101

As I close out the chapter of breastfeeding, I wanted to write this for my friends who are having babies and for when I have my next baby (don't worry...nothing too graphic here):
1. The first 8 weeks suck! It hurts, you don't exactly know what you are doing, and your husband can't help. Keep pushing through...it will get better and it is TOTALLY worth it!
2. Do not be scared of your pump! It is your friend. Do not be scared about if you pump and your baby gets hungry...your boobs are smart and they are never empty.
3. Your boobs are smart! (yes, boys, they are smart). Your boobs know when to produce milk, how much, and how much fat/protein/ vitamins the baby needs.You can not overfeed a child either when breastfeeding. They are a guaranteed way to soothe your child! I think that is pretty smart....
4. Ask your husband for help. Even if he just changes the diaper and hands him off to you to feed. Sometimes you can feed and have him rock the baby to sleep. It is a mothers instinct to care for the child, but you need a break or you will go insane and it is great bonding time for the dad!
5. Don't be embarrassed to use the ta-tas in public (to an extent, and with a cover-up on)... I am very shy and did not want to breast feed in public. However, there came a time when I was stuck somewhere, child screaming, and no other place to go. You do what you have to do for your child, that is why they call you a mother. I found a balance where I only fed in public if it was absolutely necessary, I did feed the baby around family and friends if they were comfortable wit it (I always asked first and covered myself up).
6. Dont feed the baby in bed (I know A LOT of people will disagree wit this...) here is the deal. I always fed Ben in his rocking chair at night, then when I put him down he knew it was sleep time. Then one day I started feeding him in bed with me. He thought this meant I was like McDonalds, you know, open all night.Even though it took a lot of effort and will power to get up, I got so much more sleep getting up with him and he didn't get confused, bed is for sleeping.
7. Use the lactation consultants and any friends you know that have breastfed. This does not come naturally and you will inevitably have some questions. Sometimes you may need to vent about how much it hurts or how you are up every hour feeding the baby...call me or someone who has bf before...believe me they will understand!
8.Do not let anyone guilt you for breastfeeding or for stopping at whatever time you choose to. We all know the recommendation of 1 year, however, you have to do what is right for you and your child. No one should influence your choice, because I am sure as mom you are going to do what is best for your child. Take pride in your decisions to breastfeed at all, and take pride in how long you do it because some breastmilk is better than none at all
9. Breastfeeding is an AMAZING experience. You get to spend quiet time with your child. Relax and enjoy every moment of it...they wont be little for long.

First day of October...
I woke up and rested in bed until 10 this morning. Today was Jeremy's day to get up with Ben. Then we headed to the FREEZING VT tailgate. It was way to cold and neither Bentley nor I wanted to be there. Okay, I will admit...Bentley handled the cold better than I did....I just get grumpy when I am cold. Then we came home and watched the VT game (which was not pretty to watch), had some hot chocolate, played with Bentley, enjoyed the fireplace.
We are going to celebrate my nephew's birthday tomorrow, inside where it is warm!

Pet Turtle

Some days I feel like I live in a zoo...today was one of them. Between the barking dog, crying baby, and a turtle crawling around our house, I could have sworn we had a sign hanging above our front door that said ZOO. It is all in a days work, being a stay at home mom......

Our Turtle Friend

Bentley Chasing the Turtle

Daddy, Turtle, and Ben

What a FUN night!

Reaching Goals

Lately Bentley has been practicing walking. One of his favorite things to do these days is take a push toy and walk behind it. He loves to practice and gets so excited to be able to go places. He has been keeping me on my toes. He has gotten faster crawling and has found cords and other items that we need to do to baby proof the house. Bentley likes to share things with the dogs, Jeremy, or myself. He also likes to give his momma kisses (which Jeremy thinks is gross, because they can be a little sloppy and there is a possibility of a little nibble in there as well)! Bentley has been doing well with sleeping. He goes to bed easily at night and then wakes up around 11 when we are going to bed. We pat his cute tushy and he goes back to sleep until 5ish when he wakes up to eat, then goes back to sleep until 7 or 8. I am liking this new schedule!

Jeremy and I have started running. He is trying to help me get back in shape. I know several other girls who have had their baby around the same time I have and are back down to their “original weight” or below. It has been weighing pretty heavy on me lately and I get pretty bummed because I have never had to deal with having to lose weight (when I was young I used to have to TRY to gain weight). I am hopeful that I will be able to get to my goal sooner rather than later.

