Your Second Birthday

Bentley,
I really want to tell you about your second birthday party! We celebrated it on March 2nd.  It was an OKC Thunder themed party.  Decorating for the party was pretty easy since we are big Thunder fans.  I went to the store the night before and bought lots of balloons in orange and blue with a Thunder balloon and had them bundled together.  I put them in the entry hallway.  Next thing I know, you are running down the hallway with the happiest expression on your face with the balloons flying behind you!  You had grabbed the strings and just took off running in wild abandon.  I will never forget that happy face you had!

We had about 30 people over to celebrate your birthday.   I dressed you in a cute shirt with a Thunder tie. We had sandwiches and cake then opened lots of presents.  Afterward, all the guys went outside to play baskerball.  You were determined to join them outside.  So I took you out there after their big game was over.  You would throw the ball two feet in the air then yell, "YAY!!!" and clap while looking at me to get the same reaction.  So I would cheer and clap too.  You were so excited to get to play with the big boys.  I loved watching you laugh and cheer after every shot.  Even though you are 2 now, you are still my sweet, happy baby!!  I love that you show me everyday how innocent and simple life can be.
I love you, happy boy!!!

Mommy

Learning New Things

Dear Bentley,

You are sitting in front of my with a whole bunch of little letters.  You are picking each one up individually and telling me their name.  You are like a sponge!  You are learning so much so quick.  We have taught you how to spell your name.  You yell, "B-E-N-T-L-E-Y, Ben-Wee!"  It is so cute how you say your name!  You also know a lot of shapes, how to count to ten, you know you animals and the sounds they make, and you are learning your colors.  I never knew how easy it would be to teach these things to you.  But you love learning new things.  I'm a very lucky Mommy to have you.
I love you, Buddy!

Precious Moments

Hey there, my sweet boy!

I wish I could write you everytime you do something cute, sweet or adorable.   But I do not have that much time in a day!  For example, I was just carrying a load of laundry down the hall when I dropped a few items of clothing.  Just as I was about to turn and pick them up I noticed you had dropped your toy and ran to my rescue. You picked up each item and handed them to me.  Then you went back to playing.  How precious are you??  You just have this natural sweet behavior that is always caring about others.
The other day you were just leaning over your sissy's bassinet cooing and talking to her.  I reached for my phone, fumbled around a bit and finally got to my camera when the moment was over.  I think my clumsiness distracted you.  :) So I just have that moment stored ib my memory.

Just to jump up the cuteness factor that you inhabit.  You have learned how to sing!  About two weeks ago you were singing lightly to the radio.  Just repeating ends of phrases after they were sung.  So I decided to start singing around the house and see if you would sing along.  You immediately jumped in and started singing with me.  We sing "Row row row your boat" and "Come fly with me" mostly.  I took videos of it so I can always hear your sweet little two-year-old voice.

Well, I need to end this letter.  You are currently filling up the toilet with a roll of toilet paper.
To every toddler there are two sides!
Mommy loves you, Bentley!!

TWO

Dear Bentley,

I have been reading over some of these past letters.  It makes me so happy to see how far you've come in your short, precious life.  You have always been such a sweet little baby.  And now, you are TWO!

When you turned two, you grew up into this bright, independent, curious, talkative little guy!  It seemed it was overnight!  You had just became a big brother only two weeks beforehand.  Between that and your birthday, you just grew up so much.  They say the average two year old can understand up to 200 words.  I was skeptical at first but then I started thinking...Yes, that is true!  You answer me when I ask you questions.  You learn new words every day.  You know your animals and the sounds they make.  You know where your nose is, your ears, eyes, hands, feet, teeth, head, arms and legs!  You talk NON STOP!  :)  And you communicate with us so well.  You say "Please" and "Thank you" regularly by yourself.  It is so adorable.  Especially "Thank you."  It sounds like, "Dah Doo!"  I even make you say it for silly things just so I can hear your cute voice say it your special way. 

"Bentley, I just changed your diaper.  Say 'thank you.'" 

"Dah Doo!"

"Buddy, mommy just gave you a hug.  Say, 'thank you.'" 

"Dah Doo!"

It is just sooooo cute!  You make me smile all the time.

You are such a happy little guy.  You find joy and excitement in so many things!  You can run up and down the hallways just giggling and smiling.  You love to play with Roxie and chase her around.  You love playing with your Daddy and being tickled.  My heart just swells when I see your happy face.

