The Pool Is Cool

Blake experienced his first swimming lesson this past weekend. Ryan and I want to make sure Blake is comfortable in the water at an early age so he'll turn out to be an amazing SCUBA diver (like his Daddy) and awesome water skier (like his Mommy).

Blake really loved his first day of class. He loved the water, he loved looking at the other little swimmers (there are 8 total), and he certainly loved the attention.

Here are the pictures of our little water baby... er water boy... er little swimmer.

Starting Class with a Smile

Hey.. What's Over There?


Having a Ball


I Want To Play!


Class Photo


Kick, Kick, Kick

Water Baby

Blake Likes To Swim on His Tummy


On the Flip Side -- A Bit of a Swimming Struggle

Dad, Let Me Flip Back Over!

All Done: A Swimming Sucess!

Blake Under the Big Top

I took Blake to the circus a few nights ago. I was nervous about the scary clowns and tigers, but Blake loved every minute of it. We sat in the upper level, so it was far enough away to be scared, but still close enough to be over-stimulated as is the goal of the crazy circus people. It was hard to tell which acts were Blake's favorites because he couldn't take his eyes off any of it. See for yourself.









I think Blake thought it really was the greatest show on Earth.

Check(up) Please!

Today, Blake had his 18-month doctor's appointment. They weighed him, measured him, poked him and smiled at him. As usual, Blake's least favorite part was the needle in the thigh (this time, a routine flu shot).

On the scale

Here are Blake's official stats:

Height: 34" (almost 3 feet!) -- 90th percentile
Weight: 27 lbs 0.7 ounces -- 60-something percentile
Cuteness: 200th percentile

I also took Blake's official 18-month picture next to Billy Bear. I'll compare every 6 months now instead of every one month. Below are the most recent, followed by the first 12 months of his life. You can see just how grown-up he's getting. Now enjoy this trip down memory lane... memories of when Blake really was a baby and not the big kid he is today.


Eighteen Months




One Year


Eleven Months


Ten Months


Nine Months



Eight Months


Seven Months


Six Months


Five Months

















Four Months


Three Months


Two Months


One Month


One Day

3 BLOGS FOR THE PRICE OF 1

All In The Family

Blake had never met his cousins until this summer. Remember the family wedding back in June? (See http://blakethebaby.blogspot.com/2011/07/lifes-beach.html) His cousins from Virginia came all the way out to California for the occasion. They even got to stay the whole summer. Here are some fun pics to illustrate what a good time Blake had with them. We look forward to more visits from our Virginia family in the future.

Blake's New Do

This blog is about another big first: Blake's first proper hair cut at a proper salon for kids. Blake did great! He got to sit in a fun toy car, play with a lot of new toys and experience some new sights and sounds. He only made some nervous noises when the nice haircut lady brought out the clippers. There were no tears. Except from me. The curls are gone (for now), and my boy looks so grown up. Seriously, the new do aged Blake by at least a few months or years. I almost feel obligated to change the name of this blog. He really no longer is Blake the baby, as you're about to see. I only took about a bazillion photos so take a look at my kiddo's new look.

Here's the Before Picture

The squirt bottle!

Sit still, Baby Blake

Don't Be Nervous

Quick! Here's Something With Buttons!

Who Is This Haircut Lady?

Bye Bye Curls

Check Me Out

Check Us Out

GIANTS' JITTERS!

We're heading into a critical time of year: MLB playoffs. And Blake is starting to realize this year may not end up like the last. As Ryan always says, Blake was born and then the Giants won their first SF World Series. Coincidence? Maybe not. Blake brought good luck to the team. They won the first 4 games he attended. For those of you keeping score, Blake is now 4-2. Blake got to ride BART over to this past Saturday's game. Despite the look on his face in this picture, he was super excited on the train.

Too bad that fast-paced momentum on the train came to a screeching halt at AT&T.






Maybe Blake's new panda hat will bring the Giants some much-needed magic?

(He still has a worried look. Good luck Giants!)