Great Question

The vast majority of the time, I think motherhood and my decision to stay home and experience it at its fullest, is a true gift...an experience that I would trade for no other. Then there are the days where I actually fear that one of us may not make it out alive (and the demise of that individual may be by my own hand).


Today was one of those days.

Simply put, Owen was having a rough time (which means, I was having an even rougher time). In his own words, he was "doing bad wistening." Bad listening doesn't even begin to cover it. I must have taken 250 deep breaths today. I KNOW that I had to stop myself mid-yell at several points with a silent reminder that I was the adult here and to take it down a notch. He was like Dennis the Menace meets the Tasmaniam Devil. We are talking Out. Of. Control.

At one point, in the midst of one of his serious spazz-outs, I took deep breath #168 and simply said, "Owen. WHAT are you doing??"

He continued his full-speed run into the sofa and then stopped and said, with complete sincerity,
"Dat's a reewee gweat question, Mommy. I do NOT know."

We both laughed so hard for the minutes that followed that I almost forgot we were in the middle of one of those days.

Crazy kid.

He's as big as...

We recently had Bennett's 2-month check up and it was once again confirmed that he's just a big boy. When weighing him this time around, our nurse chuckled and said, "He's as big as the 6.5 month old in exam room 1." Well, there you have it. Our littlest guy may not be the littlest for long. In fact, when Owen "holds" Ben, it is often hard to detect the 2 years, 7 months that separate them.

















For those keeping track and wanting the details, here they are. At 2 months...

Weight: 15 pounds, 1 ounce
Height: 23 inches

And for anyone who wants to know if I'm worried about his size as he gets older, Dot-Dot's extensive record keeping comes to the rescue again. My now average-sized husband had Bennett beat at 2 months...he was a whopping 16 pounds, 3 ounces at that age. If you've met Rob, you know he is not now, nor was he ever, a BIG guy. So, NO, I'm not worried at this point. For now, Ben's size just makes him ever so chewable (and makes Mommy's arms so tired).

We all particularly love his ample cheeks and hear comments about them on a pretty regular basis. The other day, after hearing a friend comment on Ben's lovely, puffy cheeks, Owen replied, "Bennett's a cheeky one!" No doubt, that comment was made possible thanks to the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song.

There's just so much of Bennett to love. See for yourself and love on our big boy along with us. I've even thrown in this video so you can share in our adoration of the chunky monkey.

What 9 months can do

While 9 months seems like a relatively short period in the grand scheme of things, we know that BIG changes can take place in that amount of time (big baby pun intended...sorry, Ben). For instance, in the last 9 months Owen has experienced both a first and a last day of school. There have certainly been lots of changes all around, some evident here...











Owen will be attending a different preschool this fall, but we are grateful for the time spent with friends and teachers this year. Here are some highlights from the year, included in his adorable student portfolio sent home on the last day...

Promises, Promises

I can't count how many times I've recently responded to someone's request for more photos/updates/etc with something like, "I'm trying to get caught up, I PROMISE." I've made so many empty promises, it's just plain sad. And what is even more sad is that I really mean it when I say it. I DO want to get caught up. I DO want to get back to regular blog posts. I DO want to actually fill in baby books and photo albums and record all these wonderful, silly, frustrating and exhausting things that make up my days. I know that there may come a time (like next week) that I'll wish I had written down that incredibly hilarious and unexpected conversation I had with Owen. I'll wish that I had more video of all the adorable cooing that Bennett is doing right now. And even when I do capture those precious moments, I rarely find the time to preserve it or share it here. I WANT to, I do. I just can't seem to make it happen on a regular basis. I'm sure that if I tried really hard, I could carve out some time to sit down and write a few words each week. But the truth is, I'd rather go live it than record it. And so we continue to play too hard, stay out too much and run furiously until the sun goes down. And while we're doing that, I'll continue to be harried and scattered and apologetic for the lack of response and communication. But, you can be sure of one thing. I am taking advantage of every moment I can find to love on my boys. I PROMISE.

See? I told you!

Suitable for blog sharing, this video contains no crying and no dangerous placements of the baby. It's a shame the memory card was full or you could have seen it happen twice more in the course of a minute or so.

It took Bennett a whole 6.5 weeks to perfect this move, with his first success happening at just shy of 4 weeks. For comparison's sake, it took Owen 15 weeks. Boy, are we in for a fun ride.

It's a good thing he's so cute

And it's a good thing I love him so much. Otherwise, I might be tempted to disown Owen after this recent interaction:

Sitting on the sofa next to a very pregnant mommy friend of mine, Owen stared at her belly for a bit then looked up and said...


"My mommy's tummy is SOOOO squishy!"

Gee, thanks. Here is where I should teach him the little tidbit of advice that Rob is so fond of giving to me, "Just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it."

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all the mommies out there had a wonderful day today and that you were able to find just a moment, however brief, to reflect on what makes you most proud to be a mother. Happy, happy Mother's Day to us all!

