Dear Wes - 8 Months

8 Months Old: April 25, 2013 
Length: 30 inches (measured at home)
Weight:  16 pounds 14 ounces (weighed at home)
Head Circumference:n/a
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes:  6-9 months, or 9 months (pants and pj's)

Likes: (Ok, from now on I am putting new "likes" because you still like most of the old things too!)

*you think it is so silly when we wave "bye-bye" to you.
*you love watching daddy use power tools in the garage. You think they are so funny and you get a really big belly laugh going!
*watching Lucy play frisbee or fetch with the ball
*seeing other babies (you smile, and "talk" to them now)
*cords.. (unfortunately) if you see one, you crawl as fast as you can towards it..
New Things:
*Army crawling, EVERYWHERE. You have gotten very fast and can even follow us from room to room. You get in the "Real crawl" position often but once you start to move you immediately go back down on your legs rather than your knees,
*Pulling up.. you are trying so hard but still need a little help to stand completley. Once you are up you love hanging on to things and you smile so big.
*You are making more noises but still seem to be doing the same sounds : Ba-ba or Da-da. 
*You (FINALLY) will hold your own bottle to feed yourself milk.

Sleep:
You take 2 naps most days. You are finally on a set schedule and I LOVE knowing exactly what times things need to happen:
7:00 am, wake up.. you sometimes stay in your crib until 7:30 or so when you really start moving around
7:30: Breakfast.. usually banana and cheerios and a plain blueberry waffle. You used to LOVE yogurt but currently are not interested in anything I am feeding you.
8:00-10:00: PLAY! (we usually go for a long morning jog/walk from 8:30-9:15)
10:00-10:30: get ready for nap.. I either give you a bottle or nurse you (depending on your mood) and we read a few books.
10:30: I lay you down and within a few minutes (usually) you are sound asleep
You sleep usually until 12. sometimes 11:45 or so, and sometimes 12:30. Depends on how tired you were!
12:30: Lunch (this varies a lot.. Lately, a grilled cheese or chicken nuggets and peas/green beans/sweet potatoes. 
1:00-3:00: This is when we run errands if I need to get out, or if we have lunch plans I usually make them for 12:15. We always try to get back home before 3:15.
3:15- get ready for nap, bottle or nurse and read books
3:30- Nap #2. Depending on how tired you are.. sometimes you sleep an hour and sometimes closer to 1.5 hours. I try to get you up by 5:15 so you will be tired for bedtime. We play until dinnertime when you wake up.
5:45: Daddy gets home, get ready for dinner.
6:00: Dinner. you usually eat what we are having or something similar to your lunch.
6:30-7:30: Play with Daddy.. and sometimes you take a 4 oz bottle during this time if you want it.
7:30:Bath time (you love to spend lots of time playing!)
8:00: Bedtime. Daddy or I put you to bed. I have learned you need a bottle to go to bed because if you nurse you just fall asleep too quickly. You only drink a 4 to 5 oz bottle.. you never drink more than that no matter how hard we try.
*You wake up around 4 or 5 am and I nurse you for around 15 minutes and lay you back down. Sometimes you take a while to go back to sleep but (THANKFULLY!) You are content and quiet until you wake up at 7 am.
Whew. that was a lot to type but I am sure I will be glad to have it to look back on when you have a sibling.

Eating:  You are eating a lot more at mealtimes and not wanting as much milk. I know that "Food is fun until they are one" but it is hard to get you to drink more than 4-5oz in one sitting.. so I am just doing the best I can but you LOVE real food so much. So, you eat 3 solid meals a day and you take 3-4 bottles or times to nurse during the day. You are not into nursing and most of the time I have to pump. I also give you formula if I am going to be gone and someone is keeping you. It has been SO MUCH less stressful on me than worrying about having breast milk for you. 


Pictures from this month:

You had a bad heat rash at the beginning of the month. It was all over the top of your head and under your eye. You had a low grade fever and we just had to keep you cool.

You love to stand up and I know you want to do it on your own SO bad. Your smile makes US smile!

You love to ride on this car or stand behind it and push it (you still need help to do either.)

