White Christmas 2010

It's New Year's Eve and Weston has RSV. Great way to ring in the new year! Actually we're pretty thankful that we aren't celebrating in the hospital, so I guess being in solitary confinement at home is okay. This all started the day after Christmas, so it's been a long week of wheezing, breathing treatments and late night calls to the doctor. He also has an ear infection, so yeah, we've had fun. All that being said, Weston is still the happiest baby! At one visit, the doctor said, "for such a sick little boy, you sure are a happy fellow" I replied with, "you should see him when he feels good!" Can't breathe, throbbing ears, runny nose, not sleeping well, not eating well - but still smiles when you talk to him. Wow, what a trooper! So I'm taking this last opportunity of the year to update on the past few weeks. I have alot of pictures and alot to say - so there - that's the "extra long post" warning.

Weston (pre sickness) at 7 months old. He weighs 18 pounds, and eats 5 jars of baby food, 1 bowl of oatmeal and nurses 5 times per day. He is sitting up very well and loves playing with toys. He loves to hug soft animals and give “sugars” to mommy and daddy. He wraps his hands around your face, squeezes and presses his wide open mouth to your cheek. He’ll do this over and over and then look at you and smile, it’s the sweetest thing! He is wearing size 3 diapers and size 6-9 month clothes.

He says "dada dada" for everything! He sleeps from about 8pm – 6/7am and takes 2 naps per day with some quasi naps thrown in at random times. A couple of weeks before Christmas, during one of Weston's naps, Will and Wyatt wanted to go outside and play in the freshly fallen snow. We got about 3-4 inches and it was SUPER DUPER COLD! (22 degrees or something crazy like that).

We played until frost bite set in and the boys did a great job of  clearing off the deck!

After the roads cleared a few days later, we decided it would be fun to go visit Santa. Will and Wyatt both did great and nobody was scared like last year.

Weston was a little confused, Will and Wyatt were a little cheesy, but all in all, a good experience.

They told Santa they wanted a criss cross crash and "all the star wars stuff". Will also wanted a Batman Wii game and Wyatt wanted a new Thomas train set.

Wyatt started the asthma cough stuff again a few days before Christmas and the doctor put him on breathing treatments (we do alot of those around here) and said if he started running fever to let them know. Christmas Eve he ran 102.6 fever. Christmas morning he was pretty yucky feeling but he hung in there and had a great time opening presents! The next day is when Weston started getting sick. Yep, story of our lives right now.

Anyway, Santa was very good to the boys this year.

Wyatt got  his train set...                                                        They both got the Criss Cross Crash

Will got a cool basketball goal...

They got all kinds of Wii games - batman, star wars, toy story, mario bros AND they got Nintendo DS with games too! These kids must have some kind of deal with Santa or something.
They got cute football uniforms with shoulder pads!

And Cowboy stuff...

And of course lots and lots of star wars stuff. They got so much stuff for Christmas I can't list it all here. We also had a great lesson on donating older toys to charity for other kids to play with. They did great with going through all their old toys and deciding what to donate!

Weston was pretty happy with Santa gifts too! He got a cool booster chair with removable toy tray. And lots of noisy, colorful toys to chase around.

He loved his new finger puppets!

We did wake up to a White Christmas - the first in Nashville in 17 years, although in Portland for Will's first Christmas, we had snow too! How neat, For Will and Weston's first Christmas to be white!

After the boys saw the snow and played with their toys for a little bit, it was time to visit family...and get more presents and more presents and even more presents. They sure don't know how luckily they are. We visited Memur and Pepaw's on Christmas Eve, Daddy Jack's Christmas morning, Nannie and Papa's Christmas mid-morning for Nana's side, and then Nannie and Papa's Christmas afternoon for our immediate family time. The next day was supposed to be Memaw and Poppy's but it was delayed for the snow and we had Sunday to rest and then to their house Monday. It's a busy busy time but fun to be with all our family on the holidays.

Bye Bye 2010, it's been fun. Welcome 2011, we're ready for all the new adventures you have to bring.

Do you hear what I hear?

Being a mom, I hear all sorts of wacky, silly and sometimes surprisingly profound things at pretty random times. I have heard a few quotes recently that really "spoke" to me. I cannot give appropriate credit, because I honestly can't remember where I saw or heard them.

"A boy is noise with dirt on it" OOOOHHHH so true!

"Cleaning house while your kids are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing."  mmm, hmmm.

The kids also give me a wealth of quotes to chose from. Here are a few I've heard recently:

Will - "OOOWWWW!" Me-"What's wrong?" Will - "I just kicked myself in the eye."

Wyatt - "Mommy, I think I peed in my pants, but it's okay, it's just an accident."

Will - "We're out of breath of playing" followed by "we want to watch cartoons"

Will- "I fed Grizzly..." Wyatt jumps in with "And we gave him lots and lots of treats!" Will says, "Yeah, about like 11 bones on top of his food." This prompts me to ask, "how many scoops of food did you give him?" (we usually give him 1 and a half scoops per day) Will answers, "about like 3!"

