Weston Talks to Animals

It's been a great week so far out in Utah!  We braved 40 mph winds yesterday afternoon at the beach.

At the Jordanelle Reservoir 

Soaking up the rays with Deer Valley in the background

We stopped at Heber Valley Artisan Cheese this afternoon for some ice cream, and Weston kept signing "more" to Aunt Mary...  He's now napping after a sugar high.

Aunt Mary letting Weston help himself to some Cookies and Cream

Afterward, we stopped at a farm to let him check out donkeys and goats.  Uncle Shad said that Weston had his finger up the donkey's nose at one point.

Hello, Donkey!

A Visit With the Family

During a photo shoot with his cousin, Weston gets "offended" after Liam makes a move.


Wrestle Mania I from Robyn Weaver on Vimeo.

Retiring the Pump

I cannot believe that I made it through an entire school year (9 months...180 days or so) of pumping twice a day at work.  It's crazy, right?  I will not miss the freezer bags, washing the parts, "uhnnn...uhnnn...uhnnn," students knocking on my door and me yelling back, "I'm busy!" or better yet, administrators using their master keys to come in...

Nope.  I won't miss that.  Ever.

But I am so glad that Weston and I made it past a year of breast feeding.  That, plus I was able to go to work to have a roof over our heads, insurance, and food on the table.  A working, breast feeding mom needs the necessary--but evil--pump.

Many intimate moments, dear Medela, but you will not be missed!

Now that it's officially summer break, I'm free!  I do know that I'm not pumping when I go back to work in the fall (the World Health Organization recommends breast feeding at least until two years of age), so we'll most likely continue to nurse through the summer and then wean in August to just a morning and before bedtime feed.

Got Milk?

Do You Understand Me?

I teach English to students whose first language isn't English.  It's a challenging career choice, but I've learned over the years how to get my point across as well as figure out what my students are saying.  Drawing pictures and acting out scenarios are tactics that come in handy.

But...communicating with a child who doesn't have any language to begin with is slightly more interesting.  We're teaching Weston sign language whenever we can.  He can do "hot," "more," "dog," "bell" (we live near a church and the bells ring at 6pm every evening and he gets so excited when he hears them), and "duck."  There might be a few more.  Anyway, he has started to use the sign for "more" to mean "I'm-thinking-of-something-and-you-don't-know-what-that-thing-is-but-I-want-it-now-and-you-should-really-figure-out-what-I'm-thinking.  DUH."

My favorite example of this is when I get him up in the morning.  We go over to the window and look outside onto the backyard.  We have the kiddie pool and Weston's bike out there, and lately, he will make the sign for "more" while babbling excitedly about something.  "More" used to mean that he was hungry and wanted more food, but now I think it means "I want to swim / ride my bike / eat another banana."  Only he knows what he wants, but it's getting a bit easier to figure it out.

We've had some 90-degree days here, and Weston LOVES his swimming pool.  All day long: "Water?  Water?"