February 28, 2009

Our Little "old man"! And see that hand so innocently placed on his cheek - don't let him fool you! He has been very "grabby" the last two days and has been pulling the tubes out of his nose constantly. If he is awake, it is his little game. Last night he was awake in his bed for 90 minutes after I put him back after holding him. And for 90 minutes we played this game. He would pull them out and his sats would go down - I'd take his hands away from his face - and 2 seconds later they would be pulling again. I even got him totally swaddled with his hands tucked way down by his belly - and he had broken free within 5 minutes! Troublemaker I tell ya!

February 27, 2009 - 4 weeks old!

Today my great friend Denise drove up from Kansas City to see us! Braden wanted to take her to Arby's for lunch?!?! So we went there and then hung out with him for awhile then headed down to the hospital so she could meet Blake!

She had these shirts made up for the boys "I *heart* my Aunt Dee" for my baby shower that I missed in Kansas City when I was on bedrest! - So cute! Then she got to meet Mr. Blake! He even was awake when we got there so she got to see his beautiful eyes! Thanks for coming Denise, it means so much to us!!! Love ya!

When I got home last night this is where I found the other 2 boys - Braden was sound asleep in daddy's arms. They had been listening to the Beatles on the computer and Braden crawled up and fell asleep! It was so cute - and we got him to bed no problem after that - he was zonked!!

Comparison Time...

Here is Blake in the onesie of the day - at 4 weeks old...

Here is his big brother in the same onesie just a few days older. Braden fills it out a little better - he does have some length of Blake, that's for sure! But I think they both are pretty darn cute in it!

February 26, 2009

What the heck is going on around here?

February 25, 2009

Science Center of Iowa FUN!

Today Braden and I got to spend some fun time together with Jill and Gavin. We took the boys to the Science Center - and they had a ball! They have a lot of hands on stuff for them to do and they ran around for about 2 1/2 hours! They were both wiped out afterward!!

Bubble Making fun!

Peek-a-boo Braden

Electrifying!

After all that fun I spent the evening down with Blake! This was the outfit he was in when I got there. It is again one of his brothers...it is a onesie, but fits him more like a one piece pant suit :) I'm sure he's wondering what the heck we're doing dressing him in all this stuff!

Then after his bath tonight I dressed him in his VERY OWN (his first non hand me down!) little shirt. Meena C found some great deals at Carter's on the way up last weekend...this shirt looked so tiny on the hanger ;) We had to double the sleeves up, but he does look pretty handsome in blue and brown, if I do say so myself :) and look he even coordinates with his bedding - wow, he is a fashionista!

February 24, 2009

Today Braden was playing Transformers (real surprise) and he called me in to see what they were doing. He told me that Optimus Prime (the half body you see under the bus) and Bone Crusher (lifting up the bus with his fork lift) were fixing the bus. I love this kid's imagination, I hope he never loses it!

BIG DAY!

Blake got to wear his first "real" clothes today. This tiny gown is a hand-me-down from his brother. It really is pretty tiny, but he is still swimming in it! Today they took off his temperature probe - so instead of constantly having his temperature monitored and his bed automatically adjusting to his temp - now they just keep his bed heated at a certain temperature, dress him and swaddle him and see how well he keeps his temperature up. He is learning to regulate his temperature which is important - it will still be awhile before he can be in an open crib with no heat whatsoever - but it's a step in the right direction - he's getting to be a big boy!

February 23, 2009

Little Birdie in his nest

Na Na Na Boo Boo

Happy 26th Birthday Emily!

Hope you had a great day! We love you!

February 22, 2009

Our good friends, Lindsay and Glenn, stopped by to meet Blake today! Lindsay and I were roomies in college and have now known each other for almost 12 years!!! They have an adorable little girl, Gracie, who is almost exactly 5 months older than Blake.

February 21, 2009

Blake got his PICC line pulled today!! After over 2 weeks of having it stuck in his right arm - he is free! His arm is a little swollen, bruised and yucky from all the tape - but I'm sure he is a lot more comfy now that it is out!

Then after giving him a bath tonight he thought he was STARVING (and he still had over an hour to eat) so he found his pinky and started sucking away - it was so sweet!

February 20, 2009 - 3 weeks old!

I love my binky when it's eating time! AND I'm learning to suck on it AND breathe at the same time - they tell me these things are essential to life :)

February 19, 2009

The other day I received a large package in the mail. I didn't recognize the name or address of the sender. I opened it only to find the cutest, handmade things for our little Cookie Monster. There was a blanket, 2 isolette buntings, booties, mittens, hats and even a scarf for Big Brother Braden. I was amazed! I read the letter that accompanied the gifts and found out they were made by a lady who knew my uncle. She lives across the country - but has been praying for Blake since he was solely known as Cookie :) If you read this Ms. Hayes, thank you. The shear amount of generousity and kindness we have received will never be forgotten. Blake's story has reached farther than I'm sure we will ever know - and I know he has prayers coming from more places than we could ever count!
So here is our little Cookie Monster in most of his gifts. Jill and Kahala thought they were just too darn cute so they had to put them on him right away!

February 18, 2009

Seriously Mom - enough with the pictures already ;)

February 17, 2009

Waving hello to everyone out there following my progress!
Love you all!!!

February 16, 2009

Technically this was last night, but I had to include them! I got to help give Blake his first "bath" last night. We sponged him off in his bed - he was getting stinky :)

The above picture is right after we were done -drying him all off - as you can see, he was NOT a happy camper!

Just a few minutes later - it had done the trick - he was wiped out for the night!

February 15, 2009

One eyed smile!

February 14, 2009 - Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

Braden got this Wall-E balloon for Blake's room! He was supposed to pick out a Valentine's balloon (you know...red, a heart...) but thought that Blake would like Wall-E better ;)

AND his cupcakes were a big hit! I hear that they didn't last very long and everyone thought they were pretty yummy!!

February 13, 2009

Braden and I spent the morning together hanging out! He also made Valentine's day cupcakes for all of Blake's nurses! I didn't get a picture of the finished product, but he did an excellent job! We will take them up to the hospital tomorrow when we go see Blake!

Well the snow did come - Daddy and Mommy thought we might have to stay the night with Blake - but after Daddy got a little snuggle time - and a nap - we headed home about 11:30 pm so we could wake up on Valentine's day with Braden!