What a week!

This past week has been full of ups and downs. Last Tuesday was my first emotional breakdown. Benson was having a hard time adjusting to baby Owen. He didn't take it out on Owen---he took it out on me. He was mad and would yell all the time. Benson also stopped sleeping through the night. I've heard that some kids will start wetting the bed (if they're potty trained) or stop sleeping through the night. I thought Benson would be okay, but he didn't like not having mom attention all the time. Things are getting better. Benson is sleeping fine again. But now he is trying to see what he can do to brother Owen. Here are some cute pictures I took of Benson holding Owen today. Right after I took these pictures Benson decided to plant a big kiss on Owen's lips (which I don't like him to do) and it looked like he was trying to bite Owen. Then he started kicking his legs so Owen was bouncing all over in his lap. That's what happens when mom is trying to take a picture and get a video.


We spent conference Sunday at my mom and dad's in Brigham. Everyone was there, except Dallin and Shari. My brother, Dallin, is on his mission in Switzerland. And my sister-in-law, Shari, had their baby yesterday. Her name is Avrie. Here is a picture of me holding her. Avrie was 20 inches and weighed 6 lb. 12 oz. Congrats Glade and Shari.


While we were hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Benson and cousin Garrett found some extra entertainment. They found the room where my mom keeps all of her stuff to do packages, and they got into the foam peanuts. What a mess. While they were cleaning up they both kept crushing the peanuts up. Benson had the foam stuck in his hair all day. They sure had fun.

I believe I only made it through last week because of some wonderful neighbors and friends who took Benson for many hours. I'm so thankful for my awesome friends! I hope it gets a little easier everyday, because I may actually make it!

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!

Counting down the days!

Since some of you don't get to see us very often (or at all)---I thought I'd post a picture of my lovely pregnant belly. Of course I don't want an ugly picture of just me, so I had Jeff take a picture of Benson and I. Benson decided to give me a very passionate kiss in this photo. I think he was actually trying to bite me. I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant. We have 20 days until we have the baby. My c-section is scheduled for Tues. March 18th (unless I go into labor before that). I'm excited to see our baby, but not looking forward to the sleepless nights and such. But---it'll all be worth it.



Benson is getting smarter, stronger, and bigger! Putting things out of reach on the counter doesn't work anymore. He can move chairs or whatever to get what he wants. A couple days ago, Benson was in his crib to "take a nap." He was making a lot of noise, but that's not unusual. Next thing I know--he's running around the house. I thought he had finally figured out how to climb out of his crib. Um..no...he actually figured out how to break the crib to escape. It's a cheap walmart crib--what do you expect. We thought we'd have to go buy a toddler/twin bed for him. I wasn't looking forward to that because I'm sure he won't stay in it (then he'd end up in our bed--which I can't stand). Luckily for us...Jeff was able to fix it! What a handyman! Hopefully we can keep Benson in his crib for awhile longer.



Our snow is finally melting! It has been rainy and sunny---which helps get rid of the snow. Here are some pictures from last week of Benson in our backyard before all the snow melted. Cute pictures, but we're happy to say "bye bye snow!" Unfortunately, it's supposed to snow again this weekend. Oh well.



It was actually so nice today that Benson and I went to Hogle Zoo with my neighbor Christie and her kids (thanks for inviting us Christie). It was a free day too!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, since this is the day of love---I thought I'd share our love story! Some of you already know how Jeff and I met, but you'll just have to suffer through this story (sorry). Jeff and I originally met back in 2001 when we both lived in Ogden. He lived with some guys that I worked with. I never actually talked to Jeff, but we were in the same singles ward for a short period of time and we'd say "Hi" to each other. He soon moved down to Provo to go to UVSC. We met again on Valentine's Day 2003. A bunch of single people in my singles ward got together to have dinner at Maddox. A friend of Jeff's from my ward invited him (since Jeff was also single). Jeff and I sat by each other. I couldn't remember his name, but I knew that I'd met him before. He remembered my name (which made me feel bad that I didn't remember his, but also made me feel good that I was so memorable--hee hee). So, we ate by each other and did a little flirting. I thought he'd ask for my number before he left, but he didn't. A couple weeks later I got a call from him. When he said it was Jeff, I didn't remember him. Then he said it was Jeff Bean, but I still didn't remember him. He had to remind me of Valentine's Day at Maddox. I then, of course, remembered him. He obviously couldn't stop thinking about me during those two weeks and so he tracked down my number (this again made me feel good that I was so memorable---haa!).
For that first date we went snowboarding and to a play. We continued going out pretty much every weekend. He ended up moving his job up to Layton so we could be closer. We dated for a year and got engaged Feb. 15, 2004 (the day after Valentine's Day). I told him that he could NOT propose to me on Valentine's Day. I didn't want it to be predictable at all. I like surprises ---and I was surprised (thanks honey!).
We married in the Logan Temple July 2nd, 2004. And we (plus Benson and another on the way) are living happily ever after!

I love you Jeff! Thanks for being such a wonderful husband and daddy!

Just Like DAD---a little like MOM

Just Like DAD!

Using Tools---One of Benson's favorite places to play is the garage (where all the tools are).

Picking my Nose---but Benson prefers to do the double pick!

Eating Pizza--okay this is a little like Mom too!

Playing Paintball----okay, Benson doesn't really play, but he likes to wear dad's masks. He even put it on backwards by himself.
Jeff said that's how the guys wear the masks when they're not playing---Benson is so hip!

Busy on the Computer-----well this is more like Mom since she's started this blogging stuff!

A little like MOM!

Take a nap after Lunch---Mom has been tired in these last few weeks of her pregnancy.

Clean the House---Benson got a vacuum for Christmas. He loves to help Mom clean the house.

Just Being Together!

Watching the Florida Gator game together (that they lost).

I've Been Tagged!!!

My friend Melanie has tagged me, so here it is:
10 years ago...I was in my first year of college---oh my heck, has it been that long. I had probably just broken up with my high school boyfriend because I wanted to live up the college life. Oh the memories...

5 Things on my to do list today...
1) clean something in my house--whatever I get to
2) go to the grocery store
3) finish this blog (I started it on Friday and it is now Monday)
4) Have FHE tonight (make some yummy brownies or cookies)
5) get to bed by 10:30

Snacks that I enjoy... ice cream, swedish fish, pretty much anything that is bad for me :)

What I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire... oh how I dream about this...um...pay off our mortgage, go on lots of vacations, my husband would insist that we invest most of it!

3 of my bad habits...
1) eating sweets
2) letting the dishes pile up
3) leaving the laundry in the washer/dryer

5 places I have lived...(and in this order...)
1) Brigham City
2) Ogden
3) Layton
4) Eagle Mountain
5) Lehi

5 jobs that I have had...
1) student teacher for a children's choir
2) Rite Aid cashier
3) TCH - Flying J corporate (kind of) - customer service (talk on the phone to pleasant truck drivers and such)
4) Teacher for 4 years (3rd and 4th grades)
5) MOM!!! (my very favorite job in the world)

5 things people don't know about me...
1) some people don't know that I play the guitar
2) I have written several songs (that I play on the guitar)
3) my hair used to be down to my waist (until my freshman year in college)
4) I don't cook very often (my husband knows this)
5) these are hard to come up with...um...I'm afraid of big dogs

So Much Snow!

Benson always wants to go outside. He enjoys the snow for about 5 minutes and then he just wants to play in the garage. If he falls he can't get up because he's wearing snow pants. He just cries until I come pick him up. He also hates if any small amount of snow gets in his face. No white-washes for Benson. These pictures were actually taken back in December. We've had a lot of snow since then.