Lean, Mean Swimming Machine!

Wow, 7 months already! I can't believe our little man is already more than 1/2 a year old. It still seems like yesterday when Dr.Soni placed him in my arms for the first time, just minutes after he was born.


I still look at him every day and can't believe he is here. We hoped and prayed for so long, that it all still seems so surreal. He is my sweet little angel and I thank God every day for making our dreams come true. I prayed and hoped to be a Mommy for SO long, but never imagined it would be this amazing!

At the park with Daddy

Blaze continues to be a little cutie. We are so blessed. He had his 6 month appointment earlier this month and Dr. Gentile was so surprised to see how much Blaze has grown. He was all smiles for the Doctor and got a thorough check-up to which the Doc replied, "he is very lean and tall." Only 16 lbs (25 percentile) now, but a long 27.5 inches tall (74 percentile). The good thing is that I bought a ton of 3-6 months clothes for the summer thinking her could have worn them year round here in Arizona, but we have had an unseasonably cold winter and hasn't got to wear many outfits. He still fits into most of the outfits with the exception of his sleepers that won't fit his length. WHEW!!!! So no obsessive baby clothes buying for me for a while.

Just like my Daddy

He is changing SO much. And getting so active. He is doing GREAT in his swim classes.

He is so chilled out and just goes along with the program. The only dilemma is that our class is early evening and Blaze fights the urge to fall asleep while he is chilling out during class. We dive him under and Coach Bryce swims him over to us. He swims up and holds on to the edge of the pool to grab his toy of choice. He loves to float on his back and even dives from the edge of the pool with a little help from us.

Best dressed swimmer in the pool

He loves the water and is a real natural in the water. He is kicking under the water and loves to visit Papa and Grandma's heated pool and squeal and scream for all the old folks who just smile with delight.

Fun at Papa and Grandma's big pool

He is my precious angel. My boss is complaining and now wants me to be more 'flexible'. I look into Blaze's eyes and say. Hell NO! He is my world and I won't do it. I took this position because my previous position required so much of my time and energy. I won't compromise! This happens once in a life time and I can't repeat any of it so I am not going to miss one moment to work extra hours and be stressed out over "just a job!"

Sporting a Mohawk in the tub

He continues to eat like a champ! He just loves all of his stage 2 foods. We like Earth's Best and Gerber. A while back I started giving him his Sassy teething feeder and I put frozen banana's and mandarin oranges, apples and pears into it and he sucks the mesh dry. Messy for sure, but he loves it!

MMM..oranges!

He is like a toddler with his sippy cup, he holds it by the handles himself and drinks away, stops, then drinks some more...he absolutely loves all of the Gerber juices, especially white grape and apple.

His DVD player in the truck has been a true Godsend. Blaze wasn't a huge fan of being a passenger, riding backwards, but now barely makes a peep when his favorite DVD's are on. As soon as we turn it on, his eyes light up. He chats with Elmo and loves to watch the kids on his Baby Signing Time DVD.

He is a true jumping machine in his Jumperoo. It took a bit of time to get the hang of it, but now he will spend an hour at a time just jumping and playing and squealing with delight.

My favorite toy Mortimer Moose from my big sister Jessica and nephew Aiden.

He is sitting in his Bebe Pod chair really well and now loves to grab his feet and suck his toes.

And in the tub too...

He loves sticking his tongue out and blowing and spraying us with spit. He is happy almost all of the time and his smile will light up a room. His giggle is contagious and we can't help but smile and laugh along with him.

His manual dexterity is really improving. He reaches and grasps items and of course pretty much everything goes straight to his mouth.

He loves chatting on the phone, well more just listening intently and smiling to the voices on the other end, is another favorite.

He rolls and rolls and rolls when he is playing on his mat and when in his crib. We check in on him before we head off to bed and he is usually on his belly and knees with his butt up in the air. He starts out at one end of the crib and ends up at the other end upside down. This made me decide to put breathable bumper pads up, since we found him one too many times with his legs through the crib rails.Our little man is till sleeping through the night (we are SO lucky!). One of his favorite things he still loves to do is stand up tall with very little help from Mommy and Daddy.

UMMM...some assistance here folks!

The mirror never hesitates to get a smile! He loves to see the baby looking and smiling back at him.

A few weeks back we picked up a Baby Bjorn Active carrier from Craigslist. He really likes it and so do Mommy and Daddy. We can't wait for our first trip to the Phoenix Zoo to really try it out.

Neyla is now in school, well she started in dog training classes last week and she is doing great too! The trainer comes to our home and does one-on-one training. The trainer told us that our Neyla girl is going to be a fast learner, and after only a couple of classes she has already picked up 'sit', 'come' and 'stay.' We look forward to working on 'park it' in the next couple of weeks. We have already seen a huge difference in her and its great!

Well, it's that time of year again...Papa and Grandma head back up to the great white north and leave us for another 5 and a 1/2 months. We are all very sad, Grandma especially! She has become very attached to her newest little Grandson and we all know how much he will change in the coming months. We will be keeping in touch through Skype and be sure to save tons of hugs and kisses for them when they return in October.

Bye, Bye Papa and Grandma we sure will miss you!