Monday, April 26, 2010

Help! I think that my parents are trying to poison me.

Dinner started out innocently enough. Yummy, familiar rice cereal. MMmm tasty pants.Then something went spectacularly awry. They fed me these things called organic sweet peas.Healthy? Nope, not even possible. Definitely poison from the inside out. I really don't know what I did to deserve this. I promise that I will never almost mostly not cry through nap time.I guess I am learning what Monday's are all about.

Love,
Westin

Saturday, April 24, 2010

5 Month Old Baby Boy!

Can you believe it, 5 months old?! Dalen and I can't believe it! Westin is just pure magic (even though right now he is screaming at the top of his little lungs because he is tired, but doesn't want to fall asleep :))! Aha, there are the teeth..both of them! You can see them best when he is crying...and since bedtime is going ever so smoothly, there you go! And yes, the shiny thing at the corner of his eye is definitely a tear. Poor little Bean.

He is getting more steady on his bum..sitting up that is. Now he still needs a wee bit of support. All by himself he can last 2-5 seconds without toppling over. But it's a start! After his bath, I sat him upright to put some lotion on his back, and low a behold he really didn't need my help afterall....
More importantly, Dalen has been working with him on reaching for toys. He has mastered the two handed momentum grabber.
And we are up...
And we got it!In honor of his 5 month mark, we went to Chapter One Bookstore and picked up some new books. One is a reiteration of the Tortoise and the Hare story, and one is called Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really BIG Adventure by Kristina Stephenson. Both were super fun to read to West tonight before bed.

Yesterday afternoon, I kicked off of work a little early, so that we could take West to the duck pond. West is still trying to figure out what the geese are squawking about, and isn't quite sure what to think of them.
We saw this little duck and didn't know what was wrong with his wings, but one thing is for sure, he probably has had better weeks. Hang in there little buddy!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Daddy's Home!

And we are so excited! West wowed Dalen with some new skills. West is very into faces--he grabs and laughs and screams with delight. He is also tugging on hair. [Note to Aunt Shannon: wear ear rings and necklaces at your own risk! :) My baby has mad grabbin' skills!].West finished all of his rice cereal tonight, and for "dessert" he got to play with balloons. Hooray!So far bedtime is going smoothly...which makes me look really good. No, no, I never went in and picked him up if he was screaming and not wanting to go to bed. Why would I jeopardize our finely tuned bedtime routine? Thank goodness Dalen is home!

Here are some bugs that Dalen brought home from his Orvis Guide Rendezvous. The scary one is a dragonfly nymph. It is amazing to me how gross it looks before it become something completely extraordinary. Okay, so we both are kind of dorks. Admittedly, Dalen is the cooler of us two dorks, so West probably has a chance. Good luck, kiddo! :) [Please note the beautiful hyacinth in the background...our first blooming bulb!]

Happy week, everyone!

We feel like celebrating...


Because it's D's Birthday!! Happy Birthday to a person whom we love very much and greatly appreciate! Hope that you have a fantastic day!Love,
Lisa, Dalen and Westin

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Home Alone!


Well, at least for one more day. This week has been super busy, but I have managed to take some pictures.
First and foremost...the B.O.B weather shield rocks! As Copper would agree, all are kept happy (content and sleeping, really) when going for a walk in rainy, cold weather. Thankfully, the weather turned and there was no need for the weather shield for the rest of the week...it was so warm today, we went (well the one of us in the B.O.B) sockless!

We had more adventures with rice cereal. Tuesday night went alot like Monday night.Then, Wednesday night found us enjoying rice cereal with such gusto that we even wanted to eat the bowl. Yum. Yum.

Daycare has gone really well. West is making friends and the other little kids love him. West is still a little overwhelmed by all of the activity at daycare. There is a little girl the same age as West, and they are learning to get along. They do not like tummy time facing each other. Tummy time is trying enough without looking at another little person that does not look like you, but is the same size. We are just getting used to our own images in the mirror for crying out loud! Apparently, Kirsten, the little baby girl, was bold enough to touch young West on the arm. This prompted West to have a complete meltdown. Luckily it was right before lunch, so I came and nursed him and he conked out for the next couple of hours and woke up mostly unscarred. The babies must have entered into some sort of peace treaty because there were no more incidences this week.

We are nearing bedtime, so I must wrap this up. I am so looking forward to Dalen being home. It has been great to have this time with West and I really hope that Dalen had fun on his trip. But, Mama is tired and looking forward to having her wing man back!

Special birthday wishes to Miss Madison Watson! This fine young lady turns the big 8 today!!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Adventures with Rice Cereal

Today we started West on some 'semi-solid' food....which means yummy rice cereal! Originally we were going to wait until after Dalen got back from Casper, Wyoming (Dalen abandons leaves us tomorrow morning). But events of this weekend made us push up the start date. What events? Well, the cutting of a second tooth. That's right..our little monkey has teeth. I have no idea what the little Bean will want for Christmas, but he has his two front lower teeth under control. Needless to say, little West was much happier today because his second tooth had broken the surface of the gum line..he was a total cranky monkey this past weekend, and you really can't blame the little guy. Two new teeth in just a week, and I thought that I had been busy. I will try really really hard this week to get pictures of the new teeth, but with all of the drooling and chewing it may be kind of hard. To gear up for rice cereal, we have been reading the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I don't know if it helped.....It is hard to say if he liked eating the rice cereal or if he just like chewing on the rubber spoon...and just like that, the novelty wore off and he was ready to be done with it. I am convinced that we got more food on him than in him.....He didn't stay sad for long...not with Daddy and Willis on the case!Hopefully, the rice cereal will go down much easier tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Rasta Beans

Last night we met our friend Dennis McIntyre (a retired Guide whose flies always produce fish and whose knowledge about the River and Life we rely upon) at the Brewery to enjoy fly tying night, and because Denny told us that he had a present for Beans. When we were on our way to Vermillion, Dennis and his wife Carlotta (who is running for her second term as County Commissioner; Go Carlotta!) were on the same plane to Minneapolis. Their final destination: sunny beautiful Florida. Denny loves Beans and always makes him laugh. In fact we think that it is because of Denny that West loves men with beards. In any case you can guess what Denny brought back from Florida for West.It is a true spring in the Bitterroot..wet, cold and wet. Did I mention wet? On our way home from daycare, we got caught in a 'snow storm'. Well not really, but it was a lot of snow for April. We got about half an inch in the yard in about an hour. The best thing about spring snow is that it all melts when it hits concrete..no shoveling! We need this moisture for a great summer, so lets hope that it keeps coming! The weather guard for our B.O.B came in today..there's nothing stopping us now! However, I would like to put in a request for warmer weather. There is a point during every Spring, in every northern dwelling individual (well most of us anyway), when you are just sick and tired of feeling cold all of the time. Well that time for me is almost here! Seriously. I see you bulbs peaking out of the ground, you chives coming up out of the earth, you lilac with your fresh green growth...I'm pulling for ya!