Benny's First Day

Well, needless to say, my son's first day at day care clearly was harder on me than it was him!! On his note from the teacher it showed all that he had eaten (like a little piggy) and how well he had slept (2 2 hour naps!). When I went and picked him up he was jumping in a stationary jumper. I walked in and I swear to goodness his entire face lit up and he started bouncing like crazy...I scooped him up and got just the absolute biggest little hug. :) Made this momma's day. Especially after having such a long day wondering how he was doing every two seconds. :) Today is going much easier....still can't wait to go and get my sweet boy, but I feel so much better knowing he did so well yesterday. Hopefully we get another great report this afternoon!!

xoxo

Sad day for mommy....

Well, today was a sad first for me....Benny's first day at daycare. He'll be there two days a week, which all in all is not a bad gig. I still am home with him the other days, and this is more like a playgroup than being enrolled in daycare. Geoff dropped him off this morning and said he was all smiles and sat playing with some toys next to a little girl who is his age (she is 2 days older to be exact) ;) I was doing fine with everything...I toured the facility, I met the teacher, the director, and assistant director. I chose where he would be going...the assistant directors name looked SO familiar to me...and after she gave me the tour I just couldn't place where I knew her from. Well, then we met some friends at our church fish fry last Friday, and lo and behold there she was working in the kitchen serving up fish! That made my decision a no brainer. If that wasn't a sign from God I don't know what is! It definitely makes me feel better knowing my son is at a facility where they know us outside of daycare....they know us through Church. Not to say that he'll get extra attention or anything like that, but even just for him to be able to see them outside of an environment where mommy & daddy leave him makes me feel better. Although regardless of feeling better, last night I bawled. I was finishing up getting his things ready for his first day, and I just absolutely lost it in the kitchen. I cried again when I left the house this morning. Hopefully the day goes by quickly and I can go and scoop up my precious angel. :) I'll make an 8 MONTH OLD post tomorrow and be sure to tell you all about his first day. :) Pray for me friends....I need some extras today.

Travelling with Benny Boo

Well, we took our very first family road trip! We had SO much fun...at the beginning......

We left on a Wednesday morning...woke up early, and planned to leave the house by 6am! So, when we left at 6:45 I handled things surprisingly well. I'm not one who likes to be late places, and when it comes to travelling my husband is even worse! He is NOT a stop and get a magazine and coffee type of person before getting on an airplane. LOL! I had woken Benny up at like 5:15 so that we could time our departure with him being ready to go down for a nap. Worked like a charm! He slept almost all the way to Tennessee....definitely all the way through Lexington and London, KY. We made our first pit stop at the Welcome Center in Tennessee. We let Ben get out and stretch his legs, and we stayed for like 15-20 minutes...of which I could NOT get Ben to eat. I had used some bottled water that we had in the car...not in a cooler, just room temperature. The kid refused to eat it. So we were getting antsy to leave so I just filled up a bottle with some hotter water from the faucet at the Welcome Center (it was really clean...trust me I checked it out) and I sat in the back with him and fed him in the car. Our next stop was for lunch at Arby's.

And then we arrived in Charlotte! We stayed with Geoffy's Aunt Mary & Uncle Ken. We had an absolutely fabulous time. We played games, and pretty much just relaxed. The funniest part to me was that the second we got there, Aunt Mary took Ben from me, and within a few minutes Ben was hugging and kissing all over her. It was the absolute cutest thing! We stayed there for a few days and then headed up to Richmond,VA. Now there is where things begin to go terribly wrong......

We got to Richmond about 5:30 on Friday evening. My cousin who we were staying with called and told us that he had to go and pick his twins up from daycare early because one of them had thrown up. But, he said that sometimes if they eat too quickly then they throw up all of their bottle....which Ben has done before when he was smaller. So, we didn't think anything of it. We stayed, and Saturday went for a walk and just hung out. It was great...and then as the night turned to morning things took a turn for the worse......

Around 12:30am I woke up and started to get sick to my stomach....this happened every hour until 7:30am. Then Geoff started....and he was throwing up every hour....and then like 8 hours later poor Benny started. We were quite a sight. Needless to say, our trip to DC and to the Picasso exhibit got cancelled. We were still able to make the last leg of our trip which was driving to Geoff's Uncle Pat & Aunt Mary Jane's house before coming home. We played some video games, and had a nice dinner. Then on Tuesday we got up and headed home. Even though he still wasn't feeling very well, Ben did amazing once again in the car. He just started to get upset the very last leg, and pretty much fussed the entire way home from Lexington. It took us a while to get back into a routine and schedule, and eating food other than bland and tasteless. HA!

