Martin TURNS 3!!

Our big boy turned 3 on October 1st. So we celebrated the Saturday before. He had a Toy Story 3 birthday (his choice) and had an awesome time. We had lots of family and friends. Martin got so many nice things. He is still talking about it! I don't have a lot of pictures on my phone because I was running around making sure everything was going smoothly!

Since he has been asking for a few weeks for his "big bed" we decided it would be a good time to put it up for him. He loves it sooo much. We still have a slight obsession with all things prehistoric so naturally our bedroom is now dinosaurs!! He looks so tiny in his big bed but he is getting to be such a big boy.

I am so proud of him! He is smart, kind, loving, compassionate, and funny. Martin loves all animals and still enjoys being outside more than anything in the world. The zoo is one of his very favorite places. He loves to swing, slide, run and jump. He can throw a ball really well and loves to kick it to you! He has learned so much in the last year. He has learned his abc's, can count to 25, knows all of his colors and shapes. Loves reading books and has several favorites. He knows almost every word to Where the Wild Things Are. He also loves Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (Mo Willems), Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Little Blue Truck, anything Sandra Boynton, and still loves Goodnight Gorilla too. Still hates for you to rinse his hair in the bath. Acts like you're water boarding him or something. Asks a million questions and I have to remind myself this is how he learns all that he knows. He makes me so proud of him every days. He is such a doting big brother too. And I can tell Olivia already loves him sooo much. She follows him around all day and wants to play with whatever he has. I am so glad God chose us to be Martin's Mama and Daddy!

Ole Miss vs Southeast Missouri

Another win under our belt! It was Olivia's first tailgate. It was hot!!! But the kids did well considering everything. Kickoff was at 6, so I stayed back to feed Olivia and then meet Bryan and Martin at the game. About 15 minutes after I got to the game, Martin decided he was ready to go back to the tailgate. I walked back with both kids so Bryan could actually enjoy the game. Martin loaded up on grapes and realized everyone we tailgate with was at the game, so he promptly announced he was ready to go back to the game. I hadn't even caught my breath from our walk back yet. I chugged a bottle of water and off we went headed back in time to make it back for half time.

I think I saw two plays before halftime. Luckily I saw most of the second half! And we got to celebrate a win with The Rebels! Martin enjoys watching the sidelines for Rebel (the black bear). And everyone we sit by was excited to see Olivia since last football season I was just pregnant with her :). And they both snored the whole way home after the game. I'm not as young as I once was. All those stairs while carrying a baby will wear you out! Hotty Toddy! Ready for the game against Texas tomorrow.....Let's make it 3-0!

August and 7 months

It's been another whirlwind month! Olivia cut 6 teeth in a matter of 4 weeks. (#2-Aug 3, #3-Aug 12, #4-Aug 14, #5-Aug 19, #6-Aug 22) I guess we got it all done at once ....right?....! I don't remember Martin growing up this fast. She is crawling all over the house now and pulling up on everything. We've started the daily floor cleaning routine. A crawling baby and an almost 3 year old who loves goldfish and froot loops means sweeping is a daily necessity!

On August 7 Olivia started crawling on her hands and knees. Her transition from low crawling to hands and knees went fast. I think she realized she could go faster (aka--keep up with her brother), if she was on her hands and knees. Martin started back to school at the end o August and is LOVING it this year. Stark contrast to last year. We love his teachers, and a few of his friends from last year are in his class too! Sooo thankful for Hope Preschool! It has been such a blessing for us.

We celebrated our first Rebel Win of the season vs Vandy! Go Rebels! Feels good to be this optimistic about Ole Miss Football again.

We got our proofs back from our family pictures and it's a miracle, but there are some great ones!! A few good ones of both of the kids and a few good ones of the family and several good ones of Olivia. Can't wait to order some for the house!!

June and July

June and July were busy months at The Benton House. We finally got Martin potty trained. I decided we needed to go all in mid June and went straight to underwear! The first week was def a learning curve! You are training yourself just as much as you are training them. But, we didn't have as much trouble as I would have thought we would! This is a huge perk to waiting until they are ready! Martin is doing awesome now, and we haven't had any accidents in over 2 weeks (knock on wood). So proud of Martin!!

We sold our house in Oxford at the end of June. We have had a reliable renter living there for almost 2.5 years, but it is a relief to know no one will call and say the air is out of the dryer isn't drying. Hard to pop in and check on things from 2 hours away!

Livi cut her first tooth on July 26th (the day we had family pictures)! She hasn't been overly fussy-- but she has been a drool monster and has been stuffing things in her mouth with such purpose! Here's hoping she gets the rest of her teeth with such ease.

The first two pictures are from the day we went to oxford to close on the house. We stopped to pee on the side of the road in the back of Mama's Tahoe! Who says you need an rv to pee while you travel??

