Thursday, December 16, 2010

Holiday Pictures

Here are Bennett's school picture and the boys' picture with Santa. I'm wondering how they got Bennett to give such a good smile because we sure can't get one around here.

6 Weeks Old!

Lachlan is getting big...he's around 10-11 lbs (we got a new scale and I'm not sure its entirely accurate). We're having our challenges. While he doesn't have colic, he is a bear to put to sleep at night. During the day, he usually goes down for naps pretty well, but for the last week, every night is 2 hours of intermittent crying before he finally falls asleep for good. I think he just wants to stay up with the rest of the family. :-)






Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving

The Wheaton family came up to visit us in Fort Worth. Bennett had a great time with his cousin, Natalia, and it gave us a much needed break from entertaining him. The kids got to watch the parade from Grammy and Pop Pop's hotel room, and then we went down into the street to see the giant Christmas tree lighting.







Friday, November 19, 2010

Truck World



Bennett loves trucks and got a chance to climb into a few last weekend in Dallas.

Three Halloweens

Bennett had fun this Halloween. It is becoming the favorite holiday in our house. Here are a few pics of Bennett in three different costumes.

Buzz Lightyear

PirateSuperman

Swingin'


Somewhere there is a pic of Bennett in this swing. They sure do look alike.

proof



Thursday, November 11, 2010

Lachlan's Birth Story

I was writing the story to some friends so I decided to copy and paste it here. By the way, Lachlan's bilirubin level is starting to go down, so we are in the clear. All is well.

And now to the delivery story:
Bennett came down with an ear infection about 4 am Thursday morning or at least he was complaining about his ear, so I wanted to get him into the doc immediately b/c I've been having contractions that have been getting stronger and stronger for the last couple of weeks and that morning I woke up and had some blood which signals cervical changes, so I was pretty sure Lachlan was coming in the next few days. I had a 9:15 midwife appt and sure enough, when the midwife checked me, I was 2-3 cm dilated and 60% effaced. My midwife said "I dont' think it will be this weekend, but probably next week sometime." Now, this was my first time being checked b/c the midwives didn't want to stir anything up and have me deliver too early. I talked to the midwife about how to know I was really in labor given my contractions up until this point and she said that she would want to see me having contractions about 5 min. apart for 2 hrs before I came to the hospital. Great. Bennett's birth took 16 hrs and I stayed home for the first 5 hrs waiting until my contractions were steady, so I knew the drill, or at least I thought I did.
Then, I ran back to work for about 45 min and I was starting to feel crampy, but that is pretty normal when you get checked b/c the midwife is feeling all on your cervix, so I didn't think anything. I picked Bennett up and took him to his 11:15 pediatrician appt and sure enough, an ear infection. He also had a fever, so the ped said I should bring him home for the afternoon and not send him back to school. I hadn't expected the fever, so I was expecting to go back into the office. I had some last minute things to tie up that day, like my time and attendance, so I figured I'd just swing by and finish up with Bennett in tow. At the ped's office, I was starting to have contractions that I could tell were actual contractions, but I was still walking around, talking through them, no problem, so I just thought they were like the ones I had been having for the past month.
Bennett and I ran into Jack in the Box, grabbed lunch, took it to my office, where I finished up and closed out. About 12:30, I called Arty and told him that these contractions were getting stronger, so I thought they now for real and that we would probably have a baby that evening or soon and could he come home with me (we carpool) so he could go get B's medicine. He agreed. We all left work at 1 pm. As I was in the car, I was starting to have some steady contractions that were about 6 min or so apart (Arty timed the 2 that I had in the car).
So, he dropped me and B off at home. We put B down for his nap and Arty left to go get the meds. I called my doula and told her that I thought that I was offically in labor and she said to relax and call her in about 2 hrs so we could evaluate where we were at and whether she should come over to the house b/c at this point, we were both still expecting I would labor at home for awhile. I got in the shower for awhile and then laid down on my bed. The contractions were strong, but nothing unmanageable. Then, Arty got home about 2 pm and there were some strange guys out front, so he called the police to report suspicious activity (we've had some break-ins in our neighborhood lately) and I was just laying down in the back. Then I decided I needed to pee (a full bladder can make the contractions hurt worse, so I knew I should empty my bladder). As I went to get off the bed, I had a really powerful contraction and I was like, WHOA--that was strong. Then, as I tried to pee, I had another and I was starting to feel the need to push which I didn't think was supposed to happen yet. Then, the contractions started to really pick up. I started talking to Arty and he decided to start trying to make arrangements to have Bennett picked up. In the meantime, B woke up and we had to have a little pep talk with him and hugs all around b/c he didn't like to see his mommy in pain and moaning (which was all very controlled and all--moaning, not unlike a cow in a low tone, is supposed to help with natural delivery...I had read up. LOL!) I also had Arty call my doula (which it had only been about 1.5 hrs since I had last spoken to her) and he told her about my need to push and she said get back in the shower to relax and she'd be here soon. As Arty is making all these phone calls, I start to realize that I think I'm in transition b/c the contractions are getting unmanageable where a woman starts shaking her head back and forth and thinking, "I can't do this anymore." I was having a harder time fighting the urge to bear down. I got the water in the shower going, stripped to just a cami, and stepped into the shower. As I stepped in, I suddenly had a massive contraction, my water broke (lucky for me, it was inside the shower), and I could NOT control my urge to bear down. I knew we were about to have the baby. I yelled for Arty to call 911 NOW! The 911 operator heard me contracting in the background and started to prepare Arty to deliver the baby (which freaked him out of course). They had me get out of the slippery shower and out into our bedroom. I was on all fours on a towel in our room and the paramedics and fire dept showed up, about 5 guys standing around, trying to talk me into getting on the stretcher, but I was having one contraction after another and pushing and I told them it wasn't happening. Then, the main paramedic started to get pushier with me and told me he couldn't deliver the baby like that, he couldn't see, etc and I HAD to get on my back. Yeah right...I've read enough (and delivered that way before) to know that that is NOT the easiest way to deliver a baby, so I told him no, people had babies like this all the time and he'd be OK. Arty stepped in and started talking to me, and finally my contractions abated for a few minutes so I could catch a breath and get onto the stretcher. The neighbor who Arty finally got ahold of to come get Bennett showed up as the paramedics are wheeling me out of the house and into the ambulance. The plan was for Arty to follow behind the ambulance b/c they wouldn't let him sit in the back anyway. He got into the car, but the ambulance didn't move, so he knew something was up. And he ran over and came into the ambulance just in time to see his son being born.
What happened inside the ambulance was that as soon as they got me in, I told them I was having another contraction. As the paramedic said, "I looked away for something and turned around and the head was coming out!" The next contraction I pushed the rest of Lachlan out (mind you, Bennett took 1 hr and 45 min to push out). They cut the cord and I held Lachlan as we drove to the hospital. We never even got a chance to leave the front drive. :-) Everyone was completely healthy. And THAT is the birth story. It basically took 3 hrs total from the start of me knowing I was having actual labor pains to delivery. Lachlan was born at 3:23 pm.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The brothers



Mom with her boys


So far so good. Lachlan is sleeping more each day, but that doesn't keep Bennett from asking "why is he crying now" or "what's he doing". Bennett seems amazed.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Lachlan





Bennett's baby brother is here. Crazy story to come, but this is the paramedic that delivered him in the ambulance in front of the house.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

It's Dancey Dance Time

Bennett doing the Mini Spinney followed by the Yo Gabba Gabba version. Too cute.



Sean Kingston

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Circus and Preschool

This was Bennett's first week of preschool. He loves it. No tears, no asking for his old teachers, just lots of fun. Everyday he tells me "Mom, they have a computer!" I've already talked to the teachers about not letting him be on the computer all day. He likes playing with the older boys and really loves the preschool playground and the scooters. I've also added a picture from the circus from a couple of weeks ago. He had a great time at the "GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!" I can't believe he's going to be 3 next week. My baby is definitely not a baby anymore.





Monday, July 19, 2010

Trying out his little brother's stuff

Bennett is in the midst of taking the next big leap into big kid-dom: potty-training. He's doing a great job! However, he's not above trying out all the baby's stuff before he arrives. Its amazing to compare him in the carseat with the pictures from him as a baby, sitting in that same exact carseat. He's really growing up.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Friday, July 9, 2010

Woefully neglectful 4th of July photographer!

We went to Houston for the long 4th of July weekend and introduced Bennett to the wonders of James Coney Island. He acquired a "hot dog man" mask which turns him into a superhero, which he loves (and put on every time we got into the car during our stay). We had gone to Discovery Green, an awesome park/splash park in downtown Houston for the morning before we stopped into James Coney. These pictures were taken within 10 minutes of one another, so I think Bennett might have worn himself out. Other than these, I think Arty took a picture of Bennett playing tea party with McKenna and Natty and some of Bennett at the splash park, and that is all we have of the 4th weekend. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and Bennett LOVES spending time with his cousins and Houston family and friends. And these pictures show Bennett exactly 2 months before his 3rd birthday! He's definitely mama's big boy now!!




Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Handy Bennett

So, Bennett adores Handy Manny, which, until recently has been relegated to a love of Handy Manny on TV. However, upon a recent trip to SuperTarget in which Mommy was on a very long phone call, bought herself the new Sarah McLachlan CD and STILL needed to grocery shop on the other side of the store, Bennett was the lucky recipient of a talking Handy Manny doll that came with all Handy Manny's tools! And now Bennett can fix random objects just like Handy Manny!! Now, we find the tools doing all sorts of work around our house...I guess I should just count my blessings that he hasn't started trying to take the dogs apart yet.



Saturday, June 19, 2010

No crib for a bed


we're out at concerts in the garden and our poor child's bed is his wagon. Oh well, jesus did it nd he turned out fine, right?


Monday, May 31, 2010

Let the summer begin!

Our first watermelon of the year, and Bennett was so excited to cut into it! You can see from the pictures that he LOVES watermelon. We're ready for the summer!



Thursday, May 13, 2010

More Pictures

Until Arty does his fancy slideshow, here is my flickr acct so you can see more pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12523720@N00/

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bennett is in heaven


Buzz Lightyear to the rescue.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Character meets


Bennet has loved meeting all his favorite characters.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Just met mickey

Bennett is having so much fun. We met mickey and he kept wanting to go back. Check out those ears.

teacups


Having a great time. We are in line to have lunch with tigger now. it's hot, but we are having fun.

we're on our way


Bennett has been super excited on this trip. We are on our way to magic kingdom, complete with mickey ears.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Transition to Big Boy Bed


The transition from crib to toddler bed has so far been a success. Except for some early morning waking (he was waking up around 6 and now is waking around 5), he is doing great. We've begun the discussion on how the crib is going to leave his room to make more space for toys, and he seems OK with it, but we are going to wait a bit and not push it. He is also doing great with potty-training. He uses the potty all day at school, and just needs a diaper in the evenings to poop. :-) We'll get there. Next week we leave for Disneyworld. We'll be posting pictures from our phone so you can see pictures in real time! Gotta love technology.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Easter 2010

First, we had the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Then came Easter morning where the Easter bunny left Bennett's basket filled with toys and candy, and finally Bennett found the eggs the Easter bunny had left in his backyard. He was on the move the entire time, so this is the closest we got to a picture of his face. This boy can run now!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Testing mobile blogger


Bennett got his face painted at Main St Fest here in Fort Worth.