Wyatt pronounces girl "gwerl". Yesterday he said, "How do gwerls pee pee come out if they don't have wee wee's?" He has already asked this question to me and Trent but this time it was asked to Will. I quickly answered before Will got the chance!

Will - "Daddy will be very, very, extremely proud of me for scrapping off the grill. Cause taking care of grills is alot of work." (talking about scrapping the snow off yesterday)

Wyatt - "I wish we had a dark blue trampoline big enough for us both to jump on Mom. Yeah, that's why we always jump on the couch."

Wyatt - "You know what Mommy? God still loves bad guys, he just not very happy with them right now."

Will - "oh no Mom!! Frethan doesn't have any feet!! Where are his feet?" He was almost in tears at this point until I explained to him that it's so cold in the North Pole that everyone wears their pants over their shoes/feet. "Oh, okay".

Worth a thousand words....

Good Morning

This morning I walked into the boys room with the usual, "Good morning boys. Time to get up, wakey wakey." .....nothin....."boys, time to get up. Let's go.".....nothin....I give a little shakey, shakey to Will, "Come on, we're going to be late." At least he's breathing, that's a good thing. "Okay, ya'll sleep a little bit longer while I get your clothes ready." ....Clothes are ready, "Will get up and go potty right now." He gets up and I look to Wyatt's bed and see this.

"Where's Wyatt?" He didn't get up yet....he scooted all the way under the covers and I hear a muffled voice coming from somewhere under there. "What Wyatt? I can't hear you under the covers." Wyatt screams, "Mommy!....My good night sleep is not over yet."

 
Meanwhile, Will is back and getting dressed with his eyes only half open. (and I wonder why my bathrooms are so disgusting) Suddenly, Will says, "uh Mom, we have a serious problem here." I turn to look and he has his pj shirt stuck on his head inside out with his arms stuck up in the air over his head. I was laughing so hard I forgot to get a picture. He eventually got dressed and ended up like this...

Weston was happy and squealing ALL MORNING LONG! He loves to watch his brothers and squeal loudly.

We were a little slow this morning but we made it. 

In other news, Will has his very first basketball practice tonight. He is super excited!

Christmas is quickly approaching and the excitement is spreading around here. We haven't gone to see Santa yet, but we are planning on making the trip soon. The boys do have a direct line to Santa though. They have Frethan the Elf on the Shelf. (Thanks Hanna!) They LOVE LOVE LOVE this elf. Each night, Frethan (they named him a combo of Fred and Ethan) uses his Christmas magic to fly back to the north pole and report to Santa all the good and bad things the boys have done that day. The next morning he flys back and lands in a different spot.

The boys are amazed each morning when they find Frethan. I say, "How did he get up there?" and they say, "He used his Christmas magic Mom!" Wyatt will say things during the day like " Will, the shelf on the elf is watching" (he gets a little mixed up sometimes!) Yesterday Wyatt was whining about something he didn't want to do. He started pouting and I said, "Wyatt, is that how we are supposed to act?"...nothin..."Is that how Mommy and Daddy want you to act?"....nothin..."Is that how God wants you to act?"....still nothin...."Is that how Frethan wants you to act?"...He perked right up, smiled and said, "noooooo!"

I see where I stand!

Weston at 6 Months

Weston Jack at 6 months:

weight: 16lbs 11 oz

height: 26 1/2 inches

50th percentile in both

diapers: size 3

clothes: 6-9 months

eats: oatmeal and veggies 3 meals a day; nurses 6 times a day

new trick: starting to sit on his own - still a little floppy, but he can do it!

Loves:

playing with toys on his belly,

playing in his exersaucer,

watching his brothers,

laughing at everything,

giving super giant bear hugs and sloppy kisses,

eating,

rocking and rocking and rocking

and giving dramatic facial expressions :)

He got his first cold a couple of weeks ago but he's feeling much better now!

I put him in his aquarium play thingy and he flips and scoots right out of it!

Still the happiest baby ever!

Don't Blink

"Don't Blink
just like that you're six years old and you take a nap
and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
just might miss
your babies growin' like mine did"

Thank you Kenny Chesney (and whoever wrote it) for a great song. It seems like yesterday Will was a newborn baby, we woke up one day and now have 3 kids!! Wow, it goes so fast! And they are so big! 3 little miniature men all cute and smiley. Of course it's not always like that, but on the days where I feel exhausted and lazy and unmotivated (the list goes on, but I'll spare the details), I try to remember that it goes by so fast. Each day is a blessing and they won't be this little long. I better enjoy the moment now before it's gone.

"Take every breath God gives you for what it's worth"

"So I've been tryin' to slow it down
I've been tryin' to take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in"

"Don't blink"...good words to describe this past month. It has flown by. In an attempt to slow it down and take it in, I will recap in pictures.

