Family Pictures

We just got our very first Albrecht family picture last week.  Benson did such a good job, he was all smiles the whole time!  He absolutely loved the picture lady. 

Bensons First Solid Food

I was finally able to download this clip of Benson's first feeding.  This goes with my previous post.

(Remember to turn down your volume, I am so loud!)

Milestones

Benson is quickly approaching 6 months and has passed several milestones.  Being a proud Mom and also very forgetful I had to blog them so that I can always remember.  

First, our family is experiencing some sleepless nights due to the teething phase.  His two bottom teeth have already cut through and this last week one of his top teeth has started coming in.  This has been bittersweet for us, as we are happy to see some teeth, but also sad because Benson has been miserable (it's not fun to nurse him either).  

Second, we finally decided to give Benson his first rice cereal meal.  He seemed very ready for the meal and loved trying something new.  I'll post the video later.

Last, Benson has become very effective at the army crawl.  I turned around one day and he had made it clear across the room to the dog food. Yuck!  We are going to have to start baby proofing!  He didn't really want to perform for me in this clip so this is the best I can do. Before you watch it make sure you turn down the volume or you will hear my annoying Mommy voice. Lundon says I sound like the crazy Mom on "Just Friends,"... "hello Joyce?" 

 

Benson Army Crawling

Trick or Treat

Benson attended his first Halloween party last night.   We decided to go with a Curious George theme, so Lundon went as a banana, Benson went as Curious George and I went as the Man in the Yellow Hat.  We had so much fun at the Hayslip home and they decorated their house so cute  for the party.  Thanks Trinette for inviting us! Benson was very good considering it was way past his bedtime, but the costume did not stay on long.  At least we got a picture:)  Here he is looking a little shocked.

Lundon was such a good sport!

I had to include this last picture because I thought it was Halloween-y.  I have been killing at least a spider a day while Lundon is at school and they all look exactly like this.  They are hairy and huge!  So, of course I had to research them on the internet and all I can figure is that they are wolf spiders and that they don't hurt people.  If any of you out there are experts on spiders, let me know if I am wrong!

Lake Erie

I made a rule that I can not get on the internet while Benson is awake (I tend to neglect him if I do) so that is the reason why it has taken me so long to post :).   Just a little update on our boy.  We took him to his 4 month appointment and he is now weighing in at 19 pounds 6 ounces.   At least I know he is being well fed!  A while back Aryn (my sister-in-law) and I decided to take some pictures of our little boys.  We took them by Lake Erie right during the sunset.  I think they turned out so cute.  I can't wait until Benson can sit by himself so we can take some more!

So Much to Blog About

My cute girlfriends! 

Benson and Grandpa (better pics are coming)

Great Grandpa Ralph

Great Grandma Melva

I finally decided it was time to make the trip to Utah with baby Benz.  He did so well on the flight here, now we just have to worry about getting him back.  I forgot how much I love Utah and have been thoroughly enjoying my trip.  

Benson's Baby Blessing

Our Little Family

The Albrechts

The Kijowskis and Redds

I just had to post these pictures of Benson's baby blessing.  He looked so darling in his little white suit.  We had lots of family come and support us.  Thank you to all of you who came and those who couldn't come too, you were there in our hearts:).

Tagged!

Four RANDOM things I like about my husband:
1. He is the most thoughtful person I know.
2. He makes me laugh and his voice sounds just like Adam Sandler (random but I like it).
3. He goes shopping with me and enjoys it (even though he won't admit it).
4. He has great arm muscles:)

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Teacher
2. Telemarketer
3. Housekeeper for Motel 6
4. Waitress

Four movies I have watched more than once:
1. Nottinghill
2. Zoolander
3. The Notebook
4. The Phantom of the Opera

Four TV shows I watch:
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. Lost
3. The Office
4. King of Queens

Four places I have been:
1. New York
2. London
3. Bahamas
4. Cayman Islands

Four people who e-mail me regularly: (I'm not a good e-mailer so this is a hard one)
1. Mom
2. Relief Society
3. Old Navy/Gap/BR
4. Babies'R'us

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Godiva chocolates
2. Chocolate chip cookies
3. Chocolate milkshakes (Do you notice a pattern?- I love chocolate!)
4. Tacos

Four places I would like to visit:
1. Italy
2. France
3. Hawaii
4. Israel

Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Visiting Utah
2. Watching Benson grow
3. The Twilight Movie
4. Seeing "Wicked"

