Hello everyone, wanna be part of some kind of community, possible here? anyone here?

a-this is so sweet and beautiful. your sentiments for ben are inspired. i just love listening to you talk to him.

...*tears, tears, tears*...

I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face and a warm and fuzzy feeling in my heart.. I can't even say how happy I am for you. :)

I swear Ben is getting cuter with every passing day!

this is so stinking cute...it makes me cry.

i couldn't be happier for your family. bless you guys.

U made me tear up... I loved this entry!! You are a beautiful soul Andrea and Ben is a beautiful baby. That smile of his is so darn contagious! U have no idea how much of a pick-me up this entry was for me today...funny how I was drawn to check in today (sometimes I simply don't have the time...I'm a Mommy too)

OK, so you might expect that other mothers will respond to your emotions and Ben's beauty ... but even those of us without our own little bundles are charmed by your little man and touched by your journey to and through motherhood. I swear when I check in and see a new Ben face it really brings joy into my heart.

My mother is visiting with her friend from Germany, and when I saw this post, I called to her, "hey mom, you want to see a cute baby?" And she and her friend ran into my office and we all sat and cooed at Ben, all of us past the years of bearing children, but feeling that "baby urge" nonetheless. And I told them a little bit about your story, and we sat together feeling happy as we stared at the deep pools of newness that are Ben's eyes.

Thanks, Andrea! Oh, and my mother now wants one of your necklaces for Mother's Day! :-) I'll be sending in an order ...

I am so darn happy just thinking about what your Mother's Day wil be like this year. Yay BEN! ♥

Beautiful entry for Ben!

My favorite things about this picture: the little drool drop on his chin (there in the close-up of him in the red shirt, too!) and the way his hands are crossed. Also that he's so, so happy.

I've been so down this past week and pretty much decided that I was just too tired to keep trying anymore.... Thank you for the much needed hope.

Your post brought tears to my eyes. He is blessed to have you as parents!

Susan

this child does have the magic now....:) adorable!!

what a lucky boy to have you!!!

xx

i think you should keep writing him letters like this, A. it'll be good for him to know how you feel now. GRATEFUL!!!!

celebrate and enjoy it all!!!

xoxoxo
kristen

Oh my goodness- you had to do it... beautiful picture and beautiful words... there are not enough tissues in the world.
xo

Ack! So much love, made me cry! What a beautiful beautiful tribute, Andrea. To Ben, to Matt, to your gift of loving. You healed so many today with that love.

beautiful andrea...i'm so happy for you.

beautiful. my baby just turned five. I think i need to write him a letter just like this. thank you for your endless sharing.

oh my goodness...this totally made me cry.

i was sitting here on the couch with my laptop and Carsten was trying to talk to me while in the kitchen. i was completely absorbed in your letter to Ben. he finally got my attention and when i looked up, tears were flowing.

i told him i just got to know Ben a bit better...

*sigh*

your story gives us hope.

love you.

i have a four and a haplf month old baby boy. is there anything better in this world?

Oh, the tears you bring me. I love little Ben and I love you even IF I don't know you!!!

Just the right post on just the right day. Thank you for writing this.

Just wanted to say that I do think you have the cutest kid in existence.

I sent a link to one of your earlier posts to my SO, telling him that if we could be guaranteed a baby as cute as yours that I would totally reconsider my no-babies policy(he is ready for children in a few years, me...not so much yet).

I think you and Matt are and will be fantastic parents! Keep up with the adorable baby photos--I can't get enough! :)

Your baby story gives me hope. I miscarried twins last December (my first pregnancy). I'm pregnant again, and have my first ultrasound tomorrow. I'm absolutely terrified, but after reading your post today (and knowing your fertility story), I'm also hopeful. Thanks.

He is definitely cute beyond measure. :o)

Oh Andrea, thank you for putting this kind of hope and love out into the world. I'm touched by your words & the way you are able to express how magical your love is for your little one. He is so smiley! Pure Joy!

xoxo,
Eileen

life is such a blessing.

Oh my GAWD! So sweet! I am so happy you can savor this time.

So, so sweet! He is an absolutely beautiful baby! Boy, you blogging moms are making my heart melt today. Dooce also wrote an amazing blog about being a mom to a baby. You both are making my heart and ovaries quiver. I am so glad that you are so happy after all of the struggles you went through to bring Ben into the world. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us in bloggieland!

aww..aww...aww...
:)

I really enjoyed your post, thank you. It made me realise that other people do feel the same way about their babies as I do about my sweet little boy. Since my son was born, I have felt my heart grow bigger everyday and I have often wondered if every other mum in the world could possibly be as in love with their child as I am. But, of course they are! It reminds of when I first fell in love with my husband - I spent so long walking around on air and I used to look at people and wonder how they could possibly just go on with life as normal when (oh the joy!) I was in LOVE!! I felt like the world had stopped for me and that I was feeling things no-one else ever had. But, of course other people have felt the same, it was just so overwhelming for me at the time. At the time I didn't think life could get any better, but then it did the day my son was born. Some days I wonder how I can possibly survive my bursting heart...it is such a sweet pain...and he is only 13mths old, what will I be like when he is grown...

