At long last . . .

Baby Blaze #2 makes his photographic debut on our blog! And not a moment too soon, since this week marked the start of my third trimester! The delay hasn't been driven by any lack of enthusiasm, but rather by my reluctance to interact with our photo scanner. But it's done, and here they are. First, here's the little guy at 10 weeks. For this one, he was moving around like crazy:



And here he is at 20 weeks, when we found out that he was a "he." These are really clear and you can see his little profile very well.


We're getting excited to see him in living color!

Big Girl!

This has been a very big week for a very big girl. We've been focusing our efforts the last week or so on redecorating Myla's room including painting (with a huge assist from Benita) and purchasing a new bed. Kasey even spent some time in her tailor shop sewing a new comforter for Myla.

For now, we just have the mattress on the floor in her room so that she can get used to the new scene. Last night was the first attempt at sleeping on the mattress and she handled it like a champ. We were worried that she might get up in the middle of the night or early in the morning so of course we closed all of the doors to the other bedrooms and made sure she couldn't get down the stairs. She slept through the night without even a peep. This morning when I woke up she was still sleeping - or so I thought. I went to check on her and she was sitting up in the middle of the bed just playing with her stuffed animals and waiting for one of us to come in. When she saw me she started yelling "big girl bed, big girl bed."

As if that wasn't enough of a change in her life, today was her first day in the two year-old class (Pooh's Corner) at school. She was a little hesitant and clingy when I dropped her off, but seemed to feel a little better about the situation when she saw her buddy Hailey who also got moved up with her. When I picked her up at the end of the day she seemed just fine as she was playing in the rocks outside and the teachers said she had a great day. In the spirit of taking pictures of your kids on the first day of school, here is a picture of Myla getting ready to go to her first day of school in Pooh's Corner!

Blowing My Mind

Last weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and did a lot of work to improve the curb appeal of our old house. My main job was to keep Myla entertained while Matthew did the dirty work. She and I were hanging out on the back deck, and she started pointing to a certain spot on the river bank and saying, "Turtles? Where turtles?" She was pointing to the spot where we used to see dozens of turtles hanging out on logs when the river was low. But she hasn't lived in this house and certainly hasn't seen those turtles since early last fall, when she was about 16 months old! I couldn't believe that she remembered them, especially since she never seemed all that interested in them in the first place. Wow, kids are amazing.

Personal Space

Photo week ended yesterday, but we still have lots to share so we'll keep up the regular posting for a while longer. No pics today, but a funny day care story. Myla gets daily notes that tell us how her day went and what the class did. Last week, there was this:

"Yesterday we blew bubbles for the kids. We talked about the bubbles popping when you get too close to them and body space is like a bubble. If you are too close to your friend you are popping his bubble."

I love that they're teaching one-year-olds about personal space. But Myla is pretty protective of hers, so it's appreciated.

Bookstore Basketball 2010

As you may remember from last year, Notre Dame has a 5-on-5 outdoor basketball tournament each spring that is billed as the world's largest. After 2009's strong showing, Matthew's team of HR and IT staff members was seeded 15th in this year's tourney. They lived up to their seeding and made it to the round of 32, where they lost in a close, physical contest against a team that included one of the ND football players.

Myla and I were able to watch a couple of Matthew's games this year, and needless to say, Myla loved it. Basketball and Daddy, two of her favorite things in the world. Here are some pictures:

Matthew puts up a shot in a game they won easily.

One of the major keys to the team's success: this really tall guy.

Myla watches from her favorite spot.

She desperately wanted to be part of the huddle.

"Great game guys! But next time, get me the ball more--I'm open!"

23-Month Photo Shoot

Here's Myla at 23 months! Next stop . . . our baby turns two!

Pollytails Pt. 3

Okay, this is it! But I had to share these great Daddy-daughter photos.

And here are a couple of jumping practice. Ready . . .

Go! Oops, didn't quite get both feet off the ground this time!

Pollytails Pt. 2

There were too many cute ones of this day that I had to share. I can't promise that tomorrow won't bring more of the same. :)

Pollytails

Myla made my day the other morning when she woke up asking for her hair to be put in ponytails--or "pollytails," as she calls them. She's never been willing to let me play with her hair, so I was more than happy to oblige. Since that morning, she has repeated the request several times. This particular morning, she actually asked for both pollytails and jeans. Excellent choice!

Rethinking the Photo Week Decision

As I'm looking through these photos, I realize that Myla has looked pretty rough lately! Here's are a few pics from a recent evening when she wanted to be clothing-free, but also wanted to wear her winter hat. Hopefully her fashion sense will evolve.

New BFF

*** Our posting has been a little sporadic lately, so let's have a photo week! Check back for new pictures every day for the next seven days. Here's #1! ***


After Myla had her little accident, Grandma and Grandpa Blaze (Negaw and BawBaw) sent her a care package in the mail. It included a "Baby Elmo" doll, complete with pacifier, diaper, bib, and blanket. Myla loves it--she especially likes giving Elmo his paci.

Here is a picture of her the day he came in the mail. Have you ever seen a more pitiful looking child? Or a happier one?

Perceptive

This morning I had a brief doctor's appointment to get a rho-gam shot, and took Myla with me. On the way out, I was feeling kind of light-headed for some reason. We stopped a couple of times for me to sit down, and after I got Myla into her car seat I got in the driver's seat and laid my head back for a few seconds. I then heard a little voice from the back seat say, "Mommy okay?" I was pretty impressed that she was able to notice that I wasn't feeling well and then actually ask me if I was okay. Smart, and so sweet. :)

P.S.--no need to worry, I'm totally fine. I just think I'm starting to get to the point in the pregnancy where one breakfast isn't enough!

Love to Nashville

As most of you know, my sister lives in Nashville, TN. Many of you have asked how she has been affected by the flood. Their part of town (Bellevue) was one of the hardest-hit, and entire neighborhoods there were under water. Thankfully, Kelly's house escaped any serious damage, though they were out of power and phone service for quite some time. David's work has been seriously affected, as the soccer fields he manages were under 20 feet of water at one point and all of their equipment was damaged. But all in all, they were lucky. Many Nashvillians were not as fortunate, and I think the national news hasn't given this story the attention it deserves.

Please check out Kelly's blog at http://www.kdfish.blogspot.com/ for her accounts of the flood, and for links to donate to the Nashville Red Cross and other organizations that are helping with the recovery effort.

Spring comes to Bader Ave.

For a short time a couple of weeks ago, this huge tree on the corner of our house had these gorgeous purple blossoms on it. (Anyone know what kind of tree this is? Maybe a tulip tree?) Myla and I headed outside one evening to take a few photos of it in all its glory.

Here's my little photographer's assistant: