Oh POOP!

Benson had his first hand in the poop experience today. Jeff was gone this morning, so I was left alone with the two boys. I was nursing Owen and Benson came up to me with his hand reached out. I could smell the poop before I saw it. A couple fingers on his left hand were covered with it. I quickly grabbed his arm and tried to explain to him that he can't put his hand down his pants. Okay, honestly---I yelled at him. I had to put Owen down in the middle of feeding him and clean Benson up. Oh the joys that are to come. I didn't take a picture of this----I know......you're welcome!

Welcome Home Owen

Our New Family

Here's a video of the first time Benson saw (and held) Owen. Benson's obviously not very thrilled. (Press pause on the music player to the left)

Welcome Home Owen


Here are some pictures of Benson when he was born and Owen, so we can see the similarities and differences in them.

The Crying Babies

Benson

Owen


HMMM....Think, Think, Think

Benson

Owen

Strike a Pose

Benson

Owen

First Bath at Home....
Owen didn't really like it---of course.

But he didn't mind getting his hair washed.

Oh, so relaxing!

Wonderful Grandma Gunther!
Grandma Gunther kept Benson at her house while we were in the hospital (for 4 days). And now she is staying at our house to help me take care of Benson and Owen. She's a lifesaver! What would I do without her? We're going to miss her when she leaves tomorrow.

Poor, poor Benson.
Benson has a cold so he hasn't been able to hold Owen---which is driving him crazy. Benson also likes to get in everything he shouldn't---like Owen's Moses basket and his bouncer. Poor guy---all he hears is "Benson don't do that"----or "Benson get out of there." He is getting better. Hopefully he'll get over his cold soon and hopefully Owen won't get it.

Benson was sharing his toys with Owen (you can see the ball right by Owen's head). Benson then decided he'd play catch with his little brother and threw one right at him. Luckily, it didn't hurt. Benson had to go right to time-out. When time-out was over Benson went up to Owen to give him a hug and say sorry. I shouldn't have let him, since he's sick, but it was too cute. How sweet is that!

Here's a video of Owen with the hiccups.

Thanks for checking out this long blog. I've been trying to do it for the last week, but each day passes so quickly and I never get it done.
You are all welcome to come and visit. Owen would love to meet you.

Owen Gunther Bean arrived this morning (Tuesday, March 18th) at 7:48 am. Weighing in at 7lbs 2oz and 19 inches long he has a full head of hair. Mother and baby are both doing awesome. But everyone is tired. Benson's reaction was ................. well, this picture says it all. Actually this lasted for about a minute and then all he wanted to do was run around the room and pull on cords. So he and Dad went to Toys R Us to play while Grandma Gunther got to spend some quality time with Owen and Mom. We are very grateful to have Grandma live close enough to take Benson for a few days while Carrie and I get use to the new babe. We are so blessed to be the parents of such a beautiful child.Well there is probably more to be said, but I'm just a guy following his wife's instructions. So hopefully I did Carrie proud with my first attempt at a post on our blog. Thanks to everyone for their willingness to help. Goodnight for now.

We're Ready!

Well, here we are. We have less than 24 hours before we will have our little boy in our arms. I'm trying to get some last minute things done today, but I probably won't get to half of them. I'm supposed to be "taking it easy" because at my last appointment my blood pressure was a little high. Taking it easy it pretty much impossible with a near 2 year old around. But I will be taking it easy after my c-section. My wonderful mother is taking Benson to her house in Brigham while Jeff stays with me in the hospital. We will come home Friday or Saturday and Jeff will be home for the weekend. Then my mom will come on Monday to stay with me for the week. I'm hoping this will make my recovery a little easier.
We still haven't decided on a name. We thought of few others to add to the list. Jeff's favorites are Luke (not Lukas) and he also really likes Owen. I want to wait and see the baby before I decide on a name. There are many I like, but none of them are screaming out to me. Thanks for voting on the names. It really doesn't matter which name wins, but it's fun to see what you think.
I'm currently reading Baby-Wise. We're hoping we can make this baby a better sleeper and eater than Benson was. My sister, Dana, has done this with her baby and she loves it.
I told Jeff that he is going to have to come home and do a post so you guys can all see pictures of the baby. I'm hoping he can do it by Tuesday night.
Well, wish us luck. Tomorrow morning our lives are going to change. I hope we can handle the adjustment. We love you and we'll keep you posted!
(I feel like I should have a picture on this post, but I have nothing to put with it---oh well.)

Those Darn Vandals!

Early Saturday morning (at about 12:30 AM), Jeff and I are lying in bed and we hear a crunching and scraping noise followed by a car screeching off. I said to Jeff, "It sounds like that car just hit something." Jeff looked out the window, but couldn't see any damage or the car. He laid back down, but a few minutes later checked out the window again and said, "Well, I can see now what they hit--the mailbox." Sure enough, someone had hit our mailbox along with our next door neighbors (the Burnhams). The mailboxes are right next to each other, so if you hit one---you hit 'em both.
In the morning I had to get to an early meeting. I saw the damage up close when I was leaving. It was a mess. As I left the neighborhood I saw one other mailbox down. So, I figured we weren't the only ones to get hit.
A few minutes after I left, an officer came to our house to let us know what had happened and to get a report. He told Jeff that many mailboxes and trees had been hit (in ours and another nearby neighborhood). The officer told Jeff that he would let him know if they found out anything.
Here's a picture of the smashed mailbox in our garbage can.
I wish I had taken a picture of the mess before Jeff cleaned it up.

While I was at my meeting, Jeff set to getting the mess cleaned up and buying the parts we needed for a new mailbox (all but the main post--which is the most expensive part). The main post didn't break because we had it in our dirt and rocks, so it just came out of the ground. Our next door neighbors had theirs in the cement, so it shattered.
Jeff put the new mailbox together later that afternoon. What a wonderful husband! He is on the ball!!! Here is a picture of the hot handyman doing his thing.We found out that between our neighborhood and the other, 15 homes had been vandalized (I think everything damaged was mailboxes or small trees).
Well, this sad story does have a happy ending. Our neighbors, Ryan and Melannie Wood, had a tree damaged (which is much more expensive than our mailbox). They were thinking that maybe these teenagers would drive around to check out the damage they had done (ya know, bragging to their buddies or whatever). So, they watched for suspicious cars driving by their home. Sure enough, a car with a couple teenagers drove slowly by. They got in their car and followed them around the neighborhood. The teenagers slowed down to look at smashed mailboxes and trees. They finally noticed that they were being followed and took off. The Woods got the license plate and called the cops. A few hours later the cops called them back and told them that it was the vandals! The two 17-year-old boys confessed that they did it. The cops also called us to let us know they had made two juvenile arrests. Who knows what will happen, but we're keeping our receipts!