Talkin' 'bout the Daycare Hotties

I know that this is starting to be "Benson's Blog" but compared to how cool Benson is, Mitch and I are totally lame! For example he was smiling a lot this morning so I got down by him and started to talk to him about the cute girls he'll be meeting in daycare. I asked him if he's going to flirt with them and what he'll say to them. To my delight he started to coo back and gave me a semi-giggle. He likes to make the "ahhhhhh" sound and the long "eeeeeeeeee" sounds with some "geeeee's." Now, if I told you that Mitch did that same thing, you'd think I'd gone crazy. Wouldn't you?

A few weeks ago my friend Amanda's friend (Abbey - AK Studio and Design) came over to take photos of my Benson. He was exactly 1 month and 2 days old and cute as can be. I wanted to post some of the funny photos and others that I like. If you want to see the pictures that she enhanced and made gorgeous go to www.abbeykyhl.com and look under "bellies and babies." She did a great job. The day of the photo shoot he spent a lot of time naked. I was peed on several times and even pooped on. Mitch ended up with a handful of Benson's bum stuff. I was surprised he didn't lose his lunch when that happened. Even though it got messy, the pictures turned out and as you see, we did have some fun!

Here are a few of Benson's favorite things: (Yes he did tell me himself!)

• Staring at the dark walls where they meet the lightly painted walls
• Looking at the photos of himself in the living room
• Having his bum patted
• Mommy kisses (that might be MY favorite, not his)
• Tub time
• Pooping while having his bum wiped
• Sleeping in the Boppy pillow
• Grandmas - they are the BEST
• Chilling with dad on the couch watching Jazz games
• He also started blowing little spit bubbles today - not sure if it's a favorite yet
  
• And finally waking mom up to hang out in the dead of night!

Blessed

Last Sunday Benson was blessed. Mitch was pretty nervous, but did a great job. It was a really sweet blessing. I was surprised at how nervous I was! As we got ready that morning I didn't get myself or Benson dressed until the last minute. I just knew that I would change a diaper only to end up soiled and I didn't want Benson soiling his blessing outfit either. My efforts paid off and we both stayed unsoiled.

The after party at our house ended up going much better than I expected. We don't have the largest home, but somehow we all fit and no one suffocated due to overcrowding. Thank goodness we finished a room in our basement. The only rough part of the day was the dead mouse that the nieces and nephews found in our backyard. After it was disposed of, the rest of the day went smoothly!

I am so blessed to have such wonderful family! I couldn't have survived the blessing day without all of their help. So many people offered to bring food and treats. It made the dinner PERFECT. I also know that I have the greatest husband ever! How blessed we are to have the priesthood in our home. It meant so much to me that he gave a thoughtful and inspired blessing to our little Benson.

Mitch is so willing to do so many things for me and I know that I don't always express how grateful I am for all that he does (dishes, laundry, yard care, garbage management, house decorating, and exercise motivation). Not many girls can say that their husband is a better homemaker than they are! His kindness never ends.

What did I do so right to be so blessed?

Rejected

I got a glimpse into what it will be like when Benson decides that mom's not cool anymore and won't let me talk to his friends when they come over. Two days ago Benson took a nap in his crib and slept awesome. So, after his 9:00 pm feeding I thought I'd give the crib a try again. Did AWESOME. After the midnight feeding. . .yep, he slept in the crib again and did AWESOME. It went like that until morning. I felt rejected!

I thought the bassinet right by "mommy" was perfect. I was right there in case he needed me, or the binky. Unfortunately, Benson is independent like his father and has decided that he wants his own room and own bed.

It also could be that my snoring was waking him up. I guess I still have a while though until he gives me the boot when his buddies come over. So for now, I'm still cool!!!

Benson has also taken a liking to the bath tub. He loves it. Isn't he so cute naked?

Too Cute!

Benson got a bath yesterday with Aunt Shanna and another one this morning. His new thing. . . Pooping in the tub! It's gross, but when you are so dang cute, somehow it doesn't matter. Just before his bath yesterday Shanna was holding him and he was making so many funny faces. We got out the camera and caught some darling photos! The one of him smiling makes me beam with pride and Aunt Shanna said that his smile makes her "melt." I couldn't agree more.


Another noteworthy event. Daddy has now changed 3 diapers! He's averaging one per week. I wonder how he'll do alone with Benson for 2.5 hours on Saturday. He may need to increase the diaper average. . .Good luck Mitchy.

Baby Benson's Here!

I only have a couple of minutes before little Benson will be hollering that he is hungry yet again. I will try to quickly share all of my excitement that has happened in the last 2.5 weeks.

