Randon Picture Post

 Westen loves his baby food. He eats all flavors and eats it fast!

Audrey came to visit us a few weeks ago. Westen was showing off some new tricks...like holding his bottle.

 Westen naps in the morning soon after he wakes up for the day (which is really weird), so on the weekends, he "sleeps in" with daddy.

 At night-time, his daddy reads him a book before bed. This night, he got in a comfy cuddle with his daddy :)

On June 22, we went to the new outdoor mall, City Creek, in SLC. Westen and mommy cooled off in the fountain.

 Our little bowlegged baby tried to stand up with his cute baby camo keens on.

 The reason we were in SLC was for Mel's cousin Kristi's wedding. Westen burped really loud half-way through the grooms song performance....was actually really funny.

Mel's uncle Rick (Richard Cleveland) is an amazing artist. We comissioned his skills for something a little simpler than he's used to painting. He painted a teddy bear in Mel's room when she was little, so we were excited when he agreed to paint a mural for Westen's room.

It's almost done, I just have to paint the giraffe, Elephant and Zebra's eyes and mouths. Turned out cute!

5 Month Pictures!

We finally got some more professional pictures of Westen and our cute little family. He was sleepy, so he wasn't his usual smiley self, but we did get some cute pictures!

(Pictures were taken by Lori Romney (loriromneyphotography.com))

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experiencing New Things

In the past 2 weeks, Westen has been experiencing lots of new things....

 He is now able to hold his head up, so mommy put together his new jumperoo zoo bouncer. It lights up and plays songs. He really likes to jump and kick. He can also roll over now!

For some reason, the picture of Westen in his bumbo chair reminds me of my Grandpa Russ everytime I look at it and it makes me smile!

 At his 4 month appointment last week, he weighed in at 17.1 lbs (90th percentile), 27.75 inches (95th percentile), and his head was in the 75th percentile. His Dr. says he is healthy and growing well ;). Now that he is 4 months old he is eating rice cereal now! This week we will try some fruit and veggie baby food. He has never had a problem eating, as you can tell, so no surprise that he has eaten with a spoon since the first try!

He is also starting to try to hold his bottle. He still doesn't understand that he needs to hold it up in the air, but he is getting there.

We also has discovered his toes. He grabs onto them and sometimes gets frustrated when he can't get his foot free and forgets that he is the one holding it. It's kind of funny. His toes are also yummy to chew on apparently, and double as good nose pickers.

We planned to go camping with our friends over Memorial Day Weekend in our new trailer! So, Westen and mommy went to the store to stock up on trailer stuff....he was so good. He slept for an hour while mommy filled up the cart around him.

 We didn't end up camping with our friends because it was too windy. Monday was the only nice day, so we drove up to Strawberry Reservoir with Uncle Kevin, Aunt Amanda (with Cousin Kade in her belly) and cousin Blake.

 We attempted fishing by the lake, but it was too windy, so we went up to a campspot in the trees and lounged in chairs and walked around.

 Even though we didn't get to take our new trailer camping, we did take the Excursion on its first family trip.

 Cousin Blake is getting so big and he is very nice with Westen. He loves Westen so much and likes to cuddle him when he can! We can't wait for baby cousin Kade to be born (in July!)

 Westen did such a good job outside. This was his first real outdoor adventure. He looked extra chubby in his little fishing hat :)

We are so glad that Westen is in our family! He makes us so happy and we couldn't have imagined a happier, cuter baby with a better birth family! We are so blessed! We are excited for summer to be here, so hopefully there will be a lot more pictures to post in the coming months!

Mother's Day Tribute to Audrey

Audrey's sister, Connie, was with us when Westen was born. She took some pictures of everyone and put them into a beautiful video. Check it out:

http://conniesowards.blogspot.com/2012/05/mother-i-admire-most.html

Happy Birth Mother's Day Audrey!!!

The Saturday before Mother's Day is Birth Mother's Day. Our agency hosts a birth mother's day walk at Provo High every year. So, we went with our family and Audrey's family to celebrate!

 Westen was sporting his "I love my birth mom" onesie!

 We are so grateful that Audrey and her family are so active in our lives! They always make an effort to some see us and we love and appreciate them for that. (In the picture: Audrey's brother Alan, her mom Barbara, Audrey, and of course baby Westen!)

 Audrey's family (BYU fans) were glad Cosmo came.....we (Utah fans) made an exception and allowed our child to be in a picture with Cosmo :)

Uncle Kevin and Cousin Blake (Behind Cosmo) and this cute little adopted boy that talked to everyone!

 The mommies. We are go glad that this year we have a name to write on our "In Honor Of..." paper! And also glad to have an excuse to make Westen's cute little "I love my birth mom" banner for his stroller :)

 After one lap around the track, all of the adopted kids meet in the middle of the field, get a balloon, and release it in honor of their birth mom!

 We gave Westen a balloon. It took him a few seconds to let it go, so it was a bit behind the other baloons.

 Happy Birth Mother's Day to the best birth mom! We couldn't ask for a kinder, smarter, more beautiful, or more driven birth mom! We love Audrey!

 We are also grateful for our families who came to support us!

 Westen made it for about an hour and then he was out. As soon as Audrey's arm got tired, he took a little snooze in his stroller.

After the walk, we (including Audrey and her boyfriend Kevin), went to Grandma Leah and Grandpa Don's new house and had a yummy BBQ to celebrate Mommy's birthday, Daddy's birthday, Mother's Day and of course, Birth Mother's Day.

Audrey's Visit & The Zoo!

 Audrey came up a few weekends ago to visit. She visited with us 3 days in a row. We are always glad when she comes to visit. It's an awesome feeling when someone looks at your baby and you know that they love him as much as you do!

 On Saturday we went to the Zoo with Audrey's family and Branden's family.

 It was hot, but we made it!

 In May, Branden's brother Kevin graduated with his Bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix. We are huge believers in higher education and we are so proud of Kevin. We are also super excited that Audrey starts school this summer. She moves into her first apartment today!!!

 Random nap time picture :). (Our kitty is not ill....we shave her on purpose every spring....too hairy)

Westen is getting so strong! He loves when he has tummy time and he is getting strong enough to push himself up. He was smiling and laughing at his daddy. So cute!