The little dude is 6 months!

This little (well not so little) dude is 6 months old. I cannot believe that six months has already gone by. It has flown. Wes is such a sweet baby. He is really easy going and just smiles all day long.   

He is starting to sit up. But after a little while he usually ends up doing this...

and then he falls over. Which really irritates him. He likes to be able to sit up because then he can see what Anna is doing at all times. :)

Wes is super strong and loves to be on his stomach. He has already started scooting around a little bit. We are not super excited for him to start crawling. As soon as he figures it out, he is going to be gone. I know he is going to be fast and Anna already keeps me on my toes.  

Wes LOVES his sister and tries to always see her. When he wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is look around for Anna. They talk to each other at night before they go to sleep. It is the cutest thing I have ever heard. They both just laugh and laugh. Wes thinks that Anna is the funniest person in the whole world and laughs at everything she does.  

We recently took Wes to the doctors for a well-baby check up. He weighs 20 pounds and is 26 inches long. He is a big baby. :) Wes had to get shots while we where there, and Anna sobbed hysterically while he got them. She yelled at the nurse and told her to stop. It was really sweet that she loves him and protects him. 

I love this picture. We had been at the park for a couple of hours
and he was done being there.  I love his grumpy face. 

We just feel so blessed to have him. He truly is such a gift to us and we love everyday we spend with him. He gives me the most slobbery kisses and it just melts my heart.  

All about Cinderella

Anna is my entertainment all day long. She makes me laugh and laugh. She has already renamed herself. Whenever I ask her what her name is she tells me "Cinderella". So in the store when I say, "Anna, you need to get in the cart," she turns to me without hesitation and says, "Mom, my name is Cinderella." So then she won't do what I say until I call her Cinderella (well lets be honest, she wont do what I say even when I call her Cinderella. She has a very independent spirit, in other words she is spoiled. ;) )

Getting ready to leave for church. She always has several bracelets and necklaces on to go to church. Accessories are very important at our house. 

The other day she was dancing around and suddenly she stopped. Anna then turned to me and said, "Mom you need to clap when I finish dancing." So I hurried and started to clap. Anna then curtsied and told me that I need to give her a rose. I said to her, "What?" I was a little dumbfounded that she would ask me for a rose. She then proceeded to tell me that all ballerina's get roses when they finish dancing and that she needed a rose too. I told her that we didn't have a rose, to which she sighed and said, "just give me a pretend one." It is really hard when your two year old is smarter than you and knows it.

Anna and her friend Luke

Anna loves Wes. However, if I am taking pictures of Wes, Anna gets right in front of the camera. She is kind of a camera hog. I have no idea where she gets this from. I never did this to David when we where little.

She is standing right in front of Wes. I was trying to get a picture of him in his boucer. 

Speaking of David, this picture of Anna and Wes reminds me of Dave and I when we where little.

Anna really is the best helper. She likes to get me stuff for Wes and help cook dinner. Anna sets the table every night. She just figured out how to make her bed. It is pretty amazing. Here she is posing on her bed after she made it.

(Go Ducks!)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Happy St. 

Sick :(

It has been a crazy week! All weekend long Anna had the flu. I think this has been the sickest she has been in her life so far. Being a mom is one the best things ever, except for when your child has the flu and you have to clean up all the "stuff" that keeps coming out of her!

She HATES going to the doctor's. So we always have to bribe her to go. Hence the Rapunzel barbie in the picture. (The Tiana barbie is from Aunt Kiley, who is easily manipulated a sweet aunt :) ) Since Anna was sick we had to keep Wes away from her, which is easier said than done. They love each other and Anna likes to kiss on him all day long. We all like to kiss on him. Poor kid gets kissed to death every day. 

Four Months!

This little guy turned 4 months last week. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I love my Wes so much! He truly is the sweetest baby.

Wes loves, loves, loves to eat. If I let him, he would eat all day long! He eats 7 oz. every three to four hours.

Anna and Wes love sitting on Anna's chair together. We play a game where I take turns tickling each one and they both love watching the other one get tickled. Wes is also obsessed with his thumb. He doesn't suck on it, he chews on it all day long.

