Our Beautiful Baby Boy, Ben-O

Benny is 7 months today! I can hardly believe it! It's crazy how much our lives have changed in that amount of time. This kid is hilarious! He's always smiling and laughing (unless he's teething) and his funny personality is already shining through. It seems like he steals the show whenever he's around. Even strangers have to stop and talk to him when they pass us in the store because he's giving them a big smile before they even look at him.

We always get comments about his beautiful blue eyes and his big smile....and big head, but once he gets some hair, it won't seem so large and in charge. Past experience with the other 2 kiddos has proven that to be true. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Funny side note story: At his 6 month check-up, the doctor ask if big heads run in the family. I laughed and said, "Yes, most definitely, they do." He then said, "Well, if that's the case, there's no need for concern." I was laughing about that all day.

We started him on solids at 5 months. We had a rough start, but he's doing much better. He just would not open his mouth! It seemed like we were always having to pry it open with the little spoon. Most kids take a day or two to figure it out, but with Benny it was over a month before he would keep it in and open up for us.


Look at that happy baby!


I got this picture at the beach. Isn't his outfit hilarious!


This is how he smiles a lot of the time. Big, wide, open mouth. I love it! I just want to squish him and hug him all day.


This guy is growing so fast! He's a little over 20 pounds and my back pain can attest to that. It's been good for my gun show, though. No weight training necessary when your carrying around this brick all day.


Here he is in the baby carrier on our walk a few weeks ago. He's getting WAY too heavy for me to wear this with him. Check out that grin!

He's been spending a lot of time in our old school walker we got as a hand-me-down when Lucy was born. He can sit up and play with toys for a while now, too. He's chewing on everything he can get his hands on. He's got two teeth that came in a few weeks ago. He always wears a bib because he is always slobbering or spitting. The spitting makes me laugh every time and he does it A LOT!

I wish this guy would stop growing so fast! His first few months were a little rough for me. I've had a rough start with all my kids, but I am enjoying him so much and wish he could stay this age for a long, long time. Love you, Ben-O!

Mother's Day

I have a whole lotta catching up to do, but I thought I'd start with the more recent stuff and get to the older posts when I get around to it. At least I have a plan, right?

My Mother's Day celebration started on Friday morning. All of the mothers of Lucy's class were invited to come to school for a little program. They sang a couple songs and gave us our little gifts. I loved hearing Lucy sing the songs. I was able to pick her sweet voice out of the crowd.


I had an absolutely fabulous Mother's Day! J Ray did a wonderful job making me feel special and loved. He got up with the kids while I slept in for a bit. I came downstairs to find an omelet, muffins, and waffles for me to feast upon. It got a little crazy trying to get ready for church at 9:00, (Mom shouldn't have enjoyed her sleep in quite as much), but we made it. I enjoyed some great talks and lessons on motherhood. I left motivated and not guilt-ridden (and that's a big deal in the life of Maggie Ray).

After church I took a very long nap. When I got up, I got to open my present. An ice-cream maker! Very exciting and very unexpected! Here's Graham and Lucy enjoying some of the good stuff.



This is me and the kiddos right before bedtime. Lucy and Graham were so sweet all day. Graham kept saying, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom" every few minutes. Lucy put on a few little dance and singing routines for me throughout the evening. There were even a few Lucy Ray originals that I got to enjoy.

I missed my Mom a lot on Sunday. I wanted to be at her house with the fam enjoying dinner. I have been blessed with an amazing woman for a mother. As we were walking home from church, I turned to Jason and said, "I miss my Mom today." Immediately I felt like a jerk. Jason's Mom passed away 7 years ago and even though my mom is a 10 hour drive away, we won't see Judy for a long time. My kids can't call her on the phone to chat. She was missed today, too. I always think of her and wish I could thank her for helping to teach Jason to be such a hard worker and a kind and thoughtful person.

I sure love being a Mom. I have been blessed with 3 special kids who keep me guessing and learning. Sometimes I feel so inadequate and I convince myself that I am doing this mothering thing all wrong. Hopefully, despite my lack of patience (AKA: yelling, criticizing, pinching.....yes, I said pinching....I'm working on it)they will turn out okay.