CRAWLING!!!

Before church, we had the biggest blow-out we've ever had. Just decided to give Blake a bath--and then he peed all over everything. I was holding him on my hip, but his little shooter was aimed up, so it was spraying all over, haha. This rug shows some of the damage :)

Sooo pleased that he gets to take a bath!!!!

This wasn't the cutest picture, but his little shooter is showing in all the other ones :)

And here's some videos of our little mobile baby. Yesterday, I got a little taste of what's to come--fake grass pulled out of our fake tree, my cookbooks pulled off the shelf, and his blankets pulled off his changing table shelf. I must say, it was adorable watching him explore (at least the first day it happened) :) Well, Blake's official crawl on hands and knees date was Tuesday, June 26th. He still isn't fast, but he's doing it!!!

Crawling

Playing

Laughing

No Blakey, No.

This morning Blake started to learn the disappointing word of "no." Now that he's started to army crawl, he is quite mobile and wants to suck on cords. He crawls towards the outlet and reaches for them to suck on. We were sitting next to one he had crawled to and every time that he reached for it, I would pull his hand away and say "No." Then as he continued to reach, I would slap his hand and say "No." Then he started to reach for the outlet, but would leave his hands just shy of the cord. Again, he would get a slap and a "No." After about 5 or 6 times and a little bit of crying in between, he gave up and sat back and just cried. He eventually got over it, but this is just the start to a whole different ball game.

Our neighbor gave us a huge zucchini that I was thrilled to get. I decided to make some zucchini bread, but unfortunately, it turned out dry...does anyone have a great zucchini bread recipe they'd like to share that doesn't have a ridiculous amount of sugar in it? :) Here's a picture of Blake helping me make some bread.

 Blake's Army Crawl

First tooth and bath-time

Johnny jump up.

As most of your probably know, my husband like to bounce on balls or rock in rocking chairs--basically anything that allows him to move while sitting. So, he was really excited to get Blake a johnny jump up. Blake was thrilled the first day, and I think it was because of all the attention he was getting from Daddy and Mommy while he sat in his new chair (notice I said "sat." He hasn't jumped yet...).

Johnny Jump Up

He hasn't loved it since, so that has been a disappointment, but that doesn't mean we didn't get some adorable shots of him in the meantime :) Let's just say he doesn't always use it for its intended purpose!

Tennessee!

Scott, Blake and I made a quick trip to the Tennessee countryside to visit some of Scott's college roommates, Ben & Marcus. Marcus drove from Georgia and Ben lives in TN, which was a great half-way point to meet. They did this trip last year as well, only difference is that I was 9 months pregnant last year and Scott went solo. This was the first time I was able to meet Ben and his wife, Georgia, and their three kids. We had a very nice time and I enjoyed finally meeting their beautiful family. They are trying to live a sustainable life by starting to live off their land. They have 6 cleared and 6 uncleared acres of land on which they have a large garden, and hens for laying eggs, roosters, chickens for meat, turkeys, a couple other random birds, and future plans to buy a cow. Although I love living in the city, there is a part of me that would love to be able to do what they do.

I love being able to plant my own garden, watch it grow, and reap the harvest. There is something so fun about knowing exactly where your food is coming from and knowing it is healthy. I was buying some organics in the grocery store the other day and the cashier said, "You know I read that not all organics are actually organic. Some people lie about what they are doing to the food and how they are growing it." I guess I'll just have to trust that most of them are selling honestly b/c there is no way for me to tell.

Ben gave us some fresh farm eggs, which I was thrilled to get. Just natural eggs, nothing given to the chickens so their eggs are larger, nothing added to make them produce more eggs. Just eggs. Yum.

Blake had a bit of a hard time sleeping there--unfortunately, this is becoming the norm if he isn't in his crib, so he was a little more cranky than normal. I had suggested that Scott might bring Blake without me b/c I wasn't feeling good the week before we left, but I don't think that would've worked out well, plus I was feeling back to my normal self the day we left. When we arrived home, I put Blake to bed as normal and it was incredible the difference--just lay him down in bed, he looks at you, and you walk out. No crying, no needing extra cuddle time, no needing to be put down while in a deep sleep...it was wonderful.
Here is a little clip of Scott and Marcus feeding Blake.

Scott & Marcus feeding Blake

100%

Video's galore--Enjoy!

Since videos upload while I am away from the computer, they are the easiest post to my blog. These are taken during Lucas and Priscilla's wedding weekend!! I think Blake might be teething now, b/c he wants to be held all the time and his gums look swollen. Thus, no time to blog :) I hope you enjoy the videos though--I sure did!!

Gary and Blake take the stage

Reenactment--Take 1

Reenactment--Take 2/Fail

Cartwheels!!

Blakey Playing at Grandpa Miles

Blakey Kisses

This is Blake's new way to give kisses--well, at least that's what I tell myself because they aren't exactly fun. My chin is all red when he's done because he is rough! Oh, and he pulls my hair quite hard right at the base of my hair line, pulls my glasses and the skin on my neck and cheek. Who can possibly turn away their child when they want to give kisses, as uncomfortable as they are! Oh well, I still love them.

Blakey Kisses

In a week from today, my little brother Lucas is getting married! I'm really excited to go to the wedding and we're very excited to welcome Priscilla to the family! We will be driving to MN and now that Blake doesn't sleep like a newborn anymore, I'm hoping he does ok on the long drive. We've decided to split it up on the way there by stopping in Madison as the half-way point and spending the night.