Wells is Two!

Wells turned 2 on June 3. Life has been so busy lately that I'm just getting around to posting it. I wrote the post below during his birthday week - some of his favorite things as a freshly minted two-year-old. It's amazing to me that some of things these have changed in such a short period of time.

We moved just 3 days before his birthday but decided that wouldn't keep us from partying it up. We hosted a small group of family and friends for his big day and I'll pepper those photos throughout.

Loves:

Gue-tar
Doggies
Plow trucks
Doing "gigas" (Basically tackling mommy.)
Music class
Singing (So much that it warrants a list of his favorite songs. See below.)
Lucy Dog + Wilbur Dog ("I love Wibur dog." "I love Lucy dog." "Where Lucy dog go?")

Favorite songs:

Hello, Everybody
Goodbye, So Long, Farewell
ABCs
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Sandpiper

 

Funny Sayings:
"Eek! There's a mouse in Mr. Newhof's plow truck."
"Eek! There's a mouse in Mr. Newhof's car."

Playing:
Rocket ship, rocket ship, to the moon - fly! On mommy's legs.
Driving his Fisher Price car with his bike helmet on.

Eats:

"Macancheeeese"
Wadamelon
Pack packs
Waffle toast

Wells continues to be such a source of joy. He is sensitive, sweet, joyful, and charming. We couldn't love him more if we tried. Happy belated, sweet boy, we love you oh so much!

halloween at hess

Today was the most beautiful Michigan fall day. The weather was gorgeous and the sun was shining and it was just perfect.

After church we took Wells for his first haircut. We had very mixed emotions about this as we had grown to love his sweet, curly little mullet. We knew that cut would mean a farewell to his baby curls and we weren't entirely ready but, alas, it was time. Please enjoy the photos below, documenting Wells' before and during experience. They show the mullet in full force and his very not mixed emotions during the haircut.

camp wells (wells is one!)

It's been just over a week since Wells turned one, and a week since we celebrated his first year. We invited friends and family to join us at Camp Wells - his camping themed birthday party. We hosted at my in-laws' lake house, the perfect spot to let a gaggle of kids, ages 6 and under, run wild.

wells: month eleven

Our Wellsy turned eleven months a week ago - that means he only has one more month to go before he's a year. Wow!

He is so active. I swear, I keep saying that but his level of activity is just so intense and constant. It's to the point that we have to literally pin him down just to change his diaper. And that usually doesn't work out well for us.

snapshot

I retook Wells' official ten-month picture over the weekend.

Buster Brown at least stayed in one spot for more than a microsecond this time. It might have even been a full second.

This kid is B-U-S-Y. He hardly stays still for even a diaper change any more. Except when I shove a bottle in his mouth for the duration - that always works. He also sprouted his third tooth last Wednesday. It's coming in slowly but surely. Busy boy, so much growing being done.

Have a happy Thursday, everyone!

wells: month ten

On Sunday we celebrated ten months since Wells was born.

This month he:

1. Eats like a monster. He'll gobble down anything you put in front of him as quickly as you can set it down.

2. Won't sit still for his monthly photos. (I think we'll try again another day.)

wells: month nine

What a month it has been for Wells! Of course, if you read my last post, you already know that he is hitting milestones left and right: crawling, teeth, pulling up on things, saying "mama" and "dada" and making all sorts of other sweet vocalizations. He's changing so fast and it's so fun to watch.

Wells is nine months as of this week. When I think of the nine-month mark, it always feels to me like the start of the approach to his first birthday. Eight months still seems closer to the middle of a year than the end but now, at nine months, he only has so much baby time left.

This was the first photo I took of him today.

That pretty much some up life these days - this kid is on the move!

milestone madness

Wells has had a really big couple of weeks and we're quite excited about it around here.

In the last ten days, he has not only cut his first tooth but also his second.

vday outtakes

I wanted the kids to pose for a Valentine's picture, nothing fancy just a shot of them showing off their sibling love. This is what we came up with:

Not bad. They're both looking in my general direction. Of course that was one of about fifty shots, and frankly, the others are so funny. We joke that Elia loves Wells in theory but not always in practice. That shines through in a few of these. Enjoy the Neckers kids, unedited.

wells: month eight

What a month Wells' eighth month has been! It flew by so incredibly fast, partially due to the fact that we weren't at home for most of it making our daily rush just that much crazier.

He has been working towards crawling but isn't quite there yet.

wells: month seven

Wells is now seven months old, wow. We were away from home on his seven month birthday so I didn't get a chance to take his official monthly photo but I still snapped a few pictures to commemorate the day.

