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!