Almost 2 Years Old

Alex is now almost 22 months old. He will be having his second birthday in a few short months. I cannot believe how quickly he is growing up. I certainly miss some of the stages in his life that have passed, but I also love watching him learn new things everyday. I've absolutely enjoyed every single stage of his development.

We have been quite busy over the past few months. The holidays have came and gone. This year, Santa Claus visited Alex! Some of the things he got for Christmas are: Thomas the Train Table, a toolbox, Crayola musical drawing tablet, Riding Race Car from Aunt Diane, Lego Duplo Blocks, Zu Zu Pet, a Snow Sled, many books, clothes, and jammies. He also received some cash that has since been deposited into his college fund. I'm sure I'm forgetting more... We stayed in Ohio for Christmas Eve & Christmas day, and then drove to Indiana and stayed through Pepaw's birthday, which was Dec. 29. It was a really nice holiday season. Here we are at Christmas time:



Here are some of his recent developments:

Eating:
He still has a very short attention span when it comes to eating. We continue to feed him a variety of the same meals that we know he will eat. I would like for him to start eating different kinds of foods, but I know that might be asking for a bit much. A few weeks ago, we noticed that sometimes he does not want to sit in his high chair, so I bought this little toddler table & chair set at Big Lots. It has four different colored chairs, and he likes it. He does eat at it occasionally, but lately he would rather take all the chairs one by one and put them in the middle of the living room. If he is having trouble sitting still to eat, we sometimes have to "feed on the fly", but I've been trying to keep even that at a minimum since he's typically done eating completely at this point. I have had better success with him just sitting on my knee while he eats if he starts to boycott his high chair. Everyone says "He will eat when he is hungry", but it's really hard for me to accept that because of course Mommy & Daddy want him to be well nourished.

Talking:
I am especially enjoying Alex's language development. It simply amazes me how many words and phrases he has started saying. He says: "Bless You", "Turn it on", "Downstairs", "And That One Too", "I'll Get It", "Thank You" and "You're Welcome" (which he says back-to-back), and he also says "Hi" quite frequently to inanimate objects like food or a tree. Hahahaha! Also, every question you ask him is met with an "OK". Unless it is "Alex, do you want to go night night?" To which he replies: "No".

He also knows 9 animal sounds. We will ask him: "What does a [cat, dog, chicken, frog, pig, cow, sheep, horse, bird] say?" And he responds correctly!

He has also learned how to sing some songs like "Happy Birthday to You", "Everywhere I Go", and most recently he is singing the alphabet A through G. This one in particular is really hard to swallow. I cannot believe my child is learning his ABC's. He is growing up ever so quickly. *sigh*

Technology:
Nearly all of our friends and family think that Alex needs to submit a video to Steve Jobs with his iPad playing ability. In all seriousness, Alex thinks the iPad is his iPad. He has more games and videos on there than Mark or I do. His games include Bust a Marble, Simon, Elmo Monster Maker, Taking John, Paper Toss, Misty Island Adventure, Angry Birds, Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, Cut the Rope, and Vegetable Samuri. Videos include his favorite Presto (a Disney cartoon with a magician and rabbit), Elmo's World, Bob Saves the Day, Yo Gabba Gabba, Olivia, and Blue's Clues. These have actually been quite a lifesaver in the car when we travel to Indiana.

We have also been Skyping quite often with Nana and Pepaw on the computer. However, Alex doesn't last very long... again it's that short attention span!

Little Gym:
We signed Alex up for another semester at Little Gym, which runs January through June. I think he really enjoys attending every Wednesday night. We have noticed his progress since we first started taking him. He is now more confident about exploring the different stations within the big room and much more skilled at taking steps down off of the mats. For quite some time, he was pretty scared to step down. Within the room itself, he especially likes the pull-up rings, the circular plastic tubes that he can crawl through, and the taller balance beam. He is also quite familiar with the structure of the class including the warm-up where we run in a circle with the whole group, the weekly "Skill of Focus", baby sign language, a review of the physical activity from the week before, ball time, bubble time, and finally the good-bye song.

At Little Gym, he understands when it's time to put things away after group activities, but he hasn't mastered the concept of sharing just yet. He will sometimes take away toys from other children when they are playing with them. But I take comfort in the fact that all of the other children also behave this way, so we will eventually start taking steps to help him understand how you don't grab something from someone's hands when they are using it.

Upcoming Events and Milestones:
As we are awaiting warmer/Spring weather, we are still hoping to take Alex sledding before the end of winter a few times. He still needs to try out his new sled from Nana and Pepaw, and I know of the perfect little hill about 10 minutes from our house in Silver Springs park.

We are also planning a trip to Indiana for Easter weekend, which also happens to be Alex's 2nd birthday weekend. It will be nice to celebrate his birthday with my family. I've already started thinking about his birthday theme and cake, and I'm excited about either Blues Clues, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, or Elmo. I've really got it narrowed down, huh?

We are going to buy Alex a toddler bed soon as well. He is getting really big in his crib, and the convertible bed that his crib converts to is a regular full-sized bed. We thought that perhaps a bed that was lower to the ground would be better suited for now. He rolls around A LOT while he sleeps.

