And a Partridge in a Pear Tree...

Bentley is finally napping so I am going to do everything in my power to update this blog inthe next 5.2 seconds...

Ready, go!

Last time I updated, little man was--well--little. Now he's a monster!

Exhibit A: This is how he greets me in the morning. Like "Hey Mom! You're just in time! I was just about to climb out to come get your lazy butt out of bed!"

Exhibit B: He is eating me out of house and home! Baby food, table food, dog food--you name it! He is going to be a freakin linebacker by the time he's a year old.

Speaking of tragedies... My son will be 9 months old on the 21st of this month. This is jarring news to his mother who almost cries every time he grows out of another pair of jammies (which he's wearing in the 12-month variety these days and it's KILLING ME!) Where did my itty bitty little boy go?! This kid is crawling up a storm, cruising around on the furniture, giving high fives, and being all-around adorable everyday. I love watching him learn new things, but its hard to see him mature so much so fast! 

OK, so with my mommy meltdown over, I will proceed. Basically, things are good. Taylor LOVES his new job with Panda Security... and so do I. They had a fantastic Christmas party at Universal City Walk and put us up in the Hard Rock Hotel for the night! Can you say: PERKS?! We're still living at his parents' house while we look for a place, which I definitely trying, but we are so blessed to have a place to stay right now... and live-in babysitters don't hurt either. :)

On that note, from my family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Picture Perfect

I have taken, been in, and collected many a photo in my 24 years on this planet. But these are, by far, my favorites.

Now, instead of having you scroll through photo after photo after photo, I've complied a few collages for your viewing pleasure. And to accompany said collages, an update on your favorite little model. Enjoy!

At four months old, Bentley likes:

• Being naked
• Getting his diaper changed (see above)
• Bath time (again, above)
• Peek-A-Boo, Patty Cake, & Airplane (or, as we call it in our house, Iron Baby
• Snuggling
• Smiling

He very much dislikes:

• Teething
• Having a wet face (drool or spit up)
• Being cold
• President Obama

He's very good at:

• Sleeping
• Pushing himself up off his belly
• Holding onto rattles & toys
• Telling stories... constantly
• Kicking his legs
• Pulling Mommy's hair
• Making everyone smile

He's still working on:

• Holding his bottle
• Sitting up without support
• Rolling over consistently

Needless to say we're pretty fond of this kid. He is such a happy, smart, adorable baby. I still can't believe how lucky we are. It makes me scared to see what his siblings will be like...

iLove

So, one of the coolest things that has happened around our house lately is that Taylor and I recently got iPhones.

I know, I know. You're thinking "You have the cutest kid in the world and you're blogging about your iPhone?!"

But le' me 'splain...

Since receiving said iPhone, I have been able to document SO much more cuteness with the click of a button. I love it! I take pictures and videos of my little man all day, everyday. AND we get to Facetime with my parents all the time which makes them uber happy too. :)

That being said, this post will consist of photos of Bentley's incredible cuteness. Enjoy.

Curious George

Doin that crib sleepin thing I do so well.

Can't beat this. :)

First ride on the boat!

Sleepy puppy

With Aerosmith Mickey

Meeting Mickey for the first time!

Attached to Mommy--literally.

Best ride at Disney World: Daddy!

Sleeping in church... typical.

Sunday naps with Papa 

My super power is laser vision!

Psych

President of the Hee-Man Woman Haters Club.

Got my chopsticks. Ready for my sushi, Mom!

Needless to say, this kid is not only super rad but totally adorable. Although, I may be slightly biased.

Get excited for the next post because it will contain our ridiculously awesome family photos!!!

Tick Tock Clock

I've gotten a ton of compliments and inquiries about the clock I made for Bentley's nursery. So here's how it goes! :)

I started out with this kit that I got as a wedding gift. But, you can easily duplicate this with various sized picture frames from WalMart or Hobby Lobby.

I then positioned the frames in the order that I wanted them and decided which colors I was going to paint which frames. Then, I labeled them accordingly. (Note: I labeled the paper and the back of the actual frame so I could remember which fram was supposed to go back in which position)

This is everything that came in the kit.

Positioned accordingly and labeled (B-Brown, G-Green, C-Cream)

Then I went about painting the frames. I used an acrylic paint in 3 shades that coordinated with Bentley's room.

Paints I used in Melted Chocolate, Kiwi, and Antique White.

After 3 coats, the frames were ready!

After the frames were painted, I started choosing and cutting scrapbook paper for the numbers. I chose to use animal prints to go with the Lion King/Safari theme. I cut out a background matte for each number and then the actual number. I used just a couple of dots of hot glue to attach them (use a strong adhesive or Glue Dots on paper with glitter--I learned that the hard way).

Scrapbook paper pack from Michael's.

One of my numbers all ready to go.

