Saturday, September 10, 2011

Happiness...

Clearly still learning the proper use for big boy underwear.




And still learning...




Hanging out with Poppy & cousin Parker




Snoozing in the Bjorn...Successfully dismounted this contraption without waking him up.




Pretending to be Daddy



Love these two!




Weston's first real bath




Pretending to have a sleepover...




"I'm not choking him, I promise!"




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Friday, September 9, 2011

My Sunshine

"You are my sunshine,
my only sunshine.

You make me happy
when skies are gray.

You'll never know, dear
how much I love you;

Please don't take
my sunshine away."

Ever since Jackson was an infant, I've always sang this song to him every night.  I wanted to create a memory for him so that in years to come, whenever he hears that song, he'll think of me.

Earlier this week, as I was singing to him at bedtime, after I sang, "You'll never know dear, how much I love you", he looked up at me and said, "I love you too, Mommy."  Melt my heart.  He could tell that I loved hearing him say that and how much it meant to me because now every time I sing our song to him, he tells me that he loves me too.  I love being a Mommy.

Labor Day Weekend

As we have for the past 7 years (with the exception of the years we got married & had Jackson), we spent the long Labor Day weekend with Dad & Linda. We used to hit up the beach, but the past couple years have been at their mountain house in Blowing Rock.

When Linda extended the invitation to us in June, we declined since we'd have a newborn and could not fathom travelling. However, Weston proved to be such a good baby that we figured a weekend away would be good for all of us. And Uncle Michael & Aunt Jenn were going to be there and we all were excited for them to meet little Weston. Plus, Poppy & Nanny have lots of baby/toddler gear & toys so that significantly lightens our load of things to pack.







We headed up to the mountains on Saturday morning, stopping once to nurse in a church parking lot and then again at Pizza Hut for lunch. We had a relaxing afternoon playing at the house, and Poppy got Jackson on the 4-wheeler.




Sunday morning after breakfast, Poppy & Nanny took Jackson to Tweetsie to see the "choo-choos" he's been talking about all week. He saw cowboys & indians, got to ride lots of rides, got to ride Tweetsie and even got a bullet shell from the cowboy as a souviner. That afternoon we went to Bass Lake and strolled the boys around, looking at at wildlife, trees and enjoying the gorgeous weather. After dinner, we chilled on the back deck and Poppy taught Jackson how to use a cap gun (like the cowboys at Tweetsie) which we have mixed feelings about...












We came back to Greenville on Monday and spent the evening recovering. Now our new "normal" is here...no more house guests for a few weeks and no trips on the horizon. Just me and my boys hanging out all day, enjoying this precious season of baby cuddles, sticky hands & lots of kisses.







Time for Potty-Training?

As I was changing his diaper this morning, Jackson grabbed his wee-wee, said "I pee-pee on Mommy!", and  pretended to pee on me, complete with the 'psssss' sound effects.  I guess its time to start being hardcore about potty-training.  Tips?!??!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

3 Weeks Old





Wow, how can it have already been 3 weeks since our precious Weston was born? We've adjusted pretty well so far and Weston is a chill baby, which is a great balance to our little 2-year-old tornado.

Last night, I weighed Weston on our baby scales and he clocked in at 10lb 5.5oz. That's nearly 3 lbs over his birth weight. He's holding his head up pretty well and can turn it from side to side when on his tummy. He's as strong as an ox and has quite a bit of definition in his quads, calves & biceps (sounds crazy but those itty bitty muscles actually look muscular).

We have had several diaper explosions, most of which required an immediate full bath, which is no walk in the park. We've also both been peed on, no surprise there.

Weston spent his first 3 weeks co-sleeping with us, which was awesome for my beauty sleep but terrible for my nipples which he was practical glued to all night. His first night in the crib he did fine. I, on the other hand, struggled all day after getting up twice to nurse rather than the "mainlining" it to him while dozing back off. Last night, on the other hand, was a struggle and I'm starting to remember the many sleepless nights a parent of an infant has. And since I'm at home all day and can nap (as if!), I try to manage the night-time diapering, soothing & rocking so Ben can get up and go to work well rested.

People always say their second (and following) children get the shaft in terms of pictures taken, entries made in the baby book, milestones noted, etc. and while I swore this wouldn't be the case with my child, it's proving to be so true! I have been terrible about documenting Weston's first 3 weeks of life and I'm regretful.
But its never too late to start!



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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Chore Boy

The time has come for Jackson to get his first chore. He currently knows how to clean up after himself, pick up toys, put his shoes in the closet, etc. However, these tasks are not chores but rather responsibilities he has. Ben & I have been discussing having J start feeding the dog, but we had yet to institute it as a new rule. We want to instill in Jackson that as a member of our family, he has the responsibility to contribute.

So after catching Jackson yet again sifting through Bella's dog food, I figured there was no better time than the present to train Him on his new chore. The novelty of the whole thing was quite exciting for J but I'm sure it'll wear off sooner than later.

So as of this Wednesday, Jackson is now a contributing member of this family.









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Friday, September 2, 2011

Party Animals

Bebe came down on Wednesday and since her birthday is right around the corner, I decided we'd throw her a surprise "party". (I use the term "party" loosely, as it was really just us, but as my friend Sally says, if you put a fancy label on an ordinary activity, it instantly makes it special. So true!)

I talked it up all week to Jackson, and he & I baked a super special bday cake on Thursday evening. After dinner, we played with balloons, sang Happy Birthday, blew out candles & ate cake. He was so excited and it's awesome to see things through the eyes of a child.










Today, we decided to take the boys to the Greenville Zoo. We haven't been in several months and despite the heat, we knew Jackson would enjoy going back. He had a blast, and little Weston was an angel & slept almost the entire time.













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