The Stern Life

Gabi - 9 month check-up

2011-06-06T11:34:00.001-07:00

Gabi had her 9 month check-up today and is doing great. She weighs 16 pounds, 6 ounces (11%) and is 27 inches long (30%). She is working very hard on crawling and pushes herself backwards quite well now. She still has no teeth but we see them coming and it shouldn't be long now. She is still a talker and rivals Alex in who can talk the most during the day. She is getting along great with her big brother and loves to watch him and laugh with him. It is fun to see the two interact with each other. We can't wait until she gets moving and hopefully starts sleeping better.

I went back in time to see what Alex was doing at 9 months and at this time in his life he was creeping, not crawling and weighed in at 16 pounds, 1 ounce. We think that Gabi is so chunky compared to Alex but she only weighs 5 ounces more.

Gabriella - 6 months old

2011-03-15T11:34:00.001-07:00

Gabi had her 6 month check-up today. Everything went very well. She weighs 14 pounds, 11 ounces (25%) and is 26 inches long (50%). She had a great time with us in Sedona and learned to sit on her own (probably because for the first time she didn't have gigantic, bulky diapers on) and was a champ with all the hiking we did.

Alex enjoyed his time with the grandparents, as he always does, and is finally adjusting back to life as normal. He has turned into quite the chatterbox and has a running dialogue about anything and everything every waking moment. No wonder he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.

Rolling over

2011-01-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Today Gabi rolled over for the first time. She has been trying very hard for the last few weeks to roll over from her back to her stomach and she got very close. Today I put her on her stomach in her crib and she rolled over to her back in a matter of seconds, very easily. I know she will enjoy her new skill.

Alex and Gabriella

2011-01-04T17:31:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is over and I now have time to log these important stats (since I am far too lazy to write them in a baby book). Back in November Alex had his three year check up. He weighed in at a whopping 29.6 pounds and is 3 feet tall. This puts him in the 20% for both height and weight. He also had is first dentist visit but he freaked out and wouldn't let them touch is teeth. Somehow in the two seconds that the dentist did look at his teeth he determined he had no cavities. Yeah for Alex.

Gabriella had her 4 month check up today and she now weighs 12 pounds, 14 ounces and is 23 3/4 inches long. This puts her in the 25% for both height and weight. Other than her first cold of her life, Gabi is doing very well. She is very happy and is always smiling. She loves to sit up but still falls over on her face quite often. She is pushing up very high on her stomach and probably isn't far away from rolling over.

Gabriella - Two months old

2010-11-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

Gabriella had her two month check up today. Everything is going great. She weighs 10 pounds, 3 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long. She is in the 26th percentile for weight, which seems huge compared to her brother. She got a few shots and turned beet red as a result. She calmed down quickly but has not been a happy camper today.

We are off to our first trip to Portland this weekend. Hopefully Gabi does as well in the car as she did on her first flight.

Gabriella week two

2010-09-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

Gabriella had her two week check up yesterday. She now weighs 6 pounds, 13 ounces and is doing great. She now gets a break from doctor's visits and doesn't have to return until she is 2 months old. She is still eating well and sleeping a lot. She has a few times she is awake during the day and is enjoying a little tummy time with her brother who likes to talk to her and make her turn her head.

Gabriella's first doctor's appointment

2010-09-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, September 7th Gabi had her first visit with the doctor. She left the hospital weighing 6 pounds and 3 days later had gained 3 ounces. The doctor says Gabi looks very healthy and she did great with the doctor. So far she is a very quiet baby and cries only when she gets her diaper changed. She sleeps a lot during the day and likes to keep mom and dad awake at night, hopefully this will change soon.

Gabriella Elizabeth Stern

2010-09-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 3rd we welcomed Gabriella Elizabeth Stern into the world. She was born via c-section at 5:42 PM weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 19 3/4 inches long with a full head of dark brown hair. Mommy and baby did great after the surgery and everyone rested nicely in the hospital. On Sunday evening everyone got to go home. Alex is enjoying his baby sister and Nana and Rob are taking good care of everyone.

Maui continued

2009-11-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Alex and Grandma hiking at dragon's teeth. It was very windy and mom lost her hat several times.
Alex with Papa and his infamous funny face.
Alex and Dad at dinner. One of the few meals where Alex had a smile on his face.
Alex propped on a rock at dragon's teeth. He really enjoyed exploring all the rocks and even tried to take one home. We told him that was bad luck.

Maui

2009-11-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Last week we were in Maui with the grandparents and had a great time. We dreaded the 6 hour flight with a toddler on our lap but somehow managed to survive. The weather was great, Alex really enjoyed the beach and ocean and we had lots of good food. Now we are back in the cold, wet weather of Seattle.

Alex is turning 2 in just over a week and I can't believe how grown up he is. He is talking up a storm now and trying so hard to communicate with us. He loves to sing in the car and definitely knows what he does and does not like.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took Alex to the pumpkin patch for the first time. He had a great time. We got to feed farm animals, go through a maze and pick pumpkins. We get three pumpkins. A small one for Alex, a medium one for Jess and a bigger one for Rob.

Pictures and a Halloween preview

2009-10-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pictures since it's been a while.

Alex having lunch with his friend Hayden who was hanging out with us for the day.
Alex is going to be Tigger for Halloween. Here's a nice preview as we were trying to teach him to say Trick or Treat. Not very successful yet.

Alex was making this face a lot for about a week. It's like he was squeezing as hard as he could with his mouth wide open. We called it his funny face and he made the face every time we said that.

Fun at daycare

2009-08-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Olivia told him a great joke and Alex thinks it is hilarious

Alex loves head, shoulder, knee and toes.

Go Huskies!

2009-08-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Alex and I went to Husky Stadium to watch the football team practice and scrimmage. We left Mom at home for a guys day out. Alex had a great time as we got to watch from the sidelines. He was so excited that I often had to keep him from running onto the field. He realized that he's not big enough yet to play so he did some practicing by hitting the blocking sleds and running through some other drill equipment that was sitting on the sideline.

Best of all, Alex learned how to cheer for his favorite team. When I say "Go Huskies!", Alex says "Go Hussies!". Well, they are not Hussies, but I'd say that's pretty good for now.

Alex Update

2009-08-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hello

I hope we haven't lost all of our loyal followers by our lack of posts. We promise to do better in the future. We have been very busy this summer traveling and keeping up with our ever busy toddler. Alex has certainly turned into a little man who knows what he wants. Now if he would only learn to use all the words I know he has stored in his brain that would be very helpful. Whenever he wants something and doesn't know how to articulate he signs the word more. Usually this is not very helpful but he does it anyways in hopes I will figure out what he wants.

Alex had a fabulous time with his grandparents while we were away. He spent a lot of time at the beach during the heatwave and was spoiled rotten. We know this because he was less than willing to listen to us when we got him back. It took about 3 days for him to realize that we are not as nice as his grandparents and yes, he has to listen to us.

