Jamaica here we come!

We are leaving tomorrow for Jamaica! I just can’t wait. 5 days with NOTHING to do?!? How wonderful is that! We are leaving super early tomorrow morning to catch our non-stop flight from DTW. By tomorrow afternoon we will be laying on the beach sipping frozen cocktails!

Only bummer is that we will be missing Blake. Ryan and I are taking him to Ryan’s parents tonight. I am sure that we will miss him more than he will miss us. He is such a good boy, and I know that he will have fun with his gramps and grams. We don’t have to worry about him…just miss him :(

Teething

I feel like Blake is getting close to cutting a tooth. BUT, I guess that I have been saying that for a month or so! He is chewing on everything in sight and drooling like a crazy man!! You can feel that his teeth are really close to the surface of his gums, but you can’t see any white yet!

He was chewing on a little towel the other day and must have fallen asleep….with the towel IN his mouth!

Aunt Mary…

Here is a pic of Blake and his fav aunt Mary!! Blake, aunt Mary, and I went shopping last night to get some goods for our Jamaica trip (me and Mary’s trip…poor Blakers has to stay home). We are getting SUPER excited to go! Tonight I HAVE to pack and get everything organized. Not only do I have topack for me and Ryan to go to Jamaica, but I also have to pack for Blake to spend 5 days with his gramps and grams! That will require LOTS of stuff!!

New fav

Blake has a favorite new toy!! He just can’t get enough of his Elmo walker. He loves to sit in it play with all of the gadgets. He is a busy bee…always moving, tugging on something, or putting something in his mouth!

6 months!

We had a busy weekend…and my baby is now ½ a year old! I can’t believe it.

On Friday night we watched the Wings game…too bad it was a bust :o(
On Saturday Ryan had a golf outing in the morning. Blake and I went to lunch with my mom and sister. Then, on Saturday evening we went to Battle Creek where Ryan’s cousins were playing baseball. They won the state championship, so that was fun…but a long drive. On Sunday we hung out at the lake and then went to Ryan’s parents for dinner.

And now…here we are on Monday again!! The weekends just go too fast! Oh well….

Here are a few pics that I took of Blake a week ago…he used to be so little in this chair and now he fills it right out! Won’t be long and he won’t need it at all, b/c he will be sitting on his own!!

Baby cousins

I can’t believe that Blake will be 6 months old already tomorrow. That has got to be the fastest 6 months of my entire life! I cannot imagine our lives without him now. He is the center of everything that we do/think about/talk about!!

Here are a few pictures of Blake and his baby cousin Addy. Doesn’t he look so big compared to her? Addy was born on May 2, so they are about 4 ½ months apart in age! BIG size difference now, but I am SURE that Addy will catch up to her older cousin....and may even surpass him :o)

Bath Time!!

The boy cannot get enough of the water!! He LOVES taking a bath and would hang out in there all evening if we let him. I probably would let him if he didn’t turn into a little prune. It is fun to watch him in there kicking and splashing around. It is hard to believe how much progress he has made. I remember putting him in this very same bath less than 6 months ago and he seemed so tiny and fragile. He is far from fragile now. I think that he is about ready to do the whole bath thing without the little baby bath!!

My parents got him a lifejacket for the lake. I am anxious for the water to warm up so we can test it out. I hope that he likes to swim in the lake too!

I’ve got hands!...and I can use them :)

Blake has just really started to “grasp” the concept of his hands and the fact that he CAN grasp anything within reach. It is too cute. He will cup his little hands and look at them…and then reach them out in front of himself. Then he just looks around to see if anyone is watching….like “hey guys…look what I have!!”…

Downside….now is CONSTANTLY grabs necklaces and hair. You wouldn’t think that something that little could inflict so much pain….he can really grab onto that hair and PULL!!

Here he is grabbing away at his toys....

Weekly weigh-in

Well……lost….a measly 0.2 lbs! Oops. I was hoping for more. BUT, a loss is a loss…and I really didn’t do much to deserve much more than that.

I did yoga on Thursday, walked Tuesday and Wednesday….and that about sums it up!

I have lost a total of 27.8 pounds in 21 weeks. I REALLY want to reach my goal by the time we leave for Jamaica. SO, I have 3 pounds to loose in 16 days…possible?? IDK! I hope so…OR there will be NO pictures taken while we are on vay-cay (b/c I am SURE that I will need to be in a bathing suit 24 hours a day b/c of the heat)!!

Girls night out!!

My sister/BFF/Maid of honor just planned my bachelorette party! It seems far away…and it is…But the wedding is only 3 ½ months away. Everyone is SO busy during the summer so she wanted to plan early so everyone could save the date! SO, the party is on August 29th. She has planned for a bunch of girls to head up to Petoskey for the evening.

I am super excited b/c I love Petoskey (anywhere in Northern Michigan) during the summer. Mary used to live there so she knows all of the cool/fun places to go! We are going to do shopping/dinner/drinks/and hit the club. I haven’t been out much since little Blakers made his appearance into this world…SO it doesn’t take much to get me excited anymore! YAY.

An arial view of beautiful Petoskey:
The club we are planning on going to...I've never been, but Mary assures me it is cool!

The casino...we will be staying at the Casino Hotel!

A view of downtown shops and bars!

A typical summer weekend….

Here are some pictures from Memorial Day weekend….this is typical of about EVERY weekend during the summer. Last weekend wasn’t warm enough to really enjoy the lake…hopefully this coming weekend will be better! I hope that we can get some sun and relaxation....before we get too busy with weddings/trips/work/etc!

Blake enjoying his first pontoon ride ever!


Just chillin on the boat:


All of that fresh air wore him right out!


me with my sissy!


Ryan and I


Mary whipping up some din-din


Ryan and mom helping her out!


our view from the house


Ryan's fish


catch of the day!