All in all it was a good trip, and we were able to spend some quality time with family. I think we're going to go back again...but this time in two long weekends. It means more driving, but I think it will work out better. :) Hope all is well with you, and have a Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

7 months old!!

Goodness gracious....I have a 7 month old little boy. It is completely insane. I get teary-eyed just thinking about how fast the time has gone. I feel like if I close my eyes for too long I'll be sending him off to college. Makes me sad to think about. I need more time. I need more hugs, more sloppy "kisses", more grins, more twinkling blue eyes. He is such a sweet sweet boy. He really is one of the happiest if not most happiest baby I have ever known. He smiles all the time....and he's started giving hugs to go along with the kisses. :) Hubby went to the lake this past weekend with my dad, and when he got home on Sunday afternoon all Ben could do was stare at him. And then he leaned in and gave him the biggest squeeze his little seven month old body could give. And then he pulled away, stared at him some more with a big grin, and went back in for another hug. Talk about sweet. My husbands heart just absolutely melted.

Ben has gotten to the point now that he definitely recognizes people and places. Well...as much as you can at 7 months old I guess. :) If he is in a new environment, or around new people and he can't see me....M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N. He like turns into a complete spaz. Which is so unusual because he is such a happy boy. Definitely a mama's boy though. :) Can't say I dislike that part of mommyhood. HA!

We're getting ready to take our first "family vacation" other than a weekend getaway to the lake. We're going on a road trip! I'm SO excited...but of course feeling nervous and wracked with anxiety too. Seeing as how we've never traveled in the car longer than Ben takes a nap. I'm curious to see how that will go. I'll have to post pictures from our trip when we get back! We're going to Charlotte,NC and then to Richmond,VA and Washington DC! I've never been to any of those places and am VERY VERY excited. We still have a TON to do...I have yet to pack hubby or myself. Fortunately, I've been making lists of things we need to make sure to pack, and I've gotten Ben mostly taken care of. Except for things like diapers, and formula, which obviously we are currently using at home. We're leaving bright and early on Wednesday morning. AAAHHH!!! Please keep us in your prayers that we arrive safely, and with a happy boy in the backseat. :)

Talk to you soon!!!

Me

Paging Mr Personality! There he is, smiling, waving, talking, and entertaining anyone in his orbit. Your baby is also ready to explore a bit more, so beware his impulse to touch(and taste) everything and anything within his reach (including dog biscuits and poop!). He's probably able to bear weight on his legs when you hold him upright and may even be ready to hit the road, albeit at a crawl. Some little acrobats can pull themselves into a standing position or get into a sitting position when placed on their tummies. Stimulating your now-older baby requires new activities that'll help boost large and small motor skills as well as social, intellectual, and language skills. Get ready for the third round of immunizations at the 6-month checkup.

In other news, plenty of babies (really, not just yours) are still not sleeping through the night -- so this may be a good time to consider some sleep strategies. Your growing baby may also be ready to make the move to the big bathtub: Start slowly (a dry run in the empty big tub c an ease the way), and always practice safe tub-time. Nursing moms who have yet to offer a bottle might be in for a bit of a battle once you do, but there are ways to win over your picky guy. If your baby's got teeth, it's not too soon to start brushing baby's teeth (with a baby toothbrush only, please). And speaking of teeth, the best way to keep your baby's choppers (and gums) in good shape is to avoid baby-bottle mouth (the result of falling asleep regularly with a bottle -- or breast -- in his mouth). What else is up? Perhaps your baby's appetite -- so now's the time to consider dietary dos and dont's, such as introducing new foods one at a time and avoiding certain foods altogether (steer clear of citrus fruits until the eighth month and honey until after his first birthday).

YIKES! NURSING WHILE BABY HAS TEETH?!?!?! Luckily, the nursing ship sailed 12 weeks ago...and even if it hadn't, still no teeth. LOL. I swear they'll be coming in any day now, but nothing just yet. My little man is just absolutely perfect. He has been sleeping through the night for a little over a month now...only not sleeping through on very rare occasions. I have also noticed that when we follow the bed time routine, bath at 7, rocking with bottle at 7:30, he will sleep until 7:30am! However, if we put him in bed later than between 7:30-8ish, he gets up between 6 and 6:30! CRAZINESS!!

