Weston is THREE today.

Today our precious, precocious Weston turned three.  Or, as he says, "thee!" while holding up 5 fingers.  He was so good, and so very adorable all day.  Excited, and he totally knew that it was his special day.  More on the day in another post.  I just CAN'T believe that three years have gone by.  I was looking through pictures to post here, and those days seem like they were just one week ago, not 2 1/2 to 3 years ago!!!  But without the pictures... I just wouldn't have remembered the full extent of Weston's cuteness as a baby.  And ooooh...  he was a handful.  I remember that!  But he was and is sweet too.  Weston's first year was full of firsts, and it was a learning experience for me, for sure.  Weston was a totally different baby than Wayne, and he was going to be a part of our family on his own terms.  Acid reflux, colic...  we had our hands full.  But in that time I held him 10 times more than I had ever held Wayne, and to not have him in my arms felt strange.  Weston's second year...  We really started to see his personality blossom.  He is a caretaker and protector of Wyatt, bringing him blankies, binkies, and toys just to make him happy, lavishing him with hugs and kisses.  He is a complete and total Mama's boy, but he's a Daddy's boy too.  His words were few and far between, but his actions and grunts got his point across just fine.  I thought he was becoming such a big boy when he turned two, but I had no idea how big he'd really be when he turned three.  At three, he is sweetness and spice, and everything nice, but he is mellowing out a bit, and starting to follow multi step instructions and understand cause and effect.  He listens, and understands and wants to do what you say.  He has become a pleaser - always wanting to helpout and loves to be praised for doing a great job.  He has no fear.  None.  He can hold his breath under water in the bath for 7 seconds, and comes up laughing.  Wayne just looks at him in awe!  :-)  Weston has challenged me to be more patient, more consistent, and more confident in everything that I do as a mom.  He has taught me to be silly too, and he makes sure that I have a kiss from him every hour of every day.  If he's been playing nice, he'll come find me, give me a kiss, and go right back to playing again.  Sigh.  I adore him.  He is precious.  

Dear Weston,

You are an amazing boy.  In the past three years, we have started getting to know the person that God created you to be.  He made you to be AMAZING!  You light up every room you're in, and bring smiles to our faces every day.  You have BOUNDLESS energy, and an appetite to match.  You are stubborn and strong willed, and while I struggle with those traits now, I am grateful that God gave them to you because they will serve you well as you grow older.  I have those same traits too, I guess I've pass them to you!  I want you to always know that whatever you do, and wherever life takes you - I will always know you are amazing and special and the most wonderful blessing God can give me.  I will always love you more than I can ever express or explain.  I am honored to be your mom, and will give you the best that I have.  I love you, my BIG baby boy!

Mom

If you need a chuckle...

This morning, "someone" farted.  Weston looked around, asking "Daddy?  Daddy?" but Daddy was at work!  :-)

They are playing nicely together.

Now, they are pretending that Weston is a dog.

He barks.

He sits.

He rolls over.

He plays fetch.

Wayne scratches Weston's the Puppy's head and belly.



Begger's can't be choosers, I'll take it!

SNOW DAY!

It's official...  today marks Wayne's very first SNOW DAY!  I remember being THRILLED when we had a snow day, and got to miss school.  So when I excitedly said, "Wayne, it's a snow day!  There's no school!" I was a bit taken aback by his dramatic crying and sobbing, "I don't want to miss school!  I have to be there.  I LOVE SCHOOL!"

Hmm..  I wonder if that's what he'll be saying 10 years from now?  :-)

In the meantime...  I'll be explaining to him for the gazillionth time that if school is cancelled then the roads are not safe and Ethan CANNOT come over.  ;-)

In the middle of the night... Part II

We met with the doctor this afternoon.  We reviewed the results of the x-ray, and while his tonsils are medium and his adenoids are medium sized, the doctor felt that there was still plenty of room for air to pass, without causing a problem.  He said that normally when presented with a kid with symptoms like Weston's, he'd just remove the adenoids and tonsils, but because Weston is barely three, he wants confirmation that breathing is absolutely an issue, which can be found in an observation of his sleep.  This would also pinpoint if it's a sleep-cycle issue, either caused by a disorder or a development stage.  He has referred us to Children's hospital in Seattle, which has the closest pediatric sleep specialist, where we will go and spend the night "sleeping."  :-) Weston will be hooked up to machines, etc. and they will monitor what exactly is going on.  I'm relieved not to put him through an unnecessary surgery and 10 day recovery, but since it will take a month to get the appointment down there...  no short term answers yet. 

