New Talents & New Words

Blake is a very busy little girl. A few of her new favorites are climbing all over the couches...and the dogs...and plastic bins...and cases of pop...and just about anything else, chasing the dogs around the house, playing ball with Copa, leaning up against Maddie & reading her books, sharing her snacks with the dogs, moving plastic bins to use as step stools to get to things she's not supposed to have, dancing to anything that resembles music, taking everything out of the lazy-susan and putting it back neatly...yeah right, AND who needs just one sippy cup (see pictures below).Only the cool kids carry around two sippy cups for maximum refreshment. Speaking of, she stills says, "ahhhh" after taking drinks like it was just so satisfying. Grandma & Grandpa taught her that one.
Show off...not only can she drink out of the pink sippy cup, she can drink out of the purple one too!

Oh, and THANKS Rene for the clothes! As you can see, we put them to use almost immediately :o)

Otherwise, Blake is still a constant chatter box. She walks around the house all day just talking and singing...who knows what she's saying half the time. Here are some of her new words: fish, balloon, brrrr (it's been cold out), hot, hippo (a toy), teddy, dolly, nose, eye, teeth, o geez (an expression Mom didn't realize she had picked up...oops), juice and shoes. Blake has done really well with her understanding of words, too. She will point to her ear, eye, nose, teeth, belly, hand, fingers and shoes when you ask her where they are. She also recognizes certain toys and actions by name but hasn't attempted to say them yet...like her elephant and clapping. Thankfully, she seems to be fairly cautious and has learned to stand back when we're getting things in and out of the oven (which she figured out how to open and close). She stands there and says, "hot".

Well, the weather has been below zero for the past three days, but it looks like it is supposed to warm up later today and into the weekend...not above 30 though. Hopefully, everyone is staying warm and getting geared up for the holiday season. Much love and happiness to you and your families!!!

Thanksgiving Pics

Blake has recently discovered that she can climb. Here is a pic of her climbing on her little couch.And, here she is on her sweet ride :)We went to Grandpa DeCoteau's for Thanksgiving. Lauren got sick, so we didn't really get too many pictures of family. Bob got Blake a little pink camo hat that says so aDOEable and has a little deer on it. Here's Blake sporting her new hat gangsta style.Blake's Thanksgiving Day outfitBlake pulling the bow outThe Thanksgiving Day outfit complete with little sweater...awwwBlake figured out pretty quickly where the cookie jar was at Grandpa's.Well, sorry for such a short post...Lauren is still a little sick from last week; Blake has had a runny nose for about five days; and Bob just recently caught the crud and has been home from work. Hope everyone else is much healthier than us!

Stockings

Lauren decided to make family stockings instead of purchasing them. We sort of cheated last year with Blake since Grandma & Grandpa provided her stocking when we were in Colorado. Anyway, with a little childhood experience and some creativity, Lauren finished her project this morning. So, here they are:

Bob's fishing SantaLauren's polar bearsBlake's snowmanCopa's mooseMaddie's bearAnd, here they are on display.Hope all is well for everyone!!!

Photo Shoot, No & 15 Month Stats

We had family photos taken a couple of weeks ago. A friend of a friend is a photographer and has very affordable pricing. She's actually sending us the full disc with all the pictures soon. Here's a little taste of what she was able to send me on Facebook until I get the disc. Here's a pretty good shot of the lovely couple :)All of our girls hanging out together
And the cutie pie herself


Blake just keeps increasing her vocabulary and her knowledge of what you are telling/asking her. Some of her new words are cracker, nose, britches (with an 'r' sound), door and please. She's pretty used to our bath, brush teeth, read book and go to bed routing. After we brush our teeth, Lauren asks Blake to get a book to read, and Blake will pick one out and hand it to one of us to read. Well, the other night Lauren asked Blake to get a book (Blake was playing in the kitchen with the dogs), and Blake very nonchalantly said, "no". We couldn't help it, we both started laughing and then of course Blake joined in...oh the joys! We also had Blake's 15 month doctor's appointment yesterday. We were able to get her both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 shot. Which was VERY surprising. Lauren has been calling the doctor's office for weeks on end with no luck. It was as if they were out as soon as they got a batch. Anyway, it seems to be such a topic of controversey amongst all the mom's we know, but we decided to go ahead with both since she's never had reactions to her past vaccinations...and they were actually available - didn't want to pass that up. Blake is now 30 3/8" long and weighs 22 pounds 8 ounces. The doctor said that her height and weight is EXACTLY what it should be for her age. She's right on the 50th percentile in both categories...too funny. Well, that's about it for us. Hopefully, everyone is staying happy and healthy and getting geared up for the holiday season!

Halloween Fun

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We have quite a few pictures to post, so we'll keep the text to a minimum. Blake in her Halloween PJ's.Fun with some stickersBlake being a goof ballpumpkin guttingBlake posing with our pumpkinsWe went trick or treating in Columbus with the Smith's. Here's Claire & Blake and you can see Gracie and Randy in the background.The three kiddos ready to go.Blake's first sucker...notice all the drool :) Pretty sure she got more on her shirt (and Mom) then she did in her mouth.Finally, here's our pumpkins all lit up.Our little scarecrow was pretty tuckered out. She hit the sack shortly after getting home. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

Britches

We are so excited to go trick or treating with Randy, Suzi, Claire & Gracie in Columbus tomorrow evening. Blake is going to be a scarecrow. Not too sure what Claire & Gracie are going to be, but don't worry we'll get plenty of pictures to post. Lauren is going to try to carve the pumpkins this evening, so we'll get those in on the pics too. Otherwise, Blake is just growing like a weed. Some of her favorite things to do now are help Mom out by opening and closing doors (including the refridgerator, dish washer and dryer) and playing ball with Copa. She doesn't throw the ball very far, but Copa plays along anyway. She's also recently taken to carrying Maddie's stuffed bear around in the kitchen. Maddie doesn't seem to mind though. Blake has also started saying several new words. One in particular, we caught in the video below. Lauren has always referred to Blake's diaper changing routine as "changing britches", so Blake's attempt to say "britches" isn't always perfect...if you're not catching on yet...just watch the video. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

PC - Part 4 (the end)

This is the last of four posts from our Ponca trip this past week. Lauren & Grandma decided to take Blake out to the Cann Memorial Gardens over by Grandma & Grandpa's house to do a little photo shoot. We ended up with several really good pictures, so here's a few for you to enjoy.






We had such a wonderful visit and are sorry that we may have missed some of you. It was a very busy week, and it seems like we never quite have enough time to see everyone. Otherwise, Blake traveled really well. I think she said, "hi" to every person that we passed in the airport. So, needless to say, she was quite the hit on the plane pointing out her shoes (a new word), giving high fives, and just being a good little girl. Hopefully this finds everyone doing well. We already miss all the help/fun at Grandma & Grandpa's, but it's always nice to be home.