Last week we had Wesley’s picture taken professionally (I’ll post some pictures later), including some pictures in his Halloween costume from last year. Then he weighed only about 5 pounds, and the costume is size 0-9 months, so last year he was pretty much drowning in it.

But this year it fits him much better. I think he weighs around 16 pounds now. Anyway, I brought him home from the shoot in his costume and let him play in it a while until he spit up all over it and necessitated a change. It’s not everyday you have Superman in the house.

Wesley turned one on Friday the 12th. It was a quiet affair. We gave him a cupcake, just to see what he’d do with it. I wasn’t sure he’d know how to eat it, but he dug right in. I wonder, in retrospect, if I should have left off the frosting. It kept sticking to his hands, which he kept shaking to get the sticky stuff off, which meant cake pieces were flying around everywhere and John was frantically pulling over extra blankets around the high chair to act as protection to the carpet.

For his birthday we ordered three toys online, but none of them have come yet. But on his birthday we did give Wes two balls. Apparently until now he has led a seriously underprivileged baby life without any balls to play with. I didn’t realize they were The Thing to have. I’m really glad we got him the balls; he loves it when we roll the ball to him and he tries to roll it back. I’m loving that he’s getting so interactive.

I pulled this outfit from Wesley’s closet today, put it on him, and about died from cuteness overload. It was a gift from my visiting teacher last year. When she gave it to him I was worried he wouldn’t be able to wear it because the outfit is size 3-6 months, and when Wes was actually 3-6 months in age he was wearing sizes newborn and 0-3 months. But hooray, he’s finally big enough and it’s finally cool enough that I got to see him in it today. (The stuffed fox is part of the outfit. It’s like his little pocket friend.)

As a side-note, Wes has started to crawl towards our cats, who have quickly learned to run far away as fast as they can whenever they see Wes starting towards them. It gives him good motivation, and them good exercise.

Later this week our baby will be turning one year old. To think a year ago I was living a different life, working full-time, completely unsuspecting that in a few days I’d be a mom and change my career path forever.

One month before Wes was born I suddenly turned into a nesting maniac and spent most of my lunch hours and free time either in Babies-R-Us or perusing baby Web sites and catalogs. I felt such an urgency to get things ready after a seven-month drought where I felt no interest at all.

Six days before Wes was born John and I went to the Def Leppard concert in West Valley City, UT. John’s a big fan. It was my first live and up-close experience with the group and with 80’s-style rock fan attire (e.g., miniskirts, leggings and warm-ups, leather pants, etc.). It was loud, but fun. Boy, I was tired by the end.

Five days before Wes was born my cousin was married in Texas, and I wanted so badly to go even though I was 36 weeks pregnant. I checked with the airlines and technically you can fly when you’re 36 weeks if you have a doctor’s note of approval. I finally decided not to go, which ended up being a very good thing.

Two days before Wes was born John and I both went to the dentist and found out we each have an identical cavity in the same tooth. Weird, huh? We still haven’t had them filled.

One day before Wes was born (a.k.a. the day wherein I went into labor) I woke up at 3:30 a.m. for no perceivable reason with a ton of energy and put together our new jogging stroller. I’m still proud I did that myself. Then I went to work as usual.

That same day at 3 p.m. I went to the OBGYN for my 36-week appointment. All checked out fine, although I didn’t feel well.

That same day at 4:30 p.m. I was running errands before my aerobics class and found it hard to walk because of an annoying pain in my back. It came in waves and I had to sit and let it pass sometimes. I skipped my aerobics class and went home to take a bath.

That night at 7:00 I called the doctor to tell him my symptoms and he suggested I had the flu and to take some pills to feel better.

That night at 7:30 when John got home he watched me a while and then handed me an oven timer “just to see.” My pains were 2-4 minutes apart. I still didn’t realize I was in labor.

That night at 10:00 I called the doctor again and said things really weren’t improving and he relented that possibly I was in labor.

That night at 11:30 a nurse at the hospital finally examined me. John said, “We know it’s probably a false alarm, but…” and the nurse said, “She’s here to stay.” And I finally realized I was having a baby.

The next morning at 1:38 a.m. we had a baby boy, Wesley John, who weighed just 3 lbs 15 oz and was 16 inches long. No one knew he’d be so small. He was reasonably healthy, considering that his heart rate dropped significantly during labor, that he was 3 1/2 weeks early, and that he was so tiny.

On his birthday at 7 a.m. the pediatrician informed us Wesley likely has Down syndrome.

Twelve days after his birthday we got to bring him home with oxygen attached. He weighed just 4 pounds 2 oz.

Six weeks after his birthday we got to send back his oxygen tank and take off the annoying stickers that held the tubes to his face. The scars on his tiny feet from where he was poked for blood samples multiple times a day in the hospital had healed.

Two months after his birthday he graduated from preemie-size clothes to newborn size.

