My little model

So, here he is! Our little model! Yes, Benton went to get his 6 month (well, acutally 6.5 month) pictures taken Saturday. Our favorite picture place, the Picture People closed in Des Moines in Feb. We were quite upset - they do awesome photos, and have good deals. We got lucky though, because they are still open near Kansas City, and mom and dad wanted to meet there last weekend. So, off we went - Benton, Daddy, myself, and the dogs - yikes - we were packed to the brim for just a weekend!

We were running a bit late on Saturday - sorry PP folks - but got there, and felt like they spent a great amount of time with us. The pictures turned out GREAT, so great they asked us to sign a model release so they could put his pictures up in the store and possibly on the website!! It's so nice to have someone else tell you that you're baby's cute...all your friends have to agree, and having a stranger say so is so nice!

So, what else have we been up to lately?

>Ally turned 29 last Friday!

>Steven turns 29 on May 3rd!

>Benton had his 6 month check up on 4/7/11 - here are a few of his stats...

>18lbs 13oz (92%)

>26 inches long (74%)

>45 cm head circumference (99%)

>He sits unassisted very well

>He eats "real" food twice a day - his favorite - Bananas! He's also likes sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, applesauce, pears. He's tried green beans, peas, avacodoes, rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, spaghetti squash. In the near future we'll try blueberries, peaches, and fun summer fruits and veggies! Steven and I are making all his food, minus the cereals.

>He drinks 7 ozs at a time - three times a day at daycare. He nurses twice a day still.

>The Easter Bunny came and brought him a "My Pal Scout" he likes him a lot, and laughs at him.

>He's attempting to teeth - we're expecting a tooth within the next few weeks on the bottom!

That's about it for now! I'm really trying to get better at blogging, but he keeps me pretty busy! Lots of love guys!

Cousins....they're two of a kind!

Can you tell we're related?

It's sometimes scary how much they look alike. This is Ethan, (at the time, 6 months) my (now) 3 1/2 year old nephew on the left. That's Benton (3 months) on the right. I doubt there's any denying that they're related...

Poor children, the Sikes/Case genes are too strong!

You cloth diaper?

So, yes...we cloth diaper. No - we don't use the old fashion "flats" and "pins". Cloth diapers have actually come a really long way in the recent years. We currently (and probably only will) use Bum Genius - we have the 4.0's - the newest BumGenius available. We have 24 diapers that are in our "stash" - various colors and both snaps and velcro diapers. They have an insert that goes in a pocket in the diaper that is the absorbent part, and they fit like a disposable, just a little thicker!

I first learned of cloth diapering from my good friend (one of the bff), Rebekah. She cloth diapered with her first, Clark. The first time I saw them, I thought she was CRAZY! I mean - can you imagine washing your POOPY diapers in the washing machine where I wash MY CLOTHES?! ew...the thought made me want to puke! But, alas, soon after I got pregnant, I really started looking into them. The more I read, the more I heard, the more I wanted to do it. I talked to Steven about it a bit, and he was not at all convinced. I took him to our local favorite cloth diaper store, Little Padded Seat, and showed him all the CRAZY amounts of options. The owner there was very patient with us, explained everything from prefolds, to flats, to pockets, all-in-ones, and many more. After a whirlwind visit to the diaper store, and our head spinning with all these terms we've never heard before, more research ensued. Steven and I settled on the BumGenius, as we thought this was the best bang-for-our-buck option, and would be the least time consuming way to go if we were really going to do it.

Of course, those of you that REALLY know us, know we often do laundry - we just don't always finish it...may times you'll visit our home and find the laundry in various stages - in the dryer, some folded, some hanging, but never fully finished and put away. My mom laughed when I told her we wanted to cloth diaper and it would require us to wash the diapers about every other day and re stuff them. She didn't think we'd keep up with the laundry! While we don't always finish the diapers - ie stuff them and put them back in his drawer, we've kept up with the laundry! Now, don't ask to see our laundry completely put away and 100% finished...that's another story!

So, yes, we cloth diaper. Is it because we love the environment and want to save the landfills of nasty, gross disposables? Maybe a little. Is it because I'm super cheap and think in the long run it will save me money? You betcha! Wanna know a little more about my cloth diapering? Feel free to ask! I love it, Steven loves it, and it makes Benton's little bottom look cute and oh so happy!

By the way - we just found Rockin'Green Hard Rock soap and LOVE it!! We especially love it when people do giveaways of RG...like with Leaves of My Tree.

Woo Pig Sooie

Cheering on the HOGS! Yes, we are very disappointed that they lost, however we had a GREAT time watching them this year and are VERY proud how far they got.
Benton wore his jersey that night, and was telling Coach P that he was ready to play! He's got the hog call down pretty well, and most of the time laughs when we do it.

B is 3 months old now and here a few of his stats...