When I am cooking dinner I can usually keep you entertained with Kitchen Utensils.

We went to Burleson to stay with Aunt Sara (Kathy rode with us) and the kids and Grammy was there too. Lucy kept checking on you in the car.

You and Bella ate each others food. 

First trip to the zoo! (Ft Worth Zoo) You seemed to like it but weren't too interested yet.

Rich LOVES his baby cousin.

I made you a scrambled egg yolk one morning.. it was VERY messy.

You get in the crawl position but often go back to your army crawl to actually move.

You have the hand motion but still army crawl with your legs. You kept eyeing my coffee.. you don't need it because you are FULL of energy but momma gets tired now that you are mobile!

Yeah.. you are a BIG fan of real food AND feeding yourself.

You LOVE to stand up and play on this play table that Bella & Rich gave you!

After we got back home from Burleson you started sucking your thumb (occasionally) not sure if you picked it up from Bella because she sucks her finger.

LOVE this smile. You were laughing at mommy doing a a fake cough. You think it is hilarious.

Reading with Daddy. You are really enjoying books these days. Only if you are sleepy :) Otherwise.. not enough movement involved.

8 Months... I blinked and here we are!

Wes Patrick,

Wow.. yes I am going to say it again.. this month has flown by. You are now mobile and your daddy and I love watching to see what you are motivated to crawl toward. You are very interested in things but also a little cautious. You like to be in whatever room we are in and don't usually crawl to an empty room.  You are starting to talk more and we love to listen to you try to make new sounds. The other day I was whispering to you and you started smiling and whispering back.. it was so sweet. Your smile buddy.. daddy and I love that smile so much. We spend our days making you laugh and we are so sad when we can tell you are not feeling well.  You are a busy little boy and I know that is only going to progress at this point. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that God gave you ALL that energy and he doesn't make mistakes! haha :) For the most part you are not into cuddling but when you get sleepy you sit in the chair with me and we read books and I love those moments. Sometimes you will grab tight to my neck when I am carrying you and I love those moments too. Your daddy loves that feeling and is so ready for you to hang tight and give him a BIG hug. We love being your mommy and daddy and we love getting to see you learn new things, and see the world through your curious, eager eyes. 

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Wes- 7 months

*OH NO! Just realized I never actually "published" this post, so here it is super late!
Wes
7 Months Old: March 25, 2013 (I wrote this on April 2, 2013)
Length: 29 inches
Weight:  16 pounds 2 ounces
Head Circumference:
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes:  6-9 months, or 9 months (pants and pj's)

Likes: (Ok, from now on I am putting new "likes" because you still like most of the old things too!)

*Lucy (you love to watch her do just about anything, you also "pet" her)
*Dancing (we stand you up and move you around and you giggle)
*Peek- A-Boo! You are a fan!
*puppets- anytime a show has puppets on it you laugh at them

New Things:
*You are so much better at picking up food this month! You love to feed yourself and its amazing how quickly your hand-eye coordination has developed.
*You constantly roll to your belly during diaper changes and getting dressed.. it is very hard to do either.
*You are babbling more but still make the same noises, no ma-ma or da-da yet...
*You occasionally push up on to your knees when you are on your belly-- still no crawling!
*If your back legs are against something you will push off to move towards whatever you want.
*You have TWO teeth!! Both of your bottom ones, they came in about the same time- the left bottom started coming in on March 27 and the right bottom poked through on March 30.
Sleep:
You take 2 naps most days. One good nap (1.5 to 2 hours) and one short nap (45ish minutes) your short nap is usually first and your long nap in the afternoon. Every now and then both naps are short.. so on those days you take a 3rd short nap. You FINALLY put yourself to sleep for naps without making any fussing or crying sounds (WOOHOO!!!) it has made ALL the hard work pay off and I am so glad I don't have to hear you cry anymore. It was tough...but totally worth it! You sleep from 8:00 pm to 7:00 or 7:30 am and usually wake up to eat sometime between 2 and 4 am.  **You are waking more in the night and crying, I am letting you cry it out because you just want me to hold you. I have read that separation anxiety can start now so I think this might be what it is. oh joy :(

Eating:  You eat every 3.5 to 4 hours. You are SUCH a busy boy and want nothing to do with nursing unless you are a)very hungry b)tired. So, I usually nurse you BEFORE a nap rather than after. You are so silly.. if Lucy is in the room you will turn to "talk" to her rather than eat. It is basically a big chore to get you to eat but I am still trying to make it work. You eat solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am starting to give you little tiny pieces of food rather than purees. YOU want to do it yourself. You will even grab the spoon if it is pureed food and try to do it and make quite a mess!

