Ice Cream Cones - YUM!

So, I've been a blog slacker recently... We've been busy doing lots of things, like trying ice cream cones for the first time! Honestly, when I saw Wesley's kids meal came with an ice cream, I figured it would be a little dish of vanilla. Instead it was a tiny ice cream cone. I wasn't sure if he would hold it without dumping the ice cream out, but he did a great job! And boy did he enjoy it!

Please excuse the poor video quality of my cell phone. Wesley's cuteness still shines through :)

First Snowball

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It was a hot day today in Maryland... over 80 degrees! After dinner we went to our local snowball stand and Wesley got to have a little bit of lime from Daddy and a little bit of strawberry from Mommy. We ate them out on our back deck and enjoyed the warm breeze.

Blanket

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The word at school is Wesley loves his blanket. When I dropped him off the other day, the caregiver mentioned it and then I asked his afternoon teacher and she said he usually hangs onto it in the mornings after I drop him off.

I thought about it a little bit and we do snuggle in his blanket every morning when he wakes up. I go in and wrap the blanket around his backside and hug him close to me, his head snuggled under my chin. We sway a few times and he just feels so good in my arms. And then we go sit in the best chair EVER, and I nurse him with the blanket keeping him warm. Before we go downstairs to start the day, I put the blanket back in his crib.

Every evening, Greg gets him ready for bed, we turn the lights down and the lullabies on. Daddy says goodnight and Wesley blows him kisses. We cuddle in the chair with his blanket wrapped around him and when he is ready I tell him I love him, give him a kiss and lay him in his crib. And then I cover him up with the blanket and we blow kisses to each other as I turn off the light.

Before I go to bed later that evening, I check to see the blanket is still on him. The nights are cold still and I just want him to be warm. Some nights I find him laying on top of the blanket, and then I grab a second blanket to cover him. A little sleeping Wesley sandwich I guess.

Today I brought the blanket downstairs with us for the morning. I was a little surprised about how much he kept it with him. And he was so cute dragging it around. I didn't think he had an attachment object. I guess I just didn't think about it enough.

I love being a mom.

It's good to have friends!

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It's good to have friends. And if they're nice, they let you play with their toys! It's kinda a long story as to who is who, but in order is Wesley and Nolan and then sweet little Aubrey (who I want Wesley to marry - but Greg is against me pushing him into marriage before he sows his wild oats). And then TWINS -Olivia with the yellow barrette and Katherine with the white and pink barrette. We were outnumbered today - five kids for three adults, but we managed to keep everyone happy for the most part while we enjoyed some sunshine this afternoon. Thanks for playing, guys!

Pup - Pup - Puppy Dog

Wesley has never been a big talker. He didn't babble a lot as a small baby and we think the fact had had fluid in his ears from all his ear infections had a lot to do with it. He had a hearing test last week and all is well and good, his hearing is normal. He still doesn't talk much, he has been saying "ball" for about 6 weeks and he parroted 'giraffe' while my mom was here for a visit. He does make car sounds when he plays with his vehicles and he meows with the cats. He has been saying "hi," "bye," and "yeah" (complete with head nod) for a few weeks.

My favorite Wesley sound is when he blows kisses. About a week ago he started blowing goodnight kisses to me from his crib as I turn out the light and head out of his room. He'll keep blowing kisses for a few minutes even after I stop answering them with my own kisses blown back to him. Greg and I will be downstairs and still hear him going "Mwah!"

He loves animals and we've been watching a little Animal Planet the past couple days in hopes of seeing some birds, Wesley's favorite animal! The TV was on this afternoon and a dog came on. I said "Oh Wesley, look at the puppy dog" and he parroted right back "pup a" and some other variations. We went back and forth a few times and I hoped my getting the video camera wouldn't disturb the moment. As you can watch... he starts out with "pup a" and ends with "I want the camera!"

Teeter Toddler

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A pic of Wesley and his friends at school having some fun on the see saw.

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

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Yes, the Easter Bunny came today... more pics to come...

Oh how far we've come!