• Weighs about 15 lbs
• Sleeps from 10:30pm to 6:00am most nights
• Eats 5 ounces from a bottle at least 3 times a day and nurses 2 other times per day
• Wears 3-6 month clothes (mostly 6 months)
• Smiles and laughs
• Coos a lot
• HATES tummy time
• Loves "Baby Talk" on Thursday nights at the local library
• Sits upright assisted
• Loves his mommy and daddy and puppies

Hopefully I'll be a little better in the future about posting...Steven needs to put up some pictures for me soon so I can share more!

Bad, bad Mommy!

So, yes, I've been a self-absorbed mom recently and haven't posted ANYTHING since before Benton arrived! YIKES!!! Well, here's an extra-long post about Benton and how we're doing.

Benton arrived 10/9/10 at 2:34 pm via c-section. This was 10 days prior to his planned c-section. I was working on Friday morning, and hadn't felt him move much, and was having HORRIBLE constant contractions across the top of my stomach. I called the Dr and they asked me to come in so they could check me out. Mind you, this is the 3rd time I've had to go in somewhere because of contractions, so I didn't think much of it now. I drove myself to Des Moines and went to the office, they hooked me up for a NST (non-stress test). Of course, Benton made a huge liar out of mommy and started moving the minute they had me hooked up!! He was fine, but I was contracting. I spoke with the Dr and decided not to be checked, and to go home. I called Steven and asked him to come pick me up because the contractions were hurting, and I didn't want to drive home while I was having them (45 mile drive). While I was waiting on him, the contractions got closer together and a bit stronger, so back upstairs I went....I had the dr check me and I was only at a 1. Things just didn't "feel right" though, and she and I agreed it would be best for me to go to L&D and be monitored for a few hours (and hopefully get the contractions to stop). Steven gets there and we head across the hospital to L&D. I'm hooked up to the monitors and sat for a few hours. The on call Dr came in and talked to me about the possibility of delivering and the risks associated with an early baby (he was only 38 weeks at this time). After a few hours of monitoring, he decided to keep me overnight for further monitoring because of some of Benton's reactions to the contractions - his heart rate wasn't returning to normal "quite fast enough". Steven and I walked to my room and was hooked back up to the monitor, and left for the evening, being told to "try and get some sleep" - still only 1 cm dilated at this time as well. I was given 2 tylenol pm (yes that's 50mg of benadryl), and it didn't touch me. I maybe got 30 minutes of sleep between 10pm and 3:30am. I filled the time watching tv and walking a few laps around the floor. At 4am, I begged for an ambien, they agreed and it got me about an hour of sleep, no more.

Shift change at 8am brought the Dr that I saw in the office Friday. She explained that she'd check me again, and if I hadn't progressed I'd be sent home, but if I was starting to progress, she'd deliver Benton that day! Quietly hoping that I'd changed a little, I agreed. After a quick check, and the good news that I was progressing, we began really getting ready for a c-section. I called my parents, and they quickly packed and headed this way. Steven's mom was already in KC, as she left Friday afternoon, stating she'd either come all the way up for Benton's birth or spend a nice weekend in KC if she wasn't needed yet!

We were pushed back a few times due to emergencies in the main OR, but finally got taken down about 1:30 pm. I was okay until I was being wheeled down to there. I suddenly realized our lives were really changing, and going to quickly! Of course with all this confusion (and the confusion to follow), no pictures were taken here, so you don't get to see him in his great get-up! Take my word - he was cute...

I got my spinal, and things got started. Steven sat at my head and talked to me the whole time. I think the worst part was the nausea right before things were started (quickly fixed with a nice dose of something in the IV), and the smell of the actual procedure - some cauterizing tool they were using. I didn't feel the "tugging" everyone says they feel, the spinal really took well! But at 2:34 pm, I heard the most beautiful sound in the entire world - my baby's cry. Steven got to see him being delivered, and said he was beautiful! He was taken to the corner of the room, and evaluated quickly. The NICU team was there due to him being early - as a precaution - and they decided he needed to go to the NICU because he had fluid on his lungs still and wasn't breathing quite deeply enough. We decided Steven needed to go with him, and I would go to the room to recover. They wheeled Benton by in an incubator on a CPAP machine so I could see him, and quickly whisked him away.

When I returned to my room, Steven's mom was there. Steven came back shortly and showed me pictures of my beautiful baby. Of course, he had a lot of things on him, monitors and IVs...it really was quite scary, but they said he was doing well. We had some other things happen in the hospital that I don't really want to talk about right now, but will sometime soon...

Needless to say - he was in the NICU for 4 days, but went home with me on Tuesday 10/12.

He is perfect now. Growing well, and doing great! I love my little boy and love being a mommy - it's so amazing seeing that we actually created this little man. More to come....

