Friday, October 8, 2010

Words

Well, no use apologizing for lost time.  All I can say is that starting up Westlight Photography has really been taking up more time than I imagined.  Which is a good thing.  It just ramped up so FAST! :)

Anyway, there are tons of pictures from between the last post and now.  Please visit the flickr page to check those out.  There are actually 2 albums now - one for year 1 and one for year 2.

Yes, West crested that 1 year mark.  Things keep getting better.  He walks and talks and makes us laugh and just melt inside with love.  It is just down right amazing how quickly he is picking up and using new words.  As of today he has spoken to me in English, German and ASL.  Yay.  Of course, the only thing he says in German so far is Nein.  Hmmm... we'll have to work on that.

Here's a list of English words he has command of:
Cat (this was his 1st, at 8 months or so)
Mama
Dada
Apple
Up
Down
All Done
Fish
Woof
Neigh
No
Eye
Ball
Go
Hot
Car

And in ASL:
Milk
More
All Done
Fish
Hot
Read
Play
Food
Book
Diaper
Cheese
Ball
Poop
Help

I am surely forgetting some, but you get the point.  And, for some reason, I felt I needed to write these down since tomorrow 3 more will likely be added.  Of course, he can understand so much more than he can say.  And he uses gestures to indicate things he wants but can't describe (let me outside dammit!).  If anyone reading this is considering whether ASL is worth it, the answer from over here is a resounding YES!

Friday, July 23, 2010

{this moment}


{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Friday, July 9, 2010

{this moment}

July 4th


{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Friday, June 25, 2010

{this moment}

West & Ella

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Playing with Caleb

Brotherly Love...

Playing With Caleb from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.

Friday, June 18, 2010

{this moment}



Two this week because we were gone last Friday :)






{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Friday, June 4, 2010

{this moment}

Fun with yarn

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Friday, May 28, 2010

{this moment}

Tomato Snack


{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

9 month photos



The HABA never gets old...

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Crawling!

(long awaited) Swim Photos

Motorboat, motorboat going so fast...

1, 2, 3 - under!

Swimming to the side


Splash! Splash!
Waited and waited to post these thinking we would get the video edited...but, yeah, there is not time to do that ;) I thought I'd share these before he qualifies for the Olympics!

Special thanks to Uncle Adam for capturing these for us!

Friday, May 21, 2010

{this moment}

all wrapped up

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Toys...

West LOVES this "new" car that a neighbor friend passed on to us. Beep! Beep!

Friday, May 14, 2010

{this moment}

mirror, mirror


{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. In her words: A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day Flowers
Yesterday was my first time being on the receiving end of Mother's Day and I have to say...well, it wasn't that much different except that I really took the opportunity to bask in the company of my beloved family.

We had an excellent day filled with breakfast pancakes, long morning (baby) naps, fish tacos, blankets and toys in the shade, well wishes and greetings from all over (as far away as Alaska!) and, of course, lots of cuddles. All in all, a perfect day.

I hope that every mother I know had as wonderful of a day as I did!


Mother's Day 2010

Friday, May 7, 2010

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

...

Thursday, May 6, 2010

8 month photos

I hate to keep playing the "where the heck is the time going" record...but SERIOUSLY.


(still loving those lashes...)



I know we've been kind of slack about updating around here...if only there were more hours in the day...

Sometime upcoming:
  • highlights from Auntie Nini & Uncle Adam's visit
  • video and photos from recent swim lessons
  • tender memories
Until tomorrow...

Friday, April 30, 2010

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

...

Friday, April 23, 2010

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

...

love

Friday, April 16, 2010

{this moment}

{this moment} - A new Friday ritual on this blog. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

...


Nini, West & Caleb

Monday, April 12, 2010

Favorite Current Photo

Well, it is actually kind of hard to choose, but I am really, really digging this one today.



I love how it shows off the fluffy chicklet hair and those big, blue peepers...

Sunday, April 11, 2010

7 months photos


Don't you just love that fluffy little chicklet hair?
There are several more photos over on Flickr. Happy April :)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Papa Sneezes Lettuce

Dylan and West at play...

Papa Sneezes Lettuce from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Beep! Beep!

Beep Beep!


Beep! Beep!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I posted this over on Facebook and one friend commented, "Cute Overload!" Yeah, that's pretty much how I feel every time I look at West, but I know I am a bit biased. Good to know others feel the same way sometimes :)

Happy Irish drummer

Friday, March 12, 2010

6 month photos

These are getting posted a couple of weeks late, but here they are...West's 6 month photos :)

6months_9478



Friday, March 5, 2010

Towers of Babyl

Finally - our computers are both back online. We've had issues with each, but everything is patched (well, mostly patched) for now.

I have a lot - and I really mean A LOT- of pictures and videos that have piled up since the last post. Feel free to pop on over to Flickr or Vimeo (links at far right) to see the full array.

West had his 6 month checkup yesterday. He's up to a whopping 16 pounds and 7 ounces...and is 26.8 inches long. A very healthy baby boy :)

We have also had a couple firsts:

  • 1st solid food...a few weeks ago. He's not that into it, but I keep letting him taste things. Faorites so far? Banana with cinnamon and Tagine of butternut squash and chick peas.
  • 1st swim lesson on 2/27 - his 6 month birthday.
  • 1st TEETH! The two front, bottom teeth have broke through today. We've only been waiting for that for 3.5 months!

Here's a video from today of him chattering away to Caleb and I. More pictures and videos coming soon...

Towers of Babyl... from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Well, we knew this was coming...

Sittin' Pretty (er...Handsome) from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.



He still falls over eventually, but he is getting pretty darn good at this sitting thing...

