Spring (Or Lack of)

Spring Break doesn't really apply to our family at the moment, beings that Carl and I are not affiliated with a school, and our children are not in school yet.  But, we do get to enjoy the perks of Spring Break when it comes to $1 days in the Cedar Valley.

With me having Fridays off work, I decided to take advantage of that day off, and enjoy it with the boys----doing something fun.

Carrie, Tinley, and Grandma Sally joined us for a fun day at the Phelps Youth Pavillion.  The last time that we were there, I was very pregnant with Weston, which means that was over a year ago.  Carson had fun then, but I think he had even more fun this go-'round.  (I forgot my camera this day, so all of these pictures were taken with my phone.  I can't believe I forgot that big thing.  I am losin it these days.)

We decided to go right when they opened that morning, at 9:00.  And boy am I glad we made that decision. We were there for a few hours, and it started to get very busy.  We got to enjoy every part of that place, and Carson had so much fun.

Spring hasn't proven itself to be the best thus far.  Just this week did I see a 40-something number come across as being the outside temperature.  The first day of Spring was a high of 30, numerous feet of snow on the ground, followed by more snow that following weekend.

This weekend it is supposed to get into the 50s.  This excites me beyond measures!  Not only have the kiddos in our house reached a complete state of cabin fever, but the adults have as well.  Carl has been working long hours (11-12 hours) these days, which leaves the entertaining solely to me during the evening hours.  And while we have done a pretty good job of either going places, having people over, having play dates, or doing crafts----I am ready to move the partay outside.  Going to the park, and riding our bikes, and going on walks, and grilling has never sounded so good!

Come on Spring.  Bring. It. On.

Double Digits---10 Months Old

Our dearest, busy, little-big Wes is growing up so quickly.  I feel like most days he grows over night, and changes is some shape or form everyday.  He is a smarty pants, that little W of ours, and continues to amaze us.

Those baby blues of his are to die for!

I am so far behind on updating Weston's monthly details, and I really need to get caught up.  So, with only ONE week left until he turns 11 months old (gasp!) I am going to publish his ten month journal.  Because like the saying goes, better late than never, right?  Yeah, I am going to go with that.

Wes is well into his ten month of life, and he is just that----full of life!  This kid of ours is crazy......but in a good way.  He is healthy, happy, and active......oh so very active!  Everyone comments on how quick he can crawl, and they aren't lieing in the least bit.  He can go from in sight, to disappearing in a matter of 0.1 second.  No joke.

I love watching children grow, and learn new things.  Wes is such a little sponge in this great big world, and is truly soaking everything up.  He can do "so big" and it is by far the cutest thing ever.  He has done that for about a month now (hence the lack of update last month) and it never gets old.  Never.  Although, I think he gets sick of it, because he doesn't do it after I ask him how big he is about 100 times in a row.  What can I say, I just can't get enough of that little guy and him throwing his hands up!

Weston can wave bye-bye, and loves to chatter.  His most popular is ba-ba, ma-ma (which is obviously my FAV!), da-da, ga-ga, and will make crazy grunting noises.  He is such a character, and will start panting when he gets excited.

I have deemed Wes a Mama's boy, although he does get pretty darn excited when Daddy walks in the door.  I am still going to cling tight to him though, because Carson is such a Daddy's boy.  I deserve one of them, right?!  I think so too.

Wes absolutely loves any kind of ball, and knows exactly what to do with that thing.  We are always amazed at his ability to throw the ball already.  No joke!  He gets so excited, grunts his cute little grunt, and throws the ball.....like he is trying to shoot a hoop.  He has watched his big brother shoot hoops lately since we are trying to get creative with indoor activities, and he is picking up on the motion.  I think he is going to be our true and natural athlete.

Weston currently has 6 teeth.  4 (big!) teeth on the top, and 2 little toofers on the bottom.  Oh, and he likes to bite with his cute little teeth.  Like toes, and fingers, and anything and everything in sight.  It's a joy, really.  Ha.

Food.  Um, where do I begin with this section of the update.  Umm.  Wes likes loves food.  He is proving to be a bottomless pit, and I can hardly keep up!  He loves pretty much anything you put on his tray, and will inhale it.  Literally.  Sometimes I don't even know if he tastes the food, because he is shoveling it in so quickly!  I sometimes feel the need to remind him to breath.  His favorites: hot dogs, puffcorn, crackers, cheerios, fruit loops, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, bread/toast, pancakes, pasta.......and pretty much anything else he can feed himself.  He doesn't like much that we have to spoon feed him, because he would rather feed himself.