Besides getting healthier and loving on my amazing son and husband, my goal is to get on here and update more frequently with pictures and post. I am going to leave you with one of my favorite pictures….Bentley in the bath tub….look at that face!

Always Learning

It is getting increasingly difficult to update my blog due to the increasing mobility of Bentley and trying to keep the house clean so here are some (other) things we have realized:
1. We can no longer eat at the coffee table. Bentley grabs everything off the coffee table, making dinner a little more exciting than we would like for it to be. Guess we are taking another step in growing up and eating a “the big table”. Jeremy wants to know why you can teach a dog to stay out of your food, but you can’t teach a baby?
2. We have a very healthy happy little boy: he is 19 pounds 2 oz. and 28 inches long. He can wave bye bye and is learning how to feed himself.
3. I have tons and tons of friends that are pregnant and seeing their pictures online makes me miss being pregnant. I mean, the kind of pregnant when you don’t have another kid to chase around (that just seems hard).
4. Housework is never finished, you get done with something and then have to start over again.
5. Shopping with a baby is soo difficult. You have to park near the carts, put the baby in the carts, deal with people constantly stopping you to tell you how cute your baby is, then inevitably you get to the check-out and have forgotten something, ya know- wallet, milk, everything on your list. You get the picture!
6. Most people assume you no longer want to do things, so you no longer get invited. We are still young- we like to have a beer (well one of us at least, the other is still alcohol free). We just can no longer go to a bar, we believe in taking care of our child and only doing things that are child friendly (i.e.- cookouts, hanging out at a house, dinner).
7. Bringing me to my next point- I very rarely drink, however, since having Bentley I have been craving a beer…just one.
8. Fall is finally here. I am excited for cool weather (but not as cool as it was this past weekend at the tailgate…that was just down right cold)! On the same subject, I do not think we will be taking Bentley to any more tailgates if it was as cold as it was on Saturday. He was not having fun and I would rather him be able to play than have to be held all day in a blanket.
9. I love Breastfeeding! I am currently in the process of weaning, but have realized how much I enjoyed that time spent with him. I am going to miss it. I had a couple rough weeks in the beginning but it was TOTALLY worth it!
10. I remember sitting in my moms arms as she rocked me in a rocking chair and thinking about how amazing my parents are and how that was the best feeling in the world. I thought that my parents were the best things in the world and when I was snuggled up life was perfect. As I was holding Bentley today I had similar emotions…life was perfect! I hope that Jeremy and I can be everything Bentley thinks that we are.


P.S.- We have some really AWESOME pictures to show you once we get a cord to download them :)

Survived

I survived. Jeremy was out of town for 3 nights for a bachelor party this past weekend. It was very challenging to take care of Bentley all by myself (with a little help from my parents and Jeremy’s parents). Bentley hasn’t been sleeping well (per my previous post). However, Bentley and I both survived and I was soo excited to see Jeremy when he got home! He is such a good daddy! One of my favorite parts of the weekend was the fact that my nephew Brendan and my niece Lauren spent the night. We played VTechopoly and watched Soul Surfer. I think they had a good time. I know I sure did, I love spending time with them!

Bentley is such a big boy. Not only is he crawling, but he is also pulling himself up to a standing position and taking steps (while holding on to something) to move places. He wants to learn and is eager to explore everything. He interacts with me. I am afraid he is starting stranger anxiety though since he cries when I leave the room. I just love every minute with him!

On Saturday Bentley will be 6 months! I can’t believe it. One of the milestones though is the fact that I have been breastfeeding Bentley for 6 months. This is a MAJOR deal! I mean, if you read some of the post I put up when Bentley was first born, you will remember how tough it was for me. We have made it to our marked date of where we wanted to. If you nurse for the first 6 months of a baby’s life they will have life long benefits from breastfeeding! YAY US! With that being said we have started the weaning process (for personal and family reasons). It will most likely still be another month or two before he is completely weaned. I also will hopefully have enough breastmilk saved to continue feeding him once or twice a day breastmilk until he is one year old (which is also a big accomplishment)! I am feeling pretty proud of Bentley and I…..breastfeeding is not easy!

