Our little Champ

I'm finally getting around to blogging about Wes's first birthday party.  Our little family has so much going on in November and December; birthdays, anniversary, Christmas and more!  I have a feeling every year at this time its going to be crazy.  and I LOVE every minute of it.  On to Wes's first birthday shindig...

We decided to have a Rocky themed birthday party.  We've always loved the Rocky movies and we occassionaly call Wes Rocky.  He has lots of dark hair just like Rocky too.  And I mean why not pick an unusual theme while we get to pick them, right?!  I mean let's face it, I'm sure we will have our fair share of superhero parties.

I made the invitations and printed them on cardstock in the black and gold Italian Stallion colors (party details were on the back) and looked kind of like this:

      YO!

WESLEY is 1!

We decided to wait until after Thanksgiving to celebrate his birthday so his Uncle Josh, Aunt Jodi, and cousins Ryan and Olivia could be there all the way from Colorado. 


hanging out in his cousin's nap nanny

Wes had a great time at his birthday party which is all I wanted.  It's crazy how quickly a little boy's first birthday can become an extravaganza.  I tried to not stress myself out about making it into something I couldn't do and to remember that it's about celebrating the birth of our sweet boy.  Wes enjoyed all of his family there, but mostly loved the cake!

Guests enjoyed Philly cheese steaks (just like in Philly), chips, fruits, and veggies.  Jonny made a photo montage of pictures of Wes throughout the year set to the Rocky soundtrack, which was playing on the TV.  Everyone had a great time eating and watching our little guy open presents.

opening presents

monthly Wes pictures

lots of family came to celebrate

who needs presents?  just give me a bow!

cousins

big stuff

Wes with all 4 of his great grandparents and grandparents!

The cake that my sister and mom helped me make.  Way harder than I thought it should be! Hence why the #1 looks pretty rough. :)

the Italian Stallion's corner

ready for a nap...

learning how to drive his truck

Blessed by this boy

mmmm!

testing the cake and got busted



"It's good dad, you should try it!"



"Yay! I'm one!"



 And the moral of the story is..."Yo Adriane!  I did it!" 

halfway there...6 weeks to go

I have reached the halfway mark in my training for my first triathlon.  6 weeks before the big race!  Time to reflect on the past 5 weeks and refocus for the 6 weeks left of training.
Reflection:
Overall, the training has gone well.  Here is a little a bit of what I've learned (in no particular order):

• work out before I pick Wes up.  It's so hard to get back out in the evening after I've been home.
• Biking is by far the hardest part for me.  Not a fan of the stationary bike.  I have a new respect for Lance Armstrong.
• I still love to swim
• stretch my calves, often
• Must. have. music.
• don't feel guilty about taking 30 minutes to an hour for myself
• I have an awesome husband who takes care of Wes when I need to work out, and is so supportive of this goal.

Currently my times are as follows:
500 yard swim in 8 minutes
6 mile bike in about 25 minutes
2 mile run in 20 minutes

Now it's time to refocus and continue training hard for the next 6 weeks, even during Christmas break.  Here are some of my goals for the next six weeks:

• bike the 6 miles without feeling like I may die!
• practice doing the swimming to biking transition at least once
• workout at the East YMCA, since that is where the race is
• do a little weight training
• get new running shoes
• make an awesome playlist (feel free to send me song suggestions)
• continue to have fun training

You can rest assured that this will be included in my Triathlon playlist...
eye of the tiger

12 months

Sooo, I'm a couple weeks behind.  On November 14th, 2012 our Wesley Joel turned 1 year old!  The night before his birthday I cried as I laid him in his crib.  My baby isn't a baby anymore.  Once I had a good cry about how quickly time had gone with my baby, I was able to move on and completely enjoy my "toddler".  We spent Wes's birthday evening just the 3 of us.  We got Wes's favorite food for dinner: Lo Mein from Emperor's and he also got to enjoy a small chocolate cupcake.  We sang to him and let him go at it.  At first he was hesitant, so I let him taste it off of my finger.  He LOVED it, just like his momma.  So, what is Wes like as a 1 year old? 

