Baby firsts

We're home from Florida! We just walked in the door and I thought that while Brack was unpacking (thanks, babe!) I'd share some of Benton's adventures. I'll post some real updates later but for now enjoy some of this week's baby milestones.

First time using silverware

First time in a Batmobile

First time being captured by King Kong

First mustache

First time surfing the waves

Unfortunately, he was too short for his first go-kart ride.

An update

The countdown to the beach has begun. Seven days! Brack hasn't had a week-long vacation since our honeymoon five years ago so he is ready. Looking forward to a relaxing time at the beach! No oil spill can ruin this for us. Here's Benton modeling his swimwear for us. Hopefully he'll be a little more chipper next week. 


In the meantime, here's an update on life with the Hassells. We are praying hard that Brack will be able to get a teaching job for the fall. He finishes his Master's degree in Health and PE in August. With all of the school budget cuts and changes, there aren't many openings at all. He's also taking the certification exam for Special Education next weekend. If he passes that, he'll be certified for any special ed job and there are a lot more of those available. Pray with us that he is hired and can use the degree he's worked so hard to earn!


We also still own our house in Rome. Since the housing market still isn't great, we're going to try to rent it again. Our last renting experience didn't leave such a good taste in our mouths so we'll be a lot more careful this time. We just renewed our lease at our apartment for another six months so we definitely need to sell that house or get a renter in there quickly.

Benton is hilarious and puts smiles on our faces constantly. It's amazing to me that the Lord is blessing us with this new life at exactly the right time. I am convinced we'd be in a hard place right now if it weren't for this little monster. We're so thankful for this joy we experience daily that reminds us of God's goodness and grace. 


Speaking of the munchkin, he's growing like a weed. He's officially out of newborn clothes and we're about to move up to the next diaper size. He has a double chin and chunky thighs. I love every piece of him. Brack and I find ourselves looking back at pictures from the early days and wondering who switched out our tiny baby with this "juicy" one. (Thanks to Beth for that new adjective.)

Benton's skills include holding small toys, sitting in a Bumbo seat and sucking on his hand. He's all smiles first thing in the morning and almost every time he's getting his diaper changed. We've put him in the nursery at church the last two weeks and they tell us he's been very well behaved. Of course they could be lying to us but we haven't been kicked out yet. 


Tomorrow, Benton gets to meet his great-grandparents from Indiana. My Mam and Pap are coming to visit and we're really excited. They're even going to help my parents baby-sit tomorrow night while Brack and I go see Conan at the Fox. Looking forward to a night out with my husband! 

Conversations

It's harder than you think to get cute baby moments on video. But I was able to capture some of Benton's smiles. He's even talking a little bit. Just let me know if you can tell what he's saying. That would be helpful.

A Conversation with Benton from Jordan Hassell on Vimeo.

Chores

Benton helped us with the laundry the other day.
I think the dryer shrunk our baby.

Our chill baby

Today is my last day of maternity leave. I can't believe it's already been 8 weeks since Benton was born. We've had a lot of fun being home together. This summer, Benton will get to enjoy a lot of quality time with his daddy. Fun days ahead!

We're taking a trip to Florida with my family at the end of the month. I'm excited for Benton to see the beach and I'm curious how he'll react. I've been tempted to take him in the pool at our apartment complex to see what he does but the water has been way too cold. I just can't imagine he would think that was very fun. 

He seems to like being outside. We've taken a few trips to the park and I've walked him out to sit by the pool. The sun makes him sneeze and he squints at how bright it is. Solution? Tiny baby sunglasses. I hope his head grows just a smidge over the next three weeks so these fit him right at the beach. Cute, right?

He's getting much better at bathtime. I think he may even be starting to enjoy them. He's only peed in his own face once. He's really fun to cuddle after a bath. We love wrapping him up in a hooded towel or his tiny robe. It's a hard life, isn't it?

We're starting to hear a lot more noises out of him. Lots of cooing and smiling. It's so fun to have him interact more with us. He's following things with his eyes and looking right at us when we talk to him. This parenting thing just gets better every day.