I miss you sleep....

I know, I know...when you become a mom you don't get to sleep anymore. Bentley decided to tease us a couple weeks ago...he slept through the night for several WEEKS! Then we went out of town....and our sleeping through the night went with it. It has gotten worse than waking up a couple times a night to feed him, recently....he is up all night wanting to eat all night. I thought we were over this?

Moving on up....

Let the stress begin….

We put an offer on the house that we have been looking at. It was accepted. Now we need to sell our house, which means a LOT of cleaning needs to be done around here. With me being a stay at home mom, you would think that would be easy, right? No…not so much, since Bentley has been getting his first tooth in he has been fussy. Jeremy is also busy this next weekend, leaving all the work up to me. Please pray that we will get everything accomplished and will be blessed with a new beautiful house.

Like I said before Bentley has been teething. He has been fussy and running a low grade fever. It is neat feeling a tooth. Bentley has also been sleeping with us since he has started teething. He fusses and tosses and turns. He is also crawling everywhere! I guess while cleaning the house we will also be childproofing. I am totally in love! We are starting to wean Bentley. I am still nursing 3 times a day (sometimes more). I have enough milk saved up for a while, but have started introducing formula to him (which he throws up). We are doing this process slowly, I am both sad and excited for the change.

The big news here is the earthquake. We had the biggest earthquake in VA in a long time. I told my parents a week or so ago that I felt my house shake in the middle of the night, both dogs and I woke suddenly to this moving. Nobody else felt this shaking, so I chalked it up to me being crazy or a dream. This time I was napping on the couch with Bentley in my arms. I suddenly felt the house shake and lifted my head to see my dog jump up. I heard rattling and the house shaking back and forth. I immediately knew what it was because you could feel it was the whole ground shaking not just the house. I was not scared, or freaked out. I didn’t jump up and run outside (I had a sleeping baby in my arms)! I called my dad to see if he felt it next door and to confirm my suspicions.

This past weekend we went to a beautiful wedding. We love seeing the Marks side of the family. Bentley really likes seeing all the girls!

Tooth

YAY!!! BENTLEY IS GETTING HIS FIRST TOOTH! It has broken through the skin and you can actually see the top of it! What a big boy! Okay...now I have to go be all mommy-like/girly/sentimental and cry! :)

Back To School

Back to school time- I must admit is a little bitter sweet for me. Being passionate about my teaching, it is hard for me to miss the most exciting time of the year. The beginning of the year brings so much excitement about your new class and new ideas. I keep hearing so many of my friends talk about going back to work and setting up their classrooms, I keep getting a tang of jealousy. That jealousy is quickly settled when I look at Bentley and know that I get to spend every day with the cutest boy in the world, watching him learn and explore. I get even more excited about the holidays and all the activities we are going to get to explore together! I am also excited for the cold winter days I can stay in my jammies and drink hot chocolate. I know that it will be challenging but I am excited to be a stay at home mommy, sometimes is just need a little reminder!

Ben is being such a big boy. He is sleeping all night in his own bed. He can scoot forward and sometimes even crawls (he is getting a lot better with this and often takes 5 or 6 crawls and then falls to his tummy). Tonight for the first time he went from a crawling position to a sitting up position. He is into everything! He takes big boy baths now, and loves them!

Jeremy and I are making an offer on the house that we like and are going to try to sell our house. We have a feeling that things are going to fall through, but we feel like we should at least try. We are going to be okay with the outcome either way. We are excited to see where this journey takes us.

I must admit I am crazy about some football. We have a wedding to attend this weekend, then Jeremy is going on a bachelor party next weekend, and then the weekend after that is FOOTBALL….not just any football though VT FOOTBALL! I LOVE LOVE LOVE football. However, I am not too excited about tailgating. Yes, I actually like to watch the football game, not play drunken games. Tailgating is always a little hard on me because Jeremy enjoys playing the games. This usually causes some friction between Jeremy and I. I would prefer to be in the game or at home where it is warm watching the game, instead of sitting outside watching the game on a small tv. It will be interesting this football season to see how Bentley changes things. (Jeremy’s response to this is “I can take the big TV to any game you want”….he clearly doesn’t understand I want the action or warmth.)

