Newborn Pictures

I already posted that Bentley's newborn pictures were taken on Saturday, when he was 5 days old.  A friend of ours, Sean Harrison, and his friend Bekah.  They were so sweet to come to our house, so we didn't have to get Bentley out an about just yet.  We got some AMAZING shots (you already saw the bunny shots on the Easter post), and I was so pleased to capture the innocence beauty of my sweet new baby.  Those first days pass so fast, and babies grow so fast that it was important to Daniel and me to capture those memories while we could. 

We had a space heater that kept the room at a steamy temperature (somewhere in the 80's), so Bentley was comfortable in all his sweet naked pictures.  Check these out...I melt everytime I see them.

I hope you enjoyed your peek at my baby boy!  There will be more posts to come, so stay posted! :)

My First Graduation!



Bentley here...I just thought I would update you on my weekend.  First, here's a big smile for all of you! 

Check out this cute gummy smile...I have more where that came from!! :)







Now that you got a smile...here's what we did this weekend.

Aunt Cyndel and Raven graduated from college on Saturday.  They both attended Athens where they got business degrees.  We are so proud of them, so to show our support, we went to their graduation on Saturday morning.  (The graduation was in Athens at 9:00, so we left home at 7:30.  This was our first early morning outing since I was born...Mommy and Daddy did really good, and we were ready early.)  This was my first graduation to attend, and I did so good.  My granddaddy held me, and I slept the whole time.  Here's a few pictures of us after the big event.

Cyndel and Raven are all decked out in their caps and gowns. 

Here's all of us "kids."  Coen and I are the only ones left to graduate.

Coen decided to get a head start with graduating...he tried on Aunt Raven's gown.  I think he'll need a smaller size...what do you think?

After graduation, everyone (ALL of Cyndel and Raven's family), went to eat at Cracker Barrel.  YUMMMMMM!  Mommy fed me in the car before she ate, so I was a happy little boy at Cracker Barrel.  On the way home, Daddy took us through all the tornado damage in Madison/Harvest.  It was awful.  It's hard to believe that all of that actually happened.  We are still keeping all of the people affected by April's Fury in our thoughts and prayers.

Saturday's busy day was followed by a normal Sunday.  Mommy, Daddy, and I went to church, and Daddy played golf...that's the norm this time of year.  Because it was a little cool, I got to wear my adorable day gown.  I was so handsome!!  I did really good in church for the third time since I was born.  I slept through the whole service until the very end when I decided I needed to poop.  Mommy and Aunt Cyndel got tickled at me when I was grunting really loud during the prayer.  Hey...you gotta do what you gotta do, right?  Mommy decided to take some pictures of me when we got home. 

I wasn't really wanting to give up my paci...it was time to eat, and I was trying to wait until the "photo shoot" was over.

Mommy tried to take my paci out for a couple of pictures...I didn't like that idea very much.

Ahhhh...that's better.  (She gave my paci back.)

We decided to take a quick break from pictures for me to eat lunch.  I was much happier after that!

Here's my happy face! :)

Mommy thought this was a really sweet look on my face.  I was so pleasant, and I really enjoyed looking out my window.

I was trying to make a kissy face!

I was cooing at Mommy right here, and she was cooing back at me.  Isn't that silly??

While we were taking all these pictures my sister, Porsche was trying to play with me.  She used to ignore me all the time, but now she follows me and Mommy everywhere.  She likes to play in my room, and I think she likes me know.  Here's a few pictures of us trying to play together.

Porsche was stretching out on my blanket.  I think she was trying to be long like me.

Mommy thought Porsche was really cute, so she had her pose for a picture.

Porsche brought me her bone.  I think she thinks I can throw it, but I haven't learned to do that yet.  I like to hear her squeak her toys, so she does that a lot.

After taking my picture, Mommy and I changed from our church clothes into lounging around clothes.  Mommy has on sweat pants and a t-shirt, and I have on my All-Star outfit.  "Casual but Cute..." that's what Mommy said as she changed me.  What do you think?

I like my lounging clothes, but not as much as I like looking out my window!!

Enjoy the update...I'll stay in touch!

Love,
Bentley

One Month Old and GROWING!!

I've really been slacking on posting and taking pictures of my baby.  I think I need to hire someone to follow us around with a camera.  First of all, I never have the camera where I need it.  Second, I never can get a picture of what I want when it happens.  Third, I'm too busy watching what Bentley is doing to even think about taking pictures.  I promise to be better about this from now on.  Here's a basic update on Bentley in the last month...

Born on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 7:34 pm. 
Weight: 6 pounds 1 ounce
Length: 18 1/2 inches

Here's a picture of Bentley less than 24 hours after birth.

He spent all of his time eating, sleeping, and pooping.  We rarely saw his eyes for the whole first week he was here.  After that, he started having a little more awake time.  At his 4 day check-up, he was down to 5 pounds 10 ounces, and still a little jaundice.  Overall, he was  healthy, though.

