SNOW DAY!!

Snow Days bring back so many memories! I love watching my kids' excitement the night before they might have a snow day. They always hope that they'll call off school the night before and they can stay up late. Thankfully, they don't usually call it off until the day of school. Well, today is our second snow day in a row. Some of the excitement has begun the wear off. The kids are a little tired of being around each other so much and stuck in the house. The most used phrase at our house right now is "I'm bored". Hee hee.

Hannah and I had the chance to take Blake out for his first experience sledding. It didn't last very long, but it was fun (for us). Blake could barely walk in all his snow gear! He didn't especially like sledding down the hill, but he really enjoyed it when we ran back up the hill with him. We ended up taking him down the hill 5 times and then he was done for the day. I'm sure he'll love it next year. It am a little sad that Kyle is old enough to walk to the big hills with his group of friends to go sledding...without me! That means I don't get pics of him since I can't take Blake out all day!! Sometimes it's tough to let them grow up!

                             Blake & Mommy

Blake & Hannah sledding

They grow up too fast....

Blake is almost one year old. I can't believe it!! My baby is almost a toddler and I don't want him to grow up too fast!! I truly enjoy watching him learn something new every day.

His accomplishments/discoveries this week include kicking a small soccer ball around. It's too cute. Since he can't kick it very far anyway, it looks like he is purposely dribbling the ball around the house. Blake has also learned how to turn the lights on & off with a lightswitch (thanks to The Magic House--pics posted soon). So now he wants to be held so he can play with the lightswitches. He has also figured out that there is water in the toilet and, hey, he loves to play in the water! That discovery led to this:

(the toilet was CLEAN, don't worry)

Here's Blake's guilty face when he was caught red-handed:

Blake's most exciting discovery last week was that he could reach the door handles. Now he sees it as his personal mission to try out every closed door...even all the doors when we visit friends or family at their houses. Who knew door handles could be so interesting!! It's so nice to see the world through a baby's eyes. It really makes me step back and appreciate all of God's creation--both big & small.

Blake's first playdate

Blake had his first playdate in December with Lucas & Cole. Their favorite toy was the keyboard. They had a great time together!!

Merry Christmas 2009!

Fun & Games with Blake-Dec 09

Blake turned 9 months old on November 11th & so much has changed!! He started walking (will post pics/video soon), he is eating well, and his curiousity about the world around him has intensified. He seems to be a kid that is always getting into something!

I know he's looking at the doorknob thinking "If I could just reach that shiny thing, I could get outta here!"

Blake was tired of wearing his hat & attempted to take it off. Don't worry, I pulled the car over to take the pic!

One of Blake's many fun games, empty everything out. He loves to unroll the toilet paper, empty out Kleenex boxes, wet wipes containers, and take all the baggies out of their boxes in the pantry. He also loves to dump out any boxes of stuff he can find. Lucky for him, he has not reached the "clean up after yourself" stage yet.

PEEK-A-BOO, part 1

Do you see his little hand holding the curtain?

PEEK-A-BOO, part 2

There he is!!!

Gosh, I just wish I was able to take pictures of ALL the fun things he does all day. I love staying home with Blake. It is such a blessing to be able to do that at this point in my life. I feel sad that I was not able to stay home with Kyle & Hannah---but they turned out great anyway!! :) In the end, there are benefits to both staying at home and working while the kids go to daycare. I feel very blessed to have been able to do both.

Fall 2009

Blake-learning to crawl at 6 months old!

Blake is a very active baby. He has always been interested in moving...himself AND other things. When he first started to crawl at 6 months old, I thought it was GREAT...until I realized that this meant he was getting older too fast! When Blake was first trying to crawl, it started with a rocking motion--forward & back- like he was just going to take off any minute. Then, he went into this push up stance. He did that quite a few times before he could figure out how to move his legs one at a time. Well, all of a sudden he DID take off! He fell on his face many a times, but was so determined to crawl that he did not let that slow him down. In literally a few days, he was off & crawling!!

Hannah swinging Blake

Hannah swinging her baby brother in the baby swing. They love each other SO much. It just makes me heart happy.

Blake's favorite toys - 6 months old

The most important thing for a 6 month old....curiosity. Explore...and learn. Blake's favorite things at months old were the doorstop thingy (not sure what this is actually called) and shoelaces. He would get SO excited when he saw them!!

Blake & his Johnny Jump-up

I knew when I was pregnant with Blake that I had to get a Johnny Jump-Up for him. I remember that Kyle had one and LOVED it so much! He would want to jump in it every day. At 6 months old, Blake liked his Johnny Jump-up a lot too. He liked it so much, that he literally jumped himself to exhaustion. Here he is fast asleep after an exhausting jumping session...

Blake - 8 months old

It's been a while...but here's what kept me so busy!

Wow. I have not updated my blog in over a MONTH!! You can't blame me, though. I mean---just LOOK at all this cuteness I have to deal with all day-----

Blake - 5 months old

Fathers Day 2009

Blake - 4 month dr appt

Blake's 4 month doctor visit went well. He is a healthy, growing boy!!
Height: 2 ft, 1 inch (56%)
Weight: 15 lbs ,1 1/2 oz (56%)
Head Circumference: 16 1/2 in. (41%)

Getting examined by the doctor~

BEFORE his shots (He doesn't even see it coming!) ~

AFTER his shots (Poor Baby!!) ~

Daddy makes those boo-boos feel all better! Plus, Blake got some cool racecar band-aids!