Wesley [1 year]

Holy cow, we have a ONE YEAR OLD! It doesn't seem real at all, but according to the calendar Wesley is now over 12 months of age. I look at him, and he doesn't look any different or older to me. He doesn't look like a toddler. Well, apparently he is, and all I want to do is rewind the clock and hold my tiny baby so tightly that he can't grow any bigger. While I wish such an irrational thought as that were true, it isn't, and I instead have to get to enjoy watching this beautiful and bright boy continue to grow and learn and blossom into a wonderful, young person whom I look forward to knowing. For now, I will pretend to pause that clock and will recap all of the amazing moments and memories from Wesley's last 'official' month of babyhood.

Size: Dare I say, this child has finally grown a touch? Yes! We've retired a few pair of footie pajamas recently. Even though he still fits in a few 3-6 month zipper jammies, the sleeves are a little short, and there isn't much room in the feet. Wesley's 6 month pants are a little short, even though they still fit fine in the waist. The next size up we have in Simon's hand-me-downs is 12 months, which are mostly too big for Wesley's tiny waist. I think that 9 months is probably a better fit for Wesley across most infant clothing brands out there.

Health: At his 12 month well baby appointment Wesley measured 29.5 inches (33rd percentile) and weighed 18 pounds, 10 ounces (11th percentile). This weight is 2.5 ounces less than what he weighed on our home scale at 10 months and 11 months old. Our pediatrician wants to see Wesley increase his caloric intake, mainly with table food, which shouldn't be an issue since he happily eats everything we put in front of him. Poor baby was also seen by the doctor for a nasty cough stemming from his first chest cold, as his previous bugs in the past have all been head colds irritating his sinus passage. Although it sounded awful, the cough passed relatively quickly with lots of extra fluids and the help of Wesley's new humidifier he got for his birthday. (Thanks, Laura!)

Feeding: Wesley wasn't regularly eating three meals a day before his birthday, but his meals with solids usually included a LOT of food (much like his Daddy and older brother, they can all eat like it's going out of style). He ate everything at Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, mashed potatoes (minus the green onion Eric added), green rice casserole, candied yams (minus the marshmallows), green beans, and a little bit of pumpkin pie! New foods that he enjoyed during his twelfth month include Cheerios, ravioli, and pierogi. Wesley is starting to do better with larger pieces of food and shows more control and patience with how much he puts in his mouth, although there are still occasions where he's too excited and shoves way too much in there. He loves to eat apples by the slice and even bit into a whole apple that he shared with Simon and Cho-Cho. Wesley happily drinks lots of water from his straw sippy during the day and is still nursing on demand.

Sleep: Nighttime slumber is coming a little easier these days. Wesley is only waking about twice a night now, which is a welcomed improvement. When he had a stretch of nearly six hours, it made for some much needed rest for Mommy and Daddy. Wesley's back teeth are still working their way out, so I don't expect him to be sleeping completely through the night until all them have come in. For this reason, I see no point in transitioning him out of our bed if we are still continuing to get up two times a night. Naps are pretty scheduled with one in the late morning and one in the mid-afternoon. I've noticed that we have an extra cranky baby if we deviate from that schedule for whatever reason, such as if we're out running errands or attending a get-together.

Milestones: We have had fun encouraging and cheering on our bug as he figures out walking. In his twelfth month Wesley could stand independently for a few seconds at a time and even managed a few steps. This happened mostly when he was distracted by something and not paying so much attention to holding on for support or maintaining his balance. He's very skilled in walking while pushing an object such as our lightweight Lego table and his Mega Bloks scooping wagon Cho-Cho got for his birthday. I've noticed Wesley squatting more, which is a funny-looking position for him, and his ability to sit up from lying on his back is now an effortless transition for him. His memory is amazing as he's learned the entire layout of our house and crawls from room to room with purpose. That boy knows exactly where to find me when I'm in the shower and will abandon play with Daddy to come greet me while I'm getting clean.

