Out of the Mouth of a Big Brother

I've got to give credit where credit is due.  Tay has been absolutely wonderful with Blake!  I really wasn't sure what would happen when we finally brought our sweet baby boy home.  I knew Taylor would love him, but wasn't sure how jealous he would be.  Brent and I have tried to involve him with all things "baby" (both before and after Blake was born) and he hasn't shown any signs of jealousy (at least for now).  If anything, he has wanted to help a little bit too much sometimes and rivals me for the number of times he kisses Blake a day.

That being said, Taylor has said some pretty hilarious things over this past month.  Here are some of my favorites:

1.  When we were finally settled in at home, the night of July 18th (the day we brought Blake home), Tay came over, took Blake's hand in his and said "nice to meet you Blake."  Then he kissed his forehead.

He also said "Pee ew Blake, you're a stinky engine."  (Inspired by Diesel talking to Thomas the Train after he was pulling a load of trash).

2.  Taylor sings to his baby brother all of the time, but loves to change the words to Rock-a-bye Baby.  Instead of down will fall Blake, cradle and all, he sings "and Mommy will catch baby Blake and Daddy will catch Taylor."

3.  On July 19th, I was nursing Blake when Taylor said, "Blake is drinking all your chocolate milk!"

4.  He also figured out where the milk comes from.  He traced his finger from the tip of my fingers, up my arm, around my shoulder, and down to my chest.

5.  On July 25th, Tay and I had this conversation:
Me: "When Blake gets bigger you can teach him how to do lots of things."
Taylor: "Yeah, like fight, jump, run, tackle Daddy, go under Bruiser, and bang on the door!"

6.  On August 2nd, while we were outside having pictures taken, I was holding Blake in my arms and he didn't have a stitch of clothes on.  All of the sudden, Blake started peeing.  Tay ran over to see what was going on and then he said "Blake, I'm so proud of you!"

7.  Last night, we were all in the living room and the following coversation took place.
Brent: "Who's your best friend?"
Taylor: "Mama."
Brent: "What?  Who else?"
Taylor: "Baby Blake."
Me: "Poor Daddy.  He doesn't have a best friend."
Taylor: "Uh hun...and his name is Bruiser!"
These are just a few of my favorites.  Tay finds a way to keep us laughing all of the time.  Once Blake is old enough to talk, I'm sure the two of them will keep us in stitches all day (and night) long! 

Laughter is good for the soul and thanks to Tay, there is no shortage of laughter in our happy house.

Bringing Out Blake

We've been busy around here...

On Sunday, we took Blake to Lawrenceville church of Christ for the first time.  We were excited to have everyone finally meet our new little love and see what all of their prayers had accomplished.  We didn't tell anyone that we were getting him out, so Mimi was extra excited when she saw us come in.

Sunday night, Brent came down with an awful stomach bug and spent the last couple of days throwing up and running a fever.  It was awful and I hate feeling like I can't do anything to help.  He seems to be more like himself today, but doesn't really know how to "take it easy."  We are hoping that the boys and I get lucky and the bug doesn't "bite" us.

I'm going to my postpartum check-up today and am hoping that Dr. Campbell clears me to start doing more regular activities.  I am actually looking forward to the day when I can run, someone remind me I said that in a couple of months!

Who Needs a GPS?

We made a trip out to Athens to meet Jessie and Patrick for lunch and to have some pictures of Blake made. 

On our way out there, Tay had this to say...
Tay: "We're going the wrong way...according to my map."
Brent: "Oh yeah, what's the right way?"
Tay: "We need to turn right!"

That's my boy!

Surprise...

Today, the boys and I were missing their Daddy, so we decided to make some Cocoa Krispie treats (Brent likes them better than Rice Krispie treats) and take a trip to Station 25.  Since this would be Blake's first visit to the station, I decided to keep it a secret.

I got the boys and the treats packed up, swung through the Chick-fil-a drive thru for lunch, and then headed out to the fire station.  I gave Brent a call when we were almost there, only to get his voice mail.  I tried again and got his voice mail again.  That's when I started thinking that the med unit was probably out and we may have to wait a little bit for Brent to get back. 

When I pulled up to the station, I saw that my suspicions were right.  But I was surprised to see that both the med unit and engine were out!  That took a couple of minutes to explain to Tay, since he saw his Daddy's truck in the parking lot, he thought he was there.  We had to drive around to the backside of the station so he could look in the bay and see that it was empty.

We ended up eating our lunch and killing some time at Mimi's house and then headed back up to the station.  Brent said that we made his day, but honestly, getting to see him made ours!

Blake's 1 Month Update

My Sweet Baby Blake,

Hey Blue Eyes (at least for now)!  I can hardly believe that you are already one month old!  I have loved every minute of being your Mama and getting to watch you grow and change every day.  I'm going to do my best to keep track of all of the amazing things you do each month, so that one day you can look back and read all about it.

We have affectionately begun calling you "Blakey." You already have this sweet and loving nature about you and I hope those are traits that stick with you as you continue to grow up.

Today, we went to visit Dr. Morgan for your 1 month check-up.  This is the first time that she and Nurse Rose got to meet you and they both loved on you and told us how relieved they were that you were okay.  You've been a trooper buddy and have been growing like a weed these last couple of weeks.  As of now, you weigh 8 lbs 3 oz and are 21 inches long.  You had to get a shot today, but took it like a champ and only cried for a little bit.  Once you were back in our arms, you were perfectly content.  You got a Peanuts band-aid to cover up "your wound," but somehow, Taylor is the one who got a popsicle, lollipop, and a sticker!