Three months after his birthday he started sleeping through the night (hallelujah) and smiling.

Four months after his birthday he weighed almost 9 1/2 pounds and could hold his head up by himself with only a little wobbling.

Six months after his birthday he could sit up if we supported him and was wearing size 0-3 month clothing.

Seven months after his birthday he could stay sitting up all by himself!

Eight months after his birthday he could hold up his bottle by himself.

Nine months after his birthday he could wear size 3-month clothing.

Ten months after his birthday he could push himself up to sitting and eat finger foods if we put them in his mouth for him.

Eleven months after his birthday he weighs around 15 pounds and is in size 3-6 month clothing. He can say lots of sounds like “mama” and “baba,” pull himself to standing in the crib, and crawl. He can eat all sorts of foods that don’t require teeth (of which he has none), but his pincer grip is yet to be developed so we pop the foods in his mouth for him. When he sees our hands approaching he drops his mouth wide open and leans forward for the food. He loves to drink from cups, even if he gags on the liquid. He can play independently and has so much fun stacking toys, chewing on toys, and pushing buttons on toys so they light up and play music. He has so many friends. He smiles a lot, which lights up his whole face and turns his eyes into half-moons, and he makes us smile a lot too.

The year has gone quickly. Who knows what the next year will bring?

Wesley’s therapist visited today and, boy, was she blown away. Wes started figuring out crawling two days ago, on Wednesday. He would move a step or two toward a toy, then stop and try to push up to sitting or roll over. It took a lot of effort from us both for him to reach the toy. Thursday he was doing a little better crawling. And today . . . well, check out the videos yourself.

Video of Wes crawling 1

Video of Wes crawling 2

His favorite target when crawling is his bottle, no question. I’ve tried to get him to move toward me or John, but apparently we’re not tempting enough yet.

Additionally, Wesley is doing great with all sorts of motor skills. He wowed his therapist by putting a ring on the stacker toy and taking it off again, by putting a toy in a small bowl and taking it out again, and by stacking one toy on another next to him. These are all things that she wasn’t sure he was ready for, but he’s pretty much mastered them in the two weeks since her last visit. He also clearly understands cause-and-effect, which he demonstrated by continually tossing a certain toy that lights up when it lands. He kept throwing it down to make it light up.

She was very impressed with Wes, and I couldn’t help but feel the Proud Mom glowing inside me. Technically Wes is behind other kids developmentally, but for having Down syndrome he’s doing terrific. He’s smart and can focus on toys and sounds and people and is so interested in whatever is happening around him.

Now that he can crawl, our cats had better start being on their guard. Once Wes targets them as a worthwhile goal, I bet he’ll get pretty fast, following them around as they run away.

Since Wes has learned to pull himself to standing in his crib his poor toys are at his mercy. His new favorite pastime is assaulting his Winnie the Pooh mobile and eating the ears on his musical puppy. I figure it’s good practice for his balance.

Being a mom, you don’t really get paid vacation hours. Or unpaid vacation hours. Or vacation hours of any kind.

But, unlike with normal desk jobs, you’re not limited to x-number hours of vacation. You can go where you want, when you want, for as long as you want. You just have to take your work with you. And he or she has to be somewhat cooperative with your plans.

So today I took Wes to Salt Lake City for a little sight-seeing. After living around here for nearly ten years, I realized I’ve never done proper touristy-type things, and there’s no time like the present. I also got to try out our new lightweight stroller. I needed something light and compact (unlike my very bulky, very heavy jogging stroller) and after some research and hands-on experimentation I decided on the Maclaren Triumph. It only weighs about 11 pounds and turns on a dime. It’s fantastic.

The first thing Wes and I did was take a guided tour of the Conference Center. It was the first time I’ve been on the roof to see the garden up there. Wes and I enjoyed the view of downtown Salt Lake.

Then we stopped in at the Lion House Pantry and picked up a lunch to go (chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies, and a world-famous roll). It was “to go” because I had to go and feed the parking meter again. Two hours went by fast.

Next we toured the Church History Museum and peeked in at the original 1847 log cabin right next door.

Lastly, we walked around Temple Square, took some photos, and watched a wonderful presentation on eternal families in the Visitors’ Center.

With all the construction happening in the downtown area, walking through Temple Square really does feel like the most peaceful experience on Earth. You can’t hear the construction (which, I can attest, is loud). It’s so quiet and comfortable. Here are our attempts at photos on Temple Square.

We stopped at my brother’s place in the Avenues for a visit with his wife and their two kidlets. Wes got to play with his six-month-old cousin Ethan. This photo makes Wes out to be a giant, but actually Ethan has the edge on Wes in the size department.

There was a lot of this going on:

On the way home we listened to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on tape and stopped in American Fork at my favorite bakery, where we had ice cream and a slice of Asiago cheese bread and bought two cupcakes to go.