Alaska

2009-08-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our cruise to Alaska. It was great and the scenery was beautiful. Alex had a great time with his grandparents and we'll post some pictures of him shortly.

Toddler's

2009-06-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

So we thought that Alex would be different than all of the toddler stereotypes. He's such a quiet kid and not crazy. He prefers to sit back and watch vs. cause havoc. I guess he changed his mind.

Alex now spends most of the day running around and yelling. He throws everything he can get his hands on and seems to really enjoy doing the things he knows he's not supposed to do (like trying to stick his fingers in power outlets). Yes, we already thought of covering the outlets, but he figured out how to take the covers off.

This weekend, Alex got his first skinned knee. He's definitely into toddlerhood now.

Alex and Ezra

2009-06-17T18:39:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend in Portland since my brother and family were in town. We haven't seen them in a while so it was great that Alex and Ezra had some quality time together. The size difference between the two has decreased dramatically. Above, Alex is in shell shock as his older cousins build a wall around him. He wasn't quite sure what to do with himself. Eventually he warmed up and had a great time.
Alex and Ezra below have assumed the position of hand in mouth (which is what they did the whole time during our family photo shoot). Trying to get two kids to simultaneously smile proved to be a challenge. It is just amazing to see how big they are getting. Pretty soon, college.

Boat Trip

2009-06-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Alex took his first boat trip a couple of weeks ago. He took a ferry to Kingston. No real reason other than it was a nice day. He loved the water and was fearless about getting close to the railings. He ran all over the boat laughing. He's definately embracing his toddlerhood. Alex has tons of energy and sometimes just runs around out of control. It's very cute though. His newest move is to walk on his top toes. He looks like a baby ballerina (or ballernino).

Cute pic of Alex before he left for the worksite.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-27T21:45:00.001-07:00

I've got lots of new pictures to add. We spent Memorial Day Weekend at Cannon Beach. The weather was really nice for a change so we got to spend a lot of time at the beach. Alex is all about walking now. He doesn't really crawl much anymore. His other favorite activity is to throw things. He's got a pretty impressive arm for an 18 month old. He's better with his right hand, but he also throws lefty. His grandpa (Saba) was pretty impressed with his skills after Alex hit him in the chest with a ball from a pretty good distance.

We've been dogsitting Oden who's an English Bulldog for our friends who are in Iceland. Alex loves Oden and thinks he's hilarious. He follows him around the house and pets him very gently.

During low tide at the beach, there are lots of cool critters to look at. Here, Alex was checking out different starfish.

Since it was one of the lowest tides of the year, Jess's dad and I went clam digging for razor clams (Action shot above). If you don't know what they are, razor clams are enormous clams that live in beaches along the West Coast. They are really tasty. After a brief lesson from a local on all of the things we were doing wrong, we caught about 20 clams, cleaned them (thanks You Tube for the lesson) and cooked them for dinner. They were really good.

To find the clams, you have to look for a small airhole in the ground and then dig down from it. One of the holes that Jess's dad found turned out to actually be a crab. We were a bit shocked when the pincher jumped out of the ground. Here's our friend. Unlike the clams, we set him free.

More Alex cuteness. Shortly after this, he discovered the ocean. He didn't care that the Pacific is cold in the NW and I had to drag him away from it. He is fearless. He just kept charging as fast as he could towards the water (laughing the whole time).

It's been a while

2009-05-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty fun lately. Alex is walking around all over the place. He's getting really good at bending down and picking things up. Mostly he likes to pick up balls, throw them and then go after them again.

We posted a number of pictures below now that he has his summer haircut. Now we just need the good weather to come.

Happy Alex showing off for the camera
Alex practicing his karate moves.

We went to the zoo last weekend. Alex really enjoyed looking at the animals. Here he is with an emu.

He thought the bird sanctuary was cool.

Four legs good, two legs better...

2009-04-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you got the Orwell reference in the title. I said in the earlier post that Alex started really walking last night. It took us until tonight to get a decent video of it. Here it is. It takes Alex a few seconds before he lets go of the couch.

Weekend at the Beach

2009-04-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Alex spent last weekend in Cannon Beach with his grandparents and furry cousin. He loved playing in the sand and scooping it into buckets and his hair. Dad stayed at home since he doesn't have much time off work. Therefore, it's hard for me to give a detailed account of what happened at the beach.

Over the weekend Alex learned how to stand up on his own without using any furniture and this evening he managed to take about 10 steps across the family room before sitting down. It's really fun to watch him grow up.

Walking...almost!

2009-04-14T07:16:00.001-07:00

I want it in the "official" record that Alex took his first steps on Sunday, April 12th. They were two very small steps into dad's arms but it still counts. He did the same thing yesterday at daycare during the day and demonstrated again when I picked him up. He still generally prefers crawling since it is so much faster but there are signs he is getting close.

Another first this weekend was Alex's first easter egg hunt. He didn't quite get the concept but once we showed him where the eggs were he was pretty good at putting them in his basket. The problem was as soon as they went in his basket he took them right back out (which didn't make mom and dad too happy since they were chocolate eggs that we wanted to eat). He seemed to have a good time and got to play in the grass which he always enjoys.

Happy Passover

2009-04-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

I was going to boycott posting anything until Alex walked but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. He is very content crawling around. Now that the weather is getting nicer I like to take him outside which leads to some very dirty hands and clothes by the time we are done. Everything is well in Seattle. We had a nice Passover dinner in which Alex went down for his nap right when we started and woke up when it was time to eat, perfect timing. He tried gefilte fish and charoset for the first time but didn't care for it. He did, however, really enjoy these passover muffins that Grandma made for him.

Rain, rain, go away

2009-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Spring has officially started but I don't think Seattle got the memo. Despite the rain Alex has been getting outside everyday in his new daycare which we are all really liking. Dad drops him off in the morning and I pick him up in the afternoon. We have nothing new to report except that we feel hopeful that he will soon walk (he now stands on his own for short periods of time). We have been thinking he will walk for months now but it has to happen soon.

Below are a few pictures they have taken at daycare. He seems to be having a good time.

Really Long Post

2009-03-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

Lots has happened. While I won't remember everything, I'll try to catch up as best as possible. As you can see from the pictures below, Alex got another haircut. This one was a little more traumatic than the first. In the end, he looked cute. Two of his molars have popped through and the other two are coming. This has led to some less than perfect nights of sleep. We'll forgive Alex though. I'm sure it doesn't feel very good.

He had his 15 month appointment and he's in perfect health. He's gotten taller and is now in the 15-20th percentile for height, but he's still at the 3 percentile for weight. I guess Sumo Wrestling is probably out for a career option.

Alex hasn't started walking yet. He's incredibly close and the doctor says that he's doing everything right except actually walking. I guess he needs a little more confidence. He's saying a few words randomly and sometimes at the correct time like "yeah", "hi", "no" and I think maybe "dog".

We went to Portland last weekend. Jess and Rob went out alone for dinner and a show. It was very grown up of us. We saw "Wicked" which was really good. Alex also got to play with Ainsley the whole weekend which he enjoyed except when Ainsley barked (then he cried). Unfortunately, Ainsley barks a lot. I expect a comment from her parents though saying that she doesn't bark much at all.

Alex has adjusted well to daylight savings time. It's really nice getting home and there's still plenty of light out.

Today was a big day as I will document this as Alex's first kiss. I dropped him off at daycare this morning and he sat down to play with his friend Lilly. As I was about to leave, Alex started to pout and laid his head down. Lilly came over and kissed him repeatedly on the nose. It was really cute. If you read this later in life, Alex, you don't want to overuse the pouting move. It's not normally that successful.

Alex getting ready for his second haircut. He had less fun this time than his first haircut.

Alex's teachers at daycare must have been bored. They grabbed a bunch of gel and gave Alex a mohawk.
Alex with his friend Hayden. Just before this picture, they high-fived. It was awesome.

Rocking Chair

2009-02-16T14:42:00.000-08:00

Alex recently discovered how to get on his rocking chair on his own. He is very proud of himself and likes to sit in the chair and rock back and forth. He has not quite mastered getting out of the chair but he is working on it. He is going to be 15 months at the end of this month (I cannot believe it) and he is still working on walking. He seems very close but you never know. He is very busy playing with all of his toys and taking things out of drawers (though I am happy to report that he now takes pleasure in putting things back into the drawers). He is still pleasantly sleeping through the night and sometimes even sleeps in until 7 AM, which is a real treat for mom and dad. Other than that, we have nothing new to report. All is well in the Stern household.

Daycare pictures

2009-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Alex's teacher e-mailed these photos of Alex playing with glitter today. He worked so hard on his masterpiece that when he was done he decided to take a nap. Life is so hard at daycare.

Where has the time gone

2009-01-14T09:49:00.001-08:00

To our fellow readers, we have not forgotten about you. I have pictures that I need to post and when I find the time I will flood the blog with them. Alex is doing well. He has settled into a very nice routine. He goes down for his naps and bedtime with no fuss and we have weaned him off of bottles which was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. We are anxiously waiting for him to take his first step but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Happy Chanukah and Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T09:14:00.001-08:00

I know it is a little late for Chanukah wishes but we have been busy digging ourselves out of the snow. We did make it down to Portland for Chanukah. We were all happy to get out of the house. We ate latkes to our hearts content and relaxed with the family. Alex loved the latkes (who wouldn't love fried potatoes) and somewhat enjoyed opening all the presents (he doesn't quite get it but he will soon). All the snow nicely melted in Portland over last weekend so we were very saddened when we pulled up to our neigborhood to see that none of our snow melted. A week after it stopped snowing and it is still on the ground. Just two days ago we called the city to ask if they would plow our street and to our surprise they did it the same day. This meant Rob no longer had to take the chains on and off.

Alex has been busy walking around the house with the help of his push toy. He never showed any interest in walking until this week. We were both excited to see him interested and he thinks it is so much fun. He has also found his voice. He now shouts at the top of his lungs, usually when we are in public and is a little chatterbox. I try and talk to him at a normal level to see if he will mimic me but it hasn't worked yet. Now we know why we don't go to fine dining establishments.

Crazy Winter

2008-12-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

Seems like everyone got hit pretty hard with the snow in the Northwest. This is the most snow that I've had since the Winter of 1996 just after I moved to Seattle for college. Since Alex has been cooped up for the last week with the Chicken Pox, we decided to let him play in the snow for a few minutes. If you've ever seen our house, you've noticed the really steep driveway. While it's a problem for getting the car out if it's snowy, we found out that it's great for sledding. Below are some pictures of us playing and a video of Dad and Alex sledding down our driveway.

Let it Snow

2008-12-19T07:50:00.001-08:00

Alex in his super thick snow suit

As you are probably aware, it has been snowing quite heavily the last few days. With the snow and the chicken pox we have been stuck in the house all week. Yesterday I was going a little stir crazy so I put Alex in this snow suit we got from Rob's brother and we went for a walk. I don't think Alex had a clue that it was 25 degrees outside.

Thankfully Alex is feeling better. He has been a little on the cranky side but that could be due to the fact he is getting a few more teeth. I was so focused on his chicken pox that I didn't even notice the new tooth on the bottom along with the 2 that are coming in on top, poor kid.

Chicken Pox: For Posterity

2008-12-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Just so that we are prepared to show Alex what he went through when he is older. I took him to the pediatrician yesterday since nobody believed me that he could have a full case of the Chicken Pox just from the vaccine. The doctor walked into the room and said, "Wow! I've read that this was possible, but have never seen a full blown case from the vaccine." Good for you Alex! Way to prove them wrong.

Vaccines

2008-12-14T15:05:00.001-08:00

Alex had his one year doctor's appointment last week. During that appointment he got a number of vaccines including one for Chicken Pox. I thought that was pretty cool that Alex wouldn't have to go through the Chicken Pox like Jess and I did. Turns out that some babies have reactions to the vaccines. Alex was one of those babies. His reaction was to actually get the Chicken Pox.

The obligatory picture of Alex's pox. He wasn't all that happy with picture time. Don't worry. I'm still a happy baby most of the time though.

Alex is hanging in pretty well. He has a bit of a fever, but is pretty happy for the most part. Luckily, he'll never remember that he had Chicken Pox and I'm thankful that he doesn't really know how to scratch himself yet.

2008-12-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Alex had his one year checkup on Friday. He's doing great and grew enough to get back on the charts. He's now 10% in height and head size and 3% weight. He's got the green light to eat everything now including peanut butter since they apparently just changed that rule.

Alex in his Tigger robe and footies after a bath. This is one of those things that you register for because it is so cute, but later realize that it's cuter than it is practical.

We decided to see what he'd do if we put a bowl over his head. His reaction was to keep doing it to himself.

Birthday pictures

2008-12-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

Alex is concentrating hard at pulling the wrapping paper off while his cousins wait patiently. A few minutes after this we had them help Alex with the rest of the unwrapping.

Here is Alex with his great-grandparents who came in from Denver to celebrate Thanksgiving and his birthday with us. We were so happy they were able to come.

Alex enjoyed making a mess out of the cupcake. This was after he licked all of the frosting off. Eventually he ate his whole cupcake.

Birthday pictures

2008-11-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Alex in his new rocking chair.
Just about to open presents. I wonder what that rocking chair shaped present is?

