Day 4 in Banos

We got up early (6:30am) to head to Banos. Jason, Blythe, and I were exhausted which turned out well for Blythe because we ended up having a 12+ hour day and a lot of that was in the car. We made our first stop about 3 hours into the trip to grab a quick lunch which ended up being a ham and cheese sandwich on a roll (which was a lot like the ham and cheese toasties we had in Australia for those of you who have been reading along).

We drove about another hour up the road to the Chimborazo volcano. We got about half way up in the car when we realized that we had a flat. We all unloaded the car, they changed the flat and we loaded back in. The car was able to drive us up to base camp #1. For hikers who are planning to hike to the top of Chimborazo they stay 1 night in Base camp #1 to get acclimated to the altitude then they hike to base camp #2 and back and spend a 2nd afternoon at Base camp #1 before hiking up the following evening (10:30) to stay at Base camp #2. I´m not sure exactly what happens from there, but I think there is a 3rd base camp. We had planned to hike from base camp #1 to base camp #2 which was 200 meters straight up, but it was decided that it probably wasn`t a good idea for a young child, Blythe, or a pregnant person, me, to make the hike, due to the altitude. After the 200 meter hike you would be at 5000 meters. After hiking up just a little ways Becky and Jim decided they too would stay back at base camp and let the others go on. So Jim, Becky, Blythe, and I hung out at the base camp for about an hour while the others hiked. Jim disappeared after about 30 minutes and we later found out that he decided to hike up after all. When Nathan, Jason, Rachel, Byron, and Jim returned from the hike they told us that the first little bit that we hiked to (where the monument was) was the steepest part of the entire hike, so maybe we could have made it?

We all piled back into the car to finish up our car drive of another 3.5-4 hours where we would spend one night in Banos. We originally intended to get to Banos around 5pm to have time to go to the baths that evening, but we didn`t arrive until 8ish. So we all ate dinner and turned in. Jason and I were determined to get a good night of sleep so we asked for a room that was somewhat secluded so if we needed to let Blythe cry it out and get over not wanting to sleep in the pack `n play, we could. We lucked out and she slept great.

We headed to the baths about 7:00am because we needed to have our bags at the van by 8am and be ready to head out by 9am. It is quite a circus the driver and guide have to go through to get all our luggage on the top of the van. We were all done eating slightly before 9am so we ran over to the local church to have a look. Blythe really enjoyed running up and down the aisles.

Today was a nice change of pace for Jim, Nathan, Jason, Rachel, and I because we were going to bike for about and hour and a half in route to our next destination. We got on our bikes about 9:30 and headed towards Rio Verde. The bike ride was a nice change of pace, but Blythe and Becky followed behind us in the car because Becky wasn`t up for a bike ride and it wasn`t safe for Blythe. We winded around a mountain and even had to go through a tunnel. Of course the boys thought the tunnel was fun, but it was a little too dark for my comfort (we got in there before I had time to take off my sunglasses) and it was not lit so you felt like you were going to hit another biker at any minute OR a car was going to hit you. Luckily there were no injuries and we were able to go around all the other tunnels.

The first stop on our bike ride was about an hour into it. We took a gondola up a mountain to see the water falls. We got out on the other side and did a little hiking and tried out some Ecuadorian swings made out of tires. At first we were all a little intimidated by them, but before long we had all taken a turn, even Blythe (pictures to come).

We got back on our bike and headed to Rio Verde which was about 20 minutes away, then we had to get back into the car. Luckily we only had about a 2 hour car drive until we reached Tana, the Jungle! More to come on that.........

Day #2 and 3 in Cuenca

We left Guayaquil at 9:30and headed to Cuenca. Cuenca was a good 4 hours drive (we aren't talking a typical US 4 hour car drive we are talking mostly un-paved roads, huge pot holes and frequent stops for constructions. Pretty much every street is under construction at some point) and I was really impressed with how well Blythe did. She was either happy or sleeping which was great because she is not usually a very good car rider. We had planned to go to Ingapierca to the Inca ruins, but by the time we got to Cuenca (2:30, checked into the hotel, and ate lunch it was 4:15pm which was too late. It is not safe to be coming back from Ingapierca in the dark. So we spend the rest of the evening walking the streets of Cuenca and eating Helato (ice cream). Cuenca is a medium sized town, but very nice and a lot safer than Guayaquil. Our guide even left us to walk around on our own and we were out after dark (just as a comparison to Guayaquil).

