Baby Bob? I mean, Henry? I mean, Hank? I'm Your Big Brother, Ben.

We are so excited to welcome Henry Collin Mayfield into our family.  He arrived on Friday, May 28th at 12:18pm.  He weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces and was 18 inches long (just 4 ounces bigger than his big brother was at birth).  Ben was very excited to meet Henry, but was having a little trouble with Henry's name since we've called him so many names. 

Henry, in his little brother wisdom, had chosen 2 very cool Batman cars for Ben as a brother present.  Ben was very impressed with Henry's selection and said, "You are the best little brother ever!"  About 5 minutes later, my dad asked Ben if Henry could play with said Batman mobile.  A very quick, "NO!" followed by, "You know, he's just too little" came from Ben. 

Ben checked out Henry's finger, toes, and belly button (Mom? What's that about?) and deemed  Henry worth to be his little brother.  I said, "I think he's a keeper, what do you think, Ben?" Ben said, "Ummmm.... let's decide tomorrow." 

Here are a few photos from the meeting of the boys:

Bob

Now that my expanding belly is making it difficult to keep a secret from anyone who sees me (and now that it's the P.C. time to share), we are happy to announce that Mayfield Baby #2 will be making his/her arrival sometime in late-May or early-June. As excited as we were to find out about my pregnancy, we were equally excited to tell Ben so that he could begin sharing his ideas about having a brother or a sister.

Several weeks ago, I had my first ultrasound. I have to be honest, it didn't look like much. But, it was something tangible, so we showed Ben the pictures.

H: Ben. I want to show you something. See this? Right there (pointing to the ultrasound picture) is a baby. Our baby. We're going to have a new baby and you are going to be a big brother.
B: (staring skeptically at photo) Hmmmm. Where? Here? Soooooooooo, babies just start as dots?
H: Well, yeah.
B: Was I a dot in your belly?
H: Yep.
D: What do you think, buddy?
B: This is great! I really want a brother but I don't want him to eat my toys. Can we build him a new room? (gets very quiet and totally distracted by a Transformer)

A few minutes later....
B: Uh, guys? (looks at the ultrasound picture again)
H&D: What?
B: Our baby kinda looks like Bob. (from Monsters vs. Aliens: See below)
Thus, Poor Baby, you are "Bob". If you're a girl, you'll be "Bob the Girl".

To the Parents of...

I remember vividly the first time I heard, "May I speak to Benjamin's mother?". It was a few days after we came home from the hospital. The caller was one of the nurses at Dr. Hostetler's office calling to confirm our 1-week visit. The question made me pause and fumble for an answer. Oh my God. I'm someone's mother. Woah.

This week, we received a very official letter from the Shawnee Mission School District addressed "To The Parents of Benjamin Mayfield." Oh my God. I'm someone's parent. I'm someone's parent who is getting a letter from the school district. Eek.

In October (yes, October of 2008), we requested a transfer from the elementary school our neighborhood attends to Highlands Elementary. We were told that we'd have to wait to see how the enrollment numbers played out. It was first come, first serve. We were 5th on the list. They also told us that it might be AUGUST before we'd know if the transfer had been approved. So we waited. We attended Kindergarten parent night at both schools and waited. And waited. (Have you met me? I don't wait well. I don't deal with the unknown well. I began wondering who to bribe with baked goods or gifts.)

Anyway, the letter addressed "To the Parents of Benjamin Mayfield" was to inform us that our transfer request had been approved. HOORAY! Ben will be a Highland Hawk as long as he's in elementary school (and as long as his academic performance, attendance, and behavior are not "less than satisfactory." HA!).

We are officially on the road to Kindergarten. Here's hoping that all the letters addressed "To the Parents of Benjamin Mayfield" contain good news.

Baby Aidan

At long last, we finally know what "kind" of baby Miss Amy (or just "Amy") and Aaron (or "Ernie" as Ben calls him) are having. IT'S A BOY!! Baby Aidan Dean Pennington made his entrance today at 11:17am weighing in at 7 pounds and 10 1/2 ounces and measuring 21 inches "tall".

H: Ben! Guess what? While you were at school today, Miss Amy had her baby!
B: Wow, Mommy! Awww, a cute baby girl.
H: Nope. Miss Amy and Ernie's baby is a boy. His name is Aidan.
B: But wait. I thought she was having a Baby Hannah. (Ben calls all baby girls "Baby Hannah" after Hannah Davis)
H: No, sweetie. He's a boy.
B: (long silent pause) Well. That's good, too. Now he can be a Power Ranger. (suddenly excited) Mommy! I'm going to invite him to my birthday party. My birthday party at Pump it Up. My Power Ranger Red Ranger Party. (giggling) That's just great. Little sweetie. We should play with him and kiss him soon.

