First Haircut!

Mr. Blake was starting to get a little shaggy around the ears so we went in for his first haircut today and $19 later I regretted it. First of all he wasn't crazy about the experience. Thanks to the 2 head colds he's had and having to hold his head to use the suction on his nose, he's not a fan of having his head held so that didn't start things out very well. Plus the lady we got wasn't exactly the cream of the crop. The front looks okay but it's shorter behind his ears than I would like. Next time I think I'll attempt it myself or try somewhere new. I hope it grows back fast!

Something about the "first haircut" was kind of sad. I know he's only 10 months old and he's still a baby but every day he's looking more and more like a little boy. I love him so much!

Before:

Bringing in Daddy's BlackBerry to help things go smoothly:

Nope, that didn't work. Not a happy boy:

Whew, all done! So handsome!

We put him back in the chair for one last pic. I love how he's holding onto the sides and has this "no, not again" look on his face.

Retiring the swing

Now that Blake is 8 1/2 months old we decided to retire the swing. He hasn't used it in months actually but we're just now getting around to storing it away. Had to get one last run in though. It's amazing to me how much he's grown! He's only 10 days old in this first picture and just looked like a little nugget...and now his head and feet hang over the edges!

Summer Fun

The newborn age I did not want to pause, but this age...this age I would LOVE to be able to pause. Blake is such a sweet, affectionate little boy and he's independent enough to be able to sit on his own and crawl but yet he can't move too fast to where he always has to be chased around. He "talks" to us and smiles and laughs all the time but isn't old enough to scream at us or talk back. :) I'm sure there's great stuff about every age ahead but we're just loving this time with him.

He's just started pulling himself up on things which stresses me out. I get so
worried about him waking up in the middle of the night and standing up in his crib. Even though we've lowered it I'm just scared he's going to lose his balance and hit his head. Typical first-time mom worries I guess. It's crazy to think he's going to be walking in just a few months!

Here's some pictures from the last several weeks (you don't have to have a Facebook account to view these). We've been busy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2090601&id=1390612057&l=d7b82c6e72

--We drove out to Hamilton Pool, which is a swimming hole about 30 minutes outside of Austin. It was a little bit of a hike and the water was a little chilly but Blake had fun splashing around and playing in the water.

--We also went to the splash pad at Pease Park and finally got to meet up with the Baker twins, Amelia & Everett. They are so adorable! It's so crazy when you haven't seen friends in a long time and then when you finally do, you're watching your kids crawl around together! Hopefully Jace and Regan will be moving back from San Francisco soon and there will be more playdates in the future!
--Blake went on his first flight and did great! They were short flights so he slept for 3 out of 4 of them and then jumped on our laps during the other one. Flying with a baby is a little harder due to all the extra gear but it really wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. It was also Blake's first trip to Tulsa to see Mamma, Pappa Joe and Uncle Michael!
--We visited the Dallas Zoo and saw the penguins, monkeys, gorillas, giraffes, elephants, hogs, and alligators. Though Blake is still too young to comprehend everything he saw of course, he enjoyed people watching and seeing new things.
--We took another road trip to Marshall to visit my family. Blake had fun playing with Nonni & Papa and aunts, uncles, and cousins that we don't get to see enough.
--We also went to the splash park in Pflugerville. Blake loved sitting in front of the smaller fountain and playing in the water.
--We've been going to infant storytime at the RR Public Library. There's about 25 other babies that go so it's fun to watch Blake start to interact with other little kids his age. He loves to sing the songs but his favorite part is playing with the huge parachute at the end. All the babies sit in the middle of the parachute and the parents flap it up and down. He just laughs and hits his hand on his knees, he loves it!

Another lesson learned...

Why did I spend hours searching online for the "perfect" crib bedding? We took the bumper off right when Blake actually started sleeping in the crib to supposedly reduce the risk of SIDS. And now that he's starting to pull up on things we've lowered his crib and the bedskirt now drapes the floor and just looks sloppy. The crib is now basically a white cell with a mattress and a little color thanks to the Breathable Bumper. Why did I even bother? Another lesson learned I guess. Who thinks I'll repeat this mistake with baby #2 and fall into the trap of buying adorable bedding? Me too....

Crawling and first teeth!