Pictures from this month:

First St. Patrick's Day.. we celebrated by wearing green. I know.. exciting! 

Bath time.. I am convinced you would live in the bath tub if we let you.

You are SO much like your daddy. I love your silly faces.

We went to Grammy and Pa's for Easter. You had SO much fun and it meant so much to get to spend several days with my side of the family. 

Easter at Grandma's

Grammy and Pa SURE are blessed!

Family

Grammy and Pa are building a house. and you went on your first tractor ride with pa (and Rich!)

So blessed.

I love you make you laugh.

Can't believe you are 7 months old.

You are goofy Wes 

You and Lucy are two peas in a pod. I love watching y'all interact.

It is amazing how fast time has gone by sweet boy!

Wes Patrick,

7 months. (Yes I am going to say it.. AGAIN) time flies buddy!  You are learning new things everyday and changing so quickly. I know any day you are going to figure this crawling thing out and be mobile... and mommy's job is going to get a lot harder! That is ok.. I am so excited for you to be able to get places on your own and "explore." God made your personality so curious and it is so fun to watch you try to figure something out. God also made you a little "persistent" as I like to say. Daddy and I see that you already have your mind decided on things and will grunt to try to get your way. So discipline will be interesting ;)   We love you so much and are excited to see what the next month holds Wes. This month was special celebrating our first Easter with you. It makes it even more meaningful knowing what God did for us, when we think of you and how we would do anything for you. So thankful for a God who gave His son for our lives, and for yours. We love you buddy boy.

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Wes 6 Month Professional Pictures

A few weeks ago we got together with Drew's cousin, Nicole, to take Wes'  6 month pictures. We are so blessed to have Nicole and she is such a great photographer.   We had a lot of fun and were able to get lots of cute pictures in about 45 minutes. After that Wes was ready to be done and take a nap!  I love all of them so much. You can visit Nicole's website here.

6.5 Month Update

Well.. I must do a update because today has been a GREAT day for us, Wes! Last week I was devastated after your  6 month well visit. I couldn't believe you had only gained 4 ounces in 2 months and I couldn't make sense of it.  Well, once I calmed down and really started thinking about everything it just wasn't making sense.. your clothes fit tighter, and a lot you have outgrown-since 4 months. You wear a bigger diaper size now. And you just seem heavier! Your pediatrician had talked to me about supplementing with formula.. not something I was planning on doing!! I will supplement if you need it, but I also know that you love bottles so you will probably lose interest in breastfeeding very quickly if you are getting a bottle. So, I got our scale back from a family friend and started weighing you again. I was getting that you weighed 15 pounds 12 ounces. That is a BIG difference and I was worried my scale was just inaccurate.
So, today we went in for a weight check and your mommy was right buddy! You weighed 15 pounds 10 ounces at your check-up. That makes you the 14th percentile which is WAY better than the 4th percentile. The nurse and doctor were so apologetic and could not believe that this all happened. A part of me wanted to be VERY mad but then again... mistakes happen. The good news is that you ARE growing and breastfeeding is still all you need.  It was a good reality check for me as a mom to know that things won't always go my way. I have always just assumed I would breastfeed you for the first year. And, I still plan on that. But.. it might not always happen the way I "plan".  So .. for today I will be happy that things are working and I will trust that God has it all worked out for the future.  I love you sweet boy.

Here is a picture from breakfast this morning. You are so, so precious to your mommy Wes!

