B Loves Summer and a Little Bedtime Crazy-ness.

(My little fishy.)

Blake LOVES the water. Believe me, saying LOVE is an understatement. That kid might just be part fish... This might just explain why he was born a week late, he was too comfortable in all that water! He has always loved bathtime, ever since his first baths. He splashes and laughs and could play in the water forever. Cold water doesn't phase him... Just as long as he is in water!


(Summertime is SO much fun...)

This past weekend we went over to one of our friend's house who happens to have a swimming pool with a great kiddie wading area in it. Blake was in there forever! He easily out 'swam' the other kids who didn't spend too much time in there. And boy did he splash, he just loves to splash even if it gets him in the face. He just shakes it off and keeps on splashing.

(Not so excited to be out of the pool.)

Yesterday, we filled up a little kiddie pool in the courtyard and let him just hang out in there. He spent an hour in the water. Splashing and crawling around and playing. He had so much fun!!! Looks like next summer we will be doing swim lessons!

(Blake's Crazy Face!)

Then at bedtime, Blake was just being plain silly... He was having so much fun I wasn't sure we were going to be able to put him to bed! But, being the good little boo boo chicken that he is, went right to sleep! I love this little guy!!!

(In between crazy-ness.)

blessed.

(In LOVE with this little face!!!)

It's a little after midnight and I can't sleep. Actually, my sleep schedule has been way off lately so it's been normal for me to stay up late. I want to wake up Blake right now. I want to hold him and hug him and cuddle him! It's weird, he is right on the other side of the wall but I totally miss him right now.

I have been thinking about how blessed I am, how I have the most incredible little boy! I can't believe that God gave me him, that this was his plan for me. Even though I was resentful through some of the hardships in my life, like the loss of my father and my infertility struggle, God still gave me the most beautiful, incredible little boy! I am so grateful that he did... I know I wanted a girl and I know I thought Blake was a girl, (and I can even admit that I cried when I found out B was a boy...) but I am beyond thankful that he is a boy. I feel like he was a boy for a reason, that even though I wanted a girl so so so bad, I was given Blake because I needed to have his love- I needed to experience the love that only a son can give his mommy. My heart is full and it is because of him!

I have no idea what the future holds. All I know is in this moment I truly am blessed with the best gift anyone could possibly give me. I hope Blake will always know how much he means to me and I hope Blake knows how much I love him and how I completely fall in love with that little chicken more and more every day.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world... No, I AM the luckiest girl in the world.

(my babies.)

The Older B Gets...

The harder it is for me to find time to write this blog!!!

(Snacking on a mandarin orange in Target...)

Blake is going to be 10 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it. I can not believe how old he is getting. It's all moving too fast for me and while I am excited to see what tomorrow brings and what milestones we are going to celebrate, a little part of me longs for the past. A little part of me wishes he would stay this small forever. It's funny how you hear parents say "I can't wait until my baby can crawl!" or "I can't wait until my baby can hold their own bottle!" and my favorite- "I can't wait until my baby sleeps through the night!" And while those are all exciting milestones they also represent a little independence, it's just another step on the journey of them not 'needing' you anymore... That makes my heart hurt. I love my little boo boo chicken! I want him to stay small forever and ever, and two nights ago we had to lower his crib mattress!

On that note, Blake is well on his way to full-fledged independence! (Okay, maybe 'full-fledged' independence really won't happen until teenage years or beyond...) The last few weeks have just been a monumental developmental spurt. He cries when I walk out of the room, he can crawl (it's more of a worm scoot, but it's the way he crawls!), he can go from a crawling to a sitting position all by himself, he can get from a crawling hands and knees position to a hands and feet position, and he can climb!!! I was lying on my side on the floor right next to him one night, he wormed his way over to me, pulled himself up the front of me, and then stood up! We knew it was time to lower his crib mattress to avoid any climbing accidents!

(My little fishy...)

One of my favorite things, maybe not one of daddy's favorites, happened the same night as the climbing incident. It was getting late, almost B's bedtime and he was getting a little grumpy. I had to go to the bathroom before I started bedtime procedures so I handed him to his daddy and went to the bathroom. He stared at me and watched me until I was out of his sight, and then I heard the saddest cry. He cried while I quickly went to the bathroom and washed my hands. He cried even when he saw me again, he outstretched his arms towards me when I came closer to him... Awwwwww.... He just wanted his mommy!!! He was happy to be in my arms again and it was such a great feeling to know that I provide him with that happiness and comfort.

(In his police car pool floatie... We were trying to give daddy a little motivation to put our pool up!)

We had another crying night about two weeks prior to this. He was 'backed-up'. He had been for about two days. So, one night we did our regular bedtime thing and he fell asleep in my arms. I moved him to his crib and he woke up and cried. This was a little unusual since he is pretty good about going to sleep on his own even if he is awake. Not a stranger to letting him cry it out for a few, I let him cry while I unloaded the dishwasher, sure he would only cry for a few minutes. But he didn't stop. So I went back in and picked him up and brought him out to the rocker in the family room. Once again he fell asleep and I put him back in his crib. The above-said cycle happened again. We went through this about three or four times that night. The very last time, while he was crying, I got ready for bed. I went into his room grabbed my very upset little man and brought him out to the rocker. There I gave him a VERY small bottle of apple-prune juice, (I told myself I would NEVER give B a bottle with juice in it... So much for that!) and he fell asleep in my arms. We cuddled on the rocker until two in the morning. I loved that. I contemplated sleeping there all night with him, but figured neither one of us would really get that great of a night's sleep and we both needed it! But I loved that. I wish for more nights like that minus the poop-prune juice part, but I also know that the crib is the best place for him.

I LOVE when he needs me. I love it more and more everyday. I feel like the older he gets he wants to be 'more independent' while I want to hold him and cuddle him like a baby more and more. What a vicious cycle I tell you! But I guess that is what getting older is!!!

(If you look close enough you can see his new tooth popping through... It's his bottom left.)

So, on to the stats: We brought B to the doctor about a week ago and he was 21 pounds, 9.8 ounces (which was about 60th percentile weight), and a tad over 30" long (the 90th percentile!!!). He also has three new teeth coming in right now! The left bottom and two uppers... Not the two front teeth but the ones next to those! Like the first time around, no crying or fussing!

Aside from the aforementioned skills, he still loves duck & goose and his blanket, he still sleeps through the night, he still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and still has a odd obsession for all things electronic (TV, computer, cell phone...), he will actually watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on You Tube and know to flip the phone around if I hand it to him upside down! Another odd thing- he still loves his baby swing, although the bigger he gets the less it really swings. He LOVES to go swimming and loves the water, he likes to read books, he loves to terrorize his doggies and they reluctantly let him. He is starting to eat 'people' food. He loves fruit and dried cereal. I have given him fruit snacks, ritz crackers, and smoothie popsicles, guess what- he loves all of it! I am pretty sure there isn't anything he doesn't like, maybe with the exception of peas and meats! He just learned how to 'dance' and will happily dance when there is music. He is also quite the chatterbox... He says 'ma ma ma ma' and 'da' along with some other baby gibberish things that I haven't translated yet!

(Coming up on 10 months old and still using the baby swing! At least we are getting our money's worth out of that purchase!!!)

I am going to start making his first birthday invites in two weeks... Just more proof that he is getting old!

(He loves to snack!)