steffenately blessed

Snow Day!

2010-02-27T13:29:00.008-06:00

Blake LOVES the snow (or "no" as he calls it)! He looks out the window everyday to see the "no" and loves to touch the snow that gets dragged in the house from our shoes. It's been a rough winter in our house for colds, so we haven't had the greatest opportunity to get him outside. BUT we finally did it......bundled him in his snowsuit and "boos" (aka- "boots") and took him out. Here's a peak at our "no" adventure......

It was an adventure getting him all bundled up. And HILARIOUS to see him walk in his snow boots and snow suit.

Walking in the snow was not so easy!

This is Blake's FAVORITE snowman that our neighbors built. He said hi and bye to it everyday.....until it's head fell off and melted :( Now he says "uh-oh" and points to his own head everytime he sees that last bit of formed snow in its place.

First Haircut!

2009-11-14T12:54:00.006-06:00

The past few days Blake has been in to wearing hats:

And putting things on his head:

It's true, his hair was getting extremely shaggy. Maybe he was embarrassed?

Time for your first hair cut!!

He actually sat really well through it! And the results:

Maybe a few touch-ups here and there, but overall not too bad.

This is Blake pointing to his new hair.

B is for Birthday

2009-10-10T12:46:00.007-05:00

Blake turned ONE and to celebrate we threw him a big birthday bash. The theme.......letter "B" I know it's not that clever, but it was fun and a bit of a challenge to coordinate an entire party, food and all, around a single letter. Here's a peak at our birthday bash.

Ball pit.....full of cousins

Birthday gifts

Birthday cake

Blake's cake (clearly homemade :)

The winners of the Balloon contest.....Dylan and Sophie

4 generations of Steffens.......and if you look behind them, there's the banner I worked on for the past month that I didn't get a picture of!

and of course, destruction of the cake.

All in all, the party was a sucess.......except I was busy running around and did not get enough pictures. I have no pictures of party favors, food, decorations, family, etc. I should have hired a photographer! If you took pictures, please send them to me!

He Can Walk!!

2009-09-24T16:09:00.003-05:00

Blake has been getting better and better on his feet recently. He usually only takes 2 or 3 steps at a time, but suddenly today he has been walking across the room! Just in time, as his birthday in only 1 week from today (and he's nearing 23 pounds....way too heavy to carry!) I was lucky enough to catch it on camera too! Sorry the video is sideways.........no clue how to rotate it!

My new ride....

2009-07-24T13:36:00.003-05:00

Gotta love garage sales! I got this red beauty for $2! Blake doesn't quite know what to do when he's in it, but he sure knows how to make it move from behind........

The first supper....

2009-07-13T15:03:00.002-05:00

No more baby food for this guy. He's a very 'do it yourself ' kind of baby. Dr. Boe gave us the go ahead to feed him any and all table food (within reason) and Blake is loving it!

I've posted before about making my own baby food. Looking back I realize just how much money we were able to save and not to mention the added health benefits.

Here's a rough estimate of how much baby food I was able to get by using good old Dave's produce:

1 sweet potato = 6 baby food containers

1 butternut squash= 7 baby food containers

1 apple = 3 baby food containers

1 pear = 2-3 containers

1 lb organic carrots = 11 baby food containers

Where's Blake??

2009-07-03T15:54:00.003-05:00

I think this is the funniest picture ever.........

Yes it is right side up! He was playing peak-a-boo behind our cubes. I have yet to figure out how he was able to balance himself at this 90 degree angle.... without holding on to the edge of the cubes.

Why buy toys?

2009-07-03T15:31:00.006-05:00

These are some of Blake's favorite things, not to mention remote controls, cellphones, and glasses........

laundry baskets....

Any kind of box.......

saran wrap.......

baggies.........

cans and bottles.....

and of course, under anything that he can fit!

2009-06-11T15:15:00.010-05:00

We had another fun visit with Aunt Natalie this past week. Here's some pics from our exciting week.

We took a trip to Miller Park Zoo..........

Then a trip to Chicago to see the cousins.....

And a 5K Walk in honor of Matthew Steinmetz ( I realized I didn't get that many pictures of the walk :(

Maggie, Blake and Ethan all had matching "team Matthew" shirts

Of course, NO ONE can make Blake laugh like Natalie.........

Ft. Lauderdale

2009-05-25T11:10:00.014-05:00

We had a GREAT time in Florida! We spent most of the week relaxing, swimming and spending family time together. Here's a recap of our week.........

It was an early morning flight out of Bloomington at 6am. Blake did great on the plane sleeping most of the way. When he did wake up he was busy checking on the people behind us and smiling at the flight attendants as they walked by.

Blake was very eager to unpack once we arrived at the condo.

We spent a little time at the beach

But most of the time we were out at the pool!

Then back on the airplane to come home. Good-bye Florida, we will miss you!

Finger paint fun!

2009-05-07T14:32:00.004-05:00

We had our first finger painting experience today. I think Blake was more excited about the paper than the paint. Here's some tips to "successful finger painting"

Remove all clothes and place large towel on floor

Insert binky to avoid snacking (on paper and paint)

Proudly display artwork on refrigerator!

