Shopping....fun.

Oh Blakey, how I love thee, let me count the ways:

1). So cute how you step on the escalator and then start crying b/c you are just not sure what is going on!

2). How you fight and fight to get out of the shopping cart, and then take off down the wrong isle so that I'm left to choose between guarding you or my purse.

3). How adorable you look in your monkey hat :)

4). How I get scared when I think of going shopping with you and another little tyke in the future :)

5). How you constantly throw things out of my cart while we are shopping.

6). How people look at you and smile all the time

7). How I'm thinking I want to go out to eat tonight, but since I did just get back from Target and the library with you, I'm doubting how well you'll sit in a restaurant...

8). How your energy level seems to increase with time

9). How at the library the kid's computer distracts you from playing with books or toys (I don't think libraries should have computers for kids, or let kids come and play computer games on the adult computers, but that's just my little soap box). :)

and for number 10.....

10) How when we get home and I go to open the trunk and stick my tongue out at you through the back window, you give me the most adorable smile that melts my heart and makes it all worth it!

Ok, so not exactly smiling, and taken after we got home, but it is so hard to get a smiling picture lately since he is so intent on grabbing my camera :)

Ok, so maybe I shouldn't stick my tongue out at him (I don't usually do this), but he sure does seem to have a good sense of humor :) And for the record, I get that smile almost every time I go to get him out of his carseat while on errands--I love it!

Spring is here!!

Blake, Scott and I have been loving the new warm weather and so, although brief, I thought I'd post a few pictures of Blake's adventures outdoors. Although it was difficult to get him to look at the camera, I did eventually get a couple of his face :) 

I love this picture b/c it shows how determined and confident he is wandering outside.

Splashing in a puddle

This is in the neighbors yard--he has a really hard time staying in our yard. In fact, even during the winter, he had to go to one of the neighbors driveways to play--never wanted to play in ours!

Contemplating his next move

Oops, sitting in the puddle isn't such a good idea...yet...

Oh, who cares, I'll keep splashing anyways!

Next day--smiling for me!! Scott was cleaning out my car and Blake got this toy from him, so he was walking around shaking it (it has a little rattle/bell in it)

Stupid slow camera. I had so many great shots missed b/c my camera is too slow on the draw

Aww, my cute baby...although, he seems more like a kid lately, especially watching him explore outside!

My best photo of the day :)

Thanks to my SIL, Sarah, for the clothes she gave Blake. This jacket is complements of her son, Sam, and came just in time for the warmer weather! Funny story about Blake and Sam--at Christmas time, Blake was wearing a 24 month jacket and Sam was wearing a 18 month jacket. Sam is older and just generally larger than Blake and was a little too big for his jacket and Blake was a little too small for his. Well, turns out they had the exact same jacket, just different sizes, so we switched and everyone was happy! Sarah was glad that she didn't have to buy another for just a few more months, and I was happy Blake's fit him just a little bit better :)

Baby Miles

Ok, so I guess it is time to inform the world that we are expecting Baby Miles #2! Baby Miles is due on Oct 26th, which is one day earlier than Blakey's due date (Blake was due the 27th/28th--they told us both dates and we told people the 28th b/c that is my brother's birthday). Since it is ingrained in a person's head the date of their last cycle before finding out they are pregnant, I remembered from Blake's & knew this time the due date would be one day different. We also tested on Valentine's Day, which was the day we found out we were pregnant with Blake. Well, we had a test that was positive, but it was so faint that I just couldn't tell if that line was really showing or not, so I went out and bought another one, which was an early detection test. I took this later in the day (which is a recipe for a negative response if you are just pregnant) and it was negative, but I wasn't convinced, so I took another one a few days later and it was very positive. Soooo, I'd really like to say that we found out on Valentine's day with both, but that isn't quite accurate. So, as of today, I am 11 weeks along, and after the 13th week, I will be in my second trimester.

So, how have I been feeling, you might ask? Well, food aversions are very real right now, some nausea and extreme fatigue. Scott's getting a little tired of the bland food I've been cooking, when I actually do find the energy to cook, since too much flavor turns me off. Wow, the fatigue has been really getting to me. I have had zero energy and dream about my bed all day long---I'd classify it as extreme. So, today, when I actually had the energy to pick up after Blake and Caitlin, I was feeling pretty darn good about myself since this hasn't happened much lately. Well, toddlers have a way of making sure you don't get too big of a head and this is what my den looked like just a couple hours later:

Books everywhere, cloth diapers dispersed, changing table pulled away from the wall, a baby with a bag on his head, balls and puzzle pieces spread around, etc.

