summer weekend

this weekend jar wanted to teach me how to open our tcby. we wanted to make sure i could run the show in the event that he is out of town and something comes up, or whatever the case could be. neither one of us is there that often these days, but you just never know. so saturday and sunday mornings we got up early and drove up there as a family ;)

this morning baby bear was still half way asleep so we took him in his jammies! i told him it was pajama day at work so he wouldnt be embarrassed :)

we had a great time opening the store together. it is really cute watching jar teach me and the kiddos that work for us how to do everything. he is so passionate about what he does and he's really good at it. it may seem like the last thing you would want to do on weekend mornings, but honestly it is really fun and we have a blast while we are there together. as jar says 'its our special time to work together for our family.'

bennett is always a perfect angel while we are there. he never fusses and he just sits there and watches us get everything ready. we stop to change him/feed him and the kiddos at the store looooove him. they are all great with him.

here he is today in his big boy swimsuit!
this was the first time he stood in the pool...
he's thinking that this is the biggest bath tub he's ever seen!

not quite so sure...

he did pretty good. i let him hang his tootsies over the edge so he could kick around and he thought that was funny. what a big boy!
i got my new company car this weekend and we love it! it is the first SUV i have ever had, its a mazda cx-7 and its the perfect size for the three of us! the above pic is my favorite part... its fabulous to be able to open the back and have a good place to change him and let him stretch out! last night we sat on the back and ate yogurt in the parking lot and enjoyed the awesome weather!

we hope that everyone had a happy weekend. i have 5 days of work and then i am off for 9 days! my company shuts down for a 'summer shutdown' to give everyone a break and i cannot wait! i am so looking forward to spending it with my little man (and my big man, too)!

xoxo

4 months.

he was over it at this point... then he ate the sticker ;)

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bennett turned 4 months old today. we love him more every.single.day. i recently did an update on him and not a lot has changed since then, but ill give a few updates so i can remember every little thing ;)

- he full on belly laughs at us when we get him going. i had him laughing at me this evening at dinner and it made my heart melt.

- he loooooves his daddy. i will watch him look at jar and you can just tell that he is in love. (i think he likes me a bit too) :)

- i gave him a lick of white chocolate mousse... he had to have a little sample, right?? it was maybe a drop, and he didnt even notice i dont think... but he did have his first taste of tcby!

- he still gets 6, 6 ounce bottles a day. he is starting to get bored with it so i am going to start cereal/baby food in a few weeks. (more on that later)

- he has had a growth spurt lately and 0-3 month clothing is no longer acceptable... 3-6 is even snug :( it makes me sick to pack up all of his clothes that he has NEVER worn.. and they are so cute. tear.

- he has become a 'hip baby' and tonight at dinner, i was making a salad at jasons deli and he was riding around on my hip.. it was the first time i noticed him really holding onto me. he was gripping my shirt with one hand and my arm with the other. i love that.

- he has had some major blowouts in the dipey lately. that is probably tmi, but goodness, it happens at the most inopportune times!!! we were at the mall yesterday and i looked down to see that his diaper leaked ALL over his car seat and he was covered in poo :( i didnt know what to do other than head to baby gap and get a new outfit and then go spend 30 minutes in recovery mode in the bathroom. luckily, there was a really sweet mom in there with a bunch of wipes :)

lesson learned: carry a spare outfit and a sh**load of wipes everywhere we go!

- he is still sleeping through the night. i know that we will probably have bumps in the road (shots, teething, etc) but for now he sleeps from 9:30-6:30. when he wakes up, he lays there and talks really loud until we get him. he could lay there for an hour... and sometimes if momma and dadddy are really tired, he will lay there and talk for a while and seems to be upset when we get him. mr independent!

- he is still in the pack and play right by our bed.. i am totally not ready to make a change yet (unless jar will let him sleep with us) i know thats not going to happen so we will just keep things as they are for a while!

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we love you bennett bear. you have stolen our hearts and we are so thankful that we are your parents!!

