Family of Four

We are quickly adjusting to the life of a family of four! It has been so nice to have Alex home this whole week to get used to taking care of two young kids. He goes back to work on Monday... THAT will be the real test! I anticipate the hardest part to be pumping while watching Blake and Claire. We tried the whole nursing thing, just like we did with Blake, and it is just not for me. Alex will not be traveling again with work until mid-January, so hopefully, by then I have a system worked out for pumping and taking care of the kids during the day, bedtime, and through the night. Blake is not a good sleeper, so the bedtime and through the night goals are difficult! Claire is gaining weight like crazy. We have been to the pediatrician for her twice, and she was already back up to her birth weight plus some! No jaundice or other issues. We feel very lucky and blessed to have two healthy children. Here are some pictures of how our time has been spent over this past week and a half of being home. Notice that we have already taken some trips out with Claire! We have been to IHOP, the mall, to see Santa, Target, and the park! I also threw in a couple pictures of our "fancy" Thanksgiving!

One Year Appointment Update

Well, Blake had his one year appointment! All is good! He is 20.8 pounds (27th percentile) and 31.5 inches (96th percentile). Tall and skinny, just like his daddy! He is also getting a few teeth. Canines and molars! This has made him a little fussy, but he has been in a pretty good mood most of the time. Here he is playing with some of his new birthday toys!

A Few Things...

Well, first off... We got an iPad. Of course, I am blogging on it now... You know, I have to test it out! It is pretty amazing what you can do with technology nowadays. I recently got an iPhone, too, and I have to say that these products are by far better than any other devices I have previously had. Because of this (I never thought I would be saying this!), whenever our current PC messes up, and you know it will eventually, we will more than likely be getting a Mac! Specifically, a MacBook Pro. It will be a while before this happens, though. So, anyone out there with Mac tricks and secrets, send them my way! I have never had or hardly even used a Mac, so I will need as much help as possible when the switch happens!

 Second on my list, Blake has his first ear infection. I suppose this is pretty good since he is almost a year old, but it still is sad! He is much better now, thanks to a couple of days on Amoxicillin.

 Third, a year old! Can you believe it? I can't! In a few short weeks my baby will be a toddler! Eating more solid foods, almost walking, talking more... He is getting so big! I ordered some things for his first birthday and, of course, created a Pinterest board to gather everything I wanted to do for his first birthday party. My mom is coming in the week of Blake's birthday to celebrate with us, and I think Alex's family is coming in the following week (and we might also go skiing!). So, lucky Blake will get two first birthday parties! Many pictures to come to document all of these fun things in our future!

I really should update more often...

Lots of things have been going on!

First of all, Blake now has seven teeth. We have his 9 month pictures on November 1st and his 9 month check-up on November 3rd. He is growing up so fast. We also created an email for Blake. I am really excited about this idea because Alex and I, as well as the rest of our families, can email Blake whenever they want. When he is old enough, it will be really cool to have him read all of the emails from over the years. Thank you Alex and the Google Chrome commercial for the idea.

We had to take Duncan to the vet this week because he has been freaking out. I am not sure what his problem is, but the diagnosis was his knees could be bugging him or it is probably anxiety. We have one stressed out, anxious dog. He has gotten better recently, though, so hopefully it has passed. Here are the dogs fighting/playing (you can hear Blake laugh at them in the background):

The weather has been slowly getting colder (high of 46 on Friday with a chance of snow!). I love fall, but I don't know if I am ready for snow!

Here are some recent pictures of Blake:

Sitting in my Cars chair.

LOVES laundry baskets.

Eating yogurt melts.

Swinging!

Is this how you play in the exer-saucer?

Aubria is flying in tonight to visit us! We are super excited. I will takes lots of pictures and post them after her visit!

My Baby is 4 Months Old!

I took school off today to watch Blake and take him to the pediatrician. Everything looks great! He is 13 lbs. 10 oz. (25th percentile) and 26 in. (90th percentile). He is functioning as a 6 month old which is awesome. He laughed the whole time we waited for the doctor, until it was time for the shots. Then came the screaming. Last time he got shots, he screamed ALL night. This time, I gave him Tylenol before, so I thought it might be different. It was not quite as bad, but he still spend the evening whining and crying. I felt so bad for him, but what can you do? I hope this is not a look into the future with how he will be with ALL his shots.

Here he is BEFORE going to the doctor (and before ruining his cute outfit). I call this the calm before the storm.

4 months old!