Visit From The Beavers

Last week we were visited by our good friends from Texas, the Beavers (Benj, Mary, and their daughter Julia)! We have a special place in our hearts for the Beavers because when we were in Texas they were like our family. They were there for us when we needed them and we always had a good time hanging out together. When we left Texas we didn't know when we would see each other next, but we got the opportunity for a little reunion already:)

Julia, Weston, and Gianna

We didn't consider the weather to be that great when they were here, but they enjoyed it. While they were here we were able to watch the Oktoberfest parade, go out to dinner at the Trempeleau Hotel, play lots of board games, and go to a pumpkin patch/apple orchard. Overall, we were so glad to see them again and were sad when it all was over.

Weston enjoyed looking at and picking up the pumpkins (we opted for the pre-picked pumpkin patch experience since the official pumpkin patch was a little muddy).

The weather was a little chilly to pick apples, but the dads each picked one off the tree for the experience. It was also fun because Julia said "apple" for the first time and kept saying it very clearly the whole time we were there:)

Weston's first carmel apple- you have to eat one when you go to an apple orchard in the fall!

Julia with her apple straight from the tree:)

Weston literally fell asleep eating his apple:)

The Day Has Come

It has happened, our 14th month old has out grown his 0-3 mo. red sneakers. I went to put them on today and I couldn't squeeze his foot in. He hasn't, however, out grown them in the way I expected. His foot isn't too long for his sneakers, but suddenly too wide. (It appears that is one more thing he has gotten from his daddy- wide feet!)

His first picture with his sneakers (1 mo.)

Now, these aren't just any sneakers. These are one of the very first things I bought for him when he wasn't even here yet and they are my favorite! In fact, they make me think of Weston so much that I have decided that they will be only Weston's and I will store them in his memory box instead of passing them down to other children. My plan is to pick out and save an item for each child from their first year that reminds me of them.

Independence

Now that Weston is mostly independent when it comes to getting around, we are working on getting him independent in other areas. He has always had an interest in his spoon and often wants to help when we feed him, but recently he WILL NOT allow us to help him! As a result, we have let him do it himself and he is getting quite good:) He manages to get it in his mouth with very little mess- check it out!

Speaking of him becoming independent, he is getting harder and harder to put down for naps and bedtime, and I have decided we need to help him learn to fall asleep on his own in his crib. We have always held him to put him to sleep and this used to be no problem because it didn't take him long to fall asleep. Recently, however, he wiggles and squirms and tries to keep himself awake and often bedtime can take up to an hour. So, the rocking/holding weaning has begun. I was going to wait until I could reason with him better, but it is getting to be a big time eater. I have also been inspired by Elijah, who easily falls asleep on his own. So, our first step is to get him to just fall asleep in his crib with our help if he needs it. (Tonight he was able to do this and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.) Once he is better at this, we will work on getting him to fall asleep on his own in his crib!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Now that Weston is on two legs, he is discovering all sorts of new ways to move and it is fun to watch! His dancing skills are improving everyday and he starts dancing everytime he hears music. Currently, one of his favorite things to do is go and press a little frog on the fridge that plays a banjo and dance to the music. I thought I would share with you a little video of some of his latest moves which include spinning and moving his hips:) (By the way he is also obsessed with trying to jump, which he can't do yet, so a lot of his dancing includes trying to attempt this feat.)

This Is Not A Mirage

No, this is not a mirage. I am actually updating my blog, because we finally have the Internet set up in our new house!!! (I am not really sure why it took us so long to get it hooked up!) I hope to keep you all updated more often, but we will see how that goes now that my time is more limited with a new job:) This week I started to take care of another little boy, named Elijah, during the day. His mom and I were childhood friends and our parents have been friends for a long time. So far it has been going great, and Weston and I enjoy having the extra company during the day. The job will take me through most of the school year, but come March I will have to take some time off to welcome a new addition to our family... for those of you that haven't already heard, we are expecting a second child!!! We are very excited and surprised at how fast this pregnancy is going. We are already at the end of the first trimester (12 weeks), and besides being extra, extra tired the pregnancy has been going very well.

Oh, and as a little side note, I really like my doctor so far this time around. I wasn't crazy about the doctor I had when I was pregnant with Weston. I considered it a good thing when I actually met my doctor at this first appointment! (My first appointment last time I never even met my doctor- only his nurse.)

Those have been the biggest changes in our lives since my last blog, but we have also had some other blog worthy things that have happened:

1) Weston had his first official birthday party!

2) Tory gave us a little scare when we noticed a lump on her belly growing over the past couple months. She ended up having to have surgery to get it removed and luckily the tumor was benign.

3) We celebrated the marriage of my Uncle Craig and new Aunt Jessie:) It was a wonderful day and we loved getting to see lots of family.

4) Mike and I became godparents to our new nephew Xavier. We feel very honored to have this important role in his life! Xavier's twin brother, Izak, also was baptized and Mike's cousin, Aaron, and his wife are Izak's godparents.

5) Weston is now cutting his second molar and still no top front teeth! It will be interesting to see when those come in since he was suppose to get those before his molars:)

6) Lastly, here is a video of Weston being his goofey self:) By the way, the sound you hear him making is his laugh when he is super excited.

*To all my fellow bloggers: I spent all afternoon just catching up on reading every ones' blogs, so sorry for the lack of commenting! I hope to be better at that in the future too! Hopefully, it isn't a bad sign that it has taken me four days just to finish this post!!

Toddlerhood and First Birthday!

Last Tuesday (three days before his 1st birthday) Weston took his first solo steps! It was very exciting, and since then he is increasing in distance and speed everyday. Here is a video of him walking on his birthday:) (Don't mind all the toys on the floor and sorry it is so dark.)

We had a little mini celebration Friday night (his actual birthday) and Michael and I gave him his presents from us. He loved this new bike/push toy that he got:)

Here he is enjoying his new pool.

Then, on Saturday we drove to Milwaukee for Weston's first Brewer game! It was a great game- especially since the Brewers won!

Then on Sunday, before heading home, we caught one of Uncle Andy's bike races. We were sure impressed:)

Breaking the Silence!

Well, I have been blog silent for almost a month! As many of you know we moved into our new house on July 1st and, not only have we been very busy unpacking and trying to get settled, but we also don't have the Internet yet. So, needless to say, I haven't had the time or the resources to work on my blog. I know many of our readers are anxious to see the new house, so here you go!

Outside front

Outside back

Living room

A view from the front door looking at the dinning room

Kitchen

Bathroom

Guest bedroom

Master bedroom

Weston's room

The future second guest bedroom

Our unfinished laundry room and second bathroom- obviously we will be doing some work down here:)

The future family/playroom- don't mind the nasty carpet we are taking out

Amidst the unpacking we also squeezed in a 4th of July celebration which included Weston's first fireworks. I wouldn't say he exactly loved them, but he did overall enjoy the experience and was very contemplative during the whole show:) I forgot my camera in the car during the fireworks, but I did get some of him and Gianna sporting their 4th of July apparel.

Finally, here are some more pictures of Weston enjoying the summer:)

Eating watermelon

His first experience with bubbles- he made this face most of the time

He loves water!

Swinging at the park

His new thing is to take just about any object and pretend he is talking on a phone:)

Weston just before he didn't move from the start line for some RiverFest baby races:)