Blake and Turner

On Mother's Day weekend, we got to catch up with Mandi Bucher who has baby Turner. Turner is about 6 weeks younger than Blake. After church, we put them on the floor so they could show off their crawling skills. Turner moved for keys but Blake wasn't fooled. He saw no food so he didn't desire to move! It's always fun to see the two boys together and to see how much they have developed since the last time we saw each other, which was at John and Molly's wedding.

I am now typing this post in my new downstairs office/guestroom/workout room! It's incredible. After a whole week of working, Raun has finished the floor and we've moved most everything down here. He is now upstairs working on laying down the floor upstairs. So far, so good. John and Molly got here last night just in time to help us move furniture into the kitchen. I'm so glad that they are family, otherwise I'd be really embarrassed. It'll be worth it, though. John helped Raun move the furniture, take up the carpet and by the time Molly and I got back from picking Blake up at Raun's mom's house, the carpet was history. It was all prepped before bed so he could start work this morning. I'll post some after pictures when it's finished. The challenge of the day is to keep Blake entertained in a few small rooms that are crammed full of stuff and don't leave much room for crawling. He's pleasant so far and has even slept through the hammering.

9 Month Visit

We had Blake's 9-month check-up yesterday and all is well. The pediatrician was very pleased with how much he moved and confirmed that he is, in fact, cutting another tooth. We're hoping it comes in soon so that he will not be as fussy. Here's his stats:

Height: 29 inches (75%)

Weight: 17 pounds 11 ounces (10%)

Head Circumference: 45 1/2 cm (50%)

His weight has dropped from 25% to 10%, but the doctor said that she wasn't worried because he is CONSTANTLY moving. He eats lots of food, snacks, and is still nursing the same amount, so I know that he's getting enough. I tried giving him a banana bite yesterday, but he gagged it up. The doctor said to just give it a few more weeks before I try it again since he's not used to the texture. So that is what we're doing. Anyway, there's the update! Two in one day...I'm on a roll!

Mother's Day....a little late in posting!

We spent Mother's Day weekend at my parent's house and we got to see one set of my grandparents and my great-grandmother. We like to get group pictures when we're together, so here's one of our 5 generation pictures.

My brother has this rope that he used to do his tricks when he was Will Rogers in elementary school. Blake discovered it, and although he hasn't perfected any tricks, he did enjoy chewing on it and playing tug of war with my dad. I think my dad is already thinking about how useful Blake will be when is he is older and can help reign in the cattle. Although, there will be SOME things that Blake won't be present for in the cattle field until he's much, much, MUCH older!

I enjoyed my first Mother's Day with Blake outside my belly. It started off with Blake bringing me my Mother's Day card with the most wonderful present...a jogging stroller of my choice that was within reason. (Daddy made sure that Blake added that!) I was so excited so now I can go running more!

Dog Wednesday

So, since my dogs give me lots of good stories, I'm going to try to share one every Wednesday. They make for good laughs! Anyway, Suzzy has decided that when I'm not around that she should be the mommy. And not just the mommy to Ellie, but also to Blake. I'm aware that this is not good and we have fixed it mostly, but it's funny to watch. While Blake is crawling around on the floor, Suzzy proceeds to follow him. If he gets too close to the outlet (which is covered) or something on the floor, she tries to nudge him away. And yes, nudge. Without teeth or violence, for those who are worried. However, she's not too fond of sharing her water bowl or her dog dish with Blake. Blake doesn't care if she's not into sharing because he figures that since he has to share his puffs with her then she can share her food.

Raun came to the bathroom on Monday, while I was getting ready, so he could ask a question. It was quiet, which is never a good sign. Raun came out to check on him and all I hear is "no, no, no." I came out, concerned, and to my dismay I see Raun pulling out a handful of dog food. Disgusting! Apparently Blake likes it and Suzzy particularly likes it once it's been in Blake's mouth. I, however, don't like it. We were thankful he didn't choke on it. Since then, I've had to move the dog food because it's so tempting. He is learning "no" and thankfully we haven't had anymore episodes. The water in the water bowl is an entirely different story. He likes to measure the water on his arm. He's a good indicator to remind me when to fill up the bowl for the dogs because it's running low. I know if there's not much water on the floor, then it's time to refill.

He still laughs so hard when he sees the pups. He loves to play tug-of-war with them and they love it, too. Suzzy likes it when he has the bone and she can play with him.

I babysat Kayden on Saturday night so Kelsey could go to graduation and it was so much fun. I'll share stories and pictures on him in a later post. But I said that to say that Suzzy protected Kayden from Ellie and Blake. She would sit by his seat and if anyone go a little too hyper, she would bark. She was fine with us picking him up and playing with him, but wanted to make sure that he didn't get hurt. It's amazing how dogs know so much. Especially her. Ellie is completely different, and usually oblivious to things going on around her. Suzzy is much more in tune with things and is incredibly smart.

That's the dog post for the day! I'll try to post pictures and a few more updates during the rest of the week in between moving furniture and finishing up laying down the floor (which Raun is doing, not me!).

Signing Video

Sunny Day...

