Pumpkins, Pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

Today was a BOO-tiful, fall day, and it was the perfect preface to a fun Halloween.  I have been wanting to take Bentley to a pumpkin patch, and I realized on Friday that Tate Farms, in Meridianville, AL would close on Monday.  Yikes!  So, we decided that today was the day!  I was so excited to take Bentley in hopes that he would have a good time.

To start the day, we played...and played...and played!  Bentley hung out it his gym for a little while so I could clean up the kitchen.  He's getting a little rowdy in his gym, and it's having a hard time standing up to our rough and tough little boy.

What happened here?  Hurricane?  Earthquake? Tornado? 
NOPE...Bentley happened!

Ha Ha Ha!!!  I will take you down!

Just kidding...see this sweet face?  I couldn't hurt a fly!

After a super fun morning with my lil' monster, it was time to clean the house.  Mom (Nana) came over to help Daniel and me clean.  Thank goodness I have a clean house again...that's one of my favorite things! :)

After cleaning, we all got ready to head out to Tate Farms.  The weather was wonderful, just a bit windy, and the activities were fun, too.  While we had a great time, I think Bentley will enjoy it even more next year when he can do all the activities.  We took lots of pictures, so ENJOY!!

First, we saw the farm animals.  We had so much fun petting rabbits, pigs, and watching goats and chickens.

Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy! 
They were sleeping sooooo good.

Bentley liked petting the pigs.  They were surprisingly soft.

He really liked the chickens.  He stood on the fence jumping and dancing around as he watched them walk around.

Happy Family :)

 Next, we made our way through the REALLY BIG pumpkins.  Bentley really liked checking out the pumpkins.

White pumpkins???...Mommy, where is its orange?

WOW...check out that ENORMOUS pumpkin!!!

It's SOOOO cool!

Hey Daddy...look at this one!

Next, we went on a hayride into the pumpkin patch.  Since we already have our pumpkins, we didn't pick one out, but Bentley walked around looking at all the pumpkins.

I want that one!

I GOT IT!

Nana and Bentley...Awwwww

 Finally, Daddy and Bentley stopped by the tractors for some ALL BOY time.

She thinks my tractor's sexy!!!

Eat your hearts our girls...these boys are mine. ~Mommy

I'm driving!

This was the most fun!  Bentley LOVED the tractor with Daddy.

Hay is so cool!  It's even cooler when it's in my mouth!

Oh, hey Mommy!  Were you trying to get my attention?

Since you couldn't see Bentley's all too appropriate outfit for the pumpkin patch with his jacket on, he decided to model it this evening!  Too Cute! :)

 Overall, it was a wonderful day!  We finished off our day with a yummy meal at Mellow Mushroom.  Bentley did so good on our busy day, but he was super tired.  He was in bed and "sleeping like a baby" by 8:00.  My Lil' Pumpkin had so much fun...one more memory for the books! :)

So Handsome, So Big

Bentley turned 6 months old on October 11th, and we had his 6 month portraits done on October 16th.  As I look at the photos, I cannot believe that my little man is SO big.  While he's still a bit small, he's growing so fast.  I beg him every day to slow down.  He can do new things all the time, and while I am so excited to see him growing and developing, I just want my baby to stay my baby forever.  Check out some of his pictures. 

We went to Green Mountain Nature Trail for this photo shoot on a beautiful crisp, cool fall Sunday morning.  We couldn't have asked for better weather.  It was so nice, and Bentley seemed to enjoy being outside.  Our friend Sean Harrison, of Fine Light Photography captured these sweet pictures, and we are so grateful.  You can check out the rest of Bentley's pictures (and the rest of Sean's work) on his Fine Light Website.

I have to say...my time with Bentley seems to fly by.  I find myself trying to imagine what he will be like someday.  Will he be a nerd like me (loving math, puzzles, and anything challenging the mind) or will he be handy and machine-minded like Daniel (can fix anything and LOVES cars)?  Will he be athletic like the two of us, or will he prefer things that are more artsy like the band?  Will he be tall or short, a morning person or not, outgoing or introverted?  I simply can't imagine what my sweet baby boy will grow into.  As I read his bedtime story, Love You Forever, by Robert N. Munsch, tonight, I thought about all the stages of life that we will eventually go through with Bentley that are represented in the book.  While I don't know what each stage will bring, and I don't know who Bentley will grow to be some day, I do know one thing...

Sweet Baby Bentley,

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

If you haven't read this book before, have your tissues ready.  I had to read it a few times before I could make it through the whole thing without crying.  I still tear up every now and then as I read it.

So, from the tiny little baby that I brought home from the hospital...

 To the big boy that I am so in love with today...