Likes: This busy body cannot be contained when he's curious and determined. Wesley loves to crawl onto the fireplace bricks way too much. It makes me nervous that he'll hit his head, regardless of the fact that we've yet to build a fire in the house since it's been cold. To keep him away from danger and injury, we blocked off the fireplace with a 6-panel play yard that our neighbor across the street gave to us when she was getting rid of a bunch of her grandson's baby items. The gate also worked wonders doubling as baby-proofing the enticing Christmas tree. Wesley's arms are long enough to reach over the top of the gate, but aren't long enough for him to actually get a strong enough hold of anything and cause damage. Other things Baby enjoys getting his fingers on are the toys we keep in toy bins between the car seats in both cars. Wesley knows the drill and automatically reaches into the bin for something to chew on as we prepare to buckle him into his seat. He is also fond of dumping out baskets or containers of toys at home and putting the items back in one by one. He'll repeat this process over and over, and I clap to give him praise of this new skill that will later lead to learning how to clean up.

Dislikes: Although he's very much a social butterfly, Wesley was being more clingy during his twelfth month and wasn't as accepting of being held by other people. He would happily go to the welcoming arms of any of our friends when we were camping back in August, but this changed into fussiness and immediately reaching back for us when in the arms of anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, or Cho-Cho (my dad is still watching Wesley for me when I'm at work, so Wesley is very comfortable being with him). Wesley was only somewhat cooperative when being held by Pappy and Auntie (whom came home to visit!) during Thanksgiving and his birthday party, as well as with other party goers and with various friends at additional events. I know that his shyness is a natural part of development as he enters early toddlerhood, but I do look forward to seeing Wesley more easily enjoy interacting with different people in our lives and being comfortable in their company.

Social: While in the comfort of his most familiar faces Wesley is very active and talkative. I'm finally convinced that "Mama" and "Dada" have meaning to Wesley. When he crawls though the house on a quest to find me, Wesley chants "Mama" the whole time until we meet with smiles. He also says "Dada" when Eric arrives home and greets him with an excited and happy face. Wesley can wave and says "hi," can sign ALL DONE and has tried to voice it as well, and is making tons more babbling sounds like he's carrying on a complete conversation with himself or anyone else close enough to hear. My new favorite communication from Wesley that I absolutely cannot resist is when he crawls over and reaches up as a request to be picked up. He spreads his cute, little fingers as far out as possible and always has the best, most happy expression on his face.

Other Updates: Our first Halloween as a family of four was very fun. We'd already warmed up our costumes at the ASL Harvest Festival earlier in the month, so we were excited and ready to get dressed up again for trick-or-treating. James and Lilly joined us at Laura and Lucian's house, which made it really special to be with Pappy and Uncle Ben for Wesley's first candy haul experience. I wore him in the Tula as we navigated the neighborhood, and he did a really good job keeping on his minion hat while I carried his bucket full of treats. Both he and Simon made out pretty well and got lots of chocolate to share with Mommy and Daddy! We also celebrated Wesley's last "First Holiday"--Thanksgiving--with a turkey dinner at our house. Pappy and Cho-Cho dined with us, and Auntie and Teresa visited with the boys later in the evening. I was so happy and grateful to share this holiday with everyone in our family, especially our two boys. We look forward to another year of celebrating and making memories together with our darling Wesley Woo. We love you so much, Baby Bear! Thank you for coming into our lives and giving us joy and love greater than this whole world.

Check back about Wesley's birthday party in separate post!

 big boy growing up fast!

last night as an 11 month old!

fabulous dinner position

cozy nighttime with Mommy

skilled at standing

 learning to game with Daddy

with Pappy on Thanksgiving

so much happiness and love

Wesley's first trick-or-treating

candy haul!

Thanksgiving feast!

Auntie home!

our family on Thanksgiving

Wesley [11 months]

The next time I blog I will have a ONE YEAR OLD! Eleven months has come so fast, and it simply does not feel like it's been nearly a year since this darling boy came into our lives. Wesley's addition to our family has been beyond a joy, and our love for him is insurmountable. I want to soak up these last few weeks of our baby's infancy and cherish every moment before he officially becomes a--gulp--toddler. That pill will be so hard for me to swallow, as I want this boy to be our little baby forever.

Size: Mr. Wesley has grown so much in spirit and not so much in actual size. Our daytime temperatures have finally cooled, so this boy has been getting to wear more of his cold weather apparel. He is wearing size 6 months pants, some 3 months/3-6 months and 6 months size onesies (and he can fit in 9 months depending on the brand), and infant size 3 shoes. We'll need to buy more cold weather footie pajamas and warm sweaters in 9 months to get him through the upcoming Winter season. His current diaper size remains the same.

