Ch-ch-ch-changes

Look who is sleeping in his crib full-time now!



But, as always... there's a catch, and this time, it comes with a twist of irony. The nice part about having Blake in our room was that he was only a few feet from my side of the bed. So when he woke up hungry in the middle of the night, it wasn't terribly inconvenient to feed him. More than a month ago, he started sleeping through the night, so we decided he was ready for his own room. Now that he's there, he's hungry in the middle of the night again. I'm back to waking up at 4am. Doh!

I guess when I bragged to so many people that he was "already sleeping through the night," I clearly spoke too soon. Open mouth, insert foot. Blake's got that down pat.

Happy Father's Day!

Oh Boy, New Toys!

As promised: a blog featuring Blake's latest and greatest pastimes. Ryan and I have a feeling that all these new toys are just the tip of the iceberg.

(Special note to grandparents: our house isn't that big. We don't have room for all the things with which you're going to spoil our son. Please know that some of Blake's toys, especially the obnoxious noisy ones, will live at your houses. Thank you.)



BLAKE'S BUMBO
This first "toy" isn't really a toy, but Blake sure likes it. It's call a Bumbo, and it helps babies learn to sit up on their own. Once Blake was able to hold up his neck on his own, we busted out the Bumbo. He much prefers this to the aforeblogged tummy time (both of which help babies strengthen their core muscles). Plus we can take the Bumbo places and let Blake chill in his own seat while we grownups eat dinner. Thanks LMB and Greg for a great baby gift!


BLAKE'S BUTTERFLY MAT
Blake's on the fence about this play mat, which features a prominent butterfly. The butterfly plays music each time it's moved. Blake can lay below the butterfly and kick it or hit it. (I'm not sure this is teaching him such good habits!). Once the butterfly is swatted, it starts to sing music. I'm still not sure if Blake actually understands the sequence of events, but he seems to get mad when the butterfly stops singing. So what does he do? He kicks his legs in a sort of fit. Nine times out of 10, his legs hit the butterfly, and so the singing resumes. Coincidence? Not sure. Either way, the mat usually keeps him preoccupied for a few minutes... but nothing, like this next toy.

THE EXERSAUCER (cue the dramatic music)
This is the newest of all the toys. In other words, we just got it out of the box so Ryan could put it together. As you can see, it's pretty overwhelming. There's so much to look at, I don't think Blake knows where to start! He seems to really like it so far, since he's been in it the whole time I've been writing this blog. There are mirrors, things that spin, dangling doodads, rattles, and LOTS of colors. He can even sorta stand up in it. See his little legs?


So those are Blake's big toys. He also has a few small ones, rattles and such. Who knew kids came with so much stuff??? What about toys for Mom and Dad? Oh yeah, if you look behind Blake in the picture above, you can see evidence of our favorite pastime too.

Look at Me, I'm 3 (months)!

For those of you who know me well, you know I love to celebrate half-birthdays. (Mine's coming up month after next, btw.) I promise this is the only time I'll ever count the quarter-birthday. Today, Blake is a quarter of a year old!
Crazy how time flies.

Here is the photo we took this morning to mark 3 months, followed by the photos you've already seen from 2 months, 1 month, and his day of birth.
My boy is getting big.

Three Months


Two Months

One Month

One Day

Note From Blake

Hi everyone,
You may have noticed it's been almost a week since my mom wrote a baby blog. I think it's because she went back to work. So I'm picking up her slack in the meantime. Mom told me to tell you she promises to blog soon. She's teasing us with the following topics:

Oh Boy, New Toys!
Swaddle or Straight Jacket?
Meet Holly & Emma
Swings, Slings & Other Things

In the meantime, here are a few new photos of me. Aren't I cute?



Love,
Blake Thomas Becker

Baby's First BBQ

For the official unofficial kickoff to summer, we Beckers hosted a Backyard BBQ. It's always nice to have friends and family over, but it's especially nice to have lots of friends and family over.



Blake got plenty of attention, and Ryan and I got what we like to call a "Blake break." (No offense, buddy!) Blake especially loves hanging out with his grandmas and grandpas.





As it turns out, both grandmas had very important jobs. While Grandma Carol made sure Blake didn't miss a meal, Grandma Lynne remembered to take all the fun photos. Thanks to both of you!

And while the grandparents were busy entertaining baby Blake, Ryan and I were busy entertaining adults with plenty of burgers and beverages.


Of course, Blake had his eye on the party, too. Don't worry, dude. You're a Becker. There'll be plenty more backyard barbecues and parties in your future.