happy birthday to weston and america!

Sunday morning (Weston's birthday) we decided to head for the mountains. we went to anthony's parent's house on sunday to spend the night there. we went out to eat and watched some tv before hitting the sack. we were all so tired. weston was in his turned around car seat today for the first time and seemed to enjoy looking where he was going and watching the movie. the next morning, we woke up and headed to see nana and granddaddy and mama and kenny. we decided to do the bike trail that morning. while we were waiting to start, it began to rain. we continued on the trail once it stopped. weston absolutely loved riding the bike. he laughed and waved and looked at everyone passing us. then, the bottom fell out. we got soaked and had to huddle up underneath a rock til the storm passed. we were so wet, but had a great time. i can't wait to do the trail again when i know the weather will be sunny and no chance of rain! weston was such a trooper though and never cried or whined. we rode horses on tuesday and weston stayed back with nana. after eating a good supper with steak, salad, and cobbler (weston had steak for the first time), we headed home. it was a fun weekend and a much needed get away! weston was also able to swing in his swing for the first time in the mountains and loved that as well.

happy birthday, weston!

it is now a few minutes after midnight on july 3, 2011. this means that my baby boy is now 1! i cannot believe it. i am sitting here in the quiet thinking about this day last year and what i was going through. right now i was on the way to the hospital, only to get there and be sent home again. how depressing! despite the 25 hours of labor, pain, tears, needles, medicines, epidural, c-section, and a husband who almost passed on in the operating room, the hardest and longest day of my life turned into the most precious and unbelievable on in a matter of seconds. I cannot imagine life without the little boy that is sleeping so quietly in his crib right now and has no idea how much he means to me. there is honestly nothing in my life that i am more proud to be called than mama. his little 8 lb 14 oz body that was born on that day is now 22 pounds running around the house like a little man and it is the most rewarding and remarkable experience each and every day. having a child really puts your life in persepective. i am now more thankful each day, notice the blessings more frequently, see the sunshine in his eyes when i think that the world is closing in on me. who knew that something so tiny and precious could make me a better person. i hope that i am able to provide enough love in his life that he will never doubt what he means and how much i believe in him. i am so excited for what the future holds for Weston and it makes tear up to think about how much he has in front of him. life is so precious and fragile and i am thankful to God that he trusts me with one of his children.

am i really planning for this?

well, this saturday we will celebrate Weston's first birthday party. his actual birthday is on sunday july 3, but we wanted to have the party on saturday morning so loved ones can go out of town for the holiday afterwards. it is so hard to believe that a whole year has passed. the helpless infant that we brought home from the hospital is growing into an independent individual who wants to do it all himself (he gets that honest from his mama). i have said before that i love to watch him grow, but it seems that a recent mileston has my teacher heart right by the strings. he now takes a book, sits on the floor, turns that pages as he is supposed to, and "reads". He babbles while turning the pages and it melts my heart. i am not a reader, but i have made a significant effort to be more book concious with weston. it is definately paying off. he is such a joy in my life. i love my job because i am able to spend everyday with him this summer. august is going to be tough! i will post some pics of his birthday, if there are any without my tears running across the screen. happy first birthday weston!!

summertime is coming!

Only 4 and a half days left of school. I am so excited to be able to spend everyday with Weston. We have had a busy couple of weeks. Last weekend (Mem. Day) we went to a small airshow in Grantham, ate at Uncle Yammys, and walked at the Cliffs of the Neuse. The next day, we went to Benson and did the slip and slide with Tia. We had some great days that weekend. Fast forward to this weekend, and I had celebrate baby sauls on saturday and then go to work so Weston got to spend time with Nette and Papa. He did go to baby Ellsworth's shower with me today. He has a lot of friends to be born soon. Ginny and Beth are due within a week of each other! Weston can repeat things that you say to him. He "chats" a lot and says mama, dada, chicken, etc. He goes full speed, too!

time flying

Weston is running around everywhere! He is so fast! He is now saying "mama" and "dada' and I must say that I love hearing him call my name around the house. I am excited that there are only 2 weeks left of school and I will be able to stay home all summer. I hope that we are going to have a lot of relaxtion and fun! We are started to plan for his first birthday, which seems so surreal. I cannot believe that almost a year has past since we met him. Even though this year has flown by, it is hard to remember what I did before he was here. He can also say "horse" and waves hey and bye bye ALL of the time. He even tells the pictures on the wall hey. Weston also stomps in place which is "dancing" when we say dance dance dance.

