How A Boy Grows In Two Months

*NOTE: You can click on the pictures to see them bigger*

Here is my little two month old gnome. My friend from my crochet group knit this hat for me when she heard Blake's nursery was forest/gnome themed. Right now the hat suits him perfectly, but I look forward to wearing the mushroom hat in the winter. It is the softest yarn too.



Here is another view of Blake the nursery gnome.



Two weeks ago, we drove up to Sacramento to visit my parents. My mother is now rolling in a 2008 Honda CR-V. We are all excited she has a new car and Blake loves the idea of eight air bags and the Latch system. Isn't it shiny and new!



Here is Grammie loving up her grandson.



Carl and Lisa admiring the new car and the baby. They brought Blake his first motorcycle outfit to wear when Uncle Carl takes Blake out for his first ride.



This last weekend, we all drove to Oakhurst for the Memorial Day Weekend. We bought him his first swim diaper and he couldn't use it because it rained the whole time. The pool had been about 75 degrees for a while before the rain so we were sad he didn't get to go swimming. He has many pool days ahead of him though so no worries there.

Here is Grandma Ellen holding Blake.



Grandma and Grandpa working as a pair as they love up on the little guy.



Blake knowing he is in good hands.



Cousin Mia took great care of Blake the whole weekend! She is a natural born babysitter/future mommie.



What a diaper changing pro. I knew she was super already, but now I really wish she lived down the street, for I could use her help everyday.



Great aunt Karen keeping Blake happy.



Great uncle Glen taking care of Blake after dinner. With all this help I could have done my laundry, painted the house, and crocheted us all sweaters, but since I was away from home relaxing was my priority.



Mia brought her babies over to play with Blake. I couldn't believe how much energy Mia had to take care of Blake after taking care of her twins all day long. Everyone meet Diamond and Hazel.



Mia is wearing my New Native sling with all of her babies (some human, some animals).



Eventually, Great Grandpa Walter had to steal Blake away from all the chaos for some strong and calm recentering!



Auntie Jessica always provided a great lap and even gave him some video game pointers. Oh, only when she wasn't tickling his Westersund big toe (notice he is protected with socks here).



Blake needs to eat and grow so he can go mountain biking with the big boys. We forgot to take an "after" picture when the two of them were covered in mud once they got home.



Well so far these past two months have been amazing and I can't even remember the tough times. I love hormones for that reason. Blake had his two month doctor's visit today and was brave through his shots. The doctor called him a moose and said I was doing a great job breastfeeding. I asked if he is going to go through a growth spurt because he is eating so well and he replied saying that Blake may not show signs of growth spurts because he looks to be a great eater and will just continually grow. Just like his daddy as a kid. Cheers to a healthy and happy baby.

What On Earth Is A Herniated Belly Button?

Here is Blake ejoying bathtime! He has a herniated bellybutton now. We have looked up the condition and there is nothing to do but wait for it to go back down. I guess they usually operate when kids are school age. We weighed him on Monday and he is around 12 pounds now.

More videos!

Ask and ye shall receive. This one is of Blake on our bed, just hanging out with Shannon.

Happy Mamas Day

Here is a toast to all of those mothers out there. I now know how much work it is to bring those cute buggers into the world! Andrew has spent the last two days spoiling me head to toe on Blake's behalf. Yesterday, we went to Santa Cruz for a day of: walking around the Boardwalk, test driving Eurovans*, and enjoying the great weather at the beach. Today, he made me breakfast and surprised me with some beautiful tulips. What a great dad. I will have to up the ante for Father's Day. Here are some pictures from baby's first beach trip with a video of Blake being dunked in the ocean. Enjoy the day.

*We did not end up buying a Eurovan. The dealership we went to was very shady and when Andrew went over 3,000rpm the engine would cut out. Anything he touched in the Eurovan seemed to break off and fall to the floor. We haven't sworn off Eurovans, but we saw an older Vanagon on the side of the road for sale and have now decided to look at older Vanagons to trick out. The search is on. For those of you who didn't know, Andrew drove a Vanagon when I first met him.

