6 Months

Well, almost 7 actually, but I did not give you the 6 month update. Brady did great at his 6 month check-up. There were tons of sick children there, but luckily he was all well. He took his shots like a champ while reading the book that the Dr. had given him. He was 19 1/2 pounds and 27 inches. He has really slowed down on his growth, but is still in the 75th percentile. He can sit up all by himself and is starting to crawl. He can army crawl just about anywhere he wants to go and is working on coordinating crawling on all fours. He still just has the four teeth, but I am guessing there are more on the way with the copious amounts of drool and chewing that are going on! He eats anything and everything but has become partial to applesauce. I just buy the big jar at the store and don't mess with buying babyfood applesauce. All-in-all he is doing great and we are having a lot of fun with him right now.

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated Brittany's birthday here in Abilene so most of our college group was in town. It was fun to see Brady and Crawford together, we missed Coleman though. Crawford was absolutely precious! It was also good to see everyone else. I have such a great group of friends. I have no idea what my life would possibly be like without them. Even when I am feeling aweful, they make me laugh. Thanks girls!

This past week we went to Houston for Texas Association of School Psychologists conference. I am on the board so I had to be there early to help get everything ready. Since Brady is not weaned, he got to come too. Lindsey came with us and was an absolute life saver. I really enjoy going to the conference every year, but when you are working it, it can be even more fun, but also more demanding and tiring. Ultimately we did have a great time. We used Brady behind the registration table at times so that people wouldn't get ugly. You can't be ugly around a baby. He was like our mascot for the week. We should have made him a TASP onesie. Ultimately it was Lindsey though that took care of him all week. I was only there for some feeding purposes. They had a good time, as always. She even got him and Ty(her baby boy to be) matching outfits. She is such a good aunt and will be an even better mom.

Next week is ACU's homecoming, so there will be family in for that weekend. I myself will not be attending my club breakfast, but they are going to theirs. It is just too early for me to be social. We may take Brady to the parade though so maybe we will see some old friends there.

"Mom, Dad and I are talking right now. Do you mind?"

so sweet

Tub Time

updated pics

mommy with her handsome man

flirting with the camera


dressed to join the PGA tour

once again using the bouncer inappropriately


mom, this is how all the babies are doing it

such a cute little backside

giving the dragonfly some love

beautiful eyes

look at those rolls

where else can plumbers keep their pencils?

chicken

more chicken

most chicken

pictures

how not to sit in the swing

How not to sit in the bouncer

trying to choke daddy

chillin' with dad

Boo

yes, those are my two bottom teeth...top ones on the way

flirting with the camera

trying to suck my thumb

Back to school, Back to school

Well the summer is officially over for the Westmoreland's. Before we went back to school though, we went on a shopping trip with Mom-mom and Aunt Lindsey. We had a lot of fun but we were all worn out. Everyone made out pretty well although Mom was worried that Brady only came back with three large bags of clothes! All day shopping trips are a little harder with a 4 month old, but Brady really did pretty well considering.

Brady had his first day of school this past Monday. We were all up and ready to go and we were even on-time. Put that in the record book because it may very well be the last time. Daniel was home in the mornings most of the week and was a big help in getting Brady ready. When he is not around the help in the morning I do not know what we will do. He assures me that it will be ok, he apparently used to bottle feed 15 calves in the morning before he went to school...I assured him that Brady is surely more of a handful than 25 calves j/k. Brady did alright all week. He is not sleeping as much at daycare and is pretty worn out by the time we get home. I think being around the other babies has been good for him though, because he is interacting more and is already trying to crawl and scoot around like others in his class. The only bad thing about daycare, he already has his first snotty nose. No fever or anything like that, just very stopped up. I can't wait for cold season! I also did ok with Brady's first week at school. It helps that he is across the parking lot. I have already gone over and fed him and it was very convenient. I had to go feed him because I forgot his milk. I have a feeling that knocks me out of the running for mother-of-the-year.

