Blake's Newborn Pictures

Alicia Cervenka, a wonderful friend and fabulously talented photographer captured images of our little Blake at 10 days old! He slept through most of it, so we didn't many great shots with his eyes open. But, that's what newborns do, right! They sleep! She did a great job as always. We look forward to many more memories being sapped by her!

We are back!

We are back! The blog has been very much neglected and we keep receiving requests to update it! I can't believe that it has been three months since Blake entered our lives. He is a wonderful baby. Our son has a happy, calm demeanor. He typically only cries when hungry or gassy. The past few days have been a rough because he has a little cold. We first noticed a little cough coming on and that progressed into a running nose, congestion and heavy cough. Poor little thing! We weren't prepared for him to be sick so early in his life. Neither of us had given much thought to the idea of him getting sick. Needless to say, we were both very worried, so the first twenty-four hours were stressful. We took him to the doctor and they assured us he would be fine. :)

These past three months have flown by. People warned us about this - and, how true it is! At Blake's last check-up, he weighed almost 16 lbs. At this point, I would imagine he is about 17 lbs. He is about 24 inches long. He has been big since day 1. He is in the 95th percentile for height and 97th percentile for weight and head circumference. He loves to eat! Nursing was challenging at first, but, we settled into it at about week 7 or 8.

Blake has already been to 3 other states, besides California. His first trip was to Sun Valley, Idaho for the annual Butcher summer vacation. We had a wonderful time. More on that in another post. He has been to Nevada and Washington as well. We hope to keep up this trend.

We look forward to updating the blog more frequently. Keep checking for updates on our little guy!

39 Weeks

Today was our 39 week check-up. We are patiently waiting for Blake to decide to make his appearance. Just a quick update with a picture of the big belly! I get stopped everywhere I go..I am going to miss the attention. People just love the basketball belly! Hopefully we will have news soon.

37 Weeks

Just a quick update and picture of the ever expanding belly! We had our 37 week check-up today. Baby is head down and in a good position. Everything looks to be on track. At this point, he is considered "baked"/full term and can arrive whenever he desires. There are no problems and all is moving forward smoothly. We have very little left to do in anticipation for his arrival. We just need to install the car seat, pack the hospital bag and stock the house with food and supplies! Wow, we can't believe he is almost here! We can't wait to love you and hold you little Baby Blake!!!!

Blake's Room

We had so much fun doing Blake's room with the travel theme. As I had mentioned in an earlier blog post, we had quite a few things already on hand to work with. We used Derek's model trains, TINTIN books, model cars/transport vehicles and a world globe that Derek's brothers gave him for Christmas a few years back. We created TINTIN poster pictures for the room and we made our own BLAKE bloke letters that we hung above the changing table. We found a French alphabet poster and had that mounted. We also hung a hot air balloon collector's item toy from the ceiling in between his crib and the changing table. Last, but not least, we put a poster of Italy just above his crib. We both love Italy and as you might recall this is where we found out we were pregnant!

Kirstin and Jim's Wedding - 34 weeks

We celebrated a joyous occasion in Seattle with Derek's family this weekend - the nuptials of Jim and Kirstin (Derek's sister)! The wedding took place in a gorgeous church where Derek's mother's parents were married and Derek was baptized. The beautiful and memorable ceremony was followed by an elegant reception at the Edgewater Hotel on the Seattle waterfront. Everything about the wedding was stunning: the beautiful bride, the handsome groom, the great food, wonderful friends and family. We had a magical time and will always keep this day near to our hearts. We love Kirstin and Jim and were so glad to be a part of their special day! Baby Blake will one day hear stories (and see pictures) of his involvement at 34 weeks gestation...I am sure he enjoyed the food and all the pomp and circumstance! The occasion was especially meaningful because Maynard, Derek's grandfather was able to attend the wedding. A few months ago we weren't certain he would be in good enough health..but he was there, smiles and all...he was very cheery and had a great time! Speaking of Maynard, whom we call "Butch", we very much look forward to seeing four generations of Butcher males together!

33 weeks - baby jack's 1st bday

This past weekend we made a quick trip to San Diego for our Nephew's 1st birthday. Little Jack's party was a fun filled event with lots of little kiddies running around, which was very eye-opening for Derek and I. These little boys are quite rambunctious. We have our work cut out for us.
Watching Jack delicately dive into his birthday cake was quite funny. He didn't exactly know what to make of the cake, and so he started by gently dipping his little finger in the frosting, cautiously tasting the frosting. As evidenced in the pictures, he certainly liked this new world of sugar and sweets. The funniest moment was when Jack tried to share some of his cake with his cousin Cooper. He really wanted Cooper to taste his yummy cake, it was almost as you could read his mind, saying to Cooper - come on pal, this is really good stuff! It's a good sign that he likes to share. Grandpa Jack helped celebrate as well. There is a cute picture of him trying some of Jack's cake, and again, Jack happily obliged. I have to say that Jack is a well mannered, sweet little 1 year old. We look forward to many more birthdays in the coming years as well as seeing our little boys grow up together!
We got to see Melissa, Joe and Aidan as well and boy was it fun watching Aidan run around, and around, and around again...that little tyke is full of energy - so cute! The kids received little sand buckets with blowing bubbles inside. It was very sweet to see Derek showing Aidan how to dip his wand in the container and blow bubbles. I think Derek really enjoyed this "daddy in training" experience.
Well, we are 7 weeks out and we are putting the finishing touches on the room. We hope to have some pictures posted next week. Many of our friends/family and strangers alike think that I will deliver early. It will be interesting to see how it turns out!

