Blake's First Year

There is a lot of different things I could blog about today. I told Tyler my new years resolution is to update the blog more :) But I thought since Blake is now 13 months I would do a picture review of his first year. I should have done this a month ago but at least I'm doing it :).The picture above and below the words go with each month.

Blake Gerald came into our lives on November 24, 2011 at 4:23pm weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long. 

 

 

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 1 month- He was 9 lbs. 6 oz. and 22 inches long. He rolled from his tummy to his back at just two and a half weeks! He also started smiling at us :)

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2 months-He weighed 13 lbs 8 oz and was 24 inches long. He rolled from his back to his tummy on January 31st! He started holding his head up on his own and he liked to stand up when we held him. 

 

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 3 months-Weighed about 15 pounds. He started laughing a little bit. He was wearing mainly 6 month clothes. He loved being in his jumperoo.  He started to really enjoy playing with daddy.

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 4 months- He weighed 16 lbs 6 oz and was 25 inches long. He started playing with his tractor and loves Harry the octopus. He liked to go outside and play with our cats. He still really liked being in his jumperoo.

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5 months- He was 17 lbs 5.5 oz and 26 1/2 inches long. He was sitting up on his own, he crawled for the first time and he started pulling himself up. We started finding him everywhere throughout the house. As you can see he was developing his goofy personality :) He was blowing bubbles a lot! He really liked to play with our cell phones.

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 6 months-He went into the woods for the first time and loved it! He also really liked Diesel and just being outside. He still loved being with his daddy. He started getting into everything!

 

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  7 months-He was 19 lbs 10 oz. and 29 inches. He started standing up on his own and would push things around the house. He also liked being pushed around the house :) He loved eating anything but sweet corn and cucumbers were some of his favorite. He got his first tooth on July 3rd! And he liked pulling things out of the boxes I was packing as we were preparing to move.

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8 months- He took his first steps on August 10th. Loved helping daddy work on the farm and getting tractor rides! He started playing with his farm toys all the time. Went squirrel hunting for the first time, and loved it!!

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9 months- He started walking on Sept. 7th!! Had 2 bottom teeth. He liked to help with harvest any chance he could. He was walking all over the place! Still loved to be outside and play in the yard or with the dog.

 

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10 months- He loved being with daddy working on the farm still. He liked to pet the deer daddy brought home. When I was not watching him when we were at the field he liked to eat dirt. It only happened a couple times though :)

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11 months- He had 4 teeth. He starting getting a much goofier personality. This picture shows it perfectly :) And the other picture shows his love for deer, along with his daddy's :)

  

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12 months- He weighs 22.6 lbs and is 30 1/2 inches tall. He has 9 teeth: 4 on top, 3 on bottom and 2 molars. He went into the hog barn for the first time and he loved it! He is crazier than ever and runs around the house non stop. He gives kisses and hugs a lot and likes showing people his teeth.

 Without him our lives would be boring! He has brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. He can be onry at times but he can also be really sweet when he wants to be. Our lives wouldn't be the same without him! 

A little side by side comparison :)

Long overdue update!

A lot has happened since I last posted. Blake is now 1 year old, we are moved into our house, harvest is officially over, soil testing is done and Tyler just got his 3rd deer of the year tonight!!

We moved into our house on November 8th. Josh and Jenn moved out of it the same day :) Jenn had some of her family out helping so while they were unloading the trailer at their new place Tyler and I were unloading the truck at our place. Nothing like moving in the front door as they move out the back :) It didn't take us long to get unpacked because Blake liked to unpack any boxes I hadn't gotten done already. It didn't take him long to figure out how to untape all the boxes and pull things out of them. So I tried to hurry and get things done before he did them for me. We haven't gotten the decorating done but other than that everything is where it belongs. Tyler has been working on getting his shop all organized so he can start mounting the buck he got this year. He has spent several hours getting everything just right so he can work. I am looking forward to having 2 deer heads in our outdoors room! Back to deer...Tyler got a doe (that was on the last blog post) at the beginning of bow season, then he got a buck out of the same tree a few weeks later and he just got a doe tonight with his new muzzeloader. I have not gotten anything this year yet...but that's not because I haven't seen any. I had a doe 2 feet from me and a buck about 4 feet from me on the last weekend of shotgun season. I was sitting on the ground so I could have about tripped the doe. But silly me, I moved (because I wasn't ready to shoot), they took off, and I didn't shoot when I should have. So that's my fault! At least Tyler has gotten 3 to make up for me :)

