And Away We Go!!!!

Wesley started crawling tonight!!!!!!!!! Just when I had almost convinced myself that the little dude was never going to be mobile, he proved me wrong!! I was sitting on the floor eating a bowl of Cheez-Its. Wesley has become a very big mooch when it comes to food. If you are eating it, he wants it and will open his mouth and stare at you in hopes you'll give in. He must have thought the Cheez-Its looked extra yummy, because he scooted forward towards them. I lured him from the living room to the dining room and he did great! Then I called all the grandparents, and Daddy (who was working late), and Aunt Melissa and Kate! Now don't get me wrong, he isn't crawling smoothly, but I count forward progress as crawling! So far the things that motivate him are food, the phone, the remote and the cats. Looks like we'll be baby-proofing this weekend. Talk about "Spring Forward!"

Seven Months

Well, the little dude has made it to seven months!!! YAY!!! Isn't he just too cute? Not that I'm biased or anything. We're just waiting for him to become mobile now. He is so close to crawling it's driving me nuts! Of course, he's starting to act like crawling won't be enough motion for him. He does a full push up on his toes now and we think it's because he's trying to stand. He wants to pull himself up all the time too. He hasn't accomplished it yet, but he's working on it!

Not Quite the Cat's Pajamas

Grandma and Grandpa H. have an 18 year old cat named Bentley. Now Bentely has never been what you'd call an "attractive" cat - and I picked him out as a kitten so I can say that! :-) But he's always had his own personality and that's what makes him special. Bentley has long fur and gets matted pretty easily. He had to be shaved last week because he was REALLY matted. Without his fur, he kind of looks like a rat, but he feels soooooo soft and it seems to improve his attitude. Anyhow, Wesley must have gotten a good look at him for the first time today. Bentley walked up near Wesley was sitting. Wesley took one look at him and burst out laughing. It has to be a blow to the ego when a 7 month old thinks you have a bad haircut!

Pint Sized Hero

Wesley spent the day with Grandpa P. and the granddogs. Maggie and Abby are Bischons that live with Grandma and Grandpa P. for a day or two at a time (they really belong to the neighbor.) Wesley is normally very good with the puppies. He loves touching them and doesn't even mind when Maggie licks his ears. The only time they seem to bother him is if they bark when he isn't expecting it. Today they started barking at me when I came in to pick Wesley up. Wesley was sitting on Grandpa's lap watching me. I sat down and Maggie jumped up (still barking) and made a quick move to clean my ears. I think Wesley thought she was going to hurt me because he screamed. I don't mean that he screeched in delight - the boy screamed and it really sounded like he was scared. Once Maggie jumped down and left me alone, Wesley was OK. Apparently the boy felt the need to protect his mommy. Sigh. My hero!

I'm Back!

I apologize for what is bound to be a rather disjointed post. I have so many things I want to at least mention, but things are still bouncing around inside my head.

I had a great trip/convention in Boston. I sat in on some wonderful sessions, found some neat furniture, computers and other odds and ends in the exhibit hall, and even met up with some friends of mine from a couple other library systems around here. I ate some terrific food (we discovered a great Thai place that was really inexpensive) and bought myself a couple fun things. Yes, I missed Big Man and the Little Dude, and I did get a blister from all the walking, but I really enjoyed it over all.

Our hotel was connected to the convention center by a walkway and a mall, so we didn't have to go outside unless we wanted too. I stayed indoors most of the time. There were so many good sessions that I didn't leave myself much time for sight seeing. That sort of bums me out, but I guess that just means we'll have to plan a family trip to Boston sometime soon. We did venture into Old Town for dinner one night at the Union Oyster House which claims to be the oldest restaurant in America. The food was good and the place was just neat to be in. We passed the Holocaust Memorial on our way to the T. I didn't realize it was the Holocaust Memorial at first, but once I realized what it was it really ...moving? heartbreaking? sobering? I'm not sure how to describe it, but I know I won't forget it. Here's the link if you want to see it or read more about it. http://www.nehm.org/intro.html We went to the Boston Public Library for a reception one night (the restored building is GORGEOUS!) The only other sight seeing I really had time to do was a walk to Boston Gardens to see the statues in honor of Make Way for Ducklings. I'd love to take Wesley there someday to see them - after he become familiar with the books of course.

