Happy FIRST birthday Wesley!

Sweet baby boy turned ONE yesterday! 

I had grand plans of this amazing post full of photos from the last year, but alas, I haven't gotten my act together in gathering, sorting, and picking the perfect photos. All that being said, I still wanted to post something from our little photo session yesterday and I think this one picture sums him up pretty darn well.

This child has been such an amazing light in our lives. A few things that make Wesley Wesley:

1. Wesley never meets a stranger. He sees someone, anyone, and his whole face lights up. A coworker said it perfectly today, he smiles with his whole face. Sometimes, when we are out and about running the usual errands, I see him starring over my should with the biggest smile on his face, within a few seconds I hear a strangers voice talking to him. He has made eye contact and you just can't help but talk to this beaming child. This has an amazing way of making you feel really good about yourself. I think we all need a take a note from Wesley's book and smile more. It may just bring a little light to a dark day.
2. His smiles aren't reserved for humans alone, he LOVES animals too. Sometimes I see that same smile when it's just us at home or we are getting in the car and I look around to see what he's smiling at to find Bailey, or a stray cat, or dog in a yard.. he watches them so intently and sometimes bursts out laughing in excitement. It's basically amazing. Lately, he's taken to laying across Bailey whether she's laying down or standing up. It makes me thankful Bailey is such a tolerant dog. She loves him. =)
3. Wesley never sleeps (or so it seems). This is an exaggeration. Obviously he sleeps, but sometimes the nights we still have at one year old that he wakes up and cries for hours unless we plop him in bed with us, makes it feel like he never sleeps. I will never forget that first long month where I could count the number of hours we had slept on my hands. This boy has energy for days though. He ceases to amaze me in his ability to NOT sleep but continue to go go go with that big smile on his face. He is just so busy soaking up this big world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESLEY!! You are an absolute joy. A ray of sunshine. We love you and love living each and every day with you. Love you forever.

I'm thinking, after all this time, I will finally share his birth story. It seems like a proper way to celebrate his birth. I have thought about this all year because I sought out every birth story the internet holds while I was pregnant. They eased this anxious momma's mind. I feel like I need to pay it forward or something. Later this week. Maybe. Sometime between work and birthday party and ice storm prep, I'll find time.

Also, I think I found my new favorite family photo.

*Photo cred to my mom and her helping hands. What you can't see (or hear) is my mom talking like cookie monster to get this crazy, awesome smile.*

What are your thoughts on sharing birth stories on the world wide web? I know lots of people do, but there's something about it that makes me feel like I'll lose the intimacy of that moment, and another part of me that wonders - what if my coworkers read this? Would that be totally weird? At the same time, I'm afraid if I don't write it down, I will forget the bits and pieces I do remember forever.

Chew toys

Tonight, I came home from work and the first thing my husband did was hand me one of Wesley's board books. It looked like the dog had used it as a chew toy. I was wrong. Our conversation went something like...

J: Look.

Me: Whaaaaat?? Did Bailey do this?

J: No. Wesley!

Me: Whaaaat? Are you sure? This looks like a dog chewed it. How.. did.. he... 

I guess this teething stuff is serious. 

He just so happened to pick the newest book of the bunch too. As in, it arrived in the mail and I just opened the package yesterday. I guess he's telling me how he feels about it? I'm sorry Fox in Sox, it looks like it's going to take some time for W to decide you're an acceptable read. 

I guess we are due for more teeth. We made it a full month without new teeth, after 2 months of cutting teeth every other week. I'm just a little surprised he managed to chew through a book. At this point, I really shouldn't be surprised. I see this look at look at least 10 times a day...

Which requires me to bust out my ninja blocking skills to keep that sweet mouth from making contact. It usually goes something like..

W: eye contact - target identified. I will lick you now. Mouth open. Tongue out.

Me: Nooooooooooooo.... hand in to make the save!

I swear anything that can be touched will be licked and possibly chewed by this child. It has it's advantages though. My personal favorite is when he look right at me or my husband (eye contact made) and gives a big ole open mouth, tongue out kiss. So maybe he's not licking everything, he's kissing it. So loving this boy. 

What's the weirdest thing your child has licked or used as a chew toy? Does the mouthing have a sweet side?

Sutton family - Sawyer turns 1!

It has been far too long since I last wrote. Nearly a year actually. I thought for sure I would be writing more than ever after my son was born. So many memories to remember. So much time (ha) while on leave. I've even started multiple posts, but didn't have time to finish or got discouraged and stopped. I have so much to share! Let me start here with my dear friend Meagan and her little family.

I have known Meagan since grade school and, incidentally, we had our boys just about 4 months apart! Let me tell ya, am I (selfishly) glad she was first! I don't know how I could have survived the first few months without her advice. In fact, one thing she said practically became my mantra, "everyday is easier than the day before." So simple, but in all seriousness, those first months were so hard that I clung to the hope that things would indeed get easier.

All that being said, you can imagine my excitement when she asked me to take her son's first birthday photos! Take a look - 

Meagan & Cody - I can't thank you enough for trusting me with your memories. It was a joy and a pleasure. I can't wait to see you guys next and get the boys together. They're growing up so fast!

- Till next time -


This was my first time to do a cake smash and to my surprise, Mr. S was not so into it. I'm planning on doing this with Wesley, but he's so weird about food sometimes, I wonder if he will be the sticky mess I'm expecting. For those of you who have done this before, what was your experience?