And finally, we are going to begin potty training soon! We bought Alex a 3-in-1 potty chair a few weeks ago, and he says "Potty!" This will definitely be a learning experience with ups & downs.

4 Months Later...

As everyone probably knows, I have been so busy working 2 jobs that I barely have any free time. Lately, I've just been trying to get through each day. But this is one hobby of mine that I deeply regret neglecting for so long. The same lesson where I realize yet again how fast children grow up. I need to take the time to slow down. Herby's death has taught me that -- to appreciate others in your life each and everyday. You don't know how long you have with them. And yet, I fall into the routine of trying to just make it through the day. I know things will change soon, in God's time -- not mine. Until then, I can only pray, have faith, and watch my son grow up while sitting at a computer working every evening that I get home from the 8-5 job.

Since the last time I blogged, you'd think Alex would be driving by now considering how much he has grown and how much he has learned. I'm vowing to NEVER let this happen again because I know that I will inevitably miss countless milestones and memories.

Onward to whatever I can possibly remember in 4 months:

Eating:
Obviously, Alex has been off of baby food as of the exact week during the last time I blogged. He will pretty much eat anything we give him as long as we cut it up into small pieces. For breakfast, he usually eats either his cereal or a waffle or mini bagel with some fruit, usually applesauce, jarred fruit, mandarin oranges, or a banana. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the night before, or a mini pizza, or mac & cheese, or quesadillas, or fish sticks, and then a Yo Baby yogurt. For his afternoon snack, he likes the Gerber cereal bars or arrowroot cookies with some juice. Dinner is whatever we eat, and we also try to give him a vegetable, but veggies are tricky. He likes corn, carrots, green beans (sometimes), sweet potatoes, and maybe a few more. He is especially partial to anything Italian (hmmm...go figure?) He loves spaghetti, pizza, cheese tortellini, and garlic breadsticks. Amazing how much things have changed since my last post. I think it was my goal to get him eating more regular foods, and he would balk now at any baby jarred food if presented to him for dinner! He has done really well with eating a variety of foods, but he can sometimes be quite difficult to feed. His attention span is short, and his teeth bother him a lot during meal time. (He has about 8 front teeth with 2 more side teeth coming in, and at least 4-5 molars poking through!!) We try not to force him to eat, and he is still growing, so he must be doing OK. Although at his last Well Baby visit, he was in the 14th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Wish I knew how to fatten him up! Ice cream and cookies aren't working for him the way they work for me. :-)

Routines:
We've finally established a bedtime routine that I enjoy very much. Alex usually gets his teeth brushed, a nighttime diaper, jammies, and then we lay down on the couch to watch about a 1/2 hour of cartoons before bed. Usually, we watch Blue's Clues, Olivia, or the Wonder Pets. I love this time together so much because he is a sweet little cuddler. I wish we could implement a story at bedtime instead, but Alex doesn't really like to listen to stories yet. He would rather turn the book pages really fast and maybe look at some of the pictures. Maybe when he is older, he will like to listen to Mommy and Daddy read him stories.

No More Bottle!!:
Yes, that's right! It's been over a week since he has used a bottle. It has been quite a struggle to wean him. It's been a crutch for him. We've tried countless sippy cups, and sometimes all of the them work fine, and sometimes none of them will work at all. This week, he certainly hasn't had his daily 3 milk servings, but he has also had a cold for the past 2 weeks. This weekend, he has been sleeping a lot more than usual, running the occassional fever, and eating much less. Although, he has been drinking lots of juice and water and always seems quite thirsty. I hope he starts taking an interest in food again soon because he needs some nutrition.

Clothing:
Related to the weight issues, Alex cannot even wear some brands of size 12 month jeans. A sales lady at Kohl's told me once that jeans can be really hard to fit on children. We struggle to find any pants that fit on his waist AND are long enough for his legs. I think we have 3-4 pair that work for now, but they are lounge pants. I need to find some dress pants that will work for Christmas pictures next weekend...

Talking:
"Mommy", "Daddy", "Nana", "Pepaw", "Yellow", "Apple", "Ba Ba", "Choo Choo", "Thomas", "Elmo", "Ernie", "Bert", "Down", "Bubble", "All Done", "On", "Off", "Tookie" (cookie), "A Bana" (banana), "Tandle" (candle), "Window", "Moon", "Guitar", and "Wow" with a long drawn out "ow" at the end. I'm sure there are a hundred more. Alex's vocabulary is growing every day. He picks up words so easily. We can ask him to say something, and he usually will. He is in a replicating stage where he wants to copy whatever you're doing. I taught him how to raise both hands in the air when I say "touchdown". (It's so cute...) I also ask him "Where's your belly?" and he will lift up his shirt to look down at his belly. We can also tell him to dance, and he will squat up & down and shake his bottom.

Fall Events:
Last month, we took Alex to Patterson's Farm in Chesterland where he walked along all the pumpkins, and we took home apples, kettle corn, and some donuts. I always like visiting Fall Festivals each year, and since we don't live near Mapleside Farms anymore, we went to this place (even though it was still a 45 minute drive.)