Every single day he is learning new things. He knows if he pushes certain buttons on certain toys music or a sound will occur...he still loves the ceiling fans....and is really starting to get into tags on things. Which is hysterical. He also LOVES the dogs. Sadly, that love is not exactly mutual...Brady does enjoy the baby more so than Lexie, which of course means that all Ben wants is for Lexie to love him. LOL!

Something else new is we have started food! So far he has tried and LOVED Sweet Potatoes and Peas (EW) and we're going to start Carrots tonight I think. He still wants absolutely NOTHING to do with his rice cereal. I'm hopeful that once we start him on some fruit that maybe he'll enjoy it more.

Well, I guess that is all I have today...hope all is well with you and yours!

xoxo

22 Weeks

YOUR BABY IS 22 WEEKS OLD!
Baby will soon be able to grip his own bottle, but he's still not ready to drink from it unsupervised. Falling asleep with milk pooled around his mouth can lead to an ear infection, and he also could choke on the milk. Better safe than sorry, especially when baby is learning a new skill.
Blocks are a great toy for him--they're big enough for him to grab and encourage the thumb-and-forefinger grip that he'll continue to develop over the coming months. He's also learning the fun (for him) game of dropping things. Though it might feel as though he's just trying to torture you, he actually likes hearing the sound objects make when they hit the ground.

WOW....22 weeks old. To think when I was 22 weeks pregnant, he had no name, and we had JUST found out he was a he. :) Hard to believe the time has just flown by. It really is crazy to think of how fast a human baby grows. I mean in one year they go from the womb to walking talking little beings. It's just so crazy....

This week some pretty amazing things have happened. First off...Ben actually enjoyed taking a bath....TWICE! So insane....it was definitely a nice and MUCH appreciated change from the red in the face screaming that usually ensues upon bath time. He is still smiling all the time, and honestly just such a good boy. He goes down for naps great, and he is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! SO nice...and again...MUCH appreciated. :)

January is just a mere 38 hours away...which brings with it a brand spankin new year. I know I have already said this before...and I'm sure I'll say it again, but this year has just flown by. It's amazing to think that one year ago, we had just found out we were having a baby. I remember the looks on the faces of my family and friends as we told them we were pregnant, I remember each persons response....good and bad....they are forever etched in my brain. I'll never forget the day I got a positive test. :) I'm anxious to know what 2011 will bring...I have friends and family who are expecting babies, some we know what they're having, and others we don't know yet. I just hope whatever the new year brings for my family it includes happiness, healthfulness, and loads of wonderful memories. :)

xoxo

Melanie

Happy Holidays!

Okay, so clearly I need to get "back in the groove" of writing on my blog. But I swear to goodness, between laundry, dishes, watching baby...and let's not even discuss cleaning of the bottles, I don't know where my day goes! And if that wasn't enough going on, I decided to find something part time to do outside of the house as well! I am currently working two days a week at the new Kosair Children's Medical Center in the east end of Louisville. It is a fabulous facility, and gets me out of the house a little bit, and the benefits are AMAZING...so basically I work for the health insurance. :)

The holiday's have come upon me so quickly I can't even see straight! My sister-in-law and her family got into town yesterday for the Holiday's....so hard to believe. I feel like just yesterday I was hott as heck and HUGELY pregnant. I honest to goodness don't know where the time has gone....

Tomorrow is my beautiful boy's Baptism. :) I am so excited I can hardly see straight. Geoff and I both got new clothes....a rarity here lately, and Ben's "gown" is pressed and looking absolutely fantastic. We are having a "private" Baptism...I put "private" in quotes for a reason, and here it is.....the reason we aren't having the Baptism at a mass is because due to Advent our church doesn't perform them in December. Well, my sister-in-law is the Godmother, so we needed to have it around a time when she would be home....so December it is. So not at a mass....but not very private either. There are...wait for it....8-0 people coming. And no that is not a joke. 80....I still find myself having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. Went grocery shopping today for all of the supplies....I won't even get into how much this is going to cost! LOL!! But in the end it will be a day to celebrate my sweet boy, and who can put a price on that???