Daddy Says...

 

 

I Belong in a Zoo!

 

Wesley can act like a little monkey sometimes or so wild that one of Chris' favorite sayings to Wesley is, "you belong in a Zoo". We have a great zoo in Norfolk that we had never been to so we took advantage of a pretty fall Sunday and enjoyed an afternoon...at the zoo. We had a great time, Chris and I included. The Norfolk Zoo has a lot to offer and some awesome exhibits. Wesley again was mesmerized by some of the animals. The giraffes were very close up, the otters swam right up to the glass and the orangutans were also really close (with glass between)--he took it all in. We will probably get season passes next year as they have a lot of events and it's a great way to spend an afternoon. We didn't even get through the whole zoo before the little guy got tuckered out. It was another fun, family day for the Johnsons!

 

 

Another First...I can point

 

 

 



Bring in the Reinforcements

 

 

Daddy had to Travel:(

 

 

Chris found out with short notice that he was going to have to travel for most of the week.  There was a silver lining though and that was that Mimi and Pops offered to come down and help out for a few days!  They spoiled Wesley with lots of playtime; they picked him up early from Mrs. Sheila's in the stroller, gave him tons of attention and lots of love.  I was also very spoiled with amazing dinners (fresh steamed clams and scallops) and a clean up crew!  Normally when Chris is out of town I don't eat dinner or clean anything up until after Wesley goes to bed.  It was so nice to put him down and come downstairs to a clean kitchen, a picked up den (from toys) and a yummy dinner!  Thank you Mimi and Pops! 

 

 

 



My Little Red Wagon

 

 

A Few More Firsts...

Wesley is crawling quite well and doing lots of exploring.  He found the "tupperware" cabinet for the first time on this morning.  It occupies him for quite a while if we are trying to fix a meal, clean up or get ready to get out hte door.  Now we just need to teach him to put it all back!

 

 

 

 

The same day we took Wesley to Hunt Club Farm.  This is a petting farm across the street from our neighborhood that also gets very decked out over Halloween.  The line of cars to pull into the farm on the weekend nights is miles long.  We have lived here for four Halloweens and have yet to experience the "haunted hayride and forest".  I am now able to use Wesley as an excuse because it is defintely not child friendly.  The reason we haven't gone the prior three years is because I am scared!  We hear the screams and carrying on from our house and it sounds really frightening.  Just call me chicken!

It is however, a very busy place for families during the day.  They allow you to walk into the pens with the goats and chickens.  They warn that the llamas spit and the donkeys bite so we stayed clear.  Wesley took a bit to warm up to all of the animals but seemed to enjoy it after a while.  It is so neat seeing him experience these things for the first time...a true look of wonder in his eyes! 



Outside of the Goat pen...not so sure!

Curiousity is settling in!

Still not so sure...

Not so interested in the Pot Bellied Pigs

Now I am having fun!

We are so close to the farm that we broke out Wesley's Radio Flyer for the first time.  Our good friend, Carolyn, gave this to me at my baby shower--her signature baby gift.  We have been waiting for the opportunity to use it.  You may recognize the pillows from my couch...we recently purchased new ones and these were in the garage in a "goodwill" pile.  Perfect!  Dug them out and now Wesley can ride in comfort!  He loved it!

Now I am REALLY having fun!



Chillin on a pumpkin...do I look relaxed?

Not far from the house is also a great Farmer's Market.  Each fall they have a children's festival so we decided to check it out.  This is where Wesley really got to have his first pumpkin.  They were just his size!

Perfect Pumpkins for a perfect pumpkin!!!



Scott's Wedding

Wonderful Weekend for a Celebration!

 

We were invited to the rehearsal dinner and wedding for our friend, Scott and his fiance, Anne.  We were looking very forward to this awesome event which was just outside of Richmond.  We stayed with my parents and brought our favorite babysitter, McKenzie, with us from Va Beach since we were going to be out both Friday and Saturday.    We all drove to Richmond after she got out of school on Friday and then my parents, Chris and I headed to the rehearsal.  We had a very nice time seeing lots of friends, and family and knowing that Wesley was in good hands. 

 

On Saturday, we had a special visit from our cousins, Preston and Luke, so the boys were able to play a bit together. 

 

 

The rest of the weekend didn't end up as planned...Wesley didn't feel well and we decided to send my parents on to the wedding.  We stayed back to see if Wesley would be okay.  We got him down for a nap and headed out to the reception knowing we wouldn't make the ceremony. 

 

We made it!

What a great looking couple!!!

 

 

We enjoyed the reception for about an hour and got a phone call from Kenzie as we sat down for dinner.  Not good...we headed home quickly and took Wesley to the Urgent Care.  Double ear infection!

