My baby's at a friends' house!!!!

I knew this day would come. Sometimes when he was a baby, I'd dream that this day would come. And now, I can't believe the day is here! Our boys are often watched by a babysitter, or my mom, or Tanya, or sometimes Aunt Shelly. BUT, it's always because I have to go somewhere, do something, or work. ALWAYS! I have never not had Wayne or Weston at home, when I am home. That is just wrong! (Okay, as I'm typing that, I do remember him taking a ride to Lynden with Aunt Shelly while we were building the garage, but he was only gone 45 minutes, and was just running errands.) Today... he left me. Wayne left his mom. Tanya and Ethan had stopped by to do a few things, and when they were done we were waving "bye" to them at the front door. Tanya was teasing Wayne and asking him to come with them, thinking he'd run back to me, but.... Nope! He got all excited and grabbed her hand and started heading for their van. We laughed and said sorry, we were teasing, he had to stay with mom. He pouted and stuck his bottom lip out, and looked at me with big, puppy dog eyes and said, "peas go to Ethan's mom?" Tanya piped right up, "he can come, Jason will bring him back before church!" Since it was 4:30 and I knew they'd be back by 6:15... I said sure! Wayne was GRINNING from ear to ear... He asked, and he got what he asked for! I could still see him with a HUGE smile on his face as the van backed out of the driveway and down the street. The house is pretty quiet with just Weston here, and dinner was a piece of cake to throw together without Wayne underfoot. Hmm.. Now I remember why I had Weston... thing's were too dull around here with just one! Wonder what three will be like? We might have to call the Auntie-mobile for a pick-up!!! :-)

Breaking News: Madelyn's Mobile!

I heard it through the grapevine that my darling Miss Madelyn rolled over TWICE yesterday! Of course, she wouldn't do it again after that, but I thought it was pretty exciting. I can't believe she's that old already. I think her excersaucer has been assembled too, so she is officially out of the newborn stage... Go Maddie!

Brotherly shananigans...

Goodness. If today is any insight into the coming years, I've gotta say.... I'm toast! Those two little hoodlums... What they don't get into! First, Wayne has figured out that Weston likes to follow him. So Wayne gets him to follow him into a dark place (the bathroom or a closet.) Then Wayne turns off the lights and shuts the door. Weston giggles hysterically and Wayne is quite proud. If that's not enough, then Wayne "roars" at Weston until Weston's giggles turn to scared cries. Or Wayne puts Weston underneath an upside down laundry basket and says, "Wesson! Go woof!" Nice. Or when all else fails... just wrestle! Wayne pins down Weston's legs, or Weston tackles Wayne in a fit of giggles. Through it all though, I am amazed at how gentle they are with each other. They seem to get that they can't get too rough or the fun will end. Boys!

{all about Weston}

Okay, I'm back. And it's time to tell you all what's new with the Weston-Peston! Well, in case you missed it, he's one now. That means a whole lot of things to us, but not so much to him. He's working on the walking thing, and is up to making it about 3 or 4 feet when properly motivated. He is also done with formula and on whole milk. He still drinks around 24 oz. per day, and it still has a TON of rice cereal in it to provide weight (as if whole milk wasn't "weighty" enough!) but all reflux considered, he's doing pretty well on it. He's got seven teeth now, and has become a snuggler/Mama's boy. For his first 11 months of life, I NEVER, not once, rocked the boy to sleep. He's just not the kind of kid who can lay his head down and check out. He must be in on all the action. However, he is mellowing out in his older months now, and occasionally he wakes up about an hour after going down at night, at which point I GLEEFULLY race upstairs for the chance to rock him to sleep. Mind you, it only takes about 3o seconds or so, but I'll take what I can get! He loves to take baths, and sits in the tub for about 30 minutes a session. His carseat is turned around facing forward, and he thinks he is majorly hot stuff now, because he can see Wayne better, see out the front, and see the DVD player too! :-) He continues to be the wild child... and it's a good thing because Wayne "loves" on him plenty, and it's a good thing Weston's wild and tough! He is a TERROR on the changing table. He cries when we walk into the laundry room, (where I normally change him) and wiggles, kicks, screams and cries until it's over. Aagh! Sometimes I make Tyler help by holding him down. He is such a stinker! His cheeks are all red now again from the cold weather. He's getting one major smeering of vaseline on them tonight before bed, that's for sure!!!! He's also in love with the dinosaur from Uncle Todd for Christmas. I swear he thinks it's alive, and loves to tackle and hug it. Silly boy!

Engagement Pictures!