The Mother's Day Tea at Owen's school...













Me and my boys...

First Smiles

First smiles are always the best...


















I love this little man.

My big boy

When talking about "my big boy", you might assume I was referencing the older child. However, it is also a fitting term for our newest addition as well. As you already know, at birth, Bennett weighed in a full 2 pounds heavier than Owen's birth weight (they were both born at 39 weeks). Well, at the rate he is growing, he threatens to outpace his big brother very soon.

And talk about STRONG...while we might have thought it impossible, Bennett has already begun to roll over from front to back (a feat usually accomplished more around the 2-3 month mark). Not. Even. Kidding. The first time we thought we were just mistaken (wait, maybe I left him on his side, not his tummy). After the next time or so, we thought we'd catch it on tape to be sure. Yep, rolling over. The warning from the pediatrician was very clear, "don't take your eyes off this boy for a second." (NOTE: I would post the video for you to see here but my husband seems to think the 20 seconds of crying and the fact that the child comes perilously close to rolling over the edge of a table is reason enough not to post it for public viewing. Bloomin' lawyers.)

I mean, just look at those muscles.

And those cheeks.

At his 1 month appointment, Bennett weighed....drum roll, please...13 pounds. Yes, 13 POUNDS! While Owen finds himself in the 10th percentile (and lower) on the weight-for-age charts, Bennett is in the, um, 100th percentile. He is also in the 85th percentile for height. So, when I talk about 2 extremes...2 opposite ends of the spectrum...you know that I'm not kidding. (*It may be important to note that Rob weighed a hefty 13 pounds, 10 ounces at his one-month visit! So, there you go.)

One need only take a glance to see that the 2 boys are opposite in so many ways. From hair color to skin tone, you wouldn't immediately guess that these 2 were brothers. And while it is FAR too early to make such predictions, I do find myself thinking that I just might have gotten my wish about that "mellow" personality. We shall see.

I can tell you something these kiddos DO share...a mommy and daddy who love them fiercely and can't wait to see what the future holds for both.

Thomas!

As a "big brother" gift for Owen, we drove to Chattanooga to visit the Day Out With Thomas tour. While the weather was a bit icky, it couldn't put a damper on the day and Owen was so excited to see and ride the "real, live Thomas!"

















He was even excited to share the day with little brother and as the train took off, leaned over the sling to exclaim, "get ready for bwast off, Bennett!"













While Owen took in all the sights and sounds from the window of our train car, Bennett was happy to snooze away the entire ride .









We initally had our doubts about a trip like this so soon after Bennett's arrival, but we are now so glad we took the chance. It was a very successful family trip and a great day for everyone.

Brotherly Love

We've been getting lots of questions about how Owen is handling his role as an older sibling. Is he a good big brother? What does he think about the baby? Have we noticed any resentment?

Honestly, I've been telling people that I'm almost afraid to talk about our experience so far. I just don't want to jinx it. At 5 weeks in, our ride has been unbelievably smooth. Not only has the overall adjustment for the family been pretty easy (yes, I'm sleeping...I'm sleeping more now than at the end of the pregnancy!), but Owen has been, for the most part, a dream. He is loving and helpful and has, so far, shown no signs of jealousy, resentment or regression. It is so much better than we could have ever hoped. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to believe that it will always be this easy. I'm certain that we will go through some rough periods and Owen will, at times, see Bennett as a burden and a pest. BUT, we are off to a fantastic start. I cannot complain (at least not about this). My job as mommy of 2 has had some really great beginnings.

And you can see the very early beginning HERE.

Even as we brought Bennett home from the hospital, Owen was so excited to see him and "get dat toy for him." See the first few minutes at home HERE, when Bennett is one day old.

Over the last few weeks, the lovefest has continued with Owen wanting to...

hold Bennett,

















kiss Bennett,













lay with Bennett,













and even help him when he is crying. In fact, his favorite thing to say is "da sooner you help a crying baby, da sooner dey stop crying." (Plucked right from our numerous reads through What Baby Needs) He even gave this unsolicited advice to a woman in the store whose child was crying...she was thrilled, I'm sure, to be getting parenting advice from a 2 year old.

You can see Owen singing to Bennett before bedtime HERE.

While I'm sure that many challenging times lay before us, right now we are extremely happy to report that our transitions have been smooth. Owen is a great big brother and we couldn't be prouder of our 2 wonderful boys.

So very grateful

On April 7, 2007, our family of three became a family of four. We welcomed Baby Bennett into our home and our hearts and have been so very grateful this new chapter in our lives. While my pregnancy might not have been the easiest journey, my labor and delivery were exactly as I hoped and planned. I could not be happier with the entire experience. Once I find the time to write it all down, I will be sure to post the "birth story" for those who have been asking and those who might enjoy the details.

For now, just know that our newest addition is healthy and thriving and so very, very loved.