1/2 Birthday!

Wes is 6 months old, wow that went fast! I can't believe what a big boy he is. (pictures to follow - I will add them soon!)

Updates for this last month:

Wes can sit up on his own!  He is getting quit balanced.  He can't quit pull himself up yet to a sitting position, he needs help.  But once up he can keep sitting for several minutes.

He is finally spending quit a bit of time on his tummy, and I think crawling is just around the corner.  He is starting to scoot backwards and can kick-off something sturdy and scoot forward.

He is sleeping much better, waking up only once or twice in the night... Last night he made it all the way to 4:15 am before he woke up!  He is sleeping solely in his crib now, all night... a very hard transition for this mama, but I do think both of us sleep better (Well I know for a fact I do).  He does scare me quit a bit though... He always pulls his blanket up over his face.  I check on him often, and he usually always has pulled the blanket right back up over his face.  He loves to sleep on his stomach too.  Now that he can roll over, I usually lay him down on his back and he immediately flops over on his stomach.  It's kinda cute, but it still worries me, so I usually try to roll him back over on his stomach. 

His sleeping better might be due to the fact that he is eating a lot more solid food.  He is enjoying rice cereal and some fruit for breakfast and quit a bit more for dinner then usual.  I'm about to start adding a lunch too, and maybe this will help him sleep all the way thru the night, yay!!!

He also said his first word! Mama - clear as a bell and perfect :) I can only hope he knew what he said and said it intentionally... but his "mom mom mom mom" ramblings would lead me to believe it was just a coincidence.  But in reality his speech is developing so fast - he is making new sounds every day.  He is starting to play with his lips quit a bit, spitting and blowing bubbles, all part of speech development.  It's so cute!

He is really becoming interested in Jack.  He watches him very intently and when he is near he reaches out and grabs on to him.  Jack is becoming more fond of Wes too, which is good.  At first he didn't want anything to do with the baby, but now that Wes can pay attention to him things are changing.  They will be best friends before ya know it!

I think that is it for now - I can't wait to see what next month brings!

Stanley, Idaho

Stanley, Idaho – Gateway to the Sawtooth Mountains.  Such an amazing place to spend the summer of 2011.  The views of the mountains are stunning.  It is clear why they call them the Sawtooths, the jagged ridges of this mountain range is truly amazing.

37 miles south of the RV park is Ketchum Idaho – a very quaint, little ski town, very remote and super cute!  Several famous people live there, including Tom Hanks, Jim Carry, Ashton and Demi, Jamie Lee Curtis, Arnold Swatzernager, just to name a few!

On the way to Ketchum, you cross over this mountain pass - this is the view from the top.

Our RV park is about 30 miles south of Stanley, not much here but a restaurant and ice cream shop.  Nothing in either direction for at least ½ an hour.   There is no cell service, no internet, no cable at our RV park, so I really feel like we are out in the middle of nowhere.  There is internet service at the lodge, but every time I go in there I have to buy some of there French fries (hand cut Idaho potatoes – soooo yummy!).  They have cabins and teepee's you can rent too.

We visited the ghost town of Custer, an old mining town.  We have visited several of the lakes around, Red Fish Lake, Alturas Lake and Petit Lake.  The actual town of Stanley is only population of 100, but during the summer months it sure is busy.

All of the lakes, creeks and rivers are so clear you can see 20 feet to the bottom.  Fishing is amazing – can you believe salmon actually swim all the way up here to spawn???  900 river miles, through countless damns.  It just baffles me the stamina they have. 

    

5 months old already???

Well, I regret to say that at 4 months, I didn’t take the time to sit down and write an update on Wes.  I’m sure in the future I will regret it, however not a whole lot changed between 3 and 4 months.  But this last month has been surreal in our household.  It is amazing how much such a little guy can change so much in such a short amount of time.  At his “4 month “ appointment (which was more like 4 ½ months) Wes weighed 13 lbs 6 oz, and was 25 inches long.  It seems like since then he must have grown another 2 lbs and 2 inches!  He is getting so big, too fast if you ask me.  Every day I sit with him and cherish these moments because I know all too soon they will be just a memory written down in my blog.  We have spent the majority of the last 2 months in Stanley, Idaho, in the Sawtooth Wilderness.   It is stunningly beautiful and very remote. 