The room we had in Cuenca was on the main hall way of the hotel which was not good for light or noise. Blythe slept horribly, pretty much up from midnight to 4am and we had to be up by 6:30am to get in the car by 7am.

We loaded up and headed to Ingapierca at 7am. The driver and guide had told us it was a 45min - 1 hour drive and it ended up being every bit of 2.5 hours. The roads were bad and windy, not good for those who get motion sickness easily. The hardest part to swallow about the long drive was the fact that we would have to take this SAME route the next day to get to Banos, but the driver and guide did not think it was safe for us to go to inguapierca with our luggage on the top. I can't really say much about the Ingua reuins because Blythe was having too much fun with the rocks and the llamas so I spend most of the tour with her and the rocks and not hearing the history, BUT once your a mom its all about having a happy baby, right??

We got back to Cuenca about 4pm and booked it to a museum that Becky wanted to see. We arrived there at 4:45pm and found out that it closed at 5pm because of the electricity outages. They have mandatory electricity shut off on Mondays at certain hours so we didn't get to go to the museum. Instead we took Blythe to a park to play around and then had dinner. Oh and we had another HORRIFIC night, 2 nights, not sleep, here goes day #4

Travel Day and Day 1 in Guayaquil

Blythe was a rock star on the plane ride. She slept the entire trip from DFW to Miami. Our plan was over an hour late getting into Miami and we literally had to RUN to catch our connecting flight. The plane was waiting for us and we were the last ones to board. Blythe was awake for the 4 hour flight from Miami to Guayaquil, but that was excellent because then she was good and tired for the evening. We arrive din Guayaquil at 11:30 and of course as we suspected our luggage didn't make it. It took a fair amount of time for us to report our lost luggage and Blythe finally zonked out in the stroller about midnight (11pm Texas time). She was SO exhausted that she didn't wake up as we got into the car (no car seat, it was checked), and then into the hotel. She didn't even wake up for a before bedtime feeding and if you know Blythe you know she doesn't miss a feeding! Guayaquil is the most dangerous city we are visiting and we had a police escort our van to the hotel. According to Wilman (our guide) even the locals have a police escort because of the high crime rate targeted at people who have just left the airport.

Our first day in Guayaquil was HOT and we were all in pants and long sleeves. We hit up the first clothing shop we could find and all purchased a short sleeved shirt. We spent the day walking around the city with Wilman. We took an hour long boat ride for lunch and it was nice and relaxing. We ate Octopus among other fish and it was really tasty. Wilman advised us not to give it to Blythe so she didn't get a taste. Blythe has mainly eaten bread, but we did have avocado for dinner last night and she ate quite a bit of it.

I better sign off and go pack our bags, we are scheduled to leave for Cuenca in 20 minutes.

P.S. no time to re-read or edit and the keyboard is slightly different so excuse the type-oś

We Can Only Go Up From Here......

There's nothing like starting out a vacation feeling like you have been hit by a freight train. Lat night was the WORST night we have had with Blythe since her birth. At 9:00pm I decided it was time to head to bed in hopes of getting a good night sleep the night before our departure. The grandparents and aunts and uncles would just have to wait until tomorrow to see Blythe (they were still at Byron's band concert). I decided to turn on Blythe's Enya music since the house would probably be less than quiet once everyone arrived home. Blythe and I were sleeping soundly until midnight. Jason decided he wanted to turn Blythe's music down, which was located right by her bed, and while thumbing around to find the volume and eventually turning the music off Blyhe woke up. O.K. minor hiccup lay her back down, cover her up, and say night, night, just like any other night, right??? WRONG. Blythe was UPSET and we aren't just talking whining or a few cries here or there, we are talking all out screaming. Jason decides to put her in the bed for a few minutes to calm her down, BIG mistake. Once he decides she was calmed down and put her back in the pack 'n play she was having NOTHING to do with it. Jason and I tag teamed the next 3 hours with rocking, walking, eating, drinking, and out of desperation we put her in the closet to see if she would cry it out quickly and pass out from exhaustion..no luck. Blythe was happy as a clam as long as you were not trying to get her to go to sleep and there was a light on, but hello it was the wee hours of the night and it wasn't fair to the other members of the household for her to keep them awake (her screams would have kept an entire hotel awake).