Health: On our home scale Wesley still weighs 18.8 pounds, the same as last month. Teething is in full swing, as he's working on his upper molars. We took Simon to the dentist a few weeks ago, and the hygienist kindly added an infant toothbrush for Wesley to Simon's bag of oral care goodies at the end of our visit. Wesley loves using his new Winnie the Pooh toothbrush, I think because he gets to chew on and suck water off of the bristles. Simon absolutely loves that they share the ritual of brushing their teeth together at night before bedtime. Wesley's hair continues to grow and is showing some curl at the ends. Even though it looks pretty wild at times (and appears to reach the bottom of his neck when wet!), I'm going back and forth on whether we should really get it cut. He's got so much more hair than Simon did at this age, so maybe it's just Mommy whom isn't ready yet!

Feeding: I've been working hard to increase my hydration and taking supplements to help with my milk supply when pumping. I'm seeing some results, and I'm trying to fit in pumping time at home when time permits. Wesley wants to drink way more milk than I'm able to pump in a day, but I think we'll be able to manage with the few frozen milk bags I have left until his birthday when he can have almond milk. I'm told that he absolutely loves seeing that bottle when it makes its appearance, and he can hold it on his own--one handed!--and drink independently like a champ. Wesley has now mastered drinking from his sippy cup on its straw mode, which quickly led to him figuring out how to drink successfully from any straw. We learned this when in just one night we observed him grab both Simon's CamelBak bottle and my Hydro Flask with a straw lid and guzzle down a bunch of water like it was no thang. New foods that Wesley is eating and enjoying like crazy are cheese, apple sauce, mango, chicken, and scrambled eggs.

Sleep: Nighttime sleep improved temporarily and then took a turn for the worse. At the beginning of his eleventh month Wesley was waking a little less at night, sometimes only once or twice. With the onset of his upper molars coming in, our poor boy has been uncomfortable and easily stirred. My dad says that Wesley gets some late morning/early afternoon nap time in when they pick up Simon from preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Wesley uses the car seat that Simon first used for daycare in Cho-Cho's car, and I'm happy he's able to sleep comfortably in it while riding.

Milestones: Wesley's pincer grasp is finely tuned with all the practice he's gotten with self-feeding, as we've noticed that he's an ace at picking up the tiniest of particles he finds on the floor. Everything from small leaves, pieces of plastic from tags, and even a single rice grain winds up in those little fingers and sometimes in that little mouth until we carefully fish it out before it's swallowed. Even though he primarily self-feeds, Wesley has also enjoyed being spoon-fed homemade applesauce (made for our recent visit to Apple Hill) and has recently tried handling the spoon to feed himself. I've also noticed that Wesley mostly understands the concept of pointing and will look in the direction of where we are gesturing rather than at our finger. Additionally, he sometimes helps with getting dressed by putting his arms in and taking them out of his shirt sleeves when appropriate.

Likes: While our silly boy will assist in dressing himself, he just loves to pull off his socks! They seem to make perfect play objects for Wesley, as his socks come off while playing at home and practically immediately after being buckled up in the car. Wesley also loves playing with his big brother's toys, and Simon is much obliged to share. Baby will crawl into Simon's room and go for the ball bin, the stuffed animal basket, and the very attractive bag of wooden blocks. While in the playroom together, Wesley likes to sit aside Brother while Simon builds with Lego Duplos, whom will in turn provide a few captivating blocks for Wesley to play with nearby. When we play together in his room Wesley loves to play the stacking game with Mommy, where I count and stack as many of his One Two Squeeze blocks as I can before he excitedly knocks them over. He's also grown to really love Pat-a-Cake even more and enjoys grabbing my hands and making me clap them together.

Dislikes: We may have reverted back to hating baths. Wesley hasn't let us sit him in his baby tub for a while, so we're holding him in the shower again. He's getting too heavy for me to carry for long periods of time, so when it's my turn to take him in the shower I end up sitting on the floor and letting Wesley sit or lie cradled in my lap. He seems to tolerate that just fine, as long as I don't try to get him to sit on the shower floor himself. Wesley's still not a fan of the nighttime diaper changes and is no help to Daddy when needing to get those stubborn feet back into his jammies. 