Then, a few weekends later, we met up at Patterson's again with Mark's friends Todd & Debbie and their twin boys after learning there was a whole different section at Patterson's -- and specifically made for children's activities! There were slides built into trees, tire swings, pony rides, wagon rides, corn mazes, etc. Alex had a good time, and I think we did too.

We also had a busy Halloween weekend. Alex was Darth Vadar this year. We went with "cute" last year when he was a monkey, and this year we went with "scary". The first Halloween event was the city of Hudson's Merchant trick or treat. It was on Thursday evening, and all the retail stores in the square passed out candy. It was cute to see all the little kids dressed up in their costumes, but it was cold and some of the older kids were a bit pushy. Alex didn't walk very fast at the pace of the other children, and it made Mark feel a bit rushed. So, we "kind of" enjoyed this event.

Friday night was Boo at the Zoo. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo holds this event each year. We only had about 3 hours to see as many of the features as we could, and we were in a big group of people from 4 families (ours included), so it was also a bit hurried & rushed. After the zoo, we went to have a late dinner where I was positive Alex would be grouchy and ready for bed since it was 9 pm. As soon as we got to the restaurant, a Thomas the Tank Engine train set next to our booth saved the day. Alex was more interested in playing than eating (as usual.) But we certainly started thinking about Christmas ideas as a result of this toy.

In October, we also joined the Little Gym in Twinsburg. Every Wednesday night, there is a 45-minute session where Alex is learning how to develop his social & physical skills, and there are also language and singing sessions. There are bubbles, a basketball goal with dozens of balls to play with, monkey bars, balance beams, running, singing, and many more activities. Alex seems to like the smaller balance beam the best. It sits about 4-6 inches off the ground, and he will count to ten while he walks across the beam. He counts 1-5, and then skips the number 6 and says "Seben", then says 8 and 10. So, we need to work on the numbers 6 & 9.

The only other fall activity that we did a lot was visiting Hudson Springs Park. They have a great little playground that Alex loves to explore. There are 2 Little Tikes climbing towers with a little door at the bottom that he loves to peek through. We run around the tower and play a sneaky game where Alex squeals as we surprise him. He also loves the giant jungle gym where there are many colored shapes. This is where he picked up the word yellow, which he says ALL THE TIME. Yellow might be his favorite word.

Upcoming Events:
Well, I cannot believe the holidays are right around the corner. This Thursday is Thanksgiving, and on Friday -- Alex will be 19 months old. Then, we are getting his pictures taken on Saturday at JCPenney, and then over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for their family Christmas photos. We also had Nana take a family picture up at Hudson's gazebo a few weeks ago. Wouldn't you know they put up their Christmas tree the Monday after!?!? Oh well, I'm sure we will have a few good ones to send on Christmas cards. :-)

Walking and Talking!

Alex is 15 months old! So much has happened over the past 2 months… I am finally beginning to get my head above water and breathe again. I’ll rewind as far as I possibly can.

Walking:
To begin, Alex finally started walking over Independence Day weekend. How ironic, huh? He had been furniture walking for quite sometime, but then he finally took his first steps while we were visiting Nana and Pepaw in Indiana. It was so nice that they were able to experience this milestone with us. I also think it could have been related to the StrideRite shoes that Grandma and Grandpa bought him in June. The shoes are supposed to help kids learn how-to walk, and we all laughed in the store about how funny it would be if he started walking after they bought the shoes. Sure enough!

Talking:
Alex has started to talk as well. He has always babbled ‘ma ma’ and ‘da da’, even though I don’t think he knows what he is saying. He doesn’t actually look at us and say these words. However, I am sure he knows how to say “balloon”. He says “blu”. His nursery farm toy also speaks many colors to him, and when it says “blue”, he will repeat “blu”. His latest word is “Hey……”, and he says it like the Fonz from Happy Days.


Eating:
I am hoping to wean Alex off his bottle and have him drink his milk from sippy cups only. I’d also like to have him eat more of our foods. For the most part, he still eats a lot of jarred foods because he only has 6 teeth. I always plan our meals for each grocery shopping visit, so I need to start thinking “Now, what can Alex eat in this meal?” when I make my grocery lists.

Learning/Games/Music:
Alex really loves turning lights off & on, and opening/closing doors. If he is in the process of one of these activities, he’ll stay entertained for at least 20 minutes at a time.

He has also learned how to throw things across the room, such as Diet Mountain Dew bottles (thanks Pepaw…), coasters, diapers, (thanks again Pepaw…), his green goosh ball from Nana, and anything else he chooses to throw.

He is enjoying his Spidey Car now that he knows how to walk. We bought this toy for his 1-year birthday with the intention that he would ride on the car, but it also has the ability to walk behind and push the car with a handle at Alex’s waist level. Now that we have hardwood floors in the house, he is having a great time pushing this car across the living room and down the hall.

When it’s time to go to sleep, we play the Leg & Belly game. Alex will point to my leg or belly and wait for me to say what they are.

