Benjamin

Let me introduce Benjamin to you, for those of you who dont know him.  He is my wild but loving three year old.  He has an amazing heart and was our special gift from God!

3 years old ~ his yogurt "muscrash"!

After we made it past 2007, Bryan and I started to entertain the thought of having another baby.  Since all of Emily's genetic testing had come back negative we started to think about it.  I remember the night that we put Emily to bed and Austin went to bed as well.  Bryan and I started talking about maybe starting to try around June or July ~ WE didnt want a baby in November because he is an avid deer hunter and because of Thanksgiving but we also didnt want a baby in December.  Having a birthday so close to Christmas myself, I know how it feels to have a "Christmas birthday".  So we agreed we would wait until we knew we cleared those months before starting to try.  Little did I know that I was already pregnant when we had this conversation. It was now obvious that the Lord had other things in mind and what WE wanted was NOT what HE wanted!    Two weeks later I took a pregnancy test, and then another and another and another.  I think I took a total of around 6 or so.  With our anniversary just a week away, I wrapped up a little onsie and gave it to Bryan, along with two of the pregnancy tests!

Because Emily was still taking chemo at that time, Bryan had to help out alot with her medication as I could not touch it.  

12/17/2008 

I had never gone into labor by myself, I was induced with Austin and Emily and thought this would be no different.  My doctor scheduled me for induction at 7:00 am on 12/17/08 ~ the day after my due date.  The Biggest Loser finale was on and I remember feeling contractions throughout the show.  I didnt think anything of it because it didnt hurt and because I had never experienced it this way before. That night when we went to bed Bryan said, lets try and get a good night sleep since we know what tomorrow will be like!  A couple hours later, I was in the bathroom on the floor and not being able to move from the pain of the contractions.  I finally was able to wake Bryan up and we left around 2:15 am for the hospital and it was a huge snow storm.  We got to the hospital and they broke my water.  Within  a couple hours I was ready to start pushing...the epidural didnt work so I was feeling everything.  Little did I realize that Ben's heart rate kept dropping so they rushed me in for an emergency C-section.  Because of the epidural didnt work, they had to put me completely out.  Waking up a few hours later, I got to see my precious little boy!  He was perfect!

Benjamin 3 months old

Halloween 2009 10 months

ALOT has changed since then. I call him my little monkey because he gets into everything and he LOVES bananas!! He keeps me on my toes and is obsessed with matchbox cars, trains and airplanes! He loves doing whatever Emily is doing and he loves it when Austin comes home every other weekend.  

Ben's first Easter 2009 ~ 4 months old

 He is a "mommy's boy" and  he walks around the house going "Honey" or "Honey, I need help, please".  He has recently started to be the backseat driver and when the light turns red  ~ he is immediately yelling STOP! STOP! red light! and when its green "GO - GO - GO"!  He doesnt understand when there is a car in front of you...you cant go until they do!  He has his funny ways of saying "muscrash" for "mustache"! If you fake like your going to cry ~ he immediately runs over and says "dont cry, dont cry...it be alright"!  When he gets in trouble and after a time out he always says sorry and then most of the time he will get a sweet smile on his face and say "you give me?" and after i say "yes, I forgive you" he gets a huge smile on his face and says "you happy now?"!  

When He came to visit at the hospital 10/31/10

He adds so much joy to my life.  The Lord knew exactly what we needed after the initial sickness of Emily.  When she was sick in 2010, Ben stayed alot with Grandparents.  He would come up to the hospital a few times and it was wonderful when I would get a little extra time with  him.  He is such a blessing though.  It warms my heart when I hear him trying to sing "Jesus loves me"

Ben's new race car bed 2/1/12

I am now starting to potty train him.  Lets just say...its not an easy task ~ certainly not as easy as Austin was or Emily! He refuses to do it! He will seriously sit on his potty seat and scream no matter how long I leave him there and as soon as he gets a diaper on....he pees!  I have tried to bribe him (yes, I said it!) with buying him a new matchbox car and with M&M's ~ not working! I have signed him up for Pre-school for September and he is so excited about that (again, no incentive to start using the potty seat!). We have moved him from the crib to a toddler bed but again, that has no motivation for him either!  I know it will happen in time and maybe that is just what he needs.  It does amaze me though how much he has grown, the words that come out of his mouth (he told me Wed to "change my attitude" and then laughed!). The facial expressions he does and the belly laugh he will do...He just brings a smile to my face and it makes me realize more every day just how much the Lord has blessed me.  This may sound crazy but  its almost like the "prize" for everything we have and will endure with Emily, we have been blessed with a healthy child.  One that shows no signs of HLH or any other sickness ~ he is hardly sick for that matter.  He is just the greatest gift and I feel so blessed that the Lord chose me to be his mom.   He is an incredible little boy and the Lord has some awesome plans for him as he grows.

2/1/12 ~ Ben decided to play with his cars and this is how I found him!