Blaise, at only 4 months, has two teeth!! He can’t get his hands entirely in his mouth, but he his trying ;=) He’s still a very happy baby… despite sore gums. Hooray!!
1st Day at Day Care
March 23, 2010 - One Response
At the beginning of March, Stacey had to go through the hardest heart-felt moment of her life. Her 3 months as a stay-at-home mom passed by so quickly, leaving her to tears when she had to part with her precious Blaise for a few hours at day care! 
The first day was Stacey’s hardest hurdle. Each day, thereafter, became much more bearable as she realized that he was in good hands. Ms. Ern is very experienced and took a quick affinity towards Blaise when they first met – I think this was because Blaise gave her one of his precious light-up-your-world smiles!
Mom and dad are doing fine with this new day care routine, even though we miss our boy during the day tremendously. Daddy has the morning routine of taking him to day care and mommy has the pick up duties. We occasionally sneak out for lunch to pay him surprise visits… he lights up every time he sees us – this makes it all worth it!
A Goofy Story…
February 11, 2010 - One Response
We took our first vacation with our little man. My parents booked a vacation spot in Kissimme, FL (Orange Lake Resorts) for a couple weeks in early Feb, of 2010 so our family could enjoy time together and enjoy the magical world of Disney. One of my personal goals when visiting Disney was to meet Goofy, my favorite cartoon character. I know Blaise is too young to have a favorite cartoon character, so we will assume like father, like son! Since we just established that Blaise loves Goofy too 
we made it our mission to find and meet him!
A Goofy picture!
On our first trip to Magic Kingdom, we walked into the park and one of the first characters we saw was Goofy and Donald Duck together! To put it in perspective, there are hundreds of Disney characters that are meeting and greeting folks from all around the world, but you never know when / where they will appear. So we found it very lucky that we not only saw Goofy, but it was the first character we crossed paths with as well. Needless to say, Stacey, Blaise and I all waited in line and took a “goofy” picture!
Blaise’s Domain
December 15, 2009 - Leave a Response
On July 9, 2009, Stacey and I had our monthly appointment with the doc. This particular appointment was special because we could find out the sex of the baby, if we so desired. As everybody knows, I really wanted to know but Stacey was content with just hearing the words “Healthy and Strong!” When it came time to determine the sex, the doc took me outside in the hallway, pulled out a pen and notepad, and wrote “boy”! He saw the glow in my eye and congratulated me!!! After seeing that word, the first name that popped into my mind was “Blaise” – it was a name I always loved as a kid growing up. 
Its origins are Celtic/Irish meaning Firebrand! Anyway, after we left the doctor’s office, the first thing I did was go buy his domain name: blaisebonnell.com, so the date this url was purchased was the date I found out it was a boy! Oh, by the way, I could only keep this boy thing a secret for about two weeks, before I had to tell Stacey 
I crown thee “Swaddle King”
December 15, 2009 - Leave a Response
Daddy has perfected the “swaddle”… the technique of wrapping an infant tightly thus they feel secure and warm. Mom tries, but Blaise usually breaks through her swaddles within minutes. Check out this picture… Blaise looks like a burrito
How well should you really clean a carpet??
December 8, 2009 - Leave a Response
I began the preparations for Blaise’s arrival in the sixth month of pregnancy. It could never be too early to schedule a wellness exam for our already healthy cats, arrange for professional carpet cleaners to detail the house, schedule time with the sheriff’s office to double check our car seats… I was ready/willing to do anything for our baby, some may say I was overly prepared. Perhaps that was my downfall!
I willingly spent a few hundred dollars to have a service come in and scour all of the carpets in our home. With 2 hairy, loving, indoor cats combined with our very active lifestyles… I needed to know that the area where our baby would be crawling was clean, scrubbed of all harmful materials. I was pleased with the service, careful to maintain the cleanliness by instilling a “no-shoe” rule and bi-weekly vacumming.
