Alex's Tractor Hat

Another month has gone by, and every month I say: "I cannot believe he is 3 months old, 5 months old, 11 months old, etc." So when everyone told me to enjoy it because babies grow up so fast, I know exactly what they mean.

First Birthday:
Mark and I are busy planning for a FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!! We still have another month to go, but tentatively -- it will be a Moose and Zee-themed party on Sunday May 2. Moose and Zee are characters on Nick Jr. that host the "in-between shows" segments (perhaps instead of commericials?) Alex just loves it when Moose sings, so Mark and I thought we'd have Moose and Zee as his first birthday hosts. Mark is designing invitations, and I'm going to start menu planning. I think we're holding it at our apartment complex's party room, but that's still not confirmed.

Food:
We have successfully eliminated the 4th bottle of the day! I am quite proud of Mark and me. Along with Alex's 3 bottles per day of 7-8 oz of formula, his solid food intake has increased to 1/2 jar-1 full jar of fruit or yogurt at breakfast along with about 1/2 c. of baby cereal or oatmeal. Another 1/2 jar-1 full jar of fruit or yogurt at lunch and a combo meal of some kind. And 1/2 jar-1 full jar of vegetables and 1/2 jar-1 full jar of a meat dish (usually chicken, turkey, or beef) for dinner. He gravitates towards anything but veggies. Fruits, meats, yogurt, and cereal are all yummy. Mark said he thinks Alex's Top Three favorite foods are: 1) yogurt 2) bananas and cherries and 3) pears. He is also starting to hold his bottle more where we don't have to feed him ourselves. Not quite 100% there yet though.

Over the next month, I'd like to get him using a sippy cup more often. His Dr. will have him drinking whole milk next month instead of formula. (*sob*) He's becoming a toddler!

Crawling and Teeth:
Alex is still not quite crawling yet. I don't know if he will before he walks. He does have the army crawl mastered. I will see if I can post a video of the army crawl later tonight when I have our Flip Mino in hand. We showed Nana and Pepaw the army crawl through Skype last week. I think it made their day!

We finally were able to baby proof our living room somewhat. We removed the glass coffee table, and I still would like to give away our papasan chair to Salvation Army. We also cleaned out the bottom shelf of our TV stand because he liked to crawl up there and take out the DVDs. I am constantly chasing him and picking things up off the floor. I know that will be the case for a long while (as in the next 18 years!)

His 4th tooth is starting to decend from the top row. The bottom 2 are mostly in, and the 3rd tooth on the top is about halfway through.

Easter and Lent:
Well, it is Lent season. And you know what that means, right? McDonald's launches their silly Fillet-O-Fish commerical again. Guess what little boy's face lights up as soon as the 2 text message beeps at the beginning of the commercial go off - yep Alex. During this time last year, he must have felt my heart race in annoyance when he was in my belly and this crazy commercial came on TV. He always smiles when the Fish starts singing.

We are headed to Indiana again on Thursday night to spend Easter with my family. I am so happy that they can see Alex again. Mark and I plan to celebrate my friend Missy's birthday on Friday night while Alex stays with Nana and Pepaw, and then we will go to church with Mimi on Easter Sunday and have lunch afterwards. Hoping to stop by Auntie D's on Monday when we drive back home to Cleveland. I should have another blog entry shortly after our visit because there is always something crazy that happens on our road trips to Indiana with Alex in the car.

Other Milestones:
Shortly after my last blog post, we lowered Alex's crib one level. His little head used to pop up over the top of his crib when he pushed up on his arms, so we thought it was a good time to do so before he learned how to pull himself up.

In our apartment, Mark and I play this "around-the-corner" sneaky game with Alex that he just loves. We pop in and out of rooms and the hallway where one of us holds him and the other one jumps out at his surprise and screams "peek-a-boo". He laughs and squeals with delight. I love it.

I also absolutely love watching Alex learn about cause and effect. When Alex stayed all night with Mark's parents a few weekends ago, Grandpa Greg said that Alex likes to analyze things (probably gets that from his Mommy) and that he might be a little Engineer someday. (Now why didn't I think about going to school for that instead? I'm always noticing Human Factors/Product Design jobs that require an Engineering degree. Anyways, I digress...) I will show him how to throw his little red ball from Rudy the Truck on the bottom of his Exersaucer, and he will pick up the ball as it rolls towards him and throw it down himself. I will also spin the roller on his Silly Town toy, and Alex will take his fingers and spin the roller himself. I smile so big after he repeats something that I did myself. He is learning!

I went through another round of clothes clean-up in his dresser and closet the other day. A few months ago, I bought a large rubbermaid tub to put all of the clothes that he has outgrown in. Well, after my most recent clean-up, it's full. There is no more room for these clothes that I just retired. I recently pulled out his Spring/Summer outfits. I used to prefer onesies + pants + socks over everything else he would wear, but all of the little 12-month old outfits that our families have bought for him over the past few months are so cute. He is wearing actual shirts and not onesies, and he looks like such a little boy, and not a baby.

And finally, Alex still loves music. He especially likes the song Soul Sister by Train. Mark played it for him from iTunes the other day, and his little face lights up. Speaking of music: While we were giving Alex a bath the other day, Daddy gave Alex a hairstyle in which Mark and I said he looked like a little Beethoven. Of course, this would be the image that Mommy & Daddy have of Beethoven from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, of course! Alex's hair looked awesome. :-)

Upcoming Events:
- Easter in Indiana on Apr 2 - Apr 5
- Alex's one-year Dr. visit on Apr 23
- The aforementioned birthday party (yay!) on May 2nd
- One-year old pictures. I think I will schedule them at Sears this time. Portrait Innovations is $$$, and I received a coupon in the mail for Sears last week.