I’m sure that I’ve mentioned it before, but Alex certainly loves the song Hey Soul Sister by Train. In fact, he recently walked over to Mark’s computer and pointed because he knew Mark could play that song on his computer. When this song is played in a commercial on TV, he face lights up and he stops whatever he was doing. He also does the same thing when another song called Pure Imagination in a commercial comes on TV.

Father’s Day:
For Father’s Day this year, we went swimming at the community pool with Mark’s entire family. It was so nice to spend the whole day together. After only about 10 minutes at the pool, Alex fell asleep on Grandma’s shoulder in the water! I couldn’t believe that he could sleep in the water itself. We bought Mark a grill for Father’s Day. He has used it a few times, and I think he is really enjoying it.

The Big Move:
We finally moved out of our apartment! I didn’t think I would ever see the day. We moved into a 3-bedroom brick house in Hudson. Alex finally gets to sleep in his own room again. Because of the air flow in our apartment, we had moved Alex’s crib into our bedroom since it had an air conditioner, and his bedroom basically was taken over with our packed boxes in preparation for the move. He kept going in there wanting to play with his toys, and I felt bad. Now, we plan to rearrange his new bedroom soon to create a play area with his large white rug, bookshelf, and toy box.

Mark and I packed the majority of our entire apartment in one Saturday night in June. The entire move itself went very well, and the day we actually moved was beautiful – no rain and not too hot. The house is still a work in progress as we still have some boxes to go through and curtains/blinds to buy. But we will get there…eventually.

Herby:
My beloved cat, Herby, passed away on July 13th around midnight on the Tuesday after we moved into our new home. I know this blog is supposed to be about Alex, but it is also about our family, and Herby was a huge part of our family. I was extremely distraught when I found him on the floor (and I still am somewhat). His passing was actually quite sudden. Even though he had cancer, I wasn’t expecting that he would pass away in this manner.

We started packing the weekend of June 26 because as I mentioned above, we went to Indiana for July 4th weekend. We were gone for 5 days. While we were gone, it was hot, and our apartment's living room air conditioner had been going in & out for the last month. We didn't leave it on while we were gone, and the pet sitter told us that Herby didn't eat much while we were gone either. He seemed OK the week in-between, but in retrospect, Mark didn’t feel like Herby was himself. He ate his food, but not as much as normal. I think he was stressed out over the looming boxes and the heat.

Then, the big move happened. We moved our bedroom first, and then put Herby in there with his food, water, litter box, & turned the "good" air conditioner on while we finished loading the rest of the apartment. I came back on Saturday evening to pick him up, and he hadn't eaten at all. Then, he never ate on Sunday or Monday either, and Mark said he threw up a white milky substance on Monday afternoon. I called the Vet, and she prescribed an anti-nauseating agent & an appetite stimulant -- thinking he was stressed out from the move. Although, she did say that Giant Eagle was the only place that had the feline equivalent of the meds he needed, so we went there. We made sure we followed her directions, and gave him the meds in conjunction with his daily steroid.

Mark came into the bedroom about midnight on Monday and said Herby was crying out, almost sounding a little loopy from the meds. I agreed with him, and we went to bed. On Tuesday morning about 6:30 am, I found him on the kitchen floor. I screamed and cried, called my Dad, and then called-in to work.

I do have some guilt and unanswered questions. I feel like I should have gotten out of bed when he cried out to see what was wrong; perhaps take him to the animal ER. I feel guilty because for the past 2 years that I was blessed to have him longer than the vets said -- I kept saying to myself: "As soon as [the wedding is over, baby is born, find a new job, etc.], I'm going to maximize my time with him because I know it's limited." Also, my feelings have changed over the past few years, and I would say things to him like "Get out of the way, etc." -- it makes me feel like I neglected him. I feel terrible...I miss him so much. He was a big part of my life for 9 years. It was just me, him, and a Uhaul when I moved to Cleveland.

And I just can't place my finger on what killed him? It must have been some combination of the stress of us moving out of our apartment, lack of eating, and the meds. I even have some concerns that the meds prescription was wrong and that's what killed him.

I wish I could have said goodbye. I promised myself that I would be there for him until the end; holding him when he passed away, but I didn't. This was mostly because I thought we'd have to euthanize him.

Coming Up:
I hate to end this post on a sad note, so I thought I would write a little about our future plans over the next month or two.

We are hoping to enjoy the last month of summer since we have spent so much time planning for this move. I’d like to take Alex swimming a few more times and to the kiddie park where he can play on the equipment now that he is walking.

We are also hoping to have cookouts at our new house, and I know Mark wants to have a cornhole tournament with some of his friends. (That is Alex playing cornhole in the picture above, by the way...)

I’d also like to explore Hudson a little more. A few weeks ago, I went to the Farmer’s market that is held every Saturday on the green in front of main hall, and I would like to take Mark & Alex there soon. I would like to shop for some new clothes at First & Main. There are so many clothing shops (Ann Taylor, Chico’s Talbots, Gap). There are also concerts up there every Friday and Saturday night. We are planning to attend a local church this Sunday, and a co-worker of mine also recommended a Hudson Newcomers group that we could join. Looking forward to exploring a new place!