Wes at 12 months:

• weighs 19 pounds and 13 ounces (10th percentile)
• is 27 and 3/4 inches long (10th percentile)
• is walking...and climbing! :)
• has 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on the bottom)
• says "mama" especially when he wants something
• is just started to have some more words pop out here and there
• continues to jabber all the time, but it is changing and we are hearing more consonant and vowel variations
• likes to to be chased, but loves it when you "get him"
• has become a little more picky in his eating
• likes to play the game "I drop it, mommy picks it up" in his high chair and in the shopping cart
• has stranger anxiety (I first noticed this at his doctor's appointment, as he was very nervous around the nurse and doctor.  I mentioned that it was unusual for him to do this and the doctor said he would be more worried if he didn't show stranger anxiety)
• loves to climb all over daddy
• still nursing, but doing awesome on the weaning process.  We are down to 3 feedings.
• favorite toys: remotes, phones, balls
• has had 5 haircuts, with #6 scheduled
• constantly makes his mommy and daddy smile with his hugs and pats.

We continue to feel incredibly blessed to be Wesley's parents.  We are thankful for the past  year with Wes and look forward to many more.  Happy Birthday Wesley Joel!  You are so very loved!

And the moral of the story is...birthdays are a blessing from God!

Giving it a "tri"!

Well, as if the Foerschlers aren't busy enough, I've decided to add something else to our daily grind.  I'm going to do my first ever triathlon.  January 13, 2013! Yep, I'm crazy, but there is some thought behind this.  Here is how I justify adding this our already hectic lives:

1. I will be done nursing soon, so I need to do something to burn the same amount of calories as nursing does.
2. I'm doing a "mini" indoor triathlon, so it's not that bad, right?! (eek)
1. 500 yard swim
2. 6 mile bike
3. 2 mile run
3. I've swam my entire life, so I need to be incorporating this into my workout.  And for most, swimming is the hardest part of the tri, so hopefully for me it will be the easiest.
4. I enjoy competing, but I'm not sold on making a goal to do a 1/2 or full marathon.
5. According to my dad, this is when I should be doing a tri...before I get too old.

I do question why I see the need to compete in a triathlon.  I mean, as a working mom, I'm daily completing a decathlon:
Event 1: wake up and get out of bed
Event 2: nurse the baby
Event 3: shower
Event 4: get the baby dressed
Event 5: load everything in the car (baby, food, pump, computer, etc)
Event 6: work (by this I mean, at my job)
Event 7: pick up baby before the babysitter is too exhausted
Event 8: fix dinner, eat, feed baby
Event 9: bathe the baby
Event 10: put everyone to bed

And that's why I feel like an Olympic Gold medal winner every night! haha!

But, I am very excited to do this.  I've always wanted to, so I guess right now is as good a time as any.  I'm hoping my sister and dad will do it with me (no pressure).  I'm hoping to be better at managing my time so I can get in the workouts and have quality time with the Fam.  I'm excited, yet nervous.  Biking will most likely be the most difficult for me as I've never done that in a competition.  It will be quite the adventure.

So, it's time to dust off the old cap and goggles and get busy training!  1 day down, 10 and 1/2 weeks till the race!

And the moral of the story is...well, I'm not sure yet.  I'll come back to this after it's over. :)

Overflowing

First of all, I don't usually blog while at work because there just is not enough time, but today is a special day!  No, Wes isn't walking.  No, he didn't sleep 12 hours. And NO, I'm not pregnant!

Today, Wes (and Jackson) made this momma's heart overflow with joy.  My heart was so full that the only thing I could do was smile and cry.  And here is how he did it...

Is that not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?  These two boys are such good friends at such a young age.  I am SO blessed to have one of my best friends go through this motherhood journey with me.  I'm pretty much living my dream: raising my kid along side one of my best friends, Jami.  And better yet, she gets to stay home with her son and take care of my little boy.  Thank you God!  Now don't get me wrong, I do get a little worried that Wes will like Ms. Jami more than me, but lets face it, I'm momma.  That won't happen.  But I do love the way he smiles and laughs when he sees Jami.  Does my heart good to know he is loved and cared for while I'm at work helping kids communicate.  My cup runneth over!

