Shannon hasn't updated this in a while and I took some pics with the fancy new camera and wanted to share. Plus I played with them in iPhoto for a few minutes :) Click the images for larger versions. As you can tell I am not the storyteller that Shannon is!

Shavin Cream Fun!

Part of staying at home with Stephanie means finding new activities to occupy her time and make learning fun. Today we broke out the shaving cream. I tried this with her a few months ago and she wanted no part of it...but today she totally got into it!

"I can really play with this?"

"OK...this is kinda fun..."

Squishing it between her fingers :)

"I am wearing gloves!"

"LONG gloves"

"Let's see how the elbows are at spreading this stuff around.."

She had lots of fun!

The Family Can't Deny Blake...

Here is a comparison of Blake and my nephew Grant.

Blake 3.5 months old


Grant 7 months old


Grant 5 months old


I showed Steph the picture of Grant and she thought it was Blake hehe.

Busy weekend

This weekend was super busy. We didn't slow down at all from Friday night until Sunday night.

Friday night we went out to Bradley's cousins house to have fajitas and visit with some out of town relatives.

Saturday we got up super early to head to Waco. Bradley had to pick up a new rescue truck for the fire department. While we were in Waco we decided to take the kids to the zoo. Stephanie loves the zoo and all things animal related. She was a little apprehensive about the animals at first as she thought they could get to her. But once she realized that she was safe she enjoyed it a ton! After the zoo we headed to Bradleys parents house for a family reunion. His mom had some family in from New York, Dallas, and Georgia. We enjoyed some great food and company. Stephanie enjoyed playing with her cousins she doesn't see very often. We were there late so when we got home we all went straight to bed...we were exhausted!

Sunday Bradley had to work for the city so me and the kiddos went to his parents again to help pick things up from the night before. Blake ended up sleeping all day while we were there...guess he was still trying to catch up from Saturday. I felt so bad for Stephanie though. She wanted to play outside so bad but it was hot and she needed a nap. I told her when she woke up we would go outside. She took a good nap, but as soon as we stepped outside it started pouring! Poor girl was devastated. By the time the rain stopped we needed to head home..she was not having it! Luckily Sue Sue said they would bring Steph home later so she could play and help clean.

It was a great weekend even if it was super busy! But I think this weekend we will just chill out at home :)

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin',

Blake has been working on rolling over for some time now...but when you have 15 pounds to haul around it takes a little strength. Well this morning he finally figured it all out. He is so proud of himself and will no longer stay on his belly for more than 10 seconds. It should be fun to try and put him to bed tonight since he is a tummy sleeper! Once I get the video uploaded, I will post it on here :)

Hook 'em Horns :)

When Blake was born his Uncle Kevin brought him this outfit at the hospital. If you know Kevin, you know shopping is the last thing he is likely to do, and shopping for a baby is even harder to imagine. But nonetheless, he was excited to welcome another longhorn into the world :) The hat is still way to big, but I wanted to take a picture of him in his first longhorns garb before he outgrows the shirt.

A true Widner boy :)

Isn't he the cutest?

I know...I am a little biased :)

Splish Splash

I was home with the kids the other night and they both needed a bath. Instead of taking an hour to bath both of them separately, I decided to put them both in the tub at once :) Steph loved the idea, Blake...he was just happy to do what ever :)

Yum...this duck's pretty tasty!

I'll share with you brother :)

Aren't you done taking pictures??

Yes...I am up to something...

Right after this photo...she dumped water on Blake's head. His reaction...he laughed :)

Yum Yum!

Although Blake is only 3 months old, I decided to start trying him on cereal. Now I know they say to wait until they are 4 months old, but Blake already gets cereal in his bottles to help reduce the spit up. So this is more for practice than for actual nutrition.

What is this Mom?

Ok....so this isn't so bad...

Yep...I could eat some more!

Yummy!

2 months...already???

Blake is 2 months old today..where did that time go??? We have been sooo busy this last month that it has just flown by. Blake had his well-check last Thursday and is 12 pounds and 24 inches long!!! He is getting to be a little chunker already!

