Snapshots of our life- week 5

This past week (well, almost 2 really) has flown! I can't believe Wes was 6 weeks old on Sunday... we are closing in on 2 months, and that blows my mind! He was 10lbs 6ozs on Saturday and is growing and changing so fast! His Mom-Mom has come to visit with Grandma a few times, and I am so lucky that he has been able to spend so much time with Mom-Mom... My Mom brought over a scrapbook from my first year, and I was tickled to see my Great Grandparents in it. It made me want to be sure I documented her time with him! He is such a lucky boy to have so many people around who love him!
He and Olivia spend time on the Wii the other day. She was teaching him to drive! Savanna has been reading to him a lot, she likes to go thru his book collection and spend time with him. He is showing some interest in the toy she bought him- Savanna is thrilled he likes it! He is starting to really look around. He shows great interest in his mobiles and also the toys that hang from his bouncy chair. He watches your face very intently... sometimes even trying to mimic your facial expressions and starting to make noises. He has half smiles and clearly responds to you at times. He is mostly out of newborn sized clothes- but 3months are still too big. He is fitting large newborns, 0-3months and smallish 3month sized pieces... I'm sad to think about packing away the newborn tiny clothes- but he does have some super cute outfits ready to wear!

Cousin Jayson has enjoyed spending time with Wes. Here they are at our house, and then at theirs on Kaleb's birthday. It's cool how he has gone from Baby Jayson to such a big boy. Now he is holding Baby Westley!

Jay wanted to wear 'Vanna's cool Peace/Love gloves and I got this cute shot of them. Poor Wes puts up with his cousin so well! Jay is pretty sure he can do most things by himself... even holding Westley.

I have been trying to get good pictures of Wes so I can get to his announcements before he goes off to college! He was very cute on Savanna's shoulder the other night, he had his head resting on his folded hands. Man do I love this little guy

100th Day Celebration

If you have read this blog for a while (a year to be exact) you will remember that our little school does a grand thing in celebration of the 100th day of school. Each classroom is given a non-perishable food item, and the kids spend a few months working around home, helping out in exchange for boxes and bottle, jars and cans. They all work together in their classes, slowly making progress toward the goal of 100 of each item. Billy's class gathered apple sauce this year, while Savanna's class collected canned carrots.

Wednesday last week was the 100th day of school, and thus the presentation ceremony. The kids of the school gather in the gym and make displays of their items- then they present them to the head of our food pantry. This year they all collected 2,079 items of food and other non-perishables (shampoo, toilet paper and the like) which will go to help the nearly 175 families that our pantry supports!

There is something about a gymnasium full of kids singing "We Are the World" that gets me choked up! Maybe I can blame it on hormones this year, but I think not! I get teary every year. It is such a cool thing our school does, and it is such a great lesson for the kids to learn.

Mission Accomplished is right! Way to go North Berwick Primary!

My Boys

The other morning as I was fiddling around in the kitchen I glanced over and saw my two boys locked in an adorable gaze- I grabbed my camera and these two pictures are what I got.

Seriously cute kids right?! So I came in for an up close picture of Wes-

I crouched down and aimed thru the view finder then said "Smile Wes" .... and this is what I got!

A Little Mud on the Tires

This past week was vacation week for the kiddos- they were home on February break. Although it is still early, we had some "spring like" afternoons. We hit 40 a few days in a row! We had a lot of melting; the roads and driveway were clear enough to feel safe for walking and with the "warmer" weather I wasn't too worried about Wes' little lungs... and my ankle has felt pretty good, so we took the stroller out for a spin!!
After shopping and talking with Bill, I was pretty particular about what stroller I wanted. In fact, so particular that there was only ONE that would do! I had my eye on this Jeep 3-wheeler. It's an all terrain model that is also infant seat compatible... just about the only one I could find that fit all our needs (and it also has the ibaby system- yes folks it plays my i-pod as we stroll!)

Grandma and Grandpa Houston were kind enough to get it for us, and after having to return one that was unfortunately the wrong model I am so happy to have it! We were able to get out twice and it handles so nicely. Savanna and I were both impressed with how well it rolled along. Having it sit here in it's box for so long, I was very glad to get out and get 'er dirty... nothing like a little mud on the tires!

One Month; Already?!

http://sweetgrassfarmkennel.blogspot.com has the pictures my friend Sue and her daughter are taking monthly of baby Abbie alongside her doggie Tater... As Oliver and Otis wouldn't cooperate today, I staged Wes with this teddy. I plan to recreate the shot each month for his first year, so after 12 months we will have a visual representation of his growth! I can't believe how big he is already! He was 8lbs 8ozs last Saturday. I weighted him Thursday and he was 8lbs 12ozs... then today. Today he clocked in at 9lbs 9ozs. I'm sure there was some mistake along the way there- it seems impossible; but he is certainly growing like crazy! He does a ton of sleeping and eating, and since he gets most meals from a bottle these days I know about how many ozs he takes in... he is right on track with the 20-30ozs they want him to get, so... He is mostly out of newborn sized clothes- with cloth diapers they are a bit snug. With sposies they are still ok, but not for long! It's a bit awkward as the 0-3 months are still slightly big, so for now he is either a bit squished or swimming in his clothes. He wore a grey pant/sweatshirt combo today and Savanna called him gangsta' Olivia pointed out the teddy bears on his sweatshirt, but it still made me laugh, Wes in his grey baggie hoodie... gangsta' he is!

My Favorite Picture So Far

I love this little guy. He rocks my world... I mean, come on... just look at this picture. Need I say more?!

