8 Week Picture

February 28th: 8 Weeks Old!!

Blakely is 8 weeks old today!! I cannot believe it!! I am also a little relieved. If a baby has a fever before they are 8 weeks old, they have to get a full infectious work-up (which includes an IV, LP and urinary catheter) and an automatic hospital admission. Yuck!! So I am happy to report that Blakely is 8 weeks old today and fever free!! Yeah!!

I'm not sure why, but this week I feel like she matured a lot. I feel like I blinked and she stopped being a newborn, and started becoming this baby that is eager to learn and participate in her environment. She is so alert and interactive! She is a great baby and so much fun!!

Weekly Highlights:

-Holding head-up for 5-10 seconds during Tummy Time

-Sleeping in 8 hour stretches at night (only getting up 1 time per night... YEAH for Mommy!!)

-Loves to be Naked!!!

-Majorly kicking her legs and swinging her arms

-Thumb sucking?

Picture Highlights from the Week:

 

Blakely LOVES to be naked. Sometimes if she is fussy and you take all her clothes off... she will stop fussing and get happy. She will smile like crazy and kick her legs!! She loves it!!



Loves bathtime.... until you take her out. She loves to be naked in the water... but HATES getting dried off and dressed! We have a little water bug!!!

Blakely has majorly started kicking her legs... which makes her Bjorn Bouncer... BOUNCE... which makes little Blake-A-Boo smile and coo!! She loves it!!

Week 7 Picture

February 21st: 7 Weeks Old

Blakely is 7 weeks old!! She is getting bigger quickly and turning into quite the little lady. Look how big she is!!


Weekly Highlights:
-Spending the night with Gigi and PopPop
-Wearing LOTS of bows
-Facetiming with GrandAnnie and GrandPop

Picture Highlights from the Week:

When Daddy is on-call, Mommy and Blakely have slumber party and Gigi and PopPop's!! It is an amazing little get away!! Blakely loves to cuddle with Gigi in the morning time!!

Blakely loves her PopPop so much that she is drooling!!

Such a beautiful girl!!

Blakely's Motto: "The BIGGER the bow, the BIGGER the smiles!!"

Week 6 Picture

February 14th: Happy Valentines Day!!

My big girl is 6 weeks old today!! I cannot believe that she is getting so big!! I know I say the same things every week, but the time is flying by and she changes so much every day. Here is her 6 week picture and some high lights from the last week.

Weekly Statistics:
-Weight: 9 pounds 14.8 ounces

Highlights from the Week:
-First Valentines Day
-Mommy Goes Back to Work
-Hard core smiling and cooing
-Breathy "laughing"/ Love panting
Picture Highlights from the Week:

Blakely in her Valentine's Day outfit!! Such a cutie!!

Hanging out with Daddy!! Look at her face..... she LOVES her Daddy!!!!

Who is Daddy's little Valentine?

For Valentine's day Rich and I went on a date night night to Taste of Thai- one of our favorite restaurants, and Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Matt babysat. Then for the actual day, I got Rich fried chicken and Donuts, and Rich got me Roses!! Rich also got Blakely this little bear... because she is his Sweet Heart!! But Rich gave me the best gift the next weekend. He took over night time feedings for one night... and I slept for EIGHT HOURS straight!! It was amazing!! :) So romantic.

PopPop wants to be Blakely's Valentine, too!! Everyone loves Blakely!!

Favorite pic of the week from one of my amateur photo shoots.

Monk Baby????

February 11th:

In one of my older posts titled "Tober Baby," I posted pictures of me as a baby to show y'all how much Blakely and I look alike. I didn't have any baby pictures of Richard at the time for comparison. In fact, I had never even seen a baby picture of Rich. So, there was no way to know if Blakely looked anything like Richard's side of the family.

Blakely's Great Grandmother Lapinsky (Richard's Grandmother) has ameliorated the situation and sent us some baby pics of Richard. I think Blakely may have his blue eyes and his chubby cheeks, but I'll let y'all decide.

 What a cute boy!!

 Look at those chubby cheeks!

Look how happy he is!!

Back to Work...

February 9th: Blakely's First Day Away

The day has arrived. The day I have dreaded since before Blakely was even born. The day I return back to work and leave her for the first time! I cannot believe that my maternity leave is over. I started crying 2 or 3 days in advance, and I hoped that maybe it was out of my system. But it is not.

