Happy 5th Birthday, Wes!

Was was born the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, so each September since his birth, we look forward to the extended weekend as a celebratory event.  Five years ago, however, it was both the scariest and most wonderful weekend of our lives as we welcomed our tiny preemie into the world six weeks before he was due.  We already knew we had a lot to celebrate when we heard his first (healthy) cry. In the days that followed in the hospital, struggling with some jaundice as well as a baby who wasn't gaining quite enough weight to go home, I mentally set age 5 as a milestone: if we could make it five years without any developmental hiccups, then I knew it would all be alright. And this birthday, we certainly had a lot to celebrate.  Wes is healthy, ridiculously energetic, and the center of our hearts.

We began the weekend by going to our final Cornbelters game of the season, and then stepped out of our sporting-event comfort zone by attending a preseason Bloomington Thunder game.

On Sunday we celebrated Wes' birthday as a family.  "Baseball stuff" was on his wishlist, and he once again wanted a baseball cake.  He was wonderfully excited, in the way that only kids are, about blowing out the candles.

We closed out the weekend by having our annual neighbor birthday party with his buddy Ben who was born a day after Wes.  These kids are the best :)

Wes started his second year of preschool the following week, and although he seemed hesitant in the weeks leading up to it, he seems to genuinely enjoy it this year.

September in Central Illinois usually brings a lot of warm afternoons, so even though the pools are closed, we have still found ways to splash around to cool down.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Jodi found the most "Wes" bday present ever.

Willie the Water Bug has been in our family for probably close to 40 years.

There is a part of me that will always see Wes as my preemie, but he is far from that now, and I love it.

Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus: St. Louis!

Last month we took our first legit vacation as a family. Sean's dad generously offered to cover the costs of a vacation for our 10 year anniversary, so we chose to explore St. Louis for a few days.  With a loose itinerary and a comically stuffed Prius, we hit the road for adventure.

Our hotel was fantastic.  We had an Arch view and were on the top (17th) floor, so we had a great panorama of the goings-on of the city.  We swam more times than I can count and chose to eat most of our meals as carryout in our room while watching baseball.

While in St, Louis, Wes was able to visit his first MLB ballpark.  We took a tour of Busch Stadium as well as went to a game.  The highlight for him was being able to walk on the warning track during the tour and run around the miniature brick baseball field during the game.  

Warning track

Dugout!

Challenging a call by listening to his pretend headphones

Press box

The heat index was 114 degrees...

But the heat doesn't slow down this baseball guy

Like any good tourist, we visited the Arch and took a tram to the top.  Wes enjoyed the tiny elevator doors and the big view.

Trying to knock the arch down

Wes-sized doors

We had heard a lot of people rave about the City Museum, so we visited that as well.  It is a place to play, climb, and explore and is made entirely from recycled industrial materials.  It's absolutely beautiful in a Tim-Burton kind of way, and entirely too overwhelming for a family of introverts.  We are used to actively supervising a 4 year old, which is nearly impossible with the tiny tunnels, dark caves, and high bridges.  I think it could be a fantastic place when Wes is older and there are 500 fewer people there.

The zoo is always a wonderful place in St. Louis, but it was a HOT day.  We tried to do a number of indoor exhibits, and Sean even faced his fear of the butterfly display for the sake of our son ;)

The Magic House is St. Louis' children's museum.  There are a ton of great exhibits, but the amount of people that are there at one time is pretty overwhelming for all of us.  It took us a while to find our niches, with Wes' favorites being a number wheel game, sand table, and a Lewis and Clark maze.

We cut our trip short when Wes woke up with a high fever on our last day.  We came home tired but with many great memories of our vacation.  Wes is a fun travel buddy, and we are looking forward to future summer adventures.