Monday, July 25, 2011

Mission: Possible

July 25, 2011

Dear Bentley,

As you know, your father is a very hard worker.  He puts his whole self into every job he does.  He has been working overtime this last month at his job to help us out financially.  Well, on Friday, he lost his job.  It broke his heart.  The main worry he had was how he was going to be able to take care of us. 

Well, baby, as I told him, "God will take care of us.  There is no need to worry."  We don't know what our future holds but one thing is for sure, God provides.  Just looking at our lives up to this point, even in our greatest time of need, we have always had food, clothes, and a roof over our head. 

Countless stories in the Bible show us how God takes impossible situations and uses them for His glory.  Could Gideon have defeated the Midianites with only 300 men, clay jars, torches, and horns without God?  No.  Could Daniel have lived in a den of hungry lions that thought he looked like the perfect snack without God?  No.  Could little David really have taken on Goliath with a stone and a slingshot without God?  No.  These were all impossible situations.  But God used each of these men and the FAITH they had and impossible things became possible. 

I don't want you to ever go through life worrying about how things will be taken care of.  When hard times come, pray.  Know that God has His plan and "ALL things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28, my favorite verse.

I love you, little boy.  Daddy will find a job again soon.  In the meantime, God is in control.  You will always be taken care of.

Love,
Mommy

Thursday, July 21, 2011

A Little Photo Shoot

July 18, 2011

Dear Bentley,

Daddy accidentally took both sets of keys with him to work today.  So you and I got to stay home all day.  We played and played, cuddled and napped, and then I grabbed my camera.  I'm sure you notice that I take many pictures of you.  You are such a beautiful baby and I want to cherish every moment we have together.  So here are pictures of you today.  I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Moving Along

July 14, 2011

Mr. Wiggles,

You are always on the move!  You haven't mastered crawling yet but if we put you on the ground you somehow make it across the room!


You can't stand up by yourself yet.  But when we stand you up and support you, you stay up!






You don't like to be still.  Grabbing, pulling, climbing, travelling, WIGGLING!

You are quite the adventure!!

You just stay my happy Little Buddy forever.  I love you!
                                             
                                          Love,
                                          Mommy

First Foods

June 29 - July 4, 2011

Dear Bentley,

We went to the Pediatrician for your 4 month check up.  You now weigh 13 lbs and 6 oz and you are 24.5 inches long!  A little on the small side but you are right where you need to be!

We got to start you on baby foods also!  It was a difficult first feeding.  I mean, I could have taken the baby food and spilled it all over you, me, the floor, your chair, and our dog and came out with the same results, minus a crying Little Buddy.  I learned quickly to strip you down to just a diaper before feeding you!







It didn't take you long to master eating the baby food.  By the third attempt you were a pro!  From that point on we got to start on veggies!



Sweet Potatoes are your favorite!!!

One thing is for sure, you may like some veggies more than others, but no food gets turned away from you!  You remind me of your daddy in that way.

I love you, Growing Boy!

Love,
Mommy  

Super Baby!!

June 28, 2011

Dear 4 Month Old,

Over night you became a new baby!
You rolled over today, switched directions, and rolled back over!
You are sitting up with little-to-no support!






You are reaching for objects that you want and showing excitement when you see your bottle, a toy, or your mommy walk in the room (my personal favorite!).








What a baby!!  You continue to make me proud!

Love,
Mommy

Father's Day!

June 19, 2011

Dear Bentley,

Today is Father's Day!  First one for your daddy, thanks to you!
You and I spoiled him.  We bought him a new tie and a whole bunch of golf stuff.  He loved it all.  But what he loved most was spending time with his adorable Little Buddy.

I made you a onesie (now that I am a pro at sewing!) for you to wear for Father's Day.  You were adorable!!  And you even had a tie to wear!

Looking forward to many more Father's Days with my boys!

