our ups and downs...

We have had a busy week...we definitely had more UPS, than DOWNS...last Wednesday, we got a call from Day Care that Blakeley had a 103 degree fever! Needless to say, I was freaking out!! Blakeley has only ever had low grade teething fevers - so I was just SURE that she was going to be so sad and pitiful. Boy, was I WRONG! Blakeley was her sweet, smiley, talkative self...just a little run down. I took her to the doctor to learn that it was just a stomach bug (which was a no brainer since she didn't eat lunch that day - and baby girl NEVER misses a meal!)

The only good part was b/c of the Day Care rules, Blakeley could not return to Day Care until she had been fever free for 24 hours - which meant I got to stay home with my little one!

Here are some pictures of Blakeley Wednesday morning... at first I thought she was already back to 100%...

But then, she slowly wore herself out and needed a nice long nap...

Then by Friday afternoon - we were back to the same old same old....making a mess with the Munchie Mug!




Saturday, was a BIG day! Blakeley got to go to her first Festival! We met Buddy, Mimzy, and Aunt Missie at the Suwanee Day Festival. We had to park far away and ride a charter bus to the park (and Blakeley LOVED getting to run up and down the aisle).




And running all over the park....(she does NOT love the stroller anymore).





Blakeley was very curious about all the doggies that were there.

She even found some great fall decorations!!

Isn't my girl so strong?? She's hold two FAKE pumpkins! ;)

Saturday afternoon, Blakeley felt guilty about the mess she was making at home, so she decided she would help clean up....

but her cleaning up really means she just pushed the mess all around...but she gets an 'A' for effort!

Sunday morning, we skipped church (to make sure every one stayed in good health) and we lounged around....

And Daddy, may or may not have shared some Cherry Coke with Blakeley...

You can't tell from this picture - but she actually said "mmmmm" after drinking the Cherry Coke....

Later in the day on Sunday, we had Blakeley's Baby Dedication at Lakewood Baptist Church. We weren't sure if she was excited or not.....because she just stayed frozen...

I'm not exaggerating...she stayed like this the whole ride up the Gainesville....
We thought she had a question, but she never said a word.

Here is the dedication with Dr. Tom Smiley

And we even had our favorite couple, Scott and Dawn Smith pray with us to help commit to showing Blakeley the love of Jesus Christ!

Luckily, we got to go first, because this little one was ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE.

Justin, Blakeley, and I were so thankful to have members of both sides of our gamily present at this special time! Thank you to everyone who was able to come and show their love and support for Blakeley and our whole family!

Just a regular Tuesday....

It was just a "regular Tuesday" morning....Blakeley had her "school pictures", so I put her hair in pigtails. And we might have been a little rushed, and maybe a little late...

But then, something happened that made us even later....can you guess what happened?

My daughter decided to do her business - TWICE- causing us to have to stop and have two diaper changed in 15 minutes! This little one ran towards me to get away from the smell...but for some reason it kept following her! ;)

When Blakeley got home from daycare - she decided that she needed to help clean up all the mess she makes EVERY DAY!

Except, she wasn't sure why it wasn't working....

And then Mickey started singing the "Hot Dog" dance and she needed to take a break...

Then, she decided to read a book before bed...

Since purple is her favorite, she was reading "Purplicious".

Happy Tuesday!!

Guess What???

OMG - do you know what happened to me today??

I got a slide to keep at my house!


I am having the BEST time!!! (Thanks Aunt Amy and Libbi!)

I have a hard time following the "rules" of not going up the slide....

I LOVE looking out the hole on the side....and SMILING!!

I'm not sure sometimes which way is the best to go down....

Mommy tricked me into sliding down the correct way....

So of course I pouted and played "dead fish"....

And, I had to make my sad face....

But don't worry - I got over it really quickly!!!!

To all my wonderful cousins - feel free to come over and play anytime!!!

Chick-fil-A and a good bath...

As many of you know from Facebook, Blakeley has developed a terrible diaper rash - AGAIN! Thursday night was full of tears as she did not want anyone touching her bottom, and even did not want to take a bath! Bath time is usually a very happy time, and last night it was not.

