Stealth is Not His Middle Name

Wesley was having a little trouble with his walker tonight. First of all, his shorts threatened to fall down with each step his took. After a few steps Wesley looked like he was sporting a hip hop fashion. The other problem he had was that he seemed to confuse his walker with an invisibility cloak. I was sitting on the floor by the dining room table and called Wesley to come over to me. He took the long way around the table so that he would come up behind me. He got about 2/3 of the way there before he was overcome with giggles. It was almost like he knew he was "sneaking" up on me and it was hilarious.

Speaking of hilarious. Check out Wesley getting ready for his bath. He stands on his tip toes and looks over the edge of the tub like he just can't wait for it to fill up. Tonight he even kicked his own super loose pants off. That's one excited kid! Too bad he was so tired he could barely splash about. Duane and I managed to get through bathtime without getting too wet. Don't worry, I'm sure Wesley will make up for it next time.

10 Months

I've got my baby back!!! I had to work a ridiculously long 14 hour day yesterday, so Wesley had an overnight with Grandma and Grandpa H. Tuesday night. The only time I got to see Wesley yesterday was the 45 minutes I spent over there on my dinner hour and he was asleep by the time I got home. No matter now. I have a whole morning of mommy and baby time!!!

Small Steps

Wesley is rapidly moving towards walking. He has perfected the Bear Walk (as seen below) whenever his knees are in danger of touching a hard surface.

But we are progressing beyond the Bear Walk. Wesley took a step last night. I'm not sure it counts because he didn't know he did it. He was pulling on his ear with one hand (one of his tired tells) and began rubbing his eyes with the other. In the middle of all that, he took a step. I figured it was a fluke, but Grandma H. reports two steps were taken this morning when Wesley wanted his toys. Man the gates! It won't be long now!

We're Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

After nearly a month of trying, we finally made it to the zoo today. Duane ended up having today off and the weather was beautiful, so we packed up the young'un and met Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan at the zoo. Of course every other family in the state had the same idea we did. I have never seen the place this crowded except when they do the lights at Christmas! We only ended up staying a couple of hours (one of the perks of membership is that you don't feel like you have to stay a certain amount of time to get your money's worth) but Wesley had a big time.





First we went to the petting area to visit the goats. Wesley was most impressed with this. The cats generally run away from him. Dogs usually cover him with slobber. The goats just didn't care and Wesley loved it! Unfortunately the excitement must have been too much for him because he fell asleep shortly after that and watched the back of his eyelids instead of the animals for at least 30 minutes.





Wesley woke up in time to see the penguins and then - the most awesome sight of all - the carousel! He couldn't take his eyes off the movement and the lights and the music so Duane and I decided it was time for his first carousel ride. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but before long he was smiling and he didn't want the ride to end.

After the zoo we headed to one of my favorite places to eat - City barbecue! Luckily for me, Wesley seems to have inherited his mommy's love of smoked meat. He mooched off of everyone at the table and really put away some of Aunt Susan's turkey. Graeter's was right next door, so Wesley topped off his meal with quite a bit of my mango sorbet. I couldn't get the spoon to my own mouth without him opening his wide! He was just such a happy kid!

I can't remember the last time I just hung out with my brother like we did today. It was wonderful! I had the best time just being a family today. That's really what weekends are for!

Ya Got Anything to Eat?

Wesley has discovered the refrigerator. Everytime we open it he crawls as fast as he can over to it and peers inside the door. I really think he'd be content to stand there examining the contents for a very long time. He loves food so much, maybe we have a future chef on our hands. He must have a rather sophisticated palate though. The shelf he was examining contained garlic chili sauce, whole grain mustard and capers.

Sweet Dreams

Duane and I have finally discovered the best way to get a good night's sleep with an infant in the house. You turn the baby monitor on and accidentally leave it downstairs when you go to bed. You won't hear a thing! Actually, our room is right next to Wesley's and we would've been able to hear him crying, but thankfully he let us sleep!

