6 month pics

we had bennett's six month pics taken by jessica ritchie a few weeks ago... couple things i would highly recommend: #1: jessica ritchie :) and #2: taking pictures at your home.
we loved the way they turned out. i love how she got his real smile, his goofy smile and everything in between. i love how they are all taken in our home rather than in a random place. they just all feel very warm to me, because this is where we spend everyday as a family. love, love, love them. and my little man.

my favorite smile that he does, you only see it if you're really funny!
this is my all time fav pic of him (so far). of course, i had to get it in a 2ftx3ft
for the living room ;)

kiss, kiss

our family.

on 'the family bed'
ha! that's a whole different post!

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what happened to my little itty, bitty baby that couldn't push me away to take off to another room?!?! this was just seven months ago... look how much he has changed and grown up!!!!!!!!!

i love you bennett bear. you have stolen my heart.

mimi's birthday and catch me if you can....

my loves :)
had to strip down because the banana covered spoon
made a mess of us!mimi's favorite dessert (other than TCBY) :)

her little helper.... 1st attempt to blow out the candles
by the third time.... charlie was giving it his best. those

darn trick candles, will get ya every time!

we celebrated my mom's birthday this evening. doesn't she look great at 35 ;)

we had everyone over for taco night, dessert and of course, presents. she got some lovely items from the fam! i am jealous of her new razorback necklace that dad got her, and her facial, pedi, new statue... she racked up!

if anyone deserves a lovely birthday, it is her. my mom is the most loving, caring, trustworthy, kind, selfless person i know. she would do anything for her family. don't get me wrong, she's not one of those women who doesn't take care of herself (as you can see, she is still very fabulous) but she gives her ALL to us and my dad. she takes such good care of bennett and oliver while my sister and i work. this seriously is something you cannot ever, ever, thank someone enough for. its funny because i can't even count the times that we have been in public and people ask who takes care of the babies and we say that our mom does... often times the response is 'wow, that's something i don't know that i could do' or 'wow, i cant believe she gives up everything to keep them' and my favorite is 'bless that woman, she has her hands full!' and yes, she does. but those people are right when they say that they could not do what she does, most people couldn't, or wouldn't. i thank the Lord every night for my family and for the blessings that we have. as a mother (and any mother would probably agree), your child's well being is the single most important thing in your world and the single thing that is constantly on your mind regardless of where you are. i am able to have peace throughout my days because of my mom. thank you, mom, for all that you do and all that you are. and thank you dad for always working so hard to allow for mom to be able to keep the boys. we love you guys so very much!

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and in other news... bennett has decided that he would like to become mobile. i thought he was independent before, wheeeeeeeeeewwwww, he is one on-the-move little man these days. he is pulling up on all kinds of stuff, crawling, trying to stand, and bumping his head all too often. i seriously googled "helmets for infants" earlier and it was some pretty funny stuff. jared said that is ridiculous and this is part of him growing up, but my nerves are shot by bedtime because he is constantly on the verge of hurting himself :(
i know that this is a phase (that will last a while, and only get worse) but it is an adjustment for sure. i love that he is exploring and active, and we encourage him (mainly his daddy) to try and walk, pull up, etc, but it's just something new to get used to! one thing is for certain: he is growing up and changing every single day, right before our eyes.
we are off to bed!
we hope that everyone is having a happy hump day!!!!!!!
xoxo

seven months.

seven months old today.

this little monkey has blessed our lives and brightened our days for SEVEN months. we love you bennett. we are so proud of you!!!

we hope everyone has a good week!!

xoxo

check up

this little honey pie had his check up today. he is weighing in at 18 pounds 9 ounces and is 26 inches tall. this puts him in the 50th percentile on both.
he screamed at dr. terry the entire visit. a very, very loud scream that made it to where i heard nothing that dr. terry was saying.... that’s our boy ;)
all in all he is doing really well, growing like a weed and right on track. we are happy and healthy and thank the Lord for that every single day.
bennett will be 7 months old on sunday and i think for the first time in his life i truly feel like it’s going by way too fast. it brings tears to my eyes to watch him growing and exploring and taking in all that life has to offer. he is so curious, wild, interested, independent, determined, all while being so sweet, loving and genuine. i think that he will grow up to be as good of a man as his daddy.
i just love him so much and as much as i want to press pause on these days, weeks, months, i cannot wait to watch this little man grow up. i know his personality will challenge us and entertain us for all of our days :)
we love you bennett william. you are everything to us.
mommy & daddy

sippy cup and big boy bed

our little honey at his first tailgate :)

we took him to our friend's, steph and jimbo's, tailgate before the troy game.

