Friday, March 30, 2012

Growing & Sewing

GROWING.......

 March 12, 2012 (7 weeks)
 Snugging my mommy in my sling - March 12, 2012
So stinking cute! - March 14, 2012
 First Stroller ride - March 15, 2012
only lasted 1 block due to wind
 March 23, 2012 - Almost 9 weeks old. Westen Went to the Dr. on this day. He is 14 lbs (95th percentile - meaning he is bigger than 95% of other babies his age), 24.25 inches long (90th percentile), and his head was in the 75th percentile. The Dr. showed us the chart for his size and he is the size of an average 6 month old. :) He really doesn't eat all that much for his age....so I think he is going to be blessed with the genetics from his birth mom's family. Mommy is hoping he will get their tall-genes!
March 24, 2012 - Saturday morning snuggie with daddy
Melanee's mom found a box with an outfit in it that Melanee's Grandma Jan had given to them when Melanee was little. They thought Melanee was going to be a boy, so Grandma Jan bought a baby boy outfit. So, when she was not born a boy, Melanee's mom saved this little outfit. There was even a Suzy Zoo card in there in Mel's Grandma's handwriting...."To Thumper. Love Grandma and Grandpa". (Thumper is what Mel was called before she was born). So, on March 24, 2012, 27 years after the gift was given, Westen was able to wear this cute, vintage from 1985, never-before-worn outfit from his great Grandma Jan!


..........AND SEWING

My mommy bought a sewing machine, and ever since then, I spend a lot of time in this chair in my mommy's sewing room. Usually, I listed to the podcast of This American Life with my mom and eventually fall asleep.
 My mommy made me a cute jungle animal rag quilt (this is before the edges were washed, so it's much more "raggy" now)
 Mommy also made my soon-to-be-born cousin Kade (that's the name for now) his very own car seat cover. We can't wait for him to be born!
 My mommy also made this flower pillow. She is sewing like crazy.
My Mommy has also made me lots of cute onesies. We will have to dedicate a post just to the onesies. But today, March 30, 2012, when I am one day shy of 10 weeks, I get to wear daddy's favorite home-made onesie with a robot on it.


Wednesday, March 14, 2012

7 Weeks

At 7 weeks, we went on our first trip to Grandma Leah and Grandpa Don's house to visit them. Grandma Helen came with us too. Not only was it our first trip to their house, but it was also the first time Westen hung out outside!
It was so bright, even in the shade, that he had a hard time opening his eyes. But he really liked being outside.
We improvised a feeding system by using Grandma Leah's neck pillow and some blankets. (Don't you love this cute little outfit! Those shoes are my favorite piece of baby clothing we own!)
Getting tired of mom taking my official 7 week pictures.....
Still chubby and still cute. You can also see his little herniated belly button. Apparently it is really common and will go away on its own.
There were chores to be done....so we busted out the (super cute) sling and Westen went to sleep while I unloaded the dishwasher, washed dishes, cleaned, etc.
I love that he still sleeps with his hands by his face.
7 1/2 weeks - having his usual 9am-11am nap in his bunny swing. I also love that he sleeps with his feet curled in. Sometimes I can't help it...I have to kiss his cute little toes. (I have learned that even babies get sweaty stinky tootsies - so kisser beware!)

My 5th and 6th Week Adventures

My daddy looks so manly when he carries me around in my new pack. I like to be in there, but only for about 15 minutes at a time.

 On March 1st (at ~5 1/2 weeks old) I sat nicely in my chair while my mommy sewed a baby blanket at her friend Rebekah's house.

On Saturday March 3, we went out to Branden's parents house for dinner...when we got there, this is what we saw......
 Is this country enough for you Grandma Merrell? Kevin was in Camo, on a folding chair on the front lawn, with his pellet gun resting on the fence, shooting at birds in trees across the road. (oh yeah, and the farm truck full of hay adds to the ambiance). What you can't see in this picture is that Branden's dad was also participating. He was across the street near the trees scouting out birds for Kevin to shoot.

 After a sufficient number of birds had been bothered, Grandpa Ronnie gave Westen some love and kisses.
 Blake is getting so big and so fun. Grandma Colleen has lots of fun toys for him. Branden and Blake were chasing each other through this tent...and blake was giggling and squealing the whole time.
Then after dinner, we drove over to Branden's grandparents' house to have cake and ice cream for his grandpa's birthday. This is a picture of Westen's Great Grandpa Glenn Ashley. He is holding Branden's newest cousin, Lexi, and baby Westen. Westen is 6 weeks old in this picture and Lexi is about 6 months. She is a pretty small baby, but still...it's crazy that Westen is almost as big as she is! He is a big boy!