Blake turned 1 on the 24th of November!! Tyler's family was out for the weekend to see our house that weekend so it worked good to have a birthday party with my parents on the 25th. We all went hunting then came back and had pizza. He loves to run around the house making messes as he goes! He can get around pretty fast now. He now has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. He can be quite the sweet little guy when he wants to be. He has his moments when he still likes to snuggle with me :) He is doing a good job of listening to us most of the time :) He still likes tractors and deer. He is already a lot like his daddy! He sleeps upstairs and he really likes his bedroom. He never used to be a sleeper but lately he likes going to bed at night! After he drinks his nightly bottle I tell him its time for bed, he gives daddy his night night kiss, walks to the stairs, crawls up and then stands at his crib until I lift him in! It is so nice! He is starting to stand at the stairs when he wants a nap too. He can go up and down stairs on his own now! His great grandma's both have stairs so they worked with him on that until he got it. Thanks!! On a not so happy note...I took him to the doctor 2 weeks ago and found out he had 2 really bad ear infections and bronchitis. So he was fussy for a few days but is over that now and is doing great! He loves to eat all the time and will eat about anything we give him. He can also climb on about all of our furniture now as well as being able to reach on top of the table and the kitchen counter. So he keeps us on our toes! :)

Now on to pictures:

Daddy and his little huntin' buddy! Blake was all smiles when he was with daddy and the big buck. 

 As you can see....Blake likes deer as much as his daddy! This is the doe he got tonight!

 

Blake and I went to help Josh and Jenn paint for a day at their new house. Turns out...you can't leave 5 gallon of ceiling paint on the floor with the lid off with a 1 year old running around. :) 

                                     While helping me unpack he found a new seat.

                  Yep....it is still there the next day...mommy didn't get it put away :)
                  (he is wearing my slip, he is a silly little guy some days...and he put it on himself :))

                                One of his birthday gifts from mommy and daddy.

                                     Our handsome little guy after church today!

 

He loves looking at the Christmas tree.  He got a reindeer decoration that plays music from Great Grandma Ponto and if I don't have it turned on he will walk up to it and point at it until I turn it on.

 

Enjoy the Christmas season that is coming up!

Life has been pretty busy around here. They are pretty much done with harvest. There is a few acres to go but Tyler is done for the year. Tyler has been grinding a lot of feed lately and doing some other small jobs that need done. Any time we have that we aren't busy we fill it by going bow hunting, which has resulted in Tyler getting 1 doe for our freezer. We took her to Remington Meats instead of butchering her ourselves. I have been busy working at Homestead, soil testing and taking care of the little guy that runs around here.
Blake is now 11 months old. Where has the time gone?! He still loves to be with daddy on the farm any chance he can get! Tractors seem to be one of his favorite things. He will carry a tractor and put one in each room around the house. He has 4 teeth now and 2 more will be showing shortly. He is always on the go, I'm pretty sure the only time he sits still for more than 10 seconds is when he is sleeping. He is so much fun to play with! 

Farming is serious business around here for Blake!

Making sure the wagon is hooked up right.

The beans were not coming fast enough so he had to play with leaves while he waited to unload.

He seems to think dirt is tasty.

So precious!!

Our smiley happy boy!!

Picking corn in grandpa and grandmas living room.

A view from 60 feet up in the bucket truck!

He really liked petting daddy's doe!

My two boys with the doe.

Have a good weekend!

What does.....

one little boy and his crazy mommy do while daddy is out hunting?........

...................... we build a blanket fort of course! :)

then we play with dump trucks in it. :)
I knew all those boxes in our living room would come in handy someday :)

9 Months, Harvest,and Hunting

Farmer Blake :)

 Blake is now 9 months and is walking all over the place!! He does not like to crawl any more at all. He took his first steps on August 10th but officially started walking on September 8th. He would take many steps each day in that month but on the 8th is when he started walking around the house without falling....too much anyway :) We still have falls but he is doing really good. He sometimes will run but that usually ends up with a crash. He has been able to stand up on his own for several months but just started doing it all the time about a week ago. He is growing up fast :) He still just has his 2 bottom teeth but the top ones are working on coming through. Blake is a turning into a hunting and farming boy just like his daddy! He loves to be in the tractor riding with daddy. He likes to help drive the tractor any chance he can get. For the past week on the days I don't work we will ride 5 to 6 hours a day. He will take one nap while we are riding but he doesn't want to miss any of the action. He has rode in the combine a couple times and also rode in the auger wagon tractor some. Since he has been riding in the tractor he likes his tractors at home now even more than he did before. We have also noticed he likes "big bucks" a lot too. We have showed him the deer that Tyler mounted quite a bit since it has been on our wall and each time we show him it we say "big buck." Two nights ago we were watching a hunting movie and Blake was all eyes! He wouldn't even turn his head away from the screen to eat ice cream! And he usually likes ice cream a lot. Every time he saw a deer on the screen he would make a "buu" sound and look at us. If we would ask him where the "big buck" was he would look back at the screen. If we would ask where daddy's "big buck" was he would look at it hanging on the wall. So it looks like he will be just like his daddy! :)

I am now working at  Homestead Buttery and Bakery. I worked there before Tyler and I got married so it was nice to go back. I enjoy it a lot! I work in the deli and will sometimes help in the kitchen. I also help package all the bulk foods. I work on Tuesday from 8 to 5 and Thursday from 8:30 to 5. So on the days I work Blake goes to a babysitter, on Tuesday he goes to his Aunt Jenn's house and on Thursday he switches every other week from Great Grandma Furrer's to Great Grandma Ponto's.  He is getting used to this schedule pretty good. I miss spending every day with him but it is also nice having a break. I also do the hog records for dad. So on Friday's I head over to his house and do those. I will also be doing some soil testing for dad this fall.

Tyler still enjoys working on the farm. He told me he thinks he finally found his career! He said it doesn't really feel like work so he is enjoying it a lot! He enjoys hauling grain during harvest, he said during lunch today that he misses it when he isn't doing it. They are picking corn in a field several miles south of the 
farm so they are using semi's to haul the corn so he is doing other jobs until that is done. Yesterday he ground feed and did a few other jobs and today he has worked at the shop and is fixing the honey wagon this afternoon. Then he said hopefully he can get back in the tractor and haul some beans later today.

Deer season is just 12 days away!! We hung a few stands the other night at one of the woods. Tyler will be working on opening day but I hope to go out and try to get a deer with my bow :) We have done some squirrel hunting this year already. Tyler has gone out a couple times by himself, he took Trent once, and then he took Blake and I once. He has gotten at least 4 squirrels so far. Blake is usually pretty quick to get a hand on one when he can :)

Here are some 9 month pictures I took:

Wagon rides.....something this little guy loves!!

Farming at home with his tractor and boots!

One of my favorite pictures!

Sitting in the combine tire!

Playing in the grass.

Harvest time!!!

What was the yield again grandpa?

Taking his nap. He snores most of the time during his tractor naps.

Him and his best friend.....Daddy!!!

Hunting for squirrels...no I didn't shoot the gun holding Blake, I was just holding it so Tyler could take a picture :)

The first squirrel Daddy brought home!

Listening for squirrels with Daddy!

This is what Blake and I look like each night. I love my snuggle time with him! :)