三人の jinsei: I'm being for real this time...

I am going to be consistent once and for all! I love reading a friend's blog to get up to date on her life, so if for nothing else, it will be for that!

We are finally over halfway through the semester and it has been... rough. I guess not as bad as people make it sound, but the other night (well, I guess morning), Layton didn't get home until 5am because he and his group were working on their project they were presenting the next day. Architecture school, you are a hard pill for me to swallow. But Layton loves it so much, he is so passionate about it and he is talented! He is really good at most things so I bet he'd love and be good at something else, but he really excels in architecture.

Halloween weekend was really fun. We went up to the cabin that Layton's family has in Provo Canyon and hung out with some of our friends (mainly Layton's married siblings and another couple). They played old skool mario kart (I watched because I'm way too competitive but also really horrible). Then we played the famous name game, ate root beer floats and chatted until midnight. We didn't even end up watching a movie but it was still a fun time to be together and connect. The next day, we went to the Salt Lake Temple with Layton's family and did a session. It was really nice to be together and a good reminder for me as I haven't been in a little while. Afterwards we ate at Red Iguana (2, which is slightly different than Red Iguana, even though they say it isn't). Everyone loved it and I had super high expectations but unfortunately everything was way too spicy for me and I do not do well with spicy. So I wasn't that impressed and probably won't want to go back.

Halloween night I wanted to dress Wes up but we hadn't planned or prepared anything. I figured we could just put him in a plaid and jeans, put some fake stubble on his cheeks and have him wear a beanie and he could be a lumberjack. I got the stubble painted on with costume makeup but he wasn't in a great mood so we didn't end up changing his clothes. Thinking back, to me he looked so funny wearing just his normal little pants and sweatshirt but then had these black stubble dots on his face. Then we just walked around our neighborhood, saw a few people and did a teeny tiny bit of trick or treating. Wes got like 5 treats haha. We also went and visited a couple in our new ward and hung out in their backyard by their cozy fire pit. It was really fun to have a little time to get to know them. Wes is almost always a champ with going out and about but he was ready to head home as it was past his bedtime.

We went to the zoo yesterday with my sister Shahn and her daughter Annika and it was awesome! The weather was gorgeous and hardly anyone was there because we went so late in the day. We saw tons of animals but Wes was hardly even interested in them. I thought he'd love them but he didn't really seem to understand what was going on. We saw lions, polar bear, grizzly bears, an otter, sea lion, lynx, snow leopard and some other cute little critters and reptiles. I loved it and was excited about all the animals we saw.

There is a new building downtown in Salt Lake City called the Eccles Theater and they had their first concert ever there last night. The Head and The Heart performed and we got tickets! They are a folk/indie band and they were AH-MAZING. The music just seemed to get right into your soul and there was so much joy and fullness. The venue was stunning and seeing everyone there loving it and being so happy was so filling. I definitely want to see them again.

Wesley is nearly 11 months! He has 4 teeth but appears to be cutting two more at the moment. I am starting to wean him to fewer feedings in a day and it's going well. I've had so many times where I've wanted to wean or just give up and stop trying, but then actually doing things like not nursing him or especially not pumping while at work, it was really hard. Actively and consciously making a choice to not progress our nursing relationship is hard, but it feels good too. Breastfeeding has been a huge challenge most of the time, but I'm grateful that we were able to figure it out, and I'm grateful that we can begin to wean and lessen the amount of time I spend trying to maintain it.

He loves to eat, his favorite foods are fruits, especially bananas and strawberries. He likes it when you act like you're chasing him or make silly faces at him. I was facetiming him today and kept acting like I was eating him by putting the camera on my phone right up to my open mouth and pulling back like I had taken a bite and he just laughed and laughed. His laugh is just pure magic. He is pretty much on a 2-a-day nap "schedule" (even though we don't know when they'll be during the day). He is a super fast crawler and cruiser and Layton and mine's moms have both said he'll for sure be walking by Christmas. I can't even imagine it! He still seems so young. It's incredible how much they change and grow in this first year. Lately he's been throwing tantrums just by screaming and screaming and sometimes he'll throw things. The screaming is super grating and hard for me to deal with and I've handled it not the best. I am an extremely imperfect mother, but I want to get better. He sleeps through the night and has started to sleep in a little bit more (no more 5am wake ups pleeease). He got his first haircut the other week and looks so darling and mature with it. We just love him so much and are grateful for him in our lives.