April/May

Wow, I can't believe how these past two months flew by! As you can see I have had to combine months again. I really don't like doing that. I feel like there is so much I must be leaving out. I can barely retrieve what happened last week much less last month! I am going to really make an effort to do better. My blogging (or lack thereof) is a perfect example of what life has been like. Some days I just feel like I am barely able to do the absolute essentials. Dishes may have to sit in the sink, laundry doesn't get done, and blogs don't get written. Between work and Wheaton, it is a wonder that I manage to make it to the grocery store! Some days are fine and I have all the energy in the world, but every few days the exhaustion hits me like a ton of bricks and I have to go to bed at like 8:00. Sleep deprivation is a crazy thing. Most people have experienced it at one time or another. You might stay up all night writing a term paper in college, or you stay up all night partying, or you suffer jet lag after a trip to a different time zone. In each of these examples, you may have difficulty functioning, but after a few days you are feeling relatively normal again. Long term sleep deprivation is a different animal altogether. It is a beast which may lay dormant for several days only to resurface and strike when you least expect it. I have not slept through the night since July, 16 2008. I remember it well because it was when I was in the hospital and the nurse gave me an Ambien the night before they educed me. As I swallowed the pill she said, "Enjoy it, this may be the last full night sleep you get for a while". If she only knew! Several times now I have thought, "Wow I think I am starting to adjust to not sleeping". Then the following day will hit me like a freight train at full speed. Exhausting as it is, it is a small price to pay. On the days that Adam takes Wheaton to school, I usually get home a few minutes before them. And even though these may be the only few minutes that day that I have to myself, I am constantly looking out the window to see if they have pulled up yet. I always rush out to meet them when they arrive. I always yell from the stairs at the end of the side walk, "Hey Buster! How was your day?" Wheaton then whips his head around and gives me a smile that melts my heart! It says "I am so happy to see you!!!!!!!!!!" I love it. It is my favorite part of the day. It is so worth loss of sleep.Well, now that you know why I haven't written in so long here is some of what we have been up to the past couple of months.

APRIL

Well, April has been a really fun month! I think spring has come to Richmond for good. Wheaton loves to take long walks through the neighborhood so he is very happy about the weather. Here is what we have been up to:

We celebrated Easter and Mimi's birthday. We had a lot of fun. Wheaton got to meet a real Easter Bunny (Colby's bunny, Gilly). So cute! I swear he waved (intentionally) at my brother on Easter. We had been working on waving for a couple of weeks. He's got the motion down pretty well, but he doesn't usually actually wave at anyone.

Wheaton got some fun toys and really cool books from the Easter Bunny!

In addition to a visit from the Easter Bunny, we also got a visit from Wheaton's Aunt Karna! He was so happy to see her and to show her all of things he has learned.

Here he is with uncle Mac at a cookout we had for Karna.

Other notable events from April include:

Our furnace died and we had to replace our entire heating system. On the bright side, we now have central air as well which will make the summer a lot more tolerable. It will also add to the value of our home (which we are quickly out growing).

Wheaton had his nine month doctor's appointment and the stats are in:
Weight: 17 pounds 11 ounces
Height: 26 and 1/2 inches
Cutness: 100%

The little stinker's eyes are still as blue as can be. I don't know why I have had such a hard time accepting that they are going to stay blue. His eye are gorgeous; I guess I just assumed he would have brown eyes (like both of his parents). The jury is still out on the hair. I am not even going to wager a guess on that one. It could turn out purple for all I know!

He has started to eat some stage two foods. At this point he seems to be favoring fruits to veggies. I have been giving him Gerber puffs because they melt in the mouth and provide excellent practice for chewing as well as developing good hand-eye coordination. I usually give him one at a time while I am fixing his meals. The only problem is that he just wants to keep eating the puffs. They seem to be fairly nutritious, but they do have some sugar in them. It looks like someone inherited Mommy's sweet tooth! We are still breastfeeding and has a combination of some solid food and breast milk throughout the day. He continues to enjoy being at daycare which is such a relief. He has a buddy (Jamie) there who comes crawling over as soon as we get there in the morning. Some mornings Jamie will give Wheaton a hug. Wheaton just laughs and smiles. Occasionally daycare will take pictures during the day and then send them to the parents at work via e-mail. Here is one of Wheaton taken in April. It is so fun to see what he is doing!

What a big boy!

MAY

May flew by! Here are some of my favorite pictures:

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As you can see some of Wheaton's favorite things include going to the pool and hanging out with Mimi and Papa. He also still loves long strolls around the neighborhoodand bathtime and animals still crack him up. He occasionally enjoys a Baby Genius video before heading off to "school" in the morning. This month he started doing this new smile which is hilarious. He scrunches up his whole face as if he just can't smile big enough to express his happiness. It is really cute. He continues to protest during tummy time and it looks like he will walk before he crawls; he loves standing up while holding onto to something and has excellent balance.

I have started planning Wheaton's first birthday party. I can't believe it has almost been a year! It is going to be a small affair, mostly family. Adam's mom, his sister and her family will all be here to help us celebrate. I am still in the early planning process, but I think we have settled on a theme. Stay tuned for the details.

You can really see Wheaton's personality developing. He thinks his dad is hilarious and he loves to make his mommy laugh. One of his favorite things to do is bite Adam's nose. Adam always screams and is very dramatic. Wheaton always looks over at me when he's done. I am always laughing histarically which makes Wheaton laugh as well. Then he does the whole thing over again.