Anyway, work is going well for me. I really do enjoy my job and I am going to get to do some exciting things this year. Exciting for me, I am sure no one else will see it this way, but what can I say, I am a nerd. This should catch everyone up for now. I hope everyone had a great week!

Oh I forgot, we started peas this week. Brady likes them but gets a funny look on his face when I switch him from cereal to peas, yet he still wants more of them. We will go onto butternut squash next. Stay tuned.

I have pictures but blogger is hating me right now. I will try to post some later.

Good weekend?

Hope everyone had a good weekend whether you were watching some TV

Or curling up with a good book

like Brady and I did

Pictures that speak for themselves

This is what it looks like when Mommy lets me hold my spoon

And this is what it looks like when she takes my spoon away

Lick the Platter Clean

As you can see Brady had his first "solid" food today. The Dr told us that we could start playing around with food but that it would be more for our entertainment than for Brady's overall nutrition. It was pretty entertaining as Brady wanted to feed himself and literally tried to lick the bowl clean as we were finishing up. He ate all of it and appeared to like it. He is always interested in our food so I was not suprised when he went into eating head first. Also, as you can see from our Dr visit, the kid doesn't miss a meal. Overall the cereal was a success. We will see how the next few weeks go and decide if we want to start adding fruits and veggies. I am thinking about making some of my own baby food. Does anyone else out there reading do this? Who all thinks I am crazy? Probably the ones of you who think I am crazy for using cloth diapers...which is going pretty well by the way. The daycare even allows cloth diapers so that was good news. Also very good news, we got into a daycare starting when I go back to work and the daycare is right across the parking lot from my office. So, now we will try to enjoy our last week and half of summer. Daniel finishes school this week. Brady and I have a shopping trip planned with Mom-mom and Aunt Lindsey that we are all excited about. Hope everyone is having a great week!

just pics

What you lookin' at?

Hanging out with Dad

Helping Dad with school

All I can load for now...stay tuned for more

Doctor Doctor, give me the news

So we went to the Dr today for Brady's 4 month check up. He is still big. 17lbs 25.5 inches. He got his shots so that was not much fun. It was also all during his morning nap time making our visit just that much more entertaining. Everyone got to hear Brady's screaming/yelling/crying while they got to hear me sing and talk to try to settle him down. He finally settled down just in time to get his shots, causing him to cry once again. As soon as we got in the car he was out. All in all the Dr said everything looked really well, normal development and all that. We are going to start some cereals this week but he said that he is getting plenty of food right now so no need to rush with solids.



We went to the farm this weekend and got to see Aunt Mildred and cousin Pam. Mildred brought some old pictures of the Westmoreland's through the years. I now know what Daniel and Brady will look like from now until they are 90. Apparently the Westmoreland male gene is rather strong because they all look exactly alike. Luckily they all age really well :) The Westmorland's have been working that farm for over 100 years. Daniel is the 4th generation to be actively farming. It was really neat to see how they used to have to plow with horses and all the old tractors.

I have pictures to post but blogger is hating me right now. Check back soon!

Is it really the middle of July?

Sorry all you faithful followers...all three of you! We have been on the road for the past couple of weeks and also had some very welcomed company.

We went to the farm to help finish up wheat harvest a few weeks ago. Brady and I helped by staying out of the way and consequently, in the air conditioned house. The other grandchildren actually did go out and ride in the combines. Whether they were much help is uncertain, but all had a good time.

After that our dear friend Brittany came to stay for the week. We may have scared her out of ever having children. Although we wished that she still lived in Abilene, it was a lot of fun to have her here for the week. She even kept Brady one night while Daniel and I went to dinner. If you are ever in Abilene or Albany I highly recommend going to eat at the Beehive. It was soooo good, as always. Sorry Brittany that we weren't very good hosts. I promise to do better if you ever come back...please come back!

