Christmas and 1st birthday portraits

Alex went to have her portraits done for 1st birthday and Christmas on Saturday. She did really good and loves the camera! I can't believe that she is almost one!! Enjoy the pictures!

Halloween and Thanksgiving

OOh la la!

Sorry that it has been sooo long since my last post but now that Alex is walking/running it is a lot harder to get away to post. First of all, Alex's Halloween was great. We went to our church's fall festival and she loved the live band that they had there. Here is the outfit she wore; I am glad that we didn't dress her up in any costumes because it turned out to be a pretty hot day and all the costumes for her size were really fluffy/thick.

Halloween Baby

Bad Hair Day

Alex reading her book

First French Fry

Alex has been growing really tall but not gaining any weight. She has been at 19 pounds for 3 months going on 4. I contribute that to the fact that she is on the go from the minute she wakes up to the minute she goes to sleep. She is running around and getting into everything. You have to keep one step ahead of her because I still really haven't baby proofed anything. We have just done the bare minimum. We are switching her to whole milk now and I am trying to get over my anxiety of feeding her table food. Today I gave her a little of everything I ate which included : A piece of tortilla from my frozen breakfast burrito, a bunch of pizza goldfish, and a french fry. She went totally crazy over the goldfish. As soon as I got the bag from the pantry she was begging for them. She must recognize it from school because I always see the other kids eating them but I thought that she needed teeth to eat them. She proved me wrong.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we went over to my Mom's. She was really good at sitting at the table with us and she had turkey, sweet potatoes, squash and a little bit of roll. I probably should have just mashed up what we were eating but I just gave her the Gerber foods. She loves being at her Grandmas house because it is a new territory for her to explore. So I will update again soon. Her first birthday is coming up on December 9th and we are amazed that we got this far. Everyone is asking what she likes/needs. She loves pushing things (like a big truck/grocery cart) and pulling things (like a toy on a string). She loves building blocks or rings. She wears a size 12 (a little big but gives her room to grow) and a size 5 shoe. She loves board books. So there are some ideas for birthday/Christmas.


FYI: Andy has become a connoisseur of Yo Gabba Gabba.

WHAT A MONTH!

Ok, it has been a while since I have blogged but a lot has been going on! Alex is walking!!! She is a terror on wheels. October has been busy, busy. Alex had her baptism, her first "parents night out" and has been talking/crawling/walking up a storm. Alex started really crawling the last week of August and now has been walking since October 10th. I didn't get enough time to prepare!! I have stuff all over the house that can hurt babies! So it has been a mad dash to put everything up and get everything organized into NO areas and YES areas. Alex really understands the difference and we use furniture to block off areas to make a playroom. It seems that the more I put up, the more I see that needs to be put up.

Alex was baptised on October 11th and she did great! I was worried about her screaming/crying/throwing a fit in church but she did sooooo good. Andy wanted to hold her during the baptism (and all the time) and when the pastor put the water on her head she didn't even squirm. Not the case when I am trying to wash her hair. It was a great day and she was pooped after playing with all her friends/cousins.

The Friday before her baptism, the church had a parents night out that Alex attended. They would watch Alex from 6 - 11pm for the evening and we took advantage of it (at least from 7-10). When we dropped her off she was elated to be at school at night and when we picked her up she was elated to be at school at night! The teachers said she was just going going going all night. We walked into the nursery and the lights were off and all the kids were sleeping except for Alex who was blabbering away to the teachers, standing in her crib. She talked all the way home and then just passed out as soon as we got home.

So not only is she walking but dancing as well. She loves the beginning of Yo Gabba Gabba and in this video you can see a little of what she does (she toned it down some because of the camera)

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bumps and bruises

Alex thinks she can walk and has been hitting her head ALL OVER the place. I am probably close to having CPS called to my house due to all the bruises on her forehead. The above pic is the best I could get of her new black and blue look. She is getting much better at walking and can take 2 steps before falling but if she is holding on to something she can go and go and go! So in the last month, she has gone from crawling to trying to walk. I can't even get a couple of months of just crawling! Here is a video of her walking with her car toy.

