Gray/White Trees

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lady Licker

Blakelyn has begun to lick everything that gets near her mouth.  Not biting down, just licking.  I haven't captured a picture (it might be impossible), but she will lick my neck as I pick her up to go nurse her. 

Licking her bib before a walk. 

Licking her bib...

Oh wait, just trying to get to her fingers.


Noticing her feet for the first time.  Since she was born in the winter months we have always had her feet covered up.  Now she can begin to discover them!


We put up the Johnny (Jenny) Jumper and put her in to see what she would do.  
Not so much jumping as twirling...

and a whole lot of licking!

Blakelyn's Baptism

Blakelyn was Baptized over St. Patrick's Day weekend, March 18th, 2012 to be exact.

She was baptized in a gown that was first worn by her Grandma JJ (Bryan's mom).  Since then 11 other's have worn the same dress (Blakelyn makes 12).  It is a Feldmen Brother's dress that was given to Judy by her god Parents for her Baptism.  At first Bryan's grandmother (Great Grammy to Blakelyn) was concerned that the dress wouldn't fit Blakelyn because she would be older than the other children that have worn it.  Apparently most babies are baptized within weeks of being born. Alas the dress fit Blakelyn perfectly, nothing to worry about.


The day before we decided to take some pictures of Blakelyn in the dress, since Sunday morning would be very busy.


Found her left fingers.





The dress in it's entirety.

We ended up having to do two photoshoots because Blakelyn got fussy during the first attempt.  Hence, the dress is not buttoned around the neck.


This was the face she made all throughout her Baptism.  The congregation loved it... I was nervous they would hear the loud screaming that usually ensues after this face.


Day of Blakelyn's Baptism. 

Getting her slip on.

The locket she is wearing was given to her by her Great Aunt Susan and Great Uncle Bill.  
Inside is a swatch of the necktie Bryan wore.
 

Putting on the final touches.



Blakelyn was Baptized at Christ the King Lutheran Church.  I wanted the pastor who conducted our wedding to baptize her. Blakelyn did great during the service!  We were a little hesitant at first since she  got really fussy right when we arrived at the church. Bryan held her (since he was successful at calming her down) during the baptism.  She "listened" intently to Pastor Chris (who talks with his hands, of which Blakelyn loves).  She frowned a few times (which is actually really cute, but is usually accompanied by loud shrieks), but overall she was calm.  When Pastor Chris poured water over her head, she smiled at Bryan and didn't seem to mind.  Blakelyn only fussed once at the end when the pastor held her to present her to the congregation.


After the service pictures:

Our nuclear family.
Bryan's tie matches the swatch in Blakelyn and my necklaces.

Picture with aunts and uncles.
Andy and Laura (god parents)          Laurel and Scott

Picture including grandparents.


Picture with Pastor Chris.
He was also the Pastor that conducted our wedding.
The flowers in the right background were given by Tom and Judy for the occasion of their granddaughter's Baptism.

Lady Leprechaun

I do believe that my new favorite holiday is St. Patrick's Day!  
The color green sure does showcase Blakelyn's red hair!


Prayer hold with her hands and her feet!

Trying out the stroller like a big girl!


Hum, maybe still a little leery.
Need to work on that trunk control.


Waking up from a nap.
Blakelyn loved looking at the ship on top of Pop's shelf!


Pinching daddy because he wasn't wearing green.



Sweet smile with Daddy.

Sticker on the back.  Didn't want to cover up that cute clover!


Instagram photos:
Going for that vintage look!
The blanket is one that Bryan and his siblings rolled around on back in the day.


Always sucking those left fingers!


Multitasking:
 Wiggling and watching March Madness!

We were all watching March Madness!


This weekend was also Bryan's 30th Birthday. 
What fun to have the whole family together to celebrate two great events!


Happy 30th Birthday Bryan!


Thursday, March 22, 2012

4 months

The book The Happiest Baby On The Block says that the first three months of a baby's life is more like a fourth trimester. What the author means is that the first three months the baby behaves the same as he/she did in utero (eat, sleep, poop, fuss, wants to feel snug). After that the baby's personality begins to blossom and get more interactive and fun. Boy, or in our case, girl was he right. This past month has been so full of all kinds of interaction that I'll have to start blogging more often just to keep up!! 



 Blakelyn has discovered her hands. 
Whoa a left hand. 

 Not in the sense of what her hands can do, but in the sense that she can self sooth by sucking her fingers! She used to take a pacifier (and still does from time to time), but now that she has her fingers, we rarely ever need to get a pacifier. Blakelyn doen't just suck any fingers, well actually yes any fingers will do, but she is inclined to her left hand middle and ring fingers. Does that mean we may have a lefty in our midst? 





 We have noticed all along that Blakelyn likes to nap with her arms up or out, more like cheerleading moves than restful slumber. 

(Not going to lie, she does look like Austin Powers in this one)

 We usually let her nap however she wants to during the day and swaddle her only at night (and when she needs to calm down for a nap). 

Fighting to fall asleep, literally. You can see her fist, left hook.

 One morning I went in to get her and noticed Blakelyn's left hand peeking out the top of the swaddle. She had a big smile on her face as if she was saying "look what I did mom!!!" By the time I got the camera the excitement had passed and her expression was more of a "buzz kill, you took too long, I'm done." 


Since birth we haven't had to use the baby monitor since Blakelyn's room is across from ours and that her "voice" is loud enough to catch our attention. She has also slept in her own room since birth since she is a loud sleeper and often grunts throughout the night. One night I heard Blakelyn grunting exta loudly at 3:30a. Loudly enough that I wanted to check on her, but as soon as I got dressed, she stopped. That morning when I went in to get her, I found this: 

Left arm free!!

 So that's what she was doing at 3:30a! Since then we have not swaddled her and haven't heard any grunting. I guess she never liked sleeping swaddled! 


 Stats from her 4 month checkup: 
 Weight: 12.3 lbs. (25th percentile) 
Height: 25.25 inches. (90th percentile) 
Head circumference: 

 Her check up went well. Blakelyn was calm when we got there and through most of the appointment. However, when she got pricked for her immunizations... She noticed something hurt. Her eyes shot wide, she paused for a second, then began whaling! No fear a few minutes later she was calm and fell asleep. Way to take it like a WOman, Blakelyn! 

Here's some random pictures taken this month:

Went for a walk on a rather chilly evening with our snow bear:


 Cute outfit:


 Giggling with the baby in the mirror:


Not rolling over yet, but so close... 

Valentine's Day outfit:
You can't really see it, but I sewed ruffles on the back side... I didn't get a picture of the back because...

She had a massive blowout that had to be changed. 
So this was her "punishment."  
Laundry needed to be done and this is all I could find that was girly and romantic.


We went to Nashville for my niece's, Caroline, 2nd Birthday.
Blakelyn, Caroline, Claire
Caroline is saying "shhh" to Blakelyn to calm her down.  

We laid Claire and Blakelyn out next to each other...
Blakelyn is longer, but they are both 12lbs!!
Yep, 10 weeks age difference... Claire sure is solid!


Finally, the official 4 month photo shoot:

This is the nursing chair, I guess she has grown accustomed to the association.

4 months, still not interested in the ball.

Leaning towards Sofia being an interest... or just falling over.

Yep, just falling over.  
Blakelyn has begun crunching which leads to trunk movement and squirming.

She makes this position a lot.

Crunch:

Our little moth.  Always finding a light to look at.

"I'm over this mom!"