one is bad enough

I don't care if Justin Bieber has both ears pierced, it will never be an attractive style for males. Maybe the occasional tribesman looks all right with an exotic piercing or two, but that's it. We went to the U.S. Open in Huntington Beach a couple of weekends ago and for whatever reason, I couldn't stop noticing the amount of young boys, tweeners and teenagers alike, that were sporting this look. Kent informed that it is fashionable amongst skaters, hip hoppers, thugs, celebs, teenagers and adults alike. Personally, I can't stand it. I honestly wanted to put my thumb and finger up to those kids' earlobes and pull them out. I wouldn't want to hurt the guys, but eek, please remove those earrings - they make one look like a punk.

Am I being too critical? Do most people think men look good with earrings? Does it make me a hypocrite because I think it's normal and fine for women to have both ears pierced, but not men? Maybe I'm just conditioned to thinking it looks fine on women, but not on men. Or maybe it's just the fact that bejeweled men aren't my cup of tea. Although, I do think it's kind of hot when Kent pulls out his massive gold chain necklace (I wish it had a clock on the end like Flavor Flav) and struts around the house. Okay, that doesn't happen. Kent does have a thing for rap and baseball though, two things that encourage necklaces in males.

Anyway, this is apparently a "style", but the mom in me just can't support it. Sorry, Win, no piercings for you.

6 months

Our boy is 6 months old. I'm not sure how that happened, but it did and we love our blond-haired, blue-eyed baby.

Day 1

Month 6

I don't have his stats because I made his 6 month appointment a little late and they don't have an opening until August 30th. They'll be more like 7 month stats.

Win's Favorites:

-Win loves my water bottle and pretends he knows what to do with it.

-Breast milk is the liquid of choice for our boy. I had a hair appointment the other day and wasn't going to be around for the feeding so Kent was just going to use some formula. Apparently, when Kent put the bottle in Win's mouth Win just let it dribble down the sides of his chin. Eventually, he started pushing it away and I really can't blame him. I suppose it's like powdered milk versus real milk - is there even a comparison? Powdered milk is nasty. Anyway, I had one last bag of frozen breast milk so Kent used it up and everyone was happy.

-He loves the bedtime routine, especially being naked, or at least with diaper only. He chats it up, squeals, screams, rolls around and tries to get up on his hands and knees. He resists putting jammies on though. Not fun for Mr. Win (or Mom and Dad).

-We don't dance around the room as much as we should, but when we do, he really enjoys it.

-He likes to make people laugh. Seriously. If he gets a reaction out of you and he knows he's being funny, he'll try it again. The makings of a comedian.

-Really loves sleeping on his side and still likes having a blanket over his face while falling asleep.

-Out of the songs I sing, Old MacDonald has to be his favorite.

Foods Win has tried:

-Lemon and lime wedges (mean parents), watermelon, carrots and celery. When I say try, I mean sucked on these various items. We have not moved into baby food yet. That will begin this month.

Achievements:

-Mobility: He can move around really well these days. Rolling is no biggie and he can turn himself to face different directions. I think crawling will happen sooner than we know it because he's starting to get up on all fours. He even got himself in the plank position the other day.

-He is also sitting. He occasionally falls back or to his sides, but for the most part he is stable. I still put pillows behind him if I'm not next to him.

-Win can put his pacifier back into his mouth all by himself! It's amazing.

Places visited:

-Both grandmas' houses
-The beach
-A movie theater (only 1x...that was enough)
-Grocery stores
-A mall or two
-Target
-A few restaurants
-Church
-Swimming pools
-Doctor's office
-Pet store
-Houses of friends and family
-Hospital (to visit a cousin)
-The park
-Downtown Disney (really brief)
-Daddy's soccer games
-Two Angels games

There are probably more places, but that's all I can think of for now.

Extra:

Something that cracks me up at the moment is his mad voice. I can't describe it, but he lets us know when he is upset or about to get that way.

It has been half a year of happiness with baby Winston and we're excited to see what the next half will bring.

cousins

Meet Win's cousin, Brigham.

(eye poke)

Brigs: "Here, let me show you how to spin this crazy thing."

Although Brigs stole Win's medicine dropper and poked him in the eye, I think they'll get along just great. 9 1/2 months between these two, but when they get older that won't seem very far. Brigham is all Win has on the West side (agewise) so let's hope they like each other.

sisters' week

Where is the time going? I wish I could freeze it for a few minutes and let things just be. Sisters' week is over-I'm already looking forward to next summer-and my little Win is growing like a weed (an adorable weed, if there is such a thing). Monday was my first day back to "real life" and it was productive, but I can't say it beat being at my mom and dad's house with my sisters. We have such a marvelous time together.

This year we baked whole wheat bread, cinnamon rolls, apple and berry pies, and peach crisp. We also made strawberry jam, apricot leather and homemade granola bars. Throw in a recipe exchange, swimming and water games with the kids, aerobics and running, strolls or "evening constitutionals" after dinner, games at night (I'm addicted to Ticket to Ride), shopping at the dollar store, Thrifty's ice cream and a lot of fun conversation and you have sisters' week. We wanted to do some sewing projects, but there wasn't time. Maybe next summer.

