Alexander - 4 Months Old

Alex,

You are 4 months old now!  We had quite the eventful month.  As I left off in the post before this, we have been having so much fun watching the Cardinals in the post season.  Well, during this month of your life, the Cardinals won the World Series!  Look at you, the only baseball season you have ever been around for and your team already won!  Mom and dad went downtown to celebrate and you got to watch the final game with your Poppy.  It was such a fun time!

Speaking of baseball, you got to meet Jim Edmonds this month!  We were out at his restaurant, 15, for Grandpa Rick's birthday.  You were being fussier than normal, so I took you for a walk.  We sat just outside the bathroom when a little girl came up to you saying, "Baby!"  She really wanted to see you.  So I held you out to meet her and right behind her came her dad, yep, Jim Edmonds!  You were still fussy, so Jim asked if he could try to calm you down.  He told me he had 4 kids and he knew what to do.  So I handed you over.  You really seemed to like Jim Edmonds because he was able to calm you down.  We went to his table and met his wife and son too.  They were a very nice family.  We did get a picture, but I was told it was blurry.  I may post it here once I get it if it isn't too bad.  We'll see!

Of course Halloween happened during your 4th month.  You were a monkey.  We delivered Halloween candy to all the neighborhood kids and then we went to visit your cousins.  We started by visiting Will and Harrison.  Will was pretty excited and gung ho about Trick or Treating, but you and Harrison were perfectly happy just hanging out with Poppy. 

After we left Will and Harrison's house, we headed over to Grandma Gerry's house to hang out with your cousin Alyssa.  We ended up doing a little Trick or Treating with Alyssa.  You really hammed it up and showed off much to your Grandma's delight!  It was a fun Halloween this year and I know it will only get better!

We also carved some pumpkins this year.  I decided to do our innitials to represent our little family.  Daddy carved a scary scene:

You have started staying overnight with your Grandparents this month too!  The first time was not for a fun reason at all.  Your mom and dad were sick and so Gram had to pick you up.  Lucky for us though, you loved staying with Gram and you gave us some time to recover.  Yay!  Then mom and dad went to Chicago for Jackie and Willie's wedding.  You stayed with Grandma Gerry and Grandpa Rick for most of the weekend.  You loved being with them and they loved having you.  I really don't enjoy leaving you, but it's nice to know you are in such good hands when it is necessary.  It's also good to know that you have so much fun!  I know you will be spending many nights with your grandparents in the future!

You have had so many developmental improvements this month too!  Your fantastic head control has allowed you to do so many new things.  The first thing you do now is take a bath without the sling.  You are loving not having that silly sling in the way.  It allows you to sit deeper in the warm water and it also allows you to splash around in the water more!

You have also been enjoying your Bumbo and Exersaucer a lot!  I'm pretty sure you just enjoy doing something other than laying on you back now that you are able to.  Chrissy sends me pictures of you playing in your exersaucer at her house and you also like to play in the ones at both of your grandmas houses.  I put together your Jumparoo, but your legs have to get a bit longer for you to fully enjoy that.  Just a little more time and it will happen! 

Another thing you have started doing is grasping onto me when I hold you.  I used to just hold you, but now you hold me back.  It's such a wonderful feeling to have you clutching onto me!  Also, when you are breastfeeding, you have started to reach up for my face and you like to grasp onto my mouth and my nose.  When you are bottle feeding you like to try to hold onto the bottle. 

And the coolest thing you have started doing this month is rolling over.  You have been going from your tummy to back for a while now, but you started also going from your back to tummy!  Sometimes in the middle of the night you will roll over in your crib.  Although this wakes me up way more often than I would like, I'm so happy that you are so strong! 


You are getting to be such a big boy!  Here are your 4 month photos:

Mommy and daddy are having so much fun with you lately.  We know the best is yet to come too.  You make us so happy Alex!  Thanks for the first 4 months . . . we are looking forward to the rest!

Love,

Mom

Alexander - 3 Months Old

Alex,

You are now 3 months old!  You are getting so big and doing so many things now.  At your 10 week doctor's appointment, you weighed 14 pounds 1.5 ounces and were 24.5 inches long.  We had yet another eventful month with you. 

We have been having so much fun watching post season baseball.  The Cardinals weren't even supposed to make the play-offs this year and yet during this month of your life not only did they go against all odds to become the NL Wild Cards, but they also won the NLDS and the NLCS!  I think something special happened to the Cardinals when you were born . . . maybe that's just me though . . .

Either way, you have been having so much fun cheering on the Cardinals with mommy and daddy (Thanks to Vicki for the adorable Cardinals Sleeper!):

   

You and dad had a great "Man Weekend" together while mommy went to Jackie's Bachelorette Party in Chicago.  It was the first time we had been apart more than a couple hours.  You did just great and had so much fun with daddy!