I cannot believe that the days are getting cooler. Bentley and I go outside in the morning and enjoy the fresh are. This is my favorite time of day because it is so peaceful and quiet outside. Bentley and I often look at the trees and the birds and sometimes I will tell Bentley all about nature. It is the perfect way to start my day!

I cannot wait for the wedding this weekend…I have some cute outfits to put Bentley in! I will def. take some pictures!

Celebrations

I hope everyone is doing well! Things are going great here!
Bentley is being such a big boy these days! He now sits up all by himself (he only face plants every once in a while). He is also getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He can crawl backwards, but doesn’t yet realize how to move his hands (he moves his knees) in order to go forward. Bentley is also getting his first tooth! We can feel it barely poking through the skin. He spends most of his days shoving whatever he can get his hands on in his mouth. We have lots of ice teethers and other chewy things for him to use. He has been a little bit fussy due to the whole new teeth thing (who can blame him?) Bentley is doing really well with self-soothing himself to sleep. It was actually a very easy process. He barely cries anymore and just rolls over to his tummy and falls asleep. We have our angelcare monitor working (it alarms you if they stop breathing) and our video monitor. Last night he slept all night in his crib without waking up to nurse once (although I was still up throughout the night checking on him).

Jeremy and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Sunday. It is hard to believe it has been a year already! It has been the most amazing and blessed year of my life. I am not gonna lie though, it has been a tough year as well, with a new baby and all. To celebrate we had dinner at the country club. It was raining like it was last year, which made us feel like it was a sign. Then we got a movie to watch while little man was sleeping. We of course ate our delicious wedding cake, which was actually not to shabby for being a year old. Jeremy bought me 2 dozen roses. Pictures to come (when I can find my camera)!

Monday is my birthday. I am really over dramatic about my birthday. Jeremy took the day off. I always celebrate with one of my friends during the week by going to lunchhbu (whose birthday is also this week). I am excited that this is my first birthday being a mom (although one present I would like is some sleep).

It's the Little Things In Life

So my mommy group had its first official play date the other day. I was so excited to spend some time with some wonderful mommies and their children. The two other children that came were girls. I have to admit, Bentley has way more girl friends than boy friends. We went early morning and put a blanket under a tree to keep cool. The babies talked and played with balls. They even spent a few minutes looking at each other. The mommies talked mommy talk. Bentley fell asleep immediately in the car. I am going to consider this a success! I can’t wait for another play date!!

Bentley is doing really well with sleeping. The other night he slept in his bed from 9-4 and then I put him back at 5-6:30. I believe I have more trouble with this change than Bentley. At night I start getting some anxiety and through out the night I wake up and run in his room to check on him. I have even had a few nightmares about him sleeping in his own room. To be honest, I have started to notice that he sleeps better in his crib than close to me. It makes me sad to know that this part of his life is gone and he has grown up. On another note, Bentley learned how to roll over from his back to his stomach last night in bed. I woke up and check the monitor and there he was on his stomach (we put him down on his back). Panic set in (remember the anxiety I have) I ran in there and rolled him over. I went back to my room and the next thing I know he was back on his stomach. There was a battle for about 10 minutes trying to keep him on his back then I gave up and brought him to bed with me. I was a little disappointed I didn’t see him roll over for the first time. For a long time I have felt like he could roll over but just didn’t want to. Now, I worry if he is going to try and roll over every night and tummy sleep.

There are two things that surprise me as a mommy. The first is I get SOOO excited when I hear of people I know having a baby. I want to tell them everything I know about it and just swoon over them. I even spend some morning watching A Baby Story on TLC. I guess it’s because I now know how magical it is. Second, I never expected to get so excited about poo. That is right, poo. When your child hasn’t gone to the bathroom in a couple of days and finally goes and you know he is going to feel so much better you get a little excited (some may even jump up and down). It is the little things in life……

Staying Strong

I have to thank all my friends who gave advice on how to help Bentley sleep. Jeremy and I talked about our options and decided that on Friday we would start our plan. The first night we did our bedtime routine and put him down…he cried for 30 minutes, at 30 mins we went in and patted his stomach until he fell asleep. On Saturday, we did our bedtime routine, put him in bed and he didn’t cry at all. Last night, he only cried for 15 minutes and then slept in his crib until 2:30. I am shocked at how well it has gone. Jeremy and I both said we would try this for a week but if we didn’t feel like it was working at that point we would make adjustments. I am so proud of him for doing such a good job.

