Meeting The Family & A Few Outings

We just put Wesley down for the night (hopefully) and I just realized that I can't remember when I last washed my hair. I supposed that pretty much sums up the last few days. I know that I have washed it since we arrived home on Wednesday, but that's about it. Now, let me clarify something - most people with naturally curly hair don't wash their hair every day, we try to preserve the natural oils, etc. However, I've been in a bit of a haze that I can't remember, there have been baseball hats involved, so who knows? I've showered each day - THAT I know. Oh, well. Tomorrow, it will get washed.

Anyway, back to our sweet Wesley. He continues to grieve and work through the time change. He's also cutting some new teeth (3, I think) which is definitely adding to his overall demeanor. Can you can drool city? I have two teethers that I purchased for him - one that you put in the refrigerator which he hates and one that is a rubbery-nubby thing. He likes it, but still prefers to bite on anything and everything he can get his hands on. This includes his big toes. We're not quite clean on where he learned this, but he sucks and bites on his big toes. It's the funniest thing. He either brings his entire foot up to his mouth or leans down to it.

Wesley pulling out the toe suck in public at our park outing on Sunday.

Saturday Wesley had his first visitors since our arrival on Wednesday when my parents quickly stopped by. My brother and his fiance (Kelli) stopped by with their sons. Wesley did great - he really liked both my brother and Kelli. He pretty much just stared at my nephew Brooks who is a little over 3 months. And, I think Kelli's son Jaden was a little too old (6 years) for Wesley to relate to.

My brother holding my nephew & Brian holding Wesley.

The boys posing for a picture.

After the gang left, Wesley took a turn and for the rest of the afternoon into the evening he was struggling. I don't know if the visit was overwhelming for him or if he it was the grieving or a combination of both, but he was hurting. He cried a lot and not too much made him happy. In the end, he ended up falling asleep around 10pm that night and sleeping all the way through until 7:30am.

Sunday we were supposed to have our good friends Jose and Shannon over to visit (they watched over our animals which we were in Seoul). After Wesley's reaction on Saturday, we decided to have an outing instead of having them at the house. We walked to a local park between our home and Jose and Shannon's and met up with them in the late morning. The weather was perfect and we were met with a portable picnic table & umbrella, snacks, drinks and goodies. It was such a treat to get out and have some fresh air and a little exercise. Wesley enjoyed the trip and was very comfortable hanging out on a blanket on the grass. Shannon played paparazzi and got some great photos.






Later on that same afternoon, we decided to take Wesley for a ride in the car to get him better acquainted with the car seat. He's just not a fan, and with anything so far, the more that we do it, the better adjusted he's becoming. Example - he hated getting his diaper changed on our changing table the first few days. Cried, cried, cried. Now, he helps us out by raising his legs. It's really cute. So, we loaded him in the car along with the diaper bag, small toys, etc. and headed to the outdoor outlet mall. We were going to make it a short trip - just in & out. Baby Gap, here we come! He cried when he first was placed in the car seat, but then as we got going, it wasn't so bad. I put a CD on for him, opened up the sunroof and then, miraculously the crying stopped. After awhile, he actually seemed to be enjoying the ride. Go figure. We got quite a haul at Baby Gap - it was fun.

Today we stayed in after having what could be considered a "big weekend." Wesley's been on & off in terms of mood. He woke up last night/this morning at 3am and didn't go back to sleep until later this morning. So, I'm a bit sleeping. . . He's been real fussy and more clingy to us. I think we'll take it easy this week, although he does meet his pediatrician tomorrow for his initial physical. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping that we can get some guidance on food versus formula and talk to him about some other concerns we have regarding sleeping, etc. Other than that, nothing this week. Just us and our son. As he awoke after an hour after putting him down for bed tonight, we are very aware that he's still grieving and it will be awhile before he's completely at ease. And, that's ok - we're in it for the long haul.