Westley's first trip to Kansas City

Last weekend, Brian and I packed up Westley and an SUV full of baby gear and road tripped to Kansas City to celebrate my brother-in-law Eric's birthday. We met up with my parents-in-law, Eric and Eric's wonderful girlfriend Valisha. We cheered after we crossed the Kansas/Missouri border: It was Westley's first time outside of Kansas! It's fun to think of all the other states we'll visit together in the coming years.

We stayed at the Holtze, our favorite K.C.-area hotel and went to a Royals game at the impressively renovated Kauffman Stadium (Holy cow: We even got to see a home team win!).

Some pics from the game:






We also visited a couple of our favorite food spots in the area: Cheesecake Factory and Free State Brewery in Lawrence.

We learned again that it's an awful lot of work to travel with an infant. Good thing we got home in time Sunday to rest, relax and reflect on our fun whirlwind road trip.

Family introductions

Last week, we spent some time visiting with Brian's cousin Meredith, who was in Wichita from the D.C. area. She is expecting her first baby in December, and we admired her glorious and gorgeous baby bump. She got to meet Westley for the first time and gave him the most adorable stuffed puppy we named D.C. the Doggy. West loves that pooch. It's so fun to watch him reach for his toys and interact with them. So many changes in our little one! What a wonder to discover the world anew through his sparking innocent eyes. It humbles me.




It's a blessing to continue to introduce our little miracle to friends and family we love. I'm looking forward to more of that this weekend, with Westley's baptism on Sunday.

National Night Out

Brian, Westley & I attended our block's National Night Out party last week. The highlight was when the fire department showed up to tap into the fire hydrant and douse the kids -- and our dogs:





We also got to meet a gorgeous black lab who is a department arson dog and get a close-up look at their truck:



Aug. 3 was a big day for Westley. In addition to getting his first shots, Brian and I took him to the poll with us when we voted in the primary election. You can see his "I voted" sticker in this photo:


Click to view additional photos from the event.

Big shot

Our little punkin got his first round of shots at the doctor last week. It broke our hearts to watch, but we're so thankful to have access to good health care. Westley got a fever that night, and my blood pressure and anxiety level rose right along with his temperature. Once it hit 101.3, we paged the pediatrician, who advised us to give West some infant Tylenol and lots of snuggles.

Just what the doctor ordered:

Mother Nature's hot flashes

It figures that the summer we have our first infant at home is the summer that brings one of the worst heat waves in Kansas history.

This weather isn't conducive to much of anything, especially toting around a little guy. One of the tricks we've discovered to help Westley is to place a reusable cold compress in the bottom of his car seat. It keeps his little back -- and his whole body -- cooler. Brian figured that one out, and Westley seems to like the car much more now. We keep his floppy hats handy and pretty much stay in air conditioning (when we're not at the pool). We had one tough day last week when our air conditioner quit on us. Fortunately, the temps stayed in the two-digit range, and Brian found a repairman pronto who, 170-something dollars later, fixed the problem.

Don't be cruel, summer.

Water baby

Swimming is an important activity for Brian and me. He grew up in a pool, competing in swim club, lifeguarding and teaching lessons. The money he made cleaning a local private pool in the mornings helped him buy my engagement ring. I took swimming lessons as a child but came to love it in recent years when I rediscovered it as an incredibly effective and relaxing form of exercise. Without knowing how to swim and feeling comfortable in the water, we wouldn't have been able to bodyboard in Padre, enjoy the Ozarks or explore one of our favorite pieces of the great outdoors.

We plan to enroll Westley in his first swimming class this fall. To acclimate him to the water -- and to make the most of this horribly hot summer -- we've taken him swimming about a half dozen times already. He was clearly out of his element the first couple of times. He's bothered less now, though, when his face gets wet. He's so brave, and I'm amazed at how inspired I can be by an 11-week old baby.

Here are some pictures from a recent afternoon at the pool:






Click to see additional photos.

Wild West

In late July, work took Brian out of town for a few days. Still enjoying maternity leave, Westley and I tagged along for West's first overnight trip outside of Wichita. We packed too many baby clothes, burp cloths and the like. But all of the extra diapers ended up being a good idea. Westley was a pretty good little baby and even slept soundly while the three of us had a tasty Mexican dinner at a Garden City restaurant, took an evening stroll in the city park and checked out the hotel hot tub (don't worry -- Westley didn't get in).

We stretched our legs and explored a historic stop about the Santa Fe Trail on our way to Garden City ...




... and made a quick stop at Dodge City's Boot Hill, which I had never visited before. Above everything else there, we marveled at the gorgeous sky:





Westley's souvenir was a little sheriff's badge that says, "Wild West." A nickname we've given our little guy, it was the perfect badge for him for this trip. Can't wait to see what other adventures our family of three will have together.

Click to view additional photos from our trip.

Two feet ... times two!

Westley & Dakota

Little Westley James is so fun to watch as he's more and more able to explore the world around him. This week, he found his two adorable feet, and we often find him grabbing them with his hands. He holds toys and brings them to his mouth (though he's not quite chewing on things yet). He's also started to help us hold his bottle, which is by far more adorable than it is helpful. He can see us when we're farther away from him, and he is even more responsive to the world around him. He's smiling and laughing more, melting our hearts along the way. He loves to grip my hair, and I often have to uncurl his tiny hand from my hair when it's time for me to put him down.

He had a pediatrician appointment this week, and he's officially two feet long and 11.5 pounds. Thank God for a clean bill of health. We continue to be so blessed and our lives so fulfilled by our amazing addition.


Westley is so strong and can roll over, sit up in his Bumbo (pictured above) and is better tolerating tummy time.

More changes are around the corner: Next week, I return to work full-time (after nine weeks off and three weeks of part-time work during my maternity leave). And my little sweetheart will start daycare. It brings a wealth of mixed emotions, but I'm so thankful to love the job and career I'm returning to and to have found a place where Westley will be loved and well cared-for. Wish us luck!

Westley smiling in his sleep