13 Months Old and Happy Memorial Day

Wow! May 2010 just flew by... We've had quite a busy month starting with MOMMY FOUND A NEW JOB! After 9+ months of searching, we can finally move on with our lives. We are beginning to pack our apartment as our lease is terminated July 31. Although, Mark and I are going to try to get out sooner if we can. We recently looked at a house for rent in Hudson last Friday. It would be just perfect for our little family, but there are a lot of parties interested. I'm not surprised because Hudson is a nice, little community with a great school system. The house has 3 smaller bedrooms, hardwood floors, renovated kitchen with all new appliances, 2-car garage, fenced in backyard with deck, and a full basement with storage for all of this stuff we have accumulated. Another reason we are outgrowing this small apartment! We put in our application to rent the house this past weekend, so we shall see if we are accepted.

About our little munchkin:

1st Birthday Party:

We held his first birthday party on May 2nd, and it was just perfect. Mark and I just barely got all of the decorations up & food/beverages made before guests started arriving thanks to the help from my family at the last minute! We had so much leftover food: almost an entire box of pizza, grilled chicken salad, birthday cake, and I believe there is still some blue Hawaiian punch in the fridge from the blue ice cream punch I made for his party. Alex received mostly clothes, which is great! I won't have to buy him very much for the summer. We didn't have hardly any 12 month clothes for him prior to his party. He also received clothes in 18 month size, though I'm not sure whether he will be able to wear those for awhile. His little waist is so small that he sometimes still wears 9 month shorts/pants. He also received some cute toys at his party: a little wagon with blocks, a popcorn popper push toy, a musical lawn mower, a 2nd lawn mower that blows bubbles (won't THAT be great for a backyard!), and a Little People block set. He also received a cute bean bag chair with his name on it, and some cash. We are taking the money next Saturday to the bank to open a 529 account and combining it with the college fund we started for him. After 2 months of planning, his party was great. I only wished it would have lasted longer because we don't get our families together very often. Next year, hopefully he will have some friends for his 2nd birthday party, and we can have a children's party.

Balloons:
He also has a slight obsession with balloons since his party. We kept a few of them from his birthday party, and he crawled across the floor carrying a balloon. When they deflated, we trashed them. And just yesterday, I took him grocery shopping. There were many balloons at the checkout line, and he pointed up and said "blu". I decided to take him to the Factory Card Outlet store and buy him a new one to take home. The look on his face when we walked up to the counter and saw over 100+ balloons was priceless. It was like he hit the lottery!! We walked out with a plain red balloon, and the girl behind the counter said "Awww!"

Kiddie Park and Swimming:

Mark and I have taken many walks with Alex in his stroller over the past few weeks. We took him to the Middleburg Heights kiddie park a few weeks ago, and then again when Nana came to visit this past weekend. He is not a fan of swings, but the picture above is one of Alex's many trips down the slide. We also took him swimming for the first time on Saturday as well. He did SO well! I was concerned whether he would cry in the water, but we bought him a little intertube raft that has a mesh section in the middle where we placed his toys. We pulled him around in the pool and played peek-a-boo dunking under the water while Nana took some pictures. It was a terrific way to start the summer. I can't wait to take him to the Middleburg Heights outdoor pool when it opens next weekend.

Crib Moving:

Our "wonderful" living room air conditioner broke last night, so we moved Alex's crib into our bedroom. We had been discussing whether we would do this for awhile now, or at least until we move out in July. I remember how hot it was last summer because no air flows into his room, but he was so little and was still sleeping in his bassinet in our room at the time. It was quite the experience last night having him in our room. For the most part, he slept through the night just fine when he was in his bedroom with the occassional cry-out, but then he fell right back asleep when we did not come into his room. Well, now he cries out, and he knows we are right there, so he pulls himself up on his crib. It's going to be an interesting 2 months...

Crawling/Walking:

Alex is crawling just fine now on his hands & knees, even though sometimes he still does the "army crawl". He is becoming a master at furniture crawling. He actually got brave yesterday: While I held out a graham cracker in front of him, he took 2 small steps without me holding his hands. He will be walking within the next few months.

Food:

I am slowly getting over my phobia of Alex choking on chunky solid foods, and he is finally getting over the gag reflex of eating foods with texture. After conversations with Alex's doctor, I know it's important for his development to pick up small bites of food with his fingers and put them in his mouth. He likes small pieces of graham cracker, dried fruit pieces, and yogurt melts. We've also tried the small Gerber meals with Spaghetti rings w/ sauce and the meals w/ tiny pieces of corn, peas, turkey, pasta, etc. Nana says they smell like pot pie! I would like to eventually get back to making his food again in the Baby Cook, but we have just been so busy lately! I made his favorite bananas and cherries a few days ago, but that is all I've had time for lately. He has also gotten much better at drinking juice/water from a sippy cup. He used to be quite messy. Hopefully, we can start weaning him from the bottle soon where he drinks milk from his cup.

Ice Cream:

Alex is a HUGE fan! And who isn't? We took him to Honey Hut a few weeks ago, and he alternated quite frequently between Mommy's Cookies & Cream and Daddy's Pineapple Coconut. We also had Birthday Cake flavored ice cream a few days ago, and Alex's mouth hung open constantly yesterday when Daddy pulled out the Lemon Gelato.

