Three Months

Will celebrated his three months mark while we were on the road in New England for Thanksgiving. Will turns out to be a great traveler, and save a few mild melt-downs, he was as sweet as can be even with his schedule so out of whack. He was a doll on the plane and loved meeting lots of new friends, cousins, another set of grandparents, and his uncles and aunts.

He even went to his first Patriots game. He started to get fussy around the middle of the third quarter. It's unclear if that was due to his approaching bedtime or the performance of the Patriots!

Will continues to grow like a weed, now filling out six-month clothes. His favorite things are still tub time and simply smiling and snuggling. I'm hoping he'll love all the Christmas lights and decorations that we'll begin putting up this week!

Obama Boys!

Yeah! Obama, Obama...! We're quite happy with the results, but more importantly I so enjoyed watching Ian get into the election this year. He even filled-out my ballot for me. I have to admit that it's the first time in my voting life that I've really felt strongly about a presidential candidate and I think it rubbed off. But even beyond my contagious enthusiasm for Obama, Ian was able to gather information about the candidates that mattered to him. He heard Obama say that kids should receive more science education, and he was thrilled. He heard about Palin's hunting hobby, and he was pissed. He is proud that the country is finally ready to elect an African-American to the presidency. I am hopeful that his enthusiasm continues. As for Will, he was born on the day Obama accepted his party's nomination and, well, he looks darn cute in his Obama tee-shirt.

Boo!

We had a terrific Halloween! Last weekend we went to the neighborhood party as rock stars. I got to revisit high school memories shopping for all of us at Hot Topic.



Last night, we had fun decorating and carving pumpkins together.




And tonight, we got the dogs and Will into the act. Will was dressed as the Boo Baby. Annie was a bee and Jet a skeleton. It was a beautiful, clear night for trick-or-treating - Ian even saw a shooting star!


Brian has a whole bunch of great pictures posted here.



Hope everyone got some good treats!

Two Months

It's hard to believe, but we marked Will's two month birthday on Tuesday. He is doing very well and is a pretty content baby...so long as he's kept well fed. He's definitely starting to develop his own personality and it's fun to predict how all his little quirks and traits will develop as he grows up. He loves to babble and tell stories, especially when we sit him up at the dinner table where he can watch Ian.

He was at the doctor's on Monday for a check-up and his current stats are 13 1/2 lbs and 23 inches (more like 24 inches if you count the hair!).

We can't wait to see what's in store for next month!

Smiles!

Not a whole lot of news from here, but a very cute picture of Will's new smile taken by Brian last week. Will is now having a great time smiling at Mom, Dad, Nana, Ian, the dogs, and especially the lights and fans around the house.

A smile forms:

One Month Old

Will marked his one month birthday yesterday. He is growing bigger by the day. I tried to dress him in the same one-piece that he wore coming home from the hospital, but I could barely get the snaps to close! He's been more awake and alert during the day paying special attention to anything that moves or lights up (his Pop Pop had a hard time competing for his attention against the ceiling fan), and has been sleeping for longer stretches at night.

Will is falling in love with his big brother. He just stares and stares at Ian in the car and when they snuggle together in the rocking chair. Ian is being a big help to us and is always happy to sing to Will to try and calm any fussy periods. Now if we could just get him to change diapers...!

We hope autumn is finding everyone well and happy!

Baby Days and Braces

Will celebrated his two week birthday on Thursday. He had his doctor's appointment and he weighed in at 8lb 7oz...6 oz more than his birthweight and a full pound more than he was ten days earlier. His pediatrician called him an overachiever, but it's no surprise since he continues to eat exactly every two hours all day and every three hours all night. It's exhausting, but seeing him grow big and healthy makes it all worth it of course.

We're starting to get out and about a little bit, but still taking it easy. Our neighbors have been super supportive and we've had a home cooked meal delivered every other day since we came home from the hospital. We're totally spoiled! Will is still a total doll. We're feeling very fortunate since he barely fusses and can be easily calmed with a rock and a snuggle.