Floods of 2010

Coming to you live from the former town known as Ames....

Actually, no, we're no longer an island like we were on Wednesday, but we're still in the process of clean-up! The picture to the left is from a friend, Randy. This is a street that I normally drive down every day to get to the interstate. It was closed for 2 days because of the water over the road. It's open now, but there's some major cleanup still to happen. The next picture is from one of the other main "drags" in town - Duff Ave. This is how most people get from North Ames to South Ames...that didn't happen for a while! This street houses Wal-Mart, Target, and most of our eateries. Wal-Mart re-opened yesterday - but I'm really hesitant about going there - it had lots of water in the parking lot, and looked like it actually got in the store - but no one will confirm or deny it. Target on the other hand is still closed. I drove by yesterday and they had boxed out in front of the store. My guess would be they're going through a lot of what Walgreens did a few years ago in Iowa City. Luckliy, the water receeded here a lot quicker than just a few years ago in IA City, so they don't have as much cleanup here as they did over there.

After working Wednesday at Walgreens, and knowing that I had to make it down to Des Moines to work Thursday and Friday - AND hearing that they shut down I-35 and the city's water due to possible contanmination, Steven and I looked for a hotel for this lady to stay at. I found one after about an hour of looking - thank goodness - because it's also fair week in Des Moines. (State Fair that is!) What timing.

We were fine in our duplex as far as water goes. We're in north Ames. They shut down 69 just north of us due to Ada Hayden flooding over the road - but it's back open too. Our storage shed on the other hand is another story. We had flash flooding earlier in the week and were called to come check things out. We took on about 2 inches of water then - and Steven knew he'd have to clean/throw away some things. After Wednesday's floods, he went to check it out Thursday and ended up spending all day out there - removing EVERYTHING, sweeping, drying, and building a platform to put things back on. We had to throw out a bookcase, a table that he built me for my sewing machine, some boxes, and a few odds and ends. Thank goodness OCD me got all of Benton's things out the weekend before - his stroller, his pack-n-play, etc! I thank my wonderful husband for taking the time to take care of the shed - he's a doll and I didn't even have to do any of the work!

I came home last night to there still being restrictions on water useage - they were asking residents not to use water wastefully - short showers or sponge baths, no dishes, no washing clothes, no washing cars (yes, people were ACTUALLY washing their cars), and no watering lawns. We flushed only when necessary. Thank goodness that restriction is being lifted in just a few hours! I have laundry to do! However - we still have a boil order in effect, they're saying until early next week still. Because of the flooding, we had a total of 8 water main breaks that crews have been working around the clock to fix. I thank them for their hard work and efforts! They found another break last night around 6 pm, but had it fixed at 11 pm. That's 9 water breaks! YIKES.

Enough about the floods....in store this weekend? CLEANING! YEA!! Mom and Dad are coming up next weekend - very excited, and our friend Neil is coming up sometime this week! We plan on going to the fair tomorrow if the weather permits and isn't too hot. We have a 3d/4d ultrasound scheduled for next Saturday! We're excited to see the little man again. And my first baby shower is next Friday night with the Ames crew!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week! Lots of love from our growing family to yours!!

Benton's Room

We've been very busy with Benton's room! The chair came in this week and Steven and I borrowed a friend's truck to go pick it up (Thanks Garrisons!) We got it put together (the base on the chair) and set in the corner.

The letters are on the wall above his crib - just waiting for Steven's dad to finish it. He's taking on the amazing task of making him a convertible crib. He's an amazing woodworker and we're very excited!

Some of the artwork is up on the wall - we got the HOGS pictures from the craft fair last year and orginally planned on putting it in the office - but after we found out we were pregnant, it really made me settle on a Razorback Themed nursery - so it was a must to put on the wall, especially with the sports balls in it!

We attempted to put together the travel system last week - and found out it was broken. So we took it back to BRU and exchanged it. Didn't end up getting the exact same one (because Chicco d/c the pattern we had - boo!) but settled with a nice green one.

Next week's agenda: Monday night - go meet and check out the possible daycare provider (in-home). Tuesday afternoon - doctor's appointment in Ankeny. We'll see if Dr Morgan really did schedule my c-section and not let me know :-S Wednesday - payroll at work (yikes!) and the conversion to my new system (ACK!) Thursday and Friday and ALL next week - filling in for the admin in Des Moines - so lots of playing with the new system! On top of all of that - I have lots of sewing to try and do. I need to make new sheets for the cradle (it's not a 'normal' sized mattress...so...). I have a few other projects that I'm thinking of trying - making some personalized burp cloths and onsies - we'll see how it goes!

Speaking of sewing - look at what mom is making for the room: This is the valance, it has white curtains with a Razorback ribbon running along the bottom.

She acutally just sent me another picture that I'll post next week of the completed curtains! YEA!!