This is...

...what it feels like to wear your heart outside of your body! I love this little boy, and he is what keeps me going even on days like last Thursday! :) Love him!

8 Months

Weston turned 8 months old on Monday, September 20th, and I still can't believe that he is already eight months old! Where has the time gone?! It's unbelievable to think that in less than four months, he'll be a year old, and you know that I'm already planning his 1st Birthday Party! Weston is SO much fun, and Grant and I are loving it and already looking forward to our next one! Ha-Ha! :)

At eight months, you are such a ball of energy. You are constantly moving and rarely stop playing unless you are exhausted or not feeling well. You are SO loving, and you still love your Mommy! It makes me SO happy! Since I last posted your statistics, you've had your first ear infection and the Roseola virus! Not fun, but we made it through it!

Here are your eight month statistics and milestones:

• You weigh approximately 22 lbs. I took you to the doctor last Friday, and that's what you weighed then, so I'm assuming that you are close to that now. I have no idea how long you are, but I'll find out next month at your nine month check-up. We are still exclusively BF'ing, and we haven't yet had to supplement with formula. You LOVE food, and I've been making all of your food. You've had SO many different types of food, and you still love it, but you are starting to push away your vegetables. You LOVE fruit, yogurt and meats...Turkey is your favorite! You are a chubby, healthy little boy!

• You still enjoy feeding yourself. You would much rather feed yourself than take a spoon that mommy or daddy gives you with food on it.
• Still wearing Size 4 diapers. You are wearing size 12-18 month clothes with some remaining nine month items thrown in, as well.

• You ONLY sleep on your stomach. You hate sleeping on your back, and you always roll over to your stomach during your sleep, so I've just stopped putting you on your back. It scared me at first, but I've gotten used to it. If you roll over onto your back during the night, you'll wake up and roll yourself back over. It's SO funny to watch on the video monitor.
• You have not been sleeping through the night lately, and it's frustrating, but I know that it'll change again. We had gotten so used to you sleeping for 12-13 hours, so it's tough to adjust. You've been waking up some nights once or twice and some nights not at all, but you've been waking up earlier in the morning, so we are trying to push your bedtime back to 7:00-7:30 PM to see if that helps!

• You still like to go to sleep on time! It's getting easier to keep you up late, but you don't like to stay up too late. You still don't like to be held when falling asleep or tired.
  
• You love to sit up and play by yourself. You are Mr. Independent and can be content to sit by yourself and play with your toys for at least a half hour.
  
• You NEVER sit still! If we put you in one place, you are gone in just a few seconds. You are crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything and standing. It's so crazy how quickly you are growing!
  
• You still only have two teeth, and we thought some more would appear, but they haven't yet. We are hoping that your teeth bothering you is the reason why you aren't sleeping, as well, and you will start sleeping better once they pop through.
• You still prefer to drink out of a sippy cup during the day, but at night, you want your bottle or your mommy. I had to go out of town for a week, and you wouldn't let your daddy give you a cup, you wanted a bottle instead.
  
• You still LOVE water, and we haven't given you any juice.

• Mommy has been traveling for work some lately, and she has had to leave you overnight with Daddy. Mommy is missing you, but Daddy is really great and handles it very well. He has had NO problems! :)
• You LOVE Banks, the dog. You think he is so much fun! Every afternoon when we get home, we go and let him out, and you just LOVE it. You kick your legs and get excited. You are trying to say "dog", because we say it constantly, but it comes out as "Doh".
• You are also saying "Da-Da". You say it constantly as you are playing and when I ask you if your Daddy is coming home, you start crawling around saying it. It's SO cute, and now, I'm just waiting on "Mommy" to come out of your mouth next! :)

I'm sure that I'm missing something, but I've posted enough for now. Life is so much fun with our amazing son.

Weekend at the Beach

Snack Time!

With fall on the way, we decided to take one last beach vacation in 2010. We packed everything up on Wednesday night, and we headed out on Thursday after work. We headed to Jekyll Island to stay at the 4-H Center. My family has gone to the 4-H Center over Labor Day every year since I was a kid, and we don't want that to change now that Weston is part of our family.

Being mischievous and preparing to crawl off his blanket...

We had a great time though Weston had a fever for two days and broke out in a rash on Monday morning when we were preparing to head home. Turns out he had the Roseola virus...we even took him to the Immediate Care center at the beach on Saturday, because he was feeling so bad. He was just getting over his first ear infection, so we were worried that he still had the remnants of the ear infection, and it wasn't getting better. His ears were clear, and it was all viral! Thankfully, he is feeling much better and the rash is almost gone. The last night at the beach...he woke up EVERY TWO HOURS! It was worse than when we first brought him home.

Loving the sand!