Guess what - I just have to share - my son walked for the first time today!!! He was very pleased with himself and I am so proud. And, I caught it on video.

You, Matt and Ben are so very blessed to have one another.

Thank YOU for sharing your writing and photos of beautiful Ben. Your story is so inspiring to me.

We are doing the Clomid/IUI thing, and are in the midst of the excruciating wait to find out if it worked. I think about your story everyday, and it gives me hope that all of this waiting and wanting and crying just might have a happy ending. You are my (super) hero! :)

What a wonderful letter to your son! It brought me right back to how I felt 3 1/2 years ago when our daughter was born after years of infertility. Even on her most trying toddler days, I still find myself saying Thank you thank you thank you...
All babies are miraculous but the long-awaited ones have a special place in my heart! Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy!

Ooo what a sweet sweet post. I am swelling up with tears and smiles at the same time.... Oh my gish, Ben is getting cuter everyday.... :)

Will e-mail you in the nexy few days, it's been a little crazy here at the moment.
Big hugs,
Love Toni

P.S. Ben is the most luckiest, cutest baby to have parents like you.....

I cant sleep so of course your site is where I go first to see what is up with Ben. I am crying, crying and crying. Tears are filling up my keyboard. Beautiful.
Sunshine,
Me

From the mom of the 'other cutest baby ever', you do have an exceptionally cute little guy there. There is something very wise about his young face.

I can't go more than a half hour without pulling up a few photos of my son during his naps and after he goes down at night, this is of course on top of the frequent visits into his room 'just to make sure everything is all right'.

Enjoy each and every moment.

blessed BE!
this is incredibly beautiful.

and...
thank you for sharing :)

I can scratch "read a beautiful letter today" from my list! This one moved me to tears. I reread three times. These parts are when the tears came:

Should I tell you that you love the world so much that you want to be awake all the time?

I want to tell you about how much we wanted you, how we dreamed about you for so many years and tried everything we could think of to bring you into the world. I want to tell you that you are our perfect boy who came at exactly the right time.

Every time we see your face all we can say is Thank you thank you thank you...

i do the same thing every night..stare at photos of my son aftr i've put him to bed. don't know about you, but i'm forced to pry old ladies hands, who stick their fingers in his little hands, off of him. next time, he gets to keep the finger that i break off...

That was the most sweetest thing I've read in a really long time. He's cute, but I think mine is just a teeny bit cuter :)

Babies are the most wonderful, incredible, magical things God ever gave us the gift of having. Unfortunately, I was never blessed with one of my own but I enjoyed my nieces and nephews tons. Your little Ben is awesome!

Has anyone told you how cute he is yet? lol

Has it really been four and a half months already? Though for you, I imagine it's been a very big, very bold, very full four and a half months...for me, outside looking in, it's been a blink. Welcome to parenthood...it all passes in a blink! I'm so glad you're taking time to rejoice.

it is so fabulous to know you are rejoicing.

Andrea, Good heavens, I wish I knew you in real life ( . . . or even online for that matter, but you know what I mean). You made me cry in the public library!

"I want to tell you that you are our perfect boy who came at exactly the right time."

I read your journey and cried with you and cried for joy when I read that beautiful Ben was on his way! The hubs and I are in some ways just starting out in our expanding the family efforts, but already it's taken longer than I hoped or assumed that it would, and "exactly the right time" was exactly what I needed to hear today. Thank you.

I'm not just saying this -
I'm not so nice...
but there is just something MIRACULOUS about his face.
I'm not kidding.
He's a special kid and I SEE IT.

so sweet ~ you are all truly blessed!

xo

Thank you for sharing these warm and loving words.
Seeing a photo of Ben alsways makes me smile, he sure has charisma!

omg, that second to last paragraph brought tears to my eyes. :)

Such a touching post -
I've been reading your blog for quite a while, and I remember your struggle with infertility and how often you felt you were swimming upstream. How cool to follow along and see the 'end result' - although Ben's birth is really just the beginning of your life-long adventure into Motherhood. Blessings!

Andrea, as an unbiased observer who's seen a lot of babies, I'm here to tell you that he really is an exceptionally cute baby. He is super cute. He is an inspiration to prospective parents everywhere, myself included.

so, so sweet. it makes me so happy to hear so much bliss and to see that smile. blessings to you both.

Man! That was touching. I'm so glad for the optimistic Italian accent doctor and the hilarious couple from New Jersey!

Ben is just a magical little baby. (Like all babies are, of course.)

Have a great day!

Weeping. Weeping. Weeping. Thank you for your joy. It's palpable in every word here.