Happy Father's Day

Today marked Duane's first Father's Day as an official daddy and in true Duane fashion, he spent it making sure everyone else had a good Father's Day. We kicked off the day by having breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa H. While I was sick and laying on the couch yesterday, Duane took Wesley and went to the North Market to stock up on goodies for this morning. He did a fantastic job - everything was delicious.

After eating way too many pastries, Duane, Wesley and I headed up to the mall so Duane could get fitted for a tux. He is the best man in his cousin's wedding in a couple of weeks and I must admit, my husband looks darn good in a tux! Once we finished at the tux shop, we cruised across the mall to a new store that is totally geared for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. We found so many things there that we'd love to get for Wesley - definitely someplace we'll be visiting closer to the Little Dude's birthday. Duane found the sweetest little stuffed husky that he thought Wesley had to have. So now Wesley has a new best bud named Frank - short for Frank Sinatra (blue eyes don't ya know!)







We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening with Grandma and Grandpa P., Uncle Kirk and Aunt Susan. Wesley showed off his considerable walking (while assisted) skills by pushing Frank around the house on his bike. Duane pushed the bike around and around and around the house just to see Wesley laugh. Very cute stuff! Grandma and Grandpa P. gave Duane a beautiful framed picture of Wesley (which is already hanging in our front room) then we all went out to eat. Just a nice day.

Part of my present to Duane was changing all the poopy diapers today, part was a tool set and part of it is this - me stating to all who read this blog that Wesley is just about the luckiest boy in the world to have a daddy like his. A daddy who is kind, generous, and loving. A daddy who would give his last dollar to someone who needed it and would do absolutely anything for his son. A daddy who loves Wesley's mommy very much and isn't afraid to show it. A daddy who will sing along to goofy songs on the radio and dance with his family in the kitchen. That's some kind of daddy and I hope as Wesley grows up, he'll learn to be the kind of man his daddy is. Happy Father's Day!!

Relay for Life

Last night the whole family participated in the Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. My library had a team, and it seemed like a good thing - family time with a cause - so we packed up Wesley, dug our walking shoes out and hit the track. Here is Wesley making sure his stroller had the essential fruit and veggie puffs packed, and staying hydrated on the track.
We walked from 7-8. Wesley really enjoyed it at first. He swung his legs, clapped his hands, looked around and talked to other walkers. He especially liked it when Daddy made the stroller pop a wheelie or spin in circles, or side swipe a trash can. Little Dude made it until the last two laps when he finally gave in to sleep.

Sleep only lasted until we exited the track though. As soon as we made it back to the team tent, he was up and ready to go. I wish I was that refreshed after a ten minute nap! Of course, it could have been because I said the magic words "Ice cream!" We ended our healthy evening of walking for cancer research by downing ice cream cones at the local Dairy Queen. Does anyone else find that a little....odd?

Belly Laughs

Is it possible for a baby to be a little slap happy? Last night Wesley found almost everything absolutely hilarious. It began at dinner when I put a napkin on the cat's head. Apparently this was the height of entertainment and Wesley began to laugh. Then Daddy put a napkin on his head. Even better! From then on, everything was funny - especially Wesley's favorite silly words "Geek. Goof. Yucky." Stand up comedians would pay big bucks for the kind of laughs we were getting. Too bad he won't always be so easy to entertain.

Everything's Coming Up Roses

We decided to brave the weather on Sunday and headed to the Rose Festival with Grandma & Grandpa H., and Grandma W. Duane and I try to go every year and I was very anxious to take Wesley there. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as excited as I was.

Once he woke up though, he seemed mildly interested in what was going on around him. OK, he was mostly interested in all the dogs that were there, but I figure that counts. I did try to get him to look at and smell the flowers. He just thought that was funny. Oh well, you can't blame a mommy for trying.