I went to the hospital at 8:00 am on Sunday January 18th. After a ridiculously long day, Benson arrived at 11:52 pm. I was exhausted but so full of joy that I didn't care. When they handed little Benson to me I was shocked. I was told that no matter what I would think that my baby was cute, but I didn't realize that he would be THAT CUTE! To our surprise he had dark hair (a tiny tint of red can be seen) and all the rest of him is perfect! It was the most amazing experience that I've ever been through. This is one of those times in my life where I am not sure what I do so right to be so blessed. I truly have been given far more that I deserve.

Benson has been changing and growing even in these short weeks. He has been smiling in his sleep and sometimes when awake. I refuse to believe that it's only due to gas. He's liking to take baths and hasn't peed on me in two days! He has his daddy's toes and I'm sure he'll be using them to pinch me when he's mad in no time. He's just too perfect and it makes the late night feedings bearable.

Daddy has been so great! He's changed 2 diapers; one without any prompting from me! He insists that I sleep when Benson sleeps and does the grocery shopping. I now feel the full meaning of the primary song "I'm so glad when daddy comes home." GLAD AS I CAN BE!

I love this new adventure. Both the fun stuff and the difficult.

Baby Shower

My mom and sister through the most darling baby shower for me last night. It was so fun and I had a really great time! So many people are so generous! I was totally spoiled and am just about ready for our little boy to arrive. Mitchell's sisters gave him one of the best gifts ever! It's a little kit that has clothes pins, goggles, rubber gloves, tongs, and diapers/wipes. It's the diaper changing kit!! They said that because they are his sisters they know that he'll need it.

My mom and sister did so much to make the shower perfect. We had great food and Shanna made some awesome decorations. If you check out her blog you can see them (chanceandshanna.blogspot.com) She also took some photos of my belly. Some of them show just how big I've become and others she obviously doctored to make me look good for 9 months pregnant.

I can't believe where I am in life right now. I have so many wonderful things that keep me so busy that I can't keep up with all of this blog stuff. When I get stressed out (sometimes to the point of tears) I often take a moment to think about the stressful things in my life and I immediately realize that each of them are a blessing and that I just need to prioritize each of my blessings and get busy! I have a wonderful husband, the best family and in-laws! My health has been great and as far as I know my son is doing great. I am blessed to have a career that is rewarding and allows me to have my son near as I work. My home is simple and beautiful and I just love life. I can't ask for more. Well . . .more time to enjoy it would be great.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and loved me as I've complained about my blessings (including pregnancy)! I love you all and wish you all the best as we move into a new year!!!

Alright Already!

I have heard you all! Here I am updating my blog. I knew that this blog would be something that I struggle to keep up on. I'm considering hiring someone who could make my life seem more interesting to do our blog.

Seriously though, we have done some fun things lately. We finally went on our small trip to California. It was somewhat of a surprise to Mitch for putting up with all of my extra hours of work. The part that was for me was going to the musical "WICKED." It was one of my favorite things I've ever done! I still have the music rolling through my head on a daily basis. Mitch even liked it more than he thought he would.

We also went to the San Diego Zoo and got a couples massage. I was relieved that Mitch isn't too excited about massages. He said "I just felt like someone was just rubbing me." On the contrary I feel like I can finally, at least for an hour relax and breathe. Because Mitch didn't like it much, it won't cost double when I need a massage. I can go alone in peace.

California was definitely a needed break for both of us. I even enjoyed it. (FYI - I normally do not like vacations. Just not my thing. I like to be home, I like to work, and I like having my stuff with me and not left at home.)

Getting Fatter

Getting dressed everyday is a new challenge for me. I thought I had a difficult time before I was pregnant. That was nothing! I was so clueless to what pregnancy was all about. I have been so bombarded with kind people saying kind things about my appearance and others lending me their maternity clothes. I don't know what I would do without the wonderful people in my life!!! For way too long I avoided maternity clothes thinking that it would be accepting this new physique as a permanent condition. I couldn't be more wrong! Maternity clothing isn't the terrible curse that I used to think it was, it is fabulous! Being able to breathe and bend over are very important activities. I highly recommend anything that allows breathing to happen! This picture is of me at 6 months pregnant wearing my most bendable and breathable outfit. If it was more socially acceptable I'd wear it daily.

On a sad note, dear Mitchell has injured his BIKE. He hurt his body too, but that isn't of much concern to him. The crazy guy was biking home from work (4500 South in SLC) and was suddenly on the asphalt in an intersection! That was the part that stressed me out. He is covered with road rash and bruises with more appearing each day. The only complaints I've heard are about finding and paying for the parts to fix the bike. He took photos of the piece of road he blames for his bike's accident. It happened so fast he only guesses that his tire got caught in a gap next to a storm drain and it flipped him over the handle bars. I'm sure he has pictures of his bike's injuries, but for sure, no photos of his scabs and bruises. He is such a funny guy with a devotion to biking! I'm sure his son will think he's pretty cool and catch the biking bug as well. I wonder if they sell newborn jerseys and helmets?