Busy December

Be warned this will be a long post!

December was a very busy, but fun month for us. At the beginning of the month we took a family vacation to Disneyland. It was a lot of fun and it was cool seeing how much Natalie has changed from our last visit. When we went the last time Natalie was not into Disney yet so this time it was different because she knew all the characters. We think she actually enjoyed meeting the characters more than the rides. She would have them sign her autograph book & take a picture with no problems. It was really cute when she met Cinderella the first time because she was star struck! She just sat there looking at her and talking really quite when Cinderella asked her questions. By the next day she was over that because when we saw more princesses she was very excited. We went with our friends the McCleves & Natalie loved hanging out with Guhner & Addison. Alexis did really well for only being 4 months old & we are looking forward to going back in a couple of years when the girls are older. We took so many pictures, but if you click on the picture below it will take you to a small album of pics.

Disneyland Photos

We drove directly from Disneyland to Williams for the Polar Express. If we had to do it again we probably would have separated the trips because it was a bit much for one week. We still had a good time, but we were tired from Disney. Natalie loved seeing Santa and it got us all into the Christmas spirit. There was no snow there when we went, but of course it snowed like crazy less than a week later! Oh well, maybe there will be snow next year.




Now that Alexis is 4 months old the doctor told us to start her on rice cereal. She actually likes it! Time is flying by with her. I can’t believe she is already old enough to start solids!


Then of course there was Christmas. Natalie told Santa she wanted a doll that could walk so Santa brought Barbie’s. This was the 1st year Natalie was really into Christmas. She opened all of her presents, left cookies & milk out for Santa, told us & Santa what she wanted for Christmas & wanted to pick a present for her Daddy. This age is so fun because of days like these! It brings up lots of memories of when we were little which also makes Christmas really fun. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!



Finally, an update on Alexis; At the beginning of the month we had her 4 month appointment. She is doing great! Weighs 13 pounds 2 ounces & is 25 inches long. She is hitting all of her developmental milestones and is a very happy baby. Our pediatrician was a little concerned about the shape of her head so he sent us to a specialist. We went to the specialist and they told us we needed to get her one of those helmet/bands to help reshape her head. I was really hoping they would tell me to try some repositioning exercises, but they told me her head was just shaped that way inside me. So we went back for the appt to get the 3d image of her head to make the helmet & yesterday we got the helmet on. She will have to wear the helmet for 23 hours a day for about 2 to 2.5 months. They told us they think she will need a second helmet & that would have to be worn for 3-4 more months. We will not know that for sure until the end of these 2.5 months. At first I was VERY upset of the thought of Alexis having to wear this thing on her head. She is just too darn cute to have a helmet! Over the last few weeks I have grown used to the idea, but I am just praying she doesn’t need the second helmet. Yesterday was a bit rough because I think she was just uncomfortable. She slept through the night like normal & today she seems ok. I plan on painting & decorating it, but here are some pics of Alexis with her new accessory.



So that was our month all wrapped up! We hope all of you are well & have a great New Year's!

Baking with NeNe

Today Natalie got to enjoy a holiday tradition that Susan does every year...baking her holiday sugar cookies. Susan has been waiting for Natalie to be old enough and this is the 1st year we felt she was ready. Natalie had a great time baking and in a few weeks she will go help decorate the cookies. I know this is a holiday tradition Natalie will look forward to every year!

Happy Halloween!!

We hope you all had a great Halloween! Since Natalie had school we started the day by going to the costume parade she had with her class. It was really cute because Natalie would not let go of John's hand the entire parade. Too bad he wasnt dressed like prince charming because that would have been adorable. So instead she was escorted around by the Power Ranger! After the parade we went to her classroom for a party. We had a lot of fun and it was a great way to start the day.





That night we went Trick or Treating around our neighborhood. It was such a different experience this year because she actually understood what to do. She would say Trick or Treat, thank you & Happy Halloween. Last year she followed her friend Jack and let him do all the talking! Alexis being the mellow baby she is just hung out in her Bee costume. I think they reminded her of comfy PJs because she slept most of the night.

Smiles!!

Alexis has been smiling for a few weeks now, but I could never get a pic of her doing it. She would smile, but the minute I would lift the camera she stopped. So today I finally got a few shots! She reminds me of Natalie at this age because every time she smiles she sticks out her tongue a bit. Natalie did the same thing!

Tolmachoff Farms

Yesterday we went to Tolmachoff Farms with our playgroup friends. We had a great time at the farm and the weather was AWESOME!! There were 11 kids under the age of 5 so we had our hands full. The farm was nice because it wasn't big so it didn't have large crowds and we didn't have to walk forever between activities. If you live on the west side of town we would HIGHLY recommend this farm!