I love this little girl so much! I know she is going to do great, because she gets to hang out with her GiGi everyday. I am the one who is going to be sad and miss her. I have to keep reminding myself that this is just a season. Starting in July, I will only work 3 days per week, and I'll be home with her 4 days per week!! I just have to get through the next 4-5 months of residency. I can do this!

 Brave face as I get ready to go. Blakely has no idea what is going on.

 Blakely ready for a fun filled day at Camp GiGi!! She has the cutest little face!

Ok... So I started off brave, but it didn't last. Even Blakely looks sad in this picture.

I kissed my sweet girl good-bye for like the thousandth time, cried again, and felt my heart break!! I cried all the way to downtown.... managed to pull it together in the parking garage... cried when I got in the hospital.... but pulled it together in the elevator..... then broke down again when I ran into friends who asked how I was doing outside the chief's office. ***Sigh*** I am not very good at putting on brave face.

I was only gone for like 2 hours, but it was agonizing. After I was done, I quickly ran home and hugged and loved that little girl up!! I don't even think she knew I had been gone. I survived the first day.... and everyone swears it gets easier. I certainly hope so. We will see...

Week 5 Picture

February 7th: Happy 5th Week Birthday!!

Five weeks have flown by!! I cannot believe that Blakely is 5 weeks old and that my maternity leave is coming to an end!! Five weeks sounded like such a long time when it started, but now.... now I am starting the grieving process. :( I know that everything is going to be okay. My time with her is not over, it will just look different. I am just going to miss her so, so much!! Most of all I am going to miss cuddling in the mornings as we watch the Today Show and drink coffee. Such a sweet time. ***sigh***

I am very blessed and have nothing to worry about with going back to work though. She doesn't have to stay with a stranger (ie a nanny) or go to daycare (ie germ central). No my sweet baby gets to spend everyday with a perky, world-renowned educator who loves her more than life itself... her GiGi!!! Who could ask for better childcare? And best of all.... she's free! Perfect!

Oh-oh-oh... the Blake-A-Bear!! She is such a funny baby. She has the most expressive face that always tells you just what she is thinking. I think in this picture she is saying, "what are we doing mommy? more pictures? really?"

Weekly Statistics:

Weight: 9 pounds 7 ounces (up 14 ounces in 2 weeks!! Go girl!!)

Highlights from the week:

-Shopping and lunch with the girls (Blakely sleeps the whole time... best shopper ever!)

-Sleeping ~5-6 hour blocks at night (Yeah for Mommy!!!)

-Photo shoot with DanaK Photography

-Starting to try to lift her head during Tummy-time

Photo Highlights from the week:

Dana K photo session



Mama and Baby

So peaceful... such a sweet face.



Cute little hat made by Co-Co!! Adorable.

Looking cute in Kissy Kissy with little Fairies on it!! So cute!!

Month 1 Pictures

February 3rd: Happy One Month Birthday Blakely!!

I cannot believe that my girl is already 1 month old!! She is getting so big, so fast!! Everyday is an adventure, and everyday means another milestone!! I am so proud of the little person she is becoming. She has the sweetest disposition and is such an easy baby. I love you, Baby Girl!!

Her one month picture with her crocheted hat from Aunt Lulu and Uncle Ryan.

 Her first smocked dress with adorable little strawberries on it!!

One month picture on her quilt from GrandAnnie!!

 

One month old today, and bright eyed!!

Look at that adorable little smile! Such a cutie pa-tutie!!

Week 4 Photo

January 31st: Four Weeks Old

Highlights from this week:
-First time away from Mommy and Daddy (Aunt Alyssa and Uncle Matt babysat)
-First Bottle (totally chugged it!!)
-First Smocked Dress (with adorable Octopus)
-Still taking big walks everyday.... weather still unseasonably warm in the 70s

Picture Highlights from the week:

Blakely is now smiling appropriately to me and Rich. It is so much fun to make her smile!! Such a pretty girl!!

Blakely hanging out with her Daddy. Right before bed she loves to hang out with her Daddy.



Blakely taking her first bottle for her Aunt Alyssa. She took down 2 1/2 ounces in 3 minutes flat! She was amazing. She had never had a bottle previously, but she took to it immediately. She even tried to hold the bottle herself. Such a good girl!!



Beautiful Baby!! Every morning Gigi and I dress her for whatever "outing" we have planned, and invariably we get held up by an impromptu photo session, because she just looks so darn cute in her little outfits!!