Wes loves his big sister. She makes him smile and laugh more than anyone else. He watches everything she does and then just smiles and smiles. Anna loves him too! She is always smothering loving on him. She loves giving him kisses and hugs. Anna also takes her responsibilities as a big sister very seriously. She takes care of Wes's every need and also lets me know how to take care of him.  She lets me know when he is hungry or when he is crying. She also lets me know how to feed him, change him, burp him, etc. :) I am so lucky to have such a good helper around!

Here is Wes after Anna dressed him up. The bracelets are supposed to be his necklace. Poor kid, I am afraid that is the first of many makeovers from his sister.

A few more things about Wes:

• Wes loves to have books read to him. He reads a book with his Dad every night.
• He has just found his voice and LOVES to use it. It is the cutest thing I have ever heard.
• He sings when Anna sings the ABC song, but only when Anna sings it. 
• Wes loves his toy mat. He can now grab the toys and swing them all around. 
• He sleeps through the night! YAY!
• He wears 6 to 9 months clothes (he is a big boy)!

I love our Wes! He wakes up smiling in the morning and never stops. He is a special boy and we are so lucky to have him. 

Here is a short video of Wes talking. I couldn't get it to turn around, sorry!

DC Fun

This weekend we went to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum with some of our friends. It was really cool to see all of the WWII planes and all of the other exhibits. This is the first "tourist" thing we have done here in DC.

Anna had the best time. There was a lot of space for the kids to run around. She completely wore herself out. :) 

Here are some pictures of our sweet kids. 

I think this picture is so funny. They are both watching the basketball game.

I love this sweet baby. He is the happiest guy. He always smiles and has the cutest sparkly eyes. Wes loves his play mat. He can now hit the toys with his hands and he thinks that he is pretty cool.

Anna loves Wes, and he loves Anna. He always tries to have conversations with her. He coos and babbles at her. Anna then smothers him with kisses.

 Anna has had a hard time adjusting without my family around. When we first got here she asked for my mom all day long. I had to keep telling her that we live to far away to got to grandmas house (sad).  So she started punishing us by not sleeping. It was an exhausting couple of weeks, but she is finally on a schedule (sort of).

Anna is the best helper. She loves to help me set the table, fold clothes, dust and take care of her brother. I dont know what I would do without her! We just love her.

I love this cute face! 

"My hands are sticky!"

Our camera is blurry, but you can still see his cute smile. 

Love those cheeks!

Good/Bad Changes

In the last month, she has left on a mission :(

(One of the saddest days of my life.)



We have moved here.

Which resulted in this not sleeping anymore.

Lots of fun new adventures! (Some more fun than others)

Wes

While I was pregnant with Jacob, Eric and I visited with several doctors to decide if it was possible for us to have more children. We where told that while it was rare for this to have happened to us again, it would be a possibility to have more kids. However, we would have a higher chance of having another child with Anencephaly or other neural tube disorders. Having just gone through all of the emotions of being told that we where going to lose our second child, I didn't feel like I could do this all again.

Not only is it hard on you, but it is so hard on your family. I knew that I could do it again, but it was so difficult to have to tell all of our family members that we where going to experience another loss.

So with this in mind, Eric and I decided that we where going to adopt our next child. We started looking into different avenues of adoption, but we kind of came to a stand still in June. First, I was still pregnant with Jacob, and second, adoption applications are a pretty hefty process. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can have a baby, but if you want to adopt one you have to go through some major hoops. The paperwork is insane. Then the classes you have to take on adoption, the home study, the personal interviews, etc. are all very time consuming.

So we kind of cooled looking into adopting. It was at this time we met the most wonderful girl (I am withholding her name to protect her). I won't bore you with the details of how we came to know her, but I will tell you this, she truly is the most amazing, beautiful girl I have ever known. We met her one afternoon in June and as soon as we met it felt like I had known her forever. Eric and I felt an instant connection to her. It was like she was a missing member of our family that we had just found, and in reality she was.

In November, she gave birth to our sweet Wes.  I was privileged to be with her and her wonderful mother as she delivered him. I was in awe of how strong and brave she was. She flew through labor and did it like she does everything else, gracefully.

She stayed in the Hospital for two days with Wes and as it came to the second day, it was time for him to be placed with us. As she placed Wes from her arms to my arms, I was overwhelmed by the love and gratitude I have for her. She has given Eric and I the ultimate gift, one that we will treasure forever. She will always have a special place in my heart and will be forever a part of our little family.

Here are pictures of our sweet Wes. He is the sweetest baby. He loves to be held and cuddled a little too much! :)