I couldn't be happier.  I love my little family, and I couldn't ask for more.

I love you, Mr. Snuggles!

Love, Mommy :)

6 Months Old

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Baby Bentley Boy!

Bentley turned 6 months old on Tuesday, October 11th.  It's taken  me a while to post about it, but I finally have a minute to sit down and do just that.

Here's a couple of pictures of Bentley on his actual 1/2 b-day...his doctors appointment wasn't until 2 days later.

I love my shoes, but I love them the most when they're in my mouth!

Too cute little man!

Bentley's visit to the doctor went well.  He's perfect in every way!

Hey, Doc!  What's this cool contraption?

Here, let me help you with that.

Do you see any toothies in there yet?
(The answer is NO)

Ahhh, all done with the basic check-up.

Play time with Mommy before.....

The dreaded vaccines!  Oh, I forgot...I like this stuff (oral vaccine).

HOLY MOLY!!!  Sweeten me up and stick me like a pig!  OUCH!

Okie dokie...all done!  I'm dressed so we must be finished.

Bentley did super good at his appointment.  He was excited to see the doctor, so he squealed and squeaked the whole time she was working with him.  She said he's doing everything he is supposed to be doing, and he seems to be right on track.  She was glad to see that his ear was cleared up from the infection, as well.  (We were glad to hear that, too, for that has been quite a difficult situation to live with.)

As for Bentley's growth...he's 26 1/4 inches long, which is in the 50th percentile.  He is only 13 lbs. 6 oz., which is at about the 0 percentile (if that's possible).  While his weight curve did seem to decrease a little, the doctor wasn't concerned since he just got over a sickness.  While he had his ear infection, he lost his appetite for about 3 days.  He never asked to eat, so I just offered food to him ever 3 1/2 hours, and even then he only ate for about 5 minutes at a time.  So, she said that he should gain that weight back and even more now that he's eating good again.  Since then, he's been eating really well, and we've even added another baby food feeding during the day.  He'll be my little chunky monkey in no time!

Bentley got one oral vaccine, two routine shots, and his flu shot.  We have to go back on Veteran's Day for a booster shot for the flu vaccine.  He wasn't one bit happy about the shots, but he only cried for a minute. 

Based on what he was doing when she saw him, the doctor estimated that Bentley would be sitting completely on his own in a couple of weeks.  That was only 4 days ago, and he's already doing really well with sitting.  When he's sitting good, he can sit for over a minute, but he wants to stand up so badly, so he digs his heels in the ground which forces him to fall backwards.  I get tickled watching him.  We got him a toy to keep him occupied while sitting.  He likes it a lot, but his way of playing is not actually benefiting his sitting skills.

Lounging with my sippy cup.  Mommy gives me a little water in it each morning so I can get used to it before putting my milk in it.

Who needs to work on sitting...I've got this thing figured out.  Multitasking...my new favorite passtime.

We took Bentley up to Green Mountain to take his 6 month portraits, but we don't have those yet.  I know they will be great because he was so good the whole time we were there. 

Bentley has lots of favorite things right now.  He loves his new musical toy, his exersaucer, and his rubber duckies (especially if you sing the song with them).  He still has a blast at bathtime, no matter what kind of mood he's in prior.  One thing he's come to enjoy is dinner time.  He likes to squeal and squeak, and we can't help but laugh at him (along with many other people in restaurants).  Bentley loves Porsche (a.k.a. Sister).  He just sits and stares at her in amazement.  While I don't let him have his paci all the time (and never at bedtime), he cracks me up with it now.  He takes it out, plays with it, turns it all around and then plugs himself back up.  I am so glad he can do that on his own now. :)  While he went through many sleepless nights while he was sick, he's sleeping wonderfully now.  He's usually asleep by around 8:00 and he sleep ALL NIGHT.  Last week he woke up before 6:00 each day, but this morning I woke him up at 6:45.  Maybe he'll sleep a little later now.  He's still doing well with baby food, but we've discovered that he LOVES oatmeal.  He was getting rice cereal until now, and he like oatmeal much more.

I can't believe he's already 6 months old. Part of me is so proud that he's developing into such a sweet little guy, and the other part of me is sad that he's growing so quickly. I cherish each moment, and I try to remember each second as it passes. Every night that I sit with Bentley at bedtime and feed him his final meal of the day I try to take in every little detail...his baby soft skin, his fine fuzzy hair, the sweet look he gives me as looks up to make sure I'm still there as he's drifting off to sleep, the weight of his tiny body, and the feel of his little hand wrapped around my finger. I already have difficulty remembering what he felt like as a newborn, so I am determined to remember all of these tiny details. If only we could capture all these feelings in a bottle. That's something worth remembering!

