The Joy of Grandparents

It's sad to say, but we took Grandma & Grandpa to the airport today. We really had a great visit! Blake already misses them dearly. Today has got to be the first time we've seen Blake throw a full scale fit. She has been fussing most of the day with watchful eyes...trying to get her mean parents to pay attention to her every second she can. And, when she was put in her jumper to change the scenery, she just started throwing herself around...complete with her little head hanging over the side of the jumper. She's not even acting like she is teething; she just misses having someone to cater to her every wimper...ah, the joys! I'm sure she'll be back to normal in a day or so. We've been warned about the wrath of grandparents, BUT we wouldn't trade the visit for the world. We really did have a nice time, and obviously, so did Blake. While she was here, Grandma took Blake for her first swim at the hotel that they were staying at. Here's Blake playing on the bed waiting for Grandma to get ready.

Here's an early reaction to this new activity.And, here's after learning to splash.The pool railing was quite a hit.

Blake hanging out pool-side after drying off a little bit.

And, finally, a dry kiddo who just finished her first swim.It really was nice to have some help with Blake and get the chance to visit. We can't wait to get to visit with Grandma & Grandpa again! Hope everyone is having as great a start to their week!!!

Teething Tike

Happy (late) Fourth of July to everyone! Poor little Blake is just getting a mouthful of teeth all at once. She now has four bottom teeth, two top teeth, and her two front teeth still look like they are going to pop through at any moment...AND she is getting molars (or whatever the second to the back tooth is). All things considered, she has done really well with the whole teething process until this week. We finally had to break out the Tylenol for our fussy little girl. But, a dose of Tylenol and a 30 minute wait seem to be all it takes to get our sweet little girl back on track. Hopefully, she'll get through this phase quickly...we're keeping our fingers crossed. Grandma & Grandpa flew up to visit us for the weekend, and we've had a wonderful time so far. Of course, we have a ton of pictures. Here's Grandma & Grandpa with Blake.
When we were in Oklahoma last Grandma got Blake a Life Is Good t-shirt. Here's a picture of them with similar t's on.What a goofy/squirmy little girl!Blake was having a ball playing with Grandma & Grandpa. Here she is jumping on Grandpa's lap.Who needs a sippy cup when Grandpa will let you use his straw......and Grandma lets you play in her tea?Here's another picture of Grandpa and our smiley girl......and another one with Grandma.We had a wonderful 4th! We went shopping in Billings and stopped for lunch at Famous Dave's. Blake had a great time hanging out in her stroller. She was such a trooper...she didn't get fussy at all while we were out. Grandma and Grandpa seem to think that this has something to do with them being here :o) We originally had plans to head over to a friend's house for the evening, but our little girl was tuckered out by the time we got back to the house...and the Tylenol was beginning to wear off. So, we ditched our friends...SORRY HEATHER! It was nice to just get to sit outside and chat with Grandma & Grandpa, though. We had some afternoon rain that left us this:Well, that's pretty much it so far. But, I had to take some pictures of our other babies, too. Here's Maddie giving Lauren hugs.Copa peeking through the fenceAnd...our lazy Maddie!HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Jabber Jaws

Here's the video we promised!

New Couch

Well, it has been quite a while since we have posted any new pictures, so here ya go! Blake has three bottom teeth, two top teeth (neither of them the front two), and the front two look like they are going to pop through at any moment.
We did some rearranging in our living room, and Blake got her very own couch.She hasn't quite mastered crawling or walking, so she isn't climbing all over it yet.She does seem to like the view up a little higher when you sit her up on it, though.The cushions also fold out to make a little bed that I'm sure will come in handy for a nap or two every once in a while. Otherwise, we've been pretty boring here...just the usual work, eat, sleep, play with Blake routine. It seems like she is just getting SO big, SO quickly. And, she is quite the little jabber jaws. We have a video of her talking that we'll post a little later on today. Blake has also recently become fascinated with saying, "da da" and "dog". It's hilarious because we can't really figure out which one she is talking about...if she even knows what she's talking about. She has also started saying, "apple". We have a little puzzle that has an apple, a banana, and some grapes on it. She seems to also say "ball" every once in a while, but she's been saying "ba ba" for a long time...so maybe that's what she's getting at. At any rate, she is a ton of fun at almost 11 months old now...time sure flies! Hope all is well with everyone, and have a wonderful 4th!!!

Another OK Visit

Lauren got another chance to head to Oklahoma...thanks to extremely low airfare and a little time off work. Of course, Grandma & Grandpa were greats hosts, and they may have even enjoyed having Blake around...not sure though :0) It's been a busy couple weeks, so here's a bunch of pictures...ENJOY! Bathtime at Grandma & Grandpa's... Blake posing for pics...and GUESS WHAT?!TURKEY BUTT!!! Blake got to see the wild turkeys in Grandma & Grandpa's back yard.

Grandma and her grand babiesCousin Collier

Grandma, Grandpa, Collier & Blake...YES, we do realize that Blake looks like a little Chris in this picture. Lauren even looked at some of Chris's baby pictures while she was back home, and it's a little scary how closely this picture resembles some of those.Lauren & BlakeIt was great to get to see everyone, and if we missed ya...SORRY! It's been an extremely busy couple of weeks, so we'll keep this short and sweet.

Memorial Day Weekend

Sorry to be a little late in posting pictures lately, but holiday weekends and warmer temperatures bring busier schedules. We headed up to Fort Peck over the Memorial Day weekend. We had a lot of fun hanging out our friends, Jonathan and Jennifer, and their kiddos, Kaydn and Emma. We ended up staying in a motel next to the lake...we decided NOT to rough it with this being Blake's first weekend out for the summer. Blake did GREAT, and it was nice to have a quiet space for the pack-n-play...not to mention the luxury of a real bed, toilet and shower :o) Here's a picture taken from the front porch of our room. We were really close to the water.And, here's little Miss Blake hanging out on that front porch.

Our happy camper......and our not-so-happy camper...check out the cool camping chair that Bob got for our little girl. It is just too cute, and it matches daddy's old chair.Emma and Blake hanging out at camp

And, the cool kid hanging out in her shades

Bob fishing on the boatEmma driving the boatBlake driving the boatBlake and Maddie sharing some quality napping space on the boatTwo tuckered out kiddos...and Maddie, of course. It's too funny. Maddie gets so excited to get on the boat, but all she does is nap.

Bob and Kaydn showing off the weekend's catch

And, last, our little goober hanging out in the motel room...what a sweetie!