Birthday cupcake! Don't worry, Mom and Dad are right next to me so I don't grab the fire.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

2008-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

Alex turned one year old at 6:55pm yesterday evening. At that time, he had just finished his Thanksgiving dinner by throwing most of the Turkey on the floor and then starting to dig into his Birthday cupcake. We celebrated his birthday and Thanksgiving with our family. Thank you Nana, Saba, Grandma, Papa, Great Grandpa Sid and Great Grandma Kathy for making the trip to Seattle to be with us. Thanks to Brian, Shauna, Hannah and Nathan for making the significantly shorter trip. :)

While hosting Thanksgiving and a birthday is fun, it requires a lot of planning and cleaning of dishes. I think we'll have recovered by the next time this happens in 2014. We'll post pictures soon from both Thanksgiving and his official Birthday Party on Sunday.

Haircut

2008-11-24T20:04:00.001-08:00

As you can see Alex is sporting a new shorter hairstyle. We finally broke down and took him to get his haircut. He did very well. He sat in a red sports car and for the most part was very calm. He didn't like it when we had to hold his head down but there were no tears. I think I was more upset than he was.

We are busy planning for Thanksgiving and his b-day. I have been trying to clean the house all week but when you have a little boy who won't sit still and no longer thinks its cool to take long naps, it has been a challenge. I know it will all come together in the end.

Crawling baby

2008-11-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

Alex has finally graduated from army crawling and is crawling the good old fashioned way. This means he gets around a lot more quickly and is very happy about that. He has also learned to stick out his tongue. He does it often and really likes to imitate you.

We are gearing up for his birthday party. I cannot believe he is turning one in less than two weeks. Time has flown by this past year. I promise to take lots of pictures over the next few weeks to post.

Batman gets out the vote

2008-11-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Alex before we went out trick or treating. He wasn't a big fan of the Batman mask. We'll share more pictures soon.

Alex joined Dad today on election day. He sat with me in the polling booth on the way home from work and happily slept through it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get his advice. He said he was for Obama though. Although he might have been saying ba ba.

Palm Desert

2008-11-02T16:17:00.000-08:00

We spent the last week vacationing in Palm Desert with my parents and my brother's family. We had such a great time. The kids got to play in the pool everyday and the adults got to relax at the spa. The weather was great, Alex really enjoyed the sunshine (as did his parents). We didn't do much other than lay out by the pool, eat and take naps, which to me is the perfect vacation. I have lots of pictures so I will start with just a few.

Portland Trip

2008-10-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a trip to Portland. We decided to leave around 5 PM on Friday which is usually the time Alex is very active. I assumed he would stay awake in the car but instead he slept the entire time. This meant his schedule was completely off and rather than going to sleep at 8 he went to sleep at 11:30.

We had a great time. Sunday the whole family came over for brunch. Alex got to meet and play with all of his cousins. I think he was fascinated by all the older kids (he wanted nothing to do with the adults).

As you can see from above, Alex found a cool cubby to crawl into and hang out. He is really moving around and exploring and has no desire to sit still.

Tomorrow we leave for Palm Desert. I am so excited to get in the warm sun and hang out by the pool. Alex has only been swimming a few times in his life but he is going to get his share this next week. I hope he likes it.

Last weekend

2008-10-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is an older picture but don't they both look so cute!

This past weekend Rob and I spent our first night away from Alex. While he was home having a great time with Grandma and Papa, Rob and I were living it up in Leavenworth. Sadly living it up for us means a few drinks, possibly making it to 11 PM and then crashing. Regardless, we had a great time and enjoyed our freedom for the night.

Other than that things are status quo. Alex pulls himself up on everything and is starting to creep around the furniture (he really only takes a few steps before he chickens out). Sampson is being very tolerant of Alex's adventurous side as he climbs over Sampson and then proceeds to steel the bone that he was in the middle of chewing.

We are heading down to Portland this weekend to celebrate Heather's 30th birthday and see the family. We should have some new pictures for you then.

More pictures

2008-10-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here are some more Alex pictures for you all. I'll try to get some Sammy ones for all of his fans out there. Not too much new in our world.

Alex in one of his many warmup outfits. I think he's warming up to play football. The Huskies could use him.
Pre-game workout. Alex likes to do pullups on his pack and play to stay fit. He's hardcore.
Now he's ready to go, but he can't find his football in the toy bin.
Whatever. Maybe I'll just go pretend to be the dog and play with his toys in his crate. He did this to himself...really.

No more sleeping

2008-09-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Alex has decided that he no longer wants to sleep at night. He has been waking up around midnight and showing no desire to return to sleep. This has made for some unhappy parents. Hopefully this is a phase and it will pass. Like everything, we blame it on teething. What happens when he gets all of his teeth in, we will need to find a new culprit for all of his ails.

Alex with great grandma Kathy

Weekend in LA

2008-09-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Alex and I went down to L.A. to celebrate Ezra's first birthday. It was Alex's first time on an airplane and he did great. He really liked looking out the windows. Luckily we had an empty seat beside us both ways because Alex is hard to keep still and he had no desire to sleep on the plane. Alex had a great time playing with his cousin and got to meet his great grandparents for the first time.

Alex has been very busy crawling around (still on his stomach) and he is pulling up onto his knees. He really wants to stand but hasn't worked up enough nerve yet. I can also report that he has his first tooth. It started coming in last Thursday.
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Stay tuned, I have lots of pictures to share.

Climbing Alex

2008-09-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Alex has figured out how to climb up things. Mainly he uses Rob and me to climb on but occasionally he uses the table and the dog. He isn't very steady on his feet and tends to stand on his tip toes but he gets better every day. He has also figured out how to go from a sitting position to his stomach. Now if he could only figure out how to get back into a sitting position he would be set. His new mobility is making him very happy. He likes to explore underneath the kitchen table and loves to weave through all the chairs.

He has been battling a cold for the last week so getting him to take naps has not been easy. Rob resorted to an oldy but a goody with Alex sleeping on his chest.

Halloween sneak preview

2008-09-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Since all of the stores immediately went into Halloween mode the day after Labor Day, we figured we'd give you a sneak preview of Alex's Halloween costume. We'll say for arguments sake that he's a kosher dog.

Creeping Alex

2008-09-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Alex got to visit with his grandparents very briefly this past week. During his visit grandpa took this video of him moving. He is getting around more quickly now but he is still dragging his stomach on the ground and does not use his legs very well. Hopefully he will figure out a more efficient way to move soon.

We went in on Friday for Alex's 9 month check up. No shots this time, which was nice, just a general check up. Alex is doing fine but as you can probably tell, still on the small side. He weighed in at 16 pounds, 1 ounce. That puts him in the 3rd percentile. The doctor said we should try and fatten him up a bit and add some high fat foods to his diet. We are now pretty much adding butter and oil to everything we make for him. If only I had that problem and my doctor told me to fatten up a bit (I would be in cookie heaven).

