Wesley Arlo- 9 Months

Oh man, where do I start. Nine months. 3/4 of a YEAR. Whoa, that happened all too fast. This past month, I think my baby got on the big boy highway and I need him to slow down ASAP. (doesn’t every mom say that?)

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Today, Wes had his 9 month check up and weighed in at 21.7 lbs and 29.1″ long. They’re not SUPER accurate, but at least it gives me a ballpark. (His next round of shots are at 12 months and they are way better at weighing and measuring him there!)

He’s in size 5 diapers (they’re huge, but he fills them. I bet he’s glad I told you that). Most of his clothes are in the 18 month range, but it depends on the brand. He hasn’t been going through sizes as quickly, so it has been way better on my wallet. But way harder on the washing machine 😉

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Eating: still breastfeeding 2-3x/day, 2 meals of baby food/puffs/smoothies, and a full bottle before bed. He’ll have some water here and there, too. We’re starting to incorporate more foods he can eat on his own, but I want to make sure he’s still getting enough calories for that big belly!

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Sleeping: A 45ish min nap at 10:30am and an hour-ish nap at 2:30pm. Bed is anywhere from 7/7:30pm-7:30/8am without interruptions. EXCEPT this past week where he has been waking at night for a feed (growth spurt?!). He’s used to being held until he falls asleep which usually takes no more than 5 minutes.

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Play: He’s still obsessed jumping in the jumperoo. OBSESSED. He’s also really enjoying a ton of new toys he got for Christmas. His finger dexterity is getting a bit better so he can actually play with the toys rather than smack at them…even though that’s what he does most of the time.

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Tricks: He will ‘hoo’ when his toy owl does, he can blow raspberries, and he uses his hand to blab with his mouth. Sounds boring, but I promise it’s super hilarious to watch as his mom :). He loves to take off his bib and chew on the velcro part. Or just wave it around like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

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He has been trying to crawl lately! So far, he’s only managed to get one knee up so most of the time he’s rolling like a bowling ball all over the floor. Note to self: start looking into buying baby gates. Note to self #2: baby gates will also be great for the dogs. Why didn’t I get them sooner?

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And teething! Whoa. His front bottom right tooth finally broke through on Friday January 7th and the thing is razor sharp. No wonder kids have a hard time with teething- it’s like knives in their mouths! With teething comes drooling- as you may very well notice in most of these pictures.

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He’s still really good in the car and prefers to be carried in the Ergo as opposed to the stroller when we’re out running errands. I don’t mind it so much because it’s hard as hell to push a stroller through snow-packed parking lots.

He’s getting better and better with the doggies (and vice versa). Some mornings we have some puffs on the floor and Layla is his best friend. Reggie, on the other hand, has eaten entire canisters of puffs so he’s not allowed near us when we eat. BUTTHEAD.

I’ve noticed Layla will come in his room when I am in there with Wes, and Reggie will go in his room when Tyler is in there with him.

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He still loves being on the change table, although he’s about an inch away from no longer fitting on it. Still doesn’t love stuff going over his head, but giggles like a maniac when getting everything else done (diaper, pants, socks..).

He loves to be bounced around, thrown in the air, and swung back and forth between my legs. Basically, he’s fun-loving and adventurous. I can already see his dating profile now. No wait, he won’t ever date. He’s my baby!

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He’s mama’s #1 fan. Do you know how happy that makes me? VERY.

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He is so happy. Except when I have to use the snot sucker…then he hates me for about .000002 seconds. So I make it up to him with snuggles and kisses. And bath time is one of his favorites! We spend a good stretch of time in the tub with his bubbles and toys and floating books and he loves to splash. Side note: I actually got in the tub with him once because A) I was cold, and B) I wanted in on the fun, too!

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He’s so observant! Everyone we’ve met has commented on how much it looks like he’s soaking everything in. (And then they’ll try to hold him at which point he will cry until he’s back in my arms, but that’s a whole other story..) He can recognize the different rooms in the house, loves looking (and patting) himself in the mirror, and staring at his night light. Why he thinks me turning it off every morning is the greatest thing ever, I’ll never know.

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He’s the best little boy (ahh I said it…’boy’. He’s no longer a baby! I’m so sad. I’m crying. Please pass the wine) and I get all tingly just thinking about how lucky I am to have him. Borderline obsessed since I scroll through photos of him on my phone every night before bed.

I’d like to think that his next monthly update will tell of how he’s crawling and gobbling more foods, but then that means another month has gone by and it just needs to slows the heckkkkkk dowwwwwwwn.

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I love you Mr. Wes, you’re the best little guy! (He’s not reading this now, but I’m sure he will eventually…)

In case you missed it:

 

 

Weekender

How is the weekend over already? I swear to God it was only two seconds ago that I woke up and was excited to eat pancakes! Another low-key weekend for us..dang cold weather is keeping us indoors more than I’d like.

Friday: Pancakes in peace. Wes didn’t wake up until almost 8:30 so I was able to clean up the kitchen, make breakfast AND eat it in peace and quiet.