Ian is still enjoying 4th grade. He got his braces put on at the beginning of the week. It's taking some adjustment (and Motrin!), but he's a champ. Fortunately all his friends at school are being super nice and he hasn't had to endure any "metal mouth" comments. Plus, as his uncle reminded him, his braces won't interfere with rockin' out on his guitar!

Will's Arrival!

On August 28th we welcomed William Edward Spendolini into the world at 8lb 1oz and 20 inches at 5:16 PM. He was very reluctant to make an arrival, but he is happy and healthy now that he's here. So far, we've learned that Will loves his swing and loves to eat...a lot! Brian, Ian, and I are all so excited to finally have him home with us. We've had great support from family, friends, and neighbors to help ease the transition. We still have a long way to go before we're settled into a new routine, but we'll get there soon and we couldn't be happier in the meantime!

What does desperate look like?

Well, it looks something like acupuncture, red raspberry leaf tea, evening primrose oil, swimming, bouncing in the pool, pleading with health care professionals, and a belly that sticks out like a prize winning watermelon!

Indeed, after 41 weeks baking away, we are still waiting on baby Will. The only appropriate adjective to describe me is "huge." I have officially lost my patience right along with the pregnancy glow, and I am quite ready to meet our little guy. Nana, Grandpa Steve, Brian, and Ian are also waiting anxiously here at home with me.

Assuming that none of my desperate attempts to encourage Will to come out on his own are successful, we will head to the hospital on Wednesday to be induced. We very much appreciate everyone's thoughts and good wishes over the past several weeks. We look forward to finally paying you back with baby pictures later this week!

In other news, Ian starts 4th grade on Monday. We met his teacher and classmates at open house earlier in the week and are quite excited for the new year. Ian's happy to have some of his closest friends in his class. Fourth grade is the first year of full time participation in the gifted program, so hopefully Ian will face a bit of a challenge.

That's it for now. You'll be hearing from us again on Wednesday...if not sooner!

Future Rocker

We took Ian to his first big rock concert last night - the Rush Snakes and Arrows tour which he has been looking forward to for weeks. He loved it! Brian snapped a few photos with the iPhone during the first couple songs, note the expression of amazement during the first song followed by a lot of air guitar! He stood on his seat for three hours of music and declared it "the best day ever!" The little rocker is still sleeping off the show at 9am as I type.


Overall, it was a nice crowd and venue, so it wasn't too awkward being nine months pregnant with an eight year old. There was only one questionable exchange:
Ian: "It smells like muffins."
(Someone lit a clove a few rows back)
Jenny: "Oh, someone on the lawn probably brought muffins."

Twenty minutes later with the occasional waft of pot smoke drifting down from the lawn...
Ian: "What's that smell?"
Jenny: "Must just be a different kind of muffin."


For all the Rush and/or South Park fans, Ian thought this was particularly funny:

Because Brian says technology fixes all.

Hi all. Hope everyone is having a terrific summer! With family from Florida to Halifax, and friends all across the world, we decided it was time to create an online venue to help stay in touch with updates and pictures from the Spendolini-Benz (or, to the Northern VA contingent, "Benzolini") household.

For now, we're in a sort of non-news state. Will's been baking for about 36 weeks now and we (especially Jenny) are eager for him to make his appearance in the next couple of weeks. We've put together a nursery, taken all kinds of ready for baby classes, read the books, and even packed a hospital bag. Now the only thing left to do is store up as much sleep as possible!

Ian is spending his summer attending science camps at the Morehead Planetarium at UNC, swimming at the pool, practicing his guitar, and planning his first world tour for his future band =) He's 99% excited and 1% nervous about his baby brother's arrival. Every night before bed he tells Will to "come on out!" (Ah, if only it were that easy!!)

We'll keep everyone posted as soon as there is any news!