32 Weeks

Well, here we are at 32 weeks. We have been busy the past few weeks with family in town for Easter, two baby showers and lots of preparations to get ready for baby B's arrival. At last week's check up we were told that everything looks to be on track - mommy & baby are healthy and doing well.
Baby Blake is an active little guy, kicking mom quite a bit at night. Sleeps most of the day, as he is probably soothed by the constant movement. Last night we went to see the movie/documentary Earth and he was extremely active, so much so that I contemplated leaving the theater. I think that the loud sounds may have bothered him. He literally squirmed and kicked through the duration of the film. I must say, the volume was ridiculously high, even for me. As soon as we left the theater he settled down, so I am convinced that his movements were a reaction to the overwhelming noise. I think we will forgo the movie theater for the remainder of the pregnancy. Derek went with me, although he wasn't thrilled about this movie, he quite enjoyed it.
At night we love to read and sing to our little guy. We sing to him the lullaby "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" every night before we go to sleep - there are some interesting animals/things that reside on this little farm of ours! Derek likes to feel him move around in my tummy and quite often the baby will react to Derek's touch.

Maternity Pictures

From Collages

Maternity Pictures

What a fun day I had shooting my maternity pictures with one of the most talented photographers in the Bay Area, Alicia Cervenka at Alicia C Photography (www.ac-photos.com). Alicia also happens to be a close friend of mine. She was so sweet to give me my maternity session as a shower gift. The pictures turned out truly amazing! It will be so nice to be able to share these photos with little Blake one day. I am so grateful to have an incredibly talented friend. Thank you, Alicia, for making this such a memorable occasion!

San Francisco Baby Shower

My San Francisco baby shower took place on a beautiful, sunny San Francisco day! Two dear friends, Vicky and Sacha hosted a very nice party at Vicky's sister's home in San Francisco. It was a whopping 85 degrees+! Great friends, food and fun made it a special event. Derek stopped by at the end to thank all the ladies for the nice gifts! My sister flew up from Southern California which was an extra special treat. My cousins, Shelby and Kimmi came from Sacramento to get in on the action. Baby Blake is a lucky little guy to have received so much love and attention!

San Diego Baby Shower

My sweet Aunt's,,Christy and Stacey hosted a lovely shower at Christy's beautiful home in sunny San Diego. My family, close friends and a few of my Grandmother's dearest friends attended the party. The best part aside from the special time I got to spend with everyone, was the fact that it was a gorgeous sunny day. We received some very lovely and generous gifts. We are so thankful for all the love and support! Derek made the trip down to spend time with family and some friends of his that live in SD. It was a wonderful weekend!

26 Weeks - Starting the room!

We have been working on our little one's room, which will include a full sized bed for those of you wishing to pay a visit! The room will be decorated in a travel related theme. There will be trains that Derek has collected over the years, a globe, TINTIN posters of the French genre and some photos of our travels together.

For those of you who don't know, Derek has collected model trains over the years. As a youngster he traveled by train to various destinations in the US with his family. Since that time he has loved trains. We decided that it would be fun to set up the models in Blake's room. Our hope is that little Blake will develop the same love that Derek has.

Next week I will be going into month 7! The home stretch. I am feeling pretty good accept for the occasional back ache and the necessity of daily naps. ;) We are busily preparing for the birth and arrival of our little boy!

24 Weeks

We are over half way there and very excited! My belly is getting bigger every day, as you can see from the pictures. Blake is moving around quite a bit. He is most active during the evening, typically when I am sitting or laying. I have heard that when you are more stationary/still, they wake up and move around. I love feeling him kick and turn!

At last I am feeling great! As they say, the second trimester is much better. I am feeling more energetic and able to eat pretty much all the things I couldn't eat before. The afternoon naps are no longer necessary. Let's hope that this continues for as long as possible. The third trimester is supposed to have its fair share of discomforts, etc. For now, Blake and I are enjoying yoga and long walks.

So, how did Blake get his name!? Derek really liked the name Blake. I liked it as well, but wasn't 100% convinced, until Derek came up with Ethan for the middle name. I absolutely loved the two names put together. It seemed that we really liked Scottish names. Almost all the names that were at the top of the list were Scottish. We both have Scottish ancestry and of course, Scotland holds a special place in my heart.

How baby B came to be!

We thought it would be fun to share in the story of the making of baby b! Derek and I planned a trip to Europe with my grandparents from mid Sept to mid Oct 2008. We decided that it would be fun to see if we might get lucky in Europe. We loved the idea and romance of being able to tell our baby that they were conceived in Europe. So, anyway, fast forward to the very end of the trip - Venice, Italy. We had no intention of taking a pregnancy test in Europe! But, something happened to me that made me think we should take one. I had a feeling that I was pregnant and I just had to know. What better then to get pregnant in Europe and find out there as well. So, I convinced Derek that we should take a test. The next morning while he was still asleep. I got up around 7am, went to the bathroom and opened my Italian pregnancy test! Of course, the writing was in Italian. Two options:
Non Incinta
Incinta!!!!!!
And, yes, in true Italian fashion, there were exclamation marks after the YES! I waited for what seemed like an eternity and then right before my eyes were two pink lines in the window with all the exclamations!
I went and excitedly jumped on Derek and woke him up to the good news. He smiled and said "really"!
Needless to say, we were on cloud nine and the next two days in Venice were pure bliss!