Benz says the funniest things...JULY 2008

1. 7/2/08- Benz showed his first sign of regression after the baby joined our family... we were at the Ludlows’ for dinner and he had an accident in his pants 3 different times, asking Ms. Traci to change his diaper (even though he was clearly wearing big boy underwear). We told him that he needs to show his baby brother how to use the potty like a big boy and we haven’t seen any more problems as of now.

2. 7/8/08- Boston was smiling at us and Benz told Daddy & I separately that “you a good Mommy” and “he like you, you good Daddy.”

3. 7/11/08- Benz went over and kissed Boston on the head this morning and said “I no like baby in your tummy. Like him out better. Want him to stay ever and ever!”

4. 7/11/08- I took both boys shopping at Winco for the first time together; Benz insisted on having his own cart and was helping me pick things out and put them into the cart. I asked him to get a jar of jelly and he was playing around with it and I warned him to just put it in the cart before he dropped it….and sure enough, CRASH! Glass shattered all across the floor. Benz started crying and ran over to me and said “me no want to go to jail, Mama!” He kept saying sorry over and over again and I told him it would be OK and he seemed relieved. A few days later he couldn’t wait to tell anyone who would listen to his story: “me no jail cause me say sorry”

5. One day at lunch Benz looked around the kitchen and asked me if I built this house. I said, "Yes, Babe and I built it together before you were born." He said "Oh when I was in heaven? Cool House. Thanks, Mama."

Benz says the funniest things...JUNE 2008

1. imaginary play- Benz likes to bring his farm animals, zookeeper, fair animals and fair keeper wherever we go and even talks to them while playing or driving in the car. One night he even wanted us to set a place at the table for the zookeeper!

2. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, Benz says: “too many things”: a zookeeper, garbage man, dump truck guy, police man, fire man, & ambulance guy.

3. One night after we came home from the hospital, Grandma P. was putting him to bed and he told her that the baby’s umbilical cord looked yucky. He asked her in so many words why Boston has that and if we all have belly buttons? Then he proceeded to ask her why we all have arms and eyes and legs and bottoms and ears….

4. Another night he lifted up his shirt and showed Gma P. his nipples and say these “bookies is where milk comes from.”

5. Before picking up a friend, Ms. Joann, Benz asked Gpa P. if she was white or black...not sure where that came from!

6. Going up the hill by our house with Babe, Benz looked tired and stopped peddling and told Matt that his “bike just ran out of gas.”

7. 6/24/08- I had curled my hair before we headed to the hospital on Boston's birth day and Benz made a point to stop and say with a grat big genuine smile: “Oh, pretty hair, Mommy!”

Strange things that escape the mouth of a 4-year old!

Benz and I went out to dinner the other night at a great local 50's style diner called Boppin Bo's. He was off of school the next day and Matt was busy at home studying for his CMA exam, so we went for a mother-son "date." We sat down and Benz insisted on doing it all himself. He opened up the menu and looked to be reading it. I told him the two things on the kids menu he could choose from were grilled cheese or mac & cheese. He seemed to be pondering his choice when the waitress came to take our order. She said: "And what would you like for dinner, little man?" He looked up at her very seriously and loudly answered, "king cake!" (FYI: King cake is a delicious cinnamon roll pastry made in New Orleans only during Mardi Gras season and is covered with purple, green and gold icing and has a plastic baby doll baked inside!)

Every morning I open up Benz's door and greet him with a "Good Morning!" Lately, the first thing out of his mouth, before even climbing out of bed, has been "us go today, Mama?" I guess running the street runs in the family. My Grandpa Meynier just LOVES to get out of the house and go anywhere and that bug definately bit me! Benz doesn't usually care where we go as long as we get out of the house at least once every day:)

We've seen the beginning of Benz's "little white lies." He's pretty sneaky on a regular basis but lately his little tricks have made there way back to my ear. Grandma Brawley picked him up from school a few weeks ago and as soon as he got settled into his carseat he made sure to tell her that "Mama said no nap." That is the farthest from the truth but I think he thought he'd get away with it:)

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!!

Benz, the nurse...

So I'm sad to report that I did, in fact, lose my breakfast this morning. I was feeling great last night so I decided to meet my BFF, Traci, for dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory. Big mistake because I think the starchy food threw me over the edge. I went to bed feeling horrible, praying that it would digest and I would wake up feeling like a new woman. No such luck. After hugging the ceramic thrown for a while, you could not peel me off of our couch for the rest of the day. I lay there listless and just downright sick to my stomach for hours upon hours. Benz started to wonder what was wrong, and came up and laid down beside me on the couch. He rolled over and said: "Mommy owie?" And I said, "Yes, Benz. Sometimes when Mommies have babies in their tummies, it makes them feel kind of sick." You could see the wheels spinning in his head. He seemed to accept the explanation and then jumped up and began to massage my tummy. Before I knew it, he had picked up my ginger ale and was putting the straw to my lips! After taking a few sips, he carefully set it back down and picked up a Saltine cracker. With the best of intentions, he kind of forced it into my mouth, but the thought was so cute, even if half of it ended up in a pile of crumbs on the floor:) Then he ran over to Matt with a book I had bought for him called "Baby on the Way." He frantically searched for a page until he came to the part where the Mommy was feeling sick to her stomach and the author suggests that the child help Mommy by getting her crackers, fizzy water and staying real quiet. I hope this is the last time I get so violently ill over the course of the next 6 1/2 months, but if it happens again, I have the best (almost) 4-year old caretaker a person could wish for!