Some firsts :)

Last weekend we spent time in Winterset hanging out with the whole fam, and yes, Aunt Kelsey, Uncle Nick and baby Shaye were there! :) Blakely got the chance to sled for the first time with her cousins and she had a blast! (In all honesty though, I think I had more fun watching her and taking her down on the sled. ;)) I forgot my camera of course, but Aunt Kare took plenty of pics and once I get them, I will post them! (Nevermind, I actually just stole some from her blog ;) )

Blakely also got to eat Strawberries and grapes with the skins, but didn't like either of them. :( So back to peeling the skins off of grapes! Another first was for Ross and I...We had to "discipline" Blakes for the first time by saying the word, "No". She has figured out that if she drops food on the floor, Tankie will come and eat it. Everytime he jumps on her chair for more, she laughs hysterically, so of course, what does she do...give him more food! When we first said, NO, to this she laughed and then when she saw our serious faces she detected something wasn't right and began to cry. I'm not gonna lie, its super hard to keep a straight face when she bats those beautiful blue eyes, but Ross and I know we must be consistent!

I received my weekly Parent.com email that suggests new things to do with children and this week the email said that Blakely could mimic coloring so what did we do? We got the good ole Crayolas out and started to color and to my surprise, she did mimic me coloring! I'm not sure if we detect at this age if she will be a lefty or righty, but I have to say, she picked up the paper and crayons with her left hand an awful lot. Her daddy will be one proud daddy if she is a lefty... ;)

Another first, more of a cute, silly first, happened when Blakely woke up from a nap with her hood on her head. :) She wasn't happy that I was taking her pic, calling her a boxer and not getting her out of the crib, but she was still cute nonetheless.

Finally, Blakes has started standing on her own and getting onto all fours. So we are really excited to see her crawl and walk anytime now! Can't believe this day has come! :)

Movin' and a groovin' :)

Blakely has always been a busy bee and desired to be held/moved. So we were not surprised when we had  to lower Blakely's crib the other night. I heard Ross say, "Well, hey there little lady, how did you learn to sit up in your crib?"

Of course, she doesn't sit up anywhere else, no matter how much we encourage her. She has also been sleeping through the night and one would think this would allow her parents to get some much needed sleep? Nope! Instead of needing to eat every three to four hours, she sits up and talks to herself or plays with her binkie every one to two hours. What boggles my mind, is she doesn't seem to be one bit tired when we finally get up in the morning!

Well this afternoon I could tell she needed a nap and this is what I walked in and saw after I had laid her down....

Do I really need a nap? There's so much I could be doing instead! :)

When I went back into her room and laid her back down, before I left the room, I heard this little giggle and when I turned around this is what I saw (she's one quick little chickadee!)...

You're gonna have to try alot harder than that, Mom, to get me to sleep. ;)

Not quite sure what we're going to do about helping her stay horizontal...I'm open to any suggestions! Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to see her learning how to move and I think it's absolutely the most wonderful and adorable sound to hear her chatter, but I know a good night's rest would do not only her but her parents a ton of good! :) 

Love the weather!

This was never posted...enjoy! :)

We have been so blessed with wonderful weather the past few days! We have spent time outside playing with the leaves, going to the library for "Babies and Books", visiting friends and so much more! Here are a few pics!

The first leaf I've seen :)

Lovin' this weather!

Valentine's Day and more!

This year we celebrated Valentine's Weeks instead of Day since Ross and I started the festivities two weekends ago by grabbing Subway (Winterset's Subway is the best!!!) and going to see "We Bought a Zoo" at the Winterset theater. Frama and Papa offered to watch Blakely while we went on our date and that night was the first time Blakely went to bed without Ross or I. According to Frama and Papa, she was a champ and didn't have any issues and, as a first time mom, that was great to hear! It's so nice not worrying about Blakely while we are out and it really allows me to enjoy spending one-on-one time with Ross. :)

We also gave Blakely one of her Valentine's gifts early....a walker! Ross ordered it for her and even though I was nervous about it (surprise, surprise ;) )...she loves it and I'm so glad he got it for her! :)

Proud Daddy :)

Look at me!

Yeah...that's right...I'm a natural!

I love her! :)

Then this past weekend,  Ross ordered Casey's breakfast pizza on Saturday and when he came home he accidentally showed the $50 Casey's gift card he got for me for V-day... He explained Casey's didn't have any other gift card amounts and thought $50 would cover all of the times Blakely and I go for breakfast pizza after her doctor appointments! :)  He knows us too well.... (I love him!)

We also served at his parents' church's Valentine's Dinner Saturday night, while Nini and Granddaddy watched Blakes. She had a blast eating Nini's stew, taking a bath and being put to bed by her grandparents! (Again, so thankful for our family being able to watch Blakely and not worrying while we are out!) As for the dinner, even though we were the Help for the night, it was a really fun time and, again, I loved spending time with my hubby!

Once Valentine's Day arrived we thought it was simply going to be like any other day, however; Blakely received a surprise visit from her Granddaddy who brought Valentine treats! B got to experience her first puff Cheeto and colored Goldfish! (Leave it to Granddaddy to introduce her to a new food ;) ) Then we topped off the night going for Hy-Chi with my family. It was so simple, yet so nice! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and know how much they are loved by God and others! :)

Granddaddy = food for me! :)

Happy 1st Valentine's Day Blakely Faith...we love you very much!

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Helping mom..."clean" :)

Parents = Entertainers :)

It's been a while since our last post and it's probably due to the fact that I have started classes, sickness, hunting weekends, and hanging out with friends and family.  I don't realize how busy we are until I write everything out on here or in my journal! :)

In a previous post, I mentioned Blakely's desire to eat Hy-chi when she grabbed for my plate at the dinner table. Well, last night, she finally experienced her first sample of sesame chicken (without the fried, fluffy outside...just the inside), rice, broccoli, and peas...she loved it! I wish we could have gotten a few pics, but of course, I forgot the camera and didn't want to cause a scene in Hy-vee since we ate there. However, after dinner, she also experienced her first taste of Twizzlers since her daddy and Nini allowed her chew one theirs. Pics can be seen on Facebook. Even though I may not approve, it was really fun to watch her experience new things...she's really growing up! 

I feel as though we come to "developmental stage" obstacles in B's life when we have to find new ways to entertain her. I don't know if it's a reflection on us but she seems to get bored an awful lot! So of course I went on Pinterest and Parents.com to find fun ideas for games/activities to do with an 8, soon to be 9, month old. Today's activity was allowing her to feed herself and even though she seemed extremely uninterested, I got a few fun pics of her at the table. :)

I love to eat, but why feed myself when I know mom will do it for me? :) 

Yeah, that's right I know how to work the system! :)  (I just love her!)

That's not funny, give me another bite! (Can anyone tell that this soon-to-be 9 month old is wearing 18-24 month clothes in this pic??)

Tomorrow we are going to try "food finger painting"...hopefully, I will get some crazy pics of her doing it! My mom also told me about baby story time at the library, so I think we're going to go with my best friend and her son next week...we'll see how that goes because again, B gets bored very quickly and I'm not sure if the library setting is the best for her! :)

I'm still waiting for my textbooks to arrive, but once they do I'm afraid my time to blog will decrease even more, but I am hoping I will do a decent job of time management and continue to blog. :) Much love to all!

Being sick isn't sooo bad :)

This past week/weekend, I got hit with the stomach flu, which seems like a suckie thing, but after a visit from Nini and spending some bonding time with Daddy, I really enjoyed watching Blakes have so much fun! My mom was so sweet for coming over, on her day off I might add, to play with B while I caught up on some rest. :) Not only did she play with Blakely, she also washed and cleaned 6 loads of laundry, prepared my meals, and brought me plenty of Diet Dr. Pepper.  I'm not gonna lie, I don't think I will ever be too old to have my mom take care of me when I'm sick... ;)

Ross did and an awesome job of joggling a sick wife and super active baby girl...I don't think I could ask for a more awesome husband! He even had the energy to clean/organize the house, but not without a few play breaks... :)

Oh and here are some of the pics we took of B's new hat, and here's the website for one, if you would like to buy one and two, to see B's modeling debut! ;)  http://www.etsy.com/listing/82335588/cream-pom-pom-baby-hat

"How about you just give me the camera?"

"Really? "

Captured her new "Top Lip Folded Under Smile" :)

Recovering from the holidays :)

The holidays were great, however; the time away took a toll on our house! Although I want to say that our house is spotless, I must admit we've probably spent more time hanging out with family and friends than cleaning. ;) From walking the mall with Holls and Kypton to jumping on the indoor trampoline at the Yentes' house, we have really had a fun week! 

We have also celebrated many birthdays this month since January seems to be the month of birthdays for our family and friends. Cole turned 21 (and yes, that makes me feel extremely old) and to celebrate, we went to see Breaking Dawn Pt. 1. It was great...a very intense movie but fun spending time with Cole. :) We were unable to celebrate many of the birthdays in person (Tay and Kare) due to different reasons, but we still are so thankful for them! :) 

Last night we were blessed to be apart of Max Shisler's 2nd Birthday. He's really growing up and made us laugh the entire night! One of the best things I love about visiting the Shisler home is they always make us feel so welcomed and special! Their family gave Blakely this adorable hat (I will have to get a pic of her in it when she wakes up from her nap ;) ) and just loved on her the whole time we were there...and yes, even the teenager, Tommy and soon to be teenager, Drew gave her some love. ;) Here are a few pics of the fun!

Jack teaching B how to give High Fives :)

Lovin' his birthday cake :)

Such a good lookin group!

My favorite Jack :)

Learning how to shoot hoops...no better place than at the Shisler's :)