After cutting and mounting all the numbers, I simply popped them in the frames and put them up on the wall! I'm very pleased with the final product and Bentley seems to love it too. :)

Nursery Rhymes

Hallelujah! I finally had the time (and the capital) to put together Bentley's nursery! :) I've been dying to do this since the day I found out I was pregnant with the little bugger and my vision has finally become a reality. The story, I believe, is best told in photos. 

Before I even knew if I was having a boy or a girl I decided on the Lion King theme. 

This is the changing station with the clock I made.
(Separate post coming with a step-by-step on the clock)

Cozy corner.

Bentley's Baby Blessing certificate.

My big boy's crib (that he has not yet slept in... lol)

I wish you could see the cool textured paper that his name is made out of. It has leaves on it.

So that, in a nutshell, is my boy's room. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I'm sure I'll be adding to it as time goes on, but it's a pretty good start... if I do say so myself. And I do. ;)

And, as I'm sure you're wondering about the little monster himself, he is doing wonderfully. He is now 3 months old and weighing in around 12.5 lbs and about 24" long. He's so hard to dress being so tall and lean! He is the happiest baby--always smiling. But the one comment we get from everyone who meets him is that he's "so alert"! He really is, though. You can see the little wheels turning in his head as he observes everything and everyone around him. He doesn't want to miss a single thing. He loves bath time and cuddling with Mommy and Daddy. He's learning how to sit up in his Bumbo seat and he continues to do well with tummy time. He's so strong, this boy. It's insane. I'll leave you with a few gems to oooohh and aaaaahh over until next time. :)

I love getting new outfits to spit up on!

Mommy's shiny happy boy. :)

I'm sleepin, yo.

Overload

Prepare yourself for quite possibly the longest and most ridiculously jam packed blog post ever.

Since the last time I blogged:

• Taylor & I were sealed in the Orlando Temple
• I gave birth to the most perfect baby boy
• My mom and grandmom came to Florida
• Baby was in the hospital

In addition to day-to-day life and all the new developments that have come with motherhood over the last 5 weeks.

Our Sealing

Families are forever.

Taylor and I made our marriage eternal on March 7, 2012 in the Orlando, FL temple. My best friend, Mary flew all the way here from MD to be with me on the most important day of my life and it was amazing having her here. Our sealing was attended by an intimate group of family and friends and it was absolutely perfect. We are so grateful to know that our family is forever and we were especially thankful to baby for not showing up before this most important day so he could be born under the covenant. Speaking of baby...

Bentley Taylor Smith

Welcome to the world, little guy!

My perfect little man was born on March 21, 2012 at 6:40 am. He weighed in at 7 lb 2 oz and was 21 inches. But getting him here was no easy task. Allow me to share his birth story:

My due date was Sunday the 18th, but that day came and went... along with Monday. Early Tuesday morning I took a trip to triage for some concerns I was having but they sent me straight home as I was still only 1 cm dilated and not contracting regularly. I took a nap, went out to dinner with my in-laws, and had a seemingly uneventful day... until bedtime. At around 11:00 pm I started having the most horrible headache I've ever had in my entire life. I was in tears and I started shaking uncontrollably. When this all culminated in me getting sick, we decided to call my OB. He suggested that I head back to triage to make sure everything was OK. We arrived at 2:15 am and proceeded to sit int he waiting room until 4:00. Once they finally got me back to triage, they ascertained that I was still only 1 cm dilated, but my contractions were 5 minutes apart (although very mild). The doctor finally came in with some medicine for my headache and said that they would probably just send me home with a prescription but she wanted to check with my doctor before discharging me. She came back about 5 minutes later with a surprised look on her face and said "Actually, we're admitting you to be induced since you're past your due date anyway." My jaw dropped. I came in for a headache and I was leaving with a baby! 

Waiting...

Around 10:00 am I was moved to my cozy antepartum room where I was FINALLY able to get some food (yay room service!) and Taylor was able to take a nap. They began the induction process at 11:30 am by giving me a dose of Cervidil to help dilate my cervix. I then had 12 hours to sit back and wait. My contractions continued to increase in intensity during this and by the time the 12 hours were over I was having to breathe through each contraction. At 11:30 I was informed that I was dilated 2 cm and baby was VERY low so we were moving to Labor & Delivery! We got to L&D around 1:00 am and they started the Pitocin. This is also when I caved and got my epidural. (For the record, I had really wanted to try to go naturally. But at this point I was so exhausted and my contractions had been pretty strong for a long time. I had no fight lieft in me and if I was going to push this baby out, I was gonna need some help.) By 3:15 am my water had broken and I was dilated to a 4. I decided to try to get some sleep to get myself ready for the workout ahead of me. When I woke up about an hour later I turned to Taylor and said, "Hun, I think you should call the nurse. I think I feel like I wanna push?" She came in and told me not to get my hopes up. But, lo and behold, I was almost to 10 cm and about ready to push! Everybody got ready, the midwife came in and we got down to business. After about an hour or so of pushing he was here! It was the longest day/night of my life, but it was totally worth it! 

