Goodbye 2010

2010 ended with a couple days of fever for Blake. I'm still not sure what the cause was, but it was 103 the first day, 101 that night, and 99-100 the second day. Just a little excitement to end the year on. We have been pretty low-key in celebrating New Years Eve for the past few years, most of the time not even staying awake til midnight... and this year was no different! We stayed in for a cozy night at home. Happy New Years!

Looking forward to our new addition in 2011!

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas break this year! I chose to post this on Christmas, but am actually writing it days after... Christmas Eve we went to the Children's Mass, which was adorable with the Christmas story being acted out and read by little ones from church. We went to dinner with my parents and my brother, and went home to bed to get ready for Santa in the morning. This is Blake's Christmas outfit for church -
and just to compare - here is Blake in her Christmas outfit for church last year!
On Christmas morning, we woke up at our normal time of 6:30, which isn't too bad for Christmas morning standards of being awakened by eager children! We'll see what happens next year! We opened our presents and played a little. Blake wasn't too interested in anything else besides the Cozy Coupe that Santa brought!
She kept saying "ca" over and over again. I think the gift is a winner!
We did manage to get the rest of the presents opened eventually.

After getting dressed, we went over to my parents house for breakfast and presents from Grandma and Poppa. GG Pebble and Bubba were there for the fun, too. (We enjoyed seeing Katie, Hector and Santiago earlier in the week, but they were in Houston for Santa to visit their house.) Blake's big gift was a tricycle!
We went home to relax for a little bit before Tim's parents and Juan came over. Grammy and Grandpa stayed for 4 days and enjoyed lots of quality time with Blake! We opened presents with them on Christmas afternoon, so we had a big day!
Blake loves her car so much, she even asked to eat her snack in it. So she ate a hot dog Sonic Drive-In style! ha ha.
Blake was showered with so many presents this year of books, clothes, toys, music CDs, a doll house, play kitchen and all kinds of goodies from the people that love her. She is a blessed little girl. I can't wait to have Easton join in our fun next year!

Christmas Card 2010

(Not the best quality due to scanning the picture in to create the card, and then scanning the finished product in... but you get the idea!)

Friday Happenings

Yesterday afternoon, Blake started developing a rash on her stomach above her diaper line and on her knees and feet. It was raised, red, and warm to the touch. It didn't seem to itch her, but if you tried to look at the big welts, she didn't like it. As the night went on, it grew and spread to her armpits, arms, legs, neck, and all over the trunk of her body. I spoke to the doctor and decided if it didn't get better, we would go in the next day. I stayed home from work and we endured lots of waiting room time and exam room time waiting to be seen... Luckily Tim went too and Blake was in a pretty good mood. Apparently, Blake had an allergic reaction to something. What - we don't know, but it could have been something she ate, came in contact with, something outside... who knows? Claritin in the morning and Benadryl at night and the rash/hives went away mostly by Sunday, with just a little blotchiness remaining on her legs.
In the afternoon, Tim and I went to my appointment for Easton. It was a sonogram day! Grandma came over to sit while Blake napped so we could both be at the appointment. When we came home, Blake was having lots of fun! (I don't think you can tell from the picture, but the rash was on her cheeks too and made her eyes swell a little.)

31 Weeks

My blood pressure was great 121/82 (again, Tim mentioned that of course my blood pressure would be good - I didn't go to school that day!). Easton weighed in at 4 pounds and is measuring a week ahead of schedule at 32 weeks while he is only 31 weeks. The sonogram tech said he is long and should be about 8 pounds (so I guess he'll be a little under that if we go early like planned). He was being a little shy, but we got to see a little smile from his big chubby cheeks. We saw lots of wiggles and kicks. Everything is going great - all my fluid levels are good and he checked out great.
I can't wait to see that little face in person!!

Santa Baby

We went to visit Santa at the mall tonight. We have been talking to Blake about Santa, and how nice he is, and his red suit, and soft beard... trying to get her acclimated to him in preparation to seeing him this year. She has been playing with stuffed Santa decorations and knows "aunt-na" when she sees any image of him. (Funny how Santa and Santiago kind of have the same name in Blake's language! ha ha)

Blake did pretty well with Santa! No big crying or screaming this year. She did cry when we got there because she had her daddoo with her and I took it away as we were walking up to him. She settled down pretty quickly, and we both went over to sit on the arm of his big chair. I sat talking to Santa for a little bit, and then I moved away and left Blake with him. This is the best of the few pictures they snapped, but all in all, I'd consider the visit a success!

A Little Bit of Everything

I'm moving slower and slower these days, but am getting a few things accomplished despite my waddling self. The Christmas tree and most decorations are up, Christmas cards are addressed and stamped - ready to be mailed, and I have all presents wrapped (my favorite part). I just need to shop for a couple people, mostly Tim, and I'll be finished!

As of today, I have a 21 month old! Yikes. She is ever so busy and is always wanting "up-a" (to be picked up). Here is a funny from the other day. We bought new dog food and Tim had just poured the bag into our dog food container, with Blake's help of course. He came out of the laundry room, but Blake stayed and I could hear her pouring the dog food with the scoop. I assumed she was putting it in the dog bowl... but then I realized I didn't hear the kernels landing on anything hard. Hmmm, I went in to check and saw
that she was pouring it in their water! I had to laugh and bring it out to show Tim. I'm going to have to have a great sense of humor with the terrible twos approaching!
My favorite thing lately is how much Blake has been kissing, hugging and rubbing my belly. She calls the bump "Bubba" or "Easty"! I've been telling her what a wonderful big sister she will be and how much fun she will have with her brother. So far, she's been nothing but loving! We'll see.

Easton officially has his first ornament, and it's already on our tree even though he's not here to see it.
Blake's first ornament was also her initial, so it was only fitting.
I wish I could keep the Christmas decorations up all year round!

21 month old notes:
Blake is still taking and enjoying 2 naps a day! She loves getting to have her daddoo, so this could be the reason for wanting to take a nap. She runs in place when she really wants something and is answering yes for it, she nods her head and run-run-runs her little legs up and down. She brings lotion to Tim or me many times a day to have us help her. Blake prefers the squirt of lotion in her hand so she can rub it in. She loves it! On the flip side, when she doesn't get what she wants - she cries and wants to be held. She will say your name over and over while patting you on the back while you hold her. Then she asks for whoever else is around to hold her while she cries, and goes around the circle of people that way.