Yes, yes we should.

Visit Aidan's website and see pictures of the little man here.

Baby Mason

Hooray for Baby Mason! Matt, Tina, and Lauren welcomed Mason Matthew on Friday, August 3rd at 2:22pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long. As of Sunday, everyone was home and things were peaceful (at least at the time of the email!). Can you believe how grown up he already looks?

I think this brings our own friendly baby boom (8 babies in 8 months!!!) to an end, at least for awhile. What a cute crop of babies we have the good fortune to know!

Baby Linus

What fun it was to arrive home from the lake to find out that Amanda and Jeremy's baby BOY has arrived! Ben will be seriously disappointed to find out that his gender prediction record is no longer perfect and that the baby isn't green. (When Ben first figured out that Amanda was going to have a baby, she had on a green shirt. After that, anytime we talked about the baby, he'd say, "Dr. Amanda's green baby.")

Linus Caleb was born Thursday, July 19th at 4:16pm. He weighed 8 lbs. and 13 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. Mom, Dad, and Baby are healthy and tired (just as they should be!).

Baby Jack (Wineinger)

Congratulations to Jill, Ryan, and big brother, Riley on the arrival of Jack Ryan Wineinger. The new little guy is causing some confusion at our house since we already know a "Baby Jack (Hancock)". Ben has sorted this out in the following way...

Big Baby Jack lives with Kristin, Nate and Will. (ironic since "big baby Jack" weighs only slightly more than a feather.)

Little Baby Jack (or New Little Baby Jack) lives with Jill, Ryan, and Riley.

Here are the details on Little Baby Jack:
Born: 6/30/07 at 12:30pm
Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz.
Everyone is doing well.

Quote from Riley and Jack's blog: "But all is good today, and we are already resting peacefully at home!" (posted July 1st at 6:49pm).

(Clearly, Jill is a rare combination of SuperWoman and SuperFreak.)

Baby Cameron

They like to keep a close eye on me

Aaron and Kelly's baby girl couldn't wait for her arrival any longer, and despite being a month early she has more hair than her daddy and is doing well. Cameron Arlene Geer was born at 2:48pm on June 24th. She weighed 6 lbs. 10.5 oz and was 17 inches long.

Because her dad is super tech savvy, enjoy her slide show by clicking on the link above (you thought I just posted a really tiny picture, didn't you?). Get ready to say, "AWWWW" about a million times. She has the sweetest face! And, if you're really sappy (like me), be ready to tear up a little (or a lot), too. Then, be sure to watch her other slide show for even more adorable pictures!

We can't wait to meet her!

Babies(!) Aaron and Zachary

Hooray for the Stinson family who welcomed not one but TWO babies into the world yesterday. Baby Aaron weighed in at 7 pounds 1 once. Baby Zachary weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces. Mom, Dad, and big Sister, Sari, are all doing well.

Strawberries and Bananas

Yesterday, I took Ben over to Katie's house to meet Hannah. We spent the drive there discussing the importance of using a quiet voice and not yelling. Overall, he did pretty well. When we arrived, he checked her out and then said, "Can I hold her?" We settled for him sitting by me on the couch while I held her.

He thought Hannah was nice, but couldn't quite figure out why she wouldn't say, "hi" to him. He even tried getting right in her face and saying, "Hi Baby Hannah, Hi Baby Hannah, Hi Baby Hannah, Hi Baby Hannah, Hi Baby.. (you get the idea)." He was most fascinated by her toys. The baby swing and bouncy seat were so cool. He kept asking, "what it does?"

As we were getting ready to leave, Hannah woke up and cried. Ben announced that she was "very, very hungry." Thank goodness he was there to give Katie some newborn care advice.
B: Oh no! Baby Hannah crying. Her very, very hungry.
K: You're right, I think she is hungry. What does she eat?
B: Strawberries and bananas. They her favorite.

Hannah Jane

This afternoon, I had the privilege of meeting Miss Hannah Jane Davis. She was born yesterday (February 21st) at 6:56pm. She weighs 6 pounds 11 ounces and is 20 inches long. She is absolutely gorgeous!




She has blue eyes, just a bit of hair, and the longest legs I've ever seen on a baby. I'm going to try to restrain myself from permanently moving in at Katie and Greg's house once they are home. I can hardly wait to start spoiling her!

Baby Hailey

Let the second baby boom begin! Everyone on the planet seems to be preggers (EXCEPT ME!). Here is the first installment of new baby announcements.

Ben's cousin, Emily, welcomed a new baby sister this week. Here is Mom, Dad, and Baby Hailey. We can't wait to meet her! Congrats!