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I took a peak out the blinds and noticed how frosty white everything was! I opened the patio door to snap a pic and WHOA- it was pretty but FRIGIDLY cold out. Brr

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Wes’s first tooth even poked through! It’s very tough to see, but it’s there. So of course, photos were taken to celebrate. Love this sweet little boy!

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We braved the cold to run some errands- Co-op had a great sale on Vega so I had to make sure to pick some up. Wes wore his dino hat- I really need to take a pic of him in it because it’s so cute and I can’t help but laugh when he’s in it.

I was able to watch more Making A Murderer while Wes went down for a nap. BONUS: I had a Wild Rose Brewery Cowbell to enjoy while I watched! Tyler spent a good chunk of the evening painting all the trim we had picked up last weekend. Do home renos ever end? The guy is seriously busting his butt ALL THE TIME with something around the house! (PS: Thankful for that. I’ll stick to doing laundry and cleaning the bathrooms, tyvm)

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Dinner was super simple: Chicken roasted in Mums (<—SO GOOD), potatoes and broccoli. We watched a few episodes of Homeland then went to sleep.

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Saturday: Did I mention Tyler’s the best? He pretty much TOLD me to take a bath before Wes went down for his nap and to take as long as I wanted. I used one of the bath bombs he got me for Christmas and abused some me time for a whole hour. It was glorious.

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Meh- I just realized I took practically ZERO photos on Saturday.

During the afternoon, Tyler did more work on cutting and installing some of the trim while I took Wes grocery shopping. We played around for a bit when we got home, then I took the dogs for a walk while Wes napped.

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Tyler made lasagna for dinner- we stuffed our faces- then plopped on the couch downstairs to watch The Intern.

Sunday: The lasagna didn’t agree with me so well, and I wound up getting sick during the night (could’ve been the mix of that plus the prosecco I drank during the movie?) Yuck. I took a SUPER LONG nap in the morning then made myself a delicious brunch plate.

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The extra sleep + tons of water + food = much better feeling Jen.

We had the games on downstairs while Tyler was in/out of the garage cutting more trim. We’re a split household–> I’m a Seahawks fan and he’s a Vikings fan, so the game was pretty intense to watch. Not gonna lie though, I was sorta rooting for the Vikes because they have been having a pretty great season. Bummer ending…but my team’s still in it!

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During halftime, I decided to throw together my first ever batch of baked doughnuts! I chose to use this recipe– it was so simple to put together and they turned out GREAT. Like….super.freaking.delicious. Dare I say better than Tim Hortons? Yup.

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I will definitely be making this again in the VERY near future. And then all different kinds. I’m predicting a donut phase. Any flavor suggestions? Recipes to share? Send them my way, please!

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After these were done, I exercised extreme self-control by heading downstairs to workout BEFORE enjoying one…or two…of them.

We had Mucho Burrito for dinner (I’d much rather make food, but we were both STARVING and didn’t want to wait for meat to thaw. And we didn’t really want to cook either). Wes had dinner, his bath, then continued his weekend adventure of attempting to get on his knees to crawl but mostly managing to only roll all over the place.

The dogs got a walk before bed, but we sort of jogged it since I wasn’t much in the mood to be outside. Poll: Is anyone else guilty of keeping their PJs on under warm layers? I do it almost every time I walk the dogs.

Time to hit the sheets, I’m pooped!

How was your weekend?

HNY

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you had a good one! As for us- we had a steak dinner, played Life, and were in bed before midnight. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Please tell me you had a glass of champagne for me?

Anyhoo- just popping in to start of the New Year and to share some more Wes photos!

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As you can tell, he’s super excited about 2016. 😉

Christmas Weekender

Hi friends! Long time, no talk. I totally lost track of time with the holidays and here we are- back on a Monday with a little catch up from the past few days.

BUT FIRST….Just a reminder to enter my giveaway for a FREE 20×30 custom canvas photo print! It ends Tuesday, so you NEED to enter- it’s super easy, so why not?!!

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Ahhhh Christmas. So many presents! Wes is one spoiled little boy. And I was so excited to share some traditions with him for his first holiday season.

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One of the MANY gifts my mom sent for Wes was a cloth book and the kid was OBSESSED with it for a good 3 days. More for the putting it in the mouth than the reading it, but I’ll still call that a success.

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He also got a stuffed animal (and college $$) from my godparents that he gnawed on for an entire afternoon. The bunny…not the $$. 😉

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I managed to pick up some art supplies as Michael’s amongst all the Christmas shopping craziness and did 3 sets of green footprints to commemorate Xmas 2015.

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Tyler came home early from work on Xmas Eve and surprised me with some hard root beer. YAY! It was really good. PS: We had a super ‘festive’ Christmas Eve by having tacos for dinner and watching Sicario after Wes went to bed. Feliz Navidad?!

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…but starting the tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas before bed!

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Christmas was nice and quiet for us…we didn’t finish opening presents until 11:30am! Some photos to do the talking:

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Xmas jammies!

