2 Months

It is hard to believe how fast time flies but we just had Bentlee's 2 Month check up! It is definitely official, he has no trouble packing on the pounds :). Here are his latest stats,

Weight: 12 lbs 9 oz

Height: 23 1/4 in

(75th Percentile)

Bentlee is such a happy boy and I could not have asked for a better baby. Around 8 weeks he slept through the night for the first time! Although it doesn't happen every night it is becoming more and more frequent, definitely much appreciated by his Mom and Dad. Here are some of the most recent pictures of our little man,

 Bentlee loves his swing, it's the only thing he takes naps in during the day (so naturally we love it too!)

 This is his, "Why are you still taking pictures of me" face

 I just had to post a picture of his little double chin

The summer is coming to a close, only 2 1/2 weeks left! I am getting super excited to get back to our "everyday" life. Brad has done so well with sales this summer, we just feel so blessed with how things turned out. I don't know if Brad is more excited to not have to knock doors anymore, or for BYU football to start. But if I had to bet I would go with the latter :) He is pretty nuts when it comes to his football! 

All Smiles...

Bentlee is just growing up so fast. He is such a chunk and I absolutely love each and every little roll on his cute little body. I just have to say I LOVE that Bentlee is to the point where he is starting to interact with us so much more. Whether it be watching him take in all there is to see in the world around him, or listening to him babble back and forth with his Dad it is probably one of the most fulfilling things to know you must be doing something right if he really is as happy as he is!

Lately Bentlee's new thing is smiling. Last week he woke up from his morning nap in SUCH a good mood. I quickly told Brad to grab his phone so we could get some pictures, and Brad was able to capture the cutest video. I just couldn't resist sharing it...

Here are a few more pics of the little guy...

One Month

It is so crazy to think it has already been a month since Bentlee was born, time has literally flown by! We couldn't ask for a better baby. He is so happy, hardly ever cries (and when he does it's because he is hungry or needs a diaper change, so what I consider easy fixes), and most of the time I only have to wake up once with him at night (and for anyone that knows me knows I LOVE my sleep, so that has been a huge blessing).

So we had his one month check up on July 5th and here are a few of his latest measurements;

Weight: 10 lbs 7 oz

Length: 22 in

(In the 75th percentile) 

We knew he wouldn't stay little for long, but now we definitely know he is getting enough milk :) At his doctors appointment the nurse asked if he had smiled at us yet, and I was sad to say no. So then I got to worrying that he was behind, but have no fear, two days later we officially captured his first few smiles on camera. I love that he is starting to be more animated and look forward to what he'll learn to do next! 

 Had to put up a picture of his Carhartt shirt for Brock and Kristen

 How could you resist that smile!

Just a little father son bonding time watching a little t.v.

Bentlee Joseph Allphin

We couldn't be more excited for our little guy to finally get here! He arrived on his own terms (probably a precursor for things to come i'm sure). We started our day out in the wee hours of the morning, getting to the hospital for an induction at 5:00 a.m. We were started on pitocin to get things rolling but honestly I wasn't really feeling any pain, or contractions until my water was broken in the afternoon, so that's when I consider "labor" to actually begin. Things picked up and once I got my epidural, it seemed like it was going to be such smooth sailing. I kept thinking, if this is the most pain i'm going to feel I can totally handle this!

Around 9 p.m. I was told I was dilated to a 9, and they were just going to let me labor down for a while before we started pushing so I didn't exhaust myself for no reason. Then things started to take a different turn. It seemed like an exceptionally long time waiting to begin pushing. When our doctor finally came in I was told he really hadn't made as much progress in descending far enough down to make his grand entrance. I could tell she was pretty much already thinking I was going to have to have a c-section, but anyone who knows me knows i'm a little hard headed, and I wanted to know I did ALL that I could to get Bentlee here naturally. So the Dr. let me push, and trust me push I did, but to no avail. We found out that he was trying to come down a little cock eyed, instead of coming out with the crown of his head he was trying to come out with the side of his head. Although my doctor tried to readjust his position he was literally stuck! After a few tears from all of us (both mothers, Brad, and myself) we knew we needed to have a c-section (I know you may think i'm crazy, but i'm only human and all the thoughts that I hadn't done enough were running through my head, and part of my worried I wouldn't be able to have as many kids as I really wanted since I would be limited by what my body could handle). But, with that said, as soon as Bentlee arrived it was irrelevant how he got here because he was absolutely perfect! Here are a few of his birth facts:

Born: June 3, 2011

at 10:20 p.m.

Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz

Length: 19 3/4 

We couldn't ask for a more amazing little guy and can't wait to get settled in with our new little family!

 Nicolas and Eric meeting Bentlee for the first time!

 Brad is such a proud Daddy! I think the nurses were shocked at how helpful he was the whole hospital stay. I don't think they ever have, or ever will, meet a guy who treats his wife with so much love and respect! (I know i'm pretty lucky)

 Our new little family, it's the best feeling in the world!

Our Story

Well I suppose i'll give a quick background on how we got to where we are today. Brad and I met in Rexburg, Idaho while going to school at BYU-Idaho. Actually if you want the real story we met before either of us had officially begun classes our freshmen year of college. You see, Brad just so happened to be a mission buddy of Aaron Key, who just so happened to be my best friend Kylie's older brother.

It all began with a simple trip to Wal-mart. I was with the Key's and we were going to meet Aaron there, when I heard Aaron was with one of his mission friends, I like any normal college freshman asked, "cute mission friend"? And LaVoy's answer was, "goofy mission friend, you won't like him". So with that I didn't think much of our first meeting, and honestly didn't think I would ever see Brad again.

But that is not how the cards played out. Skip forward to the first day of classes and sitting on the first row of my American Foundations class was, you guessed it, Brad. I'm not sure who saw who first but we recognized each other and immediately started talking. Brad, like the smooth talker he is, lightly asked me to lunch after class. So someone who loves food, like myself, thought there is no harm in that, and gladly accepted.

One lunch trip turned in to almost daily lunch trips (quite an expense for Brad), but still I looked at it more as a friendship than anything else. Pretty soon Brad was coming up with more and more excuses to hang out, I even recall him asking me to "tutor" him in math! And even still I just thought he was a cool guy to hang out with (I was a college freshman I wasn't thinking about boyfriends I just wanted to have fun).

One night when Brad was over at my apartment my roommates were asking about a guy I used to date back home and all of the sudden Brad was really defensive and told me we needed to have "a talk". I still remember how straight forward he was when he honestly wanted to know if he was wasting his time. I told him I wasn't tied to anyone (but at the same time didn't want something serious), but I would give him a chance.

This is where our stories diverge so i'll just save you the time :) I was pretty much a jerk and played the field while Brad worked hard to convince me I would never find someone as amazing as him. And although Brad doesn't like to tell "our story" because of it. I know that was part of the reason he wanted me so bad, because you always want what you can't have!

And he was right, I would never be able to find someone as amazing as him. Brad proposed on December 9th, 2008 and we were married in the Rexburg, Idaho Temple on March 14th, 2009. Life has been a whirlwind ever since. But I couldn't ask for a better man to spend eternity with, and when all is said and done I am so glad he stuck with me :) 

Disclaimer: This is definitely our story from my perspective... you'll have to get Brad's side another time :)

I gave in...

Well it's official, i've decided to join the blogging community. I've been bugged by others to start one before but my reply was always, "no one wants to read a blog about just Brad and I". So with the addition of Bentlee to our little family I knew it was time to turn over a new leaf!

I feel as though I have been so blessed in my life so far, how many people can say they are married to an amazing man (who treats them like a princess), has a perfect little boy (something only a mother can say about their own child, very biased i'm sure), and amazing friends and family to support us? Not many. I hope that this blog will help me to be able to keep a record of all the ups and downs that life has to offer. Come along and enjoy the ride with us!