Days after the cleaning, I drove the cats (remember, they are already healthy) to the vets’ office for their wellness exam(s). Booster shots, cleaned ears, and clipped nails seemed to satiate my need for preparedness… and I drove my kitties home… to my nice clean carpets. It was here that my beloved pet Simon proceeded to have a severe allergic reaction to the vets’ booster shots in every room, on every carpetted surface of my house from every orifice of his poor little body.
So much for my efforts to ensure a perfect home for baby. Don’t worry, the irony of the situation was not lost on me!
“First” Class Mail
December 8, 2009 - One Response
Blaise is growing and growing… and his parents are so proud of his “first” experiences!! The mailman brought Blaise’s “first” class mail… something we were so proud to see!! Our little man is on the grid
On the way to the mailbox, daddy snapped this picture… Blaise’s first snowfall. Absolutely beautiful!!
A cat’s perspective to new baby
December 4, 2009 - One Response
“Dogs have masters, but cats have staff”
Our cats are completely baffled by Blaise’s arrival! Its funny, actually. They circle our feet repeatedly, rub against our legs, turn their heads and perk their ears as if to ask, ’who is this tiny intruder that has sent our delicately structured pecking order on its end?’ Both of the cats cry if we exit the room with the baby in our arms, they paw at the door of the closed nursery, they still try to claim their spots in our king size bed, acting rebuffed and disrupted when Blaise bothers their typically uneventful nights.
Neither of the cats have showed interest in the bassinet or crib (my biggest fear quelched). They are intrigued by his tiny toes peaking out from my arms during feedings. They investigate Blaise in the swing, sniff his head. They cock their ears when he whimpers, then scatter for higher ground when he wails ;-0
Bastian refuses to give up her place in our bed. She’s resigned to join the growing family, rather than be shirked to the foot, or worse, the floor!! Simon acts aloof… pretends he couldn’t be bothered. Problem is… he can’t hide his distraught demeanor when he wants nothing more than to be mommy’s center of attention once again. Sorry ole friend! I love you… but you are no longer “our baby” ;-}
I’m sure that Blaise will have loyal feline friends as he grows… or “frenemies” as he learns to crawl and chase and pull hair. Should be fun!!
Learning the true powers of *Sleep*
December 4, 2009 - Leave a Response
Like all new parents, we cannot get enough newborn snuggles or kisses, and find ourselves foregoing the swing or bassinet, preferring instead to feel sweet Blaise sawing logs on our chest. Blaise’s first day home was no different, as Daddy and son enjoyed an afternoon on the couch watching football.
The problem: this glorious marathon of sleep and bonding lasted for almost six hours! Neither of us realized this would translate to an evening of restless wakefulness and insistent feedings. Mom thinks upwards of seven awakenings in a short 9 hour period.
So… needless to say, we immediately sought how to rectify the sleeping issue. Our lactation consultant (a wonderful woman whom we refer to as “Boob” Donna had taught us that babies are more likely to sleep longer at night if they’ve been given the majority of their necessary caloric intake during the day. She encouraged waking Blaise every two to three hours for feeding, and taught us techniques for waking a contentedly sleeping baby.
Results were immediate!! Our little turkey has been sleeping consistently between 11:30pm and 4am (sometimes even 5am! anything later and Mom will purposefully wake Blaise to eat). After this feeding, he’ll sleep again until about 8:30 or 9am.
Hallelujah!! I am amazed by this simple yet highly effective technique! Not only are mom & dad rested, but Blaise is happier, fuller, and more rested Thanks Boob Donna!
First Christmas Tree
December 4, 2009 - Leave a Response
Super Daddy!
The Bonnells have an annual tradition of chopping down a Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Blaise and mommy came home from the hospital on Saturday (2 days after turkey day), and they spent that day resting and getting acclimated to their new surroundings. When Sunday came around it was a beautiful and 60 degrees outside, and the Stacey-Blaise duo were getting restless and needed some fresh air. So we decided to keep with tradition and go get our tree at Bernard’s Christmas Tree Farm. It was not only Blaise’s first Christmas tree, but also his first adventure outside! In just a few years, I figure he is going to be “Clark Griswold” bringing home the “pine!”
