The Biggest Mess

Wanna know the fastest way to make your yard AND your house a huge mess? Install sprinklers when it's rainy. I have never seen so much mud. It will all be worth it (I hope) when the grass grows back and when it is nice and hot outside, and the yard with be watered automatically! We just couldn't stand another year of dragging the hose around to water by hand... or let the lawn die, which is generally what happened by the end of every summer, anyway.
We had so many people come and help us with this project. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you who came out to help us with this project! The sprinklers work fantastically! Just look at those trenches. Wow. Thank heaven for a trencher. We had to dig some by hand and it was not fun. See all of that dirt. In a couple hours all that turned to pure mud when it started to rain.

Steve and Grant diggin' away. Steve helped us so much. He just installed sprinklers in his yard last year, so his experience and know-how was invaluable.

Everyone pitched in... even the little guys.

This is my nephew, Erik.

The backyard all dug up. It has been muddy ever since, and the dogs track in it with them whenever they come inside. I have given up sweeping and mopping in the area by the dog door for the time being. There is no keeping up with it! We did however have our rugs, couch, and carpet cleaned on Saturday. It is amazing how much of the mud ended up inside.
Here's to a summer of automatic watering!!

Goin' Private

Yep, it's true. I am jumping on the private blog bandwaggon. Why, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago, shortly after Grant's sister got married, I had a horrible nightmare that we were at the wedding reception where there were lots of people, mostly family, and Wes was being passed from person to person (which is really what happened.) In my nightmare, however, I lost track of him, and I was running around trying to find him, and I caught a glimpse of him in some strangers arms as they were walking out the door, and somehow I knew it was an internet predator that had tracked down my son. I woke up in a cold sweat, and terrified out of my mind. I almost got up right then, at 3:30 am, to make my blog private. I didn't however, and the whole thing left my mind until today. I was watching this Oprah about internet predators wherein an expert said to never ever post pictures of your kids on the internet, and if you do, limit access to only family and friends. My nightmare came rushing back to me and.... well, here we are.
I don't want to alienate anyone, and if you know of someone who wants an invite to read the blog, please let me know!

Birthdays, Weddings and Baby Showers, Oh My!

Wow! I cannot wrap my head around the fact that Wes is one year old already. Where did the time go? I was looking back at previous blog posts from when he was born, and it just does not seem that long ago.

Here is Wes at 1 in a nutshell:

He is still in the 90th percentile for height, though his weight gain has tapered off to a still-chunky 75th percentile. (Evidently all that getting into trouble burns calories.)

He loves to point to the things he knows and recognizes. For example, I say, "Wes, where's the clock?" (or the fan, or blankie, or your hair, or the dogs, or outside.... ) and he points to it.

He already can say a handful of words, "mama", "dada", "dog-dog", and "fan" are his favorites.

He will imitate a lot of words I say, and if he can't make the actual sounds, he will imitate the syllables or the intonation.

He loves, and I mean LOVES books. Especially ones about animals. He will "moo" when he sees a cow.

He likes soft and snugly things, especially blankets. He will test almost everything for its "snuggleability". This means that he will grab something (a blankie, towel, napkin, Grant's tie, my shirt, a stuffed animal, the dog's tail) with his left hand and hold it to his cheek while he sucks his right thumb. One day he went over to his changing table where the blankets are stored on the bottom shelf, took one blanket off at a time to test it for his snuggleability, then tossed it aside and grabed another blanket until he had tested them all.

His current favorite toy is a little plastic cow that he calls "moo-moo".

What a sweet kiddo he is. I feel so blessed and privileged to be his mother.

We have had a very busy last couple of weeks. Grant's sister, Elise, got married on the 26th, and held a dinner the night before which coincided with Wes's birthday!



This is the second cake-all-over-the-face event. I think Wes wouldn't mind if we did this every day!





Cousin Jada was helping Wes figure out how to open presents (Wes just wanted to play with the bow so someone needed to show him how it is done)!





