Dear Bently,

Guess what you finally started doing? You have started to give kisses. I have been looking forward to this day for a very long time. I have been hoping it would've come a lot sooner then this but the fact that it is here is good enough for me! :) I love how you pucker your little lips, and you put your hands on both sides of my face and plant one on me. I LOVE IT! I love how you do it randomly. You won't give them when we ask but you are willing to do it on your time schedule. Once you get going it's nearly impossible to stop you. You don't give just one kiss you give kiss after kiss after kiss. I'm not complaining. Nope. Not one bit. You can give me as many kisses as you very well please! Just expect to get twice as many back. Because I can't resist kissing my man! :)
I love you so much Bently!
Mommy

Dear Bently,

You did something amazing today. Let me start at the beginning. I have been wishing you to walk basically since you could crawl! I was so excited to see you taking those little baby steps. Everyone told me to be patient, that I shouldn't rush you, I would regret wishing you to walk. But you are my first baby. I was so excited to see you grow and learn. I was convinced you would be walking by your first birthday. That came and went. National average is 12 months 2 weeks...that came and went. So I had basically given up hope. Your Dad and I had a running joke that you couldn't drive until you could walk. Yes we thought it might take you that long. It's not that you didn't have the ability. You could stand unassisted and even walk pretty much by yourself. You just refused to do it. You were steady as a rock, but the second we let go of your hands, down to the ground you would drop. You were too chicken. Yesterday, June 10, 2012, I was holding your hands as I walked you into the family room. I stopped in the middle of the room and let go. To my surprise you just stood there. Unassisted. I said, "Walk Bently." Your Dad could see your face, he said you looked over at him and smirked. Then you, steady as rock, like you had done it for years, took 6-7 full steps across the room. Your Dad and I just watched in absolute silence and shock. I immediately began to cry. My baby looked so grown up walking himself across the room. I had been terrified that I would miss your first steps. Working 40+ hours a week and sleeping during the day makes me miss a lot of quality time. I was so ecstatic that I got to see your first steps. You reached the chair in the corner of the room, turned around and grinned. We probably freaked you out with our out of control reactions. I was crying and clapping and shouting. Your Dad was beaming with pride. It was something I will never forget. You went from zero interest in walking, to walking your little baby butt across the room. I don't think I have ever been so proud of anything in my whole life. I whisked you right up and gave you about a million kisses. One of the very best moments of my life!!! Thank you for letting me be a part of it! Now we just got to convince you to do it all the time! You have shown no interest since that moment. But I'm not so anxious anymore. I am just so very grateful I got to witness it. Thank you for that Bently. It meant more to me then I'll ever be able to describe to you! I love you my little man. I love you so so so much!
Love,
Mommy

Dear Bently

As I sit this you are sitting on my lap. I can't believe how big you are! And how much you wish you could play with the keyboard. I know someday I will look back on this and long for the days where you sit on my lap. I seriously love it. I worked 10 hours today and I hated being away from you. It's the worst! But I got to come home from my lunch and I was trying to nap but all you wanted to do was "talk" and play! :) I couldn't resist your big smiles and you cute jabber! It made going to work all that much harder. As I buckled you all snug into your carseat I gave you about a million kisses!! You are so good to put up with my kisses. You just have the perfect kissing cheeks and I can't resist! Now I am home and you just woke up from your nap! So here we are. Two peas in a pod. You are my little best friend and I hope you think the same way about me. I love you Bently! More than you know. I hope one day you'll be able to read these letters and realize how much I love you. I am planning to give them to you on your 18th birthday. I can't even imagine you that old now. But I know the time goes by too fast. You are my whole world little bew! I hope no matter how old you get you always realize how much I love you!!!
Love you with all my heart,
Mommy