Our little Bennett is one!

Bennett turned one on Sunday! Let me say that again...my baby is ONE! And what a sweet little one year old he is!

I have had the most amazing year with him. He honestly is the best baby a first time Mum could of asked for. He slept through the night very early on and is so easy going. His personality is through the roof and he makes us laugh every day. There is not a day that goes by that I don't realize how lucky we are to have this little blob in our life's.

Also lets think about this for a second. This month last year, not only had I not met Bennett...but I hadn't met Brooke either! So this year has definitely been extra special!

He had a lovely day filled with presents and sugar. We started out by going to my sisters house for a skype date with my family in England. That meant that they could sing to him and watch him open their present. Brooke dressed up as well, she had to look her best considering she was attending her first birthday party as a guest :) Next we went out for lunch with my sister and her husband {Aunty Carly and Uncle Nat}. When we got home we watched a movie and napped, then it was time for his dinner celebration! My friend Anna made him a monster cake which was a big hit :)

Anyways, here are his stats as well as some {ok LOT'S of} pictures from his birthday. This will be his last monthly update now we have reached a year! I will still update on him every six months though because I love updates!

Happy birthday little Blob, we LOVE you! xxx

Weight: 22.2 lbs

Routine: I can finally say my child sleeps in his OWN ROOM!!! We decided it was time we focus on getting him to sleep in his crib. Getting him used to it turned out to be pretty easy. We just started his bedtime routine a little earlier which gave him time to fall asleep while we were still up doing things. I think hearing us helped him feel comfortable. Now he goes down like a pro for naps as well as night time.

Eating: He still drinks formula in bottles as well as a plate of whatever we have for lunch or dinner. I was just told that he should start coming off bottles. That may be quite difficult as he always has one when Brooke does. We'll see though.....it just might take a tiny bit of convincing ;)

Milestones: Well there it the obvious milestone of turning one and this last month he really started to understand the word no. I can now tell him no and most the time it will make him stop in his tracks. This is usually only for a second to look at me with a cheeky smile and then continue to do whatever he wasn't suppose to be doing ;) He has also figured out how to "comfort" Brooke when she cries. Comforting is shoving a soother in her mouth and rocking her in her chair. It is sweet to see him try, even if it's not the best method haha.

               

              

          

     

A picture from each of his first 11 months :)

Fast sleep after his long day :)

Baby Brooke is one month old!

Wow I cannot believe that I am already doing Brooke's one month update. Even crazier is that Bennett's next update is his ONE YEAR! {Cue sobbing here} Time seriously flies when you are having fun.

Brooke is such a sweet baby. She is already showing a little personality and Bennett has started to really enjoy having her around. Even this morning I caught him squishing his face up against hers and smiling. She is very good at sighing/grunting and knows how to burp...well. It makes me laugh because she always looks so sweet and innocent {and is usually in something pink}, then lets out a huge burp. Also, because she can't smile yet, her grunting and sighing always makes her seem really put out by the world. It's hilarious.

I already love her so much and really can't imagine our family without her. Considering we did not plan to have her, I still can't believe how perfect it feels now she is here!

Weight: 8.4 lbs

Routine: She is still in that newborn routine where she sleeps alot and really only wakes to feed. Her sleeping is good but she is alot more alert then Bennett was at night. I still can usually get her right back to bed after milk but sometimes that requires some extra cuddle time :) I am hoping she will start sleeping through the night early like Bennett did around 10 weeks.

Eating: She is CRAZY for milk. This little piglet not only loves milk but gulps it back every time she drinks it as if she hasn't eaten in days. She actually gulps so fast that she chokes every feed. It was worrying at first but lets face it, it's not like she is going to choke to death on liquid. So I just sit her upright and wait for it to make it's way down. The plus side is that her feeds are done so quickly {which is nice at night!}.

Milestones: Obviously there aren't many of these at 4 weeks old but she is definitely getting more alert about the world around her. I am hoping she will crack a smile soon, I can't wait for it to light up her lovely little face!

This picture cracks me up! She looks like a cross eyed alien baby :)

     

Bennett at the petting zoo!

We live in a new community called Legacy. I actually really like it so far and know it will be lovely when its all done.

A couple Saturdays ago, the developer put on a big block party to encourage people to check us out. They had a petting zoo which Bennett got to go in. He loved it! The baby pigs were adorable and defo my favourite! Bennett, on the other hand, seemed to be much more interested in the baby chicks. It was so cute to see his little chubby hand reaching out to touch them.

Here are a few pictures from the day :) xxx

Bennett is 11 months!

I can't believe he is already so close to a year old!! It makes me sad but I think back to how much we have done over his first year and I feel better. This last month was fun to see how fast he is starting to pick things up. I feel like we show him something and he starts to understand almost instantly now!

The other day my sister showed him how to walk along with his walker. As soon as she showed him, he was off! I couldn't believe it! Using the walker seems to be helping his leg strength as he is trying to stand alone for small periods of time {and giving me a heart attack while he teeters there haha}.

Also the other big event for him is that he is now a big brother! He has taken to the roll very well :) I am so happy I didn't wait until he was older to give him a sibling because I don't think my nerves could have taken it! Even now I am always so worried that he is upset with me or doesn't like his new sis. This is purely my own worries though because so far {other than some mild acting up} he seems to be fine with her. They don't have alot of interaction yet but I think this is mainly because she can't do much {in other words, to him...she is boring haha}. What makes me think I am just crazy is that we have caught him smiling at her randomly throughout the day many times. Plus now he has started to understand kisses and the other day he crawled over to her and gave her a big wet one right on the lips!

Photo by Gingersnap Photography

So here are his 11 mth stats and pictures. I also included some from his "early" birthday that we did while my Mum was here from England. My friend Anna Rita made him an AMAZING Peppa Pig cake and one night while my family was all together, we sang to him and let him get messy!

Weight: 22 lbs 11 oz~ this is actually an accurate weight! My Mum and I took both babies to get weighed while she was here.

Routine: He still sleeps right smack dab in between us in our bed. Well with the exception of "Granny sleepovers" when he sleeps with my Mum during her visits. The funny thing is that now I am not pregnant I feel like I have this new found wealth of room. So while he is still little, we don't mind. Maybe he will be sleeping on his own by the time his second birthday rolls around ;)

Eating: Pretty much the same as last month.

Milestones: Climbing the stairs all the way to the top by himself! Walking with his walker toy and understanding kisses :) Oh and his teeth are really coming in now.

These are his 11 month pictures! :) xxxx

Brooke Hartley Mele

We had our baby girl! Brooke Hartley Mele was born Sept 13 at 11:16 pm weighing 6'6. She is absolutely adorable and we love her so much!

So far she is as good as Bennett was.....maybe slightly better behaved ;) She sleeps alot and is mainly content when she is awake. It is difficult having two babies under one years old but she is making it so enjoyable!

Now she is finally here we are going  to enjoy her first few weeks and get ready to celebrate Bennett's first birthday!!!!! xxxx