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend at the beach. We had amazingly nice weather and were able to spend plenty of time outside and in the sand. The first day we took Alex to the beach he spent the entire time trying to eat the sand. The second time I think he learned his lesson and decided to dig in the sand rather than eat it.

Sampson also had a great time running free. At one point when the tide was low he ran into the water thinking it was shallow and he went completely under and came up frantically dog paddling. He made it out just fine and gave Rob and me a good laugh.

Mr. Pumpkin

2008-08-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

The other day at daycare Alex had a few unfortunate accidents which meant the removal of his cute outfit and the use of his back up daycare clothes. He doesn't often need to use these clothes so we generally throw a random assortment of things in. This day he ruined his shirt and his bottom which led to this result (to top things off he also had on green socks during the day).
We have been trying very hard to get a video of his new creeping but he doesn't seem to do it when the camera is around. We will have more free time when we go to the beach this weekend so hopefully we can capture it then.

Creeping, not necessarily crawling

2008-08-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

So Alex has started moving around now. I think we would technically call it creeping. I think the next stage is Army crawling. If this is what he's doing right now, I'd say the Army needs to work on their techniques. Alex generally needs to find motivation to get moving and most often it's Sampson's leash or Sampson's bone. Not sure Sammy is a big fan of this stage. Below is a picture of Alex celebrating the Men's Olympic Basketball team's gold medal.

Alex and Ezra

2008-08-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Ezra has been visiting and we have been having lots of fun watching the babies play. Above are just a few of the cute things they do.

2008-08-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

We took Alex to his first professional sporting event on Sunday. Unfortunately for him, the only professional team was the Rays as the Mariners seemed to have played with their Triple A affiliate. Alex is very nice, he didn't seem to mind when they had their 4th wild pitch of the day.

My brother set the over/under for an Alex meltdown at 3 innings. Somehow, he made it the whole game. I think there were plenty of adult fans who didn't make it that long.

Alex being super cute in his Mariners outfit.

Are they EVER going to score? Wake me when they do.

Alex also has a new noise. I'm not sure how he does it, but he kindof sounds like Chewbacca. He's not quite as tall though. Below is a video of the little wookie. He starts turning it on in the second half.

A round of applause please

2008-08-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Alex learned how to clap his hands today. I think this is really cute.

2008-08-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Alex's best friend

I can't wait until Hannah is old enough to babysit for me.

Look at me, I'm 2 feet, 2 inches tall. Probably destined to be a point guard.

We know we owe you all new pictures. We've been keeping busy lately. Alex doesn't have any new tricks yet, but he's trying hard to figure out how to crawl and he definately wants to be able to pull himself up. It will all come with time. Below is a movie from our baby dance class. I'm no expert, but it seems that Jess is leading in this one.

Laughing Alex

2008-07-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Alex has been a bit cranky this weekend, we think he is getting a cold or going through a growth spurt. In an effort to make him happy we stumbled upon a way to make him laugh instantaneously (doing push ups). As soon as we stopped he would start crying again but it worked temporarily and is quite funny to watch.

Last night Alex had his friend George visit. George is a year older so there was not much playing going on (though George would try to grab Alex's hand to go play with him). George did have a good time torturing our dog. By the end of the night Sampson was cowering by the couch and when a plastic cube came flying at him Sampson jumped into the air and onto Rob's lap on the couch in an effort to escape the madness. Poor, poor Sampson.

Babbling

2008-07-25T16:53:00.001-07:00

This week Alex has started to babble and saying more than "ba, ba, ba". He is actually making r sounds so it sounds like he is saying Rob. He has been a happy, but hungry boy. We have increased the amount of solid foods he eats, which is helping him sleep longer at night but it has led to a few unfortunate blowouts. We had been fortunate up until now to not have experienced this. Hopefully it will be a rare occurrence.

Fun Times

2008-07-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

Alex got to meet his aunt and uncle from Denver for the first time. He was a little shy at first but did warm up and had a great time. We all went out to dinner, which was fun, and luckily the restaurant was a little on the loud side since it masked the meltdown that he had at the end. The next day we went to a friend's house for a bbq. There were about 6 babies there and they all had a great time "playing" together. Right now playing consists of a baby taking a toy away from another baby. It is much more exciting than when this group first got together when all the babies did was sleep.

We ended the weekend with a trip to Chloe and Michael's house to visit Stella who is about 4 weeks old. Stella made a surprise entrance into the world six weeks early so she is just a tiny little thing. She is now 6 pounds and when I held her I couldn't believe that at one point Alex was this small. Alex had a great time playing with all of Stella's toys and staring at the cat.

For our Sampson lovers, his new training is going pretty well. He is doing great in his crate and the walks are getting more pleasant. We had our last visit with the trainer last night and she brought one of her female boxers to the house. Sampson and her had a great time running in the backyard and playing. As soon as they left the house Sampson passed out from exhaustion.

Last weekend

2008-07-16T10:51:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to the park with Brian and Shauna and Alex's cousins to play in the water and in the sand. Alex had a great time getting his feet wet and his hands dirty. Luckily this sand is not as fine as it is on the Oregon Coast so it is easier to grab out of his hands before he sticks it in his mouth. I tried to keep his pacifier in his mouth so it would deter him from putting the sand in, but he was determined to eat sand.

Then on Sunday we went out to eat and decided to use the high chair at the restaurant for the first time. I was a little nervous since there was so much extra space around him. I was convinced he was going to slide out and hit his head on the floor. Thankfully that didn't happen and Alex enjoyed sitting at the table with us. He tried to grab everything in sight and spent most of the time banging his hands on the table and trying to eat it.

Pictures Galore!

2008-07-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures we took recently of Alex on the 4th of July enjoying the sunshine. The pool picture is in our front yard and was Alex's first time "swimming".

Enjoying the sunshine!

2008-07-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our camera is still not connecting to the computer (apparently our computer is too old to have a card reader) so you will have to wait a little longer for updated pictures. I can tell you that Alex is doing great. He finally got some baby fat on him and has cute little chubby legs. His hair is growing at an alarming rate, each day I swear he has more hair than the day before. It is in need of a cut but I am terrified that I will screw it up.

We had an excellent time this past weekend in Portland. We got to hang out with both grandparents and even spent time with Alex's two great grandmothers (you will see lots of pictures soon). Alex is trying very hard to crawl but hasn't quite figured it out. He gets a little movement and then flops over to his back. He has also become a challenge to change on the changing table. As soon as I set him down he rolls over to his stomach. I thought doing it on the floor would be easier but there is just more room for him to roll. Oh, he finally sits up quite well. He occasionally takes a tumble backwards, but I think it is intentional.

Alex Flashback

2008-06-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Alex at 1 week old

Remember when he was this tiny, I don't. He is still a very petite baby but there was a day when he was only 5 pounds. I can't believe how much he has grown and changed.

