And We L-O-V-E Her...

Wow!  Two years! 

Blake Alayne made her appearance around noon on April 12.  She was welcomed by two super-excited big sisters.  Her gender was a surprise.  In typical Kennedy and Taylor fashion, one wanted a brother and one a sister. 

Blake Alayne 5lb. 7oz.

It's funny now that we can't even imagine life without her...or with a brother instead.  She has been a living doll for the older sisters.

My first pedi

Although she has been treated like a doll, she has also been exposed to many of Kennedy and Taylor's favorite activities.  She has been decked out in camouflage from head to toe, enjoyed the 4-wheelers, and "hunted" since she was six months old.

My first deer call shirt and my first Hershey bar

  You know that saying about the third (or fourth or fifth) child being treated differently than the first children?  Well, I have never been overly protective.  However, I can say that poor BADkid has had it rough.  I had a brilliant idea for an awesomely cute picture of her in the tire swing at the deer lease.  Well, about 30 seconds later her head slipped between the two sides of the tire and was stuck.  Yes, she screamed.  Yes, I was a little embarrassed, but I also took a picture before I got her out! 


Just swinging at the deer lease



When she's not being hauled around and "taken care of" by an older sister, she sleeps well.  She was a pacifier baby.  Bedtime required a pacifier and "the blanket".  Somewhere around this time we figured out that the blanket was more about the soft tag, but the tag does have to be attached to HER blanket...no substitutes, please!



Sleeping at about 9 months

 Although Blake was born with hair, it didn't last long.  When she was about a month old, it all fell out.  She was not as bald as the pictures make it look, but the fuzz was thin!  I cried when it all fell out.  She is the first "bald" Dickerson girl that we've had.



My First Easter



She is all of the amazing things that moms always say about their children.  I could write for days about how sweet and cuddly she can be--on her own terms.  I could also write for days about how persistent and hard headed she is about so many things.  She is a believer in the toddler's rules.

Author: Unknown

TODDLER’S RULES
1.1- If I want it, it's mine
2- If it's in my hand, it's mine
3- If I can take it away from
you, it's mine
4- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine
5- If it's mine, it must never appear
to be yours in any way
6- If we are building something together,
all the pieces are mine
7- If it just looks like mine, it's mine
8- If I think it's mine, it's mine
9- If I give it to you and change
my mind later, it's mine
10- Once it's mine it will never belong
to anyone else, no matter what

When you get into your sisters' room and stuff, they hold you down and "play" with you!  This is what I found in Kennedy's room one morning before school.



Look Mom!  She likes it!

  Remember that toddler's rules thing?  She is a believer, and we have all lost our cool with her over OUR things!



MY phone and MY boots!



I may still have a pacifier, but I can read and write

We are going to put all these lights where?

I know that the more children you have, the less attention each of them get.  Obviously we are taking a risk with THREE kids.  But I think we can all agree that this child has been "mothered" enough.  Seriously, look at those "mommy skills" with the eye contact and everything.

Don't cry baby, it's MY stroller!

As the mother of two very vocal children, I was a little concerned about Blake's speech.  The pediatrician wasn't concerned because he knows Kennedy and Taylor so well.  He laughed and said that Blake probably had no real need to speak because she could point, grunt, and get results.  He was right!  Finally, around 21 months old, she started to show more interest in talking.  It hasn't stopped!

Super sick baby still singing "your face will surely show it"

Kennedy and Taylor were attached to their pacifiers.  Blake, however, was even more attached (I'm pretty sure she was born with it).  I was s.t.r.e.s.s.e.d. out about the pacifier.  First, I knew that it was going to be miserable to get her to live without it.  Secondly, I knew she was my last baby and I didn't want her to grow up.  But, I was also concerned about her speech development. I'm "that mom" who was insistent that by two, we would be without the pacifier.  As ridiculous as it sounds, even the grandparents were asking what I was going to do because I was "the one" who had taken it away from the other two girls. 

In February (at 22 months old) Blake got sick.  She was very sick.  Although she was diagnosed with the flu at the Emergency Clinic, I'm sure it was really the lovely hand, foot, mouth disease.  She had a crazy high fever and an obviously sore throat.  She eventually developed and awesome rash that you can see around her mouth in the picture above.  She was miserable, and I was exhausted and ready to leave home.  She would not take the pacifier because her throat (mouth?) hurt.  Although it was the longest week of my life, in the end it was wonderful because the pacifier problem had resolved itself.  She asked a few times as she felt better, and we told her, "It was nasty and we put it in the trash".  She smiled and said, "Nasty.  In trash."   

Blake is into everything.  She is a climber like no other Dickerson.  I suspect that might have contributed to the broken foot at 19 months old.  I was going to insert a picture of her with the red cast, but I realized you can see them here.

Blake has recently began pulling the Barbie bucket around and using it for either A) a box to sit in or B) a stool to reach the things we've tried to put out of her reach!  Taylor is still short enough that we have stools around.  (Well, maybe I need them sometimes too!).  But, Blake is so bad about climbing that we've had to keep them picked up.  So, if you come to my house, you are likely to see a stool on the bar in the kitchen, the counter in the girls bathroom, and on the filing cabinet in the closet.  Just last week I found her using my new camera in the bag as a stool to reach the box of goldfish on the counter.

"CHEEEEESE!"

 Blake Alayne is precious, and we love her.  She is exhausting, and we love her.  She is funny, and we love her.  BADkid is "cheese", and we love her.  She is getting more hair, and we love her.



Baby Sit!


Blake Alayne Dickerson is T-W-O, and we L-O-V-E her!