Giggle Fits

Alex's new thing is giggle fits. She will start laughing at something and then she can't stop. She will go on like this for 15 minutes. This video shows one particular giggle fit she had when I was doing a little dance and you can see her try to dance with me by shaking her head. She is so into music and dancing right now!

We went to a restaurant today with her and she didn't do very well. I will continue to try to get her to do things but it really discourages me when she acts like a toot. She really isn't that bad but she squirms and doesn't like high chairs. At least she doesn't like those wooden ones that most restaurants have. There are a couple of restaurants that have great highchairs (Saltgrass) and I am always hoping for those. Well, it is always difficult to enjoy meals and conversations when you are worried that your child is going to throw a major attitude in the restaurant. My family always helps out and my Mom is like the fastest eater ever so she took over so I could eat.

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We have a new toy and it is fabulous. It is a fisher price laugh and learn kitchen. If you have a little babes, get it! It holds Alex's attention for a looooong time and it has so much on it for her to play with.

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Happy Labor Day!

Well, it has been a while since I have blogged because there is a lot going on right now! Alex was sick and had double ear infections. One ER trip, lots of throwing up, and multiple doses of antibiotics later, she is better. Still has stuffy nose and cough but much improved. Alex is now crawling with the best of them and also is pulling up to stand. She can move sideways when holding onto the coffee table or tv stand and thinks she can stand by herself so she will let go and promptly fall on her booty. She is walking really good in her walker and will probably be doing it on her own pretty soon. This morning we went to the park in the neighborhood and fed ducks. They have a little park that had one of those bucket swings and Alex loved swinging! Here are some pictures/video.

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First day of school

Yes, I cried. I am still crying. I am glad that I took the day off.

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She was a very happy baby this morning and when we got to school she got very quiet. Her eyes were really big and she was watching everyone! There are only 8 kids in her class at this time but her teacher says that will change as the year progresses. By this time next year she will be in the next class (18 month-2 yr). It took a long time to get in the building and get to her classroom. There were a lot of parents there with the older children and it was really crowded. So we dropped off Alex with her teacher and had to turn medications (diaper cream, tylenol, etc.) into the school nurse. That took a while because she had to check the expiration date and labels on everything. When we went past her room again, I had to look in and she was sitting at the table still with her thumb in her mouth looking sad. Poor baby! I was fighting the tears the whole time and finally just had to cry. boo hoo.

Last day before school!

It is the last day of Alex being "home" and as she naps, I am reminiscing. She has come so far and I am so proud of her. It seems like she has grown up so much in the last week and I am having trouble keeping up with her. As soon as I get used to one thing she is doing something else. She is starting to crawl and pull herself up. She is starting to walk (with assistance) and talk (she says bobo, dada, uhoh).

Tomorrow I am finally putting her in Nursery school and, although I know it will be really good for her, I am sad that I will be missing things. Although I have been at work for the last 3 months, I was still basically "in charge". I was the one who made the schedule and planned her meals. Now someone else will be doing it. I took comfort in knowing that Alex was eating green beans for lunch. Now I just bring a whole bunch of food in and the teacher picks what she eats. I could call my family any time and see how she was doing but now I can't.

Geez, sorry for the somber mood-- I really don't know how I got to rambling!! Anyways, I still have a whole bunch of stuff to do. Right after I finish this I am going to fill out all the forms for the over the counter stuff. I have to fill out a form for EVERYTHING!! Even diaper cream. So then I am going to clean- I have already started (you can see the big fat mess from my cleaning behind her in the video) cleaning out the hall way closet. That closet is ridiculous. Enjoy the video of the squirt as she "eats" her puffs.