On Thursday night we were able to spend some time with Jeremy’s Aunt Liz and Uncle Tom, who had stopped by to visit on their way to a music festival. It was such a nice time. On Saturday, Jeremy and I did yard work and had a quick visit by our friends Kelly and Van. On Sunday, I went to church to see my nephew get dedicated, we had a delicious bbq lunch with my parents and watched the USA soccer game. It was very nice and quiet. I wish the weekends could last longer.

Jeremy and I are trying to decide on if we want to purchase a new house. We have found a beautiful home that we really like. It has a country setting but is still close to town, and 4 car garage for Jeremy (and his grill) and possibly 5 to 6 bedrooms (as our family grows this will be very nice). However, we really love our house and the work Jeremy has done to the house. We have no clue what to do and we are constantly changing our minds on if we are going to go through with it.

This is the first fight Bentley has ever gotten into. It is with his cousin Sayge. Sayge won!

Part of bedtime routine!

Bentley's cousins: Sayge, Taylan, Isabelle

Sleep Advice

Last night I got a full night of sleep! Jeremy, on the other hand, slept on the couch with Bentley. Bentley had finally been sleeping well. We would do our bedtime routine, swaddle him, and put him down in our bedroom (which is where they are supposed to sleep until they are 6 months). He would sleep until 4:30 or sometimes through the night. Now, things are changing. Bentley is going through an awake period. He is having trouble napping during the day, and staying a sleep at night. During the day he wants to nurse while sleeping…if you put him down he fusses. At night, I feel some of the problem is he is breaking out of his swaddle (meaning he probably doesn’t want it/need it anymore). The doctor told us at the last doctors appointment to let him cry and go in every 5 minutes and pat his stomach and say “go to sleep”. Jeremy and I have been throwing around different ideas on what the best way to get him to sleep is. We have read 2 different books (Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child/ No Cry Sleep Solutions). We have a video monitor on the way and know that soon we need to start transitioning him to sleeping in his crib. Does anyone have any advice on sleep? What strategy worked for you and why?

On another note...I just realized that Bentley doesn't play with toys anymore because he is so busy trying to scoot himself around. It won't be long before those baby gates are going to be needed, this child is determined to get up a go!

Heat Wave

The dog days of summer are here. Today it is supposed to be close to 100 degrees with the heat index at 110. We are trying to stay inside and stay cool. This week Bentley tried sweet potatoes and peaches. He did not like the peaches at first, but he is starting to come around to them. Bentley has also started to move. He is still not crawling, but because he is working on pushing up on his hands and knees he has learned he can scoot himself around. He is working really hard on rolling from his back to stomach. We are so proud of him. The doctor suggested that we start putting Bentley to sleep awake…meaning letting him cry. Jeremy and I have not quiet made up our mind about this yet and are currently working on getting him to sleep without his swaddle.

Other than all things baby…Jeremy and I are trying to look out to the future and make some financial decisions (which is always a little stressful). There are so many things to consider and we of course want to make the best decisions for our family. We have been kinda boring the past week, which is nice!

If you are in the heat wave…stay cool and be safe!

4 Month Check Up

I am getting really bad about not updating my blog…I am sorry. Things have been a little crazy…and I am sure it will only get worse as Bentley gets a little older. Bentley had his 4 month check up yesterday. We have a very healthy (but not happy) boy. He got his ears cleaned out again and received 2 shots. Now, because of the shots, he is running a fever and very fussy. I am hoping that tomorrow he is feeling better and ready to be his happy giggly self. He is now 17 pounds 2 ounces and 26 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile on weight and height and the doctor said that that is great! Bentley has taught himself how to spit (oh boy!). He is constantly making spitting sounds and drooling all over himself. He also got his first real taste of people food. We were told we can start Bentley on food. Last night we started giving him cereal (see pictures below). He didn’t seem to impressed and I am hoping he takes more to the veggies and fruits.