A few times during the trip I really felt like a sheltered Midwestern girl - which is kind of funny considering that I am from a cow town, but not a small town. I couldn't get over how brusk folks are on the East Coast. At first I interpreted it as rudeness, but my library director assured me it wasn't - that's just how folks are there. She jokingly told me I'd never last in NYC and she's probably right. The night we rode the T was the first time in my life I have ever been on a subway. I kind of liked it.

I was so glad to come home. Once the plane landed, I couldn't get off it fast enough. I practically ran into baggage claim and came close to attacking Duane! Wesley was waiting at home with Grandma and Grandpa H. I didn't really expect much of a reaction from Wesley. I called him a couple of times a day, but he's so little I'm not sure he really got that I was gone. I won't lie and say he broke out in smiles and giggles or immediately reached his arms out to me. But when I held him he snuggled in tight and wrapped his little arms around me. He didn't want me to put him down and even gave me a few kisses (something he did for the first time right before I left.)
I can't believe how much I missed him while I was in Boston. It really was like a part of me was gone. I couldn't get enough of him last night or today. Oh! And he did not start crawling in my absence - thank goodness! It won't be long though.

I hacked some of his hair off today (hence the picture on today's post.) I couldn't stand it hanging in his eyes anymore and I didn't want to pay anyone to do it. One of my friends said that Wesley had a little baby Donald Trump hairdo and that was reason enough for me to grab the scissors. I don't think it looks too bad, but I did give Grandma and Grandpa P. permission to trim it up if the urge hits them. Thank goodness for baseball caps, right?

Trit Trot to Boston

This will probably be my last post for the week. I have to work tonight and tomorrow I'll be doing the last minute packing for my trip. Wesley helped me do some packing yesterday - apparently the sweater I am taking is quite tasty. You know, I've been really excited about going to this conference and I always have a good time, but my heart is breaking in two right now. I can't stand the thought of leaving Wesley and Duane! I have only been away for Duane one other time since we've been married, but at least I can call and talk to him and hear his voice. I don't know what I'm going to do without my baby boy. He has spent single nights at his Grandma and Grandpa H's a couple of times, but I've never been away from him more than 1 night at a time. After I put him to bed tomorrow night I won't see him until Saturaday night! I didn't know that it would be so hard to leave for a few days. I just hope he'll be excited to see me on Saturday because I'll be counting the hours until I see him again.

The Aunts Go Marching .....

Wesley is in love with his aunt Susan and his aunt Paula. He saw them both this weekend since we were celebrating Kirk's birthday. When Wesley saw Susan on Saturday he was a little unsure of her because he hadn't seen her for awhile and he had just got up from a nap. It didn't take long for him to be all about Aunt Sus though! He even put on his best performances so she could take videos of him. She had the magic touch on Sunday too and he fell fast asleep in her arms. Aunt Paula worked a different kind of magic on the boy. Wesley thought she was just about the funniest person he's ever seen! She lay on the floor with him and made his Lambie play peek-a-boo and talk in a high pitched voice. Wesley giggled and laughed so hard that he pitched himself backwards a couple of times. He could not get enough!! What a lucky boy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here's Mommy and Wesley and the "wearing o' the green" which Wesley likes better than the eating o' the green and Mommy definiately likes better than the pooping o' the green! We celebrated the day by heading to COSI for a fun-filled afternoon and drinking green formula (just kidding about the green formula part!)

Date Night

You know you are parents of an infant when you have a date night and are home by 8:30. Seriously. Last night Grandma and Grandpa H. came over so Duane and I could go out and spend an evening together before I head to Boston for a conference next week. We went to an Irish pub near our house for dinner and thought we'd see a movie. The problem? We yawned all the way to dinner and when we realized the movie didn't start until 8:00, we thought we'd be "out too late." How pathetic are we? So after dinner we drove up High St. (my favorite cheap date), stopped at a bakery for coffee and dessert, and went home. Now in all fairness, we did stay up and finish a movie we had started the night before, but we were still in bed by 10:00. Just call us party animals!