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on another note, our hearts have been really sad the last couple of days for a family that we know, the woodruffs. their sweet angel went to be with the Lord and we are hurting deeply for them. i think that everyone i know has learned something from their little boy and like many have said, even though his life was short (way too short), it was BIG!

what he taught me: to love unconditionally. if i have had a bad day... let it go and be thankful for my loved ones. that life is short and fragile. to look at bennett and be THANKFUL for him every second of the day, even when he is extremely fussy and i am tired... be thankful that he is with me and being fussy. he taught me that a son needs his mother. he taught me that family and friends are something that you cannot do without. he taught me that we are all just "borrowed angels" and that the time we have on earth is just a small piece of the big puzzle.

we are thankful that we were able to pray for them and learn from them throughout their journey. we will never forget sweet Miller.

xoxo

dolce vita

our model ;)

all the babies... from oldest to youngest!


in his new chair that granny nell sent. he loves it!



my little turtle!

bennett and daddy on jar's first fathers day :)

he likes to feel his daddys 'scruff'

my daddy and his little men

talking to his bestie/cousin

all of my cute boys

pic with mommy

our new home!

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news on bennett this week:

-he is getting so big!! i was at michelles earlier this week and used her baby scale and he weighs over 15 pounds!! what?!? tear.

-he starting totally rolling over on his own. he was able to do it last week while pushing off of something, but now its all him. his daddy has been working with him and they are equally excited about the new trick ;) mommy was not so excited when the first night he starting rolling over in his bed and then screaming to get put back on his back. but thankfully that only lasted a night

-he got a bunch of new clothes and toys this week. i found some tiny toms that are so cute! i cant wait for him to wear them. i also found him an adorable white linen bubble for the beach. i told jar that if he doesnt behave then i will make us all dress in white linen and go take pictures on the beach... maybe even khaki shorts if he's lucky ;)

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we celebrated jared's first fathers day last weekend. we got him some stuff for his playstation (yes, he is 30), a new shirt and some towels for his work out room. he is the hardest person to buy for, so it was a huge success since he didnt take anything back! we made tacos and had dinner with the fam so that we could see my daddy too! lots of men to celebrate in our lives! we are blessed with great daddies all around.

we had a cookout last weekend and lined up all the babies that were here. they are all so cute together and will be the best of friends! little ava is the only girl... bennett had his eye on her and was excited that he got to lay by her in the lineup!

we are all moved in and somewhat finished getting everything unpacked/settled. i am still waiting on a bunch of custom frames and some chairs, etc but for the most part, we are situated! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. i never thought the day would come! we are on cruise control with the business, moved into our dream home and bennett is doing wonderful (and sleeping through the night!!!).

life is sweet :)

my little man

::miracle::

a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine

on june 10, it was exactly a year from the day we found out we were pregnant with bennett.

its so strange to experience the process from the start... until now. to think that each week, as my belly grew, it was him in there developing and getting bigger. i know that sounds like a game of stating the obvious.. but its truly a miracle if you really think about it!! he was in there for so long and i loved feeling him move around. i wont say that i looooved being pregnant, i didnt not love it either (until the end... if you get to 41.5 weeks... its miserable no matter what anyone tells you)!!

i just think back to that day that we found out.. we didnt know anything about him or even if he was a boy or a girl, but we loved him so much already. i will never forget the first time i saw him. i was so out of it and on way to many pain meds but the memory is more clear than anything else in my mind, and always will be. from that part on, the only way to describe it to someone that doesnt have children, is that you feel like your heart is outside of your body..

i love that little man and i pray everyday for his health and happiness. i cant wait to spend the rest of my life with him as my son!

aunties come to visit!!

getting some love from his aunties.. anna and spearsy

auntie steph

with my boy

auntie 'ebbie'

uncle drewbaby

auntie brit, md :) (his smartest auntie)

anna and bennett in his room
taking a nap on mimi last week...

i am so glad he is a thumbsucker. how sweet is that?!

ok.. this is nuts.. look at this pic below of baby bear, and the one below of his daddy

he looks soooooo much like jar!

i love you bennett bear. i am the luckiest lady in the world to be your momma.