Four People I tag:
1. Krista
2. Lacy
3. Tiffany
4. Kristi

Motherhood

My blog has now officially turned into a baby blog, sorry! Since Benz is my life right now, he is the only thing that I have to blog about. I am totally okay with this though. I am loving motherhood and can't believe how much he has grown in the last 8 weeks that he has been alive. He now weighs a whopping 15 pounds and is super chubby! I am also starting to get to know him a little bit better. Lundon and I have discovered that he is pretty laid back and content, but if you don't listen to his little whimper letting you know he needs something, it can get ugly really fast. Lundon says that he gets his quick temper from me, but I beg to differ. He loves car rides, walks, and when I sing and dance to nursery rhymes for him. I am such a dork, but I will do anything to make him laugh and smile. He is a very cuddly baby and hates it when I try to put him down. My life has changed completely and although I can't seem to get anything done, I am enjoying the chaos because I am completely head over heels for my little man.

4 weeks old

Just cuddling with Mom

These last two picture were taken at 7 weeks old. Those cheeks are so chubby and kissable!

Benson's Video

My sister-in-law Aryn made this darling video of Benson, so of course I had to post it!! Thank you Aryn, we love it!

Benson is here!

I only have a few minutes since I am in between feedings with ou new little boy. So I'm just going to post a few pictures for now. Benson Lundon Albrecht arrived on May 19th at 10:51 AM. He wasn't as big as we had thought weighing in at 8 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 21 inches. My doctor and I are still really glad that I went through with the c-section. Everything went really well. I am so excited that he is finally here and am just enjoying all the time I get to spend with the little guy.

Baby Update

Well, here is the latest news. Yesterday, I went to the Dr. for my 39 week check-up. My Dr. decided to do an ultrasound because my stomach is getting so large. During the ultrasound we found out that the baby is weighing in at 9 lb. 10 oz. (give or take a pound). Apparently my baby is very comfortable and enjoying the all you can eat buffet inside my stomach. I can not believe that I have a baby that huge inside of me! After finding that out, my Dr. recommended that I have a c-section instead of vaginal delivery because of the risks. So, we scheduled an appointment for 11 AM on Monday. For some reason I am having very mixed feelings about this and find the fact that I will be having a c-section a little scary. Maybe it's because I don't know much about them. All this time I have been reading everything and anything about vaginal births and skipping over the c-sections parts. Lundon and I also attended an 8 hour childbirth class where they probably spent about 20 minutes on c-sections. What a waste! So, my goal within the next few days is to find out everything I can about c-sections so that I will be fully prepared. Here are some things I have learned so far to keep me looking on the bright side:

• Babies that go through a c-section are not as beat up because they don't have to go through the birth canal.
• The baby will be out in an hour. This will be a lot more convenient:)

All in all, I am still very excited that our baby is on his way and that he will be here soon. I will try and post pictures sometime after Benson is born!

Tagged!

A to Z tag

A- Attached or Single: attached
B- Best Friend: Lundon!
C- Cake or Pie: Cake- as long as it's party chip with party chip frosting. Yum!
D- Day of Choice: Saturday
E- Essential Item: my purse
F- Favorite Color: purple- it has been ever since I was 2 yrs. old
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: I agree with Tiffany, gummy things have to be sour
H- Hometown: Cedar City, UT- currently living in Columbus, OH
I- Indulgences: everytime I go to the mall, I have to have Godiva chocolates!
J- January or July: July
K- Kids: we're on our way-3 weeks and counting
L- Life is incomplete without: The show "Lost" and weekends with my hubby
M- Marriage Date: August 7, 2004
N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers, one sister and 3 sister-in-laws
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges, especially if they are fresh and ripe
P- Phobias or Fears: Bugs that bite- mosquitos, spiders, ticks, fleas- they are all disgusting and seem to be very prevalent in Ohio
Q- Quote: See the above quote
R- Reason to Smile: when my students say funny things, or sing rap songs to me- lately they love to stick things up their shirts and pretend they're pregnant
S- Something New: I have got baby on the brain- our new baby room
T- Tag: Krista, Brittney, Karlie, Kimberlie, Kari (unless you don't want to but it's kinda fun)
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I find my finger-like toes very convenient because I am able to pick things up with them.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor Of Animal: I have never loved meat, I actually tried the vegetarian thing in High School, but didn't do it the right way. I now eat meat and enjoy a well-done steak once in a while.
W- Worst Habit: Putting my trashbags on my doorstep so Lundon can take them out (I'm sure my neighbors get sick of that)
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: ultrasounds of course!
Y- Your Favorite Food: anything with peanut butter and chocolate; broccoli
Z-Zoo Animal: Giraffes, I love their long eyelashes

The Baby Shower!