Finally at 3am I decided I would try to nurse Blythe one last time in the rocking chair/recliner and just sleep with here there. Well I lucked out and Blythe finally fell asleep around 3:15am, but the recliner was broke and I couldn't make it recline. I stayed there for as long as I could in hopes that she was good and out. I then very slowly crept my way back into bed (Blythe popped her head up, but I was able to pat her back). I layed in the bed with her sprawled across me until 4:30am. At this point her sleeping and me not sleeping, but possible dosing in and out was better than the prospect of her screaming anymore. Finally at 4:30am I decided she had to be out enough for me to roll off me, luckily she stayed asleep, but only until 7AM!

PLEASE tell me that she has this out of her system (I have NO idea what last night was about and I can't imagine going through that at a hotel).

Ecuador Day #1 - please be better than yesterday.

P.S. she is napping in the pack 'n play so hopefully this a good sign.

A Sweet Moment

As most of you know, our little Blythe is not really into cuddling and would rather be on her own two feet than in arms. This is normally a great thing, but there are times when you see other moms holding a baby who is loving on them or out cold on their shoulder. Our typical bed time routine is nurse, then say prayer, night night, and cover her up. I went through our typical routine on Monday, but when I left the room Blythe was NOT happy. I thought, “hum, she sounds pretty upset, but I will give her a few minutes.” A few minutes came and went and she was still very upset. I went back into the room to lay her down, but she was still laying down and under the covers, but screaming. I rubbed her back for about a minute and then left the room, she was quiet while I was rubbing her back, but was NOT happy when I left again. I waited a few more minutes and just though “man, she is really upset I don’t think I have heard her scream like that in a long time, if ever.” So I went back into the room (Jason was at the neighbors eating pizza) picked her up and sat in the rocking chair. I said “Blythe lay you head down on mommas shoulder,” and I was shocked when she actually did. I rocked her, patted her back, and sang her the our father, a few advent songs, some Christmas carols (it would have been embarrassing if someone had heard not only my awful singing voice, but also my lack of memory on the words). Blythe was instantly comforted and within minutes had fallen asleep. It was such a sweet moment to sit in the rocking chair singing to my precious baby. That morning we had Bible study and one of the questions was “How are you celebrating Advent this year and sharing it with your family?” Honestly, I didn’t have an answer much less a good answer, so in a way God gave me this moment to share advent with Blythe and to sing to her about Jesus in the manger, and silent night, etc. I know she probably didn’t get as much from it as I did, but I wanted to share my sweet moment with my sweet baby girl.

15 Month Appt.

Where has our little fatty hatty gone?? Do you guys remember this porker?

She was in the 75th percentile for weight and length

Now our little slim jim is in the 25th percentile for weight, weighing in at 20 pounds 13 ounces (full clothed) and the 50th percentile for height, stretching just 30 inches.

Poor Blythe had to endure 6 shots yesterday. 4 routine 15 months shots and an extra 2 (regular flu and H1N1) since we are going to Ecuador. While the shots were being administered she wasn't too happy, but she quickly got over it and doesn't seem to have any side effects today.

Today we had our 10 week appointment for Baby W II and everything is looking good. I actually lost 1/2 a pound (I know water weight), but at least I am not gaining yet :)

Funny story: a few weeks ago I heard Blythe kinda wining, but in good tough mom mode I thought she'll figure it out, well she continued for a little while so I decided I better go see what was up, when I went into the living room I saw that she was holding the lamp upside down (bulb towards the floor) and trying to put it back. Thank goodness she decided to catch it, but why the heck was she messing with the lamp in the first place? Yes, I did feel a little guilty that I didn't go in there right away since my poor toddlers was trying to 'save the lamp' and didn't quite have the muscle capacity to do it.

