If we Call the New Baby Peanut....

SOooooo, it's been quite a while since I have posted anything. I guess that's what working a full-time job and having a full-time 8 month old will do to a gal! :) We had a very blessed and wonderful Christmas month...we have traveled all around and seen all of the family, with still more fun to be had this weekend over New Years.

Wesley is growing so quickly! He brings so much JOY and delight into our home. He always wakes up with a beautiful smile and gives warm greetings. He is very active crawling, pulling up, and even inching around the edges of whatever he can get his hands on. Having focused on his locomotion, he now seems to be turning his attention to cutting some teeth. Despite my singing to him "All i want for Christmas is my two from teeth", he has not quite cut one yet :)

In other news, we are expecting the Joyful arrival of precious Baby #2 around July 27th! We had our first visit to the doctor on Monday the 28th, and got to see a strong heartbeat, and all seems well. SO if we nickname this one the Little Peanut, then i guess that makes me the Nut Hut! =)

Despite being a slight shade of green with morning sickness (which usually lasts well into the evening), i am doing well. having just completed working 6 shifts in the past 7 days, i am looking forward to some much needed HAIR SALON time tomorrow morning :)

Josh is anxiously awaiting final word from the College of Nursing, and expects to hear from them sometime in February or March. He is still on track to go to Basic training in March. With scheduled return in early July, hopefully BEFORE the Little Peanut makes his or her appearance! Nursing school should then start in late August if all goes according to our plan and the Lord sees fit! :)

We are blessed beyond measure, and just cannot put into words how grateful we are to our friends and family who keep on lovin on us in so many ways! We love you all and wish you a very happy new year! :)

love,

Josh, Lila, Wesley, & Little Peanut

Air Force Reserves

We are officially an Air Force family now! As of Tuesday, Oct. 6th, Josh (and therefore me and Wesley) are property of Uncle Sam. When asked why he did it, Josh replied, "Well, I enlisted for the benefits. I plan to go to nursing school. I am also proud to serve my country, just like my Dad and generations before me did." YEP, he's proud! :) As you can see, Wesley was perfectly patriotic in his denim and red, white, and blue. (I was actually sleep walking because I had worked the previous four night-shifts!) So here are some pics to share...

Waiting...

Signing...

OOoooo...AAAaaaa!!!

Josh's group was actually the first to swear in

at this base, on a plane :)

hey look, it's bring your kid to work day! ;)

And some more funness....

Here's Wesley doin his latest...

rockin & kissin!

SO PRECIOUS! :)

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Wesley's First Word?

Greetings! We here at the Dodson home are moving right along with life! Josh has applied to Nursing school at MUSC for August 2010, and is awaiting acceptance. He is also in the final stages of enlisting in the Air Force Reserves, and plans to swear in on October 10th. God is SO good to be continually working out His good and perfect will in our lives, we are very blessed!!

Our "little" Wesley is really moving right along..literally! He is starting to creep :) He can tuck his legs up under his belly, and almost get up on all fours. Watch out world...we are about to be MOBILE! He also seems to be beginning to mumble a few very special words!!! Wesley loves meal time, and is looking forward to fresh vegetables coming from the Farm starting this week.

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5 months old!

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Catch-up!!

So since it's been so long since i've posted anything.....here's catch-up.

it's in no particular order, and i tried to include most things since i last posted!

i'll try to be better at posting!

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Seriously?

Was it really 13 weeks ago that i last wrote!?? SHEESH time has FLOWN by! This week Wesley is 20 weeks old!! we have been having so much fun with so many new adventures...i just do not even know where to begin! we have had wonderful visits from family and friends. wesley is sleeping through the night like a champ (he started that at 7 weeks!) {i give "Baby Wise" ALL the credit for that!!}. i have gone back to work (did that when he was 11 weeks old, it's been an ok transition). josh has decided to work towards earning a nursing degree (more on this later!). wesley can roll over, do a 360 on his tummy, give kisses (almost on demand, or, well, whenever he wants to, and it's open-mouthed with drool :) furthermore....drum roll please...we've started solid foods!!! =) which, is the main topic of my bloggin' today! we're doin' it home-style..boys love their Mama's home cookin', right!? THIS baby boy sure does!! This week we introduced Sweet Potatoes and Butternut squash, that i baked and prep'd myself! (it really wasn't that hard or very time consuming, and it is very rewarding to be able to say i did it myself!) Wesley really likes his food now! he opens wide and leans in to his spoonful..we are SO PROUD!

