the mayor meets bennett

Today was the day I was anticipating. The Mayor was finally going to meet Bennett. We have been talking about Bennett all week with The Mayor and this morning I was really talking him up. I wanted to reiterate to The Mayor that we were going to see baby Bennett, that we needed to be quiet and very gentle with baby. The Mayor repeated all the "rules" on the way to see baby Bennett. When we got there, The Mayor was shy and sat in my lap watching Meega feed Bennett. Once The Mayor felt a little more comfortable, he ventured over to touch Bennett, talk to him and even kissed him. Then it was over. Bennett no longer interested The Mayor, but all of Bennett's toys did. The Mayor wanted to sit and rock in Bennett's vibrating rocker, turned the music and nightlight on and off on his pack-n-play, pushed his swing back and forth...all toys and products we have at our own home. But somehow, they were a lot more interesting at Meega's house. Every few minutes, The Mayor would venture back over to Bennett to kiss him, hug him or just look at him. Then it was off to play with the baby toys.

We went back over this evening so Uncle D could meet Bennett too. Since he had been out of town all week on business, this was his first opportunity to meet the sweet baby. Surprisingly, The Mayor wasn't jealous when his daddy was holding the baby. Whew...The Mayor wanted to sit next to him while he held the baby. The Mayor even wanted to show Bennett his dog-dog. So thankful he wanted to share and wasn't jealous...hopefully this will continue when our new addition arrives in March. I got a small glimpse into what my life will be like in a few months...tiring! Holding a newborn and tending to a 2 year old...all I can say is there is a reason why we have children while we are young. We need all the energy we can get!

All in all it was a great day. Although The Mayor didn't hold an interest for too long in regards to the baby, he did talk about him on the way home. For most of the car ride home, The Mayor kept repeating "bye Meega, bye J, bye Bennett", "bye Meega, bye J, bye Bennett". He loves his cousin...it is going to be so much fun watching these two sweet boys grow up together.

seeing Bennett for the first time

being silly

playing with Bennett's pack-n-play

giving his cousin a kiss

The Mayor showing Bennett "dog-dog"

Uncle D holding Bennett for the first time

new life

Our family is growing...Meega had her sweet baby boy today! Bennett Jeffrey came into this world on December 8, 2009 at 2:51 PM weighing 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He is precious.

Sweet Bennett...beautiful baby...only several hours old and already so loved. We are so happy you are a part of this family. I can't wait to see you tomorrow and I am super excited about The Mayor meeting you and loving on you. I just know you both will be such buddies.

I am hoping Meega and Uncle J get some much needed rest tonight. It has been a very long 24 hours for them.

sweet baby boy

You turned two a little over a month ago. Time is going by too quickly. And before I know it, you are going to be a teenager. There are so many things that I want to remember and I am afraid I will forget. Christmas is right around the corner, and in honor of this holiday, I want to remember what it is I am truly thankful for and blessed to have...you. So here are some of my most favorite things about you at this age...

-You call your sippy cup "Elmo". You only have two sippy cups that have an Elmo on them, but all of your sippy cups, regardless of what is on the cup, are called "Elmo".

-Waffles are "awfuls"

-When daddy or I sneezes, you immediately say "sa momma" or "sa dada". "Sa" is bless you. And you only say it for a real sneeze. You know when we fake sneeze and try to get you to say it...

-You also like to fake sneeze. Sometimes you do it to get a stranger's attention so they will smile at you. You even cover your nose when you say "achoo"

-Dogs are called "dogdog"

-You've been able to count to 10 for a few months now and you know 25 letters in the alphabet...you struggle with "V", you think it is "Y".

-TV doesn't appeal to you much, but if a commercial comes on with music or music is playing during a scene, you stop what you are doing and are mesmerized. Most of the time you dance or clap your hands. You love music.

-Every child is "baby" to you; even kids taller and obviously older than you. When a child walks by you, you immediately say "hi baby". You refer to yourself in pictures as baby too...so sweet

-You are such a lover. You are drawn to babies and you love to try and hug them and give them kisses. You usually end up knocking them over because you haven't learned how to be delicate yet but nonetheless, it is still so adorable.