We had to keep the pacifier in, because he continuously wanted to eat the sand! Ha-Ha!

We had fun though, and he got to watch his first Georgia game while we were there with his dad! Grant had fun and can't wait for him to be able to watch the game and cheer along with him! Weston also got to experience sand for the second time, and he actually liked it this time. The first time...he hated it, and he cried the whole time. This time he loved it, and he wanted to eat it. So much fun!

Smiling at Mommy

6 Months

Even though tomorrow, Weston will be seven months old, I didn't want to miss posting about all his current milestones and update on what was going on in our lives at six months. Life has been busy, and I'll get better at posting updates, I promise!

At six months, we've made it half-way to your 1st birthday, Weston. As each month goes by, I can't believe that my little baby is not so little any more, and he's approaching his toddler days quickly. It makes me sad to think that he's growing so fast, but I love each new phase, and I enjoy everyday we have together. I love that you need me and you prefer me over anyone else. It makes me feel so happy, especially when I've had a tough day.


Here are your six month statistics and milestones:

• You weigh 18 lb., 13 oz. We are still exclusively BF'ing, and we haven't yet had to supplement with formula. You LOVE food, and I've been making all of your food. So far you've had sweet potatoes, green beans, winter squash, pears, peaches, apples, carrots, avocado, yogurt and bananas. I'm sure I'm missing something, but needless to say, you LOVE to eat. You are a chubby, healthy little boy!
• You've started to get the "pincher grasp", and you enjoy feeding yourself. You would much rather feed yourself than take a spoon that mommy or daddy gives you with food on it. You love Puffs, but you always try to feed them to the dog from your high chair.
  
• You are 27 1/2 inches long at your six month appointment in July.
  
• Now wearing Size 4 diapers, but you can still wear Size 3, as well, but the 4's are more comfortable for all of us, because you were wetting the front overnight.
• You ONLY sleep on your stomach. You hate sleeping on your back, and you always roll over to your stomach during your sleep, so I've just stopped putting you on your back. It scared me at first, but I've gotten used to it. If you roll over onto your back during the night, you'll wake up and roll yourself back over. It's SO funny to watch on the video monitor.
  
• You can no longer wear any 6 month or 6-9 month outfits. You sometimes wear 9 month outfits, but most of those are too snug, as well. You are mostly wearing 12 month clothes, and you have some 18 month clothes already.
  
  
• You are still sleeping through the night. You usually are in bed and going to sleep by 6:30 PM, and I wake you up at 6:30 AM during the week. On the weekends, you will sleep until 7:30 AM. You never wake up mad. You always wake up and will just play in your crib until I come and get you. No screaming to get out!
  
• You still like to go to sleep on time! It's getting easier to keep you up late, but you don't like to stay up too late. You still don't like to be held when falling asleep or tired.
  
• You love to sit up and play by yourself. You are Mr. Independent and can be content to sit by yourself and play with your toys for at least a half hour.
  
• You NEVER sit still! If we put you in one place, you are scooting and moving to another location. You aren't crawling yet, but you can get where you want to go! It's SO cute! :)
• You still only have two teeth, but we are confident that you are going to get more as you are constantly drooling, and we can feel the teeth just below your gums.
• You've gotten to the point where you don't like to drink milk that much...you went from drinking 8 oz. per bottle to drinking maybe 4 oz. per bottle. You drink anywhere from 7-11 oz. while you are at daycare during the day. You used to drink 16 oz. while you were there! You drink well in the morning, but you don't in the evening. I'm lucky if I can get you to drink 1 oz., but I'm trying to do different things to get you to drink better. You are still sleeping through the night regardless. Your pediatrician told me not to worry, because you are on the "bigger" side, and you are probably getting what you need.
• You are no longer drinking out of a bottle at all...we think that the nipple must have been bothering your gums, because you chewed on it, and you never would drink out of it anymore, so we switched you to a cup, and you love your cup, so it's been working well, and you are drinking better.
• You LOVE water. You think it's the best, and I have to limit how much you drink, because you would drink it before milk, if I would let you.
  

I'm sure that I'm missing something, but I've posted enough for now. As I said before, I can't believe that he's growing so fast. It's been an amazing journey so far, and I love being a mother to this sweet little boy.

McCarthy Family Reunion & Beach Vacation

Well, I've been away for a week now, because we spent the past week in St. Augustine, FL on vacation and attending a three day family reunion for the McCarthy side of the family. It was a great weekend. Weston put his toes in the sand for the first time, and we enjoyed spending time away from the office. The family loved on Weston, and Ms. Mary at daycare said all he wanted to do was be held yesterday. Oops...I don't think he got put down all weekend. Gram & Gramps especially enjoyed spending time and loving on the little man. It was a fun and enjoyable time for all of us!