Already the 'second' child

This poor baby is only 8 weeks old and is already suffering from 'second' child syndrome.

• We announced we were expecting Blythe on Christmas eve surrounded by family and friends and a bottle of champagne
• Baby #2 get the oh so exciting announcement via test in the TRASH can courteous of Becky. Luckily I got to tell my mom and sister, but I was NOT expecting Becky to be going through the trash at my moms house! (o.k. so really the test was just sitting in the trash can in plain open site, but that version isn't nearly as good).
• During our first ultrasound with Blythe Jason was so excited that he 'felt like he was going to pass out'
• During our first ultrasound with Baby #2 Jason was not present because when we arrived at the doctors office he noticed that there was a huge nail in the tire and air was leaking so he said "I either need to take care of this right now or we will be replacing a flat after the appointment."

Being the second child myself I always swore I would treat all my kids the same, regardless of where they are in the order. But hey these are all life occurrences that are out of my control..right??

I WILL write on Baby W #2's calendar every day for the first year like I did for Blythe! Now y'all make sure and hold me to that!

My hands were on FIRE

Many of you might already know that, but in case there is someone who doesn’t I wanted to pass along my experience. I made a spicy chicken soup yesterday AM around 9:30 and cut up several Habanera and Serrano peppers (fresh from the garden so maybe they were hotter than store bought?). I was busy getting all the ingredients into the pot so I didn’t wash my hands right away. I had NO idea at the time what a huge mistake this was. I could feel a little heat on my hands throughout the day, but it wasn’t until 9pm at night when I laid down that I felt like my hands were on fire. I didn’t know that the oils from the peppers could actually get into your skin and cause your hands to burn even though they look completely normal. At first I was thinking I must have burned myself from the steam, but that didn’t seem very logical. DH told me that it was probably the peppers. We googled remedies (milk, bleach, baking soda, sugar water, aloe, lotion, etc) and NONE of them worked. I ended up holding an icepack between my hands until 4:45am.

NOTE: wear gloves when working with hot peppers because you do NOT want to experience what I did.

BOO and Boo Hoo

The day before Halloween my office had its annual Halloween potluck with all our international students. Jason and I decided to be "lazy" about our costumes and decided to go as a soccer player and a soccer coach. Blythe still went as an adorable leopard.

On Saturday, Halloween Day, we went as our originally intended characters. Blythe was a leopard, I was a Black Panther, and Jason was a Hunter.

The neighbors had a Halloween/Dance Party. They hook up a projector outside and we youtube random music videos and attempt to dance along, I will see if I can get a video uploaded. Jason perhaps had one too many cocktails and got a little ahead of himself. He was busting out to a Brittany spears video and decided to do a back flip after one of the dancers did one.....Jason 'forgot' he was wearing very heavy boots, hadn't done a flip in a year or two, and was under the influence. Needless to say he had a very hard and abrupt meeting with the concrete. Should I post pictures of the aftermath???

NAFSA Conference

I had a NAFSA (association of international student advisors) conference in Addison this past week. Blythe and I lucked out and were able to fly (aka..50 minutes in an airplane instead of 3 hours in a car). Our flight interfered with Blythe's afternoon nap so I though she 'might' sleep on the plane, and I was a little concerned what the flight would hold if she didn't....you can do anything for 50 minutes, right?? Blythe did not sleep on the plane, but she was great. She ended up having her own seat and figured out how to unbuckle the seat belt within minutes of me buckling her in. She spend most of the 34 minutes (in air), putting her baby doll in and out of the hole:While I was at the conference Blythe got to stay and play with Mamo and Aunt Jalyn. They went to the mall and met with Jalyn's friend for a play date.
The last day of the conference was only a half day and we needed to wear Blythe out before our flight home so we went to Kid Country!

Potty Time

On Friday Jason happened upon a garage sale on his way to work and purchase a $4 "singing rewards" potty. We had been talking about easing into the potty training process, knowing in the early stages it was more about getting them excited about the potty than actually potting. After heavily sanitizing the potty we sat her on it after she woke up in the AM and after nap (this started on Sunday). She seemed really excited to sit on the potty, but we thought it was more because she got to be diaper free and she loves sitting in/on things.

