Busy month...

Wow, I can't believe that it's almost September. I finally go back to work in about a month. I've been kind of getting used to being off of work, I decidedthat I better get back to a routine soon. I've still been working a few nights at the salon, and giving Brian ample time to get some quality time with Blake. It's so easy for me to calm Blake and understand his ques since I'm with him some 40 hours a week alone! So it's nice to allow some father/son bonding time as much as possible.

Since I wrote last a lot has gone on in our household. I've moved out a bunch of maternity clothes and outgrown Blake clothes at a huge maternity/child consignment sale. I sold over 60 things and made about $150! We don't have much room so it was nice to get rid of things I don't need. This sale happens in a few suburbs around here and it's great. My mom and I also went shopping through there and got a TON of stuff. For those of you pregnant, or know someone who is [you know who you are] you should really check one of these sales out! {http://jbfsale.com/?fuseaction=home.subsites#Minnesota } If there is one thing I've learned about being a mom and being pregnant, is that you always grow out of things. Don't get me wrong, I did keep some things, like the outfit he went home in, what he wore on Mother's day etc. But you just accumulate so much stuff that we have no where to store it. It felt good to get rid of stuff and also get some new stuff that Blake will grow into. Even better is that I can sell it all back in the spring too.

We also had visitors a couple Sundays ago, Jeff and Sharon came up for a Sunday afternoon. Blake was in good spirits and we had a good time hanging out all together. Everyone comments on how much he changes in the short time between visits, I guess we take it for granted since we see him every day!

This last weekend we celebrated Macie's [our neice] first birthday. It was quite a fun time. A nice day out and all the family together. It's so fun to see her walking and growing into her personality. It makes us really excited for Blake to start crawling etc. The food was great and she was very interested in her gifts. Well Erin had to help with a lot of them, but she finally got the hang of it, that they were all for her! At last we made it to the birthday cake. Erin and Marty had a family friend make a great cake. Macie had a little teddy bear cake to eat. So we all sat around and waited for her to dig in. Much to our surprise she was super dainty about it! She slowly licked frosting off with her finger and hardly got dirty at all. Either way she was super cute and that's all that matters. We attempted to get some good pictures of Macie and Blake but once again her attention span isn't there. And I would like to think that if Blake could get up and walk, he would have been out of there too! At one point Macie gave Blake a hug, out of the blue. We all started to think that Macie may think that Blake is a doll, since she has been hugging all of her toys. I guess she's not too far off, he is quite a doll! :)

It was such a great time, but when it was over Blake was on to yet another adventure--his first sleepover alone at Grandma and Grandpa Quady's. Brian and I both had to work all day on Monday, so my parent's offered to babysit. Apparently he didn't end up going to bed until 10, after a long day, he's a lot like me and likes to stay up late. With no baby at home, it was nice for Brian and I just to relax and hang out and watch TV. It was probably the first full night sleep both of us have gotten since April! Although it was weird not to have him here in the morning, I think it was good for us to have a break. Monday night we all were back together playing till bedtime and watching him giggle! My mom and dad must have worn him out, because he went to bed around 10 and didn't get up until about 630 the next morning. There are a lot of new toys at their house, and they took them on a LONG walk, so I think that about does it for a 3 month old. It also tired them out too. My mom said they were both in bed early that night!

Well that's about all for now, but since I've had some feedback [ahem...Barb] I'm posting a few more pictures than normal, also a little one of Husker. She's been such a trooper thus far!

So enjoy!

A weekend of Firsts...

So this weekend started off, as any good weekend does, with shopping! My mom and I hit up the General Store, and miscellaneous Once Upon a Child's in the area. If there is one thing you should know about my mom and I is that we are ALWAYS looking for bargains. I'm the one that keeps my mom in check with my two phrases: "I have a coupon for that." and "Always purchase with a purpose. " It really eliminates the unecessary items that end up at our house. With the size of our house and the amount of stuff that Blake already has, we really don't need unecessary items! Anyway back to the weekend. Our first stop the General Store in Minnetonka, I absolutely LOVE this store. There are so many fun things to look at [rarely a bargain found] but such neat gift items you must stop! It was POURING rain, and it is not very stroller friendly. They do offer little umbrella strollers though, so we were bound to make our first attempt at Blake in the umbrella stroller. He was so content and loved it, although this picture doesn't seem to do it justice.

After a play date earlier this week, my friend Molly said that Blake would probably do okay in our jumperoo. Since I've been dying to see him in it since wegot it at shower, we put it together this weekend and set him in it right away! It took him a few minutes, and although he'll grow into it, he is VERY entertained by it. His little legs don't touch the floor quite yet, but he is in awe of the toys, music and lights.

This weekend The Oian's came over for dinner. It was the first time Macie was walking at our house! Very exciting. Well I guess it was for all of us, Husker was a little unsure about the whole thing. I guess it's just something she'll have to get used to. We attempted our first cousin's picture. I'm sure this will be one of many in the future, but it was really cute. Macie turns one next week so I'll try and get some video! She was was only somewhat

interested in her cousin, but we hope they will be good friends as they grow up. She was walking all over the place. It really made me aware of what is to come in the future! We are going to have our hands full.

Brian keeps saying that Blake is changing by the day...I think that's an understatement. He is growing so fast, I can't believe he's been here over three months. We are very lucky to be able to have a lot of time to spend with him during these months. Just watching him do new things and start giggling is worth all the work!

Day at the pool..

Well this summer has been very nice to be off of work, but some of the things I used to do in the summer just don't happen as often when you have a 3 month old. This is why it has taken until the LAST day in July for me to actually get to the pool! Some good friends of the family, The Leff's, have the most awesome pool in Buffalo. It has always been a fun summer destination, so I decided to make a pool date with my friend Katie and head out to Buffalo with Blake. It's quite a feat keeping the little guy out of the sun, but my mom was happy to tag-a-long and babysit while Katie and I soaked up rays in the pool! Blake debuted his cool shades, but he doesn't really like them that much, so they were short lived. We had a great time and I got a LOT of sun. Next summer will be much more exciting to have Blake out there, we can probably start "swimming" lessons there too. So much to look forward too.