Happy Anniversary!

It's hard to believe, but on the 17th of December, Daniel and I had been married for six years.  I feel like we've grown so much in the last six years together, and I wouldn't trade that time for the world.  I remember the weekend mornings when we first got married, living in our apartment.  We would wake up, read the paper in bed, fix a quick breakfast, and have breakfast in bed (since we didn't have a table yet. :)  We had all the time in the world to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. 

Now, things are so different, but still so wonderful.  We wake up to a beautiful, sweet baby boy, quickly get into our new morning routine, eat every meal at the table, and plan everything to a "t" when we want to go somewhere or do something.  It seems as though our lives have gone in a completely opposite direction than where we were going 6 years ago, but that's the beauty of life.  I am happier than I've ever been, and I love our life together.  I wouldn't change a thing.

So, to my wonderful husband...

You are the love of my life, my best friend, and the best father in the world.  It is my hope that our son grows up to be just like you.  If he does, his wife will be the luckiest and happiest girl in the world.  I love you!!

8 Months Old

We are a week late with this post, but better late than never! :)  Bentley is growing so fast; I can't believe my eyes.  Part of me wants him to learn more, do more, and grow fast, but the bigger part of me is begging him to STOP GROWING!  I feel like I need to savor these moments we have now because I know they are short lived.  I know that every stage of life has its wonderful moments, but it seems like the current stage always has the best moments.  Some of my favorite moments...

• When I walk into the room, Bentley's face lights up as if it has been forever since he's seen me (even if it's only been a short moment).
• Bentley's reaction to Daniel is just as good...he LOVES his Daddy.  (The other night I started feeding Bentley while Daniel was still getting the table set for dinner, and Bentley was so fussy.  I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was wrong.  Finally, Daniel walked into the room, and all was well.  He just wanted his Daddy).
• I love his sweet expressions...happy, mad, confused, worried, and even sad...they are all SOOOO cute.
• I love that he wants me.  For so long, babies are pretty content to be held by anyone, but there comes a time when they have a preference.  While it's not always convenient, a part of me always wants to be wanted. 
• I love the way he plays with his toys and shakes them all the same way, as if he's examining each one to see how it's different than the rest. 
• I love that he lays his head on my chest when meeting someone new.  He gets a little bashful, and cuddles with me as if he knows I'll keep him safe. 

I could go on and on and on and on, but I can't write about every single thing I love...we'd be here for days.  At eight months old, Bentley is so much fun. He's learning more and more each day, and Daniel and I sometimes just sit and laugh at some of things Bentley does.  Here's a list of some of the things Bentley has started doing over the last month:

• His favorite word: "Da da da da da da da da"  (of course).  Can you say, "Mama?"  Bentley responds , "Da da da da da."  Stinker!
• His new trick:  "Do you have a bad cough?"  He will try his best to make a coughing sound.  He doesn't do this as much anymore, but for a couple of weeks, he would do it on command really well.
• If you bang on something (with you hand or a toy), he will copy you without missing a beat.
• He's working on finding his tongue.  This takes a lot of concentration and lots of silly faces and sounds from Mommy and Daddy, but he sometimes sticks his tongue out for us.
• He goes from sitting to his hands and knees SOOOO well, as if he's going to crawl, and then....SPLAT!  He falls to his belly.  He has made forward progress (with two crawls) a couple of times, but nothing consistent.  I'm honestly not really sure he will ever crawl.  I won't be surprised if he goes straight to walking. 
• He can pull himself up to standing on a person, the laundry basket, and in his bathtub.  (Nothing else is quite the right height, I don't suppose.)

Bentley hasn't had a doctor's visit since 7 months, so there's no updates there.  That is, unless he goes to the doctor tomorrow for the terrible cold he's fighting.  He's been sick since Friday, and he started running a fever yesterday, so we might head to the doctor tomorrow.  We'll see how he does tonight and in the morning.

I don't have a lot of pictures to post, but here's what we do have.  Now that I'm off work for the holidays, I'll try to be better about taking pictures and posting. 

 

After battling his cold and getting very little sleep, he still managed to be super cute and so sweet after waking up in the morning.

By the way...we have a new family member here are the Bowling residence.  You 'll hear more about him at a later date...his name is Eli.

As you can see, Eli is a little mischievous.  While he tends to get into things, he reminds us daily that he is the one with Santa Claus on speed dial, so we better be good!

WAAAAYYYYYY Behind...Sorry!