After the Rose Festival we headed to our church for the first ever Strawberry Festival. Wesley enjoyed some of Daddy's ice cream, some of Mommy's ice cream and some of Grandma H.'s ice cream. What a mooch!!

Nine Months Going on Nine Years

Wesley and I had planned to go to the zoo today with Grandma H. We have planned to go to the zoo for the last month, but every day we try to go it rains. Today was no exception. So instead of going to the zoo, we went to the North Market. For those you who don't live in the area, the North Market used to be a farmer's market. In fact, my Grandpa P. used to buy produce for his grocery store there. Now days it has lots of specialty and international food vendors. It's a great place to look around and even better to eat around!

We were standing in line for lunch at a Vietnamese booth, when another customer commented on how cute Wesley was. What parent doesn't like to hear that? I turned around to talk to her and she asked how old Wesley was. When I told her she said "WHAT?! He seems so...mature." Was that a nice way of saying my baby is big?

I didn't give it too much thought until we stopped at Pure Imagination for some chocolate. Daniel is the guy that owns the place and makes all the chocolate and he waited on us. While Daniel was helping Grandma H., Wesley was busy sticking his hands in my mouth and laughing. Daniel thought this was too funny and starting talking to Wesley and making great faces at him. He told us that his own little boy was in the market that day and if he hadn't been upstairs, the two little guys could have played. "I bet they'd have a great time," Daniel said. "My son is 15 months." When I told him how old Wesley was, he did a complete double take. I think he thought the boys were the same age.

Good thing we didn't go in the wine store! Wesley probably wouldn't have been carded! :-)

A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

Wesley, Grandma H. and I took a little trip to a place I hope to never have to go again - Children's Hospital. Now before anyone starts to gasp "What happened to Wesley!?" nothing happened. At his 9 month check up Wesley was supposed to have a routine blood draw. Since we live in a house that is over 100 years old, he has to be tested for lead and our doctor's office was not set up for that. Therefore, off to Children' Hospital we went!

I had been at a conference for the first part of the day and was chatting away to my mom and Wesley, filling them in on my day as we headed to the hospital. I (finally) stopped talking and heard a little voice from the back seat say "maa maa" Wesley has never done the "m" sound before and he just said those two syllables. "Did he just say Mama?" I asked. "I think so," Grandma responded. I tried not to get too excited because it could have been a fluke. We went to the lab and while we were waiting for our name to be called, we read a few books. We stared with the color book and looked at the mirror book and then Wesley pulled another book from his bag. "Maa maa" he said. The book he pulled out was "Where is Baby's Mommy?" Could it be that he really does know "Mama??"

Wesley's blood draw was quick but painful. Grandma H. tried to distract Wesley while the tech. prepped her things, but as anyone who has met Wesley knows, he doesn't miss a thing. I had to hold him on my lap and steady the arm that they weren't drawing from. Grandma H. had to hold his arm straight while the nurse did the draw. It was quick, but he HOWLED!!!!!! Poor little guy.

So what did I do? I broke one of the cardinal rules of parenting. I decided that we should follow up this traumatic experience with his first ice cream. I know, you aren't supposed to use food to comfort or reward, but I wanted something sweet to come of the day. We went and got vanilla soft serve cones. I let Wesley try a bite straight from my cone and after the first taste he was hooked. He kept trying to shove the whole thing in his mouth. The gentleman in the booth behind us even commented "He sure likes his ice cream!" Of course, my favorite part was not how cute Wesley looked with ice cream melting all over his face. It was when he had just finished a bite of ice cream and turned to me, grinned, and kissed me. I could almost hear him saying "Thank you for giving me this wonderful stuff Mom!" definitely a sweet ending.

What Sharp Teeth You Have

Wesley FINALLY cut a tooth!!! We were outside playing in the yard and he shoved a handful of grass in his mouth. I put my finger in his mouth to remove the grass and felt something sharp. On closer inspection I could see that one of his bottom front teeth has just barely broken through the gum. I'm such a geek though, that I started jumping up and down and cheering - which really made the neighbors laugh. Hey, I'm just glad we won't have to order baby dentures.