dance party

Ok, so I understand that everyone thinks that their child it the cutest, so it is ok for me to tell the world that I have the cutest baby in the world?!?! well that is just my opinion, but the little rascal now dances on command. i say "dance, dance, dance", and he begins to lift his feet of the floor and gets the biggest grin on his face. He is now walking about half of the time. i think that his record is 15 steps in a row and then he hits the floor and starts again. I was cooking last night and he rounded the corner, (on 2 legs and not all fours) and had the biggest grin on his face. that was the first time that he surprised me with his skill. also, hey thing that i recently blogged about has become one of his favorite things so when i get him out of the crib in the morning, if he sees me from down the hall, or randomly while he is playing, you can find him with his hand straight up in the air. i love it! his first Easter is this weekend. i am a little apprehensive about him sitting with the easter bunny, only because they freak me out and i do not want to have an anxiety attack while the person who needs me the most screams so that everyone in the mall can direct their attention to the family that just can't get it together. i don't know what it is about the easter bunny, but i just picture a creep in a costume where you can't see their face and you place your child on their lap. i mean, do they have background checks, etc on these people? spring break is here so that means 10 days with my precious lad! can't wait!! and another update...we now have 7 teeth and a growing desire to bite. got to nip this in the bud quick.

exact timing

today weston is 41 weeks old. those who have been around me today are probably hearing me say that "he is 41 weeks today and that is exactly how long i was pregnant". i have been saying that because i was exactly one week overdue and it is amazing to me that i waited so long and now really cant remember life without him. he is so great. he now raises his left hand very slowly to say "hey" and i think it is the funniest/cutest/most wonderful thing that a baby has ever done because i always say "heeeeyyyy" to him in my most southern drawn out accent voice.

he went to his first pigskin pigout last night and i have to say how proud i was to stroll him into dowdy ficklen stadium for his first visit. i had to get him there to get the purple and gold spirit in him. i may cry if he comes home and says that he wants to go anywhere else for school (and he better have a scholarship because my money only goes to ecu). ok, we will see in 18 years how that turns out!!

still walking a few steps at a time. his record is 7 at a time, then he sits down, laughs, looks at me and stands up for a repeat. he is such a ham.

one foot in front of the other!

Today, Weston took his first steps. It was such a bittersweet moment. He is 8 months and 19 days old. He was at his Nette's house when this happened. I am so happy that he is strong and growing as he is supposed to, but it is difficult that this baby stage is passing so quickly. It seems like we just brought him home from the hospital. He makes all sorts of sounds. His most recent started yesterday and he loves to display his "grunt"! It is such a joy to watch him grow and change everyday. The Lord is such a wonderful Designer and I continue to be amazed that this child developed in me. Little things that I have realized in being a mama are miracles.

another tooth!

This morning when I left W for work, I thought that he was shwoing the beginning signs of getting sick. At lunch, I checked my phone and my nana had texted me that another tooth had come through! that makes 3! this one is on top left. It amazes me every day how much he changes. he is beginning to let go of things and testing his balance. I can't believe how fast this all happens.

down on the farm...

Today was the most beautiful day! After church and lunch, I decided to take Weston to my grandparents' house to enjoy the weather and take in a walk. We strolled around the pasture as Aunt T played with the baby horse. Weston was able to get up close to the horses and cows. He talked to them, although it sounded like a lot of grunting. I am amazed at how fast he grasps on to things. He is pulling up on everything, crawling all over the place and eating like a champ! I can't hardly stand being away from him and Sunday nights seem to be the worst because I think about the days ahead that will mean me at work. Hard to believe that he will be 8 months old this week!

in motion

Weston picked up crawling today. He had been scooting for a while and now he is in motion. I can already tell that he is going to be hard to keep up with. Maybe I will lose some weight catching up with him (hahaha). He also got his second tooth yesterday. My little baby is growing up so fast. I can't believe how fast it all happens. It seems that everyday when I go to work, I come home to see something new that he is doing.

wow time slips by!

I am a horrible blogger! Weston is now 6 and a half months old. He is almost crawling, weighs 19.3 pounds, and is 28 inches long. What a joy it is to have him around. I find myself seeing everyday as a huge blessing with him and realize how much he means to my life. He now has 2 teeth on the bottom and handles teething like a champ. Eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, and meats, he is definately not a picky eater. We had a wonderful holiday season, as having him made the times so much more special. I really cannot imagine life without him now! I am going to try to be better at getting all of the milestons blogged so that one day we can look back and remember all of these fun times.