6 months (a month late)

At 6 months Livi has all sorts of new tricks. She has started sitting up on her own. She weighs 14 lbs 4 ounces and is 26.5" long. She will also low crawl dragging herself by her elbows. She also gets up on her hands and knees and rocks. She will do this to propel herself forward but hasn't exactly figured out how to make it all work together. She still prefers to stand when given the chance and really loves the Johnny jump up! She is such a sweet girl we almost forget what a handful she was for the first two months! She is in size 2 diapers but we will switch to 3's when we run out of the 2's we have left. And she is in mostly
9 month clothing. There are a few 6 month things she can still wear (if they are two pieces).

We had family pictures done last week, and I was quickly reminded why I am not willing to shell out $2k for kids pictures....EVER!! Martin was a total turkey the whole time. He was totally chatting our photographer up and happy as a lark until the camera came out and we said smile. Then it was meltdown central! Every little thing set him off. "Livi is touching me. The swing is hurting me. I don't want to smile. I just need to cry. I want to go home. That squirrel is running too fast." Those all happened. And just like that I got a glimpse into what the TERRIBLE TWOS are really all about. Being totally irrational! He really tested my patience! It will be a miracle if she has anything resembling a decent picture. I'm sure she got some good ones of Olivia. At least that's what I am banking on. Y'all say a prayer to the photo gods! We need it!

We went on another beach trip at the beginning of July and had a fabulous week. I plan to do a beach trip post when I have a minute to get on the computer and blog (so I can load my pictures), instead of my phone.

5 Months

Olivia turned 5 months while we were at the beach. She is getting to be such a happy little thing. The verdict was still out for a while....because she was kind of a hand full. But she has settled into a rhythm nicely and it is a lot easier to enjoy our blessed little life now. She is so close to sitting up. And she started saying "Mama" while we were at the beach. It was on June 1. Bryan was putting her bathing suit on her to go down to the beach, and he said he was having a tough time. He kept getting the strap stuck in different places. So he was wrestling with the bathing suit, and said she turned around like she was looking around and said "mamamama". Yes baby I will come rescue you. And I promise to put your bathing suit on you from now on :). She also says something that sounds like Bubba. Which we think is cute but Martin just says "I'm not bubba, I'm Martin Benton!"

She is still loving her exersaucer. She usually eats between 10- 10:30 and wakes up about 6 to eat. Then goes back to sleep until 8 or so. We went up to size 2 diapers a few weeks ago. And she is in 6-9 month clothing. If its two piece she can wear 6, but some of the 6 month stuff is pushing it because of her length. She has a fascination with tags just like her brother did! Guess this is a baby thing. She is very tactile!! She loves to be talked to. And really enjoys reading books. It's a good thing because at least once a day Martin reads to her. And then usually after his nap we all 3 have to read a stack of books together too. Love my sweet babies and I am so thankful I can stay home with them!

I feel like all my updates are about Olivia. So here are a few facts about Martin at 2 1/2. (PS--is my baby boy really getting close to 3?). He LOVES animals. We talk about animals all day. He enjoys reading books. Bedtime is usually 6-12 books. Yes I don't know how to say no. One day he will be too big for me to lay in the bed and read with him--or he will think I'm not cool anymore. So I'll just enjoy it while I can! His favorites are "Where the Wild Things Are", "Oh my oh my oh dinosaurs", "Barnyard Dance", and "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie". He can remember about 3/4 of "Where the Wild Things Are", and my favorite line that he says is "Oh please don't go. We'll eat you up. We love you so!" So stinking cute!!! He loves music and dancing! Still loves dinosaurs, cars, and Legos. Very picky eater--but loves drinking milk! Still not potty trained. We haven't forced the issue-but it's getting close!! He knows his ABC's and can count to 20. He knows all of his colors and shapes (including Rhombus). He can name almost any animal or dinosaur. He still loves Toy Story and Yo Gabba Gabba! And STILL hates a bath. Enjoys playing until it's hair washing time. Then, he acts like we are water boarding him! And his favorite place is outside. He loves to play on our neighborhood playground, enjoys swinging in the backyard and playing with his sand table and slide. He loves to water our flowers and pick them for me too :). He is a great helper with Olivia. He loves her so much more than I could have ever dreamed.

Beach vacation

We had such a nice week that I am still pretending I am at the beach. The weather was nice. It was really windy and the red flag was out each day, but other than that it was nice. The wind made it cool enough that you didn't get hot. Olivia spent most of the mornings asleep with someone on the beach. Martin was covered in sand the whole time we were there. He had a minor meltdown about getting in his pool at one point because he wanted to be naked. But I guess that is my fault since we usually swim at home sans clothes. Oops! He finally agreed to put his clothes on and we were fine. We ate great food all week. We got to see our friends Allison and Shaun while we were down and had a great time with Bryan's family! Martin enjoyed all the extra attention and Olivia and I both enjoyed the extra hands to help! And of course we got to have Krispy Kreme doughnuts while we there (hot now)--because vacation wouldn't be complete without hot now doughnuts! We picked a good week to go, because it was a quiet time at the beach. Each night for dinner we didn't have a wait. We had 10 people and when we got to The Back Porch they were ready to seat us (that never happens)! We did have a wait at Dewey Destin, but not at Crab Trap or Louisiana Lagniappe either. Pretty good deal with kids! It's always hard to entertain before and then during the meal too. We had a great week, and we were all sad to say goodbye to the beach!