Hello everyone!  As you all must know, this time of year is CRAZY!  While we need to slow down and celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas, it almost always turns into hustle, bustle, wild, and crazy times. 

Here's a few moments I've failed to post in the last month.

Bentley's 1st Thanksgiving

I had intended to get lots of photos of his 1st Thanksgiving, but I was the cook, so it didn't work out for me. :)  We cooked at my house on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and went to Daniel's grandmother's house on Thanksgiving day.  Here's the few pictures I did get of this special time that was spent with our loving families.

A delicious Thanksgiving dinner...

Yummy, Delicious, Oh-So-Good Green Beans
(with balsamic vinegar, red wine, bacon, and onion)

Daniel's smoked turkey...it's becoming famous!

Who needs toys when you have water bottles? 
Playing at Grandmother's in the floor

Happy Family on a Happy Thanksgiving Day

Decorating for Christmas

On the day after Thanksgiving, we decided to get into the holiday spirit.  The tree went up, the garland went up, Christmas towels came out, and Christmas lists were made.  Here again, I didn't get to take as many pictures because we were so involved in decorating.  Bentley loved putting up the tree.  I carried him in his pouch as we put the ornaments on, so he had a great time.  Bentley also has his own little tree that is in his room.  He was so funny about it at first.  He wanted to touch it, but he was a little afraid of it, too.  Here's a  few pictures of him and his little tree.

Hey Mommy, what's in this box?

I though you said this was a little tree for me???

I want to touch it...no, wait, it's fuzzy.  Oh, I want to touch it...I just can't!  Okay, okay...here goes!

Santa's Village...Part I and II

We went to Santa's Village on a Saturday night (dumb idea, Mommy).  The weather was perfect...chilly, but not too cold, no rain, a little windy, but it still felt Christmas-y.  We got to meet two of Santa's reindeer, see the toys being made in the toyshop, go into the sleigh bell market, and even see snow (not real snow, of course).  What was the one thing we didn't get to do...MEET Santa!!  The line was SOOOO long.  There was no way Bentley was going to be able to wait that long.  It literally was going to take HOURS to get through the line.  So, we left and decided to go back on a weeknight.  We went back as soon as they opened on a drizzly, freezing night.  We waited in line for about 15 minutes, and THEN...we got to meet the BIG GUY!  Here's our pictures from both visits.

On the sleigh...

Bentley's saying "Giddy-up!"

Hey Frosty!

Bentley and Santa.  He did so good.  Bentley was a little nervous for about 10 seconds, and then he warmed up to Santa.  We were so excited!

SOOOO Sweet!

Okay, Santa, I want a basketball goal, a rocking firetruck, a singing dog, a caterpillar book, and maybe even some clothes!!!  Can you make it happen, Big Guy?  Mommy said I'm on the NICE list!  Are you on Mommy's nice list, too?

After seeing Santa, it was playtime at home. 



Bentley loves to stand up ALL THE TIME!!



Coen Turns THREE!!!

Coen, our nephew, turned three years old on December 10th.  We spent Friday night, the 9th, at Chucky Cheese.  Bentley loved the lights and sounds, and he even liked Chucky.  Here's a few pictures we took with my phone while we were there.

Bentley loved Chucky Cheese.

He was so sweet with him.

 Coen's party was at the Sports Center in Arab, and all the kids had a blast, including Bentley. We jumped on the trampoline, played in the tunnel, and rolled around on the mats. He also had his first taste of ice cream while we were there. HE LOVED IT!

Bentley loved playing on all the equipment and mats.  His favorite was the tunnel, but Daniel and I were both playing so we couldn't take a picture...Sorry!

I think he was a little queasy from all the rocking.

Coen had SOOOO many great presents to open.

I love this excited face!

Lewis Family Christmas

Daniel's Grandmother Frances, has a huge family that always gets together at Christmastime.  This year was no different.  We had yummy snacks, family fellowship, and a great game of Dirty Santa.  Bentley's first Lewis Family Christmas was a blast.  He was so good, and the family was so glad to get to see him. 

"The Lewis Sisters"
Grandmother Frances, Aunt Faye, Aunt Eula, Aunt Mary

Granddaddy Dave with the Grandkids
Bentley, Charlie, and Ruby Cate

Well, that's the Cliff Notes for the last month.  Now you're all caught up.  There's more to come because my sweet little boy just turned 8 MONTHS OLD!!! OH MY!  I'll post as soon as I can...I promise it won't be this long.