Lucky me

Eleyna gets more fun with each passing day. She is growing and learning so quickly right now. I am constantly in awe of this curious, funny, brave, smart little girl that is my daughter. She is learning how to swim. Her daddy took her to swim lessons every Saturday for two months after the baby was born so she could have a special outing with him. She knows that temples are where people get married (she gets really excited when she sees a picture of one in the "Friend") and the name of the golden guy on the top. Sometimes she likes to pretend to be a baby like her brother Rockwell. That is when I know she needs her mommy to spend a few minutes snuggling or playing with just her. She loves organizing things. She’s been invited to a couple of birthday parties. She loves singing “Happy Birthday” to people and “helping” them open their presents. She LOVES the library and reading books. She loves her brother Hunter. She has been learning all about music and letters in her music class. She is so cute dancing around with her scarf to different songs and shaking her maracas. She started taking dance classes. She is the youngest one in her class and is often caught creatively improvising as I like to call it (not sure her teacher would use that term though). Sometimes she decides to do silly things like put on every bib she can find. The other day while I was cleaning the shower she told me, "Doing a great job Mom!". It was awesome. Often she takes me by surprise with her tenderness and sweetness with her brothers. I love my girl and am so grateful I get to be with her day to day as she grows.

Happy Halloween

Eleyna had the time of her life carving pumpkins in October. We did one pumpkin with shark teeth and the other one with cow teeth. It is funny how a precocious two year old breathes new life into activities like cutting faces on gourds.I love Rock's face. Scared silly.

Each member of the family got to pick out a pumpkin but we only carved the two. Eleyna got the gist and that was the whole point. She had a great time scooping out the insides. Look at that happy face!

So, honestly, I think it utterly absurd that people spend hundreds of dollars to dress up on Halloween every year.

That being said, I dropped a couple of Hamilton’s (sounds better than Alexander’s) this time around myself.

I just couldn’t resist the idea of dressing the kiddos up in some coordinated way. There are endless possibilities for a group of three. Plus, we had plans to attend a little Halloween shindig and of course I wanted to show them off in all their cuteness.

Bry and I dressed up as a gangster, think John Dilinger, and a Gatsby girl (paying attention in Sophomore English class?). I felt pretty good about the novelty of our couple. The children ended up going as Dora the Explorer, Diego-Dora’s cousin, and Boots the monkey.

Classic.

The Halloween party we attended was hosted by Trevor Safford, my best friend in high school. It was so fun to mix and mingle with people I haven’t seen in years. Eleyna had a great time at the party with Jack, Sammy and Luke’s little guy. Who knew running around in circles for an hour could be so darn fun? I’m sure the “fun-ness” was partly due to the sugar high all children are riding on this holiday. As part of the Dora ensemble we used black hair dye, spray-on style, which promptly started spreading to everything it came in contact with: hair, hands, neck, face, costume. It was a nightmare! Our bathtub was black for days before I got around to cleaning it.

It made my heart happy to be back at the Hacienda on Halloween. Great memories.

One other thing. Bry took Leyna over to Janeen's to trick-or-treat with her cousins. At one house the bowl with the treats had a hand attached to it that came down and grabbed her as she reached for the candy. She was completely traumatized by it (nice job Daddy) and talks about it to this day. "Remember the hand! Scared me!"

Baby Rock

Our little family just feels more complete with baby Rock. We love him so much. These pictures are completely outdated (the kid is a 15 lb. chunk now) but they were too cute not to share.

Eleyna is such an adorable big sister. I really feel like all the pictures of her and Rock tell that story solo. She already talks to me about when Rock will be big and they'll be able to play together. That will be a great day, for both of us.

Hunter has been patient during the process of incorporating Rock into our routine. We lay the baby on Hunter’s bed next to him while we get Hunter ready for bed in the evening and it fills me with joy to see my sweet boys next to one another.I’m so grateful for my “big” sweet boy who was willing to lighten my load during some very long nights the first few weeks. I love making him a daddy again cause he’s such a darn good one.

Rockwell had lots of visitors after he was born including our sweet midwife Cathy, Joseph and Dede, and Heather and Danaan. My mom came every day the week after Rock’s birth. I adore her. There are certain times in life when you just need some momma love and after you’ve had a baby is definitely one of those times! Words just seem so inadequate to describe the comfort it brings me to have her close by to ask questions, chat with, or help me fold my laundry (she does it like me-figures since she taught me how). All my babies love her which makes total sense because besides me she probably holds them the most in their first week of life. The world would come to a halt without moms helping moms learn to be moms.

It was a special treat to have Rock's great-grandparents come and visit soon after his birth. Genealogy in the strict sense hasn't ever been a big concern for me but I very much desire to show my children that they come from a long line of love and righteousness.
One of the highlights after Rock’s birth was when we went to airport to say goodbye to my bro Ryan. He was getting ready to fly down to Paraguay to serve his mission. I’m so glad he got to meet his nephew before he left for two years. (What a handsome kid!)Rock’s cousin Eisley was born just two months before him. Grandma Janeen has her arms full of grandbabies right now-literally. That’s just the way it should be in my opinion. Cute tiny cousins!

A new baby is such a joy. Yes, they make life completely chaotic for a while. Yes, there have been moments of tears because THREE can feel really overwhelming. Yes, four months of sleep deprivation makes me cranky. And, yes, I will probably do it all again someday.

Call me crazy.