Jeremy and I had planned on enjoying the Fourth of July on the river with some friends but Bentley came down with a fever which meant that we had to be parents instead and stay home and love on him. Bentley is taking bottles on and off again (depends on the day). Jeremy and I enjoyed the relaxing long weekend and spent a lot of time hanging out and talking/ going to bed at 10. On Friday we drove two hours to go on a 17 mile bike ride. It was not the best experience and Bentley and I ended up stopping at the half way point and waiting for Jeremy to come pick us up. To begin it meant that he was in the carseat for far too long, the trail was too bumpy for him, dirt kept flying in his face, and he hadn’t eaten in several hours. It was a learning experience for Jeremy and I and sometimes we have to be reminded that we sometimes need to slow down a bit. We are always looking for ways to get Bentley out to learn and see new things.

Everything else seems to be pretty normal and calm. We are enjoying my parents pool in the afternoons and enjoying every day with our little boy. It is hard to believe that we are working on 5 months…it’s going by too fast….SLOW DOWN!

Sweet Summer Time

Sorry for the delay in writing a new post, the past week has been a little crazy! On Sunday Bentleys belly button became infected, so Monday morning off to the doctors office we go. The doctor had to cauterize his belly button because his umbilical cord did not fall all the way off. While we were there I asked the doctor to check his ears (he had been pulling on his right ear for some time now. (I had previously called about this but was told that he was too young to show he had an ear infection). Guess what…he had an ear infection! Then his belly did not like the first antibiotic so they switched him to a different one, but his belly doesn’t care much for this one either. Shew! Let’s hope he gets to feeling better soon!

Ben has been doing well other than that. He really enjoys playing with his older cousins, he has started watching them more and loves when they lie in the floor and play with him. He also thinks my dad (grandaddy) is hilarious, especially his tickly mustache. He likes to sit up, stand up, and he loves being outside! Boy are we gonna have our hands full when he can walk.

I have decided to start up a mommy group in my area. I am very excited about this. I wanted a way to hang out with other moms and let Bentley meet other kids. Everything I checked into had a fee to participate, so I decided that I had so many friends with children and who really wants to pay a fee? I am hoping to do this with little pressure, kinda a come when you want and can group. I made a facebook page for the group and will send out information on different play dates. I was even thinking it might give me someone to go with and take Bentley to the zoo or other neat places I wouldn’t do alone while Jeremy is working. Like I said, I am really excited about this and hope that this is a fun way for Ben to meet some friends and for me to have some adult time with other girls!

Jeremy, Bentley, and I have taken a couple trips down to the greenway (a trail that is supposed to connect Salem, Roanoke, and Vinton that follows the Roanoke river. We walked several miles the first day, but realized that it is not that easy to walk this trail tends to be more for bike riders and got a little annoying dodging all the bikes. So on Saturday we went over to Joe and Yvonnes and “stole” a bike for me to ride and they also had a pull along wagon thingy (for lack of better words) that you strap kids in. We put Bentley’s car seat in it and we were off on an 8 mile bike ride. It was the perfect cloudy day for it as well and we really enjoyed it, Bentley fell asleep. We are planning on tackling a 17 mile trail soon (thanks to Cari who sent us a pass for the shuttle). This was our warm up.

This week we have no real plans except to hang out and enjoy each other (I like these types of weeks)!

The Enemy (Part 3)

My mother and father are keeping my grandmother for three weeks while my Aunt and Uncle go to Colorado visiting their kids. My mom took today off to help out. I have a guilty pleasure. It is sometimes when my mom is home and Bentley gets up early in the morning I let her babysit him for an hour or so while I get a little more sleep. Now Jeremy and I hardly ever ask people to babysit Bentley because he is our child and we should be with him. Like I said, guilty pleasure! So anyways...the point to this story. My mother came to get Bentley around 6:15 this morning (we had been up since 5:30)and I handed her 2 ounces in a bottle and said just give this a try. I went back to sleep (sometime during sleep Jeremy got up and left for work), I awoke to a text message around 8:30 asking for a little more milk. A little more milk I thought to myself...I quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed a 4 ounce bottle of milk, and ran to my parents house. He had completely drank the first 2 ounces at 7:00 this morning. I said well we can give it another try but I doubt he will drink it now that he knows I am here. He surprised me he drank 3 of the 4 ounces. That is right!!! BENTLEY TOOK A BOTTLE TWICE TODAY!!!!