Meeting my boy for the first time.

To save you the trouble I'll give you the Readers Digest version of the last few weeks. After Bentley was born, my mom and Grandmom Rose came to FL to help out. They cooked and froze a ton of meals for Taylor and I and spent every waking moment fawning over my cute little dude.  On the 28th, though, we all ended up back at the hospital because baby boo had apparently come down with a urinary tract infection. Taylor and I spent 2 days by his side--and sharing a twin bed--while he got tested and treated. Since then he's had some issues trying to gain weight, and breastfeeding has been an uphill battle for us. But, at 5 weeks, I can finally say that things are going well and Bentley is thriving (and Mommy is sleeping--yay!). 

Hopefully now that this is all caught up, I'll be better about posting his cuteness for you all to enjoy. For now, I'm taking the lazy route--here's a taste, and see Facebook for more photos. ;)

My sleepy puppy :)

Celebrate!

February supplied us with lots and lots to celebrate.

First on the agenda: Aging! I celebrated my 24th birthday this month and for the first time actually felt a little 'blah' about getting older. When you think about it, most birthdays up to this point have some level of excitement attached: 16, 18, 21... But 24 was kind of an eye-opener. I remember turning to Taylor and saying "This means I'm almost 25. Which means I'm almost 30! Gross!" So, how does one counteract the effects of realizing she's getting older? Why, celebrate like a kid, of course! My amazing husband took me to Disney's Polynesian Resort where they host a daily character breakfast complete with yummy food and huggable characters. It was bliss.

My birthday card signed by Lilo, Stitch, Pluto, and Mickey. :)

Mickey loved the belly. 

Hubby and his kindred spirit: Stitch.

Waiting for our table at 'Ohana.

Immediately following my birthday is, of course, Valentine's Day! This was our first Valentine's as a married couple and it did not disappoint. Taylor came home from work with a wonderful card and beautiful flowers and I spent the majority of the day/night preparing what was nothing short of a feast for my wonderful hubby. We had sparkling cider and spinach & artichoke puffs for an appetizer; followed by a salad (complete with heart-shaped tomatoes). We then dove into chicken parmigiana with capellini; all topped off with some yummy cheesecake for dessert. I was definitely proud of my work and by the look on his face and the gratuitous belching that followed, I think Taylor enjoyed himself too.

Cute card and roses from my Valentine. <3 

So while everyone else's February celebrations may have ended there, mine did not. The wonderful ladies in my ward threw me a Baby Shower! For those of you who know about the debacle that became the original baby shower I was planning on, this was such a huge blessing. I apologize that I didn't take more/better pictures. There was tons of yummy food, blue-frosted cookies, and all kinds of baby boy cuteness. B got TONS of cute outfits and some much-needed necessities like a bath tub and lots of diapers. I'm so grateful to these awesome women who barely know me but are so generous and loving (and, not to mention, SO excited to meet our little man!)

Knee-deep in gifts, getting ready to start the marathon of unwrapping.

We got so much cute sports stuff for our future all-star.

I know I look insane, but the faux Harley bottle was just too cute not to post. 

And last, but certainly not least, perhaps the biggest reason for celebration brought about by these last few weeks comes with two magical words:

FULL      TERM!

That's right! I have hit the 37 week mark of my pregnancy and Baby B now has full medical clearance to show up on the scene whenever he darn well pleases. I can't believe it! Now, keep in mind, that he has been very sternly told not to arrive until after March 7th (reasoning for which will be made clear in the next post) but, as far as his physical faculties are concerned, he is ripe and ready to go! I seriously cannot wrap my head around the fact that he's going to be here so soon... or that I've been pregnant for THIS long... but I am so excited. I'm excited to have my body back to only having one person inside of it and to not have to pee or chew a Tums every 10 minutes. But, more than anything, I'm so excited to finally share him with Taylor. He has been so attentive and so patient through my entire pregnancy and I feel like I get all the reward up to this point. I'm so excited to see him hold his little boy and to finally feel the fact that he's real. He's already proven to be such an amazing daddy as he reads a bedtime story to my belly every single night and talks & sings to B every chance he gets. It brings tears to my eyes when he lays down next to me and gives the baby a play-by-play of the latest sporting event and tells him all about how he's going to be such a great missionary someday and get married in the temple to a great girl like his mama. I really am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man and I hope my children will someday be as grateful as I am that I chose him to be their dad. 

And, don't worry, I didn't forget to include a pic of me and the basketball I'm currently hauling around under my dress.

Here's 37 weeks in all her glory!