Grandmas is Tricksy

My grammer isn't quite as bad as the title of today's post. It's a Lord of the Rings reference. Anyhow, Grandma H. got her own style of "revenge" for Wesley snubbing her in favor me yesterday. We went out to lunch today and Wesley was sitting in a highchair trying to grab everything that was even remotely in reach of his little fingers. Grandma decided to occupy him by taking a velcro strap busy bee off his stroller and fastening it to his wrist. Now remember, Wesley is at the age where throwing a toy on the floor is great fun. Imagine the look on his face when he tried to toss it on the floor and it stuck tight to his wrist. Poor little guy couldn't figure out what was going on! Lesson learned: don't cross Grandma! :-)

Baby Blockhead

Wesley and I decided to take a look at a new DVD that I checked out from the library last week. He doesn't really care for Baby Einstein (even though he loves the books) and Baby Superstar doesn't really do much for him either. Tonight we found a winner - Eebees Adventures! I've never heard of them before either, but Wesley loved it! It's a little baby puppet that they show doing age appropriate baby activities, like banging blocks together, while an adult caregiver gives positive reinforcement and shows ways to vary the games. There is also footage of real babies playing.

After 10 minutes of Eebees Adventures I decided to re-create one of the activities from the DVD. I took his basket of toys, emptied everything except his blocks out of it, and turned it on its side. Within a few minutes Wesley had taken all the blocks out. I put them in again, and he took them out again. Then we played "build them up, knock them down" and "bang the blocks together." The kid catches on quick though because after a while, when I put the blocks in the basket, he'd tip the whole thing over so all the blocks would come out at once. Of course, he also spent some time chewing on the basket. Duane said that makes him a basketcase!

Relaxing Weekend?

This family may not know how to relax, but we sure know how to have a good time!

We had a group of friends over on Saturday night. It was so nice! Duane made his "famous Big D" lasagna and I made a cake. We just hung out, ate, talked and played dominoes. It was great!The picture is of Wesley with our friend Rick. Wesley was trying to teach Rick how the octopus keyboard worked. Sasha (Rick's wife) read books to Wesley and told him what noises animals make in the Czech Republic (where she's from) so that that Wesley would know two languages and "be very smart." He just LOVED Sasha. I don't know if it was her accent, or if he just picked up on what a wonderful, sweet person she is, but he could barely take his eyes off of her. Of course, when Wesley did manage to look away from Sasha, he was pretty capivated with baby James. Wesley hasn't seen too many babies, especially not younger than him. It was a new experience.

Tonight we went to a fund raiser spaghetti dinner and auction for the youth group at our church. We had the BEST time and Wesley was on his most excellent church behavior - meaning that he may have screamed and cried and howled for 25 minutes in the car, but when we got to church he was all smiles and completely charming. I got into a bidding war with the other new mom at church for the 3 hours of babysitting. I WON!!! We also walked off with some candy from one of my favorite candy stores, some sweaters and a book.

I just can't believe Wesley hung in there until the end, because it was getting close to his bedtime. He giggled and laughed when we danced to the piano music. Everytime someone won an item everyone clapped and Wesley was SURE they were clapping for him! We always say that the people at church are his fan club because they practically mob him when we come in. Our church is a pretty old congregation, so Wesley is everyone's "grandson" and they really love him. There may not be a lot of kids at our church, but there is a lot of love. What a great way to spend an evening.

Hey Good Looking!

Guess Duane and I aren't the only ones who think Wesley is one good looking kid! He's his own fan club! I wish there was a way to put sound on here, because he was making little "mmmm" noises as he kissed his reflection. No self esteem problem here!

Gross - Read at Your Own Risk

I always knew that being a parent would mean being exposed to all sorts of things. Since Wesley was born I have been thrown up on, peed on, had slimy baby fingers shoved in my mouth, and seen projectile poop. None of that compares to how disgusting his bibs are after he eats! Either Wesley is super hungry when we feed him, or baby food tastes really bad because he repeatedly tries to shove his bib in his mouth while he is eating!!! This morning he opened his mouth wide for a nice bite of oatmeal and plums, then immediately shoved his bib in there too. I need at least three hands to feed him - one to hold the dish because if we set it on the highchair tray he'll stick his hand in it, one for the spoon, and one to keep the bib out of his mouth for three seconds. I was going to take a picture of the bib from today's breakfast and add it to today's post, but it occurred to me that some of you may have weak stomachs! Trust me - it's gross!