Weston has been climbing stairs for months now, and he is getting very quick at this task.  Aimee (daycare) has steps at her house, so he gets plenty of practice during the days.

Carl dressed everyone up like "Rambo."

Carson and Wes have such a special relationship, and I love to watch them develop such a unique bond that only brothers can have.  Carson still grabs Weston's hands, and it drives us (and him) nuts, but Wes is starting to hold his own, or just crawl away.  They are starting to play together, and things are getting interesting.  It's fun, though!

-Weight: Wes is weighing about 21ish pounds

-How much is he eating now: Weston is pretty much on all table foods right now, and I am trying to limit his bottles to 3 a day.  He is going to be off the bottle within the next few months, so I am really trying to get him used to "meals" at the table with us, and becoming less reliable on the bottle.  

-Wears size 3 diapers.

-How long does he sleep at night: Weston goes to bed about 8:00 at night, and will occasionally sleep through the night.  I am ready for this to be a consistent happening 'round our neck of the woods!  If he gets up during the night, he is usually hungry for a bottle.  And I have been giving him one, because it seems to satisfy him, and that is what he wanted.  But, with formula and bottles coming to an end within the next few months, I have been trying to gear myself up to quitting that.  Please note the word gearing. We have to laugh, though.  Our Dr. recommended to us that when he wakes in the middle of the night, and wants a bottle, to only give him some water.  He said that would probably make him upset for a while, because he wants milk, but that would hopefully break his habit of wanting a bottle, and he would then start to put himself back to sleep if he woke up during the nights---knowing he won't get the good stuff.  Well, we did that.  And, he drank all 6 ounces of water!  He could have cared less that it wasn't milk.  So, while I was happy that he didn't throw a fit, which breaks my heart, it still didn't really fix the problem of all of us up during the night, and him still needing that bottle.  He is very unpredictable, and not of the norm apparently.  Ha.  It will all work out, and happen soon enough, I am sure. 

-What size of clothes is he in:  Weston is in all 12 month clothes, and has even worn an 18 month outfit that we had from Carson.  He fits into 12 month stuff so perfectly.  

-Facial Expressions:  This child is such a character, and is full of them.  My favorite of his is his smile.  It is so contagious, and makes my day! 

-Learned anything new this month:  He learned "so big" and is constantly learning new things every day.  He also loves to find objects, and put them into things....if that makes sense.  He will have a toy in his hand, and will find a bin, or basket, or something, and has to throw it in.  Only to retrieve it, and do it again.  

-Is Weston a good traveler:  Weston is still currently in his carrier, and is outgrowing it very quickly.  I refuse to give that thing up until it warms up, so until then, his feet just may be hanging over the end---but only a little, I promise. :)   He travels so well in his carrier, and it usually puts him right to sleep.  The carrier is more of a reclined position than his big boy car seat is, and that makes me nervous for the switch as well.  

-Recognize anyone new: Weston definitely recognizes people, and isn't very keen of unfamiliar faces.  He likes the regulars, and gets very excited about a familiar face.  I love the greeting he gives his Daddy and I every day that we see him.  It's the best, and is filled with so much excitement. 

-Anything else:  To sum Weston up in one word, it would be: busy.  He is so very lovable, and snuggly, and smart, and just plain busy.  But busy also means healthy, and after our stretch of unhealthy.....a healthy boy is something to thank the good Lord for every day! 

Wes is such a joy to be around, and is always so happy.  That is one feature that I absolutely adore about the cutie that we have the privilege to raise.  He is always so happy no matter the circumstances.  

I am so lucky to be this boys' Mama!

Happy Valentine's Day!

From two of my Loves, to you and yours!  Happy Valentine's Day!

"Ahhhh, Mom has her camera out again!"  Haha.  :)

"Mom, look at my muscles!"  Clearly a Valentine's Day photoshoot must-have with boys, right?!  Ha.

Hope you have a great Love Day!  It's always so much fun to love a little extra hard on those special people in your life.  

NINE Months

Weston is at one of my most favorite stages in the first year.  He is getting to be very interactive, is developing a full personality, and we are loving watching this little lad grow.

Wes is still constantly making us laugh, and is such a character.  He always has us on our toes, and is so much more busy and into things than Carson ever was.

Lately Wes has been doing the same silly face that Carson did around the 1 year mark.  He scrunches his nose up, and breathes in and out----making a funny noise, and look.  We all laugh, and he giggles, and does it again.  It's like he knows he is putting on quite the show.  He does it a lot, and thinks it is fun to make people laugh.

