Bye Bye Great Grandma Blankenship :(

It's been a few days since I have posted any pics, and I can definitely trace the reason for that back to Wednesday night. Actually, I think I jinxed myself by writing about what an amazing baby Brooks was and how well he was sleeping. Starting Wednesday night, he decided to stop sleeping at all during the night. For two nights straight, Mommy was up all night long. By morning number two, I felt like a walking Zombie. These pics were taken the morning after when Brooks finally went to sleep as the sun came up.





However, things have definitely improved over the past couple of nights. I say that because we put Adam upstairs and Grammy slept downstairs with Brooks and I to help out. Friday night, she stayed up all night with him and we split shifts the last two night. I have no idea how I would survive without her right now!

Things have definitely changed around the Blankenship household! This was our last weekend with Great Grandma Blankenship. On Saturday, we took on a short sight seeing tour through the Grosse Pointe's which is a beautiful area about 10 miles south of us on the lake. About half way through the tour, we had to stop in a Rite Aid parking lot for diaper duty and a feeding. As you can see, it took all of us to get these tasks accomplished.






On the whole, I would say that the dogs have adjusted quite well to the new arrival...Shocker more so than Tiger as seen below. They like to lay around beside Brooks and when he cries they run up to us as to say, "Hey, make that baby stop crying."




Adam got in some father/son bonding this weekend by reading to Brooks. Of course, with The Great Gatsby as the book of choice, Brooks didn't stay awake for long.














Brooks also has been on his first trip to the nail salon since I wrote last. As you can imagine, he was the talk of the joint. Everyone thought he was so cute, and mommy had him dressed in his first little outfit again...adorable!!





We had more presents arrive this weekend. On of our favorites is the bear rug that was sent from Aunt Kimberly and Uncle Drew. Brooks loves to sleep on it and it keeps him very snuggly warm!










Last, but certainly not least, Great Grandma Blankenship left to go back to Missouri this weekend. We will miss her more than words can say! I'm actually very excited for her to get home and put her feet up. Every day she was here, Adam seemed to think of another chore that she could help out with....for instance, scrubbing the windows! (see below)


She did leave behind two of the most precious gifts that Brooks could ever receive. She has spent the past summer putting two books together for Brooks of his families history. She has pictures in them everywhere from the 1870s to 2008. One of the books was a special gift that whe put together with love from his Grandpa Duane. I took a few pictures of some of the contents of the books, but to truly appreciate how special they are you will have to see them yourself. (the first pic below is an old pic of Great Grandpa Eddie...what a stud!)

Grandma,

The memories made over the past couple of weeks will be kept close to our hearts forever. To have you present at Brooks' birth was a blessing that cannot be measured. We miss you so much already and can't wait for trip #2!!

Bye Bye Great Grandpa Blankenship :(

Well, another day has passed and our little guy is changing with each moment that passes. It is amazing to me how different he seems to be each today. Yesterday, I think he found his hands because he would hold them in front of his face and just stare at them. I truly have had a hard time putting down the camera because I don't want to miss a single new expression. The pictures below are all taken after breastfeeding. We like to joke that he goes into a "milk coma."

Also, he almost slept through the night and he isn't even two weeks old yet! He woke up one time for one hour and ate like a champ and went right back to sleep. I even called the Pediatrician to make sure this was ok because it was so unexpected. She laughed at me and said as long as he is eating very well and is pacified when he wakes in the morning, there is nothing to worry about. Can you get more pacified than this...? (see below)

Grammy has been spoiling us rotten ever since we came home from the hospital on Friday. She has prepared home cooked meals every night. We couldn't be more grateful for this! Over a week of hospital food gets really old really quick. Of course, she announced Brooks' arrival on the pig from the moment we arrived home....such a precious family tradition! I thought I would include a few pictures of our new kitchen below.

Yesterday was the day we had to say goodbye to Great Grandpa and send him back to California, Missouri. We were very sad, but as you can see, Brooks and Grandpa got in some special one on one bonding before he left.



Grandpa has sure made fun of mommy and Grammy because we started using flash cards for Brooks and putting him in front of Baby Einstein DVDs. He doesn't think this will do much good at this age. But, hey, you never know. He sure stared at them with wide eyes. Mommy thinks he is going to be a little genius.

This is where Brooks usually hangs out while I am working on the blog. He sure loves his car seat and even spends a little time in it at home.

Brooks went out on his second outing yesterday. This time, we took Grandma Jody to the beauty shop to get her hair done. I dressed him in the very first outfit I ever bought him for this outing. Actually, the day after I found out he was a boy on the sonogram, my mom and I went shopping and I bought him a few more than just this outfit. But, this was the first. We brought it home and Adam wasn't thrilled. He said, "Courtney, HE IS A BOY." I guess he didn't think that the word "chenillie" needed to be a word that could describe any of his son's clothes. But, boy did he look adorable or what?

Finally, yesterday was filled with many more smiles. I just can't get over how wide he smiles. Some people say it is just gas, but I don't think so. If I smile real big and laugh with him, he will smile right back. He also smiles when you sing to him. Like I said...a little genius in the making.