Watching Daddy Mow The Lawn

PLAYING CATCH UP

Since it has been so long since my last post, I'll give a few highlights and some pics.

California: The three of us went to Oakland, CA for my big brother's graduation from Berkeley with his PhD in Engineering. The trip was mostly a success except for the 2 day delay in getting there where we spent two nights in Dallas because of weather. It was not ideal, but we made lemonade out of lemons and tried to enjoy ourselves especially on the upgraded First Class flight. Alexander did really well with the change in plans which we really appreciated. Once we made it to California we had a great time. It ended up being a much shorter visit than planned, but it was still great to see all of our family! Alexander had a little trouble adjusting to the two hour time difference, but overall he did well. He's a pretty good little traveler.

With his Frostine in California

Food: He has been eating a ton of food recently. We keep introducing new foods and he enjoys feeding himself when possible. His favorites right now are string cheese and squash. I am in the process of weaning him from breastfeeding and it seems to be going well. I have a goal date of July 1st to be completely weaned. I would normally have gone a little bit longer but, we're going on a 3 week trip this summer and them I'm going on a girls trip for a few days in August. He had been down to two nursings a day and then this morning we dropped the morning feeding. It seemed to go okay. Chris got him up from his crib, changed his diaper and then brought him right into the kitchen to feed him breakfast. There was a bit of whining because he was hungry, but a lot better than I expected. The trick is just making sure he's getting enough milk from the sippy cup throughout the day and he's getting much better at it everyday.

I expected to feel really relieved, but I'm kind of sad to be weaning him. I'm ready to have my body back to myself, but I will miss the guaranteed cuddle times. He is not the cuddliest baby so it's hard to get lots of hugs and down time. But I know that it's just the way things go...

Mobility: Well, it's official. He is a crawler! He moved on from rolling to a sort of "commando crawl" which was on his belly and he would kind of drag himself along, and now he is doing the traditional "crawl" everywhere. And he is getting really quick! When he sees something he wants he does this excited little squeal and then heads straight for it. It's super cute!!! He also likes to walk holding onto our hands and he's getting better and stronger everyday. He pulls himself up onto EVERYTHING and cruises around pretty well. I'm starting to get used to the little tumbles and small bruises because I know it will only get worse as he starts walking.

Words: He is still not saying anything coherent or discriminate except for "Dada". He says (sings) it all the time, but he also knows for sure that Chris is his Dada. And he is so crazy about his Dada! It's really cute how much he loves to follow him around and Chris can get him laughing like no one else. It is so sweet for a wife and mother to witness. They really have a great bond.

Activities: Alexander and I are doing a music class this summer and we are both really enjoying it. He loves the songs and all of the other kids and I'm enjoying getting to know the other moms. He also loves to go to the park and swing in the baby swing.

Teeth: Still six teeth, 4 on top and 2 on bottom, but another on the bottom is breaking through as we speak. And it looks like his eye teeth are getting ready to come in on top. He seems to be handling it alright. Over the last week, he's woken up a few times in the middle of the night screaming for a couple of hours not really wanting to go back to sleep unless you hold him or are touching him. We're not sure what this is about, but it could be tooth related or maybe even related to weaning, or possible the fact that he's more mobile now. We're just really hoping it comes to an end soon, because Chris and I are super tired. We're not used to getting up in the middle of the night anymore.

Summer Plans: We have a very busy summer this year. We just had a visit from Grandma Oolie last weekend. Alexander (and his mommy and daddy) loved having her here. He had a blast playing with her all weekend and it was so nice having another pair of hands around the house to help out. Chris and I were also able to get in a date night while she was here.

In July we're going on a 3500 mile road trip. (Yes, we are insane to take a one year old for that long in the car.) We'll be heading to the beach in South Carolina, to Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan! Wish us luck as I'm sure we'll need it!!!

Here is Alexander with his favorite toys in his favorite room in the house!!

MOTHER'S DAY

Yesterday was a very wonderful first Mother's Day. Chris made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, we went for ice cream and then he made hamburgers and potato wedges for dinner. They also gave me a "Spoil Me Rotten" present which was unnecessary, but totally loved!!

