ONE Year Old

My emotions are in a complete bunch after typing the title to this post.  I mean, my baby is a ONE year old, and I am clinging tight to everything that is still baby about him.  And trust me when I say.....there ain't much to cling to.  Which makes me want to weep for days.  Ok, maybe I already have, and I have finally faced my sadness, and I am typing this post.

Life is busy, and with that comes great joy.  Ok, maybe that is my excuse for being MIA on this blog lately, and it sounds super legit.  And, well, because life is busy, and it is wonderful.

Weston.  Oh, our dearest Wes.  Where do I even begin?

He is busy.  Smart.  Funny.  Always happy.  So playful.  A lover.  Crazy.  And fearless.  And nicknamed "Baby-Zilla" for a reason.

He is a full on walker.  I wasn't so sure about this new found way of being independent after he started this gig, but now I love it.  He is so much more content and satisfied now that he can walk to his destination.  And play outside, because he can walk around in the garage and in the grass.  He is so happy, and has a true love and passion for living.  I love that about him.

He has 7 teeth, and they are the cutest pearly whites you ever did see.  He flashes them often, and it is truly a contagious smile.

He and his brother have a love/hate relationship at the moment.  Which is to be expected, really.  I was prepared for this.  They love each other, will play and giggle together, and then fight like true brothers the second I turn my back on them.  Or I go to the bathroom.  And don't think for a second that even at the young age of 1 that Weston doesn't initiate, or fight back.  Because Brother can stand his ground.

Carson has some battle wounds from him, and we are not a fan of his new form of retaliation.  Biting.  At the age of One.  His Mama is not a fan.  I have already had to "slap" his mouth a few times, indicating that biting is not allowed.  He of course laughs in my face.  That is such a typical response from him.  I have a feeling we are going to be saying that a lot in the near future, and I am not sure what to think about it.  He will keep us on our toes, no doubt about that.  I'm excited, nonetheless.

Weston is a bottomless pit.  I remember saying this in his 11 month journal update as well.  The kid out-eats Carson pretty much every meal.  Carson has 1 pancake, Weston has 3.  Carson has 1/2 of a hot dog, Weston has 2-1/2.  Wes usually finishes Carson's plate, and then some.  He likes his food, and I am perfectly ok with that.  It's actually fun to feed Weston, because there isn't much he won't eat.  And you know when the guy is done eating, because every. last. bite. on his highchair tray will be thrown on the ground.  His favorite foods: pasta, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, watermelon, hot dogs, cheese, cereal, puffcorn, and any finger food.  If it has to be given to him by spoon or fork, the kid won't eat it.  Guaranteed.

Wes is a climber.  If it is 1 inch off the ground, he will climb it.  If it's 3 feet off the ground, he will climb it.  He is absolutely fearless.  His favorite thing to do these days is climb on to the little chair in our kitchen, and proceeds to get onto the table, and stand.  He displays a proud grin, and we all move quickly as we about pee our pants trying to get to him.  He then laughs, and tries to do it again.

See what I mean?  Heart-attack! 

On to the monthly questions:

-Weight:  About 20 pounds

-How much is he eating now:  Weston still has 3 bottles a day of whole milk.  We haven't weened him from the bottle yet, and I am honestly not trying very hard.  He is very much so attached, and I think time will reveal when the time is right to rid of it.  He has all table food during meals, and a bottle morning, noonish, and before bed time.    

-Wears size 4 diapers.

-How long does he sleep at night:  After a year of not sleeping very well, these parents are occasionally getting a good nights rest!  Can I get a Hallelujah!?  Weston goes to bed about 7:30-8:00 at night, and will generally sleep through the night until about 6:30 the next morning.  

-What size of clothes is he in:  Weston is wearing 12-18 month clothes.  He is still in some of his 12 month sleepers, but we have moved to some "2-piece" jammies with the warmer temperatures, which are 18 monthers.

-Facial Expressions:  This little one of ours is so full of facial expressions.  My most favorite?  His smile, hands down.  We hear so often that he is the happiest little guy a person has ever seen.  And truly?  He is.  Our daycare provider says everyday...."I just can't get over how he is always so happy!"  

