Fathers Day Weekend

We had a fun Fathers Day weekend. Todd's mom, Shawn and Tatiana came down for the weekend on Friday. They were anxious to all see Blake. Saturday my cousin Mackenzie got married. They had a beautiful reception at the Hawthorne House. Since Robin was in town we took both boys to the wedding, but left James at home for the reception.

Blake's Fathers Day onsie. It says, "Daddy loves me."

Blake and his Grandma Robin

Trying to get a good picture of everyone is so hard. I think this one is so sweet because Blake looks like he is smiling up at Tatiana.

All the kids!

Todd and I at the reception with Blake

Proud Grandparents!

First Bath

Blake had his first bath tonight. He seemed to really enjoy the warm water and splashing his arms. His cord fell off on Tuesday morning, which was great timing on his part because that was the day of his newborn pictures! He is starting to be more alert each day. I love looking into his deep blue eyes.

Goodbye hair, hello clippers

So..... James' "big boy" hair cut from a few weeks ago just wasn't short enough for his Daddy. He just couldn't wait to get clippers to James' head. It must be a father/son bonding thing! I told Todd that he couldn't cut his hair any shorter until after the newborn pictures. Newborn pictures were today at 2pm, we were home at 4:30 and Todd was out on the deck cutting James' hair at 5. He wasn't wasting anytime with this! You are probably wondering how we got James to sit still for so long??? Chocolate milk!

2 weeks

Blake is already 2 weeks old today! Time has gone by so fast. I'm so glad Todd is home most of the day to make our transition at home easier. Blake LOVES to eat and he is usually either eating or sleeping. He is still sleeping well at night for 3-4 hours at a time. We had our newborn pictures today and Blake did great. James was a little more challenging, but I think we got some good pics of the two of them. They should be online next Monday so I'll post the link and password then. We are loving having two boys!

First week home with Blake

Blake is 1 week old today! Our time at home has gone by really fast. So far Blake is a very easy baby. With James I remember pacing the floors in the middle of the night our first week and several sleepless nights on the couch. Our first two nights home went ok. Blake was a little confused on his days/nights and also wanted to nurse every 90 minutes. The last 3 nights have gone very well. He has slept two 3-4 hour stretches. He wakes just to eat and then goes right back to bed. I couldn't ask for anything better for the first week! Todd's sister Ashley came down Thursday night and stayed until Monday afternoon. She made our transition so easy. She was able to give James lots of attention and also help out with Blake when we needed her too. I could really get used to having a full time nanny! Here are some pics and highlights of our first week home!

James and Ashley playing with bubbles

Ashley and baby Blake

Ashley and James at our neighborhood pool

More pool fun!

Blake at his first Dr check up. He got a great report and we go back for his 2 week check next Friday. Blake is expected to gain back his birthweight(9 lbs 8 oz) by 2 weeks of age, but he was 9 lbs 6 oz at only 6 days old! I knew he was eating a lot, but felt relieved to know he was gaining weight too.

Blake with the Dr.

Cashed out on Mama's shoulder. I love this face!

Blake with Dada after his first bath

All wrapped up after bath time!

Heading home

We were fortunate to get to leave the hospital early Thursday morning. We were concerned we might be stuck there a while since they had 10 discharges. We were anxious to get home!

I could stare at this sweet face all day

Looking so handsome! Even though Blake is a big boy he doesn't even begin to fill out his little outfit.

Just waiting to check out

First car seat ride

My two precious boys!

Blake's birth story

Blake needed a little coaxing to enter his new world. Blake's due date was May 24th, but I had calculated that it was actually closer to May 28th. Well, May 24th and May 28th came and went without our baby. The weekend went by slow for us since we were anxious to go into labor. We spent our mornings at home and went to my parents to hang by the pool in the afternoons. It was a great time to spend with family and James before our new arrival. The previous two weeks I had been having lots of mild contractions and I guess what you would call false labor. Things would happen for 1-3 hours in the evening but then by 11-12pm everything would stop. On May 24th I had my last prenatal check up and on Wednesday the 26th I had a bio-physical ultrasound to make sure everything still looked good. Everything checked out fine with both appointments. On Monday the 24th I was already 2 cm. My dr and I talked about induction which I was against, but decided that we would set an induction date of Tuesday June 1st. She was very comfortable letting me go 8 days late since my first baby had been 8 days late. I never dreamed I would actually make it 8 days without going into labor. As Tuesday approached Todd and I discussed if this was still something that we wanted to proceed with. We ultimately decided that we should go ahead with the induction. We had to be to the hospital at 6am. We arrived early and were settled in with my IV around 7am. I was checked and was at a 3 by this point. They started the induction with Pitocin at around 7:30. I didn't really start feeling anything strong until 8:30. From 8:30-10am the contractions started getting stronger, but very manageable. I rated my pain at a 3 on a scale of 1-10. I was checked again right before 10 and was at a 5. I received an epidural at this point and was checked again around 10:15 and was at a 6. I rested for the next hour and was checked again around 11:15 and was at a 9. At this point my nurse told us they had tried contacting my Dr the previous 1-2 hours to let her know I was going fast and would be delivering very soon. Finally, Dr Doan called the hospital staff back around 11:20 and said she was on her way. She arrived at 11:45 and after 2 pushes Blake Michael arrived at 11:50am. It went as well as I could have imagined. James' labor last 30 hours and Blake was less than 5. Everyone said that the 2nd baby usually arrives faster/easier and this was definitely the case with me! We feel so blessed that our labor/delivery went well and more importantly that we have a healthy baby!

Blake Michael

Blake Michael was born today at 11:50 am weighing 9 lbs 8 oz and measuring 20 1/2 inches. Blake is named after my late grandpa Blake Lennon(my mother's father) and Michael is the same middle as my brother Seth. We are so overjoyed to have this new, healthy precious baby in our lives! Blake looks a lot like James as a newborn, but has darker and thicker hair. We have a feeling it will fall out in the next month and grow back blonde. Here are some pictures from our first day as a family of four!

First photo. Blake cried a lot after he was born. Very vocal!

Blake is a BIG boy! 9 lbs 8 oz. Everyone including me was shocked especially since I was measuring small. I must hide a big baby well.

Blake and his proud Daddy!

First bath. So much hair to comb.

James and Blake's first meeting. I think they will soon be the best of friends!

James did so well around Blake and is already calling him "baby Blake".

My 3 boys!