-When we are on the interstate driving home, the second we turn to get on the exit ramp, you have to say "bye bye" to the cars.

-Yogurt is called "yoyo"

-Thomas the Tank Engine (your favorite) is called "Tah" (we think you are trying to say Tom) and you know every engine on that show...better than we do...

-You love to sing your "ABCs" but your MeMe recently taught you "The Wheels on the Bus" and your favorite verse is about the crying baby on the bus. So now when we try to sing "ABCs" to you, you start saying "baby"...you only want to sing "Wheels on the Bus"

-You seem to love this time of year as much as your mommy. Everyday you get just as excited as me to plug in all the Christmas lights inside the house. And you love having your own tree in your room...

-You still love people, waving to them, saying "hi" (your nickname is so appropriate for you) but lately you have started becoming a little shy around people you don't know. When someone new comes around and tries to talk to you, you either cover your eyes with your hands or squeeze your eyes shut. Almost like you are saying "if I can't see you then you can't see me". It is precious!

I really love you just because you are you...there is nothing special that you have to do...but all these things listed and the million other things that I haven't listed are just icing on the cake.

lazy night

Daddy surprised us by leaving work early to come home. What a great way to start our weekend! The Mayor was still sleeping when daddy got home, and at 5:30 when he still hadn't started waking up, we went upstairs to wake The Mayor from his nap. He was SOUND ASLEEP...I hate waking up a sleeping baby. But a 3 1/2 hour nap and still sleeping at 5:30 means gotta wake up the baby! He was all disheveled when he woke up but so excited to see his daddy there greeting him. After a rousing game of "this little piggy" and dinner, it was off to the playroom for some family time. Our nights are rarely eventful these days, but they are always meaningful. Life just doesn't get much sweeter than playing with your son's favorite trains on his train table while he is giggling and having a blast. And every time he would walk past us, he would lean in for a kiss. Life is so good.

bed-head

getting it together

Although my Christmas decorations are up, I am so behind this Christmas season. I haven't started Christmas shopping and I haven't even ordered my Christmas cards yet. Usually my cards have been ordered by the end of November and are put into the mailbox the weekend after Thanksgiving. I have been trying all week to get some pictures of The Mayor to put onto the cards...and today I finally got one I loved. Now...I just have to find the perfect card to put his picture on. Why do we put ourselves through this pressure? Aren't these cards going to end up in our recipient's trash cans at the end of the holidays? Regardless, I will spend a majority of tomorrow finding the perfect card to customize for this Christmas season!

this isn't the picture I am using for our Christmas

cards, but I love this face he makes while he says "cheese"

true love

There is nothing better in the world than a parent's love for their own child...nothing. And it is a love that you can not experience until you have a precious angel to call your own. It is always expected a mother adores her child, and I absolutely do, but it is such a wonderful thing to witness the pure unconditional love between my husband and our son. It is amazing to see how the love for that child can penetrate your husband's heart and change him.

And as I watch the The Mayor and my husband coloring together, and hear The Mayor cracking up from the animal noises they are making to each other, it makes me wish these days didn't pass so quickly...

a thomas christmas

The good thing about having grandparents so close by to you is they cater to your child's likes. The bad thing about having grandparents so close by to you is they cater to your child's likes. The Mayor loves "Thomas the Train". He calls him "Tah" (I think he is trying to say "Tom"). When we pulled into my dad's driveway for Thanksgiving dinner, we saw this huge inflatable Thomas the Train in his front yard. Of course, we received no warning. So we hid The Mayor's eyes so we could get him into the house. After dinner, we took him outside to see "Tah" and every few minutes, he would go to the door and want to go back outside to see "Tah" again. My dad got the rest of his lights up tonight, so we took The Mayor back to see the finished product. The house looks fantastic, and The Mayor loved running around outside with his PopPop and seeing his "Tah". Thanks to my dad for buying "Tah"....now I don't have to!

giving "Tah" a kiss

The Mayor laid on the floor, patted the floor next to him and told his daddy to go "nite nite" with him

The Mayor squinting his eyes closed to go "nite nite"