The next time I post I'm sure it will be to say that Blake has learned to crawl. Right now he's just moving his hands and then pulling his lower body along. Between that, rolling around, and scooting on his back he has no problem getting to where he needs to be...and unfortunately for Cooper, that sometimes means straight to the tail, or ear, or just grabbing a fistful of skin. Sweet Cooper is so tolerant and just lays there. Blake has definitely discovered Cooper and thinks he's hilarious! He'll just look at Cooper and start giggling so we'll hold Blake and "chase" Cooper and Blake just lets out the biggest belly laughs. Again, Cooper is so tolerant of all of this...even when we hold Blake and let him ride Cooper. :)

Blake is doing a really good job of sitting up by himself but can't do it for very long and still falls backwards or to the side. We're right there to catch him of course but it won't be long before he won't need us there. Awe, that's kind of sad to think about but at the same time it will be a nice milestone to achieve.



Blake has started saying "da da" and though he obviously doesn't associate it with Randy yet, it's still cute. We're working on "ma ma" but no luck yet. :)

And...Blake got his first 2 teeth! The excessive drooling was our first clue and then waking up screaming all night long gave us a pretty good idea too. Then sure enough, one morning we looked and two of them had popped through. Here's his new smile..you might have to click on it to blow it up and see his new teeth:

Solids and the beach!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. I always say I'm going to post more often but being a working mom who also loves to sleep (although who really gets any sleep with an infant) and spend quality time with the husband keeps me busy. I think I probably say this on every post but we're having so much fun with Blake right now. He's so interactive and learning so much all the time and now he's eating new foods. We had a little setback with the solids because he caught a stomach virus that lingered for like a week and a half. We never knew what he was going to keep down and better to get milk thrown up on you than green beans! But now we're back on track and Blake has enjoyed peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, bananas, and pears. Not surprisingly, bananas and pears have been his favorite and carrots run a close second. That kid will eat 3/4ths of a banana! I'm so anxious to feed him so many foods but they have to eat the same thing for 3-4 days to test for allergies so it's taking forever to get through the menu. Next up is peaches, butternut squash, yellow squash, and apples. Yum!

Before:

After - not too bad really, considering I clean his hands along the way. Soon I'll just let him go all in and feed himself, but for now we're trying to keep it relatively clean.

Blake hit the beach for the first time! We went to Port Aransas where he played in the waves and sand and promptly stuck a fistful of muddy sand in his mouth, so we spent most of the time on the beach in the shade where we had a little pool of fresh water for him. It was a convenient time to go to the beach because he can sit up pretty well but couldn't crawl yet so I wasn't chasing him all over the sand. I try to remember that he's a boy and wants to and can get dirty but I always find myself sweeping dirt off of him and trying to keep him clean. I will be forced to let go of this soon I know.

Blake's 6 month stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 15 oz, 23rd percentile
Height: 25.5", 23rd percentile

We had a little half-birthday celebration for Blake. (We're slightly overzealous parents.) He was mesmerized by the candle. And no, I didn't let him have any cake of course, even though Randy wanted to let him play in it.


Now that Blake is 6 months old, he has has moved onto solids! He loved the rice cereal and the oatmeal but his first real food was peas. When the spoon of peas first hit his mouth, he turned his nose up but then he continued to eat. I think the new texture threw him off. His friend at daycare already started solids so he's been watching her eat - he knew exactly what to do when that spoon came towards him! He seems to have fun with this whole eating out of a spoon idea....and I had fun too because I got to use my new babycook. :) I'm planning on making all of his food because the foods he's eating are so simple and I only want him to eat organic fruits and veggies. Tonight we tried sweet potatoes and I had no problem getting him to eat them!


Blake is loving his feet right now, always pulling on his toes or his socks whether he's in the high chair, on the changing table, in the car seat, or in the stroller.

He has also figured out how to use his feet to scoot himself backwards and roll all around the floor. Gone are the days of placing him on the blanket and turning your back for a minute. He ends up in a completely different place! I know this is only the beginning...at least for now I can count on him ending up in the same room. He's so close to sitting up all by himself too. He loves his new workbench. His face lights up as soon as he sees it:


Grandma came to visit! Blake had fun playing with Mammaw and having another person to entertain him and give him lots of hugs and kisses.


He's finally grown into his exersaucer. I wish I knew what he was thinking in this first picture, so serious!