Memorial Day Weekend

School is out for summer! So that means vacation!! I just got Martin used to the school schedule and now it's summertime. Sounds about right??? He has asked every day since Tuesday (last day of school) if he has school today. Might be a long summer. We are headed to Destin for a week, so we are busy packing. Well I am busy packing anyway. Martin is busy unpacking everything, and Bryan is busy working. And Olivia, well she is always just busy eating. Ha. So ready to have sand between my toes. We could use a uhaul for all this stuff. Bryan just thought the Tahoe would be big enough :). Only kidding. We have plenty of room, but goodness do kids need a lot of stuff!

Olivia has a new found love for her exersaucer. She loves to chew on the giraffes ear! She loves to be up looking around, so this is perfect for her. She gets mad when I take her out. Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day! Please remember what Memorial Day is about!

Mother's Day Week!

Happy Mother's Day to me!! Martin made his first ever Mother's Day craft for me. A pot with flowers painted on it using his little hands and fingers. I know I will always treasure it. He was so proud of it. On the way home from school he told me all about how he painted it with his hands and used his fingers to make the flowers. Then of course he picked the flower to give me. Duh!

Olivia had her 4 month check up yesterday while Martin was at school. Her weight was 12 pounds 4 ounces and her height was 24.5". Long and lean--that's how we make our babies. She is tracking right along the same percentages as Martin. Which doc said isn't surprising considering Mama and Daddy! :).

Blessed

I am so blessed to have these two sweet babies in my life! So blessed they call me mama. Martin is getting so big and I can't stand it. Thank goodness he still likes to snuggle and thinks my kisses can fix any pain! And Olivia is getting so big too. Hard to believe she has already been a part of our family for 4 months--then other days it feels like she has always been here. I know how blessed we are to have two healthy, happy kids. So thankful God chose me to be their mommy! They are so sweet to each other. Olivia is very tolerant of Martin! And Martin just adores his baby sister "Livi Lu Lu" as he calls her now. He loves to read to her. I hope she gets his love for books!

4 Months

Warning: MAJOR PICTURE OVERLOAD!!

Olivia turned 4 months on Tuesday.  I finally feel like I am at a place where I am comfortable with both kids alone out and about. It only took 4 months.  Haha!  I'm only kind of kidding.  Now I am ready for whatever the day throws at me.  It's funny how stressful things seem with a 2 year old--ie the grocery store.  But, toss in an infant and you see just how easy it was with just 1!  I have learned to let things go a little more!  And, let's face it--I needed to let a few things go.  Olivia is getting such a cute little personality and laughs at us all the time.  Who knew we were so funny??  

3 Month Picture

Picasso---aka Martin

Another picture from the Art Show

Art Show with our Boy

Watering his flowers

I'm 4 Months Old now!

Funny kiddos

Our sweet babies

I love this one!!

Precious babies

Have you ever seen anything cuter??

I'll have to update her stats next week after we go to the doctor and get an official weight.  I would guess close to 12 pounds now.  She seems to be doing something new every few days.  She rolls over both ways now, and has found her feet.  If you lay her on her back she rolls over immediately.  I think she wants to be up looking around--because when you put her in the bouncy seat, she tries desperately to sit up too.  She swats at anything you hang in front of her, and loves to pull on her bib or shirt and put it in her mouth.  She is constantly pulling her paci out and chewing on the side of it.  Busy busy busy!  She loves to put anything in her mouth.  Olivia is nursing 5 times a day.  And, only waking once during the night.  Usually down for the night between 10 and 10:30 and wakes up between 5-6:30 am!  We will definitely take it :) I have heard some horror stories about babies waking every three hours still at this point, so VERY thankful for a good sleeper!  She LOVES to smile at you (especially her sweet brother Martin).  She still sleeps in a swaddle.  Even naps in the swaddle.  And, I don't plan on taking that away from her anytime soon.  It seems to be the key to longer naps and longer naps equal happier EVERYONE!  And, y'all she talks all day long.  I believe she gets that from her brother.  Our sweet girl loves to be rocked to sleep and goes to sleep faster if you pat her while you rock.  One day she will be too big for me to rock, and won't want me to pat her on the bottom, so in the mean time--I'll be glad to oblige!  She also loves to listen to Martin sing to her.  His favorites to sing to her are "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "5 Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree".