Welcome Home Blake

December 2 was homecoming for little Blake.  He did great on his first car ride and mommy did pretty good too...only telling daddy to drive carefully a handful of times :)

not the best picture, but we are home!

Sugar is a great big sister

front door

mailbox

That day Joyce and Carolyn came up from Atlanta to meet Blake. 

On Saturday Chad, Rachel, & Griffin made another trip up to visit with little Blake.  

cousins Brady & Claire visit with Blake too

We are so thankful for all of the visitors that have stopped by, all of the gifts we have received for Blake, and all of the delicious food that has been made or sent for us. We have had so much help and support from our families that have made the transition into parenthood an easier {and enjoyable} process.   

he is here

As most of you know Blake made his way into this world on Tuesday, November 30.  Our lives have been forever changed in the most amazing way ever.  He has been a really good baby so far {with a few fussy afternoons}. We are so blessed to have him as our son.

mom & dad @ 40 weeks

It all started around midnight when I felt the first contraction.  After a few more we decided it was time and I went to wake my parents.  I sat through a few more contractions {and tried to finish packing my hospital bag} to make sure this was really happening.  Then it was off to the hospital.  We arrived sometime around 1:30 am, got my epidural around 4:30 am, and by 9:28 am our son was born.

Blake Jacob Boyd ~ November 30, 2010 9:28am 

7lbs 15oz ~ 20 1/2" 

daddy's little rock star

mommy's little angel

our family

all clean

~Visitors~

gram

grandpa

granny

grandpa Randy

uncle Chad, aunt Rachel, & Griffin

aunt Jenny, Brady & Claire

heading home {Thursday, December 2}

Holiday Cards

It's that time of year and usually I have our cards ordered and mailed by this time, but this year is extra special as we were waiting on our newest family member to arrive :)  Shutterfly has some of the cutest Holiday cards and are running a great promotion where Bloggers get 50 free cards!  These are some of my favorites...













Also I really like their calendars.  I LOVE the option to enter important dates onto the calendar so I don't have to hand write Birthdays and Anniversaries every year.  Another neat feature is that you can add a photo to the calendar date along with text.  I will definitely be getting a 2011 calendar from Shutterfly.  


Now I just need to go through the hundreds of pictures of Blake (who is only a week old) and decide which ones to use on the Christmas card :)

The Nursery {almost complete}

I know people have been asking for updated pictures of the nursery and I believe we have pretty much everything ready.

Here are some pictures of Blake's little room.

close of up letters {these are made from scrapbook paper and the whale confetti from my baby shower in Chattanooga}

dresser/changing table and whale painting {done by Jana}

closet area 

we are still waiting on Blake's bookshelf to arrive that will go next to his little chair 

{until then the lamp, books, and blocks just sit on the floor}

whale toy basket

...and now all we need is a baby :)

36 weeks

I am 36 weeks today and can't believe Blake will be here in just a few short weeks.  I still feel like I have so much to do {wash baby clothes, pack for the hospital, finish decorating the nursery, shop for Christmas gifts, clean my house, etc} and the time is slipping away.  I know it will all get done and Christmas shopping can always be done online :)

On Friday we had another ultrasound.  Blake's heart rate was 167 and they are saying he weighs around 5lbs 14oz.  If I carry till my due date he should gain about 2 more pounds {did I mention my birth weight was 7lbs 14oz?}  The ultrasound pictures are not great b/c Blake is really smushed up in my belly, but here they are anyways.

4-D shot

in this one he is sideways looking straight on...like I said not great pictures.

and here is another belly shot...

Atlanta Baby Shower weekend

This past weekend I was blessed with a third baby shower which was amazing in every way...

adorable invitations by Steffanie's husband, Will {Porter One Designs}

wonderful hostesses

Rachel, Steffanie, Melanie, Millie, me, & Erin

a delicious brunch

oh so cute decorations

"Celebrate" banner made by my sister-in-law Rachel

diaper cake made by Erin

great friends & family

Nikki and her daughter Marlee, Lauren, me, & Heather

Anna & I {with Blake & Alec ~ 35 weeks & 33 weeks}

my mom & I 

and all of the gifts...

These are just a few of the many wonderful gifts we received.  You can view my Kodak Gallery album here to see more pictures from the shower

bulldog john johns from Joyce

Georgia burp cloth from Heather

guitar PJs from Aharon

wooden blocks from Melanie & Millie

video monitor from Rachel, Erin, & Steffanie

pack 'n play from my parents

I am so grateful for everyone that was able to come to the shower and share this special time with me.  I could not have asked for a better day.

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other than the baby shower I was able to spend some time with my girlfriends and their children {all boys}

the older boys ~ Mason & Liam {3 years old belonging to Melanie & Steffanie, born 9 days apart}

the younger boys ~ Ryan, Evan, & Miles {belonging to Erin, Steffanie & Melanie, born March 1, 4, & 11}

...only fitting that Jake & I are expecting a boy too

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another perk from the weekend in Atlanta was spending time with my nephew, Super Griffin

How cute is he?  Griffin is such a happy baby and thinks his mommy is the funnies person in the world.  She can make him laugh over and over again.  

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and last, BUT not least I picked up the whale painting I had done for Blake's nursery.  This was painted by one of Rachel's friends, Jana, who also did a painting for Griffin's nursery.  I am so thrilled with how the painting turned out and it looks so good in the nursery.  Now I just need to get this and a few other things hung and the nursery will be pretty much complete.