Bath Time

Blake had his first tub bath this week. His cord came off and it was finally time to get him nice and clean and to try out his new tub...Thanks Becky! I guess he liked it...he was peaceful and it put him right to sleep, that is until he had to get out. But even after he got out, he was happy to be snuggled in his cozy new hippo towel! Thanks again Becky!

Thanks Mom!

Thank you to my mom for everything. She was so instrumental in keeping my family and home in tact after Blake. She and Avery grew very attached and for a while Avery wouldn't even come to me. She is a wonderful Grandma to all the grandkids and I know that they love her very much!!! Thank you MOM!

Blake has Arrived!

I know many of you have been waiting for some pictures of Blake but honestly we didn't have a bunch of great shots right after the birth. Here he is though and I will post some more shots. I think my brain is starting to function half way normal for a sleep deprived mom of 2 kids under 2! Here is Blakes little photo gallery!

I woke up on Thursday morning around 6:30 which for those of you who know me well, I don't do mornings. I had been dreaming all night that I was in labor and being at book club the night before the girls from book club were in my dream and were so excited because I was going to have the baby. At 6;30 my contractions were about 30 minutes apart and by the time I took Zach to the bus stop at 8:45 they were about 15 minutes apart and by 9:45 they were 10 minutes apart. By then Andrew decided he should come home and we should go to the hospital. I stopped by the Dr.'s office at 11am and they told me to go ahead and check in at the hospital because I was already 5 1/2 cm dialated. Once I checked into the hospital I thought that I might try to make it through labor sans an epidural since so far it seemed to be going pretty quickly, however, since I had to be on antibiotics for at least 4 hours prior to delivery they wouldn't break my water or give me pitocin...that made me change my mind pretty quickly and I said to bring on the epidural! So I had the zero drug experience from 11:30 till 1:30! At 5:50 they decided to break my water since I was at 91/2 cm and ready to deliver. After about 5 pushes Blake was born at 6:01 pm. He was perfect and beautiful. He was 7lbs and 11oz and 20 1/4 " in length. The funny thing was that I was asking to be induced on Thursday when I had been in the Dr. office on Tuesday and they said that it was too early for an elective induction and the earliest that I could be induced was on Valentines Day! They also had said that the baby seemed a little small but considering he was 10 days early...he was a perfect size! We stayed in the hospital until the following evening and then I was ready to be in my own home. We have been so blessed!

Our Book Club

My mom was in town for a month so that she made sure she was here for Blake's birth. She had gone to Virginia for an orientation with their new employer from the 5th -7th and luckily Blake waited until her and my dad made it back into town. The evening of the 7th was our monthly book club night. My mom is an honorary member since she was here for our November and December meetings. Alissa and I started a book club in September and it has really taken on a life of it's own. Each time we have met I hadn't had my camera but this time I had one of the girls send me some photos of the evening. Enjoy...our book for month was the love letters from Ronald Reagan to Nancy...so the obvious theme for February was love! A special thank you to Crystal & Lori for coordinating the dessert and the favors for the month. The dessert was divine. Look at how beautiful the table was decorated. I don't know if it was all the love talk or the dessert or the back and shoulder massage that Kelly gave me but that evening I started having contractions.

I also included a photo of our December book club meeting also. The neighbors in the club have made it so fun! I am really glad we started the club.

Baby shower for Blake!

Here are some photos of the shower that was hosted by my dear friend Alissa. It was so kind and the result was beautiful. The shower was on January 27th just a week and a half before Blake was born. The girls who attended were mostly from the neighborhood with the exception of my mom and my Aunt Joan who lives in Denver and drove in for the occasion. Thank you Alissa!