The only gift I wanted for Mother's Day was a photo taken of the three of us in one of those photo booths at the midway.



Blake is about to grow out of the sweater I crocheted for him. They grow so fast.



What a great first day before Mother's Day



Here is the video of Blake touching the ocean for the first time. Hopefully it will inspire Blake to want to go surfing with his daddy. Maybe you will see video footage of Blake's first surfboard ride on Father's Day.

Extra, Extra Read All About It

Today, Blake will make his way into hundreds of our neighbor's homes. I will not deny selfish motives, but my main reason for telling our story is to educate those around us about midwifery care. When Blake was born I told my midwife and her assistant I was going to become a homebirth advocate. I promise I am not going to go door-to-door soliciting people, but rather tell my story to those who want to listen because I think it is pretty sweet. The article had a few typos (why don't they ever check the facts?) like his birth weight and what area of town we live in. Also, the article left out Treesa McLean's name. Both Rosanna and Treesa are valued deeply so I will have to find a way to give Treesa her credit.

You can read the article at: http://www.svcn.com/west_san_jose/

So What If I Am Cross-eyed Today

So Blake has put on a few ounces and crosses his eyes frequently. Things only family and friends can admire. Blake also wants to thank his Auntie Amy for giving him his first funny t-shirt. We will all look back and say it was sooooooo 2008 to wear slogan t's.







I got another bee in my bonnet! I keep pressuring Andrew to say yes to buying an Eurovan. There is a great used one in Santa Cruz that I hope to test drive this weekend. Anyone who wants us to buy a hippie van say aye.

Growing Up

Here is Blake posing in his best baby pose.













I am always bugging this kid with kisses and hugs. He told me he was ready for some independence. I talked with my midwife about introducing a bottle of my milk so I can someday leave him with Andrew and go to the gym and she said now is the time.



















So last night Andrew gave him his first bottle. He sucked it down in record time and I had to finish feeding the guy. This guy can eat! I am excited to maybe leave tonight and get my hair cut while Andrew plays Mr. Mom at home. As much as it was hard to give up all feeding control, I know it will give us more flexibility in the long run. Bottles will be on an "as needed" basis as I am planning on breastfeeding Blake until he is at least one year old (then on to the next kid!). Andrew is a super dad and enjoyed his time in the spotlight.

Happy Boy

Can you tell that breastfeeding is going better now. We weighed Blake yesterday (on our bathroom scale) and it said he was 9.5 pounds. I am sure it isn't the most accurate scale, but he is definitely getting bigger every day. I wanted to show everyone how cute Blake looked in his matching outfit before he spit up all over it and I had to change his outfit. Notice how the hair on top of his head has fallen out, but the sides remain. I call it the George Costanza look.

Blake's First Road Trip

Blake took his first road trip to visit old friends in Livermore. We were lucky enough to get to stop by Aden and Kyle's house to show off the little guy. Aden and Kyle are so big now and were so sweet to Blake. I can't wait for play dates in the future.

Happy Birthday Grandpa David!

So this morning when Blake woke up he was all excited to sing Happy Birthday to his Grandpa David. But then he remembered he doesn't know how to sing yet! So instead he recruited a bunch of virtual friends to sing for him, and made this little video.

Happy Birthday Grandpa David, hope you enjoy it!

Good Morning World

Happy May 1st. Blake was so sleepy after feeding this morning (we got to sleep in until 6am) he conked right out again. I was able to make breakfast for Andrew before he went to work. We have a functioning household again.

I came to the realization that I am not like other moms. Sure there are those mama bear moments as a mother, but I think I take it to the extreme. Yesterday, I went to the grocery store and had to fight back tears while returning the shopping cart to the front of the store because I wondered how I would ever live with myself if anything ever happened to Blake in those 45 seconds I was away from him. Hopefully, it is just hormones and I will calm down sometime soon.