The Almost Birthday Boy

My Blake is almost 1 year old! Ahhhhh, where did the year go?! When Tate turned one, it definitely felt like it had been at least 365 days from when he was born (in a good way:)). But, this time it really feels like we just brought Blakey home from the hospital the other day. I'm a little nervous about how fast the time would go by with another. Good thing we don't have to worry about that right now! Not that I'm playing the comparing game between my children, but not knowing any different then how Tate was, I'm learning how different children can be. Blake is definitely not Tate and I'm glad they are each unique in their own way.

Why we love Blake: I'm a bit biased I suppose, but just look at that face. Blake is such a sweet little boy (that's why there are so many pictures to follow. I love every picture of this boy!). He likes it when everyone is happy. Blake definitely is aware of the moods around him and he is good at keeping everyone smiling. Blake is sensative to loud noises. Although, he likes to make noise, he doesn't really like other people making loud noises around him-especially when his big brother yells-yep, doesn't like that. Makes Blake cry everytime the yelling starts.

Blake is super flexible! He enjoys chewing on his toes and doing yoga stretches. I really wish I could do that-bet it feels great.
Blake is a morning baby! I love getting him when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap. I know I've got a cute face that he is obviously happy to see, but I admit he is probably more happy just to have someone rescue him from the crib!If his happy chirps aren't enough to get me in the room, he likes to bang the crib with his feet until I come in.

I'm not comparing Blake to Tate, but Tate was crawling by the time he was 11 months old. Mr. Blake still hasn't quite put all the pieces together to make the hands and legs work together to propel him forward. But, that's okay. I'm happy not to have to move all the Christmas presents. He has mastered the position and is also very good and pushing his little bottom all the way up forming a nice rocking pyramid. Tate and I have been trying to model proper crawling techniques for Blake to help him, but pretty sure Blake just looks at us like we're crazy.

Maybe he'll be different then Tate and skip over the whole crawling thing and just start walking. Blake has always loved jumping and is very strong. As for weird habits: Tate used to sit in front of the wall and just band his head into it. He'd always have a bump on his head. Then, he'd think it would be fun to band foreheads when someone was holding him. Blake's "thing" is throwing his body weight backwards. For example, if he is sitting on the couch, he will just rock back really hard almost bouncing off the couch cushions. He'll just do that over and over. And then when you're holding him, he'll just bang his head into your chest. Back and forth. I was a little worried about this behavior at first, but the pediatrician assured me he's just "being a boy." If you say so.Blake loves being outside. We were getting ready to go check out some Christmas lights around the neighborhood when Blake found the door stopper. He got it off in a couple minutes-smart boy!

Blake is such a fun part of our family. Tate is doing so much better being, shall we say, friends with Blake. When Blake is sad, Tate will go get him a toy or his blanket. Tate loves clapping and cheering when Blake accomplishes something (like scooting forward, or backwards). Blake's "rewiring" went great (hard on the mom to send my baby into surgery), but happy to have that all taken care of. Good thing babies are quick to heal, because it is way too hard to see your kids hurt and not be able to help.

Although Blake doesn't seemed too interested in all the excitement of Christmas, he's been a really good boy this year. I know Santa's got lots of fun things in store for him!