Teething is the devil

Blake has officially been "teething" since she was about 3 months old...she's now 5 1/2 months old.  What do we have to show for it you might ask?  Several sleepless nights, 2 teeth that are only 1/3 of the way in, drool fest 2010, fussiness and wasted money on all possible teething remedies to find that none of them work!  I truly thought we were going to be ok with this whole teething debacle a month ago.  She had 2 nights where she woke up once and then the teeth broke thru the gums and I thought to myself, "that wasn't so bad!"  That was where I screwed up - I thought I had beat the system!  As all things in my life tend to go it went downhill rapidly! haha.  My sweet girl went from sleeping 12 -13 hours a night to sleeping about 3 hours a night.  The past 3 nights I have gotten up with her pretty much every hour from 10:30pm on.  Needless to say I am deliriously tired, very frustrated and wanting nothing more than sleep!  I feel bad for her b/c it's obvious she's in pain as well, but give me a friggin' break here!  Elizabeth Sparks said it best, "Isn't it bizarre how in the beginning you got WAY less sleep than you are getting now with her waking up...but once you get used to your baby sleeping - you don't want to give it up!?!?"  It blows my mind that I was able to function at all in the first 6 weeks of her life when she was basically up every 2 hours...I have been so spoiled these last few months!  I want my sleeping baby back!!!!

Very Blessed

I woke up this morning to the sounds of Blake talking to her stuffed animals and as I glanced at the monitor to watch her for a few minutes I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude.  It was as if all of a sudden I realized how blessed I really am! 

I will be the first to admit that I take things for granted - not intentionally of course- I just get swept up in the business of life and my daily routines.  I've been praying for several months for so many of my friends and different situations they are going through - different challenges they are having to face with their children, or trying to have children and I can't believe how truly lucky I am.  Chris and I definitely weren't planning on Miss Blake and to be honest - when we found out I was pregnant I think we both had mini heart attacks.  It was definitely ahead of "our schedule" in life, but true to fashion - God had other plans!  My pregnancy was smooth for the most part - aside from being extremely sick the first trimester and battling crazy heartburn - no major scares, worries, issues that in itself is a major blessing.  My delivery was smooth and essentially painless (thank God for epidurals) and our little girl is healthy, happy and so easy to care for.  I'm lucky enough to get to stay home with her this first year of her life to watch her grow and help teach her.  All of these things I have taken for granted!  As I was sitting on the couch with my beautiful baby girl I have this overwhelming urge to just cry out to God in thanks.  Unexpected surprises truly are the greatest blessings!

5 fabulous months

5 months ago today little Blake came into this world.  I can't believe how much she has changed in these 5 short months, but especially the last month in particular.  In the last 4 weeks Blake has learned to roll over from her back to her front, blow raspberries, squeal, make more sounds, "talk" incessantly, and flirt like a champ.  As I was taking her 5 month pictures today she was wiggling everywhere, trying to grab the sign and chew on it, and sit up by herself. It was too funny!  She has developed so much personality - I can only imagine what's in store.  I think we're going to have our hands full with this little chick!

She is now 13.5 lbs. and over 26" long.  Below is her picture from last month - she's getting so big!

Jet Setting

Miss Blake had her very first plane ride this last weekend when I took her to Missouri to visit my grandparents.  I was extremely apprehensive prior to the flight for several reasons: I was taking her by myself, it was her first flight and I was worried she would cry b/c it hurt her ears and she was teething and lastly the weather was a little sketchy!  Luckily, the flight there and back went smoothly and Blake slept 95% of the the way!  I even had 2 people from the flight and a flight attendant tell me she was the best baby they had ever seen.  I was of course very proud of our little peanut.  We had so much fun just relaxing at the house and my grandparents had a field day spoiling her rotten with affection and of course more clothes!  Here are a few pictures from our little trip.