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we had a great weekend around here. all of my best friends from college came to town. brita is an opthamology resident in LR, anna works in an infant room, spears is a speech pathologist and works with little ones, steph is an accountant, and effie is a fabulous teacher. safe to say, they are all good with babies :) it was so good to see them and catch up. i miss them so much but when we are together (as cliche as it sounds), it feels like no time has passed and we just pick up right up where we left off. it reminds me of one of the last episodes of SATC.. the part where carrie is having lunch with the girls before she goes to paris and says... "today I had a thought, what if I had never met you?"that part gets me every time... because i think that thought about these friends all of the time. i am who i am because of each one of them.... undoubtedly a better friend, daughter, sister, wife, and now mother because of those lovely ladies. i cant imagine if i had never met them. i am not letting the next year go by without going on a fabulous trip with all of them... even though we are all crazy busy, we are going to set a time to go away for a few days. i want us all to go to vegas, but if you know how wild we all can be (hence, if you knew us in college), im scared it would be similar to the hangover...part 1. :) maybe somewhere a little more low key would be better ;)

so glad they were able to come see us over the weekend and i am already looking forward to the next time we are all together!

have a great week!

3 months

our angel turned three months old on the 25th. here's what the little monkey has been up to:

-- at his last doctor visit he weighed just under 11 pounds, 40th percentile.

-- his length was in the 50th percentile

-- his head in the 90th! (he is average weight and height, but evidently really smart!)

-- he still sleeps in our room, right next to our bed in his pack in play. he was in the bassinet for a while, but now we are in the bottom of the pnp. he looks like such a big boy in there :)

-- he is taking about 6 bottles/day, 6 ounces each

-- his bed time is 9:00 and he sleeps til 6 on a great day, and 4 on most ;)

-- i still swaddle him in the miracle blanket

-- he loves to play with toys and look at books. he gets REALLY frustrated with his toys sometimes and will throw them and scream at them... i think he may get his patience from his momma :)

-- he naps in his big boy bed (crib in his room) but thats about all he sees of his crib

-- he looooves a paci and can keep the thing in his mouth all night long, love the mam pacis

-- he loves the car and goes right to sleep when we take off

-- he likes to lounge at the pool, but hates the water

-- he wears 3-6 month clothing, and a size 2 dipey

-- he laughs and smiles for me and jar all of the time.. and for others if you work for it... he doesnt give those adorable smiles away for free ;)

-- he is the sweetest baby. we love him with everything we have

jess and i with our lovies at the fabulous sip n see that our mom's friends hosted for all of us

charlie, now a big 3 year old... and sweet as ever!

best buddies, ollie 4 mo, bennett 3.5 mo

his absolute favorite lovie, eeyore

he has the looooongest eyelashes! the family accuses me of

putting latisse on him.

and here is ollie on his 4 month birthday... obviously...he has HAD it

with the camera ;)

we have never laughed so hard!

all of bennetts 'aunties' are coming to town this weekend. he cant wait to get all cleaned up and flirt with all of them.. he loves a pretty girl. we hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend!

baptisms.....

not happy about being naky in church...

wardrobe changes are not so much fun in public

with our wonderful priest, father john

his fabulous booties that our dear friend,

jenn, sent him to wear, so special!

bennett was baptized on may 7. it was a perfect day. we had a small get together at my mom and dad's with some family and friends before his baptism. he was such an angel during the entire ceremony and it was a special day for all. my sister, jess and my brother in law, mark, are bennetts godparents... he is one blessed little boy. two weeks later, jared and i were fortunate enough to become oliver's godparents. some of the pics are mixed in, but i need to get more from ollie's baptism. they both wore the same gown, the one that charlie, my dad, my uncles and my grandfather were all baptized in... how cool is that?!