6 months

She's pretty stinkin' cute. 6 months is a pretty big milestone!

Some pictures

Here we are on Mother's Day. These were taken on the church lawn after the meetings. I thought we looked kind of matchy-matchy and wanted some pictures. I was pretty excited that we got 4 out of 5 looking at the camera (minus my hair issues:).

Hannah ate solid foods for the first time a week or so ago. She did really well and likes it. The next picture is of our 2-high-chair-1-posing kiddos.

The other day I put this outfit on Hannah and remembered distinctly that this was the outfit Abby was wearing in some of her first "I can sit up by myself pictures". I imagined that picture in my mind thinking about how much they look alike. Hannah is not a completely independent sitter, but she is doing pretty well so I thought I'd take a picture of her on my bed (like the other had been) and post the "twin" pictures on the blog. Here is Hannah:

Then I went and looked for the picture of Abby. I found it and they don't look nearly as much alike as I thought. Other pictures do, I swear.

In these pictures Hannah is about exactly one month younger than Abby. You can tell by the way the shirt fits how much bigger she is than Abby was. They are sitting on the same blanket. I planned it that way:)

Mother's Day at Preschool

When I taught Kindergarten, the Mother's Day program was one of the biggest days of the year. Highly anticipated. Loved it. Today I got to be the mom. Loved it even more. Abby has really enjoyed her preschool class (as have we).

When I arrived Abby was waiting for me by her locker with a gift - a hand print pot holder. She then escorted me into one of the classrooms and served me a bowl of sherbet with animal crackers. We drew pictures for a few minutes and then joined together for songs and stories.

It has been a good school year. Playgroups, preschool, story times, speech help, etc. We're grateful for fun friends to associate with and nice teachers and other adults who are excellent influences on our kids.

Easter 2011

5 months

Our baby is growing up:

Hannah is looking and acting older everyday. She loves her hands. If she gets fussy or unsettled we can give her a toy or something to hold onto and it will help calm her down. She likes having her siblings' attention and they enjoy giving it. Briton can get great giggles out of her. She is showing no interest in rolling, but she is sitting up well and is getting closer to sitting independently. She has many admirers at church and at a community play group we attend (both of which I appreciate when it translates into freeing up my arms for a bit).

Cleveland

Last weekend, we took a little road trip to the great city of Cleveland, Ohio so that we could see the following:

The NCAA Gymnastics Championships - Go Utes!

We love University of Utah gymnastics! They placed 5th this year and we were proud to cheer them on. (This poster was made by Briton and mom.)

Daddy! So I may be exaggerating a little (in implying that we don't get to see him already). We do see him daily, but the past couple weeks have been busy at work so we were pleased to have him to ourselves for a couple days.

Brian and Amy! We love Brian and Amy and we really love that they are only a few hours away so that they can meet up with us for weekend getaways.

Kirtland! There is nothing like some good church history sites to brighten up the rainiest of days. We think it is great that we live only a few hours away from this beautiful building and everything else in Kirtland.

It was a lovely weekend. Family, church and a good sporting event. That's the life. (Usually I don't put sporting events into those kinds of lists, but gymnastics is fun.)

PS We rented a house for the weekend. We did it last summer in North Carolina and we are deciding that it is a swell way to travel. It is much better than trying to share a hotel room with 3 children - and pretty economical.

Butterflies 2011

We took our annual trip to the butterfly garden at MSU. Usually we do that outing in March soon after it opens because I am so excited about spring making its entrance. This year is different. Oh, how I certainly want spring, but it didn't even occur to me that that the butterfly garden was open yet because it has been so cold. We would like to be done with winter, thank you. Anyway, here are the kiddos.

2011:

2010:

2009:

In other news, Abby is quite the bug lover. She picks up worms to save them from drying sidewalks and she takes the annoying wood bugs (that are somehow getting into her bedroom) and saves them by mercifully carrying them outside. (Every once in a while she'll say, "Mom, is it OK if I just flush this one?" "Yes, dear, it is just fine.") Briton is also pretty interested in bugs, but not up close and personal like Abby.

The best news of all though is that today it hit 80 degrees!! Unfortunately it'll be back down to the 50s in the next couple days, but it was so beautiful today. So so beautiful. I was reminded how wonderful Michigan weather can be. Hannah got to feel grass for the first time today! Love the tongue.

Conference Thoughts

Briton loved conference. Mainly he loved watching the movie on the "big screen". He'd get very excited as he got himself ready with a pillow and a blanket on the couch. Lest you think he sat that way for 2 hours times four...he didn't. He was sure cute to watch during his moments though.