Now I am not claiming victory just yet....but I will say Mommy 1: Bentley 1....the winner of this battle is still yet to be fully decided! :)

Keeping Me Grounded

I am having a struggle between taking my child out places during the day and staying at home. There are positives to both sides. It is nice to be out and grocery shop or just shop in general. If we are at home Bentley gets to have tummy time and build his muscles. There is a fine line between getting things done and ignoring your child in the process. I tend to find myself playing with my child and my house and chores just don’t get done (so what if I have a messy house, at least I have a happy/healthy baby, right?). I will find a balance soon.

I have also found that since I have been home I think about all these really nice things that I would like to have. For example, the other day I found a beautiful home in our town and decided it was my dream home, or the dog I found in our town (chocolate lab for FREE). Jeremy put a stop to both things (and rightfully so as both are very unrealistic). I am glad someone in this relationship is sensible. However, I feel the need to buy something…anything. (This is what happens when I am at home all day!)

On Bentley news….he now giggles and it is so adorable! He is sleeping in 5 hour chunks (or more) most nights. He has such a big personality and makes us laugh every day. Everyone seems to think he is a miniature Jeremy, which I am glad.

Here are some pictures from our stop at the New River Gorge on our way home from Pittsburgh:

Pittsburgh

Bentley finally got visit Pittsburgh! He was able to meet his cousins, aunts, and uncles from: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Montana, Minneapolis, New York, and California. Although it was a sad reason that brought us all together (the passing of Jeremy’s Aunt Linda Marks), it is always very special and nice to see everyone. Bentley really enjoyed meeting the Marks and Gallagher families. We had lots of good food and made good memories with our family. Bentley did really well with the trip. He slept really well and despite the overwhelming number of people he met he was in a good mood and loved talking to people. (If you have any pictures of Bentley from the weekend please send them too us we would love to post them and keep them for his memory book).

Now that we are back home we have acquired our first real cold. Bentley seems to be handling it a little better than mommy. We are also getting back on schedule. It has been rather hot the past couple days (in the 90’s) so we are staying inside and staying cool.

Here are some pictures from our trip: Like I said if you have anymore please send them to us :)

The Enemy (continued)

The bottle saga continues! We have now purchased every type of bottle known to man kind, spent at least $50-$75 or more, and have had no success. Sometimes he cries when he sees the bottle and sometimes he chews on the bottle. I finally called lactation to which I got the response "he just may never take a bottle". Um, that is not an option little boy!!! I was "bad" and put milk in a sippy cup and poured a little in his mouth at a time. He actually took an ounce and did very well with it. However, I am too much of a chicken (and a rules follower) so we will wait a little longer to continue that. We will keep trying to get him to take the bottle but it sounds like until he is old enough for a sippy cup (at what age is it okay to give them one?) it appears like he will still be attached to me. ::Sigh::

Everyday Life

For Jeremy and I everyday life consist of an on going to do list. Our list never seems to end but always seems to grow. We work daily, weekly, and monthly on this list. So in other words… that is what we have been up to, the every day monotonous chores. We did take a break on Saturday to eat dinner with Jason, Cari, Dustin, Danielle, and Sawyer. We also were able to spend time with some good friends of ours, Nick and Meg, who were in town for the weekend. On Sunday we had a picnic in the park with some of the in-laws (see pictures below). These are the things that make our days together wonderful!

(P.S.- We do spend time with my family as well…..every Friday night is pizza night and every Sunday we gather for lunch. Its so nice having my family next door and Ben will always have a cousin to play with.) I kinda feel like I never mention my wonderful/crazy side of the family!

Ben has been making progress in leaps and bounds! He holds his head up all the time by himself. He has continued to practice rolling over from his belly to his back. Ben has also decided he is going to work on building his muscles to crawl. He is bringing his knees up under him when he is on his tummy. He is “talking” a lot more as well. He is just the cutest little boy ever. I think this weekend we might break out some of the “big boy” toys for him to play in (like his jumping toy and his walker), even though he can’t “use” them I think he will enjoy sitting up in them. He is also getting better about sleeping at night. Jeremy and I have established a cute bedtime routine with him. It starts with us reading him a book and singing There Were Five In The Bed. For those of you who don’t know the song goes a little like this:
There were five in the bed and the little one said
Roll over, roll over
So they all rolled over and (we insert mommy, then daddy, coby, and miley) fell out
Until the little one is the only one left and he says “goodnight”
Then we tell everyone in the house goodnight and feed Ben and put him to bed. He has started sleeping by himself in his bed (the one in our room) until his first feeding. This allows Jeremy and I to have a little time together which is a big step for us! We have also gotten Bentley to take a bottle (okay, so this is a stretch). We have tricked him to taking 2 oz from a bottle while he was sleeping. We are just trying to get him to be able to take one bottle a day so that we can go to weddings and occasional dates without having to be back in an hour and a half.

