24 Weeks Old

June 19th: 24 Weeks Old

This week Blakely got to spend a lot of time with her Daddy. I had to work pretty much ALL THE TIME, so Blakely and her Daddy got some quality time. The two of them did everything together, including a trip to a local estate auction!! Blakely absolutely loves her Daddy.... she laughs more for him, than for ANYONE else. Rich has always had a very intellectualized/intelligent humor, and I take it as evidence of Blakely's brilliance that she already gets his jokes! Ha!

With me finishing residency and Rich still being a fellow, we have not had the best schedule. This has resulted in us being apart for both Mother's Day and now Father's Day. Sad. Hopefully, things will be different in years to come. But for now, we will have to be happy with the best gift ....BLAKELY!!

Highlights from the Week:
-Loves the Kitty!! Can't eat, can't play.... when the Kitty is around, Blakely is mesmerized!!
-Pets the Kitty (with ALOT of supervision)
-Plays with Daddy
-Giggles at books.... favorite is "Miss Spider's Surprise."
-Can Tri-Pod sit when propped up... so close to sitting up on her own.
-First Father's Day
-Sings herself to sleep

Tri-pod!! Totally had to be propped up in this position, and if left to her own she face plants. This girl keeps forgetting that her hands are what hold her up. She tries to continue to "sit up," and put her hands in her mouth. This is amazing!! Go baby girl, GO!!

Blakely is finally able to focus on the pages and listen to a whole story. She is learning to love books!! Her favorite book currently is "Miss Spider's Surprise"....she is a sucker for alliteration.

Daddy and Blakely hanging out. Daddy is a master of effeciency!! HA!

My two favorite people!! Cuddle time with Daddy is the best!

23 Weeks Old

June 12th: 23 Week Old Picture

Blakely is changing so much everyday!! She turned 5 months old last week, and I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying by. I am excited that time is passing quickly, because that means that I am one step closer to being done with residency... YEAH!! On the other hand, that means that Blakely is growing up!! My baby is becoming a big girl! She loves doing big girl stuff.... like standing up (with A LOT of assistance), sitting up (with A LOT of assistance) and she is burning through all the jar vegetable foods. Such a pumpkin!

This week, she discovered that she can roll over both front to back, and now back to front!! This gives Blakely A LOT of mobility. She loves to roll onto her tummy, hold her head high in the air, and smile really big! She is sooooo proud of herself. After she rolls over, she looks around for Richard or I and then smile so big!! Her pride is so addicting... we smile and clap and cheer like fools every time she does it. So much fun!

Highlights from the Week:
-Blakely fully rolls over back to front
-Head held high when she is on her belly... loving tummy time!!
-Blakely is proud of herself!! She looks for approval now when she rolls over, and she smiles and goes crazy when you clap and praise her.
-Blakely visits Mommy and Daddy at work at MUSC

Picture Highlights from the Week:

I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but Blakely is the drooliest baby ever!! Her shirt is SOAKED in this picture all the way down to the belly button... this was the work of about 30 minutes. This girl MUST wear a bib at all times! HA!

Standing up with a "little" assistance.

Blakely riding the "bucking bronco"!!! She loves this!! It makes her laugh and go crazy!!

Love these!!! And best of all, so does Blakely!! These are chewbeads... Mommy fashion jewelry that are soft and safe for baby gums. Such a great idea.

Hang on tight baby girl!!

Bathing beauty

This past Sunday, Rich and I got a special surprise while we were at work. Richard was on call, and I was stuck in Level 2 nursery for a 12 hour shift. It was amazing!! I got to hang out with Blakely, and we all got to have lunch in the glamorous MUSC cafeteria. This was the best 2 hours of work....EVER!!

Future MUSC Student

Blake-A-Bear

Happy Father's Day!!!

June 17th: For My Husband...

Happy FIRST Father's Day Ricky!!!

You are an amazing husband and Daddy! Blakely and I are soooo, sooo BLESSED to have you in our lives! Someday when we are normal (IE NOT residents/fellows), I will make your breakfast in bed and Blake's and I will shower you with gifts, but today... I am trapped in the hospital, and I will give you a special post, instead. So here goes....

Thank you for being my love...
...my husband and my best friend.
Thank you for being Blakely's Daddy and playmate!
Thank you for loving me...
....and for loving Blakely (even though she is not yet 6 months old...HA!)
Thank you for providing for us...
...when you are at work we know you are working hard to take care of us!!
Thank you for the past 4 months playing Mr. Mom....
....the END is in sight (9 days left... but who's counting?).
Thank you for wanting to be a Daddy who spends his "free time" with us!!
Thank you for making us a family.
Thank you for being a Godly man and roll model...
....and for leading us to the Cross.
Thank you for being you!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!  Happy Father's Day!!!
Love, Blakely and Mommy

22 Weeks Old

June 5th: Splish Splash

It is officially June in Charleston, and it is HOT, HOT, HOT!! So to escape the heat, we got to take Blakely to the pool for the first time ever. It was so much fun. She was absolutely mezmerized by all the water. She loves bath time, so I knew she would love the pool, too!!

This weekend was also my residency Graduation party at Kiawah. This was bitter sweet. I am absolutely exhausted right now being a fulltime mom and fulltime resident... I've basically been working 80-90 hour work weeks, and taking care of Blakely when I'm not working. I have had TONS of amazing help, but I am still absolutely exhausted. Despite all of this, I am sad that my training is coming to an end. I have had an amazing Residency experience.... I have worked with some amazing people, met some great nurses and gotten to do some amazing stuff! I will always cherish these 3 years, and remember the AMAZING class that I worked with! Love you guys!!

Highlights from the Week:

-Blakely goes to the Pool for the first time

-Blakely went to Mommy's Residency Graduation on Kiawah

-Improved Hand-eye Coordination

-Purposefully reaching for stuff

   -Pulling Mommy's Earrings

   -Pulling Auntie's shirt off

   -Taking down posters at Bruegger's Bagels

Picture Highlights from the Week:

Blakely headed to the Pool for the FIRST TIME!!

Blakely and PopPop at Mommy's Graduation

Blakely and Mommy headed to the pool for the first time!! Isn't she the prettiest beach babe you've ever seen?

Little Mermaid

Blakely absolutely LOVED the pool!! As soon as she got in she started squealing and laughing! She kicked and splashed!! The hardest part was getting her to look at the camera, because all she wanted to do was stare at the water! It was so much fun pulling her around the pool, helping her swim and splash!

When word got out that Blakely was headed to the pool for the first time, the whole family came out!! PopPop and Auntie got off work early just to come out and play with our little bathing beauty!!

LOVES IT!!

I think Mommy had about as much fun swimming with her girl, as Blakely did!!

Daddy and Blakely in Kiawah

My 3rd Year Residency Class and Dr. Southgate at our Graduation party on Kiawah!! We decided to take a white and Khakis picture like a giant family! Hysterical!!

LOVE THESE GUYS!!
I had an amazing experience in residency!! It was super fun, hard, exhilarating, boring, exciting and awesome!! It is the most fun I have ever had, and the hardest I have ever worked! And I had the bestest friends ever by my side! Love you guys!! Good luck to everyone as we head out to our new jobs and fellowships!! Thanks for an amazing 3 years!!

Our little Family at my Graduation Party!
Daddy and Blakely are so proud of Mommy for finishing her Pediatric Residency!
...and Mommy is soooo glad that her time away from her girl is almost at an end!! YEAH for July 1st!!!

21 Week Picture

May 29th: Family Time

After several super busy weeks, Rich and I finally got some time off together with our girl. Three whole days, a glorious long weekend!!! This was the weekend for LOTS of family time.... GrandAnnie and GrandPop flew in for Uncle Brian and Aunt Sarah's Wedding, Blakely got to meet her Grandma Pinkie, and fun with the Tober Clan!!

Highlights from the Week:
-GrandAnnie and GrandPop flew into play with Blakely!!
-Blakely met Grandma Pinkie for the first time
-Blakely met Uncle Brian for the first time
-Uncle Brian and Aunt Sarah got married!!
-Blakely LOVES to put her feet in her mouth

Picture Highlights from the Week:

GrandAnnie and GrandPop love Blakely!!

Might be the CUTEST baby ever!

Blakely and Her GrandPop having fun!!

Blakely loves to play with her GrandAnnie

Blakely met Grandma Pinkie this week, and it was LOVE at first sight!! Grandma Pinkie thought Blakely was the cutest, "pinkest" baby she had every met!! And Blakely LOVED her Grandma Pinkie.... she smiled and babbled and cooed for her!!

I love Grandma Pinkie!!

Blakely and her Daddy at Uncle Brian's Wedding

Blakely went to her first Wedding ever this week... it just happened to be her Uncle Brian and Aunt Sarah's wedding!! She looked BEAUTIFUL in a her pink Feldman's Brother's bubble.... and the bride wasn't bad looking either!! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Monk!! Love you guys!!

This is my FAVORITE moment of each day. When Blakely wakes up in morning she makes these little squawks to get you to come in and get her.... but as SOON as she sees you her face lights up!! She smiles and laughs... she pulls her legs up to her face. She is the HAPPIEST BABY ever in the morning!! It absolutely melts your heart!!

20 Weeks Picture

May 22nd: 20 Weeks Old

Blakely turned 20 weeks old this week!! What a crazy time for our family...Blakely's Mommy is super busy right now!! Currently on day 19 of a 22 day stretch in the PICU!! And Blakely's Daddy is in the MICU and really busy too!! This weeks picture was a bit of a rush.... there wasn't even time for a cute outfit! We had to take our picture in our jammies! YIKES! Still pretty cute, though.

Highlights from the Week:

-First Bottle of Formula

-Racking grasp

-Reads Books, likes to grab the book and eat it!

-Sleeps on side

-Tried Peas for the First time.... LOVED IT!

Picture Highlights from the Week:

This is SOOO Blakely right now. She has two favorite things...1) her Gina (ie Sophie the Giraffe) and 2) her blankie. These are her favorite toys, and they can entertain her for hours!!

Blakely tried jar foods for the first time this week!! She had peas.... and she LOVED them! The only issue is that she wants her hands and the peas in her mouth at the same time.... so her Daddy has to restrain her hands while she eats! HA! So messy!!

Blakely and her Daddy.... I think they are starting to look more alike every day. She has his blue eyes and now her hair is starting to take on an auburn appearance!! Pretty cute!

Peas can be a very messy business.... so Mommy and Daddy usually strip me down to my diaper and plan for an immediate bath afterwards!! Last time, I literally sneezed green peas out of my nose.

My girl has a rat tail... she has had it since birth, and I though the rest of her hair would eventually grow in around it.... but it just keeps getting longer and longer. I never thought a rat tail could look good, but Blakely TOTALLY rocks it!