This afternoon Blythe and I were reading books and I heard a little gas so I decided I would put her on the potty, I said "come on Blythe lets go poo poo in the potty." Blythe immediately headed for the bathroom and we sat on the potty. I continued to read her books and surprise she went poo poo! Then a little tee tee, that's when the potty did its "reward singing" and I think Blythe was a little surprised, but she started clapping so I guess she wasn't too scared. Then we put the poo poo in the big potty and Blythe got to flush it (one of her favorite things to do these days)!

No I am not delusional into thinking that we have really started the potty training process, but hey that is one less diaper, a poopie one at that, I have to change today! Baby steps people, baby steps!

What's Going On?

We are all alive and well, we have just been slacking on the postings! A lot has happened in the last few weeks.

The biggest change has been for Blythe and her new schedule. Jason has decided that he is ready to get down to business and hammer out this PhD (applause!). While Jason has enjoyed and will miss his T/TH mornings with Blythe he feels that he needs a solid 40+ hour work week to really make progress. This means we had to find alternate arrangements as far as child care for Blythe. I would have LOVED to quit my job and stay home with Blythe full time, but lets face it a student salary isn't exactly where the money's at. I thought oh Blythe loves to go places and have a change of scenery so she would probably enjoy a mother's day out program. I did some research and got some strong recommendations for St. Anthony's which is just around the corner from us. I was very excited to go visit after talking to them on the phone about the music and outside time the kids had on a daily basis. This would have been a MWF 8:30-2:30 gig, but I would have worked 7:30-2:30 to make my 20 hours. I went for the tour and while I was hopefully that I would leave there thinking Blythe will have an excellent time here, but that wasn't the case. There really wasn't anything "wrong" with the place. It had a great ratio 2:1, it was clean, and they did have activities, but Blythe would be in the nursery which was tiny and stale and lined with cribs and just not the environment I wanted Blythe to be in. They also didn't have a good age range for Blythe. She would have been in the nursery because she was too young for the 18 month toddler room. I really felt like she was too old for the nursery and too young for the toddler room so there really wasn't a good fit for her. I left there a little discourage, but planned to visit St. Thomas on Friday.

THEN the best thing happened! Answered prayers. {Side Note: The Romansky's (couple from our birthing class) have a little boy just weeks older than Blythe who had been coming to our house on T/TH mornings while Thaddeus had class. Thaddeus had similar thinking to Jason in that he needed more time working in order to finish his PhD.} When Robyn dropped Michael off on Thursday she told me that her cousin had just moved to town for a PT assistant program offered at Blinn College and she had been applying at day cares for a job. My eyes immediately lit up because I knew what Robyn was thinking! Long story short (or at least shorter) Robyn's cousin, Mandie, is now watching Michael and Blythe 20 hours a week and doing an awesome job. I love that Blythe is interaction with someone her own age and that the 2:1 ratio. I love that Michael and Blythe spend 2 days a week at our house and 2 days a week at Michael's house so they have some variety. This really is a sweet deal and I couldn't be more thankful!

This is our second full week of the 'shared nanny' and Jason and Thaddeus are getting a lot done, Blythe and Michael are enjoying each others company and Mandy is getting to hang out with 2 wonderful toddlers instead of a room full!

Blythe is really moving these days. She is the funniest to watch when you get her in a wide open hard surfaced place (the grass slows her down). My mom and I learned this when we ventured out to the mall and let Blythe out of the stroller. She was literally running faster than her feet could carry her! She would run, run, run, then SMACK, face plant, laugh and get up again! It was fun to watch.

Blythe is also saying a handful of words (bye bye, hi, baby, all done, vroom vroom, dada, momma, ball, door) and signing as well! The most recent thing she has learned to sign is please and it is SO cute. It beats the heck out of the point and when she wants something. It is so nice to be able to remind her to sign please and even nicer when she does it unprompted!

