Happy Halloween!

Our little giraffe just LOVED watching the trick-or-treaters come to the door.

I bet you didn't know that giraffes like to eat pumpkins? Well, at least this one does...

Confessions...

Confession #1) I was quite proud of myself for buying Halloween candy in early October instead of rushing out on October 30th to try to find some decent candy that was left on the shelves. I almost had the feeling you get when you finish Christmas shopping early. What I didn't anticipate is that Ben and I would eat a whole bunch of the very small and convenient snack size bags of peanut M&Ms. I had to go back to the store and buy one more bag of the M&M variety pack before Halloween so that I would have enough for the trick-or-treaters. Man, I just can't win... Lesson learned.

Confession #2) Ummm... I kind of took all the peanut M&Ms from the second bag I bought and put them in our snack drawer. I decided I'd only put those in the trick-or-treat bowl if I absolutely had to. (Lucky for me and Ben, there was no need to steal from the stash. Woohoo!)

6 Month Pics

I'm way late on this post. Here are some of Wes' six month pictures. Katie has some other ones posted on her photography blog. http://katiedewinter.blogspot.com/2009/10/wes-6-months.html. Stay tuned, because his nine month pictures are only a month away!


This one makes me laugh. We decided to put Butters up on the chair to see if we could get a picture of the two of them. This is what we ended up with. Wes grabbed her hair and you can SOOO tell by the look on his face that he knows he shouldn't do it. He totally thought he was getting away with something, but it didn't last long. Butters calmly gave him a dirty look and jumped off the chair. Don't worry though. She still loves him and always comes back for more.

You just have to love the hand in the mouth. He doesn't suck on his fingers, but he sure likes to chew them.

Daddy's Boy

Can you tell that Wes was crying right before this picture was taken? His face gets all poofy like mine... Daddy made the tears go away though! :)

Let Me Help...

I think Wes has watched too many episodes of Handy Manny! A certain little someone really wanted to help his daddy put together the steam cleaner that we bought. In the picture, Wes was trying to help screw in some screws.

The Pumpkin Patch

"I think I want this one, Mom."

As usual, Wes was totally intrigued by some people having a conversation. He doesn't miss out on anything. His little head is always on a swivel. The most common comments we get about Wes is how alert he is and what pretty eyes he has.

Beep Beep!

Wesley loves the little riding tractor that our neighbors kindly gave us, since their son has outgrown it. He has two favorite things that he likes to do on it... 1) Have us push him around and make him crash into things, and 2) He likes to beep the horn. I hope this isn't an early sign of road rage. If so, I'm going to blame Ben for this one. :)

Visit to a Farm

Last weekend we went to a farm that had all sorts of fun Fall stuff. Wes saw the cows, goats, sheep, and miniature horses. He went on a tractor ride and played in the "corn" sandbox. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some homemade donuts. Mmmmmmm...

Another Ryder & Wesley Playdate

This is how the playdate began...and this is how it ended...

Typical kids! They played so long and hard that Wesley became a cryer. The next thing on the agenda... nap time!

Chasing His Tail or Break Dancing?

I can't decide if Wes is chasing his tail or trying to break dance? What do you think...? I'm thinking I should put some floor polish on his belly and let him do that all day long. Oh yeah! We are going to have some shiny floors.

My Birthday Present From Wes & Ben

This is my new coffee table book. Isn't it lovely?

I had a very special 30th birthday. For my present, Wes and Ben had a book printed with all of our (my) blog posts from the birth of Wes until now. I had intentions of having a book printed with all of our blog posts for Wes' baby book, since it is much more fun to blog about his milestones and day-to-day activities than to write them down in a baby book. I think this means that I will have to make sure to print additional volumes so that I can capture all future posts into a book as well... Can I now officially call myself a published author? How sophisticated I sound... I think I like it!

Thank you to my boys for such a thoughtful birthday gift!

Fall is Here - Time to Bundle Up

My Third Decade Begins

Well... I can honestly say I never thought I would truly be excited about hitting the big 3-0. I thought for sure my best years were going to be my twenties and that I would be depressed when the old 30th birthday came around. Boy, was I wrong! I now agree with my good friend, Gladys. She told me about how her 30's were way better than her 20's. She talked about watching her kids grow up and now I know exactly what she was talking about. Yes, I had fun in my twenties and accomplished a lot, but I can't wait to enjoy my 30's. I'll be busy watching soccer games and such, but I will be enjoying every minute of it!

Two Bellies and a Tail

I decided to repost this with a new title. I think "Two Bellies and a Tail" is much more appropriate... :)

What's better than coming home from daycare and taking a quick nap on your dad's lap with your loyal cat close to your side?

Random Acts of Wesley

Wes Met Frank

I pulled out the old Halloween decorations and Wes has become quite fond of Frank. He really likes his sign. I think he wants to know what the "Trick or Treats" means. I guess he will find out in a few weeks, won't he?

Wes Can Pull Himself Up!

Wes can finally consistently pull himself up! Once he did it the first time he became an old pro. He thinks he's hot stuff and such a big boy.

Sniff... One more step to not having a baby anymore. It was bad enough that I packed away his baby stuff this weekend and then he had to go and do this. :)

Fantasy Football

On Sunday, Wes begged Ben to log on one more time so that he could see how he was fairing in his Fantasy Football league. These boys are addicted!

Cool Cats

I'm sorry for all of the Butters pictures, but sometimes it is hard since they tend to always be in the same place. Take a look at these two cool cats in the laundry basket. I think they were waiting for Ben to push them around for a ride.

Rub a Dub Dub

Our boy LOVES his baths. He gets so excited when he hears the bath water start to run. He could play with his toys in there forever. MY favorite part of bathtime is when he is done and in his towel. He just looks so darn cute that I can't help it!

Avid Reader (Page Ripper Outer)

Wesley found the corner of the living room where I have been piling up my unread magazines. He proceeded to mess up the piles while searching for the one he wanted to read (rip out pages). I don't think I've had time to read a single magazine in the last seven and a half months - hence the "piles". I've decided to throw in the towel and only keep my subscription to my two favorites. If only Ben could convince me to not record Oprah everyday, he'd be a happy man. I just let the daily episodes pile up on the DVR. That drives him crazy. Good bye magazines and good bye "free time". :)

Awwwww!

Ba Da Da Da Da

Wes is starting to put syllables together. He has a sparkling little personality, which you can kind of tell from this short video clip. He's quite the little stinker. :)

Not So Fast!

Guess Who Still Likes to Jump?

..And guess who's also sick again? The antibiotic he was on for his bronchitis gave him thrush. He also has a virus. Wesley's doctor walked in the room and said, "You again?". He even joked around saying, "Maybe you ought to just leave him here until he's 16?". I'm sure the doctor likes to see Wesley since he is helping him stock money away in his 401k like its going out of style. :)