Social: I'm pretty much convinced that Daddy is Wesley's favorite person. This boy lights up in a way that he doesn't with anyone else when Eric comes home from work. I will ask, "Do you want to go see Daddy?" and a huge smile will erupt across Wesley's face accompanied with either looking around for Eric or starting to crawl away from me to find him. The two of them have developed their own little social interaction of lifting their heads, pursing their lips and humming. They do this back and forth several times a day, and watching it is so hilarious! Wesley is signing MORE very clearly and has a more discriminate sign for MILK that I'm starting to see a little more frequently. It sometimes sounds like Wesley is trying to say MORE when he signs it and EAT after I sign it to him. We wonder if he is trying to communicate his hunger to us when he crawls over to his high chair and uses it to pull himself up into a standing position. Once standing, he grunts a lot and loudly taps on the high chair's footrest. When we respond by asking if he wants to eat, he smiles and babbles and happily allows us to buckle him in and waits for us to prepare a snack. Wesley is saying "Mama" and "Dada" a lot more often, but again he says it just to say it instead of calling us by name. He is getting lots of practice with repeating sounds that we make, so I'm sure he'll be talking away before we know it. Peek-a-boo is still Wesley's most favorite game to play with us, and he understands that when I say "Where's Mama?" that means to look for me hiding under the blanket without me needing to model the game first.

Other Updates: With Fall officially in full swing, we spent the last month enjoying many of our favorite regular Fall activities with Wesley for the first time. We joined our big group of friends for a trip up to Apple Hill and had fun playing and visiting in the nice weather. At The Pumpkin Farm we pulled the boys around in our wagon and picked out pumpkins, watched Simon play on the tower slides, found our way through the corn maze, and took Wesley on his first hay ride. For the first time I was able to volunteer at the 2nd annual ASL Harvest Carnival for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing families learning American Sign Language at William Jessup University. I helped with set up and assisted at the information table, and Eric brought the boys to visit and play the carnival games. A few of Simon's friends from preschool were in attendance with their families, so he had a ball hanging out with them. Wesley spent most of the time just taking in the sights, but it was so special for me to be able to share my time in volunteering in this community with my family. We were also decked out in our Halloween costumes, so it was really exciting being in our first coordinated costume as a family of four!

 cutie in a shopping cart

brushing teeth

 one handed bottle skills

grocery store nap

hard at play

 smiles for Mommy

brotherly love

High Hill Ranch at Apple Hill

 The Pumpkin Farm

 our pumpkins ready to go

our family costume at the Harvest Carnival 

 Mommy's littlest minion

Wesley [10 months]

The Big Double Digits! Okay, he's still technically in the single digits being under the age of one, but 10 months feels so huge! I am filled with mixed emotions about getting closer to Wesley's first birthday and thus the end of babyhood; part of me is excited for the next chapter, and the other part of me feels so much sadness already missing the days of my littlest baby being a baby. We are in love with this child beyond measure and continue to enjoy so many warm and bright moments watching him learn and explore the world.

Size: I swear, I've been repeating the same thing for months; Wesley is still wearing the same size in clothing and diapers. I'm getting bored with this kid's wardrobe! It was a challenge to find something for him to wear for his 10 month photo that he hasn't already worn, especially since he turned 10 months old on a 90 degree day. Either Wesley needs to grow, or the weather needs to change! I did get to dive into his 6 month cool weather clothing once more for our trip to Tahoe, and I bought him a new pair of dress shoes in an infant size 3. Still... I'm ready for the weather to cool down so I can dress this boy in some new and different outfits.

Health: At 10 months Wesley weighs 18.8 pounds on our home scale, which is 5.7 ounces less than his weight at 9 months. Eric and I have noticed that Wesley looks like he's thinned out a bit and has lost some of the baby fat he had prior to becoming so mobile. Our little one had a fever early this month that came and went over the course of three days. It wasn't fun feeling his scorching hot body, and we hated seeing how miserable he felt. We provided Tylenol and cooled him off in the shower, and the fever eventually ran its course. I wonder if he was fighting off a bug, because Simon began having similar symptoms days later on a much worse scale. Thankfully both boys are now happy and fever-free. Wesley is healthy and continues to thrive beautifully. Eric and I are discussing taking Wesley for his first haircut soon to take care of his long, wispy locks that are becoming out of control!

