Happy Birthday Blake!!!

1 Month Old Today!!

In celebration of Blake reaching his one month mile marker I decided to take some pictures. My goal was some memorable "cute" baby pictures. You know the typical ones with the smiling cherubic baby. When I reviewed my pictures instead of having captured lots of adorable smiles I realized I had captured the many expressions of Blake. They are, I think, equally adorable. And they really made me laugh. I hope Blake's lack of smiles makes you smile too!

I really wanted to create an old fashioned look, and this little outfit Ms. Kim bought in South Carolina was perfect for it. We struck out on the perfect pose though!

The little bonnet and booties were crocheted with lots of love by Blake's Great Grandma Pat. I thought wouldn't it be sweet to get a picture of him in his little hat and booties? Sadly Blake wasn't too happy with his hat. Yes, that's a picture of him pulling at the strings and frowning. Shortly after this wardrobe change Blake was all done with his photo shoot as lots of crying ensued.

But the day wasn't a total loss. Here's the great smile and perfect pose!!

The Fastest Four Weeks of Our Lives!

I can hardly believe that 4 weeks ago today Blake was barely a couple hours old. These last couple weeks we've been busy watching him grow. And boy oh boy has he ever grown! His outfits that are newborn size no longer fit. He protested hardily when I tried to put him in a sleeper that was a little too snug. I had to laugh because he was too long for it, and was so mad that he couldn't kick his legs all the way out. Don't worry he insisted that I get him out of it quick!

Vance had to go back to work this last week and we've really missed having Daddy at home. We were so fortunate that he was able to take off work for three weeks after Blake was born. But it was still a hard adjustment for all of us. Blake was colicky this week and when his little tummy hurts he has such a hard time sleeping. Thanks to some helpful advice from friends and family we are starting to get naps, and tummy aches figured out.

Aunt Jamie and Uncle Adam suggested running the vacuum in combination with swing time. It does help to quiet him when nothing else seems to work. It is an odd way of bringing some peace and quiet to the house, but it does allow me to get a few things done.

Here Blake helps Mama and catches a ride on the clean laundry.

After all that hard work helping Mama around the house he needed time out to just kick back, put his feet up and relax on the couch for a little bit.

We had a big week with visitors and going visiting.

Wednesday we were invited to Ms. Kim's house for a visit. Before we could go on our field trip we needed to get presentable. Blake had his first official tub bath that day. Prior to that he'd had a couple sink baths which he wasn't to big on, and a bunch of showers which he loves. Turns out this little water baby is very happy in the big bath tub. I love his baby bath that fits inside our big tub. It's softer than the plastic ones and quite cushy as the absorbent material fills with water.

Here Blake is just hanging out and letting his little rolls soak a bit.

His official 'Hey I'm clean pose.'

After bath time we were off to Ms. Kim's house for dinner. Nurse Keisha was there too. She suggested some Mylocin for the bellyaches. The first time we gave it to him he took a four hour nap followed by sleeping for another four hours when we put him to bed. I hadn't seen him sleep that soundly in quite awhile. Nurse Keisha always gives fabulous advice!

Blake was a good boy on our trip. He loved all the hugs and attention, not to mention all the compliments he got. Mama had a good time just getting out of the house and seeing her friends from work. I've missed everyone.

Thursday another friend came to visit. Ms. Kim's daughter Brooke came over to see us for a couple hours, and we had a nice time.

Friday Blake had a big adventure when he helped Mama mow the yard. I snuggled him in his Moby wrap so he could ride with me, and he was asleep within a couple minutes of starting the mower. I put a little cotton in both of his ears, because I was worried the mower might be a little too loud. I don't know that it was and either way it didn't seem to bother him. He only woke up when I shut it off.

Today we had more visitors when my cousin Kinsey and her family stopped to see us. It was wonderful catching up with Kinsey, and great getting to meet Kinsey's husband Eric and their little boy David. They were in Tennessee visiting some of Eric's family and friends and stopped in to see us on their way back to Illinois.
David is very cute and into everything. He found all sorts of stuff to play with in our house. It made me realize how much child proofing I'll need to do when Blake starts walking! I'm so glad they were able to take the time and stop by to visit.

It was a fun week for both of us getting to see everyone!

Looking back a couple weeks, when Blake was 6 days old we took a trip to Daddy's work to go see some friends. Here's Blake with Billie.

Later that day we stopped to see our "ponies". I wanted a picture of Blake next to Blondie. He's going to be quite the little cowboy when he gets bigger.

Blake 1wk & 2wk Old Pictures

Blake is doing wonderful, and is the joy of our lives. He's growing like crazy, chubby little legs and double chin. I already can't believe how much he's changing. He's been keeping us very busy, lots of lap and snuggle time. For the most part he sleeps through the night in 2-3 hour segments. He eats and gets changed and then usually goes right back to sleep. The only time we are up for any length of time is if he gets a little gassy. He doesn't believe in suffering in silence. Although, he's not a screamer he just does a lot of grunting, kicks, and little noises.

We've also found out he's very fond of showers. He really seems to enjoy the warm water. Thank goodness because he is a little heater and gets sweaty when he sleeps. He is also really hard on his outfits. I originally thought how would he ever wear all the clothes he had before he outgrew them? Then I realized with 2-3 outfit changes a day we'll probably wear them out! I should mention the one time he screams is when I dress him.

I would have had more updates posted except for a sudden lack of time to do anything, and our wireless internet was fried right before Blake was born. Vance has been working on the problem and hopefully we've got it resolved.

Weather wise we've been in monsoon season for the last two days. The tropical storm from the coast made it up to TN. It's not severe weather but it has dumped quite a bit of rain in the last two days, 5-7 inches. No sign of it letting up in the next couple days.

Now for the good stuff, here's some of my favorite pictures. This is by no means all of them, but it's all I've had time to get posted so far.

Blake 1 week old

He's a very alert baby when he's not napping. He loves to interact and be held and talked to.

Blake 2 weeks old

I was waiting for him to fall asleep so I could get some sleepy baby pictures. He's very curious about what is going on around him and it took a little bit to get him to fall asleep while he was trying to watch mom with the camera.

Finally he was sleeping really good so I decided to get a few pictures of him looking peaceful.

Then I decided to have a little fun with it.

This is my favorite picture because of his expression. He was still asleep, but gave me this great "wink" when I put his hat on him.

Check out those little leg rolls. More pictures to come!

Blake Two Weeks Old Short Video