Live is good in the Wilkes household. There are a few families who don't have it quite as good as we do right now so if you get a chance say a little prayer for the Robinson's, Whittakers, and Baby Sam

The Birthday Crash

It was Friday, August 28, a little after 10, long past Blythe's bedtime. Daddy was already a day late getting Blythe's birthday present assembled and was determined to give it to her. He said "keep her up just 10 more minutes, it will be worth it." 10 minutes came and went, but not too long after, Daddy arrived with the present that was going to be a "hit" (in more ways than one). Blythe has enjoyed the riding toys that her friends Michael and Ian have so Daddy decided to make her one of her own, combining all the different elements from the other toys so hers would be the top of the line.

Blythe was sitting at one end of the living room when Daddy arrived with the new toy. Daddy gave it a slight push and it started rolling towards her, she saw what it was and started crawling towards it..all of a sudden it was as if the tricycle starting gaining speed, then BANG it hit Blythe square in the face. This instantly drew tears and a handful of wails. After a few minutes Blythe had recovered from her first show down with the tricycle, but wasn't quite ready to ride on it. Instead she decided to push it. The wheels started rolling a little to fast and BANG she fell down and hit the front of the tricycle AGAIN. Daddy had yet to completely safety proof the tricycle so it still had a very sharp edge on the front. This was the end of the tricycle. We weren't sure what was sadder, the fact that Daddy was so excited to give it to Blythe and just knew it was going to be a great moment or the fact that the Tricycle jump up and bit Blythe, twice.

Since the incident the Tricycle has been in our living room just waiting for Blythe to forgive it and take it for a ride. That day finally came on Saturday September 12! Out of the blue Blythe points to the tricycle says "vroom, vroom" and happily mounted it. Unfortunately Jason wasn't here for the first ride, but he was very excited to see that his Tricycle was not a complete flop.

Party Time!

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated Blythe's Birthday.

It appears that Ian has caught someone red handed

Not everyone is as fortunate as Blythe to have Grandparent's and Great Grandparent's attend their 1st birthday!
Since Blythe loves balls and her first word was ball we decided to make her a ball cake! Blythe also enjoys playing with Dina the Dino:



Although Blythe is only 1 she is already great at sharing (food that is)
She is enjoying all the new toys!

12 Month Check-Up

Blythe weighed in at 19lbs 9oz and 29 1/4 inches long. According to Dr. Meyers she is "just perfect" but we already knew that!

She wasn't too thrilled with her 4 shots (chicken pox, yellow fever (for Ecuador), Hep A, and MMR), but as soon as I picked her up and showed her the baby in the mirror it was all forgotten.

The BIG Day

Oh me, oh my, I don't even know what to say. To think that we have already had a full year together!

A year ago today Jason and I worked together for 15 hours to bring Blythe into this world. At 8:03pm the most beautiful baby girl was born to us, and the joy began.

Today we are reminded of ALL the accomplishments Blythe has made this year, there are too many to list, but here are a few big ones!

Baptism:First Smile:

Sitting Up:Rolling Over

Standing Up

CrawlingWalkingThe joy that you have brough to us is indescribable. We thank God everyday for blessing us with you. You have crossed so many milestones and had so many accomplishments in your first year. We are eager to grow with you during your second year. May God bless you in your second year!

8/26/2008

It just dawned on me that this time last year I found out that the Gruningers had their baby girl a few weeks early. That instantly sent me in a panic as Jason and I would be bringing up the rear for the Bradley class. I jokingly said I was going to go home and mow the lawn, which I did, as an attempt to have baby W. Little did I know that it would be just a little over 24 hours from that lawn mowing that we would be blessed with Blythe!

New Mode of Transportation

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Going Private

In light of this we have decided to make our blog private.

Date Night

Jason and I went on our first date night last night since my mom was in town. Jason knew I wanted to see My Sisters Keeper so he suggested for us to go see it. As it turns out that movie has already come and gone so we settled on Public Enemies. About half way through the movie it started making an annoying ticking sound. Jason went to the front to let them know and about 10 minutes later they came in and said they were fixing it and it would be about 5-10 minutes. Well 2o minutes later the movie still wasn't going and neither Jason and I thought the movie was that great so we opted to leave and get our money back. We didn't want to be there till midnight (assuming the eventually got it working), especially since I had just committed to running with the neighbor each morning at 6:30!