He also experienced lots of firsts this last month. He went to his first, of many I am sure, Thorndale cook-offs. It was sooo hot out, but he seemed to enjoy himself. And by enjoy himself I mean sleep most of the time haha. He celebrated his first 4th of July at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Kevins house. He went swimming in their pool while there, and he actually liked it! I expected lots of screaming, but he sat back and talked up a storm while we waded around he pool. He started sleeping in his room this month. He starts out the night with a 4-5 hour stretch, then is up every 3 hours to eat. He is eating 5-6 oz every 3 hours during to day (wonder why he gained 3 lbs in a month LOL) He also really started smiling and reacting to us. He loves to talk to Stephanie and will follow the sound of her voice to find her. We have been working on tummy time to strengthen his neck muscles. He is doing really well with it, but seems to like it better in the later afternoon than in the morning for some reason.

Oops!

So I have been totally slacking in keeping up with this blog. Life has just been soooo crazy these last few weeks that it has kept me totally occupied with other things. Since my last post things have been going great. Stephanie and Blake are both doing really well and growing like crazy. Stephanie has been enrolled in a Mother's Day Out program at the Methodist Church in Taylor. She will go to school 2 days a week, which will give me some one on one time with Blake and allow me to be able to do things, like go to the grocery store, with a little more ease. She is excited about it and can't wait to make new friends. Blake had his 1 month check-up on the 6th and had grown a lot in the two weeks since he had been to the doc. At one month he was 8#13.5oz and 21 1/2in. I am interested to see how much he has grown when I take him back in the next week. Bradley and I are also doing well. Our 6 yr. anniversary is coming up in a few weeks and we are looking forward to date night to celebrate!

Hopefully I will be better able to keep up now that our life is kinda settleing down some.

Pictures!!!!

Sleeping in the hospital :)













Daddy feeding Blake
















Posing with his pillow from Aunt Paige














Getting ready to go home






















In the car on the ride home














First feeding at home. Steph is a great big sister!












Hanging out with Mommy!

















His favorite activity...sleeping!

We made it home!

Sorry to leave everyone hanging for a few days. We made it home on Friday, but it was a crazy busy weekend and I am just now able to sit down and post an update. They released us both from the hospital Friday morning and we were home by lunch. Blake has been wonderful! He is still in the newborn sleepy stage, which has allowed mommy to recover and get back to "normal". Saturday Aunt Tara, Aunt Paige, and Bailey came to visit. Sleepy mommy forgot to get pictures :( Stephanie enjoyed Bailey visiting since it is a rare occasion that she gets to play with another girl. Then for Mothers Day we went to Bradleys parents house and had a yummy lunch. There was a lot of family there so Blake got lots of attention.

He is doing sooo well! He is a totally different baby than Stephanie was. He is content to be left alone, wide awake or asleep. He only cries when he is hungry. So far he is sleeping 3 hour stretches at night and only waking long enough to eat, get a diaper change, and then sleep some more. We are working on keeping him awake during the day and in the bright lights so he doesn't get his days and nights mixed up. Over all he is a wonderful baby!!

Stephanie is doing great also. She is absolutely in LOVE with her brother! She can't stand for him to cry and will get upset if she can't make him stop. She is in "charge" of his paci and knows to give it to him when he cries and is great at her "job". There have been moments where she acts out because she wants something and I or Bradley can't help her, but those are usually late in the evening or right before nap time when she is a little tired and cranky to begin with. I can't wait for him to get a little bigger when he can pay more attention to her and interact...she is soooo ready to play with him!

Pics coming soon....sorry, I can only do so much :)

Welcome Blake Prescott Widner

Blake Prescott Widner made his appearance on may 6, 2009 at 3:44PM. He weighed in at 7lbs8oz and was 20.5 inches long. He is perfect and pink and scored great on all his initial tests!










Stephanie was the first in the room to meet him. She was instantly in love, telling anyone else who entered that he was "Her Blake" and to be gentle.











Our first family picture as a family of four!!













Getting his hair washed...it took two times. Bradley said he did not like this part at all!!!












Bradleys parents with all their grandchildren. I didn't get any good photos of the other grandparents with Blake and Steph...but they look just as proud as these two. There will be pictures of them to come in the next few weeks I am sure!

Tomorrow is the big day!!!!

So tomorrow is my scheduled induction to meet my son! We have to be at the hospital at 7:00AM to get the process started. I am hoping that like Stephanie, Blake takes no time in getting here. It still seems so unreal that in less than 24 hrs. I will be a mother of two. Where has the time gone??? It seems just yesterday Bradley and I were going through months of trying just to have one child, and now we are blessed to have two! I cannot wait for Stephanie to meet her brother. She talks about him all time and wants to know when he is coming to live here. She will be staying with Bradley's parents during out hospital stay. She loves being over there so I have no worries about her. They will be bringing her to the hospital as much as possible so hopefully she can be included in as much as the hospital will allow. Bradley will be in charge of taking pictures and we will try and get some posted here when we can. I can't promise anything..but hopefully by the weekend everyone will have a glimpse into our family of four! Until then...please keep us in your prayers!

38 week update

I had my 38 week update today. Everything is going great still. I have progressed a little more and am now about a 3. The doctor has set up an induction date!!! I will go in May 6 at 7:00 to start the induction. My doctor doesn't really think I will make it that long seeing as how I am already so progressed. But he doesn't want me to risk going much further since I tend to have fast labors. I feel much more secure knowing that there is a plan and hopefully I won't have to make a flying trip to Round Rock. The funny thing about that date is that it is also my grandmothers and my brother in laws birthday. They will just have to learn to share :) I am sure in the next week we will be on with more pictures and updates. It may be slow at first, but bear with me...I will get them up when I can!

37 week update

Today I had my 37 week update. I told Dr.F that I had some bad contractions earlier this week. He is very concerned about how fast labor will go this time (Steph's was 3 hours from induction) so he told me not to wait next time I have any contractions that I can time. He would rather send me home from the hospital than me have the baby on the way there since we live an hour away. After my little lecture he checked my cervix again. I am between a 2 and a 3 but am a lot softer and more thinned out than last week. So I guess that is what the contractions were taking care of. My blood pressure was great, 110/70 and Blakes heartrate was steady and sounded great. Dr. F doesn't seem to think I will make it to my due date, but as everyone knows, there really is no telling what could happen. My next appointment is on the 30th. My Mother-In-Law is having a small breakdown since she will be out of town all next week and is just SURE I will have him while she is gone. I hope not, but there will be nothing I can do about it if Blake decides to be a stinker :) I will update again soon!

Doctors appointment update and visitors

I had my 36 week visit on Thursday. After getting in with a new doctor since mine was stuck in surgery, I was told everything looks great. I had the Group B Strep test done and she checked my cervix for any progress since I have been having some painful contractions and she could feel that Blake had dropped pretty low. I am 2 cm dilated already!!! She said she could feel the top of his head too! I also got to listen to his heartbeat again..that never gets old. It was beating away at 160bpm. I did ask her about the possibility of delivering early and she said that he could come early or he could stay put for a few more weeks. We will just have to wait and see. I now go every week to get checked and keep a closer eye on my progress.

My dad and step-mom also came up this weekend to spend time with us and Stephanie. It was great to see them and Steph enjoyed every minute of them being here. Of course like all grandparents, they spoiled her and Blake rotten. Both of their wardrobes were greatly expanded :) We look forward to seeing them and everyone else again in a few weeks when Blake makes his appearance.

Update coming soon!

I know I kinda left ya hanging without a finish to our Easter weekend. I left the camera in Bradleys truck so I don't have any pictures to share. When I can remember to get it out of his truck there will be a post full of Stephanie pictures.

Tomorrow I go for my 36 week appointment..I will update on that when I get back. It should be pretty uneventful...but ya never know! Come back in the next few days to catch up on all the fun times in the Widner household!

Easter Festivites Part 1

Today Stephanie and I had a blast dying Easter Eggs. She has been asking to color eggs for a few days so we took the time to do so today. She had a blast and loved every minute of it. She insisted that there was a "Steph" egg and a "Daddy" egg. And the "Daddy" egg had to be green, cause that is daddy's favorite color LOL. Now she is super excited for the Easter Bunny to come and hide them so she can find them and put them in her basket :)



She had literally just thrown an egg in the blue dye as I snapped this picture. We had to have a talk about treating the eggs gently so they didn't break LOL.















Easter Cutie!