Check out these boys in action:



And the moral of the story is...God's plans put even our wildest dreams to shame.  God is the ultimate story topper! :)

11 months

Yes folks, another month has passed by and our baby, big boy, is now 11 months old.  And let me tell you, he is so much fun!  He is such a good little boy.  Ladies in the nursery at church ask me all the time, "has he always been this good of a baby?"  I have to smile and say "yes", even though I have no other children to compare him to.  God has blessed us with a well tempered baby.  I hope that doesn't mean he will be challenging when he is a teenager! :)

Wes at 11 months:

• has 4 teeth: 2 on the top, which are really big, and 2 on the bottom
• still nursing-I'm looking forward to weaning, but I know I will miss that time with him
• cruises around on everything
• starting to stand alone
• can crawl up stairs (another thing he learned in the church nursery)
• claps when we clap or say "yay"
• signs "more" and "all done" with about 50% accuracy (how about that data for this SLP mom?)
• imitates actions with objects
• has haircut #5 scheduled
• still sleeping through the night
• is totatlly a momma's boy (which I will enjoy becuase I know very soon all he will want is his daddy)
• continues to jabber A LOT
• loves to dance with Grandpa Tim
• gets into things he shouldn't on purpose and laughs when I say "no Wes".  I then remove him from the area, in which he then looks at me and crawls right back where he was while laughing and smiling, saying "come get me mommy"!

"what mom?"

you think this will slow me down?

just doing a little silent reading

It's hard to believe he is almost a year old.  Just a year ago I was quite plump and had no idea the joy and love I was going to feel.  We are looking forward to celebrating his birthday and thanking God for the incredible blessing of our sweet Wesley Joel.

And the moral of the story is...savor the moment, before it changes.

baby wildcat

It's no surprise to most people that Jonny and I could hardly wait to take Wes to Manhattan and let him experience Wildcat football.   Don't get me wrong, we had a blast.  But that first game was pretty hot, especially holding an extra 20 pounds!  We still have our season tickets and are enjoying our trips up to Manhattan.  The best part is getting to see good friends.  As it gets colder, we are so fortunate to have our good friends, the Grieves, let Wes and I hang out at their place if it's too cold for our little Wildcat.

Everyone that sits around us loves Wes and has shown him so much wildcat love. 

enjoys seeing himself in the camera

"I guess I'll nap since we're gonna win"

how do ya like the guy behind us?

Olympic silver medalist showing some wildcat pride

 The second game we let the grandparents watch Wes and enjoyed a game with the Kleins.  It was great to hang out without our boys, although we missed them. :)

enjoying a game baby free

 Of course we had to take Wes to the sunflower showdown and let him see a good beatdown on those hawks.

brrrr!

snuggly little wildcat

One of the games Wes and I stayed at the Grieves' house to hang out with the boys.  I'm guessing these boys will be getting into some trouble in about 18 years.

future wildcats and possibly roomates

 And the moral of the story is...Wes is so blessed to be born a wildcat! :)



10 months already!

Yep, our little Wesley is now 10 months old.  Whoa!  The thing that is hardest to swallow is that he is almost 1 year old.  Eek!  But, I'm loving everybit of this stage.  Tired, yes, but loving it. :)

Wes at 10 months:

• has 2 teeth (the top and bottom left)
• crawls everywhere
• pulls up on everything he shouldn't be
• growls like a Wildcat (in the 6 years I studied speech/language I never learned about the "growling" stage)
• continues to jabber, but is using mama a lot more
• sleeps through the night most of the time (thank you God)
• is transitioning to table food
• loves spaghetti
• isstill nursing, but down to 4 times a day.  Which means mommy only has to pump once at work!
• is becoming more and more daring and with that comes bumps and bruises
• experienced his first KSU football game and did great!
• makes his mommy and daddy smile A LOT

Although I'm sad that he is already 10 months, I'm looking forward to watching him grow and enjoying the next stage of life.

"yea, I know I'm big stuff"

the many faces of Wes (photos courtesy of Jami)

his first Wingnuts game

"and that's what we call a sack lunch"

lunch with the guys

And the moral of the story is...10 month old boys may think they are grown men and it's up to the mommy to keep them babies as long as possible!

God Parents

Jonny and I were so honored when his brother and wife asked us to be God Parents to their twins Ryan and Olivia. Our prayer is that we can demonstrate God's love to Ryan and Olivia as they grow up. We had the priveledge of standing up with them when they were baptized a few weeks ago. It was a special day to see Josh and Jodi make a committment to raise Ryan and Olivia in a Christ centered home. Jonny, myself and Wes are excited to be a part of thier lives and look forward to making lots of great memories together. I hope you enjoy some pictures from that day!

Ryan's first!

then Olivia

aren't they cute!?

 

That same weekend we also celebrated Jonny's aunt and uncle's 40th wedding anniversary with a dinner and dance.  It was a great celebration and Wes loved the music and dancing!

 

 

 



And the moral of the story is...Love and ommittment to God and each other is what it's all about!