Laughing Alex

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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.