Wake Up Call

Perhaps we've gotten into a bad habit, but Sanders LOVES to go into Wesley's bed when I get the boy up in the morning. Wesley thinks that having a cat in his crib is just about the greatest thing on the planet. He'll roll around to try and pet Sanders, "talk" to him and grab his fur. Sanders is so sweet and docile that he puts up with it all in exchange for a little sweet talk from me. I think Wesley is starting to believe that Sanders is his cat, possibly because he's the only cat that will let Wesley near him for more than 2 seconds. Oh well, all kids need a stuffed animal, right?

The Howler Monkey Returns

Forget King Kong! There is a monkey much more terrifying - the Wesley Howler Monkey. I don't know what has gotten into this boy tonight, but he is screeching up a storm! He's not upset, I think he just likes the sound. You know, Grandpa P. is always asking Wesley if he wants a cup of joe. I wonder if he actually gave him some! Seriously, is this a normal phase, or is Wesley vocally gifted?
I managed to snap a picture between Wesley's vocal exercises. If you can ignore the big string of drool, it's pretty cute!

Baby Slime

Wesley is no longer just the drooliest baby on the planet, he's the slimiest too! Due to the massive amounts of drool Wesley creates, he is suffering from chapped cheeks and chin. No fun! Dr. Matt recommended we treat Wesley with Aquaphor (which I had never heard of) three times a day. He said it would create a barrier between Wesley's skin and the drool. As soon as I opened the jar, I understood. The stuff has the consistency of Vaseline. So now when Wesley treats us to little slimy fingers, we can slime him right back!

Mommy and Wesley

Today we had a whole day of Mommy and Wesley. From the time he woke up until the time he went to bed, we were together. It doesn't feel like I get too many days like that and I enjoyed most every minute of it. I woke up to music coming from the baby monitor. Wesley has a musical "aquarium" on his crib and figured out how to work it by himself this morning. He is getting so good at working all his toys. He's a regular pro with his turtle and gum ball machine. I'm sure we'll be hearing Mozart from him soon (that is, if he hits the right button on the Baby Einstein toys)

Duane had to work today, but I was off so Wesley and I picked up Grandma H. and went to see Dr. Matt for a 6 month check up. All is well. Wesley is a big healthy boy, but apparently is allergic to peaches. We'll try them again in a couple months. After the doctor appointment we ran all over the place, but it was all for the boy! Grandma bought him some new clothes and we picked up a couple more new toys - a hammer that makes noise when you shake it, and a Baby Einstein keyboard that makes animal noises as well as music. The keyboard violates my rule that any electronic toy must work equally as well with the power turned off, but Welsey liked it so much that I couldn't resist!

Duane is out with the guys tonight. I'm not entirely sure it's fair for him to be out having fun on a day that Wesley received 3 shots, but I fed the boy prunes for dinner and I work all weekend (meaning it's just Duane and Wesley) so I may have gotten the better deal after all!

Six Months!

Wesley is 6 months old! I can hardly believe it! Here are a few of the lessons Duane and I have learned as new parents.

• Sometimes you want the baby to nap so YOU can nap!
• If a toy drops on the floor and isn't obviously covered with dirt or pet hair, it's clean enough to go back in the baby's mouth. This is especially true in church or anyplace else you want him to be quiet.
• There is no better sound than baby giggles - and you'll do anything to get them.
• Staring at the monitor does not make the baby quit crying!
• Drooling infants can saturate an amazing number of bibs in the course of a day.
• Each stage is cuter than the one before - although I've heard this stops when they become teenagers.
• Most public changing stations are too high for a 5 foot 3 mom.
• A baby can go through a ton of those little baby food jars in a weeks time.
• 9:00 is a perfectly reasonable bedtime for parents.
• Baby shoes are impractical and irresistible.
• Wesley has a better wardrobe than either of us.
• That we are truly blessed with wonderful family and friends.
• Cuddle/play time is the best time of the day.
• It is not that important that I get back into my pre-pregnancy size "2" clothes.
• All baby toys take batteries and they will all need changed within 2 days time of each other.
• The words "car seat" must translate into "cranky baby" in some language.