Hooray for cooler weather!!!

So it only got up to 90 degress today and it felt great! It was awesome to let Natalie play in the backyard for more than 5 minutes before making her come back inside. Since we were having fun kicking a ball around and using her slide I put Alexis in her bouncer so she could hang out with us. Of course I had to take some cute pics of the girls.







We hope you all enjoyed today's weather as much as we did!!

Alexis 2 Month Appointment

Today was Alexis' 2 month well check appointment. She now weighs 10 pounds 8 ounces and is 22.5 inches long. She is getting big fast! Natalie was the same length at 2 months, but weighed 11 pd 4 oz. Alexis needed 5 shots which she screamed, but at least I didn’t cry this time. Natalie has toughened me up!

Here is a recent picture of Alexis (taken 9-28-08)...

Alexis is 2 months!!

Wow! Where has the past 2 months gone? Alexis is doing great! She is starting to smile at us and coo more regularly. She is a big eater...eats around every 2 hours during the day. She is doing awesome at night, I usually only have to wake up once a night now. She will eat around 10 pm and wake up again to eat at 4 am. She won’t wake up again until between 7-8 am to eat again. That is when the every 2 hours start. She is filling out in her cheeks and we go on Oct 1st for her 2 month appoint so I will find out how much she weighs. I think Alexis is more of a combination of Bryan and I, but still looks more like him than me. Alexis got to meet all of the Blume Family at the funeral last week. She was great at letting everyone hold her & pass her around! Alexis is much more of a mellow baby than Natalie. Natalie liked people so she also didn’t have a problem with getting passed around, but Alexis doesn’t make much noise. When she does make noise it is not as loud as Natalie was at this age. We are very lucky to have 2 beautiful girls! Here are some pics from the last month..

Alexis Newborn Photos

Here is a link to all of the newborn photos taken of Alexis. They were taken on Aug 23rd when Alexis was 3 weeks old. We were really happy with all of the photos and the photographer. Her name is Erin McFarland & her website is www.emLifePhoto.com. She spent a lot of time with us to make sure we got all of the shots we wanted & we also get a CD with ALL the images. We would highly recommend her for Maternity, Newborn & Family photos! If there are any of the photos that you would like for yourself, send me an e-mail and let me know!

Alexis Newborn Photos

My Grandma

Last night at about 7:45pm my Grandmother Lonnie Blume passed away at the age of 67. Over the past few years she was between living in Hospice and with my parents battling the effects of years of smoking. She was a fighter. In fact when she went back to the Hospice home on Friday, we thought she would be back home in a few days. It wasn't to be this time and we had to say our goodbyes.

I'll always remember how much she loved me, Christina and her great-grandchilden Natalie and Alexis! I'm very thankful she got to meet Alexis over the last six weeks. I'm also very glad she got to spend so much time with Natalie over the past few months.

I know she's in heaven now with my Grandpa (Pops) and he's once again taking good care of her. We will all miss you dearly Grandma, but will see you again someday in a better place. WE LOVE YOU!

Bryan, Christina, Natalie and Alexis

Baby Alexis

Hello Everyone, I thought I'd write a quick post to share a few of the great professional photos of Alexis we just got back this week! I hope all is well!

Congratulations!!

We want to wish a very happy congratulations to our friends Josh & Sarah Miller! The new addition to the Miller family was born yesterday at 4:06 pm. Claire Elyse Miller was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long. Mom & baby are doing great! Alexis & Claire are almost exactly 5 weeks apart so it was fun to see them together. Natalie was there too, but she was having too much fun with the Miller boys to be in any pictures!

Baby Alexis Picture Slide Show!

Hello Everyone! Baby Alexis had her first pictures taken today by the hospital. Click on the link below to access the slideshow. Both Christina and Alexis are doing great and will be coming home tomorrow! Natalie loves being the big sister as well!

ALEXIS PICTURE SLIDE SHOW

Love you all!

Bryan

Alexis Nicole Blume is Here!

Hello Everyone! Alexis Nicole was born today at 9:37am. She is 7 pounds 11 ounces and almost 21 inches long. Both Mommy and Baby are doing well. Enjoy some of Alexis's first photos, plenty more to come!

My Beautiful Wife-Happy Birthday!

July 23, 1979 my beautiful wife Christina was born. This year she's turning 29 so the count down to officially on to the big over the hill 30 party :) I just wanted to be the first to wish Christina a very happy birthday and tell her I love her with all of my heart and am the luckiest man in the world to call her my wife. She is a wonderful mother to Natalie and I can not wait to welcome Alexis into the world in just a few weeks! Here are just a few pictures from the last year.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA!!!