At his two week check up, Bentley weighed in at 6 pounds 4 ounces, which surpassed his birth weight.  WooHoo!!  This meant that he was getting plenty to eat, so there was no need for supplementing with anything.  We were lucky...we never had to give him any formula at all.  He took to nursing very well, and so did I for the most part. :)  Not only had he gained 10 ounces in 10 days at this check-up, but he had grown 1 1/2 inches.  My itty bitty baby is growing so fast!!

While at the 2 week check-up, we asked the doctor about a tub bath since Bentley's umbilical cord had recently fallen off, and we also asked about sleeping arrangements.  He had been sleeping in his pack-n-play in our room for the first two weeks, and the doctor said that the earlier the better for transitioning him to his crib.  So, we went home prepared for him to have his first real bath and try out his crib that night.  So, two weeks old was a big day for Bentley!

Bentley took a nap in his crib that afternoon to see how he did in his crib.  As you can see, he's sleeping like a baby! :)

Check out my big boy!  He's sleeping all by himself in his crib! 

Here is Bentley's first bath!  I don't think he loved it, but he certainly didn't hate it.  He did really good, and didn't cry at all.

Rub-a-dub-dub...baby boy in the tub!

Bentley did amazing in his crib that night.  I laid him down really drowsy, and he whined for short time and then cried for about 3 or 4 minutes.  Then, VOILA...he was asleep.  (I should probably tell you that was the longest 3 or 4 minutes of my life while he was crying.)  I felt like a horrible mom, but as soon as he went to sleep, I felt like we had done the right thing.  He slept really well, and only woke up to eat every 3 hours.  After each feeding, he went right back to sleep.  YEAH! 

Two days later, April's Fury took place.  April 27, 2011 will always be known as the horrible day of the tornado outbreaks.  Luckily, no tornadoes came too close to our home, and none of our family was hurt.  We had a couple of family members that to deal with downed trees, but that was the worst of it.  Sadly, though, one of Daniel's coworkers was hit hard.  Five of her family members, including one of her 17 month old twins were killed by a tornado.  My heart still breaks for her each day.  I cannot imaging losing family members to such a disaster, but I especially cannot imagine losing a child.  Her other child is currently in the hospital with injuries, but she's improving each day.  Thank God for that.  Though it seems so cruel, God has a plan, and there is a reason that this happened.  His grace will see their family through this tragedy, and it makes the rest of us cherish what we still have.

Here is one of the storms coming in from a distance.

Here is one of the tornadoes forming.  This was the one that ran through the north side of Huntsville.

 As you may know, there was a massive power outage after the storms.  We lost power Wednesday afternoon, and we didn't get it back until Sunday afternoon.  Luckily, we have some really great friends in Tennessee that offered up their generator to us.  We were able to run the refrigerator, small appliances (coffee makers), the T.V., and phone and computer chargers off of that.  Russ, Cyndel, and Coen stayed with us from Thursday until Monday, and Keith and Raven stayed one night as well.  We cooked on the grill, and boiled water for baths on the grill and in the coffee makers.  That was a long four days, and we are so thankful that the power is back. 

We backtracked a little during that time.  Because we had no power and we didn't want to disturb everyone staying with us, Bentley slept in our room in his pack-n-play again during that time.  Overall, everything went well, but I think all the commotion got him a little out of whack.  He was really fussy for those few days, but he seemed to go back to normal after the power came back on and everything was back to normal. 

Here are Coen and Bentley laying in Bentley's gym.  Aren't they cute?!

My two boys side by side!  Too Cute!!

Today is May 11. 2011.  Bentley was due last Thursday, May 5th, but he's been here for quite some time now.  Bentley is officially one month old, and he's growing so much.  I haven't weighed him or measured him since his two week check-up, but I can tell he's grown a lot.  He seems so long to me now, and he's so much more alert.  He's awake a lot of the time, and he's starting to smile real smiles.  He's always smiled as he's falling asleep, but now he's starting to smile in response to me acting like a  monkey.  Ha ha! :)  He also recognizes faces and stares at us as we hold him.  It is so neat to think that he's mine.  I have a baby...an adorable baby that I love so much!  Here are some pictures I took this morning...ONE MONTH OLD!!



Look how long he is!  My big boy!!

He was looking out the window in his room from the changing table.

Here he is trying to smile.  I was tickling him and talking silly...I think he liked it.  :)

Check out my t-shirt!  "I Love My Daddy"

Napping in the crib...ZZZzzzzzz
We've started using a paci at times, so here he is with a MASSIVE paci in his mouth.

Daddy came home for lunch and got some Baby Time in.  Bentley was lounged out and sleeping good.

As a recap of the first month of Bentley's life...here's what I've learned about him.