I'm thinking that maybe he will no longer be in the 25th percentile for weight at his next Well Baby visit. Not just because of the ice cream though....I'm actually quite proud of how much we have increased his food intake over the past few months. He must have gone through a growth spurt at just the right time too.

Upcoming Summer Ideas:

We have a 4th of July trip planned to Indiana where I hope to take Alex to Rainbow Beach, which is Mommy's childhood community swimming pool (and hopefully they still have the kiddie pool). We'll probably come home with my usual favorites too: sweet corn and peaches.

We'll also take advantage of the Middleburg Heights community pool while we still live here. They have a great little shallow end where Alex can play in the water.

I'm hoping to attend a few family-oriented outdoor festivals in Cleveland as well, and I know we would like to visit Huntington Beach on Lake Erie w/ Grandma and Grandpa.

It would be great if we found a house to rent where we could buy a kiddie pool for Alex to play in the backyard.

Alex has plenty of summer gear for all of these activities: swimming outfit, sun hat, sunscreen, swim diapers, and a pool floating intertube!

Happy First Birthday to my Little Angel Alex!

My baby is 1 Year Old! What a great year it has been to watch him grow and learn. I've been feeling happy for the past few weeks knowing this day was approaching.

Alex's Birthday:
Alex's big day began with Mommy working from home (on a Monday!) Around 4 pm, he ate a birthday cupcake from Main Street Cupcakes in Rocky River. We've been HUGE fans of the Hudson location, therefore Mark and I decided to take Alex to the new location yesterday. We purchased a Classic Vanilla cupcake for him (along with 5 other cupcakes for us!) At first, he just looked at it; then he picked it up; then he analyzed it; then we took some of the icing and put it in his mouth; then it fell over; and finally he squeezed it until it crumbled all over his high chair and table. Most of it ended up in the chair itself and on the carpet. He never actually put any of it in his mouth himself. I thought this would be a BIG DEAL, but nope! Alex was perfectly happy just playing with it. Nevertheless, we video taped the event and took a bunch of pictures. :-) His next cake will be at his birthday party next Sunday. This one will be Zee and covered in blue icing. I'm sure this one will be nice and messy...

Last night, we started our evening at Toys R Us, so Alex could pick out a birthday toy. He selected the baby laptop (not much of a surprise there, considering he loves cousin Joee's laptop). Mark and I also picked him out a Spiderman walker car to open at his birthday party next Sunday. Then, we headed to Chuckie Cheese for dinner, but they didn't have a Toddler Zone at the location we visited (so disappointed). We knew Alex wouldn't have anything to do, so we decided to go to Famous Dave's where we would enjoy our dinner. All in all, it was a really nice day.

1-Year Doctor Appointment:
Alex had his 1-Year doctor appointment this past Friday. He weighs 20 lbs. and 12 oz. (25 percentile), and he is 30 1/2 inches long (75 percentile). So, we have a tall and skinny toddler. His doctor wasn't too concerned about his small weight because she usually recommends for children to triple their birth weight during their first year, and he has met her goal. She gave us some tips on food including: giving him the square mushy carrots (to increase his usage of finger foods); making him smoothies since he loves yogurt (protein powder, yogurt, frozen fruit); giving him no more than 16-20 oz. of whole milk per day; as much water as he wants; giving him 5-6 mini meals to increase his calorie intake & reduce any spit-up (as opposed to 3 square meals per day); and using a sippy cup with a straw because he already knows how to suck. I asked about how to make sure he is getting enough vitamins and minerals, and she said we should be fine, but if we are concerned, we can buy him vitamins. He was supposed to have an anemia test at this visit, but it is now scheduled for his 15-month visit in July, in addition to both the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) and Chicken Pox vaccines. We do have a finger-prick test scheduled for Lead at the Department of Public Health for him next Tuesday.

1-Year Pictures:
We took Alex for his 1-Year pictures last Saturday. We went to Sears this time, but I wasn't thrilled with our experience. I doubt we will return. The backgrounds were cute, but the service wasn't very good. I had 2 coupons that I received in the mail, but of course, they would only allow me to use one of them. Then, if I used my coupon [which included (1) 10X13, (1) 8X10, (2) 5X7s, 16 wallets, and 16 minis of only 1 pose], then for any other purchases -- they would be $20 per sheet. If I didn't use my coupon, each sheet would only be $10. She also tried to upsell me on an $80 package 3 separate times and mentioned repeatedly about their photo-finished montages (instead of the natural setting poses). While I sat there confused trying to figure out all of this math as well as what size & how many pictures we actually needed, she just stared and smiled. She offered absolutely no help when I was stuck multiple times trying to understand their pricing. We ended up with no take-home CD and only 3 poses, 1 of which was a single sheet of (2) 5X7s. After reviewing the proofs, I noticed that she cut off the background in 2 different poses -- not very professional. Finally, at the end, Alex almost fell off of the little box he was sitting on, and I caught his face in the palm of my hand before he hit the floor. We followed up our less than stellar visit at Sears Portrait Studio with a trip to Chuppa's for our favorite peanut butter and a trip to the B.A. Sweetie Candy Company -- walking out with approx. $50 worth of candy for Alex's birthday party next Sunday. :-)

Milestones:
There have been soooooo many milestones lately! I finally cried about it on Sunday. (Don't laugh - Dad!) Starting with...