Love,
Mommy

The Quilt

June 16, 2011

Hey Little Guy,

Well, I started making you a quilt back in October of 2010.  I was still pregnant with you.  We started a quilting class at our church that meets every other Thursday.  I finally finished it!


I know it took me awhile...but I have never sewn before!  I can barely sew a button onto a shirt, let alone make a quilt!  But I wanted to do something special for you.  I picked out the fabric to match your room.  I made sure it was masculine enough for you.

Every time you cuddle up in your quilt I hope you know how much I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Rocking AND Rolling!

June 15, 2011

Hey Buddy!

You rolled over today!  Way to go!  I know you have hated "tummy time" this last month, but look what great things can come from it!  Pretty soon you will be crawling and moving all over this house.  However, I am in no hurry.  Take your time and you will figure out all kinds of things.  I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you!

Love,
Mommy

So Many New Things!

May 31 - June 10, 2011

Hey Little Explorer!

You turned three months old and started exploring.  One of the things you discovered first thing was--YOUR FEET!  You have them in your hands, your mouth, and you are always showing them off!  

You recognize people now!  I love it when you smile at me when I greet you in the morning.  I feel like every day we are bonding more and more.  
You have your little mannerisms that your father and I love.  When you sneeze, you let out a "hooooooooo" afterward.  We laugh every time.

We talk back and forth with you.  Well, we talk.  You say, "haah blaah baaa baaa haaa oooo hoooo ooo wooo blaah."  We enjoy these conversations.  They can go on for awhile and never get old.

It is adorable.  YOU are adorable!  This is such a fun age!






 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Home Away From Home

May 26 - May 31 2011

Oh Buddy,

You have a lot of friends and family in Illinois!  Your name comes from my family, the Bentley's, who are from Southern Illinois.  And about once or twice a year we go visit everyone.  I have been looking forward to this trip for a looooong time!  I finally got to show you off to all of our family and friends.
And on this trip you turned 3 months old!  May 28th, also known as your Grandma's birthday!  We got to see Clark and Anita Schwappach & their family, Aunt Maureen and Uncle Charlie, Aunt Fran and Dwight, "Uncle" Reg and "Aunt" Nancy & Cousin Amber, Jim Varner (Mijjy) and Corrine Varner, Peggy Guiliacci, Cousin Danny and Cousin Edward, Art Garland and so many others.  If you ever need anyone, Little Guy, any of these people will be there for you.  And I trust them all with my life.  Illinois will always be your home away from home.




Love,
Mommy

A Smile Through the Storm

May 24, 2011

Dear Bentley,

You live in Oklahoma.  And every spring and summer we go through what we call "Tornado Season."  Today we went down to Wayne for church because we just built a new building and we are having a week long celebration as we dedicate the building back to the Lord.  Well, tonight services were cancelled due to the weather.  Tornadoes broke out across the state.  We drove to Wayne before the storms hit because tonight we were going to celebrate your Aunt Lindy's birthday.  As we were watching the news, tracking the storms, your Aunt Lindy captured a beautiful picture of you.
It made me realize how innocent you are. In the midst of tragedy and destruction, you can still see God's love in the smile of a baby.  It gives you hope inside that there are always brighter days ahead.
We were safe in the storms (and I pray we always will be).  And we had a wonderful evening visiting with friends and family.  I pray you always see love and laughter in your life.  And if you ever need a smile, come find me!  I love you, Buddy!

Love,
Mommy

A Father/Son Moment

May 23, 2011

Dear Bentley,

As you know, your daddy didn't have a father growing up.  This is one of the reasons he was really wanting to have a son.  He wanted to be the father he always dreamed of having.  He looks forward to playing catch with you, teaching you how to golf, and taking you out to shoot hoops.  He wants to take you to ball games and teach you all there is to know about sports.  I wouldn't be surprised if your first words were "ESPN" or "Thunder."

