Happy 1st Birthday Weston John!!

Weston turns one year old today!!  What a fast year!  Over the weekend we headed to Lawrence for Weston's birthday celebration.

excited for his presents

tearing the paper

new wagon for his toys

Malinda and Jeremy with their birthday boy

yummy banana cake made by Malinda

Wes didn't like the frosting on his hand but liked the yummy cake

"why is everyone staring at me?"

cousin playtime

Weston one year ago!

so sweet:-)

So glad you are in our lives!!!

Hunter turns 6 months old!

What a big month Hunter has had!

Rolls from tummy to back and back to tummy...but prefers not to be laying on his tummy.
Sits all by himself and plays with his toys for long periods of time.
Eats lots of veggies like a champ.
Still not the best nap taker or night sleeper but is getting better at putting himself to sleep during the day.
His feet touch the ground in his jumper so he is starting to like jumping and bouncing and will try to do the same thing in his walker.

Stats:
weight - 18lbs, 7oz (75th percentile)
height - 28.5in (97th percentile)



At his well-baby checkup he got 4 shots but handled it a lot better than I thought he would!  Lots of tears  but after the shots were over and he was in my arms he was ok:-)

A few baby items I love...

There are several items that have truly helped Jeremy and me and Hunter too the past 6 months.  Just thought I would share a few of them incase someone reading might be wondering if "that" is a really needed...

The "NOISES" aka... heartbeat, ocean and giraffe

The heartbeat sound is a very familiar and soothing sound for a newborn.  We made sure to have the heartbeat sound at the hospital for Hunter and since then, he has slept with it every night.  Other sounds that the "Lamb" makes are ocean (we use at bath time) and whales (use on high volume for uncontrollable crying fits...it really gets H's attention and calms him down) and the other sound is a rainforest or something but we never use it.  For now we use the noisemaker out of the lamb...it's a lot more handier that way.
But we use the giraffe with the noisemaker in it.  The giraffe goes everywhere with us.  It has a white-noise sound which is great for helping H get to sleep and stay asleep.  The other sounds are more for playtime.  Its a calming beat for babies to enjoy:-)

Fisher Price – Rock N Play aka “the taco” by Jeremy

So handy!  Easy to keep Hunter in any room that we were in when he was a newborn.  We still use it some, but he will outgrow it soon.

Hunter’s "TV"

For the first 5 months we had this on his changing table and turned it on whenever we changed him.  We would also bring it around the house for him to listen to and watch.  Now it’s on his crib.  He really enjoys watching and listening to it. 

The monitor

I really don’t know how I would get any sleep if we didn’t have this.  I’m a worry wart and would be in his room all the time checking on him.  It’s great to be able to actually see Hunter and know he is ok.  Totally worth the money spent on this! 

Wipe Warmer

This item is on many of the “don’t waste your money” lists.  I will say I wouldn’t pay full price for it but $3 at a consignment sale was a great deal for me!  When Hunter was a newborn, I felt so bad using cold wipes on his tush so I had to try this thing out.  A lot of people say it dries out the wipes but I haven’t had a problem.  So if you find a used one for sale, you might want to try it out for yourselfJ

Bow

The Best Dog EverJ  He can keep Hunter entertained and laughing for minutes.  It’s the cutest thing and I can’t wait for them to be buds.  Hunter will also keep Bow entertained with all the reflections put off by his toys.  Bow has a thing for reflections. 

There are so many other items that help with this little guy!  I really can't think of any that have been a "bust".

the aftermath...

Most of Hunter's Christmas presents.  One lucky little boy!!

Bow and most of his gifts

Christmas 2011

We are lucky to have both families in town, so splitting the Christmas holiday is easy...Christmas Eve with the Slacks and Christmas day with the Gribbins.

This Christmas was extra special with all the new babies:-)  Christmas Eve was spent at my parents house.  Lots of fun visiting with my siblings, parents and grandma and lots of fun watching the "cousins" play.  Cole is so good with his little cousins.  He says the cutest things about them!  He says that Hunter smells like heaven:-)  but he will ask when the last time was that I brushed Bow's teeth.  He commented on how good Wes smelled, but I can't remember his exact quote.  He must have a sensitive nose.  I need to make note of the other things he says.  We had our usual Chinese Food Feast from Pine and Bamboo, yummy as always.  And a night full of present opening.  Hunter got lots of fun things and is looking forward to playing with all of his new toys.

Gran and Gramps with the grand-boys

Bow posing for the camera with all the presents

Bow and Cool Cousin Cole 

Wes on the go

Wes showing his momma the pictures:-)

Hunter chillin 

the boys...Hunter is trying to pull Wes back for the photo;-)

On Christmas morning Jeremy and I woke up to Hunter talking sweet to himself.  Jeremy grabbed our new video camera (thanks to Larry and Diane for the early gift!) and we filmed Hunter for his first Christmas morning.  Growing up my dad always had the camera on us, so we will continue the tradition on Christmas and every other event.  Hunter and Bow got awesome gifts from Santa.

That afternoon, we headed to Jeremy's parents for a yummy dinner and presents galore! Wyatt was so excited for his presents and Cally was getting into opening the presents too.  Next year will be even more fun when Hunter and Nora are in on the action.  Again, Hunter got some awesome gifts from everyone!

Hunter playing with Gma before his cousins arrived

Hunter hanging with PaPa

Bow being a good doggy

Hunter with his Great Grandma

Wyatt with one of his favorite new toys

Diane with a sign that Jeremy made

Cally trying on Shannon's new hat

Nora sleeping

Holiday Outfits

Love dressing Hunter in holiday outfits!

Hat is a little small:-)

Hunter turns 5 months old

A few days before Christmas, Hunter turned 5 months old!  I will continue to say each month that I don't know where the time has gone.  He brings so much joy to my life and makes me smile even at his 3am wakings:-)

This month:

• he has mastered rolling from his tummy to his back
• sits on his own for a few seconds
• Eats rice cereal like a champ and soon we will start on some vegetables
• He continues to notice Bow and laughs hard when Jeremy is playing with Bow.  
• Grabs for things, including Bow's hair.  Bow is learning not to sit close to Hunter
• Usually wakes up twice if not 3 times during the night.  We started month 5 badly...for a week he woke up every 1-2 hours and wouldn't go back to sleep.  Some nights I just held him while he slept.  Still doesn't nap much during the day but will throw in a long nap about once a week.
• Loves bath time and splashes most of the water out of his tub.  I usually look like I've fallen into the tub b/c I'm so wet from the splashes.