-Learned anything new this month:  Walking was probably the biggest accomplishment for the little Wes man.  He is now running, of course.  It didn't take him long to get stable, and he took off.  Now he can run with the "big dogs" and he feels pretty darn special because of it.  He is constantly trying to keep up with Carson, and I adore watching the wheels in their head spin.  

-Is Weston a good traveler:  Weston is still a pretty good traveler.  9 times out of 10, the car ride puts him to sleep, so we don't generally hear much from him.  

-Recognize anyone new:  Wes is a Mama's Boy.  And I say that with great pride, and a smile on my face.  Carl gets to say that about Carson, so I am holding tight to my baby.  Weston gets very excited to see familiar faces, and it is my most favorite and treasured time of the day.  He smiles big, kicks his legs, giggles, and literally runs to you when he sees you walk in the door.  When Daddy gets home at night, he gets the same entrance as I do when I pick the boys up at daycare, and it makes my heart smile so big.  

I can't believe how fast this first year has flown by.  Weston it truly such a joy to have around, and I am so happy and honored that we were chosen to raise this precious little soul.  

Happy One Year, Weston Michael!  

11 months (two week late)

The little Wes Man is 11 months old already, and we are planning his FIRST birthday.  Typing that sentence out just made me cry.  No joke.

Carl thinks I am crazy because there were so many "firsts" and "changes" that have been taking place, and it makes me cry.  My baby is growing up, and it's hitting me hard.

This month, in particular, was a big one.  I finally drug myself downstairs to grab his new big boy carseat, and drug myself back out to the van to install the dumb thing.  And when I call it a dumb thing, it's only because I am bitter about the fact that my baby is no longer in a carrier.  Which means he is growing up, and I want him to forever be a baby.  Is that too much to ask?  I didn't think so.  :)

I also bought my first box of size 4 diapers.  He is still wearing a size 3, and fits into them really well.  I mainly bought a bigger size for overnight purposes.  But still.  Size 4 screams toddler to me, and I am not ready to call him that yet.  No way.  As I placed them into my cart at Target, I called Carl.  And then cried. He proceeded to laugh at me, and said "oh gosh.  It must be a Mom thing."  Gee, thanks!

Wes is starting to take his first steps, and it is so darn cute to watch him make the attempt, and then get down and crawl to where he wants to go.  He knows that crawling is so much faster, and easier at this point, so why try to walk?  And by faster, I mean just that.  This kid is such a quick crawler!

Little man has added a tooth this month!  He now has four across the top, and three on the bottom.  The third one on the bottom just popped through.  With that being said, it's been a lot of fun, and much easier to introduce him to new foods.

Weston still enjoys his food, and may or may not have gotten called "Tubby" a few times already.  We just laugh because he can out-eat his older brother any day, any meal.  And usually does.  Which I know, it doesn't take much.....but W shovels the food in like he has never been fed before.  Wes likes any food that he can feed himself.  He rarely will let us feed him anything with a spoon/fork.  His favorites:  any kind of fruit (grapes, blueberries, strawberries, manderine oranges, bananas) hot dogs, carrots, pasta, toast, cereal, yogurt melts, etc.  He has also been referred to as a bottom-less pit.  But when he is done with his food, he is done.  He starts to throw his food across the kitchen (literally!  the kid has quite the arm on him) and will make sure there is nothing left on his tray, and everything has been re-located to the floor.  Carl and I had to laugh the other night when we gave him his own spoon/fork to eat with.  We have introduced the utensils to him, and he knew exactly what to do with them.  But he tried for a mere 2 seconds to get a hot dog on his fork, failed, threw the fork, and grabbed about 3 hot dog bites and shoved them in his mouth.  Haha.  We of course added captions to the situation, and were laughing so hard.  We do wonder what was going through his head at the moment.

This little guy had his first taste of his very own sucker.  He was a complete sticky mess, but to see the look on his face the whole time he had a firm grip on that sucker stick with his pudgy little hands was well worth the clean up!

Weston also had his first taste of a donut.  His very own.  And it was chocolate, and very messy!  But he was so excited, and we were all happy to watch him destroy the thing.  