Feeding: My hydration hasn't been great over the last month, leading me to believe that it may be having a result on my milk supply. My pumping output has decreased slightly, and Wesley has been at times fussier than usual while nursing. With food, Wesley is an absolute monster! He understands and gets really excited when we sign EAT, and sometimes we can't get his meal onto his high chair tray fast enough. New foods Wesley has experienced over the course of the last two months are: sweet potato, steamed and stemless broccoli and cauliflower, strawberries, skinless cucumber and sweet red pepper, steamed carrots, Happy Baby Puffs, apples (softened), watermelon, peeled grapes, cantaloupe, and milk-free pancakes. The pancakes came back up a short while after eating them, so I'm wondering if the mixed-in egg was too raw for his tummy.

Sleep: Wesley continues to wake two to three times during the night. Eric and I are still stumped as to whether it's a result of teething (no new teeth have shown for a while) or some kind of sleep regression. At this rate Wesley remains in our bed, since it doesn't make sense to me to transition him into his crib if he's still waking frequently. He's more of a night owl some evenings, being totally awake for hours with lots of energy to move and crawl everywhere. We sometimes struggle to keep him contained, because we're typically tired early and have to wait for Wesley to get tired before we can go to bed. I've been lucky that Wesley generally sleeps really well while I get ready for work in the morning. I use the baby monitor, perched upon our bed's headboard, to keep an eye and ear on Baby if I'm away in the kitchen making breakfast, packing lunch, etc.

Milestones: Our smart, little cookie has such a great memory. He still loves to play with things he shouldn't have, like our cell phones and remotes. If we try to distract Wesley while hiding those items from view, he manages to remember where they are and find them later when we mistakenly think he's forgotten. Wesley has also mastered clapping, which I've casually been modeling for him for months when giving him praise. He now claps along with us and does so with a huge smile on his face. Wesley is now riding in style in his new convertible car seat in each of Mommy and Daddy's cars. We chose the Graco Extend2Fit, which caught my eye due to its high rear-facing weight limit of 50 pounds and its phenomenal review from Car Seats for the Littles. We scored one from Babies "R" Us on sale and with a 25% off coupon and another from Target with a 20% off trade-in coupon stacked with a 15% off Cartwheel deal. Major savings!

Likes: This boy finally likes the bath! We experimented a few times last month when Wesley experienced curiosity while watching Simon playing in the bathtub. Wesley leaned his little body so far over the edge of the tub that he could have made his way in on his own if I hadn't been right there with him. I put him in the big tub with Big Brother, but it was just too spacious and slippery for my comfort. I later got the idea to sit Wesley in his baby tub on the floor of the shower since he's been so comfortable with both playing in the tub on the floor of his room and being in the shower water with Daddy. Wesley has had an absolute ball doing this, finally enjoying the ability to splash around and play with his toys. He even let us take him in a heated pool on Labor Day and in the big spa bathtub in our hotel room with Eric and Simon when we were in Lake Tahoe. We're so happy to finally have that water-loving baby we've been waiting for!

Dislikes: I'm thinking that Wesley still may be suffering from some separation anxiety. He sometimes still clings to me for a period of time after I get home and can become very upset if I can't hold him for as long as he wants. I love that he loves Mommy, but I don't want him becoming upset when he realizes that I've been away.

Social: Wesley is finally babbling "mamamamamama," but we're not yet convinced that he's said his first word. His "mamas" more frequently occur when he is upset, but he doesn't say it when he sees me. For now it's just an arbitrary noise that he's figured out how to make, but it is fun to pretend that he's saying something that he actually might mean. Wesley also continues to be comfortable and cuddly with various people and flashes that flirty smile easily and sweetly. Simon loves to play with his little brother so much, and Wesley seems to feel the same way. They laugh and scream together, and Simon enjoys coming up with games for them to play and building forts for them to hide. When Eric comes home from work, Wesley always greets Daddy with an enormous and happy grin and excitedly reaches out for Daddy to pick him up. Our silly, little bear has also learned how to give a high-five from practicing with Cho-Cho. He joyfully swings up that cute hand every time!