Let me start by saying that as *HOT* as my dear sweet brother is, he is NOT easy to photograph! There is a long history in our family of him not smiling... family photos, weddings. It's not that he doesn't try (okay, I guess he really wasn't trying at our weddings, but other than that....) he just is not comfortable in front of the camera. Of course, his sister asking him to kiss his fiancee couldn't have made him comfortable, but there are sacrifices to be made here! :-)

And sorry for the abundance of pictures... I tried to only pick my favorites! Thanks for letting me post them Tyson and Breanne... I am so excited for the wedding, and so thankful that my brother has such good taste in finding a wife! We already consider you a part of the family, and look forward to many fun times ahead.

what's new in the zoo?

Just thought I'd actually take the time to write to you all in a little detail. Things around these parts are going well these days. It's Sunday afternoon, and both boys are in bed, and I am about to take a nap myself (see Tyler!?! I do rest on a occasion!) Wayne is doing really well with potty training, minus the poop issue. He is not really telling us he has to go, but at the same time he holds it until we take him. I try to take him every 45 minutes to an hour, but that's just not realistic when we go away. He often holds it for 2 hours +. Amazing! He usually doesn't even want a treat after, just a "Hip-hip Hooray!" He has been napping well these days, but not sleeping so well at night. He suddenly insists on having his door open, and we've caught him several nights now with his lights on, sleeping on the floor. He also has been making FREQUENT trips to our room, crawling in bed with me. However, Tyler is really putting the kabosh on that one, so I moved a safety gate to his door frame yesterday. When we went to bed, Wayne was asleep in his bed. We left the door open, and the hall light on, hoping that would help. When Tyler left for work at 5am, Wayne was asleep on the floor in front of the gate, with his comforter. I heard him up at 5, and by 5:45 he was making too much noise so I went to get him... He was again on the floor in front of his gate with his comforter and.... he had taken all of his pajamas off. He patted his chest with both hands and said, "look Mommy, naked!" :-) Oh my. He is with his binky less and less... and he is talking more and more. He loves coloring lately, and he is actually starting to stay between the lines. He is still a snuggle bug, and I still LOVE that! He is a BIG eater, and ate a chicken drumstick last night for dinner and thought he was pretty cool eating it off the bone. Boys, whatever! :-) Hard to believe he is almost three! Uncle Ryan measured him last week, and he was 41 or so inches tall. He's also been putting on the pounds, because I am having to readjust his elastic waist adjusters on his pants. I can't believe we've watched him grow for 3 years now. I hardly remember him as a baby, and love to go back and watch video and to look at pictures I took of him. Those days were so fleeting! I can't believe we're potty training now... I might as well toss him the keys and sign him up for college!

Okay, now I'm tired. More later on the other family members.

More lost photos... Weston's Birthday!

As tradition holds, we had lunch at McDonald's for Weston's birthday. He loved the fries, nuggets, and didn't quite know what to think of the ice cream! To think that one month ago, he was on 100% formula!

Making the case (again) for digital scrapping...

Yet one more argument for making the switch...

After creating your 12x12 pages, you can upload them to http://Shutterfly.com. From here, you can create a book that they will print with all of your pages. I do 12x12 pages and books, and the maximum amount of pages through Shutterfly is 100. My aunt just ordered her 2008 book, with the maximum number of pages, and got a KILLER deal on it! (Hopefully she doesn't care that I share!) We ended up getting it for just over $100.... 25% off, free shipping, and an additional 10% by going through http://ebates.com. Amazing! An entire year worth of scrapping for $100? I could spend that in one trip to the scrap store, not to mention all my pictures I used to pick up at Costco! I am so hooked.

posting the lost photos...

Weston and Sadie in the snow.

Wayne.. He managed to do this while I was cleaning up dinner one night. Maybe a bridge to nowhere? He lined up all the pillows and cushions, and even moved the rocking chair!

Having so many cameras and cards around here means that occasionally, I don't remember to download one of them to my computer... And such is the case this month! Here's what we've been up to on the "little" camera...

Wayne's first basketball game since the "age of awareness" has hit. He loved it! He was so fascinated by them warming up. We went to the Nooksack vs. squalicum game.
Sittin' by the Belds.
We left the game by 8:30... we hadn't left the parking lot yet when I took this shot!

We had coffee with friends... Katelyn was so adventurous and went dinosaur riding with Wayne!

New panties for Wayne. He liked the "Cars" ones the best.

The view of the park at dusk. The light line through the middle is water, as well as rainwater in the foreground. It sure got wet around here!

Weston isn't always a fan of the pack and play, but that's where he belongs sometimes, especially when I'm taking Wayne to the bathroom. He protests by taking off his pants and throwing them overboard.

Weston is a well child!

Weston had his 1 year "Well Child Check" yesterday. He is well! :-) He had been dropping percentiles up until December, when he finally leveled out at the 10th percentile for his weight. We've been feeding him and feeding him and feeding him... and he is up to the 20th percentile now! Woo-hoo!!! The plan is to continue his meds until at least 15 months, if not 18 months. We also get to stop giving him formula, and move on to whole milk. He is 31 inches tall (80%) and weighs 20 lbs. 11 oz. (20%) and his head was 47 1/2 cm (75%). He is the picture of health and happiness. He is also in the middle of a major love affair with his brother, and the feelings are mutual. Wayne begs to go see Weston in the morning, even if he's not awake yet. If one's eating, the other has to be at the same table. Wayne whines, "I go play Weston!" until we go get Weston to play with. They rarely fight over toys, and more often than not all you hear is constant giggling. Weston loves to tackle Wayne, and Wayne is the gentle giant who lets him. I love thos two boys, they are so precious. If I have another boy though, I'm calling them all the 3 muskateers!

It's not lookin' good for the "yes" votes

Just an update.. I don't think there is any way on earth Tyler is going to let me find out what this baby is. I tried the whole, "I'll find out but won't tell anyone" scheme, but he said there was no way I'd stick to that, it would leak anyway. Of course, then Aunt Shelly goes and says the same thing, and pretty much shoots down any hope I had of convincing Tyler. So.... it's looking like the surprise baby is going to be a surprise gender, with a surprise name. Noticing a theme here? Here are some thoughts I've had of late as I think of life with another baby!

1. I will now have my biggest bestest, my middlest bestest, and my baby bestest for kiddos!
2. The back seat of the Jeep is going to be full.
3. Tyler has to pull down the maternity clothes and baby gear that we JUST put away (at least that's what it feels like!)
4. 3 kids, 3 and under.
5. I am more than likely going to be 9 months pregnant at my 10 year class reunion. Yes Amanda, I know that falls in with the plan, but it still doesn't sound fun! When is that reunion anyway, and who's planning it!?!
6. It's going to be hot in July.
7. I am not going to be repainting our house this summer.
8. How can this baby be an more adorable than Wayne and Weston?
9. If it's a girl, it will be spoiled, and be very protected by her big brothers someday!
10. If it's a boy, I'm in trouble. It's a good thing I like to cook!

A day of rest...

I love Sundays at home! Sometimes we have family things, and coffee at my grandparents, and Christ Group, all on top of going to church in the mornings. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all that too. BUT... I love taking a nap. I love getting to do something I want to do (scrapbook!) instead of all that I need to do. I love playing with the kids, eating whatever's easy. I love Sundays at home! I've been playing with wedding invitation designing (I'm off to find more fonts!) and a little bit with PSE. I'm debating whether I should make my dip for Christ Group tonight, or play a little longer on the computer! The boys are in bed, Tyler's watching football... Later on I am going to go shoot Breanne and Tyson's engagement pictures. Oooh-la-la! I am just having flashbacks of how Tyson acted for our wedding pictures... He better have grown up since then! (He was 16.... you think it's hard to photograph a two year old, try a 16 year old!) I'm counting on Breanne to make him smile! :-) Later all!

Here's the rest of the story...

Okay, here's the long awaited details for you all. We'll start at the beginning. Back at the end of November and coming into December, I didn't feel good. In fact, I remember getting a raging headache and going to bed early! I felt kind of queasy, and tired, but I was working a bunch, planning for the holidays, chasing two kids, and I try not to be a whiner. So, I sucked it up and kept going. I occasionally thought, "darn my weak stomach" as coffee no longer sat well with me, and I felt definitely off my game. I figured that was how I was dealing with stress. Whatever. Too busy to add up all the other symptoms. We took my parents to dinner to celebrate Tyler's 1 year fall anniversay, and at the end of the night Mom said she thought we were taking them out to tell them I was pregnant. I laughed and said no, but later thought, "hmmm.. Nah!" The month carried on, but by December 30, I had thrown up enough time to warrant Tyler forcing me to buy a pregnancy test. (I was on the phone with Todd while I was in Riteaid... if he only knew why I was so distracted!) Sure enough...

(for those not familiar... two straight lines is negative, a straight line and a plus sign means POSITIVE!)

Hmm... Really? Could I really be? The next step was getting bloodwork done. Sure enough, my HCG levels were 75,000, and three days later they were 88,000. That meant either I was pregnant with twins, or I was more than 5 weeks along. Of course, the doctor's office couldn't get me in until January 14 (Weston's birthday) but I took what I could get.

At my appointment, the doctor confirmed that indeed, I was now just over 12 weeks along, and past my first trimester. She estimated my due date to be July 27, but we will have a little more accuracy at my upcoming appointment next Friday when the "real" ultrasound tech takes a look. Normally when I've seen early ultrasounds of Wayne and Weston, they have resembled a kidney bean. Not this baby! He/she already has arms, and was saluting her/his mama!

(Top circle=head, bottom circle=body, sticks on the side=arms)

So now... Some answers to the questions you want to ask but may not dare...

1. Was it planned? Uh..... no! :-) But are we so excited we can hardly contain ourselves? Yes!!! We are absolutely thrilled. After two pregnancies that required fertility drugs and hormone supplements, I am grateful to tears for this all natural gift from God. His grace his more than I can fathom.

2. How close will the baby and Weston be? Wayne and Weston are 22 months apart. Weston and the new baby will be 18 months apart. Yes, I am aware that we will have rough days. For goodness sake... I'll have three kids 3 and under! But, things will get better, and several years down the road I am going to be so happy to have three kids so close in age. My siblings and I were close, and I LOVED it growing up, and even now. I also know that God promised to not ever give me more than I could handle, so I am leaning HEAVILY on him to multiply my strength, energy and patience!

3. Was this a shameless attempt to increase the traffic on my blog? Who, me?!? Hey, whatever keeps you guys coming back! :0)

4. Will we find out if it's a girl or a boy? The jury is out on this one. We didn't find out with Wayne, we found out with Weston... the pattern holds that this baby gets to be a surprise. We both just don't feel a need to know, but we'll see... Please vote on my sidebar with your opinion!

5. If it's a boy, will it have a name that starts with W? Hmm.. maybe. Got any good names?

6. Have I been sick? Yes! I have such a weak stomach anyway, it's just not pretty. I was christening Lynden parking lots and driveways for awhile, but it's been a few days so I hope it is passing. It got so bad at one point that every time I was throwing up in the kitchen sink, I'd turn around and Wayne would have come running, opened the fridge, and brought me a can of sprite! WHAT a doll! That boy is so compassionate. I love that!

Does that answer all your questions? :-)

1st Birthday Bash!

We had around 30 people here for Weston's party. I decided to heck with two parties, one for each side of the family, we would just do one BIG party! I wish we could invite everybody (great aunts, uncles, friends, 2nd cousins) but alas, we do not have that much room in our house, big as it is! Maybe our families are just too big! :-) I made mexican for dinner, with some help from Mom, Tara and Aunt Shelly (thank you soooo much, you really helped me out and your food was AMAZING!) Weston did really well. I even made him play "Birthday Boy Photo Roulette" by passing him from one guest to the next, and Taylor was making faces at him to get him to smile while I took pictures. It was hilarious! Wayne didn't know what to think of the people. He was a little out of sorts and hid on the stairs or upstairs most of the night.

Sneaking up to his present from us.

Eating his quasadilla.

Hmm... "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine."

The food....

Practicing his walking skills.

Are you just dying yet? My next post will contain info about baby #3..... I bet you're hoping the boys are good so that I get to it tonight!

Happy Birthday Weston, we love you!

Who knew one year ago, that one year from then we would have such a delightful, joyful little one year old! Weston's birth was long awaited, and uneventful, thank the Lord! After all the drama before, I remember laying in the hospital, snuggled in with this little peanut, who even until the last moment before he was delivered, was kicking and wiggling inside of me. Man, he was busy! Over the next year, we would have first smiles, the nap wars, the nightime wars, colic, acid reflux, learning to sit, crawl, and steal Wayne's toys. First steps, first foods, first attachments. Weston has just blossomed in the last few months, and has become an EASY baby. He is scheduled, and loving it! :-) When he smiles, it spreads from one ear to the other (no comments on his ears from the peanut gallery, I love them just they way they are!) I is a go getter, and goes from the time he wakes up to the time he goes down. I love when he wakes up after being in bed for an hour or so. I sneak into his room, and he puts his arms up for me. As soon as I pick him up and grab his blankie, he buries his head in me and is asleep again before I can sit down in the rocking chair. He loves to cluck his tongue and blow raspberries. He thinks Wayne is the funniest thing on earth. He does not like when groups of people sing songs ("Happy Birthday" didn't go too well.. neither does Christ Group!) He is my joy and my delight. He loves to play all on his own, loves to chase balls and cars across the hardwood, and loves anything he can hit or crash. He is a bruiser... I am constantly having to edit pictures so that his bruises and scratches don't show! A noise dive off a toy, crawling too fast and not looking where he's going, throwing a toy that comes back down on his head... all these are daily occurences in the world of Weston the bruiser. What a little dudard! Here are a few favorite pictures from the last year.

Dear Weston,

I can hardly wait for the next year to come, because I know how much fun you are going to be, and all of the things you will learn. I love watching you grow, and I pray that as you continue to grow, you will know the Lord and walk with him. I pray that you will one day become a man after God's own heart. He has a wonderful, divine plan for your life, and I hope that you will trust in that plan as I do. You are a blessing to our family, we would not be the same without you. You bring joy and laughter to our days. I'll love you forever, I'll pray for you always, forever my baby you'll be!

Love, Mom