Nicole and Brandon: Blake

Blake, you are 3 months old! I'm already nostalgic of your newborn days because you are such an alert baby now! No stats this month because we don't have another appointment until you're 4 months old. But, you weighed 14 lbs, 2 oz at breastfeeding group today!

We had some formal 3 month pictures taken at Target today. Nothing super fancy (because let's be honest...who can afford a fancy session every 3 months???) but I love them! (Thank you Groupon!)

Memories from weeks 9 and 10:

-You survived your two month shots but got a fever of 101.3 that evening and you were quite cranky for a few days. Mommy felt bad for you. :( You were chill at the appointment though.

-Your hands are your new favorite thing to chew on (well lick really). I haven't seen you actually look at your hands yet (as of week 9) but maybe you have when I'm not looking.

-You've been more fussy in general lately. It's not terrible, I think you're just starting to "wake up" to the world a bit more and that's a good thing!

-Zoey half jumped on you when daddy said "Up" and it scared the crap out of us and you! He was referring to the movie "Up" but Zoey took it as her cue to jump into his lap. She's just such a good listener, haha. You were fine by the way. ;)

-You really love looking at the toys hanging from your playmat.

-For a couple of weeks whenever we were in the car or going for a walk with the stroller you HATED it when we'd stop and immediately start crying if you were not asleep. This got a lot better after week 10.

-Grandma had to take you out of the church service early when you started crying last week.

-You really are such a good baby! You wake up smiling and go to sleep smiling most of the time! A lot of the fussiness passed with week 9.

-You love blankets. You like them over your hands so you can pull them up into your mouth and drool on them. :) If you're sleepy, I can put one in your hands and you will almost immediately fall asleep.

-We started bottles and use one almost every day, still exclusively breastmilk. The bottle sure does make going out more convenient. You were pretty messy with that at first, but have gotten the hang of it now. We use Tommee Tippee bottles.

-Your hair never really fell out or thinned (that I noticed), but it seems to be growing now. I've especially noticed this on the top of your head where it looks like you're growing little spikes of fluffy hair. (Week 12 Update: it is thinner now where your head rests when you're laying down)

-You had your first epic meltdown in Target. NOTHING grandma or I did could stop your wailing. After about a half an hour grandma got you to go to sleep in her arms but we could not put you down. Eventually I just had to take you home.

-You met your 96 year old great grandpa for the first time! He gave you a little stuffed dog. :)

-The crinkly elephant toy is your favorite. Unfortunately we left it at Aunt Billi's campsite. We'll get it back!

-Whenever you're near me when I blow my nose you smile. It's so cute!

Memories from weeks 11 and 12:

-You officially discovered your hands and love to stare at your fists...and then suck loudly on them!

-You are trying so hard to laugh and it's adorable. You squeal and make other noises and mommy is always ready to press record trying to catch that first true laugh. We can't wait little man! You are SUCH a happy baby!

-You joined mommy and daddy on their 4 year anniversary trip and you were pretty good! People loved you everywhere we went and said what a handsome baby you are!

-On the trip you went "swimming" for the first time! We put your legs and butt in the hotel pool. You didn't like it very much because it was pretty cold but you didn't cry you just fussed a little. We took you out after like 15-20 seconds because it was so chilly. I'll still consider it your first swim, you were in your cute swim diaper after all! :)

-You go right to sleep at night without any fussing. You seem to actually like being swaddled now, or at

least it calms you. We are down to six feedings a day so after the 10:30ish feeding you are down typically until about 8 the next morning. You've always been a great sleeper.

-Nicknames I've heard people call you:

Mommy: Blakey-Blake (I better drop this one before your too old), Fussbucket (sorry!), Buddy, and Baby. Oh, and Little brother when talking to Zoey. ;)

Daddy: Blakey-Blake, Champ, My Prince

Grandpa: Scooter

-We had a big poop incident at a restaurant. You pooped all over grandma VZ's lap. Somehow you missed most of your own clothing but left a puddle in her lap. Poor grandma. It was so bad that grandma, grandpa, you, and mommy were all in the women's bathroom together trying to clean up. Grandma tried to wash her shorts out in the sink but it was too messy so she had to wrap grandpa's coat around her legs and walk out of the restaurant that way. Luckily you're so cute no one minded too much. Aunt Judy was there too. None of us will forget this story for a long time!

-You are officially in size 3-6 clothes. You can still squeeze into 0-3 but why make you when we have so many cute outfits waiting?! ;)

-And just in case I want to reminisce someday, this is your feeding schedule right now: 8:30ish am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, and 10-10:30ish pm. I love this schedule the most so far!

-When I pull your blanket off of you in your swing your arms slowly rise like a zombie's and then you stretch. It's adorable every time. Here's a picture of you on the changing table doing it:

-When I put your bib on to nurse you get really excited and start shaking your little arms and fists, ha!

- You love it when I sing the "Star Spangled Banner" to you while buckling you in your car seat. What a little patriot you are already! :) "The Ants Go Marching" is still the only song that will calm you down. :)

-Daddy celebrated his first Father's Day with you. He was so proud!