 He is starting early.  As you know, the OKC Thunder are in the NBA Playoffs!  They have made it to Round 3. There are only 4 teams left playing for the chance to go to the Finals to win the NBA championship.  They are playing the Dallas Mavericks.  And your daddy has had you by his side to watch every game.  He is proud of his little Thunder fan.  And I am enjoying watching him be a wonderful father to you.


You are one lucky Little Buddy!

Love,
Mommy

My First Mother's Day

May 8, 2011

Dearest Bentley,

Today is my first Mother's Day!  I am so blessed to be your Mommy.  Thank you for being so wonderful!




We took a photo shoot of you in all your new outfits for Mother's Day.  You were adorable!  Thanks for letting me and your father play dress up with you!  You were such a good sport!

Love,
Mommy

2 Months Old!

April 28, 2011

Little Buddy,

You are two months old!  Like I said before, these have been the best days of our lives!
You went to see your pediatrician and he weighed you in at 11 lbs and 14 oz.  You are 22 inches long.  So you have grown 3 inches since birth and gained 3 lbs and 14 oz.  Way to go, baby!  We love you!

Love,
Mommy

When You're Smiling, The Whole World Smiles Too!

April 23, 2011

Bentley!  You smiled!  You smiled for us!  OH, WOW!  You have melted our hearts once again!



We have captured these smiles on camera now!

SO happy,
Mommy

Basketball Playoffs

April 20, 2011

Little Buddy,

You have officially transitioned out of newborn clothes and into 0-3 month sizes.  OH DEAR!
Your father is excited about this simply because you now fit into your Thunder jersey.  Just in time for the OKC Thunder to go to the NBA Playoffs!!!


Great day for daddy!

Stop growing,
Mommy

A Moment to Cherish

March 30, 2011

Dear Sweet Baby Boy,

I had one of the best "mommy moments" tonight.  We were on another late night colic drive with you.  We had been driving for at least 45 minutes around Norman.  You were just crying and crying.  Your daddy finally just pulled the car over into a church parking lot.  I reached into your car seat and brushed the side of your cheek.  You grabbed my finger, stopped crying, and fell asleep.  You held onto my finger the whole way home.  I felt like all you needed was your mommy.

I hope you always need me like that!  I will always be here for you.  I loved this moment and will cherish it in my heart forever.  I love you, buddy!

Love,
Mommy

One Month Old!

March 28, 2011

Dear Baby Boy,

Oh dear, you are already one month old!!  Well, I can guarantee you, this has been the best month of your parents lives!!  We are so proud of you.  You have already melted every heart that has come in contact with you.  People who have only met you one time already miss you and can't wait to see you again.  You have a special effect on people.  What an amazing baby you are!

Once again, I beg you to slow down!  You are growing too fast!
Yet, I am enjoying every moment.

Love,
Mommy

Thunder Up, Bentley!

March 25, 2011

Dear Bentley,

By now, you probably know all about the OKC Thunder basketball team.  Names like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka are household names.  Your daddy sat you down and taught you all about basketball before you were even one month old!  We are glad you were born during this season.  The Thunder played their best season yet!  Soon you will fit into your jersey we bought you and you can watch the games decked out in your Thunder Gear!  One day, when you are old enough, we will take you to your first game.  We look forward to these adventures with you.
But please, grow up slowly.  These fun times can wait.  They will all come before you know it.  Until then, Thunder Up, Little Buddy!


Love,
Mommy

Beautiful Boy

March 15 - March 24, 2011

Dear Crying Little Buddy,

I know I have told you this many, many times, but you are beautiful.  Late at night when you are crying, I rock you and sing to you.  From the first week, I have been singing to you "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon.  I fits you perfectly.

It breaks my heart that you have colic.  Every night you cry and cry until around 3 am.  Losing sleep isn't the worst part either.  It is not being able to help you.  And we have tried everything.