Last Mother's Day when I was pregnant I thought that I deserved to celebrate this holiday. But I truly had no idea yet what motherhood was all about. I knew that I loved my unborn child, but I had no idea to what degree until the day he was born. And every day since July 16 that love has grown even bigger. I thank God everyday for blessing Chris and I with a healthy, happy, beautiful, little boy. Alexander has quickly become my world and I am so happy and proud to be his mother. Sometimes the responsibility is quite overwhelming when I think that I am teaching him and molding him into the man he will one day become. And I can only hope and pray that the decisions that we make today will only help him and not hinder him in the future. I know that Chris and I both try to be a good example to him and show him how much he is loved and how much we love each other. Motherhood really is truly an amazing blessing and I cannot imagine not ever having experienced this. With that being said, I wouldn't want to experience it with anyone but Chris. He is the MOST wonderful husband and father. Thank you for making me a mom.

I want to also thank my own mother. She has been the best example on how to be a good mom. I finally understand how much she loves me and I hope that one day Alexander will too. She has always been my rock and my biggest cheerleader. And now I can say that she is also a best friend. I love you, mommy!!

SWIMMING FUN

This has been the first week since we started swimming that Chris has not had to work nights. He was able to go to with us and watch his little fish in action. Here are a few pics of Alexander and I in the pool.

Here are also a few cute pics of him in his pajamas the other morning.

9 MONTHS

Today, Alexander is 9 months old. I cannot believe it! Time is just flying by!! I haven't had a chance to blog recently so here is a quick update:

Teeth - 6

His 6th tooth just popped through earlier this week. It's hard to believe that at the beginning of March he didn't have any teeth at all and now he has 6! It has completely changed the way he looks, making him look older. They are really cute, though!

Mobility

He is still not crawling, but he does roll everywhere. And he has gotten really good at changing the direction he wants to go by just pushing himself around. It's quite funny to watch and he's very quick.

Food

He's eating more and more solid food. Recently he's been eating chicken meals which he seems to really like and also some bread. I've been toasting up wheat bread and then cutting it into little bread sticks that he can feed himself. Yesterday, he was eating his third bread stick and the fourth was on a plate on a place mat on the table. He was in his highchair and I was in the kitchen getting my dinner ready. I heard a noise and looked over to find him holding the plate! He had scooted the place mat over and then took the plate off of that to get to the bread stick! I couldn't believe it. I guess I'll have to make sure I put his highchair a little further away from the table from now on!

Swimming

We're still doing swimming lessons and having a blast. He loves being in the pool and seeing all of the other kiddos. And I enjoy being with him and meeting the other moms.

Sleeping

We've transitioned from 3 naps a day to 2 naps a day. He's been taking a shorter nap in the morning and then a longer nap in the afternoon. I really like this schedule and he seems pretty happy on it. He still goes to bed in the evening by 8pm and I get him up at 7am. Some mornings he's awake and waiting for me, other mornings I have to wake him up. But this seems to work really well for us right now.

Fun Stuff

I took him to the park the other day to see if he could swing in the baby swings. He could and did. At first he seemed to like it, but then he wanted out. We'll try again soon because he loves to be outside and right now the weather is great. I planted a bunch of flowers in our flowerbed last week and I brought him outside with me. He sat in his stroller and supervised the operation. He would just sit and laugh and smile. He is truly such a happy baby!

Mom and Dad Stuff

Tomorrow, Chris is volunteering at a 5K race for charity so Alexander and I are going to run in it. This should be a fun morning. Next Sunday I am running a half marathon in Oklahoma City. We're going to go up Saturday and spend the night in a hotel and Chris and Alexander will cheer me on. I've been training for the last couple of months and I'm really excited. This will be my first half marathon.

Chris has been flying a ton. In the last 30 days he has flown 36 times! He's been flying evenings, though. So he has been missing putting Alexander to bed, but gets to spend the mornings with him. He's been getting home about 8:30 - 9pm, so we still get some good quality time at night, which is important.

Alexander is starting to wake up from a nap, so that's all for now.