Other Updates: A major change occurred in our home this month: our boys stopped going to daycare. My dad is now taking care of the boys five days a week, which has really helped with our finances. It's been less stressful needing to get both of them ready in the mornings, with the exception of Simon's preschool days. Sometimes Wesley doesn't wake up before I leave for work, and I'm glad that he now has that opportunity to sleep longer in the morning. Our big fun for the month was going to Lake Tahoe for Kylee's wedding. We were able to stay in South Lake Tahoe for free thanks to my sweet friend with whom I worked at Iron Mountain, Michelle, generously offering her timeshare to us for the wedding weekend. Our family of four stayed for two nights and mostly spent our time relaxing since there had been snow in Tahoe the day before we arrived, and the daytime temperatures were barely reaching a high of 50 degrees. The wedding was wonderful, although both boys were a little cranky from not getting enough nap time (and Simon was still recovering from the side effects of his fever). All in all, it was so fun to get away as a family again and relax in a new place. We will be back in Tahoe again for another wedding in January, so hopefully then we will get to enjoy some bundled-up fun in the snow!

 

looking and acting more grown up everyday!

 

someone loves to stay hydrated

 

snacking on watermelon with Brother

cozy morning sleeper

 big boy car seat excitement

 hotel bath tub fun

 

Mommy cuddles

 The Batmen

 Kylee's wedding

 

zonked out with Daddy

beautiful South Lake Tahoe

Wesley [9 months]

Happy 9 months to Wesley Woo! This beautiful boy is growing by leaps and bounds. He continues to be a super happy baby, a strong lover of our family, and a hilarious munchkin with a developing personality. During his ninth month, Mommy and Daddy spent our first night away from Wesley to attend and participate in Uncle Brett's wedding. I didn't leave Simon overnight until he was much older, but Eric and I felt confident that Wesley and Simon would be in capable hands with Cho-Cho. Wesley ate and slept well while we were gone just over 24 hours, and he was quite thrilled when we returned home. Aside from some brief malfunctions with my pump and one too many glasses of champagne, I really enjoyed our short night away and felt good about getting to spend some much-deserved quality time alone with Eric. Now to share more about our ninth month with Wesley!

Size: Our love is again still wearing onesies sized between 3 and 6 months. His adorably chunky thunder thighs no longer fit into 6 month sized shorts, so those items have been retired to the "Too Small" box. I pulled out shorts in the next size up (12 months!), and those fit great over our cloth diapers. I also pulled out 6 month winter clothing for our camping trip to the ocean, and the long sleeve onesies, pants, and footie pajamas were a perfect fit.

Health: At his 9 month well baby appointment Wesley weighed 19 pounds, 2.5 ounces (38th percentile) and measured 29.5 inches tall (87th percentile). He's lost about an ounce in weight in the last month, which our pediatrician said is normal since many 9 month old babies are constantly on the move and weight gain begins to taper off at this age. Eric and I have been suspicious of more teething, even though a new pearly white has yet to make its appearance. We suspect this due to Wesley recently being plagued with LOTS of drool, much of which he ingested. Swallowing so much drool created some interesting looking diapers with green, mucous-like qualities. This initially freaked us out, but a quick trip back to the doctor ruled that it wasn't a cause for concern. On a more attractive note, I'm pretty confident that our baby's beautiful baby blues are unarguably here to stay, and our goldie locks is sporting some cute, wispy hair as it grows longer on the sides and more full in the back.

Feeding: Wesley's been fussy with latching lately, due to either being overtired or distracted. At times his repeated latching and unlatching has been painful, so I've needed to briefly end the nursing session in order for us to both relax to start over. I found a new-to-us high chair on Facebook Marketplace in amazing condition for a great price, and the 5-point harness and cushioned insert provide the right support Wesley needs to successfully sit up straight to eat. He's working on developing his pincer grasp with all the practice he's gotten with self feeding and picking up small pieces of food. Just like his brother, Wesley is a shover and loves to grab handfuls of food to cram into his mouth all at once. We watch closely, and Wesley is good at managing his gag reflex to force excess food out of his mouth before swallowing. It isn't much of a surprise that he's super motivated by food; this quality seems to run in the family!

Sleep: Daytime sleep has settled into a pretty general routine of about two naps a day on average. Wesley is still taking a late morning nap, which is most often the longer one, and another nap in the mid to late afternoon. He continues to wake two to three times during the night with more restless sleep here and there. The use of our teething oil is very helpful some nights, and other nights he completely refuses to let us apply it. The best sleep Wesley experienced this month was, surprisingly, during his first camping trip to Bodega Bay. He slept most of the car ride there and back, passed out in the Tula during a walk on the beach, dozed cozily and soundly during the night between Eric and me in our double sleeping bag, and even napped in the arms of a couple of our friends. If only we could travel more often to get him to sleep so well!