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Santa brought Wes a wagon full of goodies and he dove right into them as soon as we got up in the morning. Surprisingly, he loves that wooden toys the best! And my mom got him the elf jammies 🙂

And then there were the other billionty gifts- clothes, toys, clothes, toys….SO MANY CLOTHES AND SO MANY TOYS.

Redirecting the attention to me: Tyler spoiled me rotten AGAIN this year. Not only did he get me everything (minus the subscription service) on my wish list, but he got me MORE- a waffle maker, mandolin slicer, bath bombs, bio oil, lulu gift card…..it seems like there’s so much!

My favorite favorite favorite gift was his take on my request for a personalized gift from Wes– a Tiffany’s cuff bracelet with Wes’s initials engraved! So precious.

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We had a delicious steak dinner and called it a night! I had a wonderful first Christmas as a family of three (or….five. The dogs were spoiled beyond belief with treats treats treeeeeats). I am psycho and did a workout in the basement after Wes went to sleep while we also watched a few episodes of Longmire. Psycho in the sense that I just wanted to move a bit since it was too cold to walk the dogs!

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Saturday: It was another slow morning- Elmo had it a bit rough.

We meandered over to Home Depot and scored some Christmas decorations on clearance and some other odds and ends around the house. Wes officially prefers to be carried in the Ergo over the stroller which makes for an interesting way of attempting to drink coffee 😉

I took the dogs for a long afternoon walk then we Skyped Tyler’s family so Wes could meet his cousin!

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We had chicken parm for dinner and Tyler got me yet another beer to enjoy (which I did).

After Wes went to sleep, we watched The Walk and headed to bed.

Sunday: Only one photo from the day, but I think it’s a pretty decent one:

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I put my new waffle maker to use and made a batch of buttermilk waffles and they were. THE.BEST.

Tyler was a doll and pretty much gave me a day for myself because I was able to head over to the mall (BIG MISTAKE…the crowds!!!! Arghhhhh). I returned some stuff and used a gift card for a few pairs of the best leggings EVER from Old Navy (pics soon, I am currently typing this in my jammies in the basement and watching Girlfriends Guide to Divorce. My new favoritest show.)

I rounded out the afternoon with a workout, walked the dogs, and sushi for dinner.

Man. What a week. And what’s even better- Tyler’s off from work this week!

How was your Christmas? Best gift? Any good eats? Family traditions?

Weekender

Hey friends! Happy Christmas week! I am so so so so so so excited for this week because I just love the holiday season and can’t wait to experience it with Wes for his first time. Anyhoo…our weekend was actually a bit low key, but it was JUST right for the three of us (whoops…five of us if you count the pups!) Here’s what we were up to…

Friday

I was really hoping Wes would stick to the loose schedule he’s been on lately, and the kid didn’t disappoint! After he woke up from his morning nap and ate, we hopped in the car and headed up to Airdrie so I could buy one of his Xmas gifts. It was pretty snowy out and I skidded on an offramp which was SCARY. I took a different way home and was glad to be off the roads after that.

During Wes’s afternoon nap, I relaxed in the tub with a slice of Cheesecake. Umm..can’t hate that!

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Tyler made some delicious black bean chili for dinner and we watched Mad Max in 3D downstairs before heading to bed.

Saturday

I made an appointment for the dogs to get their nails clipped at our vet because they were having a fundraiser. Tyler ended up walking them over while Wes and I did some serious playing.

Later, it was Wes’s last session in the pool. It was Tyler’s turn to be in the water with him an I was kinda jealous- they did some fun stuff! I’ve decided not to enroll in the next session because weekday classes are around his nap time and I want to have Saturdays free so we can have options for other activities.

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Tyler made a big Costco run while I stayed home for Wes’s afternoon nap. I may or may not have taken another bath while he was sleeping. 😉

Apparently I had Tyler do a lot on Saturday because he also made us pizza for dinner! (Ok, I guess he is useful! haha)

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Before Wes went to bed, we pushed him back and forth on his car and he LOVED it. If you haven’t already seen it, check out my Instagram feed for some of my Wes on Wheels videos!

We watched Christmas Vacation and called it a night!

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Sunday

The little one slept 13.5 hours! Good kid. I did some odd and ends around the house before he finally woke up. I guess I could have gone back to bed, but I’ve been averaging some seriously good hours of sleep this week so I didn’t feel the need.

Tyler made us some breakfast and we hung out a bit while football was on…….all day.

During one of Wes’s naps, I headed over to Shoppers. Can you believe it has been over a year since I last bought makeup? I hardly wear the stuff. I wound up purchasing some mascara, foundation, an eyeshadow kit and a brow kit. Holy cow is makeup expensive!

Once home, I whipped up a batch of peanut butter blossoms. They are gooooooood. (PS: Hershey’s chocolates in Canada are WAY better than the US)

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We had pork tenderloin for dinner and umm…..I may have taken another bath while Tyler fed and put Wes to bed. hehe

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How was your weekend??