Bath time is still one of Wes's favorite activities.  Carson has now come to the point where he won't take a bath unless Weston is in there with him.  So fun, and cute, and adorable.  They have a lot of fun in the tub together.  The floor usually ends up soaked drenched sopping wet, but we have fun!

Wes currently has 5 teeth, and they are so darn cute.  He has 3 on the top, and 2 on the bottom.  His front two teeth make me smile, as one is longer than the other.  I absolutely love this picture that shows it.  Carl says he looks like a Hillbilly :)

Weston is still on all fours, and is getting to be so fast.  He loves to walk behind his walker, and is really good at it.  He is also walking along furniture, and getting rather gutsy when it comes to going one handed to get to a different location.  He is so extremely brave, and the thought of getting hurt never crosses his mind---I am almost guaranteed of it.

We have been trying to introduce a few more solid foods to Wes, and while he isn't opposed to them, he also doesn't eat much in any large amounts. He will try a few bites, and is content with a highchair sitting being followed with a bottle.  He really likes little puffs, yogurt melts, cheerios, crackers, bread, and toddler cheese bites.  He will act like he really likes applesauce, yogurt, cottage cheese, and a few other solids---but will only take a few bites of each, and then he is done.  I let him decide what he is going to eat, and the amounts.  I am really looking to just introduce different flavors and textures to him now. And so far he has done really well with it, he just doesn't like too much of anything.  We are no longer feeding him any kind of baby food, because we end up just wasting it all.  So, I think I will save the rest of the containers we have, and give them to a little baby who will eat them.  We don't like to waste 'round here :)

• Weight?  We just had his 9 month check up, and he weights 19 pounds, 12 ounces, and is 28 inches long.  I looked back at Carson's 9 month check up, and he was a pound lighter, and an inch shorter. 

• How much is he eating now? Wes is still getting 6 ounce bottles throughout the day.  He seems to really rely on his bottles, and doesn't seem to sit and eat a "meal" in his chair.  But, he has cut back a bottle or two throughout the day.

• How long does he sleep at night? Since I am writing this journal a little late, I will go back to his 9th month of living, and not his current status right now.  During his whole 9th month, he was still up about once a night for a bottle.  He goes to bed about 7:30-8:00, would wake up at about 3:00 for his bottle feeding, and then would go back to sleep until about 6:00ish.

• What size clothes is he in? W is pretty much in all 12 month clothing right now.  He is longer than Carson was at this age, so he is wearing some jeans/pants that Carson was wearing at 1 year.  Occasionally I will find a 9 month outfit that still fits, but otherwise it is all 12 month clothing.  I am having a really hard time storing away some of his outgrown clothes already! 

• Facial expressions? Wes is full of funny faces, and noises these days.  He has the scrunched up face that he likes to make, and we are working on "so big."  He likes to say "da-da" and "ga-ga" a lot, and I have just recently heard a "ma-ma!"  Ohhh, that makes me smile, and melts my heart!  He also grunts a lot when he gets really excited.  It's probably the cutest thing ever.

• Learned anything new this month? I think his biggest accomplishment these days is moving around furniture, and mustering up some guts to go from one object to another---one hand at a time.  It is so fun to watch him map it out, grunt a little, and achieve his goal.....if brother hasn't interfered, of course :)   

• Did you celebrate any holidays this past month? The big holiday for this time around was New Years Eve.  But since we didn't really do much, I won't really elaborate on that much.  

• Recognizing anybody new? Wes is definitely into the "stranger danger" phase, and more so than I remember with Carson.  He doesn't like to be left alone in a room, and will cry if he can't see you in sight.  He doesn't like to be handed off to just anybody, and will generally get a big fat lip, and start to cry until he is handed to a familiar face.  He really enjoys daycare, so that is not an issue for morning drop-offs (phew!) and I absolutely love to go and pick him up every day.  It is such a joy to see him get so excited to see me every day, and his legs and arms go crazy.  That puts a smile on my face every time!  

Carl and I are constantly talking about how we can't believe that Wes is pushing his 10th month already!  Time is just going by too quickly.  I am enjoying every stage, and trying my best to not cry as Weston grows before my eyes.

W truly is such a joy to have around.  We are having so much fun watching him develop his own personality, and grow that special bond with his brother that I thought I could only have dreamed of.  I am witnessing a dream come true.  It's a magical thing, really.