My baby boy is growing up so quickly. He hasn't hit any major milestones in the last month but he is becoming more agile and he's hinting at crawling soon. What an adventure it will be when we have two mobile children at home!

wells: month six

This week was Wells' half birthday.

He's getting so big and I just want to hold on to his baby-ness as long as possible. At night, when I go in to check on him before I go to bed, instead of quickly tiptoeing in and making sure not to disturb him, I've been picking him up and holding him tight for just a few seconds, just trying to soak him in while he's still a baby.

summoned by name

On Sunday, we celebrated Wells' baptism. We formally welcomed him into the body of Christ amongst family members and in front of our congregation.

It was a special morning as we committed to raising Wells in the Christian faith and our family and church family committed to supporting us in doing so.

Elia even joined us in church for his baptism, which was an adventure that went more smoothly than I expected. What a joy it was to share in his baptism as a family.

wells: month five

Since last month Wells has continued to charm us with his relatively easygoing personality.

He's been trying new foods: sweet potatoes, green beans, apple sauce, mango, prunes, strawberries and even a touch of peanut butter that one time.

spooky fun

I decided a while back that I wanted to make a big deal out of holidays for my kids. It's fun to do and holiday themes are a nice way to pepper the day to day with something to get excited about. Elia couldn't have been more excited about Halloween and Wells just thought it had something to do with playing peekaBOO all day long so he was pleased.

Our parents came over to go to a trunk or treat with us then hang out while we passed out candy to trick-or-treaters. Elia was so pumped about her party and practiced trick-or-treating for a week ahead of it. She kept asking when the trick-or-treaters were going to come to her house. Soon enough, Guapa, soon enough.

wells: month four

Today Wells is four months old. Handsome as ever and growing by the day. 

He went to the doctor yesterday and was deemed big and strong.

Being big and strong at four months old means you get the green light to start trying solid foods so we kicked it off with sweet potato yesterday afternoon.

That was very exciting! We tried again today and he seemed equally pleased.

His four month birthday was made even more exciting with a surprise visit from Tia Emily, all the way from Seattle! (A surprise that deserves its own post. Stay tuned.)

We're having so much fun and are so excited to watch our boy keep changing and growing. We love you, Wellsy!

wells: month three

That handsome guy? That's Wells. Our three-month old. 3 months! How is that possible? I know, everyone is always saying that about babies but time really does fly when your babies are growing up. I've probably already said that too, blame it on mommy brain. The struggle is real.

The past month has been so fun. Wells is such a smiley, sweet boy these days. And he's strong, as you'll notice in the photo below.

Since I returned to work last week, Wells is now splitting his time between daycare and his grandma's house doing just fine. You'd hardly know that he wouldn't let me put him down for days straight just six weeks ago.

Likes: Lights. Sitting in the highchair. Talking to people and being talked to. Being sung to.

Dislikes: Being alone. 
Nicknames: Bud, Bear, Wellsy Bellsy, Guapo

Month 2 Milestones: 
Started daycare and grandma care.
Sleeps through the night like a rockstar.

Coos all day long.

Other Notables:
Wears size 0-3 month clothes.

Is a thumb sucker!

We think he looks just like Dad - it's the eyes.

We love you, Guapo.

back to work again

This is one of those posts that I've started writing and rewriting several times. On Wednesday I returned to work after my second maternity leave. I had mixed emotions as the day approached, as I'm sure many new moms do. I was sad to be leaving Wells, sad that someone else would be caring for him, sad that I'll inevitably start to miss out on things, and sad that I probably won't always be the first one to know when he starts doing something new. It's not easy to leave Wells just as his personality is really starting to shine through. (In case you're wondering - he is sweet, guys. Really sweet.)

At the same time, I am looking forward to getting back into a routine, to jumping into new projects at work. And then there's the feeling of guilt that nags when I acknowledge that I am choosing to work instead of staying at home with my babies. And that makes it hard to.

Being a working mom is tough for so many reasons. Being a stay at home mom is tough, too. Both have their own challenges and I have to give a lot of credit to the moms who do stay home full time. I have loved both of my maternity leaves and I am so grateful that I have been able to work our a schedule that allows me to spend every Friday at home with them. That makes going back to work easier than the first time too.

The kids are taking to their new schedules like champs and this week will be our first full week of what will be our normal schedules. I'm sure there will be some bumps in the road but we'll get the hang of it. Until then, I so appreciate everyone's support and kindness as I return to work. Wish us luck and say a little prayer that all goes smoothly this week!