So the date night was a bit of a bust, but at least we attempted to go out.

It felt really good to get in a good morning job before starting my day!

Evacuation

On Thursday Blythe and I had a play date in South College Station. Little did we know that we were exactly where we needed to be. At about noon on Thursday a nearby chemical plant caught fire and all of Bryan and part of College Station were ordered to evacuate.

Jennifer Cabezas saw the news on the TV and called to make sure we were aware that we had orders to evacuate. We were not aware of the chemical plant fire so thank goodness she called so I didn't come home and put Blythe down for a nap. The Cabezas told us that we could evacuate to their house so I called Jason and he grabbed Luke and a couple of items and headed to their house. The news was not giving any indication as to how long the evacuation might last. I was hoping that school/work would be canceled on Friday as the Cabezas were up for a slumber party. We ended up being released back into our house at 7:30pm so we went ahead and came home so I could get up and go to work in the morning :(. Who would have thought little old Bryan, Texas would be evacuated!

Teetering to Toddlerhood

Blythe is on the homestretch of babyhood. She is now 11 months old and she took her first steps yesterday. She is quickly transforming from a baby to a toddler, ready or not.

Blythe was standing at the coffee table holding the remote and she turned and took 4 steps towards Jason, luckily I was standing nearby so I caught the last 2!

It is amazing how far Blythe has come with her stability in the last week. Just 2 weeks ago Jason and I were making the comment that we didn't think Blythe was anywhere near walking and we would be surprised if she was walking by her birthday and now she has made those first steps. We shall see how long it takes her to master the art of walking.

Talking and Teething

Blythe now has several words in her vocabulary:

First Word: Ball (pronounced Dall)
2) All Done
3) Bye, Bye (Dye, Dye)
4) Uh-OH (pronounced UH and sometimes UH-AH)...still working on that one
- she says momma and dada as well

Blythe now has THREE 1/2 teeth. Her bottom 2 came in together yesterday and the second one on the top is oh so close...we can see it, we just can't feel it.

First TOOTH

I spoke too soon. We noticed swelling and white on the top left hand side of Blythe's gums on Friday. The tooth looked like it would break though anyday and today is the day! Blythe has her first tooth!

She seemed to teeth pretty easy with this first one so lets hope this is a pattern that repeats.

10 and Toothless

Quick Update:

• Blythe was 10 months old on June 27th (yes that means I have 2 months before the big bday!).



• Blythe is still toothless



• Blythe latest trick is showing her tongue on command

• Blythe is starting to stand on her own and attempted to take her first step on Tuesday night, but didn't succeed



• If you ask her to bring you a ball she will hunt around the living room till she finds one and bring it to you



• Blythe is doing really well in the pool. She will go under and hold her breath. She will kick, but we are still working on the arm scoops!

Have a Great 4th of July Weekend!

10 month photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2773263&id=8316366&l=2748f5e8ba

First Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day weekend. We had the 3 Bradley couples out for the weekend at the Wilkes' lake house. It was great sharing Father's Day with the couples we spent 12+ weeks with preparing for our little ones to enter the world. It is hard to believe that they are all only weeks away from entering Toodlerhood.

Thaddeus and Michael

Jason with Blythe, Kaela, Ian, and Michael

Did I mention how much they LOVED their life jackets?

9 month Appt, Boogyman, and Zzzzz's

Yesterday we had Blythe's 9 month appointment. She weighed in at 18 pounds 1 ounce (she is really slowing down). She was 27.5 inches long. She has lost her "tall" status and now sits in the 50th percentile for height and the 40th percentile for weight.

She did not have shots, but she did have a blood drawl. We had opted for the finger prick over the full blood drawl, but found out she had to be a minimum of 23 pounds for the finger prick, so the blood drawl it was. To my amazement this went over a lot better than the shots!