So, Blake had a break-through today. The little blue dinosaur in the picture with the balls around it turns on and plays music and bounces the balls out of it. Blake has always hated it, and runs away or yells at it whenever it was on. Well, today Caitlin figured out how to turn it on and she isn't the least bit scared of it, so Blake was tentative, but curious. He kept his distance and periodically laughed and then would shriek out of fear. He did get up the nerve to throw the ball (from a distance) into the dinosaur, which then turned it back on. He would get startled and put some distance from the dinosaur again, but would come back a little braver each time. Finally, he would place the ball directly in and when it turned back on, he would scramble away again (also, accidentally turned it on with his hand, which he was not happy about). All in all, I'd say a success b/c he was actually playing with it and laughing at it. He is still uncertain about it and any sudden move might make him run for the hills again, but at least he's getting up the nerve. Oh, my poor scaredy cat...:)

 



Blake's conversation

I thought this video was pretty cute...
Blake's conversation about being on the table

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Irresistible Blueberries

After our cabin weekend, we were very low on food, so Blake and I went grocery shopping. While carrying in groceries, I grabbed the mail. We had received a tax document addressed to someone else, but our street name was slightly misspelled, so I went online to see if there really was a street name like that. There wasn't, so I was going to stick back in the mail and say "return to sender." Well, I got a little distracted and did a little more online than I was planning, but only a few minutes worth. During this time, Blakey was unusually quiet...I assumed I would find groceries spread around the living room. Well, this was partially true....but this is how I found him: 

 

Mmmm, blueberries!!

Mom, look at all these blueberries!

Hmmm, where's a really good one?

Oh, here we go!

Huh?

Oh, there were a couple casualties as well... :)

Weekend cabin fun

This past weekend we got to go to Three Lakes, WI and hang out with some college friends, which is always a good time. Scott and I always like to reminisce about college days after weekends like this :) We do a semi-annual trip each year--winter is for snowmobiling and summer is for water skiing. Conveniently, we actually had good snow for snowmobiling, so Scott was happy about that. Even last year, Scott wanted to get Blake on the snowmobile and get some pictures of him, but that didn't happen (mostly b/c of me), but this year he finally got to take Blake on a ride around the yard. Blake loved it!



He started crying when Scott stopped, so he just kept going! Scott was so proud.



Here he is running to get on the bigger and faster snowmobile.



He took a little time away from his adventures for some Mommy loving. :)

 

Addi, another little girl there, was the opposite. She would only sit on the snowmobile if it wasn't running. Even then, she couldn't wait to get off!

Wait a second, am I remembering this correctly? (Missy, those comments above were for you, haha. :) oh, and thanks for the pictures I stole from your blog! Wish I could have seen your expression when reading this!)

Ok, so maybe this is how it really happened....



Blake hated the snowmobiles and tried to get away from them while Scott was trying to start his.



Here is Blake's first try on a snowmobile that is running--I think his face tells all. After they started riding, he stopped crying and endured it, but when they rode past me, Blake gave me a pitiful cry for me to come and save him.



Hugs for my baby after his first snowmobile ride.



Although Addi didn't get a ride on a snowmobile, she loved sitting on it and wanted to take it for a spin! 

Ok yeah, now that I think about it, this is a more accurate description of the way it actually went...:)

Here's a few more pictures I stole from Missy's blog :)



Girls against the boys playing "Pop! Cranium" The boys were whiners about playing, but we eventually got them to play and it seemed they started to enjoy it and get into it. Even Waterman was pretty excited when he got his team to guess "Cool Ranch Doritos"



Blake and Addi loved playing in the cabinets--big surprise there, but they did enjoy these particular cabinets b/c they could fit inside and have a seat on the outside!



Maggie reading to the kiddos

The guys

 

Mary Poppins!

Ok, so this is a post that isn't about Blake because frankly, we tried to get rid of Blake for the night :) Scott got an e-mail about getting student rush tickets to see Mary Poppins and forwarded it to me on Tues--only problem, it was for Tues, Wed or Thurs night of THIS week. Well, Wed & Thurs we couldn't make it, so I called a friend I had met at the women's Bible study that I attend to see if she could babysit--super last minute! She was going out with a friend for dinner and then they were going to watch a movie. Since Blake goes to bed early, they decided they could just watch the movie at our place!! Yea!!!
Impromptu date night-Bonus.
Impromptu date night with a broadway musical?--Triple Bonus!!! (I know, it should read double bonus, but the broadway musical gets two bonuses b/c it is my favorite type of date night :) )



Awaiting the start of the play!