he had a blast. after we left there, we strolled him to the pit for a few minutes.

it got chilly so he and i went home and watched the game with

aunt jess, ollie, mimi and poppy. we decided that we love watching the

game all snuggled up on the couch with the fire burning!

a typical evening at our home ;)
showing off his new toofies

trying to drink from the cup in his own way...now he's got it....
and even better.... getting some juice!

got one eye on me ;)

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we started giving him a sippy cup a while back to play with. i never put anything in it until this week. i put half apple juice and half water and he LOVES it. he tips it back and gulps it down.

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on another note... jared and i are officially nuts. long story short, bennett has been sleeping in our room since day 1. not in our bed (although i would not judge someone for that, because you have to do what works for you and we will probably be there one day) but in his pack n play. since he is getting older and needs support for his little body, we thought it was time for the crib. we just couldnt stand the thought of him being across the house in his nursery. SO, we went and bought a crib (mattress, sheets, bumpers and matching blanket ;)) for our room. we are perhaps regretting this decision as i type since jared just laid him down and now he is standing up in there laughing and blowing bubbles at us, instead of sleeping. hmmmm. this is the 3rd night in his new big boy bed and he has slept great the last two nights. he has learned a new trick that i know he is doing to be a stinker.. he will reach his hand out of the crib, paci in hand, get our attention and then open his hand so the paci falls to the floor. so of course we get up, get the paci and give it back just in time for him to start over. what a little monkey he is. if he wasnt so adorable, i would have to get frustrated with his new game ;)

i love having him right here and i know that one day we will be ready for him to sleep in his room, just not today. i will post pictures soon of him standing in his new bed.. both hands on the bars, face squished up against it... it looks like he is in jail!! too funny!!

xoxo- sarah

six {and a half} months

this not so little man has been growing like a weed. seriously... he is huge and all.grown.up.

he is pulling up on his crib

he is into EVERYTHING

he is wearing a size 4 diaper, 6-12 month clothing

sleeping decently... very inconsistent (some nights are great, some are not so great)

he has his second cold right now and is sort of pitiful

he has two of his bottom teeth!! the most adorable teeth i have ever seen

he is rocking on all fours and trying his hardest to take off

he still loves toys. his favorite toys are his cookie jar, bowls, spoons, that bulb nose thing ;)

he runs all over the house in his walker. he has even learned to go in reverse when he gets stuck

he is taking 5 (6 ounce) bottles a day and eating three meals

he is starting to drink out of a sippy cup

he is getting cuter, sweeter and more snuggly with everyday and as usual, jared and i are smitten with him. we love you bennett william. with our whole hearts!!!

what's for dinner?

(he is sticking his tongue out at EVERYTHING and EVERYONE!!!!)
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we are loving our baby food these days!!! i fired up the machine this past weekend and then again tonight. i love it! it's very easy (even though i had a few glasses of red wine tonight and messed it up)... luckily aunt jess was here to fix the problem(s). anywho, i made his batch for the next few days. he will have bananas for breakfast, sweet potatoes for lunch and green beans for dinner. lately i have been mixing up his rice cereal and adding the fruit for breakfast and then the vegetable for lunch and dinner. this way he gets a lot of good iron and protein. he has really started to pork up! he isnt the easiest baby to feed, but if i work with him for a few minutes, he will eat the whole bowl.
last weekend i even ventured to a place where i swore i would never go and thought i would never be.... ozark natural foods. jared and i both (mainly him and it's rubbed off on me) are not super into the natural foods/organic/green stuff. but after my family convinced me that i would be poisoning bennett if i made his baby food with anything other than organic food, i headed that way. i went to the produce section, the cash register and then out the door. i am not against other people being very 'granola' it's just not for me. however, i am willing to do everything i can for this little child of mine and if it means going to a place that smells like an armpit to get his food, i'll happily frequent it every weekend ;)
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bennett is six months old tomorrow!!! i will do a post with his six month pics and what our little man has been up to!!!
xoxo