BTW, you can't see his pin-prick of a tooth in the picture, but it was too cute not to post.

The Diaper Wars Have Begun!

My friend Kate has a son who is @17 months old. She recently blogged about the trouble she's been having changing Colin's diaper because he fights her tooth and nail the whole time. Kate - I'm with you! Wesley has become a terror to change. He rolls and screams and cries and crawls away only to sit up and laugh at you. It is infuriating! I can hardly change him by myself and when I do succeed it's only because I strap him into his changing table. I don't know what his poor grandparents are doing to combat this. Maybe we should just keep him outside all summer and let him run naked!

Invest in Raingear

Wesley has discovered how much fun it is to go "Pbbbttt!" I've had to wipe his soaking wet chin off several times. It was kind of cute when he was crawling around going "pbbbttt!" It was kind of cute when he was playing with his cars and going "pbbbttt!" It is so NOT cute when you are trying to feed him dinner and he goes "pbbbttt" with food in his mouth - repeatedly! At first I thought he just didn't like the new kind of baby food we gave him for dinner. I could have understood that, it was even kind of endearing then. But when he started doing it to whatever we gave him, the cute factor plummeted significantly.

OH! Wesley just learned that when you pull Sadie's tail she does not say "pbbbttt!" She says ''YOWL! HISSSS!" Good lesson.

Absolutely Disgusting

What you are about to read is really really really gross. Seriously. I cannot stress this enough. If you have a weak stomach or are a reactionary hurler - READ NO FURTHER!!!!!!

OK, for those of you brave/crazy enough to read on, this is what transpired at our house this evening. Duane and I were enjoying a dinner of pizza from one of our favorite places. Wesley was entertaining himself by crawling around on the floor. He crawled over to the newspaper pile and proceeded to pull off some papers. Normal night. But then Wesley got really quiet. The sudden quiet was followed by gagging noises. Duane spun his chair around and grabbed Wesley just in time to be the lucky recipient of a whole mess of projectile vomit. Apparently our little guy had eaten a piece of paper that stuck somewhere. Within moments Big Man and the Little Dude were both covered with the remnants of Wesley's dinner.

I proceeded to lose my appetite very quickly. I helped Duane strip Wesley down to his diaper and the three of us headed up to give the little guy a bath. We ran the bath water and Duane whisked Wesley's diaper off and plopped him in the tub. The problem? Wesley's diaper had been poopy and there were now diaper remnants floating in the water. Duane decided to run downstairs and change out of his disgusting clothes and then we'd change Wesley's bath water. The problem? Our doorbell rang as Duane was finishing changing. It was our friend who was stopping by to pick up his cell phone that he had left at our house.

You would think that things would be pretty well under control at this point, right? WRONG!!! While Duane was changing clothes, getting Rusty his phone and cleaning up the carpet, I suddenly became overwhelmingly grossed out by the entire situation and began my own reactionary vomiting.

Disgusting? DEFINITELY! Funny? Well, if you don't laugh about stuff like this you'll end up crying about it. So, yeah, it was kind of funny. And not your normal blog entry.

Now You See Him. Now You Don't

I temporarily lost Wesley today. He was entertaining himself by standing at the dining room chairs, so I decided to pop into the kitchen and heat up his bottle. After all, the bottle was already made, and you can see the dining room from the kitchen so there was no problem. I popped the bottle in the microwave and less than a minute later returned to the dining room where I couldn't find Wesley. "Ok," I thought, "He probably crawled into the family room." I walked into the family room - no Wesley. I returned to the dining room and still didn't see or hear him. It took me a moment, but I did find him. He was sitting under the table looking at a book not making a sound. He didn't even want to come out to eat until he finished his book.


Definitely a librarian's kid!