I received a lot of great advice from friends on didn't remedies I could try to help soothe my sweet baby girl. (Thanks y'all!) But this morning I decided I didn't want to waste money on something that may not work - so I called the doctor and asked if they could call anything in for me, and luckily they did!

Knowing that Blakeley had a rough day (and rough for her still involves tons of hugs and smiles - just some tears at changing time) I decided I would pick her up early and bring her to Colorguard practice with me - which was not super smart because it is still blazing hot! But she honestly loved walking around and dancing to the band's music. After practice we stopped by Chick-fil-a, because let's face it - Chick-fil-a might as well be like the modern day chicken noodle soup, it can heal the soul. And as you can see below, it slowly started working its goodness...

So sleepy, but this fry is sooooo good! Yum-o!

Nuggets and fries work like a charm!

Then we had to take a bath (b/c we got really sweaty outside) - and this time I remembered to not put any bubbles, but baking soda instead. She still didn't want to sit down like last night...

And there were some small tears....

but then Mommy worked really hard to get a smile...

And sometimes, Mommy is really good at making someone smile....

And someone is really good at splashing!!

SINGING!!!

LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!

Then we came back downstairs and had some "naked, let the bottom breathe time."





Someone LOVES naked time!


And this is how we ended the night! Happy with clothes and diaper on

what's new?

I know I don't blog a ton, but I did want to give an update of what is new with Miss Blakeley Grace!

Literally every day, her personality comes out more and more. She "talks" all the time, and has even started trying to repeat words when we ask her to. This past weekend, Blakeley said Mimzy and Buddy for the first time, which sounded more like "Mimmy" and "Buh- ee" (and I know this just melted Buddy and Mimzy's hearts!) Blakeley also says "pop pop" for Hop Hop. And every day when Blakeley comes and goes from day care she tells every one "Hey" and "Bye Bye".


It is especially sweet when Blakeley starts "reading" a book to herself. The teacher in me is thrilled that she loves books - just like Mommy and Daddy.

I hope y'all have a great week!!

My "Toddler" Girl

Justin and I are really starting to realize that our "Baby Girl" is no longer a baby anymore - she is a full on TODDLER! Blakeley has been walking for a little over a month now, but that is not the only trait she has of being a toddler. Here are some of her toddler activities.

Blakeley will get frustrated when she cannot communicate what she wants, which sometimes results in a full on mini meltdown (last about 5 seconds). To be honest, even the meltdowns are cute (at this moment) b/c she does this fake cry, and squats down with her face down on towards the floor (bottom in the air). It is all very dramatic. I know when we are in public and this happens it won't be cute, but right now it is because its just another addition to her personality!






Blakeley can also give KISSES! Half of the time it is just her making the sound "mmmmm" while she puts her face on yours...but sometimes it is a wet, open mouth onto your FACE kiss!! You have to be careful with the wet ones!



Blakeley gets into EVERYTHING!! You will find the most random little things lying around our house (socks, bibs, magazines, maracas - thanks to Aunt Missie) because someone will pick it up and then leave it wherever she is. One of Blakeley's favorite things to walk around with is her clothes. Don't ask me why, but she loves to go into her laundry basket and grab two things out - one for each hand and just walk around. And many times she is walking around with her clothes in her hands but NOTHING on her body! ( I do have naked pictures of her walking around with her clothes, but I don't want the sickos to see it).




She also loves to throw things (not far) but she can throw it with some force! :) Most of her bath time is spent throwing her toys out while I try to block her throws - which funny enough, CRACKS HER UP!



And one last thing that has made Blakeley seem more like a toddler is that she has started at the Buford Daycare this year. And let me tell you she LOVES it! When I walk in with her in the morning, I sit her down while I sign her in, and she has started just walking straight back into her room (with Hop Hop of course!) Blakeley loves to say "Hey" to everyone she sees (she is a morning person just like her Daddy!) People ask me if it makes me sad that she does that and honestly it doesn't. It makes me happy to know that she can adjust so well, and that she loves her teachers and friends!





But no matter what, Blakeley will always have the nickname "Baby Girl" from her Mommy and Daddy. Or at least until she decides she is a big girl - maybe then she might tell us she wants to be called Blake!