Bennett: 7 months

 

Bennett: You already passed your 7th month!

 

At your checkup you measured 28.94 inches tall (90th percentile), 21 lbs. 13 oz. (86th percentile), and head circumference of 18.62 inches (98th percentile).

 

You wore 18 month - 2T clothes and were outgrowing your size 3 diapers.

 

Your firsts: Christmas, New Year's, professional photo session, standing alone while holding on to something, attending your big brother's birthday party, seeing "snow" (even if it was fake), and semi-crawling (more backwards movement than forwards)

 

You quickly moved from number two baby food to number three.  You are totally interested in food now and will grab at our meals trying to get some for yourself.

 

You also figured out how your hands work!  You will reach for toys or any tiny object you can get your hands on and have perfected the art of bringing them to your mouth.

 

Your hair really started growing too!  It won't be long until you will need your first hair cut.

Christmas 2012: AKA Bennett's 1st Christmas

 

 

We had an amazing Christmas!  The boys must have been really good this year because Santa hooked them up!

 

We started Christmas Eve off at Granny's.  She cooked a great dinner an everyone enjoyed hanging out.



 

 

 

 

 

Granny insists we get an all girl picture each year, so I insisted everyone smile for the picture...

 

 

and that we get an all boy picture too, since there are so many more of them.

 

 

Once we were home it was time to prepare for Santa's arrival.  Carson put out the reindeer food and thought it would be best to throw it on the roof so the reindeer didn't waste time eating from the lawn.

 

 

And Santa received carrots instead of cookies. (Carson wants him to eat healthier)

 

 

The boys woke up to this:

 

The big presents included: a roller coaster, water table, lawnmower, car, Skylander Giants, and Nintendo 3DS.

 

 

The roller coaster was the biggest hit, and all the boys took a turn (Bennett's turn involved him sitting in the car).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bennett was the PERFECT age for his first Christmas!  He loved his new toys, and could sit up and play them.

 

 

 

Carson loved everything, including being the big brother who got to help his little brothers open their presents too.

 

 

Deacon has a new fascination with our broom, so we decided to get him one his size, named Sweeping Sam.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the cousins arrived, we moved the party outside.  As you can see below, the weather was unbelievably warm!  The kids were in shorts and Deacon could play comfortably in his water paper wearing a diaper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a nap and then headed to Brian's parents for another fabulous meal and presents!

 

 

 

I love seeing the brothers play together!  They are going to be the same size before long.

 

 

 

 

We hope your Christmas was wonderful too!

Bennett: 6 Months

 

Six months flew by and you are into the 2nd half of your first year!

 

Last month you were wearing 12-24 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Firsts: Thanksgiving and sitting by yourself

 

You really got the hang of tummy time and started to figure out how to get your knees underneath you.



 



 

You love you to be held while you practice standing up; it won't be long before you will be able to do that too!

 

You really became a ham and will shine that big gummy grin when anyone looks your way!

 

You figured out how yummy baby food is and started eating any number one meals we threw your way, and even sampled some number twos.

 

 

You remind us so much of your brothers.  You love attention, being held, and still aren't quite sleeping through the night, just like Carson.  We see Deacon in you when you snuggle up with your blanket before falling asleep, along with your sweet, easy-going disposition.

 

As much as we see your brothers in you, you are also your own little guy.  Unlike them as babies, you have such an appetite and will eat any baby food without hesitation and keep grabbing for more.  By now both your brothers already had at least a tooth in, but you are trying to stay our baby a little longer.  You get such joy out of others happiness; hearing others giggle or seeing them smile is enough for you to light up. 

 

You bring such a positive energy to our family, we are so blessed to have you!

Birthday Winter Wonderland

 

 

Carson and his bff James celebrated their 7th birthdays by having a snow party together. (Their birthdays are four days apart)

 

I'm not sure my neighbors knew what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to plan this event with me, but the party turned out amazing, with just a couple of glitches in the planning phase...

 

We initially thought for the invitations to attach the cards to plastic snow globes, but after searching every store we came up empty.  Thanks to pinterest and the fact that their birthdays fall so close to Christmas, we were able to improvise and create snow globes using ornaments with the invite tied to the ribbons:



 

 

 



Next up was the "snow."  We found a company that rented snow machines, promising to create flakes that would not leave a mess, by dissolving quickly:

It looked EXACTLY like snow falling from the sky, cars were even stopping on our street to watch the "blizzard." 

Luckily, Melissa and I discovered the weekend before the party that the snow "melted" basically on contact and wouldn't provide the fun stuff for kids to throw and play in. 

So we ordered SnoWonder, a fine powder that expands into "snow" when you combine it with water.  We ordered enough to make 240 gallons.  And what made it better than snow was that it wasn't cold or wet, so the kids could play as long as they wanted without freezing or needing to change clothes.

To say it was a hit was an understatement!  Although their birthdays fall in December, here in Texas it was a warm 80 degrees outside...kids played in the snow while wearing shorts!

Their was a 60% chance of rain the day of the party, so Brian and Rusty built canopies and a pit to play in.  Fortunately, the rain waited until well after the party ended before arriving.

We also had fencing between our houses so that we didn't have to worry about little ones (ie. Deacon) running into the street.

 

 

The guests also hit up the trampoline.

For the food, we brought out the firepit and roasted hotdogs and s'mores.  And even in the toasty weather, our hot cocoa bar was finished off.

 

 

The boys received lots of toys:

 

 

The cake turned out adorable too:

 



 

We couldn't have picked a better house to move into five years ago. Carson made a best friend, and Brian and I lucked out too!