Jada colored this picture for Wes's birthday. He really liked it! He cooed and pointed and seemed really pleased with the picture. What a sweetheart Jada was to do that for him!



The next day was the big wedding. It was such a wonderful ceremony in the new Draper Temple. Elise looked beautiful and everything was just awesome.





My dad trying to keep Wes entertained with a book and "moo moo" at the temple.



From left to right: Jessica, Grant, Sheri, Tom, and Elise. They sure look spiffy.





Wes was fascinated with the medals on the groom's Marine uniform.





Grant dancing with the bride.

Grant sharing a dace with the flower girl, Jada.

Wes had a great time climbing the stairs at the Capitol. I have to say, he was a good sport about all of the craziness of the last few days even though he had a mean cold, had just been given his vaccinations (which always make him a little miserable) and, though I didn't' know it at the time, was teething on top of it all! He was pretty fussy and tired by the end of it all.

Wes and Grant had matching shoes. So cute.

Things were so busy, it was nice to have a relaxing day at home on Friday. Wes definitely needed a day of lots of rest in his own crib. We tried to rest up as much as possible on Friday, because we were off and running again on Saturday to attend a baby shower for Sheri! She is having a little boy, and we just can't wait for Wes to have a boy cousin!

Then on Sunday we had Grant's siblings over for a little dinner at our house. We wanted to spend as much time with them as possible since we don't get to see Jessica and Sheri very often.

It was a crazy-busy few days, but such a good time. I love to have family around. Grant and I miss them all so much!

What d'ya think?

If you'll just look to your right there is a little poll we would like you to take. C'mon, it'll be fun!

Birthday Pre-Show

I am trying to wrap my head around the fact that Wes is one year old already, and I just can't do it. Where did the time go? When he was born, I thought that three months would never come... and now it has been a year. Wow.
Wes's birthday isn't for a couple more days, but my family does a birthday party once a month for all of the birthdays in that month. This month it is Wes's and my little brother's birthday, so we had a big party for them on Sunday. It was Wes's first experience with a cupcake, and he just went to town on that thing!

Wes with Grandma and his birthday buddy, Dan.
He is not quite sure what to think of the candles.


Our cute little family!

Just shovin' the whole thing in at once.

What a delicious mess!

Trying to get daddy to have some.

Wes and Dan had a great birthday party. Everyone was so nice, and Wes loved the presents (and the attention.) My family rocks.

Shower Doors No More

Finally! We got rid of our obnoxious shower/tub enclosure doors. They were so in the way. I couldn't really get around them to clean, the doors themselves were impossible to keep clean, and the worst was that we couldn't bathe Wes properly. We couldn't reach him very well, and Wes (who normally loves the bath in his little blue infant tub) would cry and fuss the entire time he was in the big bath tub. I think he just felt insecure and would slip and slide around because we couldn't keep a good hold on him. My fantastic father used some of his newly found retirement free time and came up to remove those hateful shower doors. I am so happy they are gone!! Wes has made the successful transition to the big tub and he loves it. All thanks to you, Dad!!

Before:

Let's face it-- Wes is just too big for his beloved infant tub.

After: A very happy boy in a bath.

Friends in High Places

Wes and Will: stair climbin' fools.

Peek-a-boo!

Just sharing a snack.

Whew, what an exhausting day.

Just Sayin' Good Morning

These days, when Wes wakes up in the morning or for a nap, Oscar feels the need to rush right in and say good morning (or whines outside the door until I let him in.)
Wes doesn't seem to mind. He loves his doggies!

Happy New Year!

My first official post of 2009! Hot diggity dog. Where does the time go? It feels like New Years Eve was just yesterday.
Our good buddies Brian and Clara invited us up to their family cabin for New Year's Eve games and New Year's Day outdoor fun. After we dug our way into the cabin, the good times began. We had hot chocolate, a delicious dinner and some fun games. Meanwhile, Wes and Will (Brian and Clara's son who is only nine days older than Wes) crawled all around the floor and made a huge mess of everything. It was great. Thanks Brian and Clara for an AWESOME trip.


