Clapping

Here's a cute video I took of Blake today while he was eating. He's started to clap a lot--neither of us has taught him that, he's just discovered it on his own.

Clapping

Wheh. It's hot today! I'm ready for some fall weather!

And the countdown begins--3 weeks til move date!

So, not sure if I've ever announced on my blog, but Scott, Blake and I are moving to Madison, WI on August 25th. Scott is going back to school and I'm going to be staying home with Blake for a while. Blake is really excited about this :)

Just got some wonderfully fragrant tomatoes from my neighbors garden and I'm so excited to eat them. I just love garden tomatoes--they seems to be a totally different fruit from what they sell in the stores (and yes, I believe tomatoes are technically a fruit) :).

I've got a lot of packing to do, but at the moment, the men's beach volleyball game is on and the USA is at risk of losing to the Italians. The American's are the defending world champions and this could possibly be a huge upset! Scott and I have been a little tired this week b/c the Olympics are on so late and we have a really hard time turning it off! :)

Here's a couple pics of Blake--sorry, they are a few weeks old, but wanted to share them anyways. More updated pictures to come, but as we get closer to moving date, I might not be posting frequently (or at all), so Priscilla, don't call to ask me about it :) j/k! She's one of our most loyal fans (I'm going to go ahead and assume she is interested in what Scott and I are up to, and not just what Blake is up to) :)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Oh no, the Americans just lost!!!!!!! :( :(

Forgot to post some of Blake's 8 month pictures--better get this done since he is 9 months now!!! This is how his 8-month pictures were going...:)

Ok, so this one is a little better...

HEY! Where do you think you're going???

Step away from the tree...!

Who...Me?
Yes, you!
We've since had to remove the tree from the house, as there was constantly grass strewn all over the carpet. It now resides in the garage :)

 

Wiped out, haha.

YES, my favorite toy!! I finally get to play with it, ahahahaha (evil laugh). 

I'm having so much fun with these!

Hmmm, how do they work....

Baby without glasses...

Baby with glasses!!
Saved the best for last--every baby need a crazy glasses photo!
I love this pic...

A few summer pictures

Me & Blakey chilling out

He pulls himself up on everything now!

Balancing with one hand...like an olympian!

Come chase me Mommy!!

Look at all my teeth! 4 in all!

Aaaahhhhh, hahaha

What did you say Mommy?

Dazed. He's so tired here.

Happy baby!

Busy??

Ok, so it has been a month since I posted. Sorry about that! Does it matter that I've been really really busy (really busy includes watching the Olympics as of Saturday)...? Well, we move in about 4 weeks, so it's packing, packing, packing. I could post some new pictures at the moments, but you can see them on facebook, so I won't. I'll have to upload a few more and make then exclusive to my blog so I retain my readers, haha.

Well, our little Blakey is 9 months today. Can you believe that!?!

Ok, lunch break is over--back to work :) Only 3 more weeks of work left!

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.

Graduation & Mother's Day

Blake and I decided to surprise my Mom for her graduation from nursing school as well as for Mother's day. Dad and Gary helped with the surprise and it worked out to be perfect. Blake and I flew into Sioux Falls, Dad picked us up, we visited Omi, and Gary picked us up from Omi's and brought us to the graduation in his spiffy pick-up. We had a bright green sign that we planned to hold and meet her outside before the ceremony, but that didn't work out b/c she had to be in early for pictures. We tried to sit on the side we thought the graduates would walk in on, but we chose the wrong side. That sign came in handy because since we weren't on the right side of the procession, the sign is the only way she found us in the crowd! We surprised her while she was walking in--it was quite fun. Then Dad & Mom treated everyone to dinner afterward!

Blake and Grandpa waiting for the graduation to start. Blake is trying to find Grandma's name in the program. Oh, there it is! She is graduating with Honors!!

Uncle Gary--when Grandma came in, Uncle Gary held Blake up so Grandma could see him :)

This is after she knew we were here--the other pictures were blurry :(

Gary & Mom

Mom & Dad



Mom, me, and Blake

The whole clan

Lucas and Priscilla bought Mom the lovely flowers she is holding!

Video: Camping out at Omi's
Video: Mom discovers that we're at the graduation
Video: Mom getting her diploma
Video: Gary filming Mom

We were also able to visit Kyle, Sarah, and the kids! Kyle and Sarah had just gotten back from Russia, so we were able to hear about their trip. Also, the girls had a dance recital, so we watched them in their first production. Blake loved it!

First time was the best shot of the girls--we tried many other shots, but they just refused to look at the camera at the same time!

Daddy and Violet--Violet stole the show--see video below!

Princess Addie and Daddy

Beautiful Family (Sam is behind with Grandpa)

Fall Fairies and Mommy

Video: Violet steals the show while Addie performs diligently!

Blake and Sam were watching the show and getting to know each other :)

Reaching to play with Cousin Sam

Oh, nice hair Sam, can I touch it?

What? I can't touch his hair?

Maybe if I do it without looking Mom won't know...

Hmmm, that didn't work...

Then, for Mother's day, we visited great-Grandpa and Grandma and uncle Gary. What a busy, but fun weekend!!

Gary told me not to post this, but really, who could resist???

Great-Grandpa and Grandma Spaeth