Last weekend we went to St. George, Utah, for a family gathering. It was my first time visiting (not just driving through). We were privileged to stay three nights for FREE at a posh home in a gated neighborhood, courtesy of the owners, who use this place as their second home.

Friday we hit the outlet malls and, with our coupon book, got some decent deals on stuff, including some jeans from the Levi’s outlet and a great dress from Downeast Outfitters for only $12.

That night we met up with some of John’s family for dinner at Chili’s where I had the Guiltless Chicken Sandwich (super good without a ton of calories) and for dessert the white chocolate molten lava cake (super-DUPER good and don’t even ask about the calories; it was worth every one).

On Saturday morning I took Wes to the neighborhood pool. The pool area was landscaped gorgeously with plenty of greenery and, best of all, at nine in the morning no one else was there. The water was a nice warm temperature. I borrowed a baby boat from a friend to see if it would help Wes feel more comfortable in the water. The problem was that he’s still small for it. When he sat in the boat, using good posture, the water came up nearly to his chin. When he slouched even a little it was over his mouth. I had to support him from underneath so he wouldn’t be sucking water.

I don’t think Wes was particularly impressed with swimming. He whined a bit until he found these little blue knobby things on the side of his baby boat. I’m not sure what their actual purpose is, but they served perfectly as a distraction for Wes while I floated him around the pool. He had so much fun playing that he forgot he was in the water.

Saturday afternoon we went to see Wall-E. Normally we wouldn’t take Wes with us to a movie, but John’s mom was there and she was more than willing to take him out if needed. She sat on the aisle with him on her lap. I shouldn’t have worried, though. It was funny to watch him because he just stared at the big screen, utterly transfixed. About half-hour into the film we glanced over and he had fallen sound asleep. If he had made a fuss, though, this would have been the movie to do it at, because there were tons of kids and plenty of babies in the audience. The other families probably would have been more understanding and forgiving than at a non-Disney/Pixar film.

Saturday night we went to a luau celebrating John’s great-aunt’s 90th birthday. In order to dress appropriately I had gone earlier in the week to Savers (a thrift store) and found Wes a luau onesie for $2.99. I should have gotten a better photo of him in it, because it was darn cute on him. As always, Wes was the life of the party, besides Aunt Grace. Here we are with Grace, plus John’s mom and step-dad.

Sunday morning Wes got a bath. We had to make do with what we had, so he got his first-ever bath in the kitchen sink. He fit pretty neatly.

In other news, Wes is getting the hang of pulling his knees under him. Here he is rocking back and forth on all fours.

Lastly, this week was also our sixth anniversary. I’ve read enough blogs to know that traditionally you’re supposed to post a wedding picture or something to show how happy and good-looking you were on your wedding day. And maybe to show off your dress. I don’t have any photos handy, so you’ll have to take my word that my dress was gorgeous, so much so that two other brides came up and complimented me on it while our photos were being taken. We were very happy-go-lucky and passably good-looking. Although now that John doesn’t wear braces and I wear contacts I think we’ve actually managed to improve with time. Kind of like our relationship. Six years stronger.

Lately we’ve been helping Wes tuck his knees underneath him when he’s on his tummy and up on his forearms to get him closer to crawling. I didn’t think he was getting much out of it until I checked on him while he was sleeping last night and saw that he was on his tummy with his knees tucked under him and his rear in the air. I call that progress.

Also, while John and I were helping him with his knee-tucking this morning we watched as he held his knees under him and rocked a little on all fours before collapsing. Every time he fell down he’d move backward, and after a few times of that he had actually scooted himself backwards clear off his blanket. So he’s starting to move…even if he doesn’t know it yet.

We’re in St. George this weekend to see family, and tonight my mom-in-law was feeding Wes ice cream. I know I’ve posted a similar video on this site already, but I think it’s so darn cute to watch Wes get all excited about what he’s eating.

I also caught Wes on film recently eating something else–a toy. It’s not unusual for him to have something in his munchers, but normally when he lets go of the toy it falls out of his mouth. Not this toy.

Wes has been blowing raspberries like crazy. He tends to do it more when he’s getting tired/bored instead of crying. Yesterday on our way home from camping he was getting ready for a bottle, but we were still a few minutes from town, so he had to wait. He was whining a little, but blowing raspberries more. John said, “Well, at least he’s got his boat to keep him happy.” Because that’s exactly how he sounds–like he’s driving a speedboat. He’d be really cute in a captain’s hat behind the wheel of a toy boat.

He’s also strong enough now that we can stand him up in his crib and help him grab hold of the side and then let go so he’s standing up essentially alone. He’s getting stronger all the time.

We took him on his first camping trip over the weekend to Camp Ensign northeast of Heber City. He hardly even knew he was in the middle of nature because he got to play and do everything like normal. Just in the middle of mountains and pine trees instead of in our living room.

We had hobo dinners and s’mores Friday night like normal campers, but we went to sleep in style. We brought our portable DVD player for the car ride, but it turns out that there was an electrical outlet near our tent site, and my brother managed to round up a 25-foot extension cord, sooo…we fell asleep watching Jimmy Stewart in Harvey.

We let Wes sleep in the car seat in our tent with several layers of clothing, hats, socks, and blankets. He apparently was so comfy that he slept soundly till 8 a.m. Saturday morning in spite of near-freezing temperatures overnight. I nearly iced over because it turns out I’m an idiot and don’t know how to properly bundle myself up in a mummy sleeping bag.

