4 Months and Counting

Brrrrr! The New Year is here and it brought Winter in full force. I'm sure those of you further north have noticed. School started back for Lil' Vance and then closed the next day because of snow. The weather is finally going to break and today we made it up to mid 40's!

Blake enjoys being right in the middle of everything. Here he's hanging out in his Bumbo chair while I wash dishes. I think the running water fascinates him. I really enjoy the fact that sitting down he's as tall as our coffee pot!

This picture is a family joke. Shane REALLY enjoys his video games, but we don't want Blake to learn to play them at an early age. So, when I stepped outside for a minute I came back in to catch them both in the act! I thought it was funny.

Blake's first Christmas was so much fun. He is enjoying all of his presents, from cute clothes to fun toys. Probably his favorite Christmas present is his walker. Grammi and Pa got it for him and it arrived the Monday before Christmas. The first day he figured out how to make it move. The second day he figured out how to make it go forward and there is no stopping him now. He was not quite 4 months old when he first got it and by the time he was 4 months old he was a Pro at his walker. He now enjoys chasing Duchess in it, poor old dog. He also enjoys pursing the cats. He hasn't caught one yet, but I'm betting he will eventually.
Here he is hanging out in his walker.

Blake surrounded by all his presents!

Lil' Vance and Shane with their pile of presents. That look on Shane's face is him surveying the size of his pile of presents compared to Blake's pile. I did explain to Shane that teenager's presents seem to cost a whole lot more than baby presents, compare a rattle to an ipod??

Blake struck a pose on Dad's presents. He was sitting on Dad's lap and just leaned over and propped himself up. We got a kick out of his nonchalant look.

Blake had to taste everything.

Half way through opening his presents Blake lost interest. All that tasting got him hungry. We actually did our family Christmas on Christmas Eve so we left the rest of Blake's presents for Christmas Day.


Family picture taken before Christmas.

I like this one of Shane with Blake. Both of the boys wanted their pictures taken with their little brother.

Right after Christmas we started major remodeling. I'm very excited by the progress we've been able to make. The end seems almost in sight. We are swapping the kitchen and dining room, and have opened up the living room with an arch way. We now have ripped out half of the old linoleum and laid hard wood flooring in the "new" kitchen. The kitchen cabinets are all here and we are working on installing them.

This is a view from what was the dining room into the living room. Vance was getting everything ready to open the wall up into the living room.

Here is a view afterward of the archway between the living room and what is the new kitchen area.

Another view of the kitchen with the linoleum ripped out just prioe to putting down the hardwood.

View of the old kitchen.

Vance working on laying the hardwood flooring.

Blake agreed to supervise the project. We actually had a hard time keeping him out of the work area. Vance put in a long day and managed to get the floor laid before Grammi and Pa arrived that night.

Shane holding Ellie May. She's gun shy and thus no good as a hunting dog so she was left behind and showed up outside our house Christmas morning. She's also shy in general. My real problem is she so tiny that she can slide in and out of our fence, and we've decided not to keep her permanently. I've put her on a waiting list for a local adoption group. Hopefully she'll be placed before too long.

The New Year brought many wonderful blessings, like a visit from Grammi and Pa, and a Wedding with family I hadn't seen in years.

Grammi and Pa!

Saturday at Adam VanReenan's wedding in Tullahoma TN.

Blake was fussy right after the wedding. We were trying to visit with everyone, but he was having nothing to do with it.

Fortunately he got in a little better mood later on. Here we are with my Great Aunt Peg. So neat to be able to see all the extended family.

It was a long day for Blake and he was doing huge mood swings because he was so tired. I love his pouty face.
Second later BIG smiles!

Blake openening up a Christmas gift from Grammi and Pa. It was a little toy camera that lights up and talks. He was fascinated by it.

Our little boy turned 4 months on December 29th. We went to the Doctor earlier this week and he weighed in at 19lbs and measured 24 and a 1/2 inches. So much for his 3-6 month clothes. He's growing and changing so fast! Everyday brings new discoveries and big adventures.