We are very excited that Grandpap, MaryBeth, and Karen Jo are coming to visit over Memorial Day!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Sawyer.

Mother's Day

On Friday Bentley had his 2 month check up. The doctor said he is one very healthy big boy! Bentley is now in the 90th percentile on weight and height. Everything looks great. He did get his first round of shots which made him extremely cranky on Friday night! We go back in 2 months (at that appointment they will talk to us about when to start to supplement rice cereal and food). Bentley decided for Mother’s Day he was going to roll over. He did it several times and Grandma and Grandpap were able to see it. Bentley loves to “talk” to us now. (Finally I found a trait like me- loves to talk!)

Yesterday was my very first Mother’s day! It was such a special/humbling day. Jeremy fixed me an omelet and bacon. Bentley, Jeremy, and the dogs made me a card. I got a David Wilson jersey (for those of you who don’t know, he is a football player for VT and I love him). We had lunch with my mother and family, went for a walk, and Jeremy’s parents made dinner for us. I was so very blessed on this wonderful day and both Jeremy and I are very lucky to have such amazing Mom’s in our life! I defiantly have two very good examples of how to be a great mom!

P.S.- It’s my sisters birthday today…Happy Birthday Kerrie!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

The Marks are on the go! Yup, that is right, now that we are all feeling great we are ready to start heading out and showing Bentley the world. We have taken Bentley several times out to eat and made it through every meal without a major meltdown! He has slept through most of the meals, but has occasionally woken up and looked around, looked at his toys, and went right back to sleep! We also took Bentley to his first Salem Red Sox minor league baseball game. It was a warm beautiful night, Grandpap and Grandma Marks met us out at the baseball field (along with Connie, Alan, Bob, and Barb). Bentley was all smiles during the first few innings then he fell asleep in Connie's arms. It was the perfect night at the ball park! (See pictures below, Thanks Papa Joe for the pictures).

Bentley sure is amazing us these days. To begin with he slept all night last night! I know he prob. wont continue to do this, and we still have some rough nights ahead...but hey we can hope can't we? Even better he slept without me holding him for the majority of the night (for those of you who don't know we have been having some trouble getting him to sleep on his own)! So, not only is this a victory for him sleeping all night, it is a victory because I wasn't holding him! Just between you and I, Bentley sleeping that well probably has a little something to do with the fact that I fell asleep and did not keep poking him to make sure he was still breathing (I am a little OCD about the whole SIDS thing!). Maybe I should take a chill pill....or have a beer before bed! HA

Bentley is really holding his head up well these days (check out the picture of Yvonne holding him at the ball park). He is also starting to kick and bat at his toys when he is in his bouncy seat or having tummy time. He is also grabbing things now (like my hair). Watch out big boy here we come! Jeremy and I are really enjoying this age, he is SOO much fun!

Normal

I know I keep talking about normal and many say what is normal? I am finally getting back to what I consider normal. Normal for me is being able to shower, clean, go to the grocery store, work out, play with my son and dogs,have some quiet time with my husband, and everyone be healthy and happy. I managed to do all of these things at some point this week!

We were able to enjoy Easter with our family. Jeremy's family put together a wonderful dinner on Saturday night and we were able to socialize and enjoy each others company. My family put together a wonderful lunch the next day. Needless to say we did not go hungry this weekend. The Easter Bunny visited Bentley and gave him a toy for tummy time, some swimming trunks for the summer (he already has sun glasses thanks to Tom and Liz), and a teething toy. He also got several cute outfits and stuffed animals and some cute shoes from family. This child is not spoiled at all!

Bentley is doing well! We have his 2 month checkup next week. He rolled over a second time at Grandma and Grandpaps house, he did have a little help by a small pillow. Once he got almost all the way over he was at the edge of the pillow and
he continued to roll. He is at such a fun age. He can also entertain himself for up to 10 minutes using his hands and feet!!

Here are some pics from Easter!