Discovering...

Week 10

Blake found her hands and her tongue! Thursday night (8/9) was the first night Blake found her hands. It was the cutest thing watching her look at her hands then place them in her mouth, then pull them out and look at them cross eyed to put them back in! 

At the same time she discovered her tongue!

Maybe not the most beautiful look but great entertainment for all involved!

Family Dinner and Photo Shoot

On Friday August 17th while in Tampa the whole family got together for dinner and it was a group that gathered from far and wide. Anna was in town for the week between semesters from Tallahassee, Taylor and Erica came up for a few days from Ft. Myers, and Kelsey surprised us by flying in Thursday night from Boston. Chris got to town Friday evening from training in Dallas and Grandad drove in from Orlando. 

We sat down to a feast of lasagna from the Ravioli Company and piled on the couch for a family photo shoot. It was amazing to be together as an entire family and see four generations of Walkers (and baby Brewers) in one place and captured on camera!

 4 generations- Harold Walker Sr., Harold Walker, Whitney Walker Brewer, Blake E. Brewer

Ft. Lauderdale Visit

On March 16, 2013 I will have the honor of standing next to one of my best friends when she marries the man of her dreams. I met Tiffanie during sorority rush in college when her sister, Heather, who I had babysat for in Tampa, told Tiff to meet me. We hit it off instantly and became great friends through 3 years of Delta Gamma and UF shenanigans. We have remained friends since graduation and she was one of my bridesmaid at our March 13, 2010 wedding!

Tiffanie and her fiance Pierre

When I was planning our trip to Tampa I was really hoping I would get to see Tiff and meet her fiance Pierre but they live in Ft. Lauderdale and it is a little over 4 hours away, so I didn't hold out much hope. Fortunately Tiffanie had an engagement party scheduled for August 11th which was a few days before I was supposed to be in Tampa so I was able to change my flight and go! Marissa is also in the wedding so she drove down and picked Blake and I up from the Ft. Lauderdale airport late Friday night. 

On Saturday morning Tiffanie picked us up at the hotel to go bridesmaid dress shopping! It was Blake's first high fashion shopping experience and needless to say she was thrilled :)

 That night we all got dressed up and headed into Miami to Tiffanie's parent's house for the engagement party. It was such a blast to see the boys I used to babysit, Tiff's sisters and parents, my sorority big, Tiff, Marissa, other college friends and to meet Tiff's fiance.

 Blake dressed up for the party

Blake and Marissa

 Me, Marissa, Blake, Tiff, and Jess

(Tiff was Marissa's big in DG and Jess was mine!)

Bridesmaids: Marissa, Audrey (Pierre's sister), Brittany (Tiff's sister), Tiff (the bride!), Heather (Tiff's sister), me, Carla, and Jess

On Sunday morning Marissa and I got up and met Julie and new baby Darrow in the belly for breakfast before heading over to say bye to Tiff and drive back to Tampa. All in all it was a great and busy weekend. I am so looking forward to the wedding and meeting baby Darrow! Can't wait for March!

Talking to Tiff

The Big Move

While we were in Tampa Blake slept in a Pack n' Play which was about double the size of the co-sleeper she sleeps in at home. With this new found space she decided that mid-night gynastics were in order and ended up sleeping horizontally most nights (when put into bed vertically). When we got home on Thursday night she proceeded to spin in her co-sleeper as well and ended up stuck half way through her sleepy rotation with her little head smashed against the side. While we planned on her staying in the co-sleeper a bit longer we knew it was time to make the move to the crib so that little miss had space to move. And move she did! The above picture is from her first night in the crib. She started the night with her head facing the other end!

Since being in the crib she still tends to wake up once or twice a night but we are hoping she will start to sleep longer soon.

Almost Over!

When we were in Tampa Blake spent tons of time hanging out with her Aunts and Uncle and grew so so much with all the different personalities around. One of the days she was laying on the couch with us and decided she wanted to try to roll over. She was so so close to succeeding if only her little arm could of just moved out of the way.

Blake trying to roll over at 11 weeks

Blake has something to say!

Around 7-9 weeks Blake started making some sounds, but it wasn't until weeks 11 and 12 that she really started talking. Cooing, gurgling, babbling, squealing and smiling away! Here are a few videos of the big girl talk, talk, talking.

Blake at 12 weeks talking to mommy and prepping for football season!

Talking to Aunt Annie

Talking to her owl

Pool Day

We have a pool in our complex here in Denver and while it was hot this summer the pool never got warm enough for Blake to get in. Blake loves bath time so we figured she would really enjoy swimming. So, while we were in Tampa we headed over to our friend Judi's house to take Blake for her first swim. 

We quickly learned that she did NOT like being in the bright sunlight so we took a break and tried again when the sun went behind the clouds. While she didn't seem to love it, she was definitely content.  We spent about half an hour spinning around the pool with our little water bug and are really looking forward to when she is a bit bigger and can be more involved in the action.