Things to remember about 3-4 months:

*Right around 4 months you gave up your binki, on your own! YAY! I was dreading the day I was going to have to take it away from you.  Now you won’t even take it in your mouth.  You will chew on it a little then grab it and pull it out.  You suck on your thumb occasionally, but not too often – or sometimes I guess I should say your whole fist (or both!)  At night however your “binki” has become the blue mini blanky (or keakers) that Aunty Chasity bought you and embroidered your name on.  It is silky on one side and microfiber soft on the other.  You suck on the corner of it when you are falling asleep.

*That’s next on our list, the amazing success you have had with your hands.  By about 3 months you were starting to reach out and grab for things, but with closed fists.  You would hold on to fabrics and such with ease, but hard plastic toys and what not would just get batted away.  It seemed like one day you just caught on that you needed to open to your hands around 4 ½ months and now, EVERYTHING is game.  Anything you can wrap those tiny little fingers around goes straight to your mouth.

*Speaking of mouth, a little over a week ago we started you on solid foods.  What an adventure this has been!  I will never understand why, but I was scared for some reason to start.  All the books, dr.’s and stuff I read on the internet said between 4 and 6 months to start you on baby food.  I was leaning more towards the 6 months!!!  I guess it’s just a sign that my sweet little baby boy, who was solely dependant on me is growing up, and I just wasn’t ready to accept that.   However, when you went from sleeping a solid 6-8 hours at night to waking up every HOUR (something you didn’t even do as a newborn!) I decided it was probably time to start the rice cereal.  It was a big hit!  So far we have tried rice cereal, mashed potatoes and green beans, all have been a success.  I started off with the recommended amount (1 tbls with 3-4 tbls of breast milk) and in the first sitting you devoured every last bit of it.  I’ve started slowing increasing the amount and you still eat almost everything in the bowl.  Daddy was fortunate enough to change your first poopy diaper after starting solid food and he was not impressed to say the least.  On Saturday mornings, he gets up with you so mommy can have an hour or so of actual restful sleep, and I could hear him gagging from your butt all the way in the bedroom with both doors closed J  As of right now, I have been making all of your baby food.  I have quit a bit stored up in the freezer.  I only hope I don’t give this up.  I know as you start to eat more it will become more time consuming, but it is just so much better home made.  I have tried jarred baby food several times and can’t even imagine eating it myself.  The food I have made you so far, I have tried everything and its actually good!  I decided I wouldn’t give you something if I didn’t like it (well except for maybe sweet potatoes and califlour… I’m not a big fan, but you might be. )  Regardless, if the taste is unbearable to me, I’m not going to try sticking it down your throat.
You are still not back to sleeping a straight 6 hours, but things are going much better, you usually sleep for about 4 hours straight and only wake up twice in the night to nurse. 

*During your 4^th month, you have really become independent.  Up until now, you have wanted to be held almost all the time.  The only time you were happy being left on the floor to play with toys or in your bouncer was if someone was there playing with you.  While holding you however, you would just start jumping like crazy!  The swing Grandma Joy bought you was never a big hit from the beginning, but when you started this jumping thing, I knew it was time for a bouncer.  Grandma Vicky bought you a baby Einstein saucer bouncer and that has become your favorite thing in the whole world!  When we first brought it home, you were too little for it, so we had to wrap blankets around you to support you and put a 2x6 under your feet so you could reach the ground.  In the past few weeks you have started enjoying some time to yourself (so mommy can actually get stuff done now! Like take a shower…) playing in your bouncer or with some toys on the floor.  You no longer need the blankets or 2x6 to use the bouncer and sometimes you bounce so hard I think your going to bounce right out of the darn thing! You laugh and giggle and just have a great time in that thing.