Abby did well. She enjoyed doing crafts during conference and spent the vast majority of the time with Mike and I as we watched it. Her craft was called a "friddle". She folded a piece of colored paper in half, taped it shut, punched holes in it and stuck straws through the holes. We aren't sure if friddles have a practical use or if they are just aesthetically pleasing, but we think she is pleasingly creative.

Another thing (of more eternal consequence) about Abby: We encouraged her to listen to President Monson's Sunday morning talk. After it was over we asked her what it was about and she had recognized it was about temples. We told her that President Monson had asked that all the children have a picture of the temple in their bedrooms. That night Mike found a packet of a zillion (or maybe around 50) pictures of various temples that I had purchased way back when for a Relief Society project. We told Abby she could pick out a picture to hang in her bedroom. She picked out the Salt Lake and Manti Temples. Lovely choices. Since then, she has continued to choose more and more and now has a dozen or so temples taped up in her room. Her favorites are the pink temples - the pictures were taken at sunset so the temples and the background actually look pink.

I enjoyed conference a great deal. I loved the idea that when we serve alongside others, we accomplish more than just the service we are performing; we build relationships. I have seen that in my branch recently. I enjoyed anything that gave me ideas on how to be a better mom. And I love the temple.

4 months

Today Hannah is 4 months old. She is growing a lot. I put this dress on her this morning being that Abby wore it at 5.5 months as an Easter dress. Well, we'll be lucky if Hannah gets to wear it once more. It's more of a shirt than a dress:) She is a happy kid. We'd love to remind her how to sleep through the night again!

Can you tell how much Abby loves her sister?

3 pictures of 3 kids

Hannah: We love seeing this smile. We see it daily, but lately not as freely. Being sick threw her off a bit and we are so happy to be getting back "on" (eating, sleeping, playing, etc.).

Briton: Not only did Briton have RSV, but we took him in for his 2 year check up and found some strep throat hiding out in our little one. Neither have slowed him down much. (We wouldn't have known about the strep without the check up.) Briton has loved being able to play outside in the warm-ish temperatures and we have all gotten a good dose of spring fever.

Abby: Abby had her little dance recital this past week. Isn't this a great face? She still loves doing her classes - preschool and dance and playgroup.

Really Stinky Virus

Ever since Abby was born and stayed in the NICU I've thought that RSV was as close to a death sentence as you could get.

Well...last week Abby was sick off and on with a fever, sore throat and cold symptoms. I took her in last Friday. She tested positive for strep. When she coughed the doctor said, "That sounds like RSV. It won't affect her much, but watch the other two." Great.

I took Briton and Hannah in on Wednesday and they tested positive for RSV. We have been giving them breathing treatments at home that they have actually come to enjoy:) I accidentally (long story) bought 2 nebulizers at $200 a piece. Fixed that problem, luckily! (Now we have 1 rental and 1 borrowed.) I am grateful that their illness seems to be mild. Their behavior hasn't changed much. We are just taking it easy and staying away from other kidlets.

In other Wessman news, Mike and I both have new callings. Mike was released as Scoutmaster 2 weeks ago and sustained as Branch Mission Leader. He is a great missionary and is excited to work more closely with the missionaries. He'll definitely miss Scouts. On Sunday I was released from Relief Society and put in as the Temple Prep Sunday School teacher. I am very excited about that calling! I'll miss many, many, many things about my Relief Society calling, but I am very grateful to know that the growth I experienced and the things I learned don't get taken away because I am released. The relationships don't disappear either.

Hannah is 3 months old

The rest of our trip

I am finally getting around to the rest of our trip: Post-baby blessing.

Here are the highlights:

Monday was Valentine's. My Valentine went to breakfast with his old boss and the kids and I hung out with some friends:) So we didn't do terribly romantic together, but we did enjoy spending time with good friends. We also went back up to the cemetery to drop off the Valentine's arrangement my mom made (that we had forgotten to leave the last time).

On the subject of Valentine's and Mike, one of the greatest parts of our vacation was being able to be with Mike all the time. I needed it! We've both been busy at home with work, church callings and 3 kids. It was good to be together.

Tuesday we went skiing! I hadn't been for 3ish years and we had a great time. The kids enjoyed the playdate on grandma and grandpa's playground.

The trip was fantastic. I was reminded how much I love Utah and even more how much I enjoy (and thrive off of) being with my family.