First Haircut:
Yes, the day AFTER we got his 1-Year pictures taken (not very good planning, huh?), Aunt Dawn cut Alex's hair for the very first time. We stripped his clothes, leaving him in only a diaper. He sat on Mark's lap, and we gave him things to hold in his hand for distraction. He only cried once when she used Uncle Jason's clippers, which made a buzzing sound that scared him. Me on the other hand, I cried 3 separate times. At that moment, it just hit me with all of these "Firsts" that have been happening lately.

Whole Milk:
Since we received his doctor's approval, we officially took Alex off of formula and are now giving him whole milk. At Wal-Mart, I spent $3 on Horizon's Organic Whole Milk as opposed to a $25 can of Enfamil Premium. I know that we will be buying 3-4 containers a paycheck, so I am only saving a little bit of money after all.

Furniture Crawling:
While standing on his legs and using the couch and side table in our living room for support, Alex has been standing up during the past few weeks. In fact, I came into his bedroom one morning last week after he woke up for the day, and he was standing in his crib. Yay! He's getting stronger. I hope he will walk in the next few months. Mark sure thinks he will be ready soon. Which leads me to...

Crib Lowered (AGAIN!):
We have officially lowered Alex's crib to the lowest possible setting. He can still pull himself up to standing while holding the side of the crib for support. However, he can no longer possibly fall out. Before it was lowered, and while he was standing, it was at waist-level!

Forward-Facing Car Seat:
Using his birthday money, we bought Alex another car seat last week. (Thank You Mimi!) He now has a Britax Roundabout 50, in addition to the Graco MyRide 65 that now stays put in the Camry. We changed it to forward-facing since he has reached the NHTSA recommended 1-Year and 20 pounds requirement. He LOVES being able to see out the front window. I'm a little curious whether the middle seat is still the safest spot, now that he is forward-facing. It seems like it would be for a side-impact crash, but for a head-on collision, I'm not so sure. It seems like either behind driver's-side or passenger's-side would be safer.

Couple of other misc. stuff:

We're almost ready for the big family birthday bash next Sunday! I think we will have about 25 people, and Mimi, Hannah, Auntie D, Nana, and Pepaw are all coming up too!

After staying up many nights last week and finishing up homemade decorations for the big party, Mommy & Daddy are reminded how much we love this little boy. I must say that for next year, we will be sure to pick a party-theme where we can buy merchandise with the characters. Moose & Zee merchandise anywhere (in-stores or online) is practically non-existent. However, I certainly enjoyed drawing the 2 of them on large "Science-Fair" tri-fold poster board in Yellow and Blue. I used to draw when I was younger, and completing this project sure brought me a lot of joy over the past few weeks. It was nice to concentrate on something artistic and not on the everyday dreaded job, job search, workouts, domestic duties, etc. I am encouraged to do something creative again in the near future.

Alex has been doing this "Funny Face & Breathing" trick that Daddy taught him. He scrunches up his nose, puts on this half smile, and huffs/puffs through his nose. It's hilarious...

And finally: Alex's doctor said to look up the definition of "brat" in the dictionary, and we would see "a 1-2 year old child" as the answer. I think she is referring to the tantrums that we are beginning to see as Alex gets older. Oh boy... here we go! TODDLER YEARS!

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.

10 Months Old - (Stop Growing Up Please)

I really do love Alex at this stage, but he's growing up soooo fast! This is a new picture of him with his Bible Board Book.

Over the past month, we've reached new milestones, approached new milestones, eaten new foods, found new "wanna-be" toys, and had a flu bug (which we somehow lived through just this past weekend).

Sleep:
I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but it's difficult getting Alex to fall asleep each night. There are some days where he fights us against going to sleep, and there are also days where he is just so exhausted that he throws a bit of a tantrum. Because we live in an apartment building, (and because I can't stand to listen to him cry himself to sleep), we typically have to hold or rock him until he falls asleep. I'm not proud of this, and I wish it could change. The longest amount of time that we have left him alone in his crib to "cry it out" is about 20 minutes. I can only recall a few times where he has actually fallen asleep on his own. It's a struggle, but I had to preface this paragraph with something new that I've grown to love lately:

A few weeks ago as I was trying to get him to sleep, I walked into our bedroom and laid down in our bed with him snuggled on my side. And just like magic, he shut his eyes. I repeated this for about 5-6 days, and it was pure bliss. Because he is getting too big to hold, I started enjoying this sweet little bonding time with him in my arms again. Well, since then it has stopped and my little trick no longer works. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted!