As Jason I were turning in for the night we heard a loud noise that sounded like something had fallen. Jason thought it was from the garage or the pool room so he grabbed the butcher knife and the dog and went to find the Boogie Man. After he circled through the pool room and the garage he went out the front door. As he was playing "brave man with the butcher knife" I thought to myself "what is one thing that is knows to fall in the house?" I went straight to Blythe's bathroom and looked in the tub and found....the big, bad, scary, plastic frog! I quickly went outside and called Jason back into the house (butcher knife and all) to reveal to him that the Boogyman was simply a plastic frog that lost suction and fell off the tile.

Last night was a record breaker. Blythe went to bed at 8:30pm and I had to go in and wake her up at 7:15am to get her ready for the day! This is the first time she has slept through the night...at least what I consider sleeping through the night. Maybe we will have more of these nights!

9 Months

Can you believe Miss Blythe is 9 months old? Jason and I knew it would go fast, but we had no idea it would go by this fast. Blythe is very busy. She enjoys crawling (she has gotten really fast), pulling up, and walking around the coffee table. Lately she has not been very interested in "toys" and prefers household items like Tupperware, measure cups/spoons, etc. She especially enjoys items made of metal.

In the past week she has started to eat some solids. She prefers to eat what we are eating and be fed with our finger or hers. We can occasionally get her to eat off a spoon, but usually only when we have her distracted with something else. We usually give her some cheerios to feed herself and we slip in spoonfuls of home made baby food between bites.

When Blythe was 6 months old I made up a lot of home-made pureed baby food and I was just thinking that I would need to give it away because it only keeps for a few month, but maybe she is going to eat it after all.

We don't have any new stats on our quickly growing baby since her 9 month appointment isn't until next week, but we'll keep you posted.

Mommy/Daughter Trip to Arizona

Momo (Claudia) has some flight vouchers that were going to expire so we decided we should take Blythe to Arizona to show her off to my dad's side of the family. At the time we booked the trip we didn't realize it was Mother's Day weekend. Jason dropped Blythe and I off at the College Station airport on Friday morning. Blythe and I flew to DFW were Momo met us at the gate. We had several hours before our flight to Arizona so we went to Momo's house to play and take a nap. When we returned to the DFW airport we were right next to a playground!




Aunt Chris picked us up in Arizona and we went back to her house. That evening Grandma Ruth and Aunt Connie came over for dinner. Of course everyone thought Blythe was really cute and such a great baby!

I usually feed Blythe in bed in the mornings and she usually rolls over and sees Dada so on Saturday morning after feeding her she rolled over and said "dada" and looked really confused when she saw Jalyn. We went to the Tempe marketplace with Aunt Chris, Connie, and Grandma Saturday afternoon. That evening we had dinner at the Troth's where Blythe got to meet her newest cousin Shayla who is 4 months old. Shayla is a much more petite baby than Blythe so Alyssa and I joked that she must serve skim milk and I must serve cream!

Sunday morning I got up and showered while Blythe played with Aunt Jalyn. When I returned Blythe started crawling towards me and said "mama, mama." I know that it might have just been a fluke, but none the less it was a great mothers day surprise from Blythe. Blythe and I went to mass with Aunt Chris and Mike and then met up with the rest of the gang after church for a Mothers day lunch. Sunday evening we all got together at Aunt Connie's house.

On Monday Alyssa and her 2 kids picked us up to take us to the Arizona zoo. This was Blythe's first trip to the zoo, but she is not used to focusing on things far away so I am not sure how much she actually saw. She loves dogs so I figured she would love all the animals, but I only know that she saw a Giraffe and a monkey because she kicked her legs and giggled like she does when she sees a dog. I guess we will have to go again when she gets a little older.

By Tuesday Blythe was worn out because we were constantly on the move so she didn't get her normal naps. We had a great trip to Arizona, but it was good to come home and see Dada!

This is how Blythe was sleeping when I went in to get her this morning: I think someone is still exhausted from her vacation!

Dada's New Truck

Designed By Daddy

Jason welded a base to go with the top of the jumperoo to create a walker for Blythe. It didn't take Blythe long to figure out how to walk around in the walker....Jason told me it was my job to make it look pretty...obviously I have neglected that job, but hey its homemade :)




Jason's second homemade project was a swing for Blythe. As you can see from the pictures she LOVES to swing!