A month of excitement

2009-04-27T15:02:00.010-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged for an entire month! There's been so much to blog about, but not enough time. I'll try to catch you all up in one post....here it goes.....

Easter came, and I was FINALLY able to put Blake in this cute little tie to match Daddy!

We learned how to eat a puff....

Crawl under the table....

and tear up the doctors office!

But the most exciting adventure for April was meeting our new little niece/cousin, Maggie Sue. We've been waiting for you Maggie!

Good morning!

2009-03-28T12:27:00.007-05:00

Here's some cute pics daddy took yesterday morning before heading off to see the doctor.

On the move

2009-03-28T12:05:00.006-05:00

trying to be anyway! Blake has learned to go backwards, around in a circle, sometimes forward, and on his tip toes. He gets so determined to get somewhere and typically finds a way to get there. We have the lovely pleasure of finding puddles of puke not only on his blanket now, but he leaves a few surprises on the carpet. What's great is when you pick him up in one location not realizing that he had already spit up just feet away and you end up stepping in it. Here's some video of his new adventure.....

Homemade baby food

2009-03-02T14:17:00.007-06:00

My sisters got me a Beaba Babycook as a baby shower gift so that I could try my hand at making homemade baby food. Here's what it looks like:

I attempted carrots this week. It was really easy to do and actually did not take that much time. The machine steams, purees, and even defrosts your baby food if needed. Here's how it turned out...

Not bad huh? Blake seemed to enjoy.........

some BIG shoes to fill

2009-03-02T14:13:00.003-06:00

I think I bought these a few sizes too big. What do you think?................

4 month checkup

2009-02-14T09:53:00.004-06:00

Blake had his 4 month checkup yesterday. It's so cool to see how much he has grown, and boy has he........well, except for his head. He's in the 50th percentile for weight (15 lbs. 4 oz) and 25th for height, but only in the 3rd percentile for his head!! I think it's safe to say that he doesn't have his daddy's head :) I made sure Daddy was able to come to this appt. since Blake would be getting shots again and it was so hard watching him cry during them last time. Here's a picture to show you Blake's reaction during the shots....

NO TEARS! He hardly even made a frown. He just kind of looked at the nurse and went on with his business. I know it sounds mean, but I was kind of looking forward to catching that pitiful, but oh so cute face babies make when they are really sad. Once again he didn't want to perform in front of the camera. The only time he cried while we were there was when we went to put him in his car seat...go figure!

A visit with my cousin!

2009-02-13T13:22:00.002-06:00

Cousin Ethan came to visit this week! They both seemed pretty interested in each other. Blake, who is about 2 months older, loved looking at and trying to grab Ethan. Blake taught Ethan how to squeal and Ethan tried teaching Blake how to grow some hair, but so far Ethan has his beat on that for sure! Come back soon Ethan!

Are you sure your only 4 months old?

2009-01-27T15:37:00.003-06:00

Yes, this is Blake sitting on the floor (with his boppi around him for support)! He will be 4 months old in a few days and AMAZES me with his strength. Babies don't typically sit until about 6 months. He can't sit on his own yet, but with just a little support so he doesn't tumble backwards he IS able to sit up. It looks like in the picture that he is leaning on the couch, but the couch is actually a few feet away from him. He is doing that on his own! Excuse the spit up on his face, I wanted to snap a picture before it was too late. He LOVES this book too. I can't remember who got it for him, but THANK YOU to whoever did, it is one of his faves!

Tummy time

2009-01-26T10:01:00.009-06:00

Blake LOVES tummy time! I let him play this morning while I put some laundry away...

And when I came back......................

Say cheese!

2009-01-20T12:05:00.002-06:00

Blake smiles all the time, but we have the hardest time catching them on the camera. As soon as we pull it out he quits smiling and looks away from us (maybe because everyday of his life so far has been like a photo shoot). Daddy caught this gummy grin while Blake was playing on the floor with his reindeer from Great Grandma Vertrees.

Oskee-wow-wow

2009-01-16T12:33:00.000-06:00

We went to the Illini/Michigan game this past week. It was freezing outside, but we had a ton of fun at the game! Blake got to stay with Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt while we went to the game. Although Blake didn't come with us to the game, he still rocked his Illini gear (thanks Aunt Jen and Uncle Matt!). I have no idea what oskee-wow-wow means, but they sang it repeatedly throughout the game. Anybody know what that means?

Christmas babes!

2009-01-05T12:51:00.000-06:00

We had Christmas for my family at our house this year. This was Blake and Ethan's first Christmas! My sister brought Santa hats for them and we couldn't pass up this photo op........

A total newby!

2008-12-18T16:03:00.000-06:00

I have been wanting to start blogging for some time now, 11 and a half weeks to be exact. Once I became a new mommy I began wanting to "brag" about my newborn and share those mommy moments with others. I have no idea what I'm getting into and am a little unsure of my blogging ability. I look forward to reading your posts (if anyone ever reads this), but take it easy on me as I am a total newby!