James The Goldfish.

We bought Wesley a goldfish to motivate him to get potty trained. The idea was that every successful trip to the toilet ended in Wesley getting to feed the goldfish. Unfortunately this plan didn't work, as Wesley lost all interest in the fish (and the potty) after naming it James (the name of the red tank engine from "Thomas & Friends".) So now we have a goldfish as well as a son who is not potty trained.

Small World.

Wesley has learned the words and harmony to "It's a Small World" and sings, hums, yells and whispers the song all the time. He has actually become so comfortable with the song that he has started changing the words to fit with what he is doing, who he is playing with, or the food that he is eating. Wesley also has discovered that the song appears on two Disneyland CDs we own, so we listen to it every time we get into the car. I think that I may average hearing a version of the song about 30 times a day.

Bruce The Shark.

Wesley has developed quite an imagination since turning three. His love of animals has meshed with his imagination, as we go on daily trips to the savannah looking for lions and giraffes or sit on the "boat" (bed) and pretend that we are looking for ocean animals. This imaginative play took on a whole other dimension when Wesley discovered the brown body pillow that I used during my pregnancy with Julia. The pillow immediately became a shark - and not just any shark. It became Bruce from "Finding Nemo." Bruce became a regular part of our daily oceanic adventures and ultimately ended up in Wesley's bed during a "swim." That "swim" was back in February and Bruce has not left his bed since. He actually twists himself and sleeps horizontally so that he can rest his head on Bruce. It looks like I won't be getting that body pillow back.

Teething.

Poor girl. She's having a rough time with it.

A Belated Holiday Post.

For the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of inflatable lawn Christmas decorations around town. Shannon and I generally prefer to keep things simple and stuck with our simple house trim lights. Until last year. That is when, primarily for the benefit of the almost 2 year old Wesley, we got a couple lit reindeer for the lawn. Then came this year. Wesley's appreciation for lawn Christmas decorations had reached a new high. It seemed everyone in our neighborhood had inflatable lawn decorations. Wesley and I began to go on walks after dinner every couple of nights just to go see his favorites. Afternoons were peppered with questions like "train up?" or "peekaboo Santa up?", referring to whether his favorite neighborhood decorations were turned on and inflated yet. Needless to say, Shannon and I broke down and bought an enormous inflatable lawn decoration for our own front yard. It was a Christmas train, which an absolutely exhilarated Wesley immediately named "Gordon" (a name he got from one of his favorite shows, "Thomas and Friends"). Days after that were spent answering questions about when the train would "go up", and naps were taken only with the assurance that the train would be inflated when he awakened. Sadly, this vacation in paradise for Wesley ended when his father decided taking down decorations a few days after Christmas was a good idea, only to watch the rest the neighborhood keep their decorations up for an additional two weeks. Next year I will be taking them down in July. My neighbors will hate me, but I will have the happiest boy on the block.

The Christmas Train.

Every year on the day after Thanksgiving it is a tradition of ours to drive to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree. Once our tree is up, it is time to pull out the decorations. This year Wesley wanted to help with things and immediately discovered the box with our Christmas train. Although we hadn't planned on it, the train was our first Christmas decoration that we put out. We thought that Wesley would get bored with it after watching the train go around a few times, but he sat and watched that train go around our tree for an hour and a half mesmerized. This is just the beginning of the holiday season for us - we cannot wait to share in the excitement of what is to come!

Halloween.

For those keeping score - Julia is a butterfly, Wesley is a lion.

Dressing Up For An Afternoon Out.

Years ago when I was a single guy, I would see kids in department stores wearing ridiculous looking combinations of random clothing accessesories and costumes clearly chosen by the child and I remember thinking, "do those parents have any control of their children?" I don't think like that anymore.

Bundled Up.

Say Cheese.

We took Julia to get her monthly picture taken and ended up with an adorable picture of Wesley as well. This is Julia at 3 1/2 months old and Wesley at 2 1/2 years old. Too cute!

Brotherly Love.

Wesley absolutely adores his little sister, smothering her with affection all day long. However, he hasn't quite perfected the kissing technique. To get this picture, I told Wesley to put his nose on Julia's cheek.

Monday Mornings.