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Oh, The Games That We'll Play...

No photos for a bit...at least until I get the bugs with my computer worked out. Luckily for you, I have to use D's computer to process and upload videos (Ah, life with 6yr old machines :)

Here are some clips of us play with the Big Guy...

Boop from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.



Water, water everywhere from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.



More Baby Giggles from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.

Friday, February 5, 2010

5 months old!

I can't believe Weston is 5 months old already! Where is the time going?

Jeepers


handsome


Don't even think about taking my HABA!


Don't even think about taking my HABA away!



Thursday, January 28, 2010

nom, nom, nom

Chewy (aka Sophie) from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.


Also, West is 5 months old today!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Tripod-ing

Ok, we've mastered rolling from our back to our front in one direction. Now Tripoding. No, Adam, I can not slow down how fast he is growing!!

Tripod Star

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Fashion Statement

(Papa's favorite outfit)


Fashion Statement

Let me count the ways...

West has been growing and changing so fast it makes my life seem completely surreal. The pictures and videos I post here are a good glimpse, but it's impossible for me to capture everything. If only I had camera lenses mounted in my eyes, we would be all set. Of course, I do record everything I see through those peepers, but sadly I can't share it with you in the same format.

With that in mind, I wanted to share some recent wonderful, amusing and just plain lovable things about Weston.

Water: West is a true water baby. He was born in the tub, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He LOVES his night time bath. In fact, he - a boy who abhors having clothes put on or changed - giggles with excitement now when we are taking off his clothes because he thinks it is bath time. Woe to the parent who is actually just changing an nasty outfit - he lets us know his disapproval immediately.

He also is really fascinated by water in a glass. When I fill a glass from the fridge he swivels his head around to check it out and stares, mesmerized, as I drink. I've given him a couple of sips, but he doesn't really swallow it yet. He does seem to enjoy the cool, smooth feeling, though. I tell him it is magic (and water, I tell him it's water first!), which it is. Water is magic.

For the past month or so West has been pretty fascinated with eating and food. He loves to check out our meal and watch as we pop things in our mouths and chew. I usually point out what each food is so he gets and idea of what all the options are. He's not ready to start solids yet, but I know the time is coming really soon, which makes me excited and sad at the same time.

Every day I find myself excited for the future. When will he sit up by himself? When will he be able to roll both ways? He learns so quickly and it is absolutely amazing, yes amazing, to watch his mind processing...processing...processing and then see him complete a task.

Earlier this month he mastered the art of rolling from his back to his front. He has rolled both ways before, but after going each way once decided that he really didn't have any interest in rolling. Until a week or so ago when D and I sat and watched him after his bath as he processed...processed...processed...rolled. He hasn't stopped since. Now, if he is left on his back for a moment and you turn your head - whoop - there he goes on to his tummy. The trouble is that he doesn't yet know how to roll back to his back. He gets onto his stomach and hangs out for a bit before getting tired and frustrated. At that point, if you flip him back to his back, he screams. The pattern is so consistent that we've noticed that rolling has become a direct path to a bad mood.

So, I look forward to when he can roll both ways, but I also know that leads to rolling across the floor...and then crawling...and then walking...and then...and then...

Time has taken on some new dimensions for me and it seems to move painfully slow and incredibly fast all at the same time. One day soon West will start eating solids, and he will nurse less. Then he will stop nursing all together. I cannot express how sad that makes me. At the same time, it sure will be nice when D can really take him for an afternoon and I can go get my hair cut and not worry about if he'll take the bottle or not. And it will be nice to not have to wear nursing pads and bras anymore.

In the same way, I can't wait until he sleeps through the night in his crib. I miss being able to curl up next to D, and my back may never be the same after so many nights of contortion. But when it's over, when he sleeps in his own room every night, I know I will miss his warm feet pressing into my abdomen. I just know it.

Every time I hold him, rocking him to sleep, and he sunggles into my neck I tear up. How many more times? Dare I put you down in your crib? What if you never snuggle in like this again? Of course, my rational self knows that he surely will - at least for a while longer. But everything is changing constantly.

Before West was born I had elaborate plans to write out his birth story and then write him a monthly letter about all his experiences, changes, etc. I never even finished the birth story. Lack of time, or a last gasp to slow it down? Hmmm...

Anyway, in the vein of recording some of his cool things, here are a couple of others:

  • He loves to pet Caleb and smiles when his ca-ca-cat comes over to him.
  • He loves to play "Where is Weston?"
  • He loves to bounce in the jumper.
  • He loves to be outside.
  • He loves to drool (ok, maybe he doesn't love it, but he sure does a lot of it).
  • He loves his two toys that have pull strings leading to music and he is strong enough to hold on as I pull them away from him.
  • He loves when Papa comes home - gives him a huge smile every time.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

bouncy jumpy love

4 months

West love, love, LOVES the bouncy chair that the Melton's loaned to him. At first he could only move his legs independently but very quickly he discovered that he could bounce higher if he used his legs together. Even when he is tired and wants to get out he'll accidentally start bouncing again and he has fun even though he wants out.

I took another video of him today bouncing and bouncing. Hopefully I'll get it uploaded soon...it's pretty short and shows how much fun he has in there :)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Is that a track hoe on your shirt...

...or are you just happy to see me?

4 months

Monday, January 11, 2010

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Video Catch-up

Several overdue videos have been uploaded to Vimeo, including this gem...

sleepy baby from Micha McNerney on Vimeo.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

4 Month Photo Shoot

We were a couple of days late, but we still got some cute shots for this month's shoot. Special thanks to Rhonda and Judy for the beautiful, soft blankets!