"More"

For those who know me well, you know how adamant I am about my children learning to sign ASAP. I have always loved sign language ever since my mother and I took classes during my school years, followed by the classes in college, and then the use of them with my deaf clients, autistic clients, and any child with speech impairments such as stuttering. I absolutely love the deaf community and if Tech would have had a sign degree, I probably would have minored or double majored with it. However, they did not but I still use it all the time. Nessa, I can still sign our "I Got You Babe" duet that we did in sign class! Aren't you impressed. And yes, I was Sonny and Ness got to be Cher. We had a lot of laughs at that one. Anyway, back on topic. I am teaching a Kindermusik class called Sign and Sing. It's awesome and so much fun. Raun is even taking it this semester so he can interact with Blake and learn the different signs. I mean, with all the research about how it improves speech and encourages early language development, and the added plus of them learning a second language that you can use when you need to communicate with them in silence, why not teach them? It lessens tantrums because they can communicate with you and tell you what they want or where they hurt. It's just incredible and we have been working with Blake on a few simple ones, such as "milk," "eat," "more," "ball," "play," and I add "silly" when Daddy comes around. So why am I telling you this? Because....our son communicated with us for the first time using sign this week! I was feeding him on Monday and he kept clapping his hands together, which is a common way for babies to sign more. I got really excited and encouraged him, but I wasn't for sure he knew what it meant. Well....here comes Kindermusik on Tuesday. Raun was feeding him puffs and Blake started signing "more." Raun wasn't paying attention so Blake got a little vocal to prove his point. I told Raun to watch him and he did it as soon as the puff hit his mouth in hopes that Raun would go ahead and put another one in there since he asked so nicely. Raun broke out in a HUGE grin! He was so excited to see that Blake had just spoken to him. I'm so thankful that Raun is willing to learn these signs. He has definitely seen a difference between the children that sign and the ones that don't with a few friends of ours that have babies that sign. He can't believe how much they can communicate and how fast they learn it. Not for sure which sign Blake will pick up next, but something tells me it will be either "milk" or "eat." Or will it be "Mommy?" Who knows! But he LOVES the sign for "bear!" That's the quickest way to make him laugh.

In Kayden news, he got to come home today. I ran by the hospital to give a base to Kelsey and they were so excited to be bringing him home. I can't wait to see that little man. I'll keep posting pictures when I get them...and I'm sure I'll have lots on Sunday to post! Welcome home, baby Kayden!

In sad news, Kayleigh (read previous post) passed away Monday. I know that she's in a much better place and all, but my heart hurts for her family. They were hoping to bring her home so she could pass away at home in her nursery instead of in the hospital. Please pray for them as they are also being foreclosed on and are having to move. If you missed the last post, click on their blog at the top of my page that has a picture of a baby with a wedding band on her arm.

We are going to be experiencing how to put down laminate flooring in the next couple of weeks. In anyone has any tips on this, feel free to share. We are really excited because then the downstairs will be finished, minus the bathroom which we hope to start later in the year. Then, we get to rip up the flooring upstairs and lay it down there. I'm so happy to be getting rid of the carpet and vinyl, but am not too enthused to be doing this project with a baby that just wants to crawl EVERYWHERE and get into EVERYTHING. Hopefully I won't stress out too much during all of this! I'll try to post some pictures in my next post. I have lots, I promise.

The Bath

Okay, so you know how I mentioned that Blake loved playing in the big tub and thankfully had yet to notice the shower curtain? Scratch that! That lasted only a few times. He has found it, drug it into the shower and I, not realizing that it was dumped in the water, pulled it out and put water all over the floor. I think it's time to invest in more bath toys so that he will stay distracted.

Just a quick note....tivo, record, or watch The Doctors on Wednesday. They are having the family on that have a 10-1/2 month old baby that has never left the hospital. Her name is Kayleigh and her link to my blog is to the right of this post. She was born at 1 pound and very little ounces. She is not doing well now and her brain is swelling and the doctors aren't being very positive. They are a Christian family and really love the Lord and trust in God's will with their children. They are over 2 million dollars in medical debt because they have both lost their jobs in the market and the businesses they have tried to start up have not gone so well because of their constantly needing to be at the hospital with their daughter. Anyway, check out their blog because the whole story is on it. They will also be sharing their story on The Doctors. Amazing family and going through things I pray we never have to go through.

I'll update more hopefully during the week, including pictures. Check back over the next few days!

Did I forget to mention?

I don't think I mentioned that Blake now has his first tooth. It came in last week and it's that bottom tooth. I think he's got more on the way, as well as a cold that I'm praying doesn't turn into another ear infection. Anyway, that was update for today.

I have to highly recommend a book that I'm reading. It's really informative and has made me aware of so much that I put into my body. Read it and let me know your opinion! And I'm not reading it just because The Biggest Loser is one of my FAVORITE shows!

1-1/2 week old Kayden

So good news! Kayden MAY get to come home this week, depending on how he does this week with his feeding. I hear that Kelsey is doing great and is being a wonderful mom and Justin is being a wonderful dad. Here are some pictures of Kayden that Mike sent me.