Our schedule

Loves Elmo...especially the eyes!

Blake is now 5 months and 3 weeks....CRAZY! I wish he could stay a little baby forever! I know that each stage will have it's own perks, but I absolutely love his smile when he wakes up from a 11-12 hour slumber or a 2 hour nap:) And yes, I had to throw in those numbers because I'm extremely proud of him for sleeping so long and so good since day 1. I know I may not be as lucky with our next child, but I love the schedule and I really feel that has played a huge part in his sleep and eating habits. He has a routine and there's no guessing as to what is wrong with him when he cries since it's always on cue for feeding or sleeping times. I know there's opposition to this, but this is what works for me and my family the best. Other things may work for other people and I am definitely not one of those people to force my ideas on others or one of those who thinks that my way is the only right way. It's just that for us, it has been wonderful and I plan on using it for all of our children. It also has made it very easy for me when I work for 5 hours on Monday because I know that Julie only needs 1 bottle for that time that I'm gone...not 2 or 3 "just in case he fusses." It also encourages more interaction because he likes that to make him stop crying in between times. Anyway, enough about my schedule. Thank to all of my "schedule people" who have passed down their wisdom to me...including the books!

Blake's Dedication

He loves hair now...and it hurts!

He's sneaky with Aunt Molly!

I've talked in an earlier post about why we got Blake dedicated, so I won't restate what has already been posted. It was so nice to have both of our families there for the event. We know that they will help us teach Blake about Jesus and will be praying for him every single day. I can't wait for his day of salvation! I pray for it every single day, as well as that Raun and I will be the parents that Christ calls us to be. It is so hard in this culture to stand up for our beliefs, but I know it will become even harder throughout the years when we are pressured to parent in ways that we don't feel are the way Christ wants Raun and I to parent. Please pray for us and I thank our family for all of the help you have given Raun and I during these past 5 months. I know that I can always count on you and that Blake will grow up having some of the best grandparents around...just like I do! Family is so incredibly important to me. I feel that they are always the ones you can count on...even if you don't agree with all of them or always feel the same way about things as they do. God put us into these different families with different people and personalities for a reason! There's always something to learn from somebody, I think. Anyway, enough on my thankfulness for our parents and our families. Here are the pictures from two Sunday's ago.

My latest project

As if I don't have enough on my plate already, I have decided to make a baby textured quilt for Blake. I love the different types of textures and I want him to experience all of the new sensory and tactile differences daily, so I figured why not incorporate it into a quilt. Hence, my latest project. I spent the night with my parents one weekend and while they played with Blake I was able to work on my quilt. Mom helped me learn all about the sewing machine that I was to take over, even though I still have lots to learn about it. However, sitting right next to me was her new sewing machine. It took all I had not to do it on there. I mean, while she was sewing something for my friend, Jennifer, she got up and left and it was still doing what it was supposed to do. She was holding Blake, and did it stop? No! I was envious! However, I knew that I wouldn't be inheriting that sewing machine anytime soon, so I had better learn on what is to be mine. I wanted a fun quilt that looked nice, but was functional. I had lots of fun picking out the material for it. It's very fun and it feels so good. In fact, we had an extra square left over so Mom added a back to it and Blake holds it up to his face and rubs it almost every day. The different textures include terry cloth, flannel, and some bubbly soft material. I'm hoping to get it completely finished at the end of the month, but here's a picture of the entire top.

Picture update...written update later!

Dad is supposed to be putting him to sleep...not going so well,huh?

Not a bit sleepy like he is supposed to be.

I love Publix!

My mom laughs at me because I actually get so excited to go grocery shopping now at our new favorite store that saves us lots and lots of money....PUBLIX! They are so great and willing to help us when we need something. And I'll be the first to say that our new store is HUGE! They have absolutely everything and it's only about 3 miles away. Can't get much better than that. They always have such great deals and the staff is always smiling, whether they are having a good day or not. My favorite part, though? That would be the Baby Club that they have. The send you free coupons for nursing pads, diapers, hand sanitizer, baby spoons, baby food, etc. Not to mention their stock up sales! Buy one get one free dishwasher soap? Crazy! Anyway, I've been meaning to post on the importance of Publix in my life. I hope all of you get the same thrill when you walk into Publix as I do. It's so much fun to hit all the sales and see my total sales for two weeks equal what one week at Walmart used to cost!

Pediatrician update

Since I've had so many people ask me about what the pediatrician recommended for our rice cereal troubles, I thought I'd display it for all to see! First off, we have the most wonderful pediatrician. She is very supportive of my shot requests and never tries to push me into something I don't feel comfortable doing, which is great. Raun's mom found her for me by polling the doctors and nurses at Erlanger about which pediatrician was the best. She was right! I can call her anytime and she always calls back within 30 minutes or less. Not that I've done it a lot...only twice. Once to make sure I had done all I could do when he had a cold and then now for his tummy since I won't see her again until February. Okay, so to the recommendation. She told me to take a few weeks off of the cereal and then try it again. If he still has trouble, she told me to go ahead and start making my baby food for him to try. She said it could be the different schedule that he's having trouble adapting to, or it could be just that cereal. So there it is! Now it's nap time since I have a cold and need to get rid of it before Raun goes back to work on Monday!

5 months old!

We have been so blessed the past 3 nights with a baby boy that sleeps almost 11 1/2 hours, waking up around 8:30. We've been really consistent about his naps the past 2 weeks and are trying to maintain a schedule while I'm teaching lessons. However, he does great for his morning nap but doesn't particularly like his afternoon nap. Most of the time he goes down willingly, but the past 2 days has been a challenge. We've been experimenting with his rice cereal because we have found that giving it to him before bed results in night wake ups because of his tummy. So I moved it to lunch time, but he still struggles with an upset tummy. We're not for sure what to do about it because he seems to like eating it. I think I'm going to have to call the pediatrician to see if she can recommend something for me to try. I'm not feeding him baby food for another month, so I'm hoping she can recommend another type of food that is gentler on the stomach. Or maybe this is how all babies react to it. I'm not for sure! He's doing great with eating, though. He's sitting up by himself in the Bumbo and is opening his mouth when the spoon comes close to his mouth. Then he gives you a goofy grin and tries to grab the spoon with his hands. Raun is much cleaner at feeding him than I am. He's going to have to teach me his techniques. He requires a bath every time I feed him because he grabs his bib and puts it in his hair or gets his hand on the spoon, etc.

Blake is going to be dedicated on January 18. This is simply saying that Raun and I will do our best to raise Blake in the way the Lord desires. We don't want him to just know ABOUT God, we want him to KNOW God and to have a personal and deep relationship with Him. We want him to follow Christ and to lead others to Christ. I know that Raun and I will mess up plenty of times as parents, but we are making a public statement asking the church to pray for us, to guide us through his life, and for them to show Blake the importance of Christ. I'm very thankful that we have so much support and that those older and wiser are teaching us, just as Christ calls for. I hope that we continue to adhere to their wisdom and to God's. I just don't like having to learn things the hard way!

I'm beginning to teach my Kindermusik classes next week. I'm teaching the Baby Sign and Sing. I feel that sign language is very important for language development and helps to ease so much of the frustration because of the lack of language. I've already been signing a lot to Blake...pretty much everything I say during play time. I want him to be used to seeing sign, as well as hearing my voice. This class will have about 5 parents with their children all doing sign and playing. I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun to watch these babies learn to sign back so early.

That's it for now...got a crying baby that just woke up from his nap!