And you love love love your Sissy!  Every day you greet her in the morning.  Before nap time and bed time you have to kiss her goodnight.  We learned very quickly that if she is not there for you to say goodnight to, you get very sad and cannot go to sleep.  It is so endearing to see the love you have for her. 

I just cannot express enough how much joy you bring to my life.  All these things and more make me so proud to have you as my son.  I thank God everyday, multiple times a day, for the blessings he has given me in you and your sister. 

Mommy loves you, Buddy! 

Looking forward to what the year brings!

   

A New Little Sister

Well, Little Buddy, YOU ARE A BIG BROTHER!!!

On February 15, 2013, Gwen Autumn was born.  She is beautiful.  You already love her.  You call her "Sissy."


We were at the hospital for four days while you had been staying at home and visiting us every afternoon.  Your Grandma and Grandpa McGee took care of you while we were there and stayed at our home so you would still be around your familiar environment.  Your Daddy and I missed you greatly everyday and looked forward to every time you walked through our hospital door.

While Mommy was in labor for an entire day, your grandparents, Aunt Lindy and Daddy all took turns entertaining you.  Your Daddy found a big play area on the 6th floor of the hospital!  You were in heaven when you were there!  You wanted to play all day, every day. So your Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Lindy took you up there and took videos and pictures of you playing

After 25 or more hours of labor, I finally had to have an emergency cesarean section.  Your sister needed special attention to make it here.  But God took great care of us and she arrived safely.  It took Mommy and Daddy over 5 hours before we got to hold her and meet her for the first time.  After that I could not wait for you to get there to meet your sister!  You have such a warm and nurturing heart, we knew you would love her immediately.  Sure enough when you walked in the room you wanted to look at the baby and pet her. 

 Since we have come home, you are adjusting to not being an only child.  I would say you are doing very well!  You came in our room the first morning and saw me in bed nursing your sister.  You pointed to her and excitedly yelled, "Baby!"  Then you pointed to your newborn picture hanging on our wall and said, "Baby!" and pointed back at her.  It is amazing, even you think she looks like you did as a newborn.  Everyone thinks so too.  She has dark brown hair, but her facial features do look like yours!  Your Daddy and I have been blessed with two very beautiful children!




Tomorrow your Daddy goes back to work.  This will be my first time alone with you and Gwen.  It is difficult because I am still recovering from surgery.  I tried hard to avoid having a cesarean so that I wouldn't have to face six weeks of recovery and not being able to pick you up.  But due to the emergency situation it was not an option.  I am still sad that I cannot pick you up.  You are my little Buddy and my precious, sweet little boy.  It breaks my heart that you do not understand why I can't pick you up and hug you or let you sit in my lap.  More than anything, I want to hold you and snuggle with you.  I want you to know how much I love you.  So this is a difficult adjustment period.  I feel very emotional and am worrying about how it makes you feel.  But tonight after your bath we said our Goodnight Prayer with you.  Your Daddy prayed over you, your safety, and this transition to go very smoothly and easily for us.  Right after we said, "amen," Daddy brought you to me and I kissed your forehead and said, "I love you, Buddy."  You said, "I love you, Mom." in your sweet baby words.  I cried.  It was beautiful.  It was a blessing and it was exactly what I needed to hear.  I know God will take care of us during this time.  I just want you to know that even if I cannot show you my love, even if I cannot hold you, even if I am a million miles away, I love you with all my heart.  You will always be my Little Buddy.

Congratulations on your new BIG role!
I love you,
Mommy
. 

All The Little Things You Do

Hey there Little Buddy!

This morning, like any other morning, I went to greet you in your crib.  When I opened your door and turned on your light I saw you were standing up smiling at me.  Before I could say anything you exclaimed, "Buddy!"  I laughed and said, "You're the Buddy!"  And you giggled and said, "Bud!"
This was the first time you have ever said your nickname.  Every morning when I open your door I say, "Buddy, good morning Buddy!" And then I sing the "Buddy Song" I made up when you were a tiny newborn.  But today you beat me to it and I was once again blown away by how amazing you are.

