God Bless Ryan

We feel so blessed to have Ryan... and to have so many people that love him in his life. November 4th was a special day for our family as Ryan was baptized into the Catholic Church and both of our families were brought together. Ryan's grandparents, great-grandma, aunties & uncles, great aunties & uncles, and cousins were all there to celebrate! Ryan was so sweet through the whole ceremony. He laughed and smiled and entertained everyone in the church! Thank you to our families for sharing this day with us and to Aunt Jennie & Uncle Mark for being Ryan's Godparents.

Dear Ryan...

Happy 5 months sweet boy. I can't even begin to express in words how 

much happiness you have brought into our lives. 

Your smile is infectious. Nana has called it a "megawatt smile"! We used to try so hard to get you to smile for a picture... but now you make it so easy! You see our face and the camera- and you smile... showing those adorable dimples you got from your Daddy.

This month you love faces, grabbing, and grabbing faces! You like to watch us clap and laugh when we make silly noises and faces. You make so many sounds- like mmmm, da, and bbb. You like to scratch your sheets before you fall asleep. You sometimes scratch your own face- ouch! Look at the scratch in this picture!

You think it's funny to pull your socks off and you love to pull your toes to your mouth.

You love to jump. LOVE to jump!

You look cute in hats.

You celebrated your first Halloween by dressing up as a giraffe and going to Zoo Boo with some of your cousins.

You tried a little rice cereal for the first time! It did not go very well! The second time was MUCH better!

You had your first cold this month and had a very difficult time sleeping. It was probably worse for Mommy and Daddy worrying about you not sleeping and breathing well! We're still working on the sleeping-through-the-night thing! You've had a couple of really good nights since you turned 5 months but we all had a tough time sleeping during your 5th month!

We love you so much little ryan- happy 5 months.

Zoo BOO!

Well... I hate dressing up for Halloween but oh. my. gosh. was it fun putting Ryan in his costume for Zoo Boo with his cousins. Our little giraffe :) I love all of these little faces. 

Happy Halloween. Let the holiday season begin!!

Hello little Drew

Welcome Drew Nicholas Benson... the world is just a little bit sweeter.

Another boy- oh my! I am so excited for these little boys to grow up with their cousins. I am one happy auntie.

The proud and adorable big brother :)

life is sweet.

Dear Ryan...

Dear Ryan,

When you turned 3 months, Mommy went back to work... that should explain why your 3 month and 4 month posts are being combined! I can't believe it's been 4 months and 1 week since you came into our lives. You have brought us so much happiness. It's a good thing I made a list of all the things you did during your third month because you grow and change so quickly...it's hard to remember!

In your third month, you found your toes, your thumb, and started putting your hand into your mouth. You learned to roll over- both ways. You rolled so much in your crib that we would put you to sleep in one place and 5 minutes later we couldn't see you on the monitor! You started smiling and talking to us a lot more.

You went on an airplane to Cape Cod and saw the ocean!!

You furrow your eyebrows all the time (you look just like Daddy when he's thinking).

We love that you still startle yourself awake... all four limbs hit the mattress hard! We love that when we put you to sleep with your pacifier in your mouth, you spit it out right before you fall into a deep sleep.

In your fourth month, you grew so much. You started wearing 3-6 months shirts but you're still rocking your 0-3 month jeans. You are our string bean!

You are talking ALL the time and smiling all day long! We love when you smile so big that your pacifier falls out of your mouth. That perfect gummy smile!

 You put everything in your mouth...and you're drooling everywhere. Teething? I think so... You love faces, mirrors, music, and ceiling fans. You love scratching your crib sheet. You love your toys... especially your car keys and Sophie the giraffe. What is it with that giraffe and babies?

You love to jump in your jumper even though your toes barely touch the ground. You love when we hold you up and do 'airplane'!

This month has been hard now that Mommy is back to work. Every moment at home is sacred. We appreciate our weekends more and 5-7:30pm is the most special time of our day during the week. I love waking you up in the morning and seeing your great big smile as you wipe the sleep out of your eyes.

You love going to Nana & Papa's house and watching your little cousins play. It won't be long until you will be playing with them too. Patrick can't wait! You love going to Ms. Cheryl's house too and you've been a good baby for her! You are very loved all week long.

Long gone are the days when you would just fall asleep in our arms several times a day. Now, I just steal my cuddles from you in the middle of the night (yes... you are still waking up in the middle of the night- twice... it. used. to. be. once.) I love listening to you breathe while you're sleeping on my chest. Now that Mommy is back to work she kisses you a little more, rocks you a little longer, and holds you a little tighter...

i love you ryan.
love, mommy