I did ask if he thought it was just behavioral - if Weston was just stuck in a rut and a mama's boy :-), but he really didn't think so, given the length of time it's gone on, and the fact that he still wakes up, even if I'm in the room with him.  He said to do whatever is necessary in the next month to get SOME sleep, i.e. letting him sleep on the floor of our room, etc. and not to let him cry it out, as he believes that something is going on with him, and he needs comfort, etc.  So...  onwards we go!  Part of me hopes that this is all much ado about nothing, but the other part is glad to be going through the motions of ruling things out.  I guess I'm meant to keep up the late night prayer sessions a bit longer!  :-)

In the middle of the night....

Or maybe this post title should be "While you were sleeping" followed by "and I was not!"  :-)

For the past four or five months, we've been struggling, and so has poor Weston.  He has gone from sleeping through the night just fine, to waking up anywhere from 3 to 8 times every night.  It has gradually got to be worse and worse, and harder and harder to get him back to sleep.  Over the course of the Fall, there were MANY nights that I got 3-5 hours of sleep, which meant that Weston was only getting 7 or so total hours of sleep too.  He goes to bed at 7pm exhausted, and then wakes up 2 1/2 hours or so after he falls asleep.  This cycle goes all night!  By morning, he looks hungover (well, as much as a two year old can) and I probably don't look much different.  By late afternoon, the poor little guy is beside himself with exhaustion, after taking only a 45 minute nap.  I continued on, thinking it was just a phase. 

I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor of his room by his door, waiting for him to fall asleep so that I could slip out of his room.  He seemed to fall back asleep faster if I did this, and it's better than laying beside him in his bed.  He's so disoriented when he wakes up, I think it was reassuring to have me there.  Anyway....  Everything happens for a reason, right?  When Wayne was first born, a wise woman told me that we don't wake up at night, or can't sleep at night, for no reason.  That that time was a gift from God to spend alone with Him.  I thought that was a WAY better perspective than mine at the time, which was "this baby's keeping me up and I can't sleep!" so I adopted it as my own.  Wyatt was up 2 times each night to feed his entire first year of life, and I used both feedings as an opportunity to pray and spend time with God.  I remember the feel of his cool, soft skin, and the quiet darkness that was all around.  Our house is never so quiet as in the middle of the night.  Over the past almost 5 years, I have discovered that I LOVE to pray.  I do.  It is a privilege, an honor.  Over these past few months, while the downside of Weston's sleep escapades has been some dark circles under my eyes, and some fuzzy afternoon thinking, the incredible upside has been all of the time it has allowed me to pray.  Prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and gratitude.  Prayers for protection and wisdom.  Prayer for all of our kids, and Tyler.  And me.  Prayers for some of you reading this.  It's been incredible, and I am grateful for those hours.

Those prayers for Weston also left me with a conviction - I needed to take Weston to the doctor to see if something was causing him to wake up, or I needed to start letting him cry it out in order to learn to sleep through the night for his own good.

With that, we began a series of doctor and specialist appointments, ending in an X-ray of his adenoid tissue.  All I know from the results is that there is a mild enlargement of the tissue, and that the doctor wants a follow up consultation and a hearing test done.  We'll know more on Monday!  Whether it's a medical issue, or a lesson Weston must learn, I know that God already knows the answer and what needs to be done.  I'm not anxious or nervous to hear what the doctor says on Monday, but I am ready.  Hopefully Weston is too!  :-)

Our precious night owl!

You're Invited!