Every week I go through the same emotional routine with Wesley. On a normal weekday, Wesley knows there's a 50/50 chance he will see me for a few fleeting minutes before I head out or if I slipped out under the cover of the morning darkness. His attachment is there, and he is excited when I get home, but it is nothing compared to Saturday and Sunday. I try to spend as much time as I can with Wesley on weekends, including getting up with him both mornings, and we always have a great time. But then the dreaded Monday morning arrives, and my leaving is met with absolute devastation. "No Daddy work!" is pretty heartbreaking for a pathetic pushover of a father like me. And the Wesley's pounding on the front door after I shut it behind me doesn't make it any easier. I guess I should feel appreciative of this affection, but it still makes those weekdays painfully long.

No Eyes Shut.

On Saturday, the day of Abby's 3rd Birthday party, Wesley woke us up with a very excited "Abby Birthday, Abby Birthday!" Later that morning as we headed down the freeway to Abby's 3rd Birthday party, Wesley's excitement was at a fever pitch. But car rides make him sleepy, which did not please him as he was still very excited. As he was starting to doze off, he managed to awaken himself enough to yell out of frustration "NO EYES SHUT!" Barking out instructions to your own body parts may not always be effective, as he was sound asleep moments later, but it certainly is a whole new way of approaching things.

Adorable.

Sorry, I couldn't resist one more.

Sea World Weekend.

Take a trip to San Diego and mix in Abby, Sea World and boats and you have a weekend of nonstop joy for Wesley. Make a funny face at Julia and you have the same. Photos courtesy Mrs. Steve Scheidler.

Laughter.

We are entering yet another new terrain these days with Wesley. Over the past few weeks, he seems to now be feeding off the laughter of others more and more. Last night he was finishing his dinner and was feeding himself his last few bites, but instead of putting the spoon in his mouth he was lazily hitting his nose with the food instead. Now, I'm sure this is a visual thing and not necessarily hysterically funny written on a blog, but the sight just made me laugh. Which then made him laugh. Which made him do it more. Which resulted in Shannon telling him to stop playing with his food. He hesitated, but when he saw the grin on my face that was all he needed. He did it again, and again I laughed. Shannon again told him to stop, and this time I'm not entirely sure who she was talking to. So I covered my face with my hands to compose myself until Wesley got bored and moved on to the chants of "Wo Wo."

Wo Wo.

Ever since Wesley was a few months old, he's loved it when I would toss him up and down. When he got a little older, he started to make the sound "wo" every time I would throw him up. Hence the name he's given this little game, "Wo Wo." Now, he's been through ups and downs as far as how much he appreciates this game (far more ups than downs), but at this very moment he's absolutely loving it. Almost as soon as I walk in the house at the end of the day, the chants of "Wo Wo" begin. And as soon as I stop, the chants resume. And he's getting braver with the brand of "Wo Wo" he prefers. He will often tell me to throw him higher (or "bigger," as he puts it), one time resulting in him lifting up his legs and unintentionally doing a complete flip. As one would expect, of course, there are varieties of "Wo Wo" that can all have different benefits depending on Wesley's particular mood. There is the Julia on the couch "Wo Wo," which can played for the viewing pleasure of his sister, who beams in delight. There is the surprise Mommy "Wo Wo," in which he pops up from behind the couch and startles his mother repeatedly. And there is just no replacing the old reliable classic "Wo Wo," which occurs wherever Wesley finds me at any moment.

Manners.

On our quest to teach Wesley manners, it appears that he has caught onto things very quickly. Wesley's two favorite phrases throughout the day are "excuse you" - which sounds more like "excuuuuuuuse you" - and "bless you." He gets lots of opportunities to say these two new phrases thanks to his baby sister and her many noises. During Julia's burping sessions, Wesley repeats over and over, "excuuuuuuuse you, Julia," and laughs hysterically which makes me laugh and then the cycle repeats. Just thinking about this makes me smile, but what is even more endearing is when Wesley says, "bless you." He says this anytime Julia makes an unusual grunt, snort, sneeze, or sniffle. The most adorable part about this is that he will actually stop what he is doing (which most likely is playing with cars and trucks), look up at her, and say "bless you, Julia." This can happen up to ten times in one afternoon. All I can say is, "bless you, Wesley" for being such a loving big brother.

Julia Marie.

Or, as Wesley and I like to call her, "Princess."

Julia's Bottom Lip.

Our daughter isn't too subtle about her moods.