Happy Birthday, Dear Daddy...

Well, it's been a LONG time since our last post, but believe it or not, there's only a couple of things that are note worthy.  But first, let's start with some TOO CUTE photos of Mr. Snuggles!

Although he hates tummy time, he's rolling like a champ now.  He's been "able" to roll over for a long time, but actually getting him to stay on his belly long enough to practice those fabulous skills was another story.  Now we are rolling really good.  He can go from his belly to his back and his back to his belly if something is really enticing him.

I still like my Johnny Jump-Up!

Happy hair (check out the left side...it's sticking straight out after a nap).

Exersaucer...Mommy's lifesaver!  Anytime I need to get anything done in the kitchen, this is Bentley's posted position.

Ready for the Bama game.  Roll Tide!

First of all, Bentley has been running a fever since Monday, and after calling the doctor we were told to wait at least 24 hours for other symptoms to arise or call back if the fever lasted more than three days.  So, no other symptoms ever came about, that is unless you include MANY sleepless nights and a SUPER cranky baby.  There were a few nights that we would be up for 2 hours with a screaming little boy, and there was nothing we could do to console him.  Bentley would be completely fine and happy as long as he was on Tylenol and his fever was down, but as soon as it wore off, we were in for a not so sweet treat.  Finally, after having fever (up to 102.6) for more than three days, I called the doctor back on Thursday, and they wanted to see him. 

The good news...we found the culprit!  The bad news...Bentley has his first ear infection, and it's pretty bad.  The doctor gave him an antibiotic and numbing drops.  We are continuing to give him Tylenol as needed for his fever, but overall, we had a much better night.  Bentley slept until 4:00 a.m. without waking up, and then we had one of our "My ear hurts, and I'm going to scream about it" fits for about 45 minutes.  We got him back to sleep after some Tylenol and numbing drops, and he slept until 6:45 a.m., which is his normal time to rise and shine.  Thank goodness we know what's wrong, but it is so sad to see him so uncomfortable.  Maybe the antibiotics will take affect quickly. 

Monday, October 10th: Bentley is doing much better.  He hasn't run a fever since Saturday, and he seems much happier lately.  We're trying to get back into the old sleep routine that he was doing so well with, so wish us luck with that.  Learning to sleep again after sickness is a tough task for a little guy.  Overall, I think we are back to normal...Thank Goodness!
Now for the much better, happy, exciting, and long awaited (since last October 6th) fun moment as of lately...Daniel's birthday!!!

Daniel turned 29-years-old on Thursday, October 6th, and Bentley and I had a wonderful time shopping and trying to make him some special things.  Daniel mentioned a while back that he wanted a new golf bag, so Bentley and I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got him just that.  Although, we didn't know exactly what we were looking for, so we got a pretty blue bag.  There's a pretty good chance Daniel will take it back and swap if for one that is exactly what he wants.  I told Bentley that was probably what would happen when we bought it, but it's the thought that counts.  So, to go along with the golf bag, we got Daniel some Alabama shorts (We call them sleeping shorts because they are Daniel's P.J.'s.), and we painted him a picture and made him a cake!  Here's the proof...

We didn't have the camera at home before eating cake on Daniel's birthday, so this was an "after the fact" shot of the cake.  Yellow cake with homemade fudge frosting...Daniel's favorite.

For the record...painting an infants hands and feet BY YOURSELF...not a good idea!  We got it done, but we also got paint on a few things in the process.  ha ha ha!  You'll also notice that the writing is not centered or angled correctly.  Bentley decided he was FINISHED while I was trying to do that, so I didn't get to take the time to get it just right.

The whole sha-bang! 

Daddy and Bentley after a nice birthday dinner.

Seriously...check out the big boy clothes.  So stylish!

We went to Mellow Mushroom Thursday night with Russ, Cyndel, and Coen, and we went to Carrabba's Friday night with Daniel's parents and Grandmother Frances.  Finally, we had everyone over to our house to watch the Bama game Saturday evening.  So, we had a busy, but fun-filled birthday weekend. 

Here's some more pictures we've taken recently.  Enjoy!

On a mission...to get Porsche.

That's pretty funny, Mommy!

Oops, I fell over.  I'm still working on this sitting thing.

Rubber Ducky, you're the one...

Giggles and grins, so much fun!

Hey guys, check out my shoes...they have strings!!

Sissy shoes are still okay at almost 6 months old, right??  They will have to be because he was so sweet in them.

Well, that's the latest, but we'll have another update very soon because Bentley will turn 6 MONTHS OLD on Tuesday!! We have a doctor's appointment for Thursday for his next well baby visit, so we'll definitely post after that.