Will turned 6 and Wyatt turned 3. I can't believe it, but yes, it happened. Because we were so busy with vacations and soccer and church activities and Halloween, etc., etc., we decided to have a last minute small party for the boys in between both birthdays. Will wanted a Star Wars cake and Wyatt wanted Spiderman. (it was originally Mickey Mouse - ordered and everything- until a last minute change of heart. Thanks Wyatt)

They partied with their cousins and had a great time! And opened lots of presents of course!

They both wanted new bikes for their birthday. Specifically, a "dirtbike bicycle" was requested from Wyatt and a "bike with NO training wheels" was requested from Will.

I promise they have pants fit now :)

Little Weston cuddled up and enjoyed all the attention. If there is one thing he loves, it's to be held and rocked, which he was the entire time!

On Wyatt's actual birthday, we took him to Logan's (the peanut place). He was SOOO excited and wanted to wear his "birthday hat" the entire time!

He even went up all by himself with the waitress so everyone could yell "yehaaw". Now that he's 3, he thinks he is big stuff. He always says, "that's what we do when we're big and 3."

After a good birthday lunch, we headed to Trunk or Treat at church. The boys had a blast going from car to car and getting all that candy!!

On Halloween, they dressed up again and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Once again, we got TOO much candy.

 Well, there has been so much more going on that I didn't grab the camera for, but the boys have had a super fun time this fall so far! Weston goes for his 6 month well visit tomorrow. Yes, I said 6 months. That means he is now 6 months old....I know, it shocks me too. Gotta slow down and take it all in.

Disney- The Final Chapter

Our last day in Disney World. :( But it was a fun one! We had promised Will that we would come back to Hollywood Studios so he could participate in Jedi Training and fight Darth Vader. The first time we saw this attraction, we decided it wasn't a good idea to stand in the extremely LONG line but we would come back and do it first thing on another day. On our last day, thinking we could beat the crowds,we rushed straight there as soon as the gates opened. In the few minutes it took to walk to Star Wars, the first 2 shows were already full and it was now a 2 hour wait!! This "training" is for 4-12 year olds so Will and Landon both got to fight, but they only take 15 kids per show (hence the super long wait). Luckily the kids don't have to wait the entire time, as long as they are in line 20 minutes prior to their show, it's fine. SOOO, Trent and Brent volunteered to wait the whole 2 hours in the hot sun! What great dad's!

While the "rent" dad's were tirelessly waiting in line, we decided to take the kids to other rides, etc. Papa decided he would enjoy this break and found a nice shady bench to sit and relax. He also, very generously, offered to watch Weston while we ventured off for a little bit. We were at Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground when Rachel decided she (and her kids) were ready to go back. The rest of this story is from her as Nannie and I were enjoying the playground! Rachel walks up and sees a look of panic on dad's face. Apparently while everyone was gone, Weston was in papa's lap and started grunting pretty heavily. As any experienced diaper changer would do, Papa lets him finish his business before changing the diaper prematurely. All was well until Papa noticed the diaper wasn't holding all the "business". It was now running down Papa's leg and up Weston's back. Here he was stuck on a park bench in the middle of Hollywood Studios with no one around to help. *look of panic begins* He has to cover the stroller so he can lay Weston down without contaminating everything, find the diapers, wipes, and extra clothes in the makeshift diaper bag (which is a hiking backpack packed FULL with extra snacks, drinks, ponchos, everything we might need for a day at Disney) and do all of this while keeping little Weston from screaming. He successfully manages to find everything and change Weston in the stroller -which is not easy even with a "clean" diaper! And Rachel walks up right as he is gathering up the "dirty" clothes. Whew!! What a nice, relaxing rest in the park! Nannie and I return once everything is done and get a good, sympathetic laugh at the story.

Meanwhile, the "rent's" are just about finished with the waiting marathon, Will and Landon get chosen for the upcoming show and we are ready to see our little padawans in action.



Will and Landon with tickets in hand!



They get their robes and light sabers and listen to the "jedi master" on how to fight Darth Vader.

Do a little practice fighting....

Then enter Darth Vader!

He talks to them in true Star Wars fashion about coming over to the "dark side" and the jedi master is right there telling them to be strong and use "the force".

They each get a turn one on one with Darth Vader...

Padawan Will

Padawan Landon

They have learned quickly and Darth Vader turns to leave in defeat.

Watch out for the storm troopers!!

The force is with them as they rally him off the stage.

What a great show! Totally worth the wait right?! Yep, totally worth it!

For the rest of the afternoon,we head over to Epcot to visit the countries and get a couple of cool souvenirs from Nannie and Papa.

Wyatt in his Pluto hat.

Will and his Pluto doggy.

We saw a cool sunset through the pyramid....

And ended the day like this.....Yes they had to sleep with their new toys!

Even Weston slept with his new Goofy (for a minute!)

Thanks Nannie and Papa for our Magical Memories!!