Whitney turns 26

This year we decided to have a couples shoot off to celebrate Whit's birthday. The Farmer's were gracious enough to let us use their place. Some people are natural shooters, however I am not one of those people. But I finally managed to hit a clay pigeon, when it was actually flying through the air. Yet I was unable to hit the egg sitting in the grass. Overall we all had a great time.
Happy Birthday Whitney


(shotgun shell cake)

9 months and Counting

Stats for 9 months
Weight 21 lbs 4 oz
Length 29 inches
8 teeth and teething still (1 more for sure)

Wesley is a very active little guy that definitely keeps us running. More than once I have been asked if I give him caffeine. NO! I am no longer nursing and stopped drinking it for the time being, (although I will have the occasional drink, rarely though) He is into everything and doesn't stop moving. He still loves to snuggle though and is happy and content to be held by anyone.

He walks along furniture and behind his walker. He is learning to stand independently and climb on things, which in turn means that he falls over a lot. He looks pretty rough some days. But that doesn't stop him. He cries for a few seconds and then off to do it again. He will stand on just about everything to get just a little bit higher. He loves to climb on to the treadmill and play on it. But he hasn't figured out how to get down, which is where more falling comes into play. He is also intrigued by the stairs. Yikes, I'm not quite ready for this. Whitney however thinks it is great to see him learn new skills and encourages them. I think his worse fall was out of the crib, (still not sure how that happened). He didn't get any bumps or bruises though. I am so thankful and that Heaven Father made little kids so resilient.

Wesley babbles all the time especially at bedtime and right after he wakes up. He says mama, but I'm not so sure that he makes the connection to me yet. We are teaching him sign language, and he loves the signing time videos. They are life savers when he doesn't feel well or I need to get something done. Hopefully he begin signing to us soon but for now he responds well to eat, drink, milk, mom and dad.

He loves to help with whatever you are doing, which in turn allows me to get very little done. It is cute to see him rush as fast as he can when he hears the dishwasher, fridge, or dryer open. It wouldn't be so bad but he insists on climbing into them.

Some of the things he does that we are not so proud of is he loves to suck on toes and not just his own, especially painted toes. A problem during church, relief society. I find it gross and embarrassing.

Wesley loves his bed time stories. It is the only time we are able to read an actually story. During the day he loves the touch and feel books.

Fall leaves

We spent all day raking leaves. These are just the leaves from the section in front of the house. Wesley was unsure of the leave pile but loved inspecting the leaves. The next day we woke up and you couldn't even tell that we had raked.

Half - Birthday

Hooray! Wesley is 6 months. Which in turn, means that we have been parents for 6 months. Judging by our little guy who is healthy and happy 90% of the time, with no major accidents or issues, i dare say that we are doing a good job so far. Hooray for us.

Since his birthday is going to be lost by Christmas, we decided that we would celebrate his half birthday every year and keep his birthday for family. With the theme of half birthday, we cut everything in half and attempted to sing half of the happy birthday song. The Smiths and Dorns joined us in the fun. We played a little wii, board games and had a good times with good friends.

Visit with Grandpa Ellis

We try to get up to Minot to see my dad as much as we can, unfortunately it isn't enough. He is doing chemo 24/7 and it is really taking toll on him. Yet he remains in good spirits and is as active as much as he can be.

He is trying to look tough and intimidating.

Kung fu dancing

Wesley loves to be outside, just sitting on the the steps and watching cars, bugs, people. We sat out and played with bubbles before it was time to get back to work.

Tooth be told

Yep. Wesley has cut his first tooth (bottom front), with the next one right behind it. We are teething. He has been a little fussier than usual, drooling to the point of shirts soaked within 15 minutes, biting, running nose, cough and a low grade temp. I kept checking for teeth but couldn't feel anything and was beginning to think we was sick. We debated back n forth of whether or not to take him to the clinic. Then on Tuesday night I stuck my finger in his mouth to be bit by one tiny razor tooth.

Visiting Whit at work

We don't get to see much of Whit during the day in the summertime, so when he is close by we like to stop by for a few minutes.




(They are repairing a broken water pipe at a bank)

First taste of Veggies

Wesley does so good eating his cereal off a spoon. He opens nice wide and leans, well more like lunges towards the spoon. We decided to try some veggies first and then fruits. He loves applesauce and bananas.