Happy Labor Day!

We were invited to a friend's home for an early Labor Day BBQ today. It was really nice to see our friends and I got a few good shots of the little guy. Of course, I have to share...

A boy and his mouse

It was a little rough last night, but Wesley finally cut his third tooth! It is the top middle one on his left. I've been watching it for about a month now and finally it is here. Wesley is still drooling up a storm and I keep offering him teethers, I even tried the frozen mango chunks in the mesh feeder! But the one thing that he really enjoyed today was chewing and sucking on the tail of a stuffed mouse. No, it isn't a cat toy, although he likes playing with the cat toys too. Luckily, Hunter and Murphy don't mind sharing as long as they get petted. So, one tooth down, how many more to go?

Smiling while riding.

Teething and Ears

*sigh*

Wesley had a rough night last night. He was up every four hours and in the morning I felt like I had just cared for him as a newborn again. His front two teeth are "right there." I know I've been saying it for about three weeks now, but you can see the teeth are just below the surface. Hopefully they'll break free tonight and we'll all get some relief. In the meantime, Tylenol, Baby Oragel (only at night) and oodles of teethers are getting us through. And he has been quite the drool monster the past few days.

As if teething wasn't bad enough on its own, Wesley had his appointment with the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor today. He looked at Wesley's ears and said they don't look infected at the moment - yea! - but, there appeared to be some fluid. So, they did some test where they measured the fluid in his ears and, indeed, there was fluid in both ears. Now the question was, how bad is it affecting his hearing. To find out the answer to that question, Wesley and I were sat in a soundproof box and they played sounds of different frequencies and volumes from different directions. Unfortunately, Wesley has some hearing issues at this point and the audiologist related it as being under water and someone outside the pool is trying to talk to you. It sounds muffled.

The doctor said it is not uncommon for there to be residual fluid in the ear a month after an infection. We will go back to the office in another month and see how his ears look. Hopefully it will clear up on its own. The other option is inserting eustachian tubes. We are trying to avoid tubes because it would be a surgical procedure and there is always risk with that kind of intervention. The other concern is speech and language development and of course, we don't want that to potentially suffer either. Hopefully it will resolve on its own.

In all, please keep us in your thoughts for clear ears and new teeth real soon!

*FYI update*
Wesley isn't on antibiotics at the moment because there isn't an active infection, but if he gets an ear infection in the next month, he is auomatically getting the tubes put in. Well, if we consent to it and all...

I'm watching you, Mom!

We're having a fun day at home today. Wesley is exploring the living room now that we opened it up to him a little more. Before we had a baby gate blocking so he couldn't get past the couch, now he has the whole living room and "nook" to roam free in. A couple comments on these pics...
#1 I LOVE that smile!
#2 He was really checking out that book. It was one of theose "touch and feel" books, and I also got a cute shot of him petting the duck
#3 I can think of a million captions to this exchange of glances between Wesley and Hunter
#4 You can see a hint of Wesley's (only) bottom two teeth. It is really hard to get a picture of his teeth, as they are so small and don't show when he smiles. Maybe I should blow it up and zoom it in for you, but anyway, here is photographic evidence that he has teeth.
#5 "I'm watching you" - I know I've posted a zillion pictures, but here is another one showing Wesley's eye color. The blue one on the right (his left) is such a deep grayish blue and the picture really does the colors justice. I thought it was a neet pic.

And for more exciting news, Wesley has said "Mom" and "Mama" a few times today. He has said it a few rare times in the past, but today he is really practicing. At one point I repeated "Mom" back to him and his eyes lit up and he repeated "Maaamaa maa ma." So exciting!

A lazy Sunday, for a busy baby

We had a fairly lazy Sunday, as Sundays should be in my opinion. Wesley was up at 6 am and Mommy tended to his needs until Daddy got up around 9. Then Daddy took over and Mommy took a nice long nap and at one point Wesley joined me and we had a nice long snuggle and snooze together. Wesley sleeps in his crib by himself at night, but will occasionally nap with Mommy on the weekends. After naptime, we all went to Trader Joes and got Wesley a new toy - "bag." He loved "bag" and carried it around as he played.

Then we did a few practice runs up the stairs. Only up, not down just yet. Wesley does very well with the stairs. Of course, he knows no fear just yet. He is so cute to watch, he starts at the bottom and looks up with such excitement, sizing up his journey. Then he scoots over to the railing and climbs the steps using the rail in one hand. Daddy is standing behind him the entire time, for safety, but as I said before, he does a great job! Wesley gets this look of determination on his face! When he reaches Mommy at the top, he gets lots of praise and kisses from both parents. Such fun!

My friends rock!

Did I ever mention I have some wonderful friends? My friend Alisha has an etsy store EvelynAndAnastasia and she created this beautiful name painting themed especially for Wesley. I'll be glad to hang onto this and say 'I knew her when.' THANKS AGAIN Alisha!

How Fast They Grow

As many of you know, I am an avid scrapbooker. However, since Wesley has come into our lives, I've been a little busy and it has been hard to keep up. Needless to say, I had only done a few layouts from his very early days. I was overwhelmed and didn't know how to organize my pages. I found this site, How Fast They Grow and I adore it! They offer an easy to use program to create digital scrapbook pages with lots of versatility! After a few evenings in front to the computer, I am up to date of Wesley's scrapbook. I recieved my pages today and the priniting quality is excellent. The pages look even better in real life! I only wish they offered even more choices of backgrounds. Maybe then I could finish my honeymoon scrapbook...

Baby Nolan

Meet Nolan, my friend Samantha's very long awaited new arrival! It was a rough journey to get to this place and I wish nothing but the best for their small family. Samantha has an amazing outlook on the world, she is so nurturing and kind, giving and caring. She has been so encouraging to me in all my endeavors, including my passion for photography. She asked me to come take some newborn pictures of little Nolan and I was more than happy to come by, meet this little one and snap away. CONGRATS SAM AND JASON!!!

Newborns can be such cooperative subjects, so sleepy and fairly still. Of course, I still have a lot to learn, I am working hard on understanding lighting to get the best effects and most natural looking lighting. Perhaps someday I'll get the effects I'm shooting for. Until then, I think I'm still getting a few good shots. Just gotta keep practicing... anyone else up for a photoshoot?

A few pics from today

Someday I'll get past this gate.

Looking for a good book to read.


And then Mommy took me outside to play. She tried to get me to wear a hat, but I don't like wearing anything on my head these days.

Baby Bear

I Crawl The Line