*Which brings up probably my favorite new development of the last couple of months, your laugh!  You have started laughing, and giggling and screaming so much!   The sound of your deep belly laugh brings such a joy to my heart, its almost indescribable.  You have become ticklish, alllll over, and your smile could light up the whole city (just like your daddys!)  Sometimes, as I’m getting ready to nurse, you get so excited and start giggling, another one of those heart warming moments that I will forever hold near and dear to me.



*Last week, you discovered your toes.  Every time you are laid down on your back now your hands go straight for your little piggy’s and you hold on to them with a death grip like you might not ever see them again.  The more your feet grow, the more that middle toe curls under the second one – sorry to say bud but you have inherited mommy’s crooked toes!

*You officially rolled all the way over on Friday August 5^th, just after your 4 month birthday.   You and I were at Nate and Amy’s house, working out with Amy and Nissa.  You were laying on the floor playing and right in front of us, you just decided to roll over!  I was amazed.  You still are not a huge fan of tummy time, so once you roll over, most of the time you roll right back over to your back.  But last week you spent about 10 minutes on your tummy, kicking your feet like crazy.  I have a feeling crawling is only a short time away… You have the stance down, just need to learn how to move your legs correctly!

*No teeth have popped out yet, which I must say I’m quit surprised.  Around 4^th of July you were sure showing all of the signs, but nothing happened.  I am glad tho, I’m not ready to go through that agany yet!  I sure hope for your sake, and my sanity, that teething goes well!  The thought of you being in pain and there being NOTHING mommy can do about it just breaks my heart!

*My first real experience leaving you with a babysitter is coming up this Saturday, and I must say I am already getting nervous thinking about it.  When we went to your cousin Madi’s 4^th birthday in Prineville 4^th of July weekend, you were just over 3 months old – and still sleeping until about 1 – 3 in the morning.  We did go out for a few drinks with Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Beau, while Grandma Cindy watched you.  However we waited until after 8:00 (your bedtime) so mommy could put to you sleep and were within walking distance of the hotel where you slept soundly the whole time we were gone.  Even then I was checking in with Grandma every hour at least.  This weekend however, we are going to see the Judds, at the Oregon State Fair.  Allllll the way down in Salem.  You are going to stay with Grandma Joy and Grandpa Milo… But they are going to have to feed you dinner, put you to bed, and quit possibly we won’t be back by the time you wake up the first time in the night.  I think that part worries me the most, I am the only one that has gotten up with you in the middle of the night.  Usually I nurse you and you go right back to sleep, sometimes you don’t even eat, just nurse for comfort.  I’m not sure how you are going to take to a bottle in the middle of the night, let alone when someone other then me gives it to you.  I’m sure Grandma and Grandpa will take great care of you, I’m not worried about that… I’m just worried about YOU giving them a hard time.  I can only hope things go well, goodness knows I’m going to be a nervous wreck!

*We have decided to fly home for the weekend, since driving would take pretty much the whole weekend, and we would like to spend as much time with our families as possible.  So that means you will also be going on your first plane ride this weekend as well.  Labor day weekend 2011 should be a memorable one to say the least!

*ECing has still been going very well.  Even when we went home for a couple of weeks at the beginning of August, because of traveling and just been plain to busy, we kind of slacked off a bit, but once we got back into a routine, it was like you didn’t miss a beat.  Just yesterday, I was getting ready to take your diaper off to see if you needed to go, and you had started to go already (do I have timing or what!) As soon as I took your diaper off, you STOPPED right in front of me, I put you on the potty and you finished going!  It was amazing.  We are averaging 2-3 diapers a day, and some days as little as 1!  I definetily don’t catch every single potty, but we are getting so close.  We just opened the last package of diapers we got from our baby shower – 5 months and we have barely had to buy any diapers!  We did at the beginning because you were in premie diapers for the first month or so, but since then we have been using just what we got at the shower.  Its been fantastic!