Alex and I are having a good weekend, except for the heat factor. This is the first real heat wave that we have had that has lasted longer than one day. He was doing fine until yesterday afternoon when the house started to warm up and he was having trouble falling asleep. He went all day with only 2 very short naps until he finally crashed at 5:30 and he was out for the night. Of course he then preceded to wake up every 3 hours throughout the night. Hopefully tonight will go smoother since tomorrow I have to get us out of the house by 6:45 so I can take Alex to daycare and make it to work by 8.

Sorry for lack of posts

2008-06-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

To our faithful readers, we apologize for the lack of posts and serious lack of recent pictures. It has just come to our attention that the thing that connects our camera to the computer is broken so sadly we cannot get any of the recent pictures we took out of our camera until I drag myself to the store (which is not high on my priority list because the sun is finally shining).

Alex is doing great. He is a growing boy and very giggly. He is sticking his little butt in the air and sometimes drags his face on the ground (a scary sign that crawling might not be that far off). He loves dad right now and he always makes him laugh.

Rob is off to New Orleans this weekend leaving Alex and me alone for 4 whole days. This will be the first time we have been alone for more than a day. I have lots of fun activities planned for us. When Rob returns I will get some updated pictures up for you (he is taking the camera with him).

Ba, ba, ba

2008-06-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night Alex spit out his first "b" sound. It took him a really long time to get it out and he was concentrating very, very hard but he finally managed a "ba". It was very cute watching him concentrate and Rob and I couldn't help but laugh at him as he pushed his lips together for what seemed like ten minutes before he got the sound out. He has also improved on his sitting. He is not perfect yet but he manages a good amount of time before falling down.

Food in belly, baby is happy

2008-06-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Alex has been one happy dude lately now that we're filling up his belly with solid food. He seems to be finally gaining some weight again. So far he loves rice cereal, seems confused by carrots but still eats them, is a bit allergic to sweet potatoes (boo), and just gobbles down bananas.

The weather has gotten a lot better after a pretty miserable spring. We spent this weekend outdoors as much as possible. Yesterday we took a drive to Snoqualmie Falls which is pretty cool and then wandered around the town which is not really that cool. We hiked down from the falls observation point to the river which was about 3/4 mile and some pretty serious elevation. Alex loved all of the trees and plants and did his excitement scream most of the way. Then Dad realized that going 3/4 of a mile back up with a heavy incline is not too much fun with a baby strapped to his chest.

Today Alex made me breakfast, made me a card and framed a picture of himself for Father's Day. Best of all, he was in a much better mood than he was for Mother's Day (take that Jess). After breakfast it was off to the Edmonds Art festival. Alex loves being outside. It was so exciting that he finally crashed for a 2 hour nap.

Rain, rain, go away

2008-06-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

It is June, yet it doesn't feel anything like it. It rained more the other day than it did the entire month of May. It is very depressing and it means Alex can't get outside to play. Luckily there are plenty of things in the house that entertain him, including Sampson.
Every time Sampson comes into the room Alex's face lights up. He especially enjoys it when he gets a big, wet kiss from Sampson (though we try to keep that to a minimum). He is also enjoying eating solid foods. He seems to be happier and is definitely sleeping better at night. Rob and I also think he is getting a little chunkier, but that just may be wishful thinking.

All in all we are doing well. May was a whirlwind of guests and a trip to the beach so we are enjoying having some time at home.

Solid Foods

2008-05-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today Alex had his first taste of solid food, rice cereal. It was a very exciting day for mom and dad. Alex, however, was not too thrilled with the foreign object we were sticking in his mouth. He gladly opened his mouth for the first bite but as soon as he figured out what was happening he got this look of disgust on his face. Every bite after that was more and more challenging until we finally gave up because he didn't dare part his lips. We tried it twice today and the second time was a bit more successful but I doubt he got more than a few baby spoonfuls. We will give it another shot tomorrow morning.

Yesterday Alex went in for his sixth month check up. We are happy to say that he grew another 2 inches and is now in the 25th percentile for height. His weight is another story. He did gain a little weight in the last few months, but he is no longer on the charts. He weighs a whopping 13 pounds. The doctor says it isn't anything to worry about right now since he is eating just fine. Other than that he is a very happy, healthy boy.

Half Year Birthday!

2008-05-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Alex turned 6 months old yesterday. He spent the time focusing on his two favorite activities which are razzing (which sometimes ends up just being spitting all over his face) and shaking his head back and forth. He thinks this is hilarious and therefore so do we.

We spent Memorial Day at Cannon Beach with Nana and Saba. Alex got to play in the sand for the first time. It wasn't a perfect experience as he threw a handful of sand in his mouth and then wasn't too excited about playing much longer. It was a great weekend though with eating bad for you beach food, walking on the beach, and watching Sampson and Ainsley beat each other up.

Playgroup

2008-05-22T10:59:00.001-07:00

Last night at our weekly playgroup we decided to take a group shot. We had the idea at the end of the night (about 8 PM) so most babies were ready for bed. Seconds after taking the shot and picking everyone up, they were all happy. I think we will try this periodically in the hopes that one day we will get a shop where everyone is happy.

The group is getting more and more fun as the babies are starting to interact with each other. Last night we laid them down in a circle so they could stare at each other. There was one toy in the circle which they nicely passed around for all to drool on.

Tonight we leave for Cannon Beach. So far all of our car trips have been successful but recently Alex has been experiencing some separation anxiety and even though he is just in the back seat we might as well have abandoned him in the desert. Our hopes is he will sleep most of the trip. If he is awake, hopefully Sampson can provide enough of a distraction that he doesn't care.

Sunny Days

2008-05-19T19:53:00.001-07:00

Alex had a great weekend hanging out with his grandparents and going to his cousin's birthday party. The party was at pump-it-up which is a large room filled with different inflatable things like a slide and obstacle course. Alex had to sit on the sidelines but Rob and I had a great time jumping around. Alex also got to hang out outside on the lawn and roll around. He is enjoying playing with his rattle, which he tries to stick in his mouth. Surprisingly a lot of it gets in. Everyday it gets easier and easier to make him laugh. Sampson is particularly funny right now and bath time always gets him going. Now if only he would sleep for more than 2 hours at a time at night, we would be in heaven.

Home sick

2008-05-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Alex has been sick since Saturday with a fever and hasn't been able to go to daycare all week. Luckily Rob and I have been able to work our schedules out where we each take a half day at home. I am thankful to say that Alex has been fever free for almost a day and things are looking better. Since he has been sick he has been sleeping a little more than usual (during the day, not so much at night). His favorite sleeping position is on his side. As soon as he is laid down he whips himself to his side and sometimes manages to get all the way to his stomach. It is very funny to watch because it often takes him many tries to get into the perfect position but once he is there he is blissfully happy.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's day to everyone. A quick update of the past week since I was too lazy to post anything. Alex had a good week at daycare. On Thursday he made me a wonderful mother's day frame with a picture of himself and lots of his footprints. He gave that to me this morning along with a box of caramels (my favorite). The end of the week has not been as smooth since he has had a fever off and on. Today has been the worse with the fun starting at 4:30 with Alex crying and no way to stop it. I think he finally tired himself out and fell asleep on daddy on the couch. His fever has now gone away and he has had moments of happiness.