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18 months old today. A year and a half. *sniff* How fast they grow! The days and weeks right after Wesley arrived went by so quickly. I tried to take a lot of pics and, if you've been following this blog for a while, you'd know that I made an effort to take a pic every month of Wesley with this sign depicting his current age and with his bear "Bo." The pictures from today really speak volumes. First of all, he was miserable sitting on that chair. He is a very active toddler and sitting still for a pic for Mommy was not on his agenda this afternoon. I hope it is fairly obvious, but my photography skills have improved just a bit in the past 18 months. Looks like we've both done a bit of growing.

Another trip to Storyville

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We last visited Storyville in November, you can read about that visit by clicking HERE. We had a great time then and our visit today was even better now that Wesley is a teensy bit older. Last time I set him in that boat and he didn't really like it. This time he walked on over to it, climbed in (with a little help from Mommy), and rocked it back and forth on his own. He is even more of an explorer and I know he had a great time running all over the place. We met up with a friend of mine, Jen, and her daughter who is a couple weeks younger than Wesley. They made quite the pair, blowing kisses to each other and checking out all the cool stuff together. Jen tied scarves on their heads and made them capes and they both thought that was very cool. It is so fun to watch the kids play and interact, they often go their own separate ways, but would eventually make their way back to each other. Kids are awesome.

Still loving that smile!

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It took a lot of work to get a bog ol' toothy grin from Wesley. He found it incredibly funny when Daddy would bop Mommy on the head with a chair. What can I say... anything for a laugh!

When somebunny loves you

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Today we saw the Easter Bunny (again!) Wesley is so good with him, he just loved looking at him, playing peek a boo and pet the bunny very nicely. I'm so glad he isn't afraid of the Easter Bunny!

Maryland Zoo Easter Egg Hunt

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Our neighbor told us the Maryland Zoo was having an Easter Egg Hunt, and since my mom was in town and we were looking for something fun and kid friendly to do, we decided to check it out. We were greeted by the Easter Bunny when we got to the zoo and then we headed over to the egg hunt. Wesley had a lot, and I mean, A LOT of fun with the egg hunt. I mean, he could run around outside picking up stuff and bring it to myself, Daddy or Grandma. I think it was Wesley bliss.

After we turned in our eggs for some candy, we went to see lots of animals. Wesley seemed to like the animals well enough, of course, he still loves birds. At one point there was a long grassy knoll with two birds (free range wild birds, not a zoo exhibit) and we let Wesley just run and chase the birds. He was so darn happy to be able to run after them. And they would only fly a short way from him and the chase would continue all the way to the end of the strip and the birds flew into a bush. With that, the game was over and Wesley was saddened by that and tried to protest leaving that particular area.

All was not lost and he was quickly absorbed into the next activity... the petting zoo. Mommy and Grandma followed Wesley around, ensuring he didn't do anything to antagonize the goats too much. He seemed to like the petting area, but I think he enjoyed watching the other kids pet the animals just as much.

The zoo was a fun day trip, but probably still a little old for Wesley. We're thinking next year his attention span might allow for even more enjoyment at the zoo. It was still a nice way to spend the day.

Grandma is here!

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You know what that means... lots of cuddles and hugs, a little bit of shopping and oodles of fun! While Daddy was at work, my mom, Wesley and I went to the mall where Welsey tried out some of those silly ride on cars. He enjoyed sitting in them, but $.75 cents later we came to know Wesley was not a fan of the "ride." It was for the best though, because $.75 doesn't last very long in those dinkly little machines.

We even saw the Easter Bunny for the first time this year. He must really be maing the rounds this year, because we would go on to see him again at the zoo the next day. Wesley was really in awe of that big ol' bunny and he was pretty happy to sit on his lap for a few pics. It was pretty cool to see Wesley so relaxed with him.

For dinner we went to a Japanese Steakhouse. We weren't quite sure how it would go over, but Wesley really enjoyed both the show and the food! He didn't really like the flaming parts of the show when they were at our table, but he liked watching the big fire at other tables. He didn't cry though, just gave a little unsure look and a shrug.