Dear Wes- 6 months

Wes

6 Months Old: February 25, 2013 (I am super late this month!!!)
Length: 27 3/4 inches
Weight:  14 pounds 12 ounces
Head Circumference:  43 inches
Diapers: Size 3
Clothes: 6 months. or 6-9 months

Likes: (Ok, from now on I am putting new "likes" because you still like most of the old things too!)

*Lucy (you love to watch her do just about anything, you also "pet" her)
*Daddy  (you've become a BIG fan of daddy and love to laugh with him)
*Pulling off your socks and eating them
*puffs  (You laugh with glee when we give you one)

New Things: 
*You are now rolling BOTH ways consistently (Woohoo no more turning you back over at night!)
*You sit up on your own
*You now ride in the shopping cart and sit in a high chair
*You ride in your car outside
*You eat puffs and yogurt melts, and are learning to pick them up on your own.
*You are making a lot more noises, you imitate us (Saying "hey" and "yay") You also laugh  a lot more.
Sleep:
You take 2 naps most days. One good nap (1.5 to 2 hours) and one short nap (45ish minutes) your short nap is usually first and your long nap in the afternoon. Every now and then both naps are short.. so on those days you take a 3rd short nap. You FINALLY put yourself to sleep for naps without making any fussing or crying sounds (WOOHOO!!!) it has made ALL the hard work pay off and I am so glad I don't have to hear you cry anymore. It was tough...but totally worth it! You sleep from 7:30 pm to 7:00 am and usually wake up to eat sometime between 2 and 4 am.

Eating:  You are back to eating every 3 hours. We had a BIG scare for mommy at your 6 month check up when we found out you really have not gained weight in 2 months.. it seems like you have but you have not. Your doctor talked to me about supplementing with formula. We may start doing that if we need to. I realized that you have started nursing for usually just 10 minutes..I thought you were just getting more efficient but turns out.. you were eating WAY less. You get really distracted when you eat so now we are really focusing on getting you to eat for at least 20 minutes. We have been doing this for 5 days and I can already tell it is making a difference!! Apparently, you are such a busy little boy that you don't even want to sit still long enough to EAT! Now solids.. that is a different story. You love eating at dinner and breakfast time. You have had : Peaches (your favorite), apples, green beans, peas, mangos, carrots, and your top favorite veggie is sweet potatoes. I mix them in with just about everything. You also LOVE puffs &  you like yogurt melts too.

Pictures from this month: 

Big boy... you can now sit up on your own!!

You are so loved!

Half a year old!

sitting up in a high chair all by yourself!

Grammy came to visit.. she loves you so much!

First Valentine's Day

You lay on Daddy in the silliest ways to watch TV, it is so funny!

You FINALLY roll both ways in your sleep! You love to fall asleep watching your little baby einstein TV.

I think you have daddy's great sense of humor. You play this toy with your feet and you laugh at yourself.

You work SO HARD to pick up the puff by yourself. You LOVE to do it all by yourself and as you can tell.. you are very proud!

You can ride in your car.. you seem proud of this too! You love to sit in it and watch Lucy play fetch.

You love Lucy... and she loves you!

We got your BIG BOY car seat! You LOVE it

Most nights you fall asleep on your own.. but sometimes you are snuggly and let me hold you. I love these nights and love to hold you when you are sleeping. 

We went to the coast house and Aunt Kris got you this hat. You loved it and were so silly in it.

 this is a video of you laughing at Lucy!

Wes Patrick,

How in the world have six months already gone by? Part of me wants to be sad about that. But.. to think back to August 25 and how little we knew you is crazy. Of course we already loved you more than words.. but it has been SO SO fun to watch you change and grow. I love seeing your little personality develop. You remind me a lot of your daddy and that is just fine :)  It has been hard the past few days as I want to worry so much about your weight.. Daddy and I keep remembering that you are on loan to us.. you are a child of God and He is going to take care of you! I will do my part by really focusing on getting you to nurse well.  We can only imagine all the amazing things you are going to do in the next 6 months.. we love watching you explore the world and see new things each day. It is amazing how quick you will figure something out and start doing it. We love you so much and feel so blessed to be your parents Wes!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy