What's He Up To?

After some rain earlier in the day, Bennett decided to lap up the water that was leftover on his picnic table--too funny!

Weekend Project

Last week, after a successful trip to the potty, Bennett was saying "bye-bye" to the contents and watching it swirl down the drain--it seems to be his favorite part of the potty process. As he watched the water go down, he felt the need to throw his school bus puzzle piece down with it. Before Aunt Kelly could reach it, the puzzle piece had disappeared. The toilet seemed to be flushing fine at first, but that changed quickly. Ryan attempted to push it out of the toilet without success. We hoped the piece would begin to dissolve and work it's own way out--but it was just too thick. So, he ended up taking the toilet off and was able to locate where the puzzle piece was stuck, reached in, and got it out. Plumbing crisis fixed, although this project was not without 2 trips to Menards and a lot of frustration!

Time for the Fair!

Last weekend, a nearby city had it's annual fair. We went last year, and Bennett seemed to like the animals, so we headed back. Now that he knows some of his animals and their sounds, we thought he'd like it even more!

At first, he called everything "puppy" but soon got the hang of some of their names. He loved the "piggies!" We took some time to get funnel cake, which he seemed to like--how could you not! Then we watched some of the carnival rides which made my stomach turn. I am not suited to riding on rides that go round and round and upside down! We stopped to watch a kid's music program and though Bennett would enjoy moving and groovin' to the music, but he was incredibly serious the entire time. Last, we headed over to the race track (no, I do not like racing) but it was interesting to see the cars going that fast around the track and how much noise they made!

No fair is complete without a picture on a cow!

A New Crib For A New Baby

Since Bennett's crib was recalled, we needed to purchase a new crib, which was perfect! At least the new baby will have one thing that belongs just to him!

Bennett enjoyed helping Daddy put baby brother's crib together. It took us a few days to complete, but it is all done and ready for baby #2 to sleep in it!

Potty Training in Full Gear!

Since starting our experiment with the potty, we have been having great success! It took only a few days for Bennett to figure out what he was supposed to do. He is now going anywhere between 2 and 4 times a day on the potty and he will even tell us sometimes when he needs to go!

Bennett enjoys reading a book while sitting on the potty!

Here is Bennett enjoying his sucker after a successful trip to the potty!

Blast From The Past

This picture was taken about 2 1/2 years ago at a friend's surprise 40th birthday party and right after my endometriosis surgery--just two months before I got pregant with Bennett. Ryan and I haven't changed much, but how much our lives have changed and will continue to change in the next few months!!! When we first got married, our plan was to have kids right away. As many of you know, that wasn't the path we were meant to take. I am so grateful for the 5 years we had prior to having kids--it was great to go where we wanted, when we wanted, and continue to get to know each other. But now that we have Bennett and a baby on the way, I wouldn't take it back for anything! I love being a mom, although there are some days I secretly wish I was child-less for the day--only when he screams, cries, and clinges :-) This was the journey I wanted--just now quite the way I expected. It only reminds me that I am not in charge of this journey, and that's okay with me!

Another Bennett Update

Today, we headed to the clinic. I had my 30 week check-up--gained 6 pounds in the last 3 weeks--yikes! Things are going well, though. Baby's moving a TON! He never seems to stop. After my appointment, we headed downstairs to see the endocrinologist for Bennett. Not much to share in terms of what's going to be done, but we got a lot of information. Our next step is to have a growth hormone test done. Before, they checked a hormone that is available 24-7 and it is an indicator of hormone problems, but is dependent on nutrition. The test we will we do in August tests the growth hormone level that is being released from the pituatary gland--which is released in spurts--and makes it difficult to catch at the right moment. We will go in and have Bennett fast for 4 hours. They will hook him up to an IV, give him a medication that will lower his blood pressure slightly, and draw blood at 60 minutes and 90 minutes. We will receive the results about a week later. If things come back in the normal range, great! If not, the next step will be to do an MRI and look at his pituatary gland. If one of the two levels is below 10, we would qualify for growth hormone shots--thank goodness to be covered by insurance (runs roughly $35,000 a year!). But what it would require is a nightly shot until he stops growing--possibly 18 years or so. Like I said, we got a lot of information today and now we just have to wait and see what this next test shows. Hopefully, things will come back fine and in the normal range. If not, then we take it one step at a time--although giving shots every day doesn't sound like much fun. It was reassuring to hear that the side effects are minimal and rarely occur. The shots simply replace something that Bennett's body is not making. As soon as we get results from the test in August, I will make sure to post another update on his status!

18 Months and Smiling!

As promised, here are some of the pictures Bennett and I just had taken. I used the opportunity to get some 18 month pictures (he turned 18 months today!) and some maternity pictures. I didn't really want to have maternity ones taken, but then I decided it would be nice to have a few to remember the occassion by.

How sweet is this one???

By the time we got to pictures with me, he just was not in the mood to cooperate, but we managed to get a few cute ones before he ran out of the room--several times!

Happy 18 month celebration, buddy! We love you!

Finally!

We are up and running with a new camera so I'm super excited to share these pictures with you! Ever since we moved into our house 6 1/2 years ago, I have been itching for new flooring in the kitchen--mostly for the picture on the right. Every time I dropped a knife, it left a big gouge. Most of this time, I have thought I wanted ceramic tile, but I have since changed my mind.

Yesterday, we finally got our new flooring installed and I love it! Any guesses on what kind of flooring it is? It's not what I thought I'd want, but I loved the pattern and the coloring immediately. When the house was built, they laid the flooring and plopped the cabinets over the top. So, when they laid this flooring, they went right over the top of the old and added trim on the bottom of the cabinets--looks so good! Big sigh of relief to finally have this task checked-off my to-do list.

Just Chillin'

Bennett's new favorite thing? To sit in the refrigerator! It has been kind of hot lately and he plop down, drink his milk, and just chill!

Bummer!

Well, we are without a camera for a few days (only a few, I hope). But here's a few things that have been going on with us.



- We have finally decided on new flooring for our kitchen. I hope to do before and after pictures. I can't wait!!!



- We spent Fourth of July with family and friends. We headed to our neighborhood fireworks show and Bennett loved it! He was pointing and saying the color names. I'm hoping to get some pictures from Aunt Kelly so you can see what fun we had!



- We bought Bennett a potty and have been putting him on it--just to kind of start the process. But yesterday, he went for the first time on it! And this morning, he went again! I'm excited that he is starting to get the concept of going to the bathroom on the potty.



- Lastly, two cute stories that definitely needed pictures--but no camera available at the time.

1. I was in the shower and had Bennett in the bathroom with me. I kept peeking out to see how he was doing. At one point, I poked my head out to find the funniest sight! Bennett had gotten into the Q-tips and had placed one in his ear as he continued to dig through the rest of the box. I know it's not good that he's putting them in his ear by himself, but it was the cutest darn thing!



2. Later that morning, as I finished getting ready, I poke my head out of the bathroom to find Bennett sitting on the wooden bench by himself reading some e-mails that Ryan had sent me to himself. Again, I was upset that he had climbed on a box and gotten on the bench, but he looked so grown-up and innocent sitting on there!



That's it for now! Hope to have some pictures and a camera soon!

Bennett Update

As many of you have already read on my blog, there have been concerns with Bennett's lack of weight and height gain. We were told to start loading up on calories--lots of butter on everything! Gains were still minimal. After talking with my sister, we starting adding half and half into his milk and added Pediasure to his diet. Recently, we saw a nutrionist who had us take detailed notes about Bennett's diet for 3 days. Her conclusion--he is getting plently of calories. So, we went back to our pediatrician and he has finally hit 20 lbs. but he's still not where they would like him to be. Our doctor ran some more blood tests and found that his growth hormone is low--44 and the normal is 55-300+. In a few weeks, we will be meeting with the endocrinologist to determine if added growth hormone is necessary or if our little boy is just plain going to be little :-) I personally think he's just not blessed with big genes and is going to be a small kid. But I am glad that were are checking all these other avenues just in case. As always, I will try and keep everyone updated once we get more information. Ryan and I were joking if we should determine that the growth hormone is necessary and he meets all the requirements, we still may have some hope of making him a tall basketball player yet! Just kidding and it will certainly be a long discussion before any decisions are made. As for baby number 2, he seems to be doing well and growing well.