A zoom in from our nose-bleed seats :) It was still good--beggars can't be choosers :)

Customer in Training

I got some video and a photo of Blake as a "Customer in Training" like I mentioned in an earlier post. So so cute!!

First try...yeah, just about ran into a guy at the bakery counter

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Blakey the shopper

 

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Blakey the shopper, take 2

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Climber, movies, and doctor visits

So, I know, I'm sporadic when posting. That's probably b/c Blake doesn't like it when I sit at the computer when he can't come and help (a.k.a.-bang on the keyboard, use the mouse, etc) and I now have a part-time job nannying. It wrecks havoc on our computer when I do let Blake help and I have to try to figure out how to undo stuff he messes up. Good thing we have a password to log onto our computer after its been idle which he hasn't been able to crack :) He crawls up on the chair and helps himself, so we tend not to keep a chair here anymore. We do have this tiny little folding stool that we sometimes use, but it is hardly comfortable!

He also climbs on the chairs and gets up on the table now. I used to be able to leave him on our main floor without much concern for him, but not anymore. This morning I was using the bathroom and I heard a ceramic cup crash to the floor. Thankfully, it didn't break, but it was full of water, so another thing to clean up. Of course, Blake just gives me a smile when I come out and has no knowledge that I'm not happy about that.



Climbing with one hand--can't let go of his precious cell phone!



Success.

Why won't you let me crawl on the table???

What? Do you have a problem, Mommy?

So, I rented "The Help" yesterday. I enjoyed the book, so figured I would watch the movie. Not sure why I do this b/c the movie is always such a disappointment after reading the book. The way they gloss over each event, change things, add things, and leave out parts just makes it kind of frustrating to watch. I feel as though I'm just watching a super brief synopsis of what I read, which is exactly what I'm doing, but it sure takes the enjoyment out of it. I feel this way after every movie where I've read the book first and I wonder how the person watching this who didn't read the book could really understand what the author really wanted to portray. Anyways, that's my two cents on watching a movie after reading the book. On the other hand, since the book is so detailed and explanatory, I also don't want to watch the movie first and have the plot of each great part of the book ruined and just have to read the detail of scenes later....so I guess I have no great suggestion other than--go read!

I've lately gotten into reading Agatha Christie novels, but they are quite short, so it only takes me a couple days to read them, but I do enjoy them.

Onto the last subject of my post--doctors! I do miss Blake's doctor in Indianapolis and wish we could have continued going there. So, after finally getting our insurance paperwork and after my procrastination in getting an appointment, Blake and I finally headed to get his very late 12 month appointment (which includes shots--poor baby). The doctor basically insisted that Blake should be saying 5-10 words right now. In her defense, she did make it seem like Blake was just fine but she stressed the words a couple times and now I'm kind of obsessing about it because Blake says 3-4 words. Yes, Daddy, (Mama on so rare an occasion that I'm not even sure he knows he's saying it???), and...hmm, I know there was one more but I'm blanking...

Anyways, he was kind of at the low end of her estimates for things like, how many body parts can he point to, does he know what you are saying for certain things, etc. I can't tell if he really don't know, or if he is just stubborn and won't do it when I ask. I have definitely noticed this in him whenever trying to teach him stuff. Sometimes he'll do it right away, like point to his nose, and other times he just ignores me and absolutely will not point to his nose. Actually, he usually won't do it twice in a row either--kind of like he is saying, "Mom, I've already shown you that I can do it, I don't need to do it again. Lay off."

Now, what I would have appreciated the doctor saying is, "All babies progress differently, so there is nothing to worry about." Pretty sure my old doctor would have said this, not made such a big deal about the correct number of words he is supposed to be saying right now. Or maybe, "Boys tend to be slower with language." Anyways, either way, it bothered me b/c no one wants to be told their baby is behind. Also, not sure if I should go back b/c if she acts this way on something I know I shouldn't worry about, how is she going to be on things where I need to totally rely on her b/c I am clueless...ok, in her defense, she did make it sound like he was fine, but she just made it sound like he needs to be improving for his next appointment, which is obvious I guess. But shouldn't doctors be careful about how they approach stuff like this to new parents who tend to worry about any little thing?!? Ok, enough about that. I think Blake's fine, but I've tried to push the language thing a little more recently, but like I said before, he's stubborn. He won't try to say something and ignores me when I try to work with him if he isn't in the mood. He's always been like this--hopefully this isn't a future sign of what his teenage years will be like...yikes!

Venting

So, our old nanny is now a facebook friend with me and she is now nannying for another child. Well, she sometimes posts pictures of the little girl she nannys, which for the record, I think it totally unprofessional to post pictures of people's kids without their consent. So, I decided to "stalk" her facebook page for when she was a nanny for us and came upon these disturbing status updates:

"Scene: blake in toy area where he cannot get out....Reason: helping him learn to play on his own......he starts to cry and his mother walks in and picks him up so he doesn't cry....and she wonders why she has to mop while holding her 10 month old"
"Thankful my boy can play happily by himself in the playpen. Not so happy Blake is not the same way, ahhh 3 more weeks till the screaming is over! unless I get another job. :)"

"Blake has cried almost all day...my nerves are SHOT, I've heard a lot of crying and this kid beats all! lol Love my lil Blakey!"

Wow. I knew that she kept her son in the pack-n-play during the day, but I knew Blake hated it, so I didn't think she used it for him, especially since when I'd come home, her son would be in it, but Blake wouldn't. Then one day, about a week before her last day, Blake and her son were both in it and she commented that they'd both been playing happily in there for a while. I held my tongue b/c she was almost done but I was not happy. Little did I know that she'd been forcing him to play in there against his will. There were a couple toys in there, most of which Blake didn't play with anyway. Do not, I repeat, do NOT stick my child in a cage so it makes your job easier. Crawling babies are supposed to explore and examine their environment, not be stuck in a cage so their nanny can surf the internet!!

So so glad she is not our nanny anymore. Last night when I found this out, I read Scott her status updates. He was more upset than I was, but this morning I kept thinking about it and got more and more upset thinking about how many times she must have forced him in there.

Anyway, on a more positive note, I came across the cutest thing yesterday while grocery shopping. The store I went into had, for the first time that I've seen since having a child, a little shopping cart with a pole and flag that said "Customer in Training." I wasn't there to shop for much, so Blake pushed that around the whole (well, almost the whole) time. It was so adorable and people loved watching him! Around the floral department, there were some animal balloons w/o helium, so they were eye level--yeah, had to carry him past that. So, the training went well, but not perfect ;)

I think I might go back today just to get some pictures...:)

Great weekend

Wow, really didn't think I'd have time to blog today of all days! I am watching all three kids today, one of whom is teething, one is an infant, and the other has a cold. Well, they are all peacefully sleeping and have been for at least an hour. I've been able to finish the dishes, clean up the toys and books, and gather Jake and Caitlin's stuff for their parents. I was thinking today would be hectic! Ok, so it is currently Monday & I wrote this Friday. So, I had some time to blog, but not quite enough :)

Scott and I have had a busy week--Scott with two tests and a hard homework to hand in, and me without a husband :) Also, we had our favorite family visiting last weekend, which was so much fun, but does take a little while to get back to normal after having company, including eating quite a few leftovers, since it appears I made two times too much of everything!

We went skiing at Devil's Head, which is about 45 minutes from Madison. Scott enjoyed it as a snowboarder, but I was a little disappointed in the morning with the lack of steepness of the slopes. We found some better slopes in the afternoon and I was also dressed warmer, so I had more fun after lunch!

Here is a picture of Debbie, who took care of Blake the whole afternoon. I don't even think Scott or I changed a diaper...I love that she loves him so much and it is awesome having a break!! She also watched him the whole time at the ski resort b/c the daycare staff were late, so she started watching him and found out he wasn't too bad, so wanted to watch him the rest of the day. He actually fell asleep in her lap twice this weekend, which may be a record :)

Debbie and a sleepy Blake

So, change of subject: Sometimes I have a hard time keeping a straight face when I am scolding Blake. Today was one of those days. He takes his (plastic) plate with spaghetti sauce and noodles still on it, observes it, then without looking, he tosses it over his shoulder with sauce going everywhere. I wasn't thrilled about it, but the way he nonchalantly tossed it over his shoulder like it was salt over the shoulder just cracked me up. Then, when I'm on my knees cleaning it up, he leans over the highchair and wants to get down. I look up to tell him that he can't until I clean this up b/c I don't want him stepping in it, and I am confronted with this face:

Oh my goodness, I lost it. The first picture is a better shot of the color of his face. So much for teaching him not to throw food when I laugh right along with him!

Hey, I'm a Mom. I gotta brag!

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Here's a couple of videos that I, as a Mommy, am proud of:

Here's a couple videos that I, as a Mommy, am proud of.

Here's a couple videos that I, as a Mommy, am proud of.

Here's a couple videos that I, as a Mommy, am proud of.

 My smart little baby

 

And he gets even smarter--watch the second time :)

 

So, bonus! I just realized I can lighten my videos on youtube! I know, you're probably thinking, "uh, duh, you didn't know that?!" No, I didn't, but I was taking these videos in low light so it was awesome being able to lighten them up!

 

When Daddy got home and we tried to show him how Blakey completes these puzzles, Blake got too excited about clapping for himself, that he would clap even without completing a piece. Oh well, still a work in progress :)

Tonight during dinner, we were playing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat CD and Scott and I were dancing to the closing music in front of Blake, who loved it and watched us with a big smile. I then cleaned off his dinner, picked him up and he started to try and dance while I picked him up! Apparently he couldn't wait to join us! He stopped right away, but it was pretty cute and then Scott danced with him in his arms for a bit and Blake was all smiles. It was a fun evening :)

 

And the fights begin...

One of my friends on facebook shared this little poem:



The little disclaimer at the end said: "Caution. Tissues may be required..."

I did almost tear up at knowing that we won't always have our "little" Blakey. We love him so much, and are constantly telling each other how incredibly cute he is. Laughing at his little half smile he has, how he has to get my cell phone every chance he gets, how he throws his food...ok, so it isn't all great, but thinking that it will come to an end some day is kind of heartbreaking b/c we love everything about our son.

Interesting timing, this poem was, because I was just planning to sit down and write about how Blake fights me on everything lately and before I opened blogger, I saw this little poem above. All of a sudden, I love our little fights. Well....kind of :)

He fights me as hard as he can against getting his fingernails cut and it takes him a little bit to calm down afterwards. His way of calming down is not to be held initially, he pushes and pushes against me and cries hard when I try to hold him and comfort him. So, I set him down and he storms off and probably bangs his head against something or throws something. Then I stretch out my arms wide and tell him to come and give Mommy a hug and he runs to me and gives/gets a nice hug, and he's not quite so mad. Oh, but then he remembers how mad he is and he pushes off me again and storms off, this time maybe picking up a toy and then again remembering he is mad, so throwing it down again. I tell him again, come give Mommy a hug, and I stretch out my arms real wide and he runs to me again while crying and gives me a big long hug. After his second hug, he starts talking and smiling and all is well with the world once again.

The above scenario is just what we did after the nail clipping session this morning and very unfortunately, during his two hugs, I smelled a dirty diaper. What terrible timing b/c another one of Blake's most detested activities is getting his diaper changed. So, soon after he calms down, I bring him to get his diaper changed b/c I just can't leave him sitting in a poopy diaper, as much as he hates this activity. So, that diaper change was worse than normal b/c he wasn't as far removed from his last display of disdain as he needed to be.

Blake is really good at using his legs to make diaper changing extremely difficult for me. He lifts his legs and hooks them against my wrists and pushes down so that it moves my hand off his diaper and once I pull my hand out, he does it instantly again and again, making it sooo hard to get this cloth diaper on him. Granted, if it was a disposable, it would be easier for sure, but it would still be a fight. He also raises his knees to his chest, which anyone who changes a diaper knows that he needs to have his knees down to get the diaper fastened and he fights pretty hard when I try to lower his legs. You should see us sometimes, it is quite the fight as I'm trying to pin him down and he is struggling with all his might. I honestly don't know what else to do b/c if I don't fight him, he just rolls over and tries to get off the changing pad or changing table and he would piddle all over our floor, which I have let him do one too many times. Scott asks me why I let him get up b/c within a minute I'm usually cleaning up the floor and then I have to change his onsie b/c he pees on the flap that is unsnapped. I guess I'm just tired of the fight sometimes...

And I wonder why this guy wears me out... :)



Love this face :)



He's usually trying to get my camera when I do this...maybe that's why I don't take as many pictures anymore. It is another fight that usually ends up in tears or yelling at me b/c I won't let him play with the camera. When I do, he wants to press the buttons. Not the shutter button, but the menu buttons and changes my settings...



Another close up b/c he's trying to get my camera



Who? Me???



Mommy, what is that you're holding?? I want it.



Argh, let me down! I want the camera!

We love you Blake!!! :)

Blake's New Toy

Here's a couple new videos of Blake and his new push toy. Unfortunately, I must have accidently pushed the stop button on the first video b/c I know I shot more video footage than this and the second video was also stopped short because my battery died, but you get the jist :) Oh, and yes, there is a boxspring in our living room. We sold some furniture that we had to rearrange in the garage, and there wasn't anywhere else to stick this boxspring except for the living room. This one did not fit up our stairs (nor did our furniture, which is why we sold it), so our bed is currently on the floor. Like I said earlier, we are going to be living like college students now :)

Testing Blake's new toy

Testing Again

 

 

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