Cub Scout Blue and Gold

Billy's Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts was this past Friday night. I have been way out of the loop with his Cub Scouts; since I broke my ankle Bill has taken over the Scouts with him. I guess in one sense that's good, it's a great Dad and me thing... but I feel like I have no idea what is going on- Bill is so bad with dates and times etc. We missed a fun ice skating field trip... you get the idea. But, we did manage to get to the blue and gold. We couldn't find his uniform shirt, so had to go with the t-shirt... but we made it alright! Billy earned his Wolf Scout- so next year it will be off to Bears! He is doing so well- the Dad's who have taken over running the den are doing a great job! I have to recharter the pack before March and that's really my only job right now. It is sort of nice to have taken a bit of a back seat and let go a bit. I know Billy would likely prefer me to be more involved, but I don't mind let this one thing go!

Wes came along and we got rave reviews- all the other Moms and even a lot of the Dads were "oohing" and "ahhing" over him! It's so much fun to taking him out and about for the first times! A few nights before we had gone to the school for a Haiti benefit dinner, and it was the same there- loads of people just oogling him!

Billy had fun with his fellow Cub Scouts- I love watching him with other boys- around here it's just the girls (for now!) to play with so boy time is a great thing for him! They were running all about being boys- We also had a pot luck, so a second dinner this week I didn't have to make OR clean up! Yipee! I made Cindi's bean dip and it was a big hit- it got cleaned right up! I should have gotten stuff to make a second one, I certainly didn't get my fair share!

Three Weeks with Wes

Yesterday marked the three week mark for our little Wes. I know I said this last week, but it is so hard to believe he has been here that long already! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the week... Bill bought me a new telephoto lens, so I hope to have some time in the near future to get some good pictures- I need to get hopping on his announcements! I know I just don't have the time to hand make them, so as sad as that is, I'm going to end up ordering them online!

We had a nice week, with a few Drs. appointments, a grocery run and a trip thru Walmart, a visit to the school for a Haiti benefit dinner, a cub scout awards banquet and a PT appointment. Hopefully this week will be a little less crazy, but knowing us- it won't be! I am so glad Wes is a good baby and goes with the flow, it makes it so much easier than I imagine it would if he were a particularly fussy needy baby.

Come next weekend we will be at the one month mark! On my scale here at the house we have hit 8lbs (actually he was 8lbs 8ozs yesterday, but I know our scale and the hospital one are a bit off from each other) so I know the supplemental formula has been doing it's job! My breasts are still rather sore, I know something is off with his suck and I wonder if that has anything to do with milk production. Sigh. I guess it can't all be easy! I am glad he is growing, and today in particular I could see a change in his face, he is "chubbing" out a bit. What an amazing few weeks it has been, and I can't wait to see where we are going!!

ankle update

I had another appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon yesterday. They took a new set of x-rays and he felt around my leg a bit. Wes hung out with Grandma Beth and Poppy in the waiting room, he was a very patient boy while I saw the Doctor!

It seems that the inside aspect (which was plated and screwed) has healed so well that the fracture is no longer visible on film. The outer break is still evident, but has healed well. The alignment is "near to perfect." As far a bone goes, I guess I am all healed up! On one film there was a space within the joint that looked thinner- more closed in than the other areas. He noted that this may be a spot that will suffer some "post traumatic arthritis." He said he hopes that this will be minimal... time will tell. The other rads showed a smooth clean joint space, so that was good to see- both Bill and I are worried about long term creaky-ness, I hope not to have too much to deal with!

I have a slight "click" that has developed, and he suspects it has more to do with the ligaments as the bone looked so good. The plan for now is PT (twice a week... three times is just too hard with the baby! He fussed today, and I had to hold him for the whole session and did not get to do all the usual exercises. I guess he didn't get the memo that told him to fall asleep in the car!) for another 4-6 weeks then another followup with them. I am stiff when not going to PT (took some time off after the c-section) and hope that with more therapy I will increase my range of motion and eliminate the stiffness. Stairs are still a bit difficult and after my 6 week check up with the OB I want to ride!

2 week check up

On Monday Wes went to his first Dr's. appointment. He was checked out and yup, it turns out we have a baby! Basically that's about all that they said. The verdict was that he looks great, we are doing great and we will head back in 6 weeks for his 2 month visit. His weight was up to 7lbs 13ozs, so the formula we are supplementing him with is helping for sure! He was right at the 50th percentile for height and weight and 25th for head circumference.

He does really well in the car and sleeps most of our rides, I am happy with how portable he is! He loves to be picked up and on your chest, and luckily we have enough laps to honor his requests most of the time! He will lay in his pack-n-play and swing a bit, but mostly wants to be cuddled and hugged!

While his umbilical cord did fall off it left a pretty big "numb" that looks like it will be an outey... the top of it was a bit red and slightly granular so we got an antibiotic cream to apply to it for now, and hopefully it will heal over nicely with some pretty skin otherwise we may have to investigate other options for closing it for good!

He sleeps well, for the most part. Going a solid 4hrs at a stretch. So, if I can get the timing right (which is certainly not every night) we get some good hours of rest. He does well in his pack-n-play during the day and spends some time at night in his co-sleeper... but often is in bed with us by morning too! He eats well both bottle and breast, and I am getting less and less sore in the nipples. My right side is still slightly tender, but I have a shield to use, and when we can get it right, that helps!

He makes loads of funny faces and has so much expression already! I can't wait to see what he is going to look like! People who don't see him every day say he has changed already... but he looks about the same to me. I guess maybe he has filled out a bit, but I don't notice a real change yet! He spits up quite a bit with his formula feedings and has gotten poopier over time. We are going thru laundry pretty quickly some days between sit up and blow outs! Basically as the Dr said- "he's a baby!" and I'm so glad he is ours!