While we were home in August, we went to the Washington County Fair with Grandma Joy and Uncle Stinky, Somer and the boys, and also met Auntie Katie and the girls there too!  You enjoyed walking around seeing and smelling everything at the fair in your stroller, and the girls sure did enjoy hanging out with you too!
We also bought mountain bikes and a little trailer to pull behind for you to ride in.  We house sat for Greg and Nissa while they were hunting, so we rode our new bikes all around St. Helens.  Our first trip out, we put you in the trailer (having to prop you up on blankets so the straps would fit!) and you screamed bloody murder as if you were hurt! I was so excited to video tape this experience, however once you started screaming I decided against it.  I do regret it however, because once we got rolling, you laughed and giggled the WHOLE ride, for about an hour.  You love riding in that thing now!

I can’t wait to see what the next month brings.  I feel like every day you are getting smarter, wiser and catching on to more things.  I just can’t believe 5 months have gone by so fast, before I know it you will be running around and instead of rocking you to sleep to sooth those cries, I will be kissing away tears from scraped up knees and boo boo’s.  In some ways I get so excited to watch you grown and learn, and in others, I hate to see my sweet little newborn growing up.  One thing I can’t wait for though is for you to be able to kiss me back.  You smile when daddy or I kiss you, but when you can reach your little arms around my neck and kiss me back, it will just melt my whole heart!  For now I will enjoy these moments and do my best to preserve them in my memory bank (or blog in this case…) TTFN!



We did it! Our first WHOLE day in the same diaper!

Now, I have to admit - when I first read about this EC (EC stands for Elimination Communication), I really had my doubts.  It made so much sense and it really did click with me, but I honestly never in a million years thought it would work THIS good.  I figured I would catch the potty's when he first wakes up, and probably after he eats... the in betweens were going to be tough and if i missed them, no big deal.  Well today we finally made it through the entire day in the SAME diaper.  I actually did change one diaper first thing this morning but it was my fault completely.  As I have stated before, I don't do EC at night purely because I am too lazy :) (when Wes wakes up at night, he is barely awake... he nurses and falls right back to sleep.  I worry if I undo his swaddler blanket, undo his jammies, take off his diaper A) he's going to cry, and B) its going to wake him up enough he won't go right back to sleep!) So this morning when we woke up, I changed his diaper of course.  Within minutes he had pee'd in it.  Now my mistake was thinking since we had been lying in bed snuggling for a while this morning, that he had already gone potty and wouldn't need to go.  Well - I was obviously wrong!  so I changed that one right away, and preceded to catch EVERY single potty's alllll day INCLUDING a poop!  This EC thing truly does work - at 3 months old my son knows when to go potty.  It is now my job to catch those communications and signs he gives me he has to go.  Obviously he cannot get up on his own and go to the toilet - that's my job.  But it is obvious that Wes knows what his job is!  There was even one time today I thought he might have to go potty, and we sat there for a few minutes without anything... then there were a few tiny drops of pee.  To me, that was a sure sign he was trying to go but just didn't have too!  At this point, if we miss a potty it truly is my fault - for not picking up on the signs that he has to go.  He knows how to communicate with me that he has to go, and he also knows how to hold it until he gets on the potty to go.  Do you realize how much money we are going to save in diapers alone?  My goodness this is going to be AMAZING.  I can really see how using cloth diapers using this method would be the way to go - you really want them to be able to feel the wetness so they learn the difference.  With the new technology of diapers, it wicks away the moisture so much they can't even feel it.  I wish we had better access to laundry all the time and I would do cloth in a heartbeat.  But then again, If I could catch every potty every day, I would never have to do laundry HAHA!  Now I do realize that it is impossible... but we are getting close.  It is going to be so much less confusing for Wes to learn to go potty in the toilet by starting this so early - instead of training him to go whenever he feels like it in his pants and then trying to re-train him later to use the toilet.  Now I just have to hope at my sons first sleep over, he doesn't go to the kitchen pull out a plastic bowl and go potty in the bowl haha! (for those of you that may have not read my early posts on this yet - I am currently using just a plastic bowl for our potty because he can't sit up on his own yet... it is easier to hold between my legs and support Wes over the top).  My wonderful, endearing husband of mine did inform me today I am teaching him bad habits tho... the man who thinks the whole world is his toilet is worried when I let him go potty on the ground outside that he will think its OK to that anywhere.  Jake was helping my dad do hay all day so Wes and I hung out in the barn with the boys this afternoon.  When he had to go, I just held him in between my legs and let him go on the ground... why not? all the rest of the boys do!