Milestones: This boy is still crawling like crazy and using anything and everything to pull himself up into a standing position. He has his daredevil moments when he'll stand using only one hand to support his balance, frequently scaring the bejesus out of Mommy. Wesley is understanding the meaning of some cause and effect relationships. He's learned that if he lets go of an object, it will fall to the floor. Sometimes if he lets go with force, the object will travel further away. Mommy and Daddy have a limit of how many times we're willing to pick up said dropped or thrown object, and thankfully Wesley has yet to figure this out. He's also mastered a new level of peek-a-boo and loves to pull the blanket off of our heads to reveal a silly-faced Mommy or Daddy, which incites lots of giggles.

Likes: Simon helped me transition toys between the playroom and his bedroom so that his big boy toys (AKA choking hazards) are safely housed in the privacy of his own room, and the playroom is composed of only baby-friendly toys with which they can play separately or together. I moved in the activity table from Wesley's bedroom, and he's finally gotten really interested in it and enjoys playing alongside his brother. Everything still finds its way into Wesley's mouth - Lego Duplos, play dishes/utensils/tools, etc., and paper when Mommy isn't fast enough! Let's just say that Baby successfully bit off and swallowed a piece of a candy wrapper, but I was able to get him to cough it back up and spit it out.

Dislikes: I've noticed that Wesley has become very sensitive to my mood. If I have to yell at the dog (or Simon, unfortunately - I'm human and there isn't such a thing as perfect parenting), Wesley's immediate response is to burst into tears. His crying is very brief and he stops the moment I use a calming voice to soothe him, and I of course feel awful for making him upset. I'm not sure if this response is triggered by fear (of me raising my voice), or if Wesley thinks he's the one being scolded. He's also back to hating being buckled into his car seat. He is close to reaching the maximum height limit for his infant car seat, so he will be transitioning to a brand new convertible car seat soon.

Social: Summer Break ended during Wesley's ninth month, signifying my time to go back to work. He began going to daycare at Kara's house five days a week, three of those days with Simon (whom started preschool two days a week). Prior to my first day back I feared that Wesley would suffer from some separation anxiety since I'd been home with him every day for two months, and I ended up being right. It took some time for him to re-familiarize with Kara again, his shyness and sensitive temperament occurring mostly in the morning. Soon thereafter he'd feel comfortable exploring the toys and watching the older kids with amusement. At home, Wesley's social behavior with communication and body language continues to blossom. He sometimes looks like he's trying to sign MILK, and he seems to be beginning to understand my new signs (accompanied with my voice) EAT and MORE. He's also finally in the early stages of real babble with a consonant sound, which is coming out as a "babababa." Wesley's getting quite the reputation for now being a snuggler, as he was very open and comfortable cuddling with several of our friends during our aforementioned camping trip. Our favorite forms of affection that he's now showing Eric and me are head butting with love (he does it very gently) and open-mouth, sloppy kisses on the cheek.

Other Updates: As mentioned multiple times, we went camping for the first time as a family of four! We once again joined the celebration for Levi and Jeff's birthdays, this year spending three days and two nights at Lawson's Landing at Dillon Beach. Courage came with us this year, just as he did for Simon's first camping trip. The five of us fit comfortably in our new 8-person tent, which will still provide plenty of space in the years to come when Wesley may want to share an air mattress with Simon instead of with Mommy and Daddy. Both boys got playtime in with the other kids on the trip: Lilly; Allison; Kinlee and her brother, Anthony; and Owen, Eric and Meko's baby. Wesley had the cutest avocado dinner date with Miss Allie, socialized with practically every single one of our friends (we were a group of over thirty), and shared toys and showed off his crawling and standing skills in the 'baby tent' enclosed for the littles. He seriously was in the best mood the entire trip, and was the best traveler I could have imagined. I'm now looking forward to our next getaway together as a family--Lake Tahoe for the wedding of my friend, Kylee!

 our big guy!

 
sitting well on the scale at the doctor

new high chair

silliest nap ever

daredevil standing in the cosleeper

loving his activity table

almost too big for his car seat

first day back at daycare

 

camping dinner date with Allison

a total cuddle bug

our family at Bodega Bay