Alive and Well

We are still alive...I feel like time is flying by us. We have still been battling hives but they aren't as bad and we have done all the testing we can...to find out he has chronic hives and we will just deal with it for a while. We are ok with it...we thank God it was nothing more than that!

Bentley is growing like a weed. I swear there are days I feel like he grew inches upon inches overnight! He is talking a little more each day and has become so full of energy and a little independent (stubborn). He is addicted to the song "pool party" off the YO GABBA GABBA CD...and we have to listen to it over and over again in the car (thanks a lot Aquabats). He still enjoys tormenting the cats (we have a mini ALF on our hands) and is now into looking for bugs.

Life is good, looking forward to fall. Crisp air, leaves, pumpkin patch visits and sweatshirts!

Happy September!

What have we been doing lately????

Still battling hives! YIKES. We are going on a month now. Other than hives, Bentley is doing great. He is getting so big and he just learns/mimics so much (it is scary). Right now he is into feeding his stuffed animals, walking around the house nude (that story is for another day), hammering and drilling on all objects and trying to lay on our cats (which they don't find amusing). He is so much fun! He has turned into my sleeping buddy each morning around 2 a.m. when we find our way to the recliner...how can you say no to a child that has a swollen eye from hives??? I know I will regret the defeat later but for now, it is working for us.

We haven't been able to get out much the last month because heat isn't good for the hives and let me tell you...it is miserable here. Today is actually a decent day..little humidity and the temps in the high 80's. I know I will kick myself but fall and winter look good right about now.

We hope the hives give up soon....prayers are always welcomed. For the most part he has been a happy, healthy little guy despite those itchy little things! We are blessed to have such an easy going kiddo.

We turned in the preliminary paperwork for the 2nd adoption...SAY WHAT??? There are days I can't even think about that! In fact, that is all I will say about it...I have enough gut ache with hive worries I don't need to add that to my worry load :)

Wow--that was nothing but random....but that is what my head feels like these days! Random!

Yo Gabba Gabba

Bentley still has hives...so we had to postpone his tubes. We are going on 2 and a half weeks of hives. He looks much better but still has a few hives each day. We have done some allergy testing and are awaiting the results but I am wondering now if it is unexplainable hives...ugh. The hives are pretty harmless compared to what he could be dealing with...so we will just remain positive that someday they will go away!

In the middle of the illness we have found a new love....you guessed it. Yo Gabba Gabba....and it just isn't Bentley, we all three like it. Give it a chance, the first time you see it, you will think it is crazy and bizarre, but it is actually quite entertaining :)

I will keep you posted on the hives....we pray they go away soon!

My poor baby......

Bentley has been sick the last week and a half. Bad double ear infections, severe hives (doctors believe a medicine reaction or a virus) and toss in a day of puking and there you have it. We have been busy with-- 2 doctor visits, an ENT consultation, Pediatric Express, the ER and a Pre-Op appointment....and Thursday he is getting tubes in his ears. We hope this makes for a healthier little boy. This last ear infection has been a bad one. I know it is a routine and fairly easy surgery but nothing will prepare me for the moment I have to hand him over to the nurses in his little gown....he is just a baby!

While I realize and have told myself and others over the past two weeks....people have it way worse and some people have health issues that don't go away unlike our ear infections and hives. I realize we have been so lucky to have him as healthy as he is, but it sure does stink to have him not feeling well for weeks at a time.

This too shall pass.....

Once we get tubes maybe I can update with how much fun we will be having because we will be able to go outside and not have the hives flare up, or because his ears aren't killing him....so here's to brighter days ahead!

All boy....loving all things with wheels

Bentley is truly all boy. He LOVES construction trucks, tools, wheels, loaders, garbage trucks and the list goes on. Cullen and his dad and Uncle are building us a new and improved deck and last night we went to the store to look at deck rails and look what we found:


He was in heaven with his good buddy Eryn! Aren't they too cute?? Toward the end of the evening, he just wanted to be right by her side and was copying her every move.

Where have we been?

We have been busy opening the Chollett Country Club Pool! :)
You know, the hard side, cheap pool you can get just about anywhere! Bentley loves it. He doesn't care if the water is warm or cold, he just loves to splash and pour water out of a cup. We have many fun days of pool time ahead of us!

We have also been busy with a visit to see his birth mom (where he decided to walk again on his own for the first time). We have gotten a cold. We have played outside till our feet are black and we have Popsicle juice all over the place. We have supported a local event called Sand in the City that benefits our adoption agency. And probably the scariest thing of all---we have gotten the paperwork to start our 2nd adoption. As much as we are excited, we are also overwhelmed by the paperwork again. It just seems like we don't have as much time now (could be because our almost 17 month old is a busy, busy boy). But we will do it--we will find time and then we will "offer it up to God" and wait for Bentley to turn 2 and see what happens. As much as we desire another child and a sibling for Bentley, we also recognize that we are forever blessed and grateful to have him as a son. So the stress or anxiety of the 2nd adoption feels different....at least for now.

Hope you all are enjoying the summer! I know we are!

Resilient

tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard "kids are resilient" Bentley will be just fine....I would be one rich woman! But I have to admit, it is true!

Bentley got his cast off on Monday and while he seemed relieved, I believe we were a little more relieved than he was. He was adjusting to the cast, almost walking on it and was crawling like crazy.

Don't get me wrong, I am sure he loves having it off, but he couldn't comprehend that he was ever getting it off, he probably thought it was just something he would have to deal with forever. He has tapped on his leg a couple times and we have even caught him trying to write on his leg (because everyone wrote on it when it was in a cast) :)

Yes, it is true. Kids are resilient! We are so happy to be cast free and enjoy seeing those cute little toes that were covered for the last month!