We also went back out to Midland for my high school reunion. Brady and I went out little early so we could hang out by the pool and do a little shopping. Mom mom decided to give Brady swimming lessons. I am not sure he liked the part where she decided to hold his nose and put him under water. Now my mother has to be supervised when she wants to take Brady swimming, just kidding...kind of :) The reunion was nice. I was able to see some old friends. There were a lot of people that I really wanted to see that were not there. It was very interesting to see where people have ended up over the past years. I think that is all I will say about that. Brady also made his first appearance at Mom and Dad's church and was able to see some of our good friends. He was really tired and didn't make the best showing, but everyone loved him just the same.

Sorry I do not have more pictures. Daniel has had the camera the past couple of weeks while he has been climbing and touring various wind farms in the area. We are borrowing my dad's fancy camera and think we have all the working parts now so that we can take some good pictures.

Not much more time before I go back to work. Pray that we get our childcare situation all worked out. I know this was a boring post. I hope to have more and better things to write about to come. Happy Wednesday!

Blown Away

Well I hope he doesn't blow away, although I worry at times. Yes, that is a picture of my husband 250 feet up in the air on top a wind turbine. He assures me that he is tied on to something so that he will not blow away. He had to climb a ladder to the top and of course loved it. He even bought a fanny pack that holds snacks and water bottles. He would have made a great boy scout seeing as he is always prepared. He is taking a course on wind energy and this was one of their field trips. Today they went out and saw some turbines that were even bigger. That is what he has been up to...literally.

And We're Back!

Look how strong I am

Whew...Brady and I have been on the road for the past week. Weekend before last we decided to take an impromptu trip to see Meme and go to my Great-Uncle Chester's 90th birthday party. While we were there we got to send some time with Aunt Brend, Uncle Frankie, cousin Brandon and his son Brayden. Try saying Brenda, Brandon, Brayden, Brady five times fast. No one was called the right name the entire day. Actually, when Aunt Mary came over to visit she decided to just call Brady by his middle name, Cole. If you know Aunt Mary you understand why she has the authority to do this. Then on Sunday we went to uncle Chester's party. While there we were able to meet up with several other sets of cousins that we usually only get to see at Easter every year, so it was good to see everyone.

Brady and Aunt Brend-yes I know we look just a like


More cousins at Uncle Chester's party. Notice the big kids in the back with no heads...sorry Christopher, Alex and Bennett

We got back home on Monday and I had to go back to work for a day to finish everything up for the year and Brady got to help. We then packed back up and headed to Midland to hang out with Mom-mom and Richard (we are still trying out some names for Dad). We only got to see Aunt Lindsey for a little bit since she and Travis were headed out of town for the weekend. I had planned to spend some time out by the pool, but of course it rained the whole time. The only time it rains in the desert is when I want to go hang out by the pool. The rain was good though, and we went shopping to fill the time. Mom-mom was a lot of help! Mom even through Brady a 3 month birthday party and invited some friends over for fajitas and cobbler. Why is the food always better when you go home? Dad also helped with the kids state fishing tournament this past weekend and has decided that when Brady turns three he will start fishing competitively and they will kick every one's rears. I do not doubt it!

mmm looks good enough to eat...or at least drool on

Brady also went to his first birthday party. It was a party for 5 of our friends, ranging in age from 7 to 1. I think it will be the only Texas Longhorn, rocket ship, butterfly,John Deere, and flamingo themed birthday party ever. It was a lot of fun and we were able to see some of our good friends and have lots of cake. Yes, there was a different cake for every theme!

Now we are back home and Brady and I have been very busy around the house. I have gone through my closet and drawers, and now have a guest closet full of clothes to get rid of. I plan on packing all of Brady's clothes that he has grown out of into vacuum seal bags this week as well. He is already moving on out of his 6th month clothes and is headed full steam ahead into 9 moths. He is just too tall for his clothes...that and they don't always make the thigh holes big enough for a man of his stature :)

Daniel is taking a course at TSTC to learn about wind turbines. He is really enjoying it and has something new to share with me every night. Besides that, we are just trying to get some things done around the house. Sometimes Brady is not the best helper, but we are trying to work around that. Hope everyone is having a great week!