Since it had been a while since our last post I thought I would pull together of few of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

Sunny Sunday Outdoors

2008-05-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the wettest and coldest springs that we've seen in Seattle. Today we saw that the weather report was for low 60's and sunny so we decided to spend the day outside. We took Alex on his first trip to the zoo. I'm sure he had no idea what was going on, but he seemed to like looking at all of the trees. The animals were actually pretty active and Jess got this cool picture of a Tiger (since they are usually hiding or sleeping). We then spent the afternoon in our backyard. Notice that I'm not in the picture (Rob). That's because I was off to the side weeding (Yeah!).

Rolling away

2008-05-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Alex has finally figured out how to get away from his mother, rolling. Today in one of my parent/baby groups he rolled over from his back to his stomach. That means if he wanted to he could roll across the room since he has already mastered rolling from his stomach to his back. The days of setting him somewhere and expecting him to be there when I return are over. He also managed to sit up unassisted for a while. All in all it has been a great day. He followed up all his morning activities with a 3 hour nap since he was too busy this morning to nap. Now we are getting the house ready for my friend and her 2 1/2 year old to visit. Sampson is very excited to have someone his size to play with.

Go Huskies

2008-04-27T16:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Alex experienced his first husky game (of course we didn't have the camera so I put in another cute picture from our beach trip). The sun was out and it actually felt like Spring for a day and best of all, the huskies won! They were playing themselves, but they still won! Alex was in good spirits all day, which was good, because friends of ours were watching him while Rob and I went out for the evening to see the Capitol Steps. We had a great time and Alex had fun playing with his friend Hayden.

Today has not been as successful as yesterday. Alex is a little under the weather and is letting us know. When he isn't sleeping he is crying. Oh well, we all have bad days.

Beach, Snow, and Passover

2008-04-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a little too long since we've posted on the blog. We spent a long four day weekend last weekend in Cannon Beach, OR. A lot of our family got together for the passover seder and it was a great time for Alex to see all of his out of town relatives.

Since it was late April...of course we got snow and hail...at the beach.

Alex got to hang out with his cousin Ezra who is two months older. I'm not sure if he was going for a hug in the picture below or just wanted to play with Alex's arm. They got a little competitive and decided to settle it with sumo wrestling. It think Alex was outmatched, but Sampson was there to officiate.

Below is Alex and Dad at the seder. Alex wasn't so sure about the kepah he had to wear, but was excited that it was in Husky purple. After all that activity, he decided to nap with Nana and Ainsley. This was the one time where Ainsley wasn't barking.

2008-04-13T19:23:00.001-07:00

Alex wanted to show off his cute new outfit. The outfit managed to last for a few minutes until Alex dirtied it up. As you can see, he still loves to stand. I'm concerned that he's gonna learn to walk before he figures out how to consistently roll over.

Alex got to hang out with his Aunt Shauna on Saturday night while we went to a friend's wedding. It was fun, it had an open bar, we reminded ourselves that we are total lightweights.

Fun in the sun

2008-04-11T16:24:00.001-07:00

Laughing at last

2008-04-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Last night dad and I witnessed Alex's first true laugh. He has been on the verge for the past month making excited noises but last night was extra special. It was a good old fashion chuckle. Now it is my ultimate goal to make him laugh, which is proving easier and easier to do. It really doesn't take much these days to make him smile.

Daycare is going great. He has gotten into a pretty good routine with sleeping and eating. He gets a ton of tummy time, which the teachers say he really enjoys. All in all, going back to work has not been as traumatizing as I initially thought it was and my new schedule is making it really great. I love having a few days off to hang out with Alex.

Hungry boy

2008-04-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at daycare Alex ate more than he has ever eaten. I thought it was a fluke since he didn't have a great feeding before he left for daycare but he did it again today. It seems he has really taken to the bottle. Dad got to feed him today at lunch and couldn't believe how well and how much he was eating. Now I just have to try and keep up with him. He hasn't grown much lately so maybe he will start packing on the pounds.

I have been back at work for over a week now and it is going fine. I am happy to be working my part-time schedule this week and I have a much needed break tomorrow. I can't tell you how difficult it is to get out of the house by 7 AM. It requires a level of coordination that I have not mastered yet.

For the Sampson lovers out there, he is doing great. I think he really misses Alex during the day and is quite enthusiastic when he returns (lots of licking is involved).

Boring Weekend

2008-04-06T13:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend was spent recovering from my first week at work and Alex at daycare. It was a little crazy with Rob and I switching off taking him and picking him up. Next week should run a little smoother since it is now Rob's job to take him and pick him up, which is a little sad for me but I will get two days off during the week to be with him. Alex did so great his first week but woke up Saturday morning with a cold. Poor kid has had a cold for the majority of his life. Due to this cold he slept through the night the entire weekend. It didn't dampen his spirits during the day which was very nice.

Last night Rob and I tried a new restaurant, Leena's Cafe, in Shoreline close to our home. Needless to say we were the youngest in the restaurant by about 40 years but we were so impressed by the service and everyone loved seeing the baby. Alex did great hanging out in his carseat checking out the world. We are so lucky that Alex is such a relaxed baby. When we had him I thought we would never go out to eat again, but he hasn't slowed us down one bit.

Day 2 & 3 of daycare

2008-04-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

So far so good for Alex and daycare. Yesterday he slept quite a bit and took two bottles (one from Rob which was a treat) and today I hear from Rob that he has been up for a while and playing with some toys and later this afternoon they are going to take a trip outside. I don't have any pictures right now since I am posting this from work. As you can probably imagine I am not too enthusiastic about my job right now. Hopefully it will get easier but all I want to do now is go see Alex.

Oh, the other day he started sucking his thumb. It is very cute. Hopefully he will use this new skill when he is upset and crying (like this morning at 1:30, 4:30 and 5:30). He is making getting up for work that much harder.

First day of daycare

2008-04-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

Alex did wonderful on his first day of daycare (much better than his parents). We arrived close to 8 AM and hung around with him until 9:30. He was really happy while we were there and after I fed him he went to sleep for a little while. His caretakers said he was up for most of the morning and wasn't fussy at all. He had two bottles and took them pretty well and then he slept for the entire afternoon until we came to pick him up.