Food:
At his last Well Baby visit, Alex's pediatrician recommended that we try to increase his solid food intake, eliminate the 4th bottle of the day, and introduce meat (chicken). Since that visit, it has been quite a challenge. A few reasons: Because Alex doesn't like to sit still in his high chair long enough to eat, and because Mark and I are "creatures of habit". Typically, we realize that 4 hours have passed, and we start putting together a bottle. It's a familiar and easy routine that we have settled into. Because his pediatrician answered with "Whatever and how ever much he wants to eat when you give him solids" and because we are used to a measured quantity of formula, it's been hard to "guesstimate" how much solid foods to give him in addition to his regular bottle. So, Mark went online to BabyCenter.com to research how much food a typical 10-month old eats, and boy were we shocked!

In addition to his formula, Alex should have (per day):

1/3 c. to 1/2 c. dairy (yogurt, cheese)
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. cereal (oatmeal, rice, etc.)
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. fruits
1/4 c. to 1/2 c. veggies
1/8 c. to 1/4 c. combo foods (casseroles, stews, etc.)
1/8 c. to 1/4 c. protein (chicken, fish, mashed egg yolk, etc.)

WHAT!?

So, this past weekend when Alex remained mostly in his diaper (and with no clothes -- more on that later...), of course I started wondering if he is malnourished. I also wondered because he has these tiny bumps on his upper arms that are quite similar to the bumps that I had when I was pregnant. My doctor told me that those bumps are due to lack of nutrients because the baby was taking all of my vitamin stores. (And I even took pre-natal vitamins faithfully everyday - wow!). Anyways, I forgot all the literature that I've read (and our pediatrician has said) about his bottle providing all of the nutrients he needs until he is 1 Year Old. Mark and I have decided that yes, it is still in his best interest to increase his solid food intake. We're using the above list as a guideline, but also Alex's appetite as to when to stop when he is full. In addition to the multiple containers of homemade sweet potatoes we have in the freezer, I spent a fairly large amount of time last weekend planning meals and things to buy for him at the grocery store. I am still not comfortable giving him regular jarred baby food unless it is organic, so we picked up quite a few new foods for him to try: Chicken w/ corn and squash, chicken w/ country veggies, oatmeal w/apples & cinnamon, Yo Baby meals, and yogurt for baby. I also bought a ton of frozen veggies, so we're well on our way to trying new foods. This stage is really fun, but it's also quite hard getting adjusted.

Flu?:
Last weekend was a huge challenge. A few weeks ago, I actually thought to myself: "I wonder how awful it will be when I actually see my child vomit for the first time." Lo and behold, don't think these things. They actually come true quicker than you think...

Last Saturday morning, I woke up around 4 am to the sound of Alex gurgling and coughing. I went into his nursery, and he looked up at me. So, I pick him up and he falls back asleep immediately on my shoulder. As I lay him back down, I felt his crib sheet was wet. And then, I felt around some more and realized it was soaked everywhere. Because it was dark, I didn't really notice anything further. I go back into my room to wake up Mark and tell him, and Mark thought perhaps it was drool from Alex teething. I fall back asleep after about 1.5 hours of worrying, and then we all 3 eventually get up around 8 am. Mark and I go into Alex's nursery, and his sheet is covered with orange blobs (sweet potatoes, I assume from last night's dinner). As I give him his morning bottle, he throws up all over me and down my shirt, all over the living room carpet, everywhere. I beg Mark not to go to class and stay home with me as we make it through this mess. We call the Dr. who tells us that it's important to keep him hydrated, giving him 1 tsp of liquid every 5 minutes. Yes, every 5 minutes! How can we possibly keep up with that pace? His Dr. explained that if you gave him larger amounts of liquid, he won't be able to keep it down. As I held Alex over the kitchen sink while he continued vomiting that morning, Mark assumed the Pedialyte role. He fell back asleep for an extended period of time that morning, and then he never vomited again. His diapers on the other hand were a different story. Alex remained in only a diaper most of the day, we went through about 3 loads of his laundry, and about 1 1/2 bottles of Shout. What a challenge it was! We were all 3 totally exhausted.

Other New Milestones:

We can see a 3rd tooth! On the top, in the middle -- I can see white. I wonder how many teeth he will have before his first birthday?

He is also on the verge of crawling (finally!). After months of flattening out like a pancake when he is placed in position, he can finally hold his weight, and he rocks back and forth in place with his little bottom. I have been using his rubber block set to make a big tower a few feet in front of him, and I'll say: "Get Your Blocks!" He will move himself in a forward motion to the blocks. I think he will be crawling within the next month. (No Dad - I will NOT cry this time) :)

He also seems to enjoy playing with "non-toys": From pots and pans and spoons to beans in a Tupperware bowl, he loves them all. He also loves to watch me cook in the kitchen. He likes to watch me chop vegetables, and he especially likes it when I am boiling water on the stove. I hope he starts to understand when Daddy constantly says: "Hot!".

Finally, we are planning some outings soon. Easter is coming up, and Alex's cousin Joee will be baptised this coming weekend, so I'm on the hunt for some cute new dressy outfits. As Spring approaches and it becomes warmer, I'm hoping that we can go out as a family again... to the mall or something. I'm getting cabin fever. I'm not sure where we will be, or what apartment/house we will be in, but we'll probably have a small 1st birthday party for our families on Saturday, April 24th. Mark your calendars! (if you are able to come). Indianapolis or Cleveland, who knows? Time will tell...