During those two weeks, Mr. Win became a new baby. New meaning he has turned a leaf and is acting like a grown up baby. He jabbers away and rolls around the floor. He is definitely developing into his own little person. He can put himself to sleep and is sleeping longer stretches at night which is heavenly, but sometimes he gets himself stuck (see photo below).

We're back at home loving the memories we made at Grandma's house, gearing up for the next reunion and looking forward to a fun-filled Fall.

romanticized farm life

Children of the 80s, do you remember this book?

We had it in my house growing up.

(I'm fairly certain it was a product of a Scholastic book order circa 1983.)

I haven't been to many farms, but I've always thought it would be fun to live on one. I wonder if this is the book that put that thought into my mind.

Anyway, I can't recall the storyline or if it even had one, but I do remember loving it. For that reason alone, I am determined to buy it for Win. Hopefully, my four or five year old self had good taste in books and it will be a worthwhile purchase.

4 months

I can't believe Win is closer to five months than four. I had every intention of blogging about his fourth month, but somehow between helping plan my mom's 75th surprise party, trying to run and starting work again, the intention got lost. How could I let my documentation slide? It's important. Better late than never I guess.

First off, I have loved Win's fourth month of life. I didn't know I could love my baby more, but I do. He is a joy. Waking up every three or so hours at night to feed him isn't even that bad because he reaches out for my neck now and nuzzles in. It's like a mini hug. We feed and he goes right back to sleep. One of these days I'll try sleep training, but we're not quite there yet.

He does sleep in his crib in the other room now though. I was worried the first couple of nights because he had a cold and I'm always worried about him breathing okay (are all moms and dads freaks about that?), but not only was his bassinet crowding our bedroom, it was crowding poor Win as well. He would reach out his arms and hit the sides. He enjoyed playing with the sides, brushing the fabric with his fingers, but I think it kept him awake. So yes, he is in another room which is one step towards sleep independence. Weaning the night feedings is the next step.

Win is an active boy, his legs are in perpetual motion. Kent and I always say that when he learns how to move around, he is literally going to be everywhere. He has been able to roll from tummy to back since the day before his 12 week mark, but he doesn't roll frequently. I'm not sure why that is. We do tummy time and sometimes he rolls, sometimes he doesn't. He hasn't rolled from back to tummy yet, but he's getting close. He is amazingly content staring up at the ceiling or the bright flashing start atop his play gym, kicking his legs and moving his arms. My mom pointed out to me that he's probably just a content boy, and he is.

Here are some other 4 month snippets:

STATS
Weight: 14 lbs. 5 oz.
Height: 24 1/2 inches
Shots went much better. Only a brief episode of crying and he was fine the rest of the day.

Things he does and some of my favorites:

-Uses his legs and feet like a monkey; he grabs onto my arm with them every time I change him, he uses them to maneuver around the arcs of his play gym and he encircles my water bottle with them when I give it to him for a toy.
-Likes to gnaw on pretty much everything, my chin included.
-Still likes my hair (and dad's); likes to look at it and pull it, thus it is almost always back in a ponytail or bun. Plus, I'm losing tons of it so I don't like wearing it down.
-Still spits up frequently. Not sure when that will end, but we're getting used to it.
-Talks and smiles a lot. I had to take him out of Relief Society the other day because he was talking so loud. Not crying, talking. He's a very social boy.
-He squeals and screams now which makes me laugh.
-He likes to cuddle; when he wakes up in the morning we bring him into our bed and he snuggles right up and sleeps for another 30 minutes or so.
-He outgrew sink baths and now enjoys baths in the "bigger" boy tub (it's a normal baby bathtub). Thank you, Grandma, for finding that for us. -He likes to sit up now and standing is really fun (assisted, of course). I think he sees that the view of the world is more interesting from those vantage points.
-While nursing, he will pause and sit up to see what's going on or merely to complain. Sometimes, he'll just look up at me a smile. Melts me. He also moves his lips when it's time to eat and will play little on again, off again games that he thinks are funny, and they are, most of the time.
-Every time Win laughs a lot he gets hiccups. Funny/sad.
-We introduced him to watermelon and he liked it. Sucked on it for a bit and went in for a second, third, fourth, etc. lick.
-We also introduced him to ocean water at the beach and he acted as if nothing touched his feet. No reaction. Nada. Zilch.
-Favorite animal noises: Monkey and doggie
-The mullet remains, but will be gone in the next week or two. His fluffy, blond hair will be all that is left.
-He has peaches and cream skin with deep blue eyes and rosy lips. His little cheeks get flushed too. Such pretty coloring.

I've said it before and I will say it again, Win is a joy. We love him so much and are so grateful to have this fun, patient, content little boy in our lives.

point break buddies

Clippers vs. Lakers at the Staples Center
(Our only picture with the Petersons...I think I'm about 8 months pregnant here)

Our dear Seal Beach friends moved today, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear or two. Ben and Alex are both fantastic people and we feel so blessed to have met them. They are off to Boston where Ben will be attending business school. I'm sure Alex will find an awesome job there as well. We plan on visiting them, but nothing compares to having good friends a few blocks away. We will miss our Sunday waffle nights and our last minute dinner plans. More than anything, we’ll miss their friendship. They are just all-around great people and we have loved getting to know them over the last year.

So, bon voyage to the Petersons. We will miss you, but are so happy for you and excited for your upcoming adventures (especially in the Maldives).