We are lucky that Rob can go visit him at anytime. Yesterday he went down for lunch and took him outside to enjoy the sunshine. When we got him home he was very happy and was up for 3 1/2 hours before crashing for the night. We couldn't have asked for a smoother start to daycare. Hopefully the rest of the week will be just as successful.

D-day

2008-03-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day off work and tomorrow I have to wake up and actually get out of my pajamas before 10 AM. I don't know how I am going to do that. Our goal is to get out of the house by 7 AM. Hopefully Alex will cooperate in this new plan. This will definitely be the earliest we have ever left the house with the baby. Hopefully he will do a better job of sleeping tonight so I am not a zombie at work tomorrow. He has taken to waking up every 2/3 hours and sometimes in the middle of the night he lies awake talking. It is very cute and makes it hard for me to fall back asleep.

We will let everyone know tomorrow night how the first day of daycare went. Our goal is for him to make it about 6 hours.

Last Weekend until Day Care

2008-03-29T19:39:00.000-07:00

We're in the middle of our last weekend before Jess goes back to work. We are putting together Alex's bag for day care and trying to get as many smiles as we can before next week. He's been really happy lately and talkative. No new tricks to report though.

I also realized that this has basically become the Alex blog so I wanted to add a picture from when Jess and I babysat our niece and nephew (Hannah and Nathan). This picture is towards the end of the night as Sampson and Hannah had tired each other out.

4 Months Old

2008-03-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Alex had his four month check up today and he is doing great. He is now 12 pounds, 2 ounces and almost 24 inches long. He took the shots pretty well and after a 3 hour nap has been happy all day long. We ended the night with a bath which he enjoys more and more each time. Today he surprised us with a little shower as soon as we set him into the bathtub. He hasn't done that in a long time. After cleaning him up and changing the water he had a blast.

Healthy Weekend

2008-03-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

The whole gang is finally feeling better, which meant we could leave the house this weekend. Saturday was absolutely beautiful so we took advantage of it. We went for a nice long walk on the Burke-Gilman trail with Alex and Sampson and then later that afternoon we took Alex down to the beach in Edmonds and walked along the water. Of course I have no pictures from that adventure because I never remember the camera but we did get a few good shots of the grandparents visiting. Sunday it rained all day so we stayed at home. We did try to do a little shopping and were shocked to find out that everything was closed.

Mom's night out

2008-03-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

Last night I had a chance to get out of the house without Alex and meet up with a bunch of new moms for dinner. Dad and Alex had a fabulous time without me and he was sound asleep when I got home. I did hear about a crying fit that Alex had for about 15 minutes but dad got it under control and he seemed to be in one piece when I got back.

The countdown has officially begun for going back to work. I return on April 1st. I have mixed feelings about returning. Hopefully daycare will go alright and then I won't feel as guilty for leaving him. Thankfully dad can go down and check on him whenever he wants, which will be often during the first few weeks.

I am looking forward to this weekend. The first weekend in several where we haven't been sick. Hopefully it won't rain all weekend so we can get outside and do something fun.

Alex speak

2008-03-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of Alex talking. He has been talking for a while now but always very softly. He has only in the more recent days started to find his voice.

Hanging with the family

2008-03-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

So I have been hanging out at home with Jess and Alex since Friday. We have turned our house into an infirmary. While we are all on the way to getting better, I learned a parenting fact that nobody mentioned to me...It's really hard to take care of a baby when you are sick. Jess deserves lots of credit since she has been doing this for the last week or so. The only good thing has been the fact that the sickness has given me incredible "Boggle" focus and I've been dominating Jess.

Deep thoughts

2008-03-13T08:26:00.001-07:00

I wonder what Alex is thinking about above. Is it that mommy is always sticking the camera in his face trying in vain to get a shot of one of his adorable smiles. That is what I was trying to do above but somehow the picture came out like that. I still think it is cute but just not the same as his smile.

Yesterday Alex found that his hands were quite tasty and he was going to eat them. He hasn't figured out how to suck his thumb but he has figured out how to suck his knuckles. I kept trying to guide his thumb to his mouth but he wasn't having it.

Been too long

2008-03-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

Things have been good this past week. Alex has been joyfully sleeping through the night. He is very happy during the day and is trying hard to roll over from his back to his stomach, though he has not successfully done it yet. I am very excited that it is now going to be staying light later in the day. It means we can go on walks when Rob gets home from work (I love Spring!).

The other day I bought Alex his first Mariner's outfit. We are gearing up for all the fun activities we hope to do this spring/summer.

Beautiful weekend

2008-03-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

Alex had a very eventful weekend with the sun shining in Seattle. We recently bought the moby wrap, which I am still trying to figure out, but Alex seems to really enjoy it. I managed to get a walk with Alex and Sampson without too much hassle. Alex has found his voice and is enjoying all the talking. He is also holding his head up with ease and is continuing to rollover onto his back.

I think he is going through a growth spurt right now since he woke up every 3-4 hours last night. I was very spoiled the last few weeks enjoying the 8-9 hour stretch of sleep we were getting at night. Hopefully the grown spurt won't last too long.

TGIF

2008-02-29T15:36:00.000-08:00

Alex is now 3 months old and I am waiting for the growth spurt they say usually happens around this time. As of now everything remains the same. He is starting to talk a lot more, but is still a relatively quiet baby. He has discovered his hands and spends a lot of time staring at them and waving them around. I see him in the car seat when we are driving just mesmerized with his hands, it is quite funny to watch.

Sunshine at last!

2008-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying a few days of sunshine, so I thought Alex was in need of some cool shades. Whenever I am driving the sun always seems to find him (even with those shades up on the window) so the sunglasses were a nice fix and he doesn't seem to mind wearing them.

Tomorrow is his 3 month birthday and the time has just flown by. I still have one month off of work but I am already dreading his first day of daycare. We went for a visit on Friday, and while it was perfectly nice, it just made me sad. I am going to miss too many smiles and laughs, which he did for the first time this weekend. Not to mention that I am really starting to enjoy not working.

On a non-Alex note, we are thankful that Rob survived the layoffs last week. Last Thursday they let go of several Starbucks corporate employees, including a few in Rob's group. It would be just our luck that Rob loses his job and with that we lose our spot in the daycare, but all is well and he is still employed.

Nothing new

2008-02-22T08:55:00.001-08:00

I don't have anything new and exciting to report, so here are some cute pictures.

Sleepy Head

2008-02-18T21:17:00.000-08:00

After two great nights of sleeping Alex is back to his regular routine of waking up in the middle of the night. He made it last night until 3 AM, which wasn't too bad. Today we had a lazy day of hanging out at the house. He rolled over again today and then I grabbed my camera to take a video of it and he refused to roll over.

When Rob got home he read Alex a book, which as you can see from the picture above, Alex was totally into it. Bath time was from last night. Rob threw the towel over him so we wouldn't embarrass him too much by posting this picture.