We have learned to sense these infections a little better but Wesley is pretty tough until it is really bad.  He doesn't give many indications that he isn't well until he is really sick.  We didn't win the parent of the year award on that night! 

We got to see Scott and Anne for a minute so that was the good part, just wish Wesley had been feeling better.  Thank goodness for McKenzie!!  We love her!

 

 

A Special Visit

 

 

JJ, Trains and Automobiles!

 

 

Chris' mom, known as JJ to the grandchildren, came for a visit in September.  We had another first while she was here; Wesley rode his first train!  Norfolk has a light rail that extends to the Va Beach line.  It is about a year old and really a great ride if you aren't in a hurry, don't need a car and want to explore downtown Norfolk.  We had all of the above in mind in addition to Mommy needing 2 dresses!  One of my best friends' growing up, Scott Hairfield, was getting married the following weekend and I was in need of something to wear to the rehearsal and wedding!  So...JJ, Chris, Wesley and I drove to the light rail station and took it into downtown Norfolk.  We had a great lunch sitting outside with gorgeous weather and then headed to the mall nearby.  JJ was awesome!  We sent the boys for a stroll around the mall while she helped me pick out not just 2 but 4 new dresses!  I don't get to shop much these days and certainly not with a second opinion.  I got very lucky in that the first store we ventured into had several options.  Shopping was a SUCCESS!!

 

Wesley loved his visit with JJ!!!



My first ride on the "Tide"

Taking it all in!



Sunday morning with JJ...reading my paper!

Happy, Happy Baby!!!

 

 

 

A Night on the Town!

 

 

Dinner is on Me!

 

 

While we did take a lot of groceries and food with us, there are a few nights that we had planned to eat out. Wesley was great every time.  He received tons of complements (mostly on his wild hair) and loved the attention.  It was nice to get dressed (not necessarily up-it's pretty casual) and go out.  We would go early to dinner so that Wesley was still in bed on time and also knowing it would be less crowded.  It was perfect because we were certainly not alone bringing the baby and ran into lots of others doing the same! 

 

 

 

 

 



Stayin' Cool at the Pool!

 

 

Mix it Up!

 

 

There were days where we would go to beach in the morning and then head to the pool for lunch and a swim.  Wesley LOVES the water especially when he can splash about.  We didn't get as many photos of him in the pool as we did beside the pool. 

Please note that he is not truly sunburned or pink in these photos; the umbrellas at the pool are red so the shadow makes it appear as if I hadn't lathered him in sunblock.  He was pretty good about the suntan lotion and hats.  He came home with the slightest tan which you can't even notice in the bottom photo.  But it is cute. 



People pay to have hair like this!

 

 

 

Sleeping Beauty

 

 

Nobody Said it was Gonna be Easy!

 

We purchased a "BOB" stroller a while back and while the stroller was almost as expensive as my Tahoe, it was completely worth every penny while on vacation!  Wesley is not the best napper to begin with; put him in front of any type of stimulation and forget about it.  Any efforts to have him sleep under our "cabana" were lost as there was way too much to see and distract him. He refused to nap on the beach unless he was either moving or being held.  So...Chris and I quickly realized that if he was going to nap, it would have to be in the BOB and it had to be while it was moving.  I am sure we had a lot of people talking about us during the week as we walked back and forth on the beach for at least an hour and often longer at a time.  We learned a few things after the first day: to take turns pushing if the sand was packed (which depended on the tide), to share the burden and each put a hand on the stroller and push together if it was really soft sand and hard to push, and to plan our distance/time in relation to our cooler.  We would walk down the beach far enough to finish 1/2 a beer and then we'd turn around.  That way by the time we got back to our chairs we could refill and go the other way down the beach.  This circus would continue for as long as we felt like walking because as soon as the stroller stopped, Wesley would wake up.  I can't say that is really exercise if you have a koozie in hand, but we walked for over an hour at minimum if we wanted Wesley to have a good nap.  We got a lot of funny looks, an occasional comment but it was nice because Chris and I actually got to do a lot of talking.  We all benefited!

 

Here is the little angel...

Give Me the Keys, Daddy...I'll Drive!

 

License Required!

 

The only way to get around BHI as previously mentioned is by golf cart.  The house we rented had two, one that was the "cadillac" and one that was the "beater".  We had a pretty steep and curvy driveway and parking it in the garage was worse than parallel parking a car in a city.  So, I let Chris drive most of the time as I also had to contain the monkey!  He was generally very good about sitting in my lap but there was the occasion that he would have much preferred to drive! 

There were a few nights that we would go out in the cart just to drive and wind down, mostly for Wesley's sake.  The weather in the evening was so nice so it was like an after dinner stroll, only in an electric cart!  It was relaxing none the less and served it's purpose.  Wesley loved the cart, as you can tell from the photos.