Last weekend Chandice (my sister-in-law) and Brittney threw a baby shower for me at Panera Bread Company. Mmmm, yum! Everything turned out so cute and I feel like the luckiest soon-to-be-Mom ever. There were blue balloons, blue polka dot terra cotta pots filled with blue candies, sandwiches, salad, cookies, tiny pots with strawberry seeds/flower seeds as shower favors and lots of friends. I had so much fun chit-chatting and shoving my face full of food. I also recieved so many nice gifts, I finally feel like we're getting prepared for our little boy to come!

Here we are! My Mother-in-law, my two sister-in-laws and my adorable nieces. Lexi, Maddie and McKenzie all greeted each guest that came to the door. They are such good helpers!

Brittney and me with her daughter Isabelle.

Some of the girls at the shower.

My Aunt Lisa and her daughter Cami were able to drive down from Toledo for the day, I am so glad she was able to be there!

Thanks everyone for coming and making me feel so loved!

My belly!

22 WEEKS

My family really wants to see pictures of my tummy, so I guess it's about time that I post these pictures. This was the only pic. that I could find of myself at around 22 weeks. At this point it is still a small bump as you can see.

32 WEEKS
I am now 32 weeks, very pregnant and very large. I am just thankful that everything is healthy and that the baby is kicking like crazy. He is a strong little guy in there!

40 WEEKS

I think at this point the baby will have completely taken over my body! I can't imagine getting any bigger. I am so nervous for the whole birthing process but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Gizmo and Sadie's Play Date

Wow, time is flying by! This blogging thing is a lot harder than I thought. Maybe after our baby comes it will be easier to find something to blog about. Until then, we have Gizmo... Gizmo (the red one) loves to have his friend Sadie over. Sadie lives a couple of doors down and every once in a while they get together for a play date. Lundon and I love to watch them chase each other all over the apartment. Thanks Bob and Kimberly for letting her come over :

Another cute picture. Even though Lundon doesn't like to admit it, he loves this little dog. Gizmo will just lay on his lap while he studies.

I have been tagged! I'm not really sure how this works but I'm going to give it a try. I think I was suppose to empty my purse and list the contents. What a disaster! I never clean my purse so everything was just floating around. Here's some of the stuff that I found:

• Tons o' receipts- Lundon hates it when I do this, but I am constantly shoving receipts into my purse, amongst them was a receipt for our very last Dr.'s payment . Yay! The baby is now paid for (assuming everything goes well).
• Hand Sanitizer- You can never have enough of this stuff when you work with kids that are still young enough to believe that picking your nose is normal.
• Gum and candy- I didn't realize how much candy was in my purse until I emptied it out! This is our church stash. Lundon and I always have to have a little sugar during sacrament meeting.
• Wallet- Enough said.
• Gloves- It is freezing here in Columbus! I have had 4 days off of work due to ice/snow in the past month. I have no problem with this. I'm hoping for another snow day tomorrow!
• Cayman Island Money- I have kept this money in my purse for the past two months with the intention of showing my class (they love stuff like that) but just never remember to do it. Maybe now I will.

So there you have it! I guess I'm suppose to tag 5 more people. So now it's your turn!

1. Brittney Fullmer
2. Traci Warcup
3. Amanda Swinn
4. Kimberly McBride
5. Karli Dean

Christmas Vacation in the Cayman Islands

Lundon and I decided to take our "babymoon" to the Cayman Islands. We needed a nice relaxing vacation. I would highly recommend this vacation to anyone! We had so much fun!

This picture was taken after our sunset kayaking trip. There is nothing like sipping punch (without the rum) while watching the sunset over the ocean. Yes, my pregnant tummy is definitely starting to show.

For Christmas we ate dinner at a restaurant called "The Wharf." We had a table looking over the ocean. Here we are with our friends: Liz, Brett, Brandon and Brittani

This shot is for my Mom and sister. They always ask to see what my tummy looks like. Well, here you go... This was taken in the middle of the ocean in a barrier reef. There were huge wild stingrays all around us. You can actually feed them squid if you feel brave enough.

Here Lundon is relaxing on Rum Point Beach. He was loving his time off from school and not having to study.