The next day we visited Smith and Morehouse Reservoir up the road where we enjoyed the hot weather and I got a Birkenstock tan on my feet.

Wes has his nine-month checkup tomorrow. Can’t believe he’s nearly a year. Time flies.

Some cities have bus stops. In Iowa, there’s tractor stops.

Actually, my mom sent me this photo today of my dad returning home late from church meetings after a torrential rainstorm wherein their driveway became flooded.

They live in a flood plain, so high water isn’t unusual in the spring. Thank goodness for tractors, right? They’ve also used a canoe to get from the highway to their house in a pinch.

Wes and I arrived back yesterday from Iowa. So much more happened in Iowa that I had time to blog about while actually there.

Wednesday, May 21

Today my mom, Wes, and I visited a friend from our church in Dubuque whose 18-year-old son, Ty, has Down syndrome. I remember after Wes was born she wrote me an email saying what a wonderful gift Ty has been to her family. It was such a joy to visit with her and Ty and hear about the great things Ty’s doing, including being on the high school swim team, playing baseball in the summer on a junior league, and playing soccer too. He was leaving the day after I saw him to be in the Iowa Special Olympics for biking and swimming. His mom told me that his HS swim coach has said that every team needs a Ty. No matter what his time is, no matter what place he comes in at, when he touches the pool wall and finishes the race he throws his arms in the air in exuberant victory. It’s not all about winning; it’s about finishing the race.

Here’s Wes and Ty.

And here’s Ty playing soccer (sort of) with Wes.

Thursday, May 22

Today we all drove 3 1/2 hours south to Nauvoo, IL to see the LDS temple (where John and I were married in 2002) and enjoy the historical sites.

We dressed for nice weather, but it turned cold and rainy on our way there. We stopped for lunch at the Nauvoo Mill & Bakery. It’s our favorite place to eat in Nauvoo. They sell a lot of whole wheat bakery items, and their sandwiches are tasty.

Then we bundled up as best we could and walked around the temple grounds.

John and I posed for pictures on these stairs on our super-humid wedding day six years ago.

These statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith have been added since I got married.

The temple is set high on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River valley. Here’s my little bro Matt and me with the Mississippi River behind us. Matt’s a great photographer.

Friday, May 23

Today I had a party! My best friends growing up were in my girl scout troop, so we had a Troop 74 reunion that included all but one of us (we missed you, Katy!). Plus, this is the first reunion that included babies, since three of us had kids this year, and two significant others. Here we are with the Baby Girl Scouts (except only one of them’s actually a girl) and The British Fiancé.

I was also so excited that four of our moms came (five if you count my own). Here’s Cheryl with Wes.

And here’s me, Erin, and Steph.

I had so much fun seeing everyone and am glad we could all get together. I didn’t get many photos because I was having too much fun mingling. Thanks to all who came. I have the best friends on the planet.

Sunday, May 25

On our first day in Iowa we went to Walmart and I saw a whole shelf display of weather radios. I thought how odd that was, since we don’t use weather radios in Utah. I bet no one there even knows what a weather radio is. It’s a handy contraption to have when you live someplace like the Midwest where severe storms and tornadoes can form suddenly. Whenever the National Weather Service issues a watch or warning a super-loud alarm sounds, followed by the official information. Tonight, starting around six, my parents’ radio was going off about every five minutes as a storm developed and drew nearer. We were glued to the TV for about three hours, waiting to see where the storm would go. As it happens, the worst of the storm missed us, but spawned an F5 tornado in Parkersburg about 120 miles due west that did extreme damage and claimed several lives.

I took some video of our evening. Here’s Wes, completely oblivious, using his great new holding-up-his-own-bottle skill while the weather radio is blaring in the background.

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Here you can hear the tornado sirens.

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This shows a bit of the TV weather news. By the way he’s dressed, the meterologist looked like he just came to work as quick as he could to get on air. You can hear the thunder outside.

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And this is the coolest video because it shows the lightning and–right at the end–a lightning bolt. The flash of light that you see right before the bolt is so brilliantly bright that if you pause the video on that exact moment you can see my family’s farm lit as bright as if it’s mid-day. The flash of light actually startled me enough that my finger reflexively hit the “off” button on my camera, and I missed recording the super-loud BOOM of thunder that closely followed the lightning bolt.

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Wes has only been in Iowa for six days, but the Iowa corn air must be good for him because he has picked up several new skills since coming here.

1. Holding up his own bottle

John’s been working on this with him for months, but suddenly, when John’s not here to appreciate it, Wes decided to start holding up his bottle by himself. I find it extremely liberating for both of us. Now I can eat my own breakfast while he eats his.

2. Eating in high chair

We don’t have a high chair at home, but my folks have one. Yesterday was his first eating-in-a-high-chair experience.

3. Holding onto feet

A few months ago his therapist asked me if Wes was beginning to grab onto his feet yet. I told her that I thought he didn’t know where his feet were and didn’t care. Well, all at once he’s found his feet (finally) and likes to hang on to them, too. Yesterday I saw him sucking on both big toes simultaneously.

4. Playing in bath

At home Wes sits in an infant bath that is reclined and not roomy enough for toys. But my parents have an inflatable rubber ducky bath that lets Wes sit up while he bathes and has room for him to play.

He loves it. He’s not totally stable because the bottom of the bath is inflated like an air mattress, so he bounces around while he plays. But he generally manages to keep his balance.

Here are a couple videos from bath time. After the second video ended Wes reached so far forward to grab a toy that he fell face-first into the water. I pulled him up before he had a chance to inhale, but that was the end of bath time.

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