Lately...

Well, I'm behind on quite a few happenings around the Bowling household.  For starters, Bentley had his first weekend stay away from home since he was 4 months old.  (With Mommy and Daddy of course.)  We went to Nashville for Daniel and Russ to run the Music City Half Marathon.  That's right...they ran 13.1 miles, and they are still alive.  We met Scott and Mary Catherine up there, as well, because they were also running in the race. 

Overall, it was a good trip, but Bentley was definitely affected by the change in routine.  He is usually asleep no later than 8:00, but on Friday night before the marathon, he didn't get in bed (pack-n-play) until after 10:00.  Then, to top that off, Daniel and Russ had to get up at 4:45, so Coen thought it was time to get up, too.  So....shortly after that (barely after 5:00), Bentley was also awake.  Hmmmm...7 hours of sleep compared to 11 hours of sleep...NOT EQUIVALENT.  In addition to having very little sleep, Bentley was also suffering from a double ear infection.  Poor guy!  I picked him up from school Thursday, and he was running a fever.  In the night that night, it got up to 103.3.  YIKES!  Daniel took him to the doctor on Friday, and it was confirmed...Double ear infection, so now we are going to the ENT on the 16th to see if he is going to need tubes.  This is his sixth ear infection, so I think he will need them.  Overall, Bentley did well.  He was a little grumpy from not feeling good and lack of sleep, but he was really good considering both of those things.  Here's a couple of pictures of the runners!

Here's the runners coming down Broadway.  Can you see Daniel and Russ??
Yeah, me neither!

We stood at the finish line for over an hour waiting to see the boys.  Once it started looking like this...we gave up!

Scott and Mary Catherine after the race.

Russ, Mary Catherine, Scott, and Daniel
They all look better than I would after running 13.1 miles!

After running, we walked back to our room for the boys to shower and rest. 

Resting with Daddy, right before drifting off to sleep.

Then we headed to lunch.  We ate at a local brewery that was SOOOOO delicious!  I had the best pasta I've had in a LONG time!  Once we finished lunch, we said our goodbyes to Scott and MC, and we went on a horse and carriage ride downtown.  Bentley and Coen liked it a lot. 

Mommy, Daddy, and Bentley riding in the carriage...so much fun!

The heat was exhausting, and so was lack of sleep, so Cyndel, Coen, Bentley, and I headed to the hotel for a NAP!!!  Oh, how I loved my nap!  The boys were taking in the town while we were snoozing, but we met up again to eat dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.  After a much better night's sleep, we were ready to go on Sunday morning.  Cyndel and I had planned out the day already...we were going to the ZOO!  This was Bentley's first trip to the zoo, and he loved it.  We were there for about 4 hours, and he was good the whole time.  He did get a little antsy towards the end, but he was really tired, so I can't blame him for that.  Here's our pictures of Bentley's first trip to the zoo!

Bentley was asleep when we got to the zoo, so I managed to keep him asleep while getting him in the stroller for  quick nap.

Meerkat...this is Porsche's stance (how she stands when she begs).

Coen really enjoyed the Petting Zoo.

The flamingos were Bentley's favorite animal.  They got in a bit of a fight while we were watching, too.

Bentley is pointing at the flamingos here.  Too cute.

This is the face I got when he realized I was pointing the camera at him.

Coen was "reading the map."

Looking at zebras.

Mommy's big boy!

The Fortenberry Family...if you look really closely behind Coen, you can see Cyndel's belly.
Say, "Hi," Reese!

The Bowling Family on the Choo Choo Train

Bentley loved riding the train!

What does an elephant say?
ROLL TIDE!

Mommy and Bentley feeding the birds.

We had such at good time, and I think Bentley loved it!  I'm so glad he had a chance to enjoy the zoo!

That's about it for now.  I have a ton of updates on Bentley, but it's so close to his 13 month post that I think I'll wait to update all of that stuff.  Although...here is a clip of his biggest milestone yet.  Bentley started walking when he was 1 year, 1 week, and 1 day old.  Here's a clip of the first couple of days walking.  He was really wobbly and slow, but those days are gone.  He's getting faster and steadier each day.

Have a great week!