KATIKA USAFARI

Well, it is 10:15pm. Weston is asleep, Tucker is playing volleyball and I am thinking the smartest thing for me to do would be go to sleep, but I haven't had a lot of time lately and there are somethings that I don't want to forget about life later. So with that, I'll take a few minutes here to memorialize a few of the best parts of life right now.

Weston learned all about the word no a few weeks ago. He was playing in the bath with his cousin Zuri and he hit her. I said "NO Weston, we don't hit, be gentle" As soon as the word No came out of my mouth I saw a little light go off in his head. He didn't hit her again, but he gave me a glare that I hadn't seen up to that point from him. About a minute later he threw his toy across the room and yelled NO as he glared me down, as if to say, you think your so tough mom! I can say that word TOO! Kenni and I had to stifle the laughter. He's been using it ever sense. The good news is he is starting to balance it out with "yes" and "thank you". He says thank you when he does something where the other person should really be saying thank you to him, as if in anticipation of hearing it.

This morning as we were pulling out of the drive way he said "I see you" That was a cute one!

He is a Momma's boy. He loves playing with Dad, but given the option he will almost always hang out with me. If he is away before I leave in the morning he always says "bye" to Dad hoping that I'll take him with me.

Every night we brush our teeth together, then turn off all the lights in the house. He is getting really good at all the switches. Then we go to his room and put his PJs on. Then we say a short prayer, cause it is hard for a little guy to sit still for very long. I am super proud of him though cause he really does a great job keeping his arms folded and kneeling down till the prayer is over. Then he gives the sweetest hugs and kisses to Tucker and I before he snuggles down in bed. When he really wants to procrastinate he will give us a few hugs and kisses each, walking back and forth between us to lengthen it out.

Weston loves his cousins and talks about them all the time, only he can only say CC's name so he refers to them all as CC.

Weston also loves his Grandmas and Grandpas on both sides and gets so excited when he sees them. The Beesleys came over for dinner on Sunday after a trip to Utah for a week. He saw them through the window before I knew they were here and he started running in circles and dancing with the biggest smile, than grabbed my hand and dragged me to the door where he proceeded to dance some more as they made their way to the door.

Weston and I go to a Mommy and me Gymnastic class for toddlers. Last Saturday he walked all the way across the balance beam by himself and wouldn't let me help him at all. He was pretty excited about it. He hasn't quite learned how to jump on the trampoline yet, but he loves running across it and crashing into the pads at the end of the long one. He is learning summer salts and how to balance on one foot. They have rungs on the wall to teach them how to climb. Most kids go up like two and are done, Weston charges all the way to the top to the point where I can barely reach him if he were to fall and he would go higher if there were more rungs.

He loves trail mix. I keep it for a snack at my office so he is always excited to visit there. That and I let him play with my phone which he thinks is super exciting. I always have to change back my settings when he leaves.

He has learned how to throw a ball pretty well. He takes his shoes off every time he gets in the car. He loves nursery, to the point that if we are in the church building and he doesn't get to go to Nursery he has a breakdown. I get to be a Nursery leader and hang out with him there every Sunday. For the most part I am holding other kids who have a hard time separating from their parents but it is nice to be there when he needs a hug and to see him learning how to interact with his friends and how to sit while he eats his snack. Last week he could not sit still at all. He was literally running from one side of the nursery to the other, back and forth for about 15 minutes straight.

Tucker took us in a canoe ride. There wasn't enough paddles for us to both row, so he put Weston and I in a canoe and he tied the kayak to the front and pulled us up the river. It was really fun except for the being really pregnant trying to keep up with a toddler in a canoe part.
He kept wanting to go to the front which meant that I had to go over a bar, which was not an easy feat.

I'm at week 32, and just started getting heart burn last night. I am excited to have a new baby join our family. Weston is such a blessing and brings so much joy to life, I am not sure how it can get any better.

There is so much more I would say about how much I love my kid, but I don't have the words for it.

Oh one last story. For Valentines day Tucker and I planned to go out that evening. So as I was trying to get my work done to leave in time for our date Tucker went and picked Weston up from day care. When they got back I was still in my office. I heard Tucker say, go give it to Momma, and there came Weston walking into my office using all his strength to hold up the Dozen roses they had bought me. It was the best Valentines moment ever! He was so proud of himself after he brought them all the way to me.

Life is good.