We came back from the trip to a not so nice surprise...our upstairs air condition went out, so we are crossing our fingers that the AC guy can make it out this afternoon to take a look. For now, we are sleeping downstairs on the couch and Weston is in his Pack & Play downstairs. It's a steamy 98 degrees upstairs.

Weston also turned 5 months old since I last posted, and I have some photos to upload from his 5 month photo shoot. For now, I'll leave you with some photos of our beach vacation...

Our little family before Dinner on Saturday night

Mommy & Little Man

Daddy & Weston playing in the sand

So sweet...

Playing on the deck as the sun goes down...what a nice night!

Please let me have some, Daddy...just a little!

Father & Son

Getting ready to fall asleep in my arms after a LONG beach and pool filled morning!

Lounging on the Beach

Floating in the pool...he loves it!

Wearing dad's shades...I think I need a pair like this!

Taking a play break before we get back on the road to finish the final leg of the drive home!

Look Mom, I can drive too...

Hanging out with 2nd Cousin, Tyler

Happy Father's Day

What is a Dad?
A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules,
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail...

Weston has an amazing dad who loves him and plays with him, kisses and hugs him, takes naps and teaches him. His love is unconditional, and we couldn't be more blessed to have Grant as a father and husband.

Grant never stops...he wakes in the middle of the night, if Weston decides he needs to get up, he comforts Weston when he's in tears, he calms him and he bathes him every night. He feeds him, and I know he is looking forward to teaching him and helping him grow into a wonderful, young man. Thank you for being a wonderful father and role model for our son! We love you!

Four Months

Weston,

It's been another really busy month at the Harvey household, and you've experienced so many "firsts" this month. You attended your first Rehearsal, Rehearsal Dinner and Wedding in Dallas, GA. Your daddy was in the wedding, and you were such a good boy throughout the entire ceremony. You even let Mommy & Daddy hang out until 9:30 PM even though it was way past your bedtime.

You also spent the night at Papa Jay & Grandma Harvey's house with your daddy while I was at a Bachelorette party. They said you had a lot of fun while I was away, but I sure did miss you! You met your friend Griffin this month, and you also got to go to the Cox Family Reunion at FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA. You are SO loved, and they passed you around the entire afternoon.

You have changed so much again this month, and I really can't believe it. You smile and you play so well independently in your Exersaucer. You like to play by yourself, and you don't always like to be held. You are a very independent little man. You LOVE swimming! You went to the pool over Memorial Day weekend with your two friends, Emma and Emma. :)

You've also learned to sit unassisted this month, and it's SO cute! You love to sit and play with a toy in front of you. Everyone keeps telling us how great you are doing, because you are already sitting up by yourself. We are hoping that the sitting will help round out your head since currently the back is pretty flat. You are also sleeping on your side or stomach at night, and you rarely sleep on your back anymore. You curl up and have one hand over your face when you are sleeping on your side, and it's so sweet.

Here are your four month statistics and milestones:

• 16 lb. 13 oz. We are still exclusively BF'ing, and we haven't yet had to supplement with formula. You are a chubby, healthy little boy!
• 25.5 inches
• Still in Size 3 Diapers
• Wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes, but you still wear some 6 month clothes and also wear 9 month clothes.
• Your coordination is improving, and you love playing with toys that makes noise still! You are now reaching and grabbing for toys!
• You are still sleeping through the night. You go to sleep between 6:30 and 7:00 PM now, and you sleep until 6:30 AM. Though the past few nights, you've woken up in the middle of the night with gas. The past two mornings when we've gotten you up, you've had a dirty diaper, so it looks like you were uncomfortable!
• You still like to go to sleep on time, but you are getting better. You've allowed mommy and daddy to continue our weekly ritual of going to Mexican for dinner on Sunday nights. It's been fun!
• You still don't like to be held when you are falling asleep or tired. You want us to leave you alone and put you down, so you can fall asleep on your own, but you have let me hold you when you've been tired a little more lately.
• You still put EVERYTHING in your mouth! You put your hands in your mouth, our hands in your mouth, your keys, burp cloth, etc. If it's nearby, you want to eat it.
• You always try to "eat" Mommy's shoulder...you are too funny, but I will be holding you, and you'll start gnawing on my shoulder, but you don't do it to anyone else, only Mommy.
• You no longer fit into your Bumbo seat...your legs are too big, and I've tried SO hard. I tried pushing you into it, and you screamed at me, because it really hurt. I don't think I'll try that again unless your legs thin out a little bit!
• Since you are sitting up, we've gotten rid of your infant bathtub. You didn't like it anyways, because you like to splash so much, so we moved you to the Duck tub, and you love it, because you sit up so well, and you can splash the water around you. It's too cute. Bath time is still your favorite time of the day!