Just Add Baby

Just wanted to share in all the fun we're having setting up the nursery! Getting ready for a baby is so surreal and exciting! This child truly is growing bigger everyday in my heart, and nervousness hit me the other day, because although the birth mom has been WONDERFUL and has given us the luxury of having the peace and confidence to be optomistic that this adoption WILL happen (and I believe her), the fact that there are no guarantees, can be scary- but there are no guarantees for any expectant parent. Reguardless, I am optomistic and am savoring every precious, dreamed about moment that is our reality right now- being expectant parents. And I am so greatful for Weston's birth parents who are making it all possible... and for God who brings about miracles.


That raggedy teddy bear was mine, I bought the horse woobie/teether, and the football was a gift. The birth parents also plan on getting a teddy bear for Weston- which I think is a great idea!

The crib and bedding set: red, white, tan, baby blue and navy blue with cute stitching.

It's a little cowboy theme. These wall decals are where I got the color scheme from. I've got four walls- and I'm open to painting suggestions before we stick them on!
Weston will be born in Wyoming so this is fitting. I love horses and so does the birth mom's family, so hopefully Weston will too-or at least tolerate it while he's a baby!

This was Brett's soon to be Father's Day Present. We got it for a great deal because it was the floor model at RC Willey. Affectionately called the "Papa Bear Chair" by us. It rocks, reclines, and has a durable, easy to clean fabric. We both love it and can't wait to rock a sweet little baby in it!

Erin gave us this adorable starlight papason swing now that her kids are done with it! Thanks! It makes little stars all over at night and plays music.

PS CONGRATS to Troy and Katie, Brett's best friend and his wife who are expecting a baby in March!!! It's just too fun! Life is excellent right now.

30 Weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

29 Weeks Along

How your baby's growing(according to babycenter.com):Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

4th of July Pics

Brett & Nicky outside Mom & Dad's barn

Brett keeping cool by the creek


Erin and Gracin


Lovin' the new nephew!


Kaiden playing at fireworks

Little Boy Weston- 28 Weeks in the Oven

How your baby's growing (According to Babycenter.com, of course all babies aren't the same): By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.
Can I tell you how cute that is?! The little "cabbage" can open and close his eyes! Cheesy as it is, reading that silly thing actually brought tears to my eyes. I'm in love.

Natalee may have caught something contageous

Here is the email I just recieved from my sister:

Lately I [Natalee not me!] have had some weird symptoms like swelling and such, so I went to my doctor and she thinks I may have caught something from the hospital when I went to visit Linc (my new nephew). It's kindof early to say, but she thinks it isn't curable and will just get worse. The good news is she said it shouldn't last longer than nine months....Love,Natalee

No wonder Nat looked especially pretty yesterday when Debbie took these pictures of us (it wasn't planned and we didn't feel like we looked good, but Debbie did a great job!) Natalee much more so- she had the advantage of wearing the pregnancy glow, but I'm wearing the Very happy soon to be a first time mom look and I think they fit us well! =)

Yesterday I went with Erin to her cousin's baby funeral. The little girl was stillborn- had the cord wrapped around her neck. She had the tiniest little white casket and they passed out pink balloons to be released. It was sad but also beautiful that her family feels she both came into this earth perfect and extremely loved, and was able to leave it that way.

Nat and I also went to Babies R Us because she needed diapers, that's how we got shananogenned (JK) into taking pictures because we saw Debbie who works at the adjoining Kiddie Kandids, and then we got completely carried away looking at darling baby clothes and gear and we completely lost track of time-it was so fun! We are so excited we'll have babies pretty much the same age, plus we have a nephew that was just born! How fun!

