Gross!

Wesley has started to become a little boy, as opposed to a baby. Part of that change has been to take an interest in purposefully making a mess with his food - and being proud of it.

Here he is eating Jell-o this morning:


And a great shot of him eating a cracker while we were at the aquarium yesterday:

Music Class

We started taking Wesley to music classes a few months ago. We don't go every week, and actually have not been to class in several weeks. When we first started the classes, Wesley was not very interested. Lately, he has started playing the guitar with daddy, and now, he loves music class! Today, he was the first one up there when it was time to try out the instruments ~

Big Boy!

Wesley has reached a milestone -- he is allowed to sit forward facing in the car. We have purchased convertible car seats for both of our vehicles and have turned him around. Needless to say, he is happy to preside from the back seat~

Aquarium - Take two!

Now that Wesley is a little older, we decided to try another trip to the aquarium. As you can see, he had a blast this time around, as he was able to interact with all of the exhibits!

Swimming!

This weekend we went to visit our friends William, Kazumi and three month old Neo. Wesley got a special treat during our visit ~ he got to go swimming in their big pool. He loved it!!

New toy

For the past few weeks, when I arrive to pick Wesley up from day care, he is playing outside in the yard, usually pushing around a ride-on toy. He enjoys it so much, that sometimes he cries when we leave because he wants to keep playing.

In attempt to make Wesley want to come home with me at night, I decided to use some of the gift card money he received for his birthday to purchase a ride on toy for Wesley. I bought him a Sesame Steet Fire Engine, which seems to be a success:



He even rides on it instead of just pushing it.



Hopefully he will stop crying when I take him away from his toys at day care and want to come home with me - even if it is just to play with his new fire engine!

I Think I am Raising a Monkey

Wesley has two sets of built in book shelves in his room. They are filled with toys and books for the most part. One shelf has a basket of toys that Wesley really likes playing with, so the basket ends up on the floor a lot, leaving the shelf empty. Apparently, Wesley got bored with the basket of toys today and found something more interesting to do.

The Old Fashioned Cure for a Heat Wave

Los Angeles has been having a heat wave all week. I went shopping and bought Wesley his first pool to help him beat the heat.

At first he was a bit unsure.



Then he got the idea.



It was not long before he started to have fun!

Walking!

Wesley took his first unassisted steps the weekend before his first birthday. Shortly thereafter, we bought him his first pair of Stride-Rite Walking Shoes.





For the next few weeks, he still preferred to walk holding on to things, but did take a few unassisted steps here and there.



When we got to NJ for vacation, he really took off --



By the time we got home to Los Angeles, he was not only walking all over the house, but carrying things as well!

Wesley's East Coast Premiere

On the last weekend of our vacation, we took the opportunity to have a party for Wesley so that all of our East Coast friends and family could meet him and celebrate his first birthday. The party was a huge hit!

Here are some of the attendees enjoying some party games:



Wesley really enjoyed his first birthday cake!





Wesley is not usually crabby, but he was so exhausted by the end of the party, he had a melt down:



Then we were able to get him to nap.



I hope to add some more party pictures as I receive them from guests!

Family!

Our vacation in New Jersey gave Wesley the opportunity to visit with and meet many of his family members for the first time and to reconnect with some others.

Wesley met his Grandpa for the first time on this trip. They really hit it off!



While in New Jersey, we rented a shore house with family. This gave Wesley a chance meet and to get to know his seven month old cousin Ryan and his uncle Wade. They had a lot of fun together!







He also got to reconnect with his grandma and aunt Kate (both with Ryan):





While in NJ, we had a first birthday party for Wesley (the subject of a later post). The party was attended by some very special guests:

These lovely ladies are Wesley's two maternal great grandmothers, who were so excited to meet him!



So were Grandma Barbara, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Rob:



And cousin Megan!



And our surprise guest, who came all the way from San Antonio, Texas to celebrate Wesley's special day, Uncle Jay!!

Vacation!!

We took our first vacation with Wesley this month. We took a plane to the motherland, New Jersey. Despite living in temperate Southern California, Wesley had never really been to the beach (as in sand, waves, shovels). His first real beach experience was the Jersey Shore.

Here he is all dressed and ready for his first beach excursion:



Here he is with daddy:



At first, Wesley needed to assess the situation:





Then he was ready to dip his feet in the Atlantic Ocean. He loved it! In fact, if waves not come all of the way up to him, he tried to walk to them - a real dare devil!



Wesley also enjoyed playing in the sand:







His cousins, Ryan and Joey, also got into the act:





Wesley played hard on the beach and always came home exhausted - he even fell asleep in daddy's arms on the beach a few times. Look how exhausted they both are:





Stay tuned for more of Wesley's NJ adventures!