Happy 8 month birthday Wes!

Wes got to spend the day with Nick while Luke and I headed out to Highlands Ranch. Luke and I both headed to our respective schools. N and W started out their day at physical therapy where Wes showed is strength and came home with more exercises. The boys then headed off for lunch with friend Pete. All in all it was a great 8 month birthday for Wes who got a lot of loving attention from his dad.

P.S. more to come about me going back to work with two boys and all the craziness that comes with it.

Hanging out

Christmas in Mammoth, CA

We stared out our 10 day journey to California, just me and the boys.  Joanne dropped the 3 of us off at the airport and I managed to get through security by myself after asking several people for help.  The worst of it was getting all our stuff on the scanner, including my BOB stroller while holding onto Wes and making sure Luke did not run away.  We made the fight with out any trouble and sat next to a very nice lady who happened to be a great-grandmother.


The next day we had a 'meet Wes party' where several of the family members came out to Claremont to meet Wes for the first time.

Great Grandma Damuth, Great Grandad and Gramci Clark

Uncle Dean and Wesley Dean

Wes was so happy to meet everyone!

Uncle Dennis Belitz showing Luke his iPhone

Then we were off in our friend's Suburban to Mammoth in the rain.  Mom headed up the day before to get the house ready.  All the boys did well with Nick in the back of the car, the boys in the middle and Dad and I up front.  It only took us a mere 7 hours to get up there with minimal stops.

Can you see the Suburban buried underneath all that snow?  It was a record 16 feet on the mountain!  

Look at our matching pjs.

Making snowballs with Uncle Dean

I don't like snow in my eyes!

Get me out of this snow.

The snow stopped and Luke loved to play outside.  Nick and Luke loved making this snowman out  on the deck.

All of us for a family photo.  Nick, Luke, Kim, Wes, Grandad Damuth, Grandy Damuth and Uncle Dean

Look what santa brought!

Luke was not so sure of his T rex that moved and roared.

Wes loved playing with his camera.

 

Hello from Disneyland!

more info to come...

"Hi Santa... I did not cry!"

We enjoyed a wonderful santa brunch at Glenmoor Country Club with the boys and Grammy and Poppa.  There was wonderful food, great carolers and of course Santa.

The Belitz Fam

Santa, "I did not cry!"

Cute boys!!!

First Santa Picture!

 Poppa Paul and Wes

Listening to the carolers  

Happy Turkey Day 2010: The Price of Sugar Rolls

Thanksgiving dinner, as many know, is an affair that requires hours and sometimes days of preparation, planning, and cleanup.  Done properly, many family members are involved at each stage, especially the eating of the meal, which typically takes about 20 minutes.  This year, however, we found that the sugar rolls, long a staple of holiday indulgence in the family, took an extra, unexpected toll.  As the rolls we baking inside the oven just before dinner, a substantial amount of sugar spilled over the baking tray and caused no small amount of smoke to belch forth like oil from the Macondo Deepwater well.  This brought Joanne into the role of the cleanup/dance artist as we tried desperately to wave the smoke past the dinner table and out of the open windows (see picture below and remember, we were at 8,200 feet in late November and temps were in the high teens that night).  This was marginally successful and we were able to have a nice family dinner (Luke mercifully was overcome by holiday joy and fell asleep - see picture below).  Later that night, and actually early the next morning, however, the burning sugar resumed.  This was because of an unexpected decision by Joanne to set the oven to its "cleaning" cycle while everyone went to bed.  Needless to say, the sugar still had plenty of burning left to go and proceeded to fill the kitchen, plus the rest of the house, with A LOT of smoke by about 1:30 AM.  So much smoke, in fact, that the smoke detector went off and began shrieking in its electronic voice: "EVACUATE! SMOKE IN THE HOUSE! EVACUATE!"  And of course, the detector in question was 15 feet off the floor, so Nick needed to get the ladder out of the garage and run upstairs to get to the detector to disable it.  It should be noted, that EVERYONE, especially Nick, was in a particularly delightful, restorative, deep REM sleep cycle at the time the alarm sounded, and response time was not at all quick on anyone's part.  After a frustrating 15 minutes spent arguing with the detector, Nick removed the batteries and silence was restored, leaving the now wide awake family to focus on a house full of smoke and now 10-degree temperatures outside.  Thankfully, after a few hours, a number of open windows, and some skillful use of blankets, the smoke was cleared, the oven was cleaned, and relative peace returned. Happy Thanksgiving!

Our boys with the Hilty family

The entire gang

Luke decided to get his Thanksgiving food coma underway 1 minute before dinner started. We ate in an unusual degree of peace.

Joanne trying to diffuse the smoke from the sugar rolls baking in the oven.

Aunt Jill, me, Wes and Joanne

We headed up to the mountains for Thanksgiving to enjoy some rest, relaxation and the best Thanksgiving snow since the 90's.  I was really looking forward to getting on the mountain since I had to take last season off.  Unfortunately for me, my ski clothes, which Nick thought we up at the Vail house, ended up being stored at home.  So no skiing for me but we did end up making it to the rec center pool in Avon to play with the boys.

Wes is 6 months old

Wow, I can't believe that my little guy is already 6 months old now.  I guess time flies when you are busy with a 2 1/2 year old as well.  I remember thinking that the first 6 months seemed to go by quick with Luke but this is no comparison.  The 6 month mark officially means that me going back to work is coming up around the corner.  I have mixed emotions about this as I know that I will really miss my boys but enjoy being with my students.  It would be ideal to work part-time but that is not in the cards at this point.  It also means that 6 months from now Wes will be 1 year old and I will have my boys back for the summer.  Working 5 months, I know, will fly by!

So Wes is doing great and the doc has no concerns.  He still is going to physical therapy because he is still working on sitting (up to 5 seconds now) and also working on staying longer on his tummy.  She said that I don't need to have him be seen by PT in January and gave me lots of exercises to do with him.  Below are his stats...

Height:  26 1/2 in - 50th percentile
Weight: 17 pounds 1 oz - 50th percentile
Head circumference: 44 1/2 cm - 75th percentile... my Dad thought that he had a big head just like he does!

I just love my Johnny jump-up!