Me and Clara with our darling boys.


Wes playing on Daddy's tummy and having a great time.
(Lately, when he gets excited about something, he clenches
his fists and flexes his arms and makes this grunty, growling sound. It looks like that is what he is doing here.)

Here's Clara making the most amazing lemon chicken for dinner. Yum!

These boys are so similar in size it is hard to
tell who's who from the back. Can you guess?


Wes's first time sledding. He seemed to like it!

Our little fam. I am about to push Grant and Wes
down the hill for another run.


With all of our slippery snow clothes, it was really hard to hold Wes.
This was Grant's idea. I was sure Wes would cry, but he loved it!


The easiest way to get from here to there... by being pulled on a sled by the four wheeler. (I preferred to be on the four wheeler, myself.)


The gang: in back- Staci, Steve, Brian, and Charles
in front- Grant, me, Wes, and Clara.
Will was napping, in case you were wondering.

Christmas Eve... and Day

Christmas Eve was spent at my Aunt's house with almost the whole fam. My aunt makes this fantastic shrimp dinner and then we all have a "sharing time" where we can read a story, sing a little song, do a little dance, play a game, or whatever we feel like doing. Grant and I read a funny story, my brother's family had us play a game with chocolate, there were some magic tricks, and songs... even some presents! It was such a fun night. Wes seemed to enjoy the singing by his cousins the most. They sang a rousing rendition of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, and Wes was riveted.


Me-- looking a little scary-- and my little Santa

My aunt has this great tradition of reading a cute story and then making all of the kids something to go along. This year it was gloves!

Wes was fascinated with his!

We got home at a pretty decent hour, however Wes was having a rough time with his teeth and a little cold, so going to bed (and staying asleep) were rough for most of the night. Yet we were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning, ready for Christmas Day! This was the first Christmas Grant and I had alone in our little house. It was nice and cozy with our sweet baby boy and our funny little dogs. Santa was good to Wes (as were his grandparents, aunts and uncles!!) He got a ball, and a big-boy toothbrush, several books, and his own phone that talks to him when he pushes the buttons, his own set of kid car keys, clothes, more toys... he was so happy!
Grant made us a wonderful Christmas Breakfast, and after a nap for Wes (and the rest of us) we went to visit our families. We hung out and Grant's mom's for a while, and then made a stop at my parent's place as well. It was so nice to be with our families, but the weather was getting nasty, and a big storm was predicted for the evening, so we had to head back home. All in all, it was one lovely Christmas.


Just chillin' on Christmas morning.

Wes sees his present...

... but thinks the ribbon is far more interesting
than what is in the wrapping paper...

...then finally figures out it is a ball!

Yay! His own keys! Now he can stop stealing mommy's!

Wes just being happy with his book.

'Tis the Season

I don't think a woman is truly broken in as a mother until her kiddo has a cold for the first time.
To carry around a pocketful of Kleenex, to constantly have a slimy shoulder thanks to a baby who rubs his adorable yet snotty face all over it before the aforementioned Kleenex can even be accessed.... that is what true motherhood is about!!
Yes, Wes has a cold for the first time. And just after he got over his four top teeth coming in at the same time! Oy, that was rough. My Christmas Eve (after the fun family festivities) was spent trying to get Wes to bed.... again.... and again.... the fun didn't end until about 3 in the morning. But enough about that stuff! I would much rather tell you about all of the fun festivities! Let me back up a bit. A couple of weeks ago, my brother, his fiancee, and my nephew all came up to go on a hay ride in the park near our house to see The Lights Before Christmas. It is this super short hay ride through the most random lights display imaginable, few of which have anything to do with Christmas. It was a blast! A good, old fashioned, rip roarin', freezing cold, good time!

Wes was so bundled up it was hard to hold him!

Dan and Corrie, Wes and yours truly

This is Wes's opinion of the lights display.