The Question: Does Wesley like baby food?

Tomorrow will mark 5 months that my little Wesley has been my playmate.

When we were home for the holidays, I heard that my niece (12 days older than Wesley) was already trying rice cereal. That got me curious to see what Wesley would do.
Evidence #1: I gave him some at the beginning of February when he was just over 4 months old. He didn't really love it, but he would swallow it. He didn't like having to sit in his bumbo seat, either, due to our lack of a high chair. I had tried it a few times a week and each time seemed a little better than before, but he arched his back to get out of that seat.

Evidence #2:Monday, 2-21-11, Wesley actually was opening his mouth for more bites. This made me really happy and proud of him! How did he learn that? He does stare at me every morning while I eat my breakfast, I guess. I've been using our 1/4 measuring cup as a bowl for him and I fill it about half full of thickened cereal. I even made him another serving that night. Still...squirmy toward the end. I got him in the tub and he was so happy in there! Soooo...
He ate the rest of his dinner in his bubble bath! What a happy camper!

Evidence #3: That brings me to tonight. We went grocery shopping and dropped off some dinner for my cousin at Chapman. By the time we got home, I knew it was time to nurse him again. After that, I thought...maybe he'll want some more cereal?! So I filled the measuring cup a little over 1/2 full like normal. He ate it all! Hmm...I wonder if...? Nah. Should I wait another month? Well, let's just see. I have 2 days to get through a jar if he doesn't like it tonight.
Yep. That's right. I gave him a little taste of baby food. Tender sweet carrots to be exact.
He was in love! I couldn't shovel it in his mouth fast enough and he ate the WHOLE jar!!

The answer: Yes.

Happy Birthday

Sunday, February 20th, was my 24th birthday! My niece, Lydia, was born that day in VA and she's such a doll! I was born 8 days before my sister Laurie's 8th birthday so this month is a pretty special one for the family.

This is the 5th year Adam made a special birthday breakfast for me! In the past, he woke up around 4:30 or 5am so we could eat before I left for work at 6am. This year we got to sleep in as a family. He made pancakes the size of my head, strawberry syrup from scratch, sausage, and scrambled eggs with cheese. YUM! He took care of Wesley when he was fussy during Sunday school, and he even made dinner and cake so we could have some friends come over last minute!

I gave Wesley a bath and he fell asleep and stayed asleep the entire time our friends were here! What a super fun birthday! My gifts from Adam this year consisted of the following DVDs: The Incredibles, Kung Fu Panda, Full House season 1, and Full House season 2! I watched the first 3 episodes last night and they made me laugh all over again! Adam had the day off yesterday so we indulged in some Red Robin burgers and Wesley was so good the whole time! It really says something about your baby when he's good at a restaurant.

Church was all about service...all 3 hours...so it's in my head now that I need to be serving people around me. I see so many opportunities, but my head always comes up with some excuse like, "You can't afford that cute baby outfit for your friend" "They probably already have enough meals coming in" "You can't do that service for that person, you have a baby that will get in the way!" So I guess Satan's pretty good at what he does because I haven't been serving people lately. Even when Adam asked for a back massage yesterday...what's my first response? "What happened to the one you were supposed to give ME last night?" lame. I know. I fell asleep to his playing of the guitar. He was singing the song he wrote when he proposed...on my birthday. How selfish can I be? He's so sweet.

SO today I have been super productive. It's only noon and I've already tackled so many things on my to-do list. Do you ever have days where you feel like you will disappoint your husband because he worked super hard all day and you just took care of the kids and couldn't even find time to make dinner? Adam knows that it's hard to take care of kids, so as long as we're happy he's fine. I've never disappointed him (he told me so last night).

Solution: To-do list the night before! I cannot wake up and make one because I've already wasted valuable time! Same thing with grocery lists...can't do it same day. Menu planning takes too long for me to find time between Wesley's naps. I'm definitely up for new recipes and menu ideas if you are willing to share. I figure that I'll be better at serving others when I have the right attitude and I can have the right attitude by taking care of my home and family first. By setting my priorities straight, I'll have a realistic idea of what I can and cannot handle.

So there. That's my new "one year older and wiser too" wisdom for today.

50 months!!

This photo is from a trip to Disneyland last week

Wesley is approaching the 5 month mark quickly, but today Adam and I celebrate 50 months of marriage! What have we done to celebrate? We saw each other for 20 minutes so far and then he left again. Leftovers are in store for dinner. I'll let you know if anything else happens.

I guess my post a couple weeks ago showed up that it was from Oct. 5 (the original day I began typing it). It's all about how I was feeling 11 days into motherhood. No pictures, but a pretty good story.

Updates from that post:
-I fit in all my pre-pregnancy pants...I unpacked them a week after that last post and could button up my jeans! I now weigh the same as I did at my 9-week-pregnant checkup, which is pretty much my pre-pregnancy weight! The nursing tops I was in love with are a little big on me now that I don't have much of a pudge left on my belly.
-a good day consists of showering, doing hair, and doing make up before noon. It used to be that just getting all of those things done was an accomplishment, but now I can throw in some grocery shopping, a trip to the park, or a doctor's visit. Lately I've been able to get ready during Wesley's first nap, so I've been ready as early as 9am, but it's usually about 10:30.
-He's still an incredible sleeper.
-still likes his bink, but I bought blue ones for him AND he's able to console himself by sucking on his fingers. This saves me from panicking when I forget to pack a bink.
-still smiles in his sleep, but smiles much more while awake!

I am in love with his little features. I look at his fingers and toes every day and I'm still in awe at this sweet little guy. He does fuss when he is tired, he has an open-mouthed cry when he's hungry, and he screams when he accidentally covers his face with a blanket. But now that he's a week shy of 5 months:
-He rolls onto his tummy
-He only plays on his tummy for a few minutes before he gets sad that he can't roll back
-He smiles when I come in the room
-He loves his daddy
-He will stop eating when Adam enters the room and stare and smile at him
-He grasps things with his hands-toys, paper...
-I've walked into his room after a nap to find him watching his mobile (I didn't turn it back on-he reached and pushed the button)
-He wears a size 3 diaper - might be a little big, but it catches everything :)
-His favorite trick is reaching up for our hands, holding on to them, and pulling himself from laying down to standing up by using his core and arm muscles and straightening his little legs
-He is SO strong
-When told that, he smiles so big
-His fingers are always in his mouth, drool is always on clothes, me, blankets...
-He's pretty smiley in the tub
-He scoots around on his back by pushing his heels into the carpet and going backwards
-He likes to look at books and sits still on my lap while I read him a story and sing him a song before bed
-He won't fall asleep in my arms anymore. At the end of the song, he fusses for me to put him in his crib where I cover him with his blanket and he snuggles and falls asleep. This is great at home, but church is a little more tricky.
-Not so much a fan of rice cereal, but I tried it and think it's so gross so I'm not concerned. He ate it, he just doesn't open his mouth looking for the next bite. We'll try again next month. What's your advice on highchairs? I want something I can wipe down, not machine wash. I'm considering a booster that straps to a chair. -He's an awesome travel buddy! He sleeps a lot in the car!
-He's been to Disneyland too many times to count already! His first ride was Pirates 12-6-10 when he was just over 2 months old, which was the day after his baby blessing.

Happy 50 months Adam Wesley and happy almost 5 months to my little Wesley Charles! I am in love with the two greatest guys that make me feel like the luckiest woman in the world!