Rockwell Devin Bennett's birth story

I think I must have been inspired to take this because Sunday evening I thought to myself that I ought to get a picture of my belly (and asap since my due date was just three days away). Sure enough, that must have been what Rock was waiting for. Bry had to go to a training at the church after dinner so I put the kids to bed by myself, still feeling fine. When Bry got home we turned on the television. Right before we went back to get ready for bed ourselves I had a couple strong contractions. I was suspicious but decided to try and sleep anyway. After lying in bed for 15 minutes or so I was pretty sure this was going to be the real thing. Things moved insanely quick after that. Bryson called our midwife Cathy and started filling up the pool while I labored. About an hour later I got in the water which gave me a lot of relief from the contractions. Cathy arrived shortly after that. She checked me and announced I was nearly fully dialated. Bryson called my mom and my sister Laura to hurry and come over. They walked in just as I started pushing and watched Rockwell be born a couple of minutes later. He was born at 2:07 am, just under three hours from the time my labor began.

Pushing is really painful for me and I'm so glad it was over quickly. I wish the labor part would progress a little slower though. Ever been hit by a freight train? I'm pretty sure it feels like going from 0 to 10 in 2ish hours. I love it when people tell me I'm lucky to have such quick labors-like they must be so easy. Ha ha! (Sorry about the sweaty cleavage. These photos definitely are the real deal. Not like the pictures people post of themselves and their new babies in which they've done their hair and makeup. lol) The baby was born in the water and I will never forget Cathy instructing me to reach down and pick up my baby. I was the one that lifted his body out of the water and into my arms. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life. It wasn't until nearly a minute later that I remembered we didn't know the baby's sex and thought to check. Sure enough, it was a little boy, just like Bry had predicted from the beginning. We sat in the pool for 1/2 hour just admiring our little guy. Cathy was wonderful through it all. She brought a calming presence into our home and it felt totally natural to have her be part of the birth.

The other person I couldn't have done it without was my angel husband Bryson. He got the pool ready, brought me a bowl to puke in-and disposed of it, sponged my forehead with a cool wash cloth when I got hot in the water, and let me squeeze all feeling out of his arm while I was pushing. I adore my better half.

It was really special to have my sister Laura and my mom present when the baby was born. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about people besides Bryson and our midwife seeing me in such a vulnerable state, but I was grateful for their quiet support and love afterwards. Laura even got to cut the cord!

It was such a nice change to be right there while Cathy gave Rockwell a checkup. I always felt excluded from all of that when I had my babies at the hospital. This time I got to be part of it and Rockwell and I didn't have to be separated. When Cathy checked me out I was stoked to learn I didn't tear at all! First time that has happened. It made my recovery a breeze.

That night, our home really felt like a temple. Heaven felt so close while we held our new little guy.

One of the things that really stands out about my labor was how ultra-aware I was of everything. I had a natural labor and delivery with Eleyna but I can't really remember anything about my labor except for the drive to the hospital and everything that happened after that. This time my senses were so heightened, especially during the breaks between contractions. It was almost like I was watching everything unfold from outside my body.

It was really fun to introduce Eleyna to her new brother the next morning in the familiarity of mom and dad's bed. I can't say how great it was to get to sleep in my own bed and use my own bathroom those first couple of days after the baby was born. Much better than the hospital! I feel so lucky to have been blessed with such an amazing birth and healthy little boy. I feel so blessed to be a wife and mother. Three kids is BUSY, but fun.The home birth experience gets an A+. I will definitely do it again.

Life is beautiful

We've had some good moments lately. On Wednesday, Hunter returned to preschool. We went as a family to drop him off for his first day. I'm happy he gets to have this experience. I'm sure he enjoys getting out of the house a bit and interacting with some different people. I'm holding my breath that he can stay healthy. It's so fun living close to my parents. We love it when they stop by to visit. This picture really shows how big Hunter is getting. He looks huge even on tall Grandpa Durrant.

Sometimes these crazy people tag along when grandpa and grandma come over. I have great siblings-Eleyna agrees!Eleyna is getting really excited for the new baby. Once we got out the bassinet, baby swing, Bumbo, etc. I think the whole thing really clicked for her. She loves it when my midwife comes and we get to listen to the baby's heartbeat. She always lays right by me during the whole exam. Here she is practicing her mommy skills with Dora.

The other day I turned on "Finding Nemo" for Eleyna to watch and she promptly snuggled in right next to Hunter on the couch. It's been so tender for me to watch a relationship develop between these two. She has become quite concerned for her brother and it really melts my heart to see it.

"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." -Sir Thomas More

Not ready

Summer is coming to an end. You can feel autumn just around the corner.

We just aren't ready to be done with our frozen yogurt runs,

Or our trips to the pool though.

So we're playing as hard as we can while the weather is still good-and we don't have a new baby!

Ryan's farewell trip to St. George

The week before Ryan went into the MTC we loaded up the kids and the boat and made our way to St. George for a "last hurrah" trip with the Durrants. Thank heavens for the dvd player in our van!My parents rented a really beautiful house that had plenty of room for all the married couples and the two grandkids. We went boating at Sand Hollow two of the days we were there. The weather was actually only in the 90's (which is pretty amazing for July) and the water at the lake was smooth-perfect for the wakeboarders of our group.

It was fun to just be together at the house after a long day of boating. We all took turns cooking meals and presenting a thought at our evening devotionals. Of course, the real highlight of the trip was spending time laughing and crying (and reading books) with Ryan.

The pool in the backyard was a huge hit with Eleyna! In fact, one time she was having so much fun she walked right off the edge and in to the water with no floaties on. Uncle Joseph had to make a quick rescue grab. My little daredevil...
The recap of this trip wouldn't be complete without a picture of me (7 months pregnant) in my swimsuit at one of our devotionals-taken by mom. Just trying to do what I can to maintain a faithful family history for posterity and serve as birth control for my married sisters. At least the couch is sort of shielding me. :)

I know that this is biased but I must say that family vacations with my family are the best. I'm sad we're going to have to do without Ryan for a few years. Sure love that boy!