Things like this have been happening a lot this year!  It is a new year, 2013, and you are about to turn 2 years old.  Your father and I have been working real hard around the house trying to get things ready for your little sister to come along.  For Christmas you got a new bed from your grandparents.  It is a beautiful white crib that turns into a toddler bed and then later converts into a full size bed.  So we gave your old crib to your sister.  In order to do this we had to take the old crib apart and move it into the new nursery.  Then we had to rebuild it in there.  (Cribs should fit through doorways, but this isn't a perfect world.)  Then we spent the whole evening in your room building your new bed.  We turned on some music, your daddy started building, and you and I played together.  Your idea of play was to empty all your baskets onto the floor.  Then, one by one, put each item back into the baskets.  Can you believe this entertained you for two hours?  Occasionally you would empty a basket and hide each item in a drawer or your book shelf, then gather everything back and put them away.  I loved watching you focus on your "work."  You took it so seriously as if it were a task to be completed meticulously.  While this was going on we were playing music from your daddy's phone.  At the end of each and every song you would stop what you were doing and clap your hands and say, "Yay!"  We would laugh and comment about how adorable you are.  Toward the end of building your bed you decided to join your daddy to help him with some final touches.  I took a picture, of course.  I couldn't pass up a moment like that!

You still clap and say "Yay!" at the end of every song your hear.  Even if it is music playing overhead in the store we are shopping in, you cheer for the artist's performance.  If it is a catchy tune with a fun beat you clap and bounce along.  You make any old shopping experience so much more exciting!

You learned how to say "Bye bye!" a little while ago.  But now you have added on to the cuteness.  When your daddy or I say, "Let's go upstairs for a bath!" You stop what you are doing, put your toy away in the toy box and then say, "Bye bye, toy!" before you head upstairs for your bath.  If we are shopping and you see a toy car (which you call a "Go") you point at it and yell, "Go!" and as we pass it by you say, "Bye bye, Go!"  The same goes for a stuffed animal you may spot.

There are so many little things you do that just make you the cutest little boy in the world.  I love watching you grow.  Each stage of your life has become my favorite stage.  I would love to keep you little forever, but I know that every milestone you hit is going to be another exciting adventure that puts me in awe of you.  Your Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Mommy

Tis The Season to Make Memories

Here we are in the middle of the Christmas season.  I have been making it a goal to make as many memories as possible this season with you.  So your father and I have been planning just fun little outings where we can spend time as a family. 

The three of us went to downtown Oklahoma City last week to look at Chirstmas lights and walk around taking in all the Christmas decorations.  They have it all decorated and have lots of family fun activities set up every evening.  They call it Downtown in December.  You were such a good sport strolling along with us.  We walked all over Bricktown and then down to the Myriad Gardens to look at the lights along with the new Devon Tower's lights. 

We took you to see Santa Clause last Saturday at Christmas in Brookhaven Village.  We went last year too and you sat so happily on his lap and took great pictures.  This year you were scared of Santa.  You literally screamed and cried until it was over.  So our picture this year is me, Santa, and you screaming and crying in between us.  Great memories!  :)  Your Aunt Lindy and Cousin Cortland were with us.  This was Cortland's first Christmas and his first time to see Santa.  So he sat happily on his lap like you did last year.  I wonder if he will have the same reaction as you next year at his second Christmas?  It will be funny to see how similar the experiences could be!  On a side note, Aunt Lindy and I bought you and Cortland matching Christmas pajamas to wear on Christmas morning.

This past weekend was one of my favorites.  We went to our church's Christmas program on Saturday so we had all day Sunday off together.  So we all slept in and then I went and got you and brought you to bed with us.  So you snuggled with us and played with Roxie until we got up and went and got breakfast to bring home.  After breakfast we got dressed and headed up to Penn Square Mall and surrounding areas to go shopping.  We shopped at a lot of stores and walked around taking in the hustle and bustle of Chistmas.  This may not sound very exciting, but just being together as a family really is the highlight of it all.  We love spending time together laughing, talking, and taking pictures of you and watching all the cute things you do and say.  We then drove to find dinner at one of our old favorite restaurants that left our hometown years ago.  We hadn't eaten there in YEARS.  We were so excited to go and take you there too.  You LOVED it.  You ate a bowl of fettucini alfredo and probably three breadsticks.  We went to get donuts afterwards.  Totally not something we do often but wanted to just let loose and have fun this day.  We drove back to Norman and went to see a Christmas light show.  There is this home in the country that puts on a twenty minute light display set to music.  You were fascinated!!!  You kept saying "Whoa!" and "Wow!" and couldn't take your eyes off of the scene. 

We went home and played until bedtime.  Your daddy and I were so full of joy.  We loved every minute of spending time with you and each other just having fun, making no plans and just going where the wind took us.  It was one of our favorite days. 

We love you so much.  We cherish you as our precious child.  You are a gift from God and we thank him countless times every day for getting to have you in our lives.  I pray for many, many more years to make memories together. 

I love you so much Little Buddy!
Mommy