Wes is such a lover, and I am smitten with this attribute about him.  He will cuddle into your neck, and it makes you want to do absolutely nothing except rock him.  And yes, I am guilty of this.  My babies are only little once.....you can bet my messy house can wait :)

I am in love with everything new that Weston is learning these days.  He is a smarty pants, no doubt.  He catches on to things so quickly.  He continues to do "so big", waves "bye-bye" on occasion, and will do "patty-cake."  Carson has been helping with teach him a few more of the motions of the song, and Wes will now "roll it" and it's so fun to see the two of them together.  

Weston absolutely loves to wrestle.  And I am not even kidding about this.  If you are on the ground, you can start the countdown from 5, and I can guarantee by the time you hit 1, Wes will be on top of you.  He doesn't just crawl on top of you, he does it in such a "boy" manner.  He throws his hands up, and throws himself on top of you.  It is so funny to watch him.  Carson has gotten wrestled a few times by his little brother, and we laugh so hard because Weston isn't much smaller than Carson, and I have a feeling this is only the beginning of the wrestling days.  Lord, please protect my family :)

-Weight:  Wes weighs about 21ish pounds. 

-How much is he eating now:  We are trying to get Weston use to all table food, and trying to ween him of his bottles.  I would like him to be off bottles shortly after he turns a year old.  If that doesn't happen, I am fine with that, as I know every child is different, but that is my goal.  With that being said, we are trying to cut back on the amount of bottles given to him during a day, and trying to get him full off table food.  Wes has about 2 (6) ounce bottles in a day, and sometimes 3.  We are making progress, which makes me feel good.

-Wears size 3 diapers.

-How long does he sleep at night:  Wes has been going to bed about 7:30 these days.  I think with him being so active, he really wears himself out during the day.  I can only imagine he will get even more tired as the days get longer, and he will probably be staying up later.  He is definitely one that doesn't like to miss out on anything.  If there is action to be seen, he would like to be front row.  He is usually up a time or two during the night, and we can either get him back to sleep by patting his back, or giving him a bottle.  Sometimes it's a milk bottle, and other times it is just water. 

-What size of clothes is he in:  Wes is still in his 12 month sleepers, and in all 12 month clothing.  I have been buying 12-18 month things for this Summer. 

-Facial Expressions:  Wes has so many different facial expressions, and he is constantly making us smile with them.  My favorite is when he crinkles his nose up.  It reminds us so much of when Carson was little, because he did the same exact thing.  Kids are funny like that. 

-Learned anything new this month:  The wheels in his head are constantly turning, and he is learning something new every day it seems.  This is one of the joys of Motherhood that I absolutely love.  Watching your children grow and learn new things.  There is so much joy and pride that comes with that.  

-Is Weston a good traveler:  He is currently getting adjusted to his big boy car seat, and I would say he isn't the most fond of it at the moment.  He is getting better, but I think he will be more content when he can be forward-facing, and can see everything.  I plan to wait as long as I can after he turns one to flip him around, but I don't know how long that will last.  

-Recognize anyone new:  He hasn't changed in regards to liking a familiar face.  He doesn't like to be held by just anyone, and will get the biggest pouty face if he doesn't recognize the hands he is in.  I am still clinging tight to the fact that he is a Mama's boy, but that may be slipping away from me.  I am trying my best to hold on tight though.  Or, try and win Carson over.  Oh, who am I kidding---I live with all boys :)  

Carson's latest favorite thing to do is greet Weston in his crib every morning that he gets the first sign of Weston waking up.  It is so much fun to watch them smile, and have fun together first thing in the morning.  It definitely sets the mood for the day, and I am completely in love with those first few moments of every day.  The sound of them giggling together is music to this Mama's ears, and I am so lucky, and feel beyond blessed with these two little guys.  Sorry for the blurry pictures, but they are crazy!  They are usually jumping, and screaming, and Carson is singing "no more monkey jumping on the bed!"

Weston is such a happy little guy, and has a contagious smile.  He is such a joy to be around, and I can't believe that we are planning a first birthday party, and scouring shoes for him to wear--- and not just for looks.  

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!