It all started with these little guys...

Cut & de-seeded ;)

Mashed with LOVE

Jars & ice cubes

Frozen & ready

i promise, he likes it!

The Little Prince in his new Throne!

7 weeks old!

Has it really been SEVEN weeks since this wonderful little being entered our lives!?  Wow that is hard to believe..in some ways..in others not. It is hard to believe that he was only 6 pounds 13 ounces when he was born, and now he's so big and squishy! Hard to believe that I have been home with him for 7 weeks. But it is NOT hard to believe when i look in the mirror and see the dark bags under my eyes. Or when i'm up at 3am to feed him, having only slept for 2 hours. Yeah, i guess it's been 7 weeks! 

It has been a GREAT seven weeks! We have gotten to do so many fun things! Last post we had traveled to York to visit friends. The following weekend we went to the beach at Debordieu. And all in-between we have enjoyed small outings with friends! So here are some pictures and a video of what we have been up to lately!

Nap Time, most important time of the day!

A Walk in the Park

Just hanging out

Just a swingin

Wesley with his Uncle Zack

Some guy time on the porch

Uncle Jon & Aunt Erin with Wesley

His first time at the beach,

it was a big splash! :)

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Memorable Memorial Weekend

This past weekend was wonderful! We packed up the car and headed out of town..for the first time..with a 4 week-old! We left on Friday evening and went to Winnsboro. So Wesley got to spend the night at his Mimi & Papa T's house for the first time. And he also got to test out his pack-and-play for the first time (it worked really well!) Saturday we slept in and played around the house until the afternoon. Then we headed up to York, SC to visit my friends from college who were getting together for Dave's birthday. It was so WONDERFUL to get together with good friends, who I do not get to see very often. We almost all have babies now, so it was fun to swap stories, learn tricks, and coo over each other's babies! :) Saturday night we went back to Winnsboro, so Sunday we got to spend some more QT with Mimi & Papa T. We did not visit the 30 goats out back this time, but will introduce Wesley to them sometime soon ;) Here are the pics! Love you all.

1 month old!

Wesley is 4 weeks old today, WOW! He is doing great :) We went to the pediatrician this morning, and he got a good report. He is gaining weight very well (2 ounces per day almost, when a minimum of 1 ounce per day was the goal..hooray mommy's milk!). When I picked him up this morning, I told Wesley that I think he grew another chin over night!! ;) He is just the most precious little blessing ever, we love him SO MUCH! 

This past weekend we had some more visitors. Josh's mom (aka Mimi), his step-dad Herb (aka PapaT), and josh's grandparents (Grandmama & Grandpapa) all came down to visit little Wesley. We had a lovely time, and even got to enjoy a yummie steak dinner! (Wesley says thanks again guys!!!) 

The whole gang!

Mimi topping Wesley off!

Wesley looks forward to going to flea markets

and yardsales with Grandpapa some day!

The men cooking our steaks,

in the RAIN!

Wesley looks forward to riding

tractors with PapaT someday! 

Wesley looks forward to Grandmama teaching him

how to use Facebook someday ;)

hiccups

well it has been way too long since we have posted anything...who knew a baby could be so all time consuming!? (i know, i know, you all knew that...i just had to learn that!) we are doing really well! wesley is growing and gets cuter every day. here is a video (gettin fancy!), and a few of many recent pics :) 

ENJOY, because we sure are!! :)

josh's first time feeding, wesley's first bottle, fresh squeezed! :)

beautiful baby boy!

sweet sunny days

precious

we love the "sleepy wrap"!