Everyone has a "cure" for colic that they tell us about.  But the truth is, it will just go away on its own eventually.  We usually drive you around for an hour or so.  We thought about starting a "Colic Club" and meeting up with other parents who are up at 2:45 in the morning driving their crying babies around town.  Eventually you fall asleep and we carry you back in gently, hoping and praying that we don't wake you in the process.

I know you will outgrow this.  It is all a part of the parenting process.  But I'm beginning to see it as a blessing.  Late at night, when everyone else is sleeping, I am up holding you and rocking you.  We have a little bonding time.  And I sing the same song to you...

Close your eyes, have no fear,
The monster's gone,
He's on the run,
And your mommy's here.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful,
Beautiful Boy
Before you go to sleep,
Say your prayers.
Every day, in every way,
It's getting better and better.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful,
Beautiful Boy
Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait to see you come of age.
But I guess we'll both just have to be patient.
'Cause it's a long way to go.
A hard row to hoe.
Yes, it's a long way to go, but in the meantime..
Before you cross the street,
take my hand.
Life is what happens to you
While you're busy making other plans.
Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful,
Beautiful Boy

I will dry your eyes as long as you need me to, Bentley.  I love you.
Goodnight Little Buddy!

Love,
Mommy

Home from the Hospital

March 4, 2011

Dear Buddy,

I'm not going to lie.  It was hard to leave the hospital!!
I no longer had the constant care and supervision of the nurses 24 hours a day.  If something went wrong, I couldn't just push a button and have help right away.  If I had a question, there was no one on hand to answer.  Talk about scary!

"What if I break it?"  "What do I do with him?"  "Now that he is home...what do we do?"  "Can we turn on the TV...or is that neglect?"

Your daddy was so strong.  He was my support.  He amazed me so much.  It was like he had this secret handbook on parenting that I didn't have.  I thought I was going to be teaching him everything and here he is changing your diaper and burping you while I am still afraid to break you if I touched you.  You were so tiny!

Don't worry.  I caught on.  I calmed down.  I blame the hormones I was still dealing with from the pregnancy.

But before you know it, we were in a routine and we started this new life.  This new, fun, exciting life!



Welcome home, Little Buddy!

Love,
Mommy

Our First Week Together

February 28 - March 3, 2011

Dear Little Buddy,
We had the greatest week at the hospital with you.  You had so many visitors!  You were quite the popular little baby.
The best part of that week was when it was just you, me and your daddy in our room.  We just sat and stared at you with awe.

 "We made that."    "Wow, can you believe he is ours?"    "He is so beautiful."

I came to realize God's love for us in a whole new way.  It is something you can't understand until you are a parent.  It is this deep, unconditional love, knowing that absolutely nothing in this world could ever make me love you any less.

We couldn't wait to take you home and start our lives together!

Love,
Mommy

February 28, 2011

You were born February 28, 2011 at 11:05 am.
We couldn't sleep the night before.  We were too excited!  We got to the hospital an hour early.  We weren't due there until 9:15 am.  We couldn't wait to meet you!


Best day of my life.  By far.
You were more than I could ever have dreamed.  I can't believe you are mine.

Seeing and hearing you for the first time brought tears to my eyes and to your daddy's eyes.  In that moment, our hearts were so full of love, it felt like we never fully lived until that moment.


You were beautiful.  Well, you were a c-section baby, so you didn't have a cone shaped head or swollen eyes ( I will explain that to you when you are a little older).  But your little nose, your full lips, and your BLUE eyes were so perfect!
You looked like your daddy.

We didn't sleep that night either.  We kept looking at you.  We were in awe.  We still are.

Welcome to the world, Little Buddy!

Dear Bentley,

I should have started this sooner!

Here you are, 4 1/2 months old already!

Time really does fly by.  They told me it would…but what did I know?  I had never been a mommy before.
You have grown so fast and accomplished so much in your short time here.  I am a very proud mom.  You are an amazing little baby boy.

I am going to update you on your life up to this point.  There are so many priceless moments I cherish.   Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?