Husband Tag

Husband Tag- Nicole got tagged by Jess!
1- What is your husband's name? Brett Benar (last name has been witheld to protect the innocent. j/k)
2- Who said I love you first? Pretty sure he did
3- Who is taller? definitely Brett
4- Who is smarter? Brett!
5- Who is more sensitive? Me!
6- Who does the laundry? Mostly me. The deal is supposed to be that I do the laundry, he puts it away. And he does the dishes and I put them away. (We both think we have the better deal, so it works!)
7- Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brett
8- Who pays the bills? Brett. I only pay one bill.
9- Who cooks more? I do.
10- What meals do you cook together? Spaghetti, pizza, BBQ stuff and chicken cordon bleu.
11- Who is more stubborn? Good Question!
12-Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I think we take turns.
13- Who is more clean? Depends. I'm cleaner as in keep things clean and sanitary, rinse my dishes, etc but he's cleaner as in he won't start a project and leave it out. I'm overanalyzing this though: overall, he's cleaner!
14- Who has more siblings? Nicky
15- Who wears the pants in the relationship? Both
16- What do you like to do together? Just about anything: Camping, hiking, going to the mountains, eat together, go on dates. snorkeling, nothing- it's all fun.
17- Who eats more sweets? Depends on the day
18- Guilty Pleasures? Video games which he voluntarily hardly ever plays because they suck him in.
19- How did you meet? Well, we met before there was any significant meeting, but when we really "met" and noticed each other was in Idaho on Labor Day 2002 when he was in a play and I was visiting a friend.
20- Who asked who out first? Brett- and he didn't hesitate to call me after we got back from Idaho. He called me the next day and I told him I had to go to work, so he offered to drive me there!
21- Who kissed who first? Brett kissed me.
22- Who proposed? Brett- 2nd time was the charm. =)
23- Best features? He has nice skin and blue eyes, tall and handsome!
24- What is his best quality? He's the best! He's loyal, fun, caring, full of love, patient, smart, warm and cuddly.
.I tag whoever would like to do this! You have 1 day.... (from The Office when Micheal says that and then says "You always give an ultimatum")

Through the Gauntlet

For the last 6 weeks, I have been going to school and working (both) full-time. I was taking a half-semester course at the UofU, "Managing Diversity Through Communication." It was an intensive course through which I wrote one 4-page paper by myself, 2 group presentations, and one 25-page group paper. On top of that I am taking 2 full semester courses for Finance and Intro to Probability.
Durring that time, I was gone from home from 6:30am until 9:30pm Monday thru Thursday & on Friday I was gone from 6:30am until 7:30pm except for date night would usually keep us out till 10:00 or later. With this schedule, I obviously needed the weekend to recharge. But I am finally done and have returned to sanity.
My first weekend was supposed to be one to rest. Instead, I did some cleaning, helped a friend move, went to my father-in-law's birthday party, and spent some time at Lagoon. Its never a dull moment for me and I like my life that way.
This week has been much more laid back and we are eating meals at home again. I so love a good, home-cooked meal. Nicky is the best cook too. She always knows how to put different dishes together to my satisfaction.
I am the luckiest man alive. I have such a wonderful wife. I have a great job that I love. I will finally be a father in the fall. And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with school. It doesn't get any better than this.

-by: Brett Rich

Birthday X 2

Brett making Gracin Smile

I got a new nephew for my 25th birthday! We'll see what name Troy and Jodi go with after telling everybody names they're thinking were like Hoover Dan or Broch Lee. Ha,ha! They are so funny! Last night we went out to eat with Josh, Erin, her kids, Cam and my dad stopped by for a minute. Erin was sweet and got me "What to expect the first year," balloons and an ice cream cake and Cam got me some body wash stuff. Then Brett took me to the drive in movie even though he was running on little sleep and had to wake up early this morning. Thanks guys, you're the best- you totally made my birthday, even with short notice!

Erin, Kaiden, Josh, Gracin; Cam & Me Me; Me, Erin, Cam, Dad

IT'S A BOY!...Due Oct 1st

Well, it looks like the 64% of you who guessed our birth mom was expecting a girl were WRONG. The 35% of you who guessed BOY were RIGHT! Brett and I are nothing less than completely excited & OVERJOYED! The baby is BIG and the ultrasound estimated he's about 4 lbs! He should be growing eyebrows right now. Cool, huh?
We talked with the birth mom on the phone for the first time tonight. She is so wonderful and easy to talk to! Jarod and Christy also got their ultra sound that night and came over to announce they are having a girl!

We had fun Saturday buying our first baby boy outfit for a real, existing baby.

Ah, life is good.