Happy 4th Birthday, Benzie Boy!

OK, OK so it's been a bit since I last posted but all of you out there can surely forgive me, seeing that we were planning for Benz's birthday party, his real birthday and Christmas. I think I must have wrapped 100+ gifts the other night. It only took me a little over 2 hours! Benz had his 4th birthday party at a local place called JJ Jump. It is a large warehouse that houses about 8 inflatable houses/slides or "Space Walks" like we call them down South. He was lucky to have lots of friends and family who gathered to spend the special day with him and the rest of those who care about him (but live many miles away) were there in spirit. Good food, good friends and great cupcakes made for a super fun day! I'm not sure who had more fun, Matt or Benz! They both jumped until they dropped:)

Not much other news for the Brawley Bunch...feeling OK as I move into my second trimester of pregnancy. Only 40 more days until we find out if we're welcoming a baby girl or another boy into our family (not that anyone's counting)! Benz continues to amaze me each day at just how well he seems to comprehend that I am growing his younger sibling inside of me. I am blessed at how sensitive and sweet he is. Every morning he greets us with "Good morning, Mama" and then "Good morning baby." He ends his night with "I love you Mama" and then "I love you too baby." And he'll run over and hug my tummy and kiss it randomly throughout the day. And all of this without any prompting! He keeps telling us how badly he wants the baby to be a boy and I keep telling him "we'll see!"

Kids (like Benz) Say the Darndest Things!

Cute comment #1: Matt came home a bit early tonight and took Benz & I out shopping and then to TCBY for 99 cents waffle cone Wednesday (a dream come true for a pregnant woman):) It was nice to get out of the house for such a simple family outing. Matt dropped me off at my beloved Ross Dress for Less and took Benz to Big Lots with him. I made Matt promise not to buy any toys for Benz on this trip, as we have a birthday and Christmas just around the corner! I was able to pick out a cute maternity outfit and was standing in line when my boys came through the store's front doors. Benz came running up to me with open arms. I gave him a beloved bear hug and he put out his tiny closed hand, as if to ask me to open it. So I peeled back his fingers and there was a cheap silver band inside one of those tiny plastic bubbles that you get out of the 25 cent machines. My first thought was: "we better find the nearest trash can as most of these cheap pieces of jewelry are made in China and are laden with lead." But Benz took it out of its container, looked up at me and said "Mama, you marry me?" My heart melted and before I could reply to such a sweet and innocent thought, he slipped the band onto my pinkie finger and just smiled right back at me!! What a memory!

Cute comment #2: a few minutes later we sat down in TCBY to eat our frozen yogurt. Benz seemed to be devouring it more quickly than normal and Matt asked him if he wanted to be fat. Benz pondered the question for a moment and then replied in so many words: "Yes, please, like Santa!"

Twice Blessed....

So it's been a while since I last blogged and lots has happened since my last post. Thanksgiving Day at our house was a huge success! We only had 8 people total but it was nice for us all to be able to gather around the table and eat together. My very first turkey turned out to be moist and delicious; what a relief! Believe it or not, I was so stressed I could barely sleep the night before:) We broke the big news to Aunt Pat, Uncle Steve & Kyle; Aunt Pat was super excited to have another little one running around at future family gatherings.

This past weekend, Benz helped me to put up and decorate our artificial Christmas tree. There were Christmas carols playing in the background and snow was falling on Saturday morning as we "decked the halls." It really put us in the Christmas mood! We've been reading Christmas stories, making a list for Santa and singing "Frosty the Snowman" every night before he falls asleep. My sweet Benz "stops to smell the roses" in life and took a moment to look at the tree once it was all decorated and said "Pretty, Mommy. Thank you Mommy Christmas tree." It is so touching for him to point out the small things in life that he appreciates! (He similarly thanked his Grandpa Brawley for putting up Christmas lights outside of their house). We sent out our annual Christmas card photos this week, only this year we announced our big news to the remaining family & friends by saying "With love, Matt, Melanie, Benz and Baby Brawley...coming June 2008."

Today was my first appointment with my doctor; she was able to find baby's heartbeat, which I put into the video above. The heartbeat was 166 beats/minute and for those that don't know, there's a theory that anything above a 140 is conducive of a female:) We don't want to get our hopes up....so we'll see! I also had an ultrasound and was able to see the baby moving its' arms and legs...it was so amazing! I truly feel blessed to have two children in my life and a loving husband who is very excited about this pregnancy. Today made everything feel much more real and official for us both. We'll all have to wait and see if I'll be on the hunt for pink or blue...the magic date is January 31st. Not sure if I can wait that long, but it is something to look forward to!!