There are lots of things that you are doing these days.  For one, you make some pretty great faces.  Of course, I love seeing you smile, but watching you sleep is precious.  You show all different ranges of emotions.  Sometimes, you look so serious and crease your brows together, but it only lasts for a second before you whimper or sigh.  One thing you have in common with your big brother is your signature "smirk."  You and Tay both pull up the corner of your mouth, like you know something we don't know.  That is one expression I think I'll be seeing for the rest of your life!

Lately, you've been lifting up your neck and trying to hold your head up more.  You are even trying to experiment with pushing off with your legs.  You like to suck your blue paci to fall asleep. Once that falls out, your fingers will do (until you make it known that you want your paci back).  You have a big appetite, so much so, that we are supplementing you once or twice a day.  While you nurse, you seem to gulp down your dinner and sound like a squeaky door while you are eating.  I like to think it's your way of saying "my compliments to the chef!" 

While you really are a good baby, there are a few things you just aren't a big fan of.  You don't like being swaddled or put down before you are good and drowsy (or asleep).  While you like the end result, changing your diaper isn't one of your favorite past times, especially, when you had a raging diaper rash.

You absolutely love being rocked and sung to (especially, by your Daddy).  Your Daddy used to sing The Chair by George Strait to your big brother when he was a baby.  Don't feel left out, you have your own song too.  Daddy sings...  My song for Tay was You Are My Sunshine.  While I haven't quite figured out your lullaby yet, you still seem to like my rendition of "Crazy Blake." 

When you aren't being held, rocked, or sleeping, you like to hang out in your swing.  Whenever I'm cooking or cleaning in the kitchen, I take you in there with me and you are perfectly content to look around and listen to whatever is playing on Pandora.  These days, we've been listening to a lot of Eli Young Band, Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson, and a bunch of stuff in between.

Taylor wants to help out with you all of the time.  One of the"most helpful" things he likes to do is hug and kiss you once you've fallen asleep.  He climbs up onto the arm of our big chair, leans his body all the way over to the pack and play, and plants a big one (or ten) on your cheek (or arm, or leg, or anything else he can get his lips on)!  The minute you make a peep (no matter how big or small), he has to alert Daddy and me.  He thinks it's hilarious when you stick out your tongue, loves when you open up your eyes and look at him, and tries to teach me the "right" way to burp you.  The other day, he told me that you had two heads.  I must have looked at him like he was crazy because he decided to tell me (and show me).  He pointed and said that you had a forehead and then pointed to the top of your head and said you "had a head."  I thought that was pretty clever.  I can only imagine the things y'all will come up with when you get bigger.

I hope this lets you know a little bit about your life right now.  It's pretty great, huh?  I love you beyond what words can tell.  For now my little love, all you need to worry about is the following...Eat, Sleep, and Snuggle.

Lots of love sweetheart,

Tummy Trouble

Well, last night felt a little bit like bed rest dejavu because I ended up sleeping on the couch with Blake.  Poor little guy just cried and cried most of yesterday afternoon and today.  We're trying to figure out whether he's got tummy trouble or may just be getting more of an appetite.  I had to take antibiotics for a while after we got out of the hospital, so he may still have some of that in his system.  Whatever it is, I hope it gets better fast.  I hate to see him in pain.

One thing that seemed to calm him today, was being outside.  I've had to take it slow after having my c-section, so today was the first day I got to go on a "real" walk.  It wasn't far, just to the top of the neighborhood and back (and back up a little hill), but it felt great to get out with my boys (all of them, including Bruiser).  My mind was telling my body I could do more, but my hamstrings begged to differ.

Hopefully, it won't be too long until I am playing soccer again and running around the backyard chasing a very quick and energetic three year old!

A Busy Weekend

Time continues to fly...four weeks have already gone by since sweet baby Blake was born.  He is changing and growing every day and I continue to be amazed at this little miracle that we call "ours."

We celebrated the birth of another special someone on Friday...Brent!  You would've thought that it was Taylor's birthday.  He was SO excited about his Daddy's birthday and thought it was very important that he picked out a birthday card and had to make sure that Brent had a birthday hat.  So, Tay and I made a little birthday run.  We had what we considered to be a very successful shopping trip.  We left with a giant, blue party hat, a Backyardigan's card, and two helium balloons (a big, yellow smiley face and one that said Happy Birthday).

Mama came over and took care of the boys, so Brent and I went out to Longhorn's for a birthday date night.  Afterwards, we celebrated this special day with our boys and our parents and some homemade apple pie and cookies and cream dessert.  Of course, no birthday is complete without singing "Happy Birthday to You," blowing out the candles, and making a wish.  Tay was more than happy to help Brent out in this area.

Blake has been a bit fussy today, but one thing seems to calm him down.  As long as he's being snuggled in my arms, rocked, and sung to, he seems better.  The other day, he seemed to like the song Crazy Girl by the Eli Young Band, so I tweaked the chorus a little bit and came up with something just for Blake.  It goes a little something like this...

Crazy Blake don't you know that I love you?
I wouldn't dream of going no where.
Silly baby, come here, let me hold you.
Have I told you lately,
I love you like crazy Blake?

We're hoping our little guy feels better soon.  For now, we don't mind taking turns holding him until he's happy.

Just Melts My Heart

There are few things in this world sweeter than hearing Tay say "I love you Mommy" and looking down at Blake snuggled in my arms, drifting off to sleep.  I find myself just staring at his chest, gently rising and falling, taking in his "new baby" scent, stroking his cheek, and kissing him hundreds of times a day.

It's these little moments that I find myself with a lump in my throat, a catch in my breath, and a full heart. 

All of my boys (my "biggest" one included) always seem to find a way to melt my heart.  God has blessed me beyond what I can put into words.  These are the moments that I never want to forget.