First Family Vacation

We went our very first family vacation! (Even though our life is kind of like a permanent vacation with getting to travel with daddy - this time daddy got to enjoy himself too!)

It started of fathers day weekend, we went fishing with Grandpa Milo and Grandma Joy, Grandpa Dan, cousins Jim and Zach at Diamond Lake.  Fishing was HOT and so much fun.  The weather couldn't have been better and the mosquito's didn't come out until the last day we were there (even tho the last day we were they, they of course - as always - ate me alive.  I'm surprised I didn't need a blood transfusion from blood loss!) We caught a ton of fish, and some pretty nice ones too, 19" was the largest.  Both new grandpa's got to spend some good quality time with Wes, and Jaker got to really enjoy and relax on his first fathers day.

 Grandpa Milo

Grandpa Dan

Teaching Wes how to fish

Mt. Thielson

After we left Diamond Lake, we spent the night in Roseburg and had dinner with my mom and her boyfriend Ruben.  We stayed at this really neat campground - too bad it wasn't on a Thursday night! It was an old drive in movie theater turned into RV park and on Thursday nights they show old time movies on the screen!  Our spot had a GREAT view of the screen too.  Bummer! 

From Roseburg, we traveled down hwy 138 towards the coast.  We past an elk refuge and got to see some pretty large bulls, still in velvet drinking water close to the road!  If it weren't for hauling the trailer, we would have stopped to take pictures... but there was no room for us to park.  We had lunch in Florence at this awesome Hawaiian spot, had some yummy sushi and terriyaki...mmmmmm :)  We stopped at the Sea Lion Caves and got to see a grey whale too!

"PU mommy, it's stinky in this cave!"

We stayed the night at Sea and Sand RV Park in Depoe Bay - we scored a great spot right on the water. It was so neat to fall asleep to the sound and smell of the ocean.  The next morning we went on a great little family walk on the beach (minus Jack :(  We decided to leave him home, and regretted it - especially once we got to the beach!  He looooves the ocean), then we packed up and headed for Paradise Cove.  We camped at Paradise Cove for the weekend with our friends Nate and Amy, took Wes swimming for the first time and introduced him to his great grandparents!  Grandma Meg and Grandpa Dan came down for the weekend too.  It was quit eventfull! 

He loved being in the water! He did so good, I was very impressed :) He kicked and waved his arms like he was a natural!

Great Grandma and Grandpa just adored him - it was love at first sight!

4 generations of Keller boys!

All the Keller Grandma's and Grandpa's.





Huntsville, Utah - a little piece of heaven on earth!

June 7th we traveled from Ely, Nevada to Huntsville, Utah (sorry its taken me so long to post, we've been busy!)  Huntsville was one of the prettiest, most spectacular places I have ever seen.  It was sooo beautiful and pristine, the air was so clear and the scenery was amazing!



We stayed near Lake Pineville.  It was a gorgeous, quaint little lake.  It was such a neat setting in the middle of this quiet little ski town.

Farms galore surround the country side.

This was the job site the boys scaled... It was a short job. I was pretty disappointed, I could have definitely spent some more time here!

 
Near the job site was a neat little park with tons of hiking trails, camping and all kinds of fun!

(sorry, can't for the life of me figure out how to rotate this!)

On our drive, I saw a sign for a waterfall.  The sign said .4 miles, so I figured it would be a great little hike for Wes and I.  It followed this beautiful creek up the mountain.

While it was quit the little hike for this outta shape mama - steep as all get out! It was so worth the hike! The waterfall was stunning!

Our pretty little picnic spot we found... Well Wes had lunch anyways haha.

The houses in the area were just absolutely amazing!

Only a day and a half spent here, but I am in love! It was close to Salt Lake City which I was really hoping to explore as well, but we just didn't have enough time.  After 6 weeks in Ely we were anxious to get home to our families.