Monday, December 29, 2008

Ben Meets Carl

Ben got to meet his cousin Carl V today, as Kara and Carl IV were on their way back from Pittsburgh for Christmas.  They really seemed to like each other and clearly established an early bond that will last a lifetime.  Check out some pics below (there are more than normal, as I know Papi and Mimi were particularly interested in this meeting):

Ben Meets Carl

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Playing with Grandma

This morning Benjamin just 'hung out' with Grandma Bentley and had a great time....

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Benjamin Robert Update - 12/27

So things are going very well for Benjamin and Family.  He's actually sleeping quite a bit, including for good stretches of time at night.  This means Mom and Dad aren't in too bad a shape, but are still very thankful for the support of Grandma and Grandpa Bentley.  Some recent highlights:
  • Our first non-family visitors at home arrived.  The Sellery's drove all the way from Virginia for just a couple hour visit, which was incredibly nice.  It was good to see them and they were so excited for the new Grandparents, the new parents and the new family member (the future president of the US, per Mr. Sellery)
  • Mom and Dad attempted to give Benjamin his first 'bath', which consisted of a quick wipe down with a wet, a soapy and a dry face towel (we need to wait on his cord falling off before the real bath).  He wasn't a huge fan, but he'll get more used to it as Mom and Dad figure it out more as well.
  • Benjamin had his first doctor's appointment this AM.  He passed all checkpoints with flying colors, including his weight, which is already back up to 9lbs 1oz (reminder: he was 9lbs at birth)
  • He tried out his swing for the first time and seemed to enjoy it quite a bit (he's asleep in it as I type this).


12/26/08

Kray Family Christmas 2008

Ben's first christmas was a mellow event.  The Bentley clan was in town to celebrate.  Realizing we didn't know when Ben was really going to arrive, we did our full Christmas celebration a few weeks back.  Check out a few pics if you're interested.
Christmas 2008

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Benjamin's Homecoming (Day 5 in life of Ben)

So today was a pretty significant day in the life of Benjamin Robert Kray and the rest of the Kray family, we all came home from the hospital.  We spent the morning packing up our stuff, signing papers, listening to discharge instructions, promising not to shake him, etc.  After lunch, we all got to come home.  Ben made the trip like a man, as expected.

We then just hung out the rest of the day, enjoying everyone's company.  Big thanks to grandma for a great dinner.

Here are some more pics....come on, what can you expect from a proud new papa.

Day 5 in the life of Ben

Note: A couple people have told us they are having troubles posting to the blog.  It's not the most intuitive process, as it actually wants you to log in and validate yourself.   I believe you either need to log in using a google/gmail account, an OpenID account or anonymously (but you can say your name in the message if that's easier).  Apologies for any confusion, we really appreciate everyone's well wishes and kind words.  

Day 4 in the life of Ben

Some more pics for those of you who just can't get enough.....

Monday, December 22, 2008

Ben's Grand Entrance



just a quick intro video....we're still at the hospital, so don't have a ton of time to fancy any of this up....much much more to come.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Day 3 in the life of Ben

Things are going well for the Kray family....

Kris is getting more mobile and adjusting nicely to her new role as world's best mom

I'm doing well and getting sleep when I can (big thanks to Grandma Bentley on that one)

Ben is as cute as can be. He's nursing much better today, sleeping well, but also having some awake moments to 'hang' with Mom and Dad...the below certainly does not support that statement...

Day 3 in the life of Ben

Day 2 in the life of Ben

Here are some pics from day 2.  Thanks to everyone for coming to visit!
Day 2 in the life of Ben

Friday, December 19, 2008

Birthday Pics

We've received a bunch of requests for pics, so here's a quick gallery of pictures from day 1

Benjamin Robert Kray's Birthday

It's a Boy!!! Please Welcome....

Benjamin Robert Kray
9 lbs.
6:53 AM


Mom and baby are both doing great!

More pics, details and stories to come....
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Doctor's Quote Today....



"You're having a Hippopotamus"


9 pounds 6 ounces....smart man.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Testing out Tater's room

So Brian, Aimee and Dylan stopped by on their way up to visit's Aimee's parents this past week and also on the way home, which was an awesome surprise. It was great to see them. We used D-man to test out Tater's room and he seemed to be ok with it all . He presented us with his seal of approval....good thing, no shot I was doing any more work on that room.




38 week appointment update...

The baby is coming....

At my appointment today, the doctor told me that I'm 1 cm dilated. This could mean the baby still won't be here for a couple of weeks, but it's definitely exciting to know that the process is starting! We will update if anything changes between now and our ultrasound a week from tomorrow.

Also, we are taking boy/girl votes! :) Let us know what you think.

Friday, December 5, 2008

37 weeks!

The countdown has begun!  We are under three weeks until the due date and technically the baby is full term.  We definitely feel ready for the baby to come in terms of making sure we have all the necessary "supplies" and getting the house ready.  However, now that we are ready, the baby probably won't come until after the due date!  My doctor appointments are down to every week and we have another ultrasound scheduled for a week from Tuesday.  The baby is just getting bigger and bigger (scary)!

Thank you to everyone that's been checking on me during this last month!  I really appreciate the emails and calls.  I'm feeling great...I'm just a little big and awkward.  My clothes all seem to be tight and it's getting hard to pick things up off the floor.  Fortunately, I'm probably only working one more week and then I can just relax and wait for Tater to decide to come.  :)

We will be sure to let everyone know when something changes!  For now, we are just having fun waiting and getting ready for our Christmas celebration (next weekend :)).