You know, the best thing about being a mom is that you have healing hugs and kisses. Today Alex hurt herself, started crying, looked for me and grabbed at my shirt. As soon as I picked her up and gave her kisses she was better. I love being that person for her. I am in love with my baby!!

8 months

Our baby girl is 8 months old and I can't believe it! She is getting so big and smart now. She is almost crawling--she gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She can go backwards but not forward. She is much more interested in standing and pulling up on things. She can pull herself up but not for long which makes us very nervous.

She is starting nursery school next week and I am really excited to see how she does. She loves to watch babies and kids so school will be very entertaining for her. I am also happy that she is going because she is getting extremely spoiled!! Everything is about her right now and she knows it. She is very vocal when not getting her way or what she wants (she grunts very loud, it is not a pretty ladylike sound either). So I am sure at nursery school she won't be getting what she wants right away and maybe the grunting will stop?? Wishful thinking I am sure.

She has enough hair now to put a tiny little bow in (see above pic) and it doesn't bother her so you will be seeing that bow a lot now. Her daddy is in love with her and they watch sports together and she acts like she is interested. She is starting to want to do everything herself and is really into feeding herself. We took a video for you to see how her face lights up when we let her do it.

It didn't last

Alex pulled out her earrings and we couldn't get them back in. No damage was done, it was a clean pull. I told her that if she didn't let me put them back in that Daddy was not going to let her have earrings until she was 20 but she didn't care. She screams bloody murder when ever you touch her face, ears, gums, etc. She does not like to be messed with. I didn't think those suckers would be so hard to get back in but we tried for a whole day before we gave up.

Well, in other news-she is soooo good at sitting up now and can "scoot" around the room. It is at least her version of scooting (rolling and using furniture to push off of). She has gotten on all fours occasionally but doesn't know what to do from there. She loves to eat solids now and is losing all interest in the bottle. We are moving to second stage gerber foods this weekend and I am excited because they have combo foods like "squash and corn", "cherries and apples" and "garden vegetables". I can't wait to see Alex's face when she gets a mouthful of those.

She is not sleeping as well as she has in the past and I think that might be because of some teething issues or bedtime ritual issues. She wakes up once at night (around 2am) and then about half an hour early for her AM bottle (5:30am). This does not make a happy mommy or daddy. We were used to getting a full nights rest and then "bam" she changes it up. Holy toledo.

Any kind of change in her schedule is like the end of the world for her. Last Sunday we brought her to church which is right during her naptime and it screwed up the whole day and night for her. So we try to keep her to her nap schedule and food schedule but it is so difficult to get her to eat her bottle lately. She would eat green beans 15 times a day but her bottle is something that she wants to play with. I am trying sippy cups now and she just can't get the hang of it. I also tried a straw cup but she couldn't get the liquid all the way up. I could see it only go 1/4 of the straw. Poor baby girl.

Her next Dr appt is in Sept. and I am not looking forward to it because of the vaccines. She is old enough now to kind of know when bad stuff is about to happen and I really try to not get hyped up. It is just not in my powers to not get anxious. Here is a video of Alex squealing and putting her paci in her mouth.

June and July

We have been soooo busy with summer! Alex has been "swimming" in the pool. Basically that consists of her sitting in her float while Mommy and Daddy zoom her around the pool as she kicks like crazy. She is still doing good eating her solids but is not really liking the fruits. She LOVES green beans and squash, she likes peas, carrots and sweet potatoes, HATES bananas and tolerates peaches. She also has been spending a lot of time in her walker (see pic below) and hasn't quite figured it out yet. She thinks it is a jumper and will jump up and down when she first gets in.

Alex can now sit up on her own and can almost crawl. She rolls around the floor and can do it fast! She can't get into sitting position by herself but if you prop her up she can stay sitting for a long time. She doesn't have any teeth yet but I am sure they are coming soon because drooling and crankiness are increasing. Below is a video of her and her Daddy playing doggy.