Likes:

• To be held up on your shoulder (burping position).
• Bath time, as long as it doesn't interfere with eating time.
• Bouncy seat, especially when it vibrates and sings.
• Swinging.
• Laying by himself...he doesn't always want to be held.
• Windows and light...He loves laying on his changing table with the blinds open.
• Clean diapers...dirty diapers make him really mad.
• The vacuum cleaner and hairdryer...they put him to sleep every time!
• Meal time! 

Dislikes:

• Dark...We have a nightlight in his room because he has a come apart if it's really dark.
• Dirty diapers...and he tends to dirty them at least 6-8 times a day, maybe more.
• Diaper changes, though he does much better with warm wipes.
• Being held like a baby (cradle hold) unless he's REALLY sleepy or eating.

That's all I can think of right now...I guess it's good that the likes outweigh the dislikes.  I think we are finally updated, and I'll try to do a better job of taking pictures and posting more often.  I'm not making any promises. :)

We are so blessed to have our sweet little family!  I love my life!! :)

Baby Dedication & Mother's Day

Bentley's dedication to the Lord was on Mother's Day when he was one day shy of 4 weeks old.  He was the youngest baby of all the babies dedicated this year.  We are members of Whitesburg Baptist Church in Huntsville, and we love our church.  Brother Jimmy is a wonderful pastor, and we always enjoy his sermons.  We are proud and excited to raise Bentley in Whitesburg, and we know he'll receive all the love and knowledge of Christ to become a wonderful man of God.

Here we are with Bro. Jimmy.  We didn't get any good close-ups of all of us, so this is the best I could do!

After church the family went to eat at Logan's for lunch.  Daniel and I gave our moms photo collage frames of Bentley's newborn pictures.  I have been wanting a porch swing since we got our first house about 4 years ago, so after lunch, Daniel, Bentley, and I went shopping for a porch swing for me for Mother's Day.  After lots of searching, we found one at Marvin's in Arab.  It was unfinished wood, so we got some paint, and Daniel assembled it, painted it, and hung it Sunday evening.  All three of us spent a while swinging, which put Bentley right to sleep by 7:45.  I'll post some pictures of us swinging later. 

I really enjoyed my first Mother's Day.  I love my swing, and my hubby made sure that I enjoyed my day.  I LOVE my little family!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from my little bunny!!
(This photo was taken by Sean Harrison, Fine Light Photography.)

Baby Bunny is snoozing!

Okay...I realize I am WAY late on this post and the others coming up, but that's just how it is at the Bowling residence these days.  Bentley decides when I get to blog, and it has taken the back seat to laundry, thank-you cards, and everything baby. 

Bentley was one day shy of 2 weeks old on Easter this year.  I searched all over Huntsville for an outfit that would fit him since all of his clothes were still too big.  I finally found the cutest outfit with a bunny on the front at The Laurel Tree.  It was hanging in the window, and after looking through everything in the store, we looked at that outfit that just happened to be a Preemie size.  Yippee!!  Check it out...he was so adorable.

Here he is in his itty bitty outfit.  If you double click on the picture, you can zoom to see the cute bunny on the front.  I knew when I found this cute little number that it would be PERFECT for my little bunny!!

Here's another shot that Daniel played around with.  Bentley was catching some rays for these pictures.

Here's the happy family.  Mommy, Daddy, and Bentley! :)

We went to Daniel's grandmother's after church and enjoyed a yummy lunch.  Grandmother Frances was excited to have all her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids there.  Here's a cute picture of Grandmother with the Great-Grandbabies.

Here is Grandmother with Charlie (3), Ruby Cate (1), and Bentley.

Now, you may remember me saying that Cyndel and I were shopping on the day that Bentley was born.  I was getting stuff to make a cute Easter table scape and wreath.  I finally got to put it all together about 3 days before Easter.   Here's some photos of what I had time to do.

I made my table runner using Eastery fabric and stitchery witchery.  Coen helped me pick out the fabric...it had to have a lot of pink! :)

I got this cute Easter Egg tree at Old Time Pottery.

If you don't remember, I didn't want anything sweet during me pregnancy.  Now that Bentley is here, I crave sweets ALL the time.  I think I ate about half the bag of Reese's Pieces Easter Eggs while working on this. 
(Coen thinks they are marbles.  That's what we had to tell him so he wouldn't try to eat them all.)

Here's my wreath.  I got the pretty sparkly eggs at Hobby Lobby...I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Overall, we had a great Easter.  I totally forgot to take a picture of Bentley's Easter basket, but he shared it with his Daddy and sister (Porsche) this year.  Bentley got an Easter book, Daniel got a polo shirt, and Porsche got a pink squeaky monkey.  I got myself some Snicker Eggs to fulfill my sweet tooth.  :)

Happy Easter to everyone!!