She also saw her first parade on July 4th in her Gma and Gpa Masons neighborhood. It was a really good parade with lots of kids and animals dressed up. The fire engine at the front of the parade had their siren on and I thought it would scare her but she was fine. I don't think she was really that impressed at all the costumes but her Mommy was.

notice anything?

She got her ears pierced today! She only cried for a minute and was totally fine afterwards. She hasn't pulled on them yet or even figured out they are there so hopefully that won't happen. The only problem we had is Daddy got a little light headed and had to step out of the room before we even began! LOL! We had a choice between pearls or gold studs (they were out of the diamonds-of course) and we chose pearls. Now she will not be mistaken for a little boy anymore!! yeah! Alex is doing great and hopes you were all here to play with her.

6th month portraits

We got some portraits of our little chicken done and here are the pics! Check out the next blog for some info on what Alex is doing now!

6th month portraits

Here are some more portraits. These are the proofs from her session so when you see my arm that is cut out of the actual picture.

So much is changing with her and she is making so many new noises. She has really gotten the hang of eating solid food and you can't get it in her mouth fast enough. She is eating squash, green beans and peas; She likes all of these and we are starting carrots this weekend. She has also been in the pool a couple of times and kicks like crazy! I think we will definitely have a little tadpole pretty soon. She is trying so hard to sit up that it gets her frustrated. She doesn't quite have it yet. Andy has taught Alex how to open the mailbox and it is pretty much the highlight of her day. She gets so excited that she starts panting before they get to the street and she rips the mailbox lid open to get the mail inside. Then she proceeds to get it all slobbery by licking it. If only she could pay the bills instead of eating them.

Happy half birthday!

I can't believe that it has been 6 months already! Wow it has really gone by. Happy 6th month birthday to our little baby girl. We celebrated by giving her squash and oatmeal. Doesn't that sound good??? Yummy. Alex is now really getting into eating and likes to try to feed herself. She is eating squash and green beans and likes both of them. Here is a video that shows her eating skills.

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We went for our 6 month checkup yesterday and she checks out fine. 26 1/2 inches long and 16 pounds. No teethies yet. Dr says she looks great and warned us to put sun screen lotion on our fair skinned baby cakes! Here is a pic when she was born so that you can see how much she has changed!

Bad Baby

I have been trying to get her new "cry" on tape for a few days. This is the best I could do because as soon as she sees the camera she turns into a happy baby (as you can see on the video).

Memorial Day!

Today Andy came up to me and said "I think I have water in my ear" to which I said "go put some alcohol in it to dry it up". Andy then said---- "I am not going to waste a beer." I can't wait until it is Alex saying stuff like this.

She is really jumping in her jumper now and wants to be in it all the time. The video above shows her jumping capabilities!

Can you just see the attitude in this picture? What a messy oatmeal baby!

Long Weekend ahead!

Ok, so it is already Sunday but we are sooooo excited to have an extra day to play with Alex. We are also starting her on solids again starting this time with oatmeal. She seems so much more interested in it this time. If I could only get her to stop moving her whole face to the spoon and stop doing the motorboat I think it would be a lot cleaner. (But that is the whole joy of feeding a baby right?)

She can now touch her toes to her nose and lick them too! When she does put them in her mouth she gets this face like she ate a lemon. She is also doing a lot better on her tummy. She can prop herself up on her elbows and look around. While on her stomach she can scoot around a bit but not much. She can roll to either side and can roll from stomach to back. I haven't seen her roll from back to stomach yet but I am sure it is coming. She never wants to be on her back anymore and her favorite activity is standing up like a big girl.

So Alex is ready for some fun in the sun and I wish all of you were here to see her! She is getting such a little personality and it is hilarious! She loves to make people laugh and to be the center of attention. I took her to the grocery store yesterday and usually she would sleep through it all but now she was smiling at everyone. She would smile and act coy to all the gentlemen and flirt with them. Of course everyone always looks at her and she loves it!