         

 Speaking of good times with daddy, we also celebrated his promotion!  Daddy has been working so hard lately and it was so nice to see him get some recognition for it.  We are so proud of daddy!

Sadly for mommy, I had to go back to work this month.  It was so wonderful to be able to spend every minute with you for the first 2 months of your life, but we knew it couldn't last forever.  You have adjusted very well and have really enjoyed your time with Chrissy, your babysitter, and with your grandmas.  Chrissy says that you really enjoy hanging out with all the older kids at her house.  Also, Chrissy's son Tyler is just a couple months older than you, so you will be good buddies growing up!  And of course both of your grandmas are just loving their days with you too! 

This adjustment has been MUCH harder for me than it has for you, but as a special gift to me you started sleeping through the night this month so that mommy is not too tired at work!  Thanks for that my love!  I'm really getting used to and have started looking forward to our morning routine.  Since you sleep so well now, you have become a total morning person.  Another new thing you do this month is you laugh out loud.  So first thing in the morning I am greeted at your crib by happy Alex smiles, giggles and coos!  Then I pick you up and change your diaper.  Then we go back to my bed to eat and snuggle for a bit.  I love the sound of your happy suckling while eating, your sigh when you are finished and the sound of your breathing as we lay there snuggling.  I could stay that way all day long.  After about 15 mins of that we go back to your room and you squeel at your mobile while I pack your bag for the day.  I do wish we could just stay together all day long, but I know this is what is best for both of us.

Since mommy is back at work now, we make the most of our weekends and spend as much time together as possible.  One weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch!  We had so much fun with you there and you really seemed to enjoy being outside in the fresh air.  Here are some pictures of us at Rombach's Farm (thanks to Bridget for the Halloween shirt!):

Another weekend we went to Aunt E's school, Parkway North, homecoming football game.  We decked you out in a Parkway North onesie to cheer the team on.  You had so much fun at first, but as soon as the band started playing at half time, it was just too much for you.  Aunt E and I took you away from the action for a while and then you fell sound asleep in the Moby wrap with Aunt E.

Besides going places outside the home, we have also been having so much fun at home.  We took you to physical therapy this month to work on some neck exercises for you since you seem to only want to turn your head to the left.  You really enjoyed physical therapy and of course we have continued the exercises at home.  With help, you love to roll over back and forth and you love to pull up to a sitting position.  You have such a look of accomplishment on your face after you do each of your exercises and it is so much fun to do them with you!  You are so strong!  I can't wait to see where this next month takes us in your development.

Your 3rd month has been such a wonderful one for us!  You have grown so much and have done so many things to make us so happy.  We look forward to seeing what you are doing next month!  For now, here's what you look like at 3 months old:

Love you Sugar Pie!

Love,

Mommy

Alexander - 2 Months Old

I'm beginning to realize that every post is going to start out the same way from here on out . . . I can't believe how quickly the first 2 months of your life have flown by!  A lot has happened in this last month.  You are growing by leaps and bounds.  At your 6 week doctor appointment you weighed 11 lbs 13.5 oz and were 22.75" long.  You have grown quite a bit more since then too weighing in at 13 lbs 3 oz on your 2 month birthday!  We took a picture of you recently in the same outfit you wore home from the hospital.  Needless to say, I don't think you will be wearing that outfit much longer!

You continue to get very strong.  We have been doing tummy time with you and at 6 weeks, you rolled over for the first time!  You are also pushing down on your legs and you really don't need much help at all with your head anymore.

You have been extremely social lately.  You smile ALL THE TIME and you "talk" to me quite a bit too.  Your little coos have taken on a mimicking sound.  When you wake up in the morning, more times than not I am greeted by your little toothless grin and what sounds like, "Hi!"  Just the other day I was feeding you and you heard daddy's voice.  You stopped eating, looked straight up at daddy and smiled so big!  You made it especially hard that day for daddy to go to work.

We have visited some other babies that are exactly your age.  First we went over to visit your cousin Harrison.  You two didn't have much to say to each other just yet, but I know you are going to be best friends growing up. 

You also met your Gram's best friend's grandson, Connor.  Gram had a great time showing you off to her friend Jan and Jan had a great time showing off her grand baby, Connor.  We will be doing much more with these guys as you grow up.

Your Great Grandpa Herm hasn't been feeling very well lately so we took you by the nursing home to see him.  Boy oh boy did you cheer him up!  He couldn't get enough of holding you and kissing you!

Dad and I have been continuing to take you all over the place with us.  The weather was especially nice one day and we went with Gram and Poppy to a winery.  It was a nice day and you really seemed to enjoy being outside.

You are such an active baby!  You are constantly moving your arms, legs and head.  You still love your baths, and you show your appreciation by splashing your mommy as she cleans you off.  Mama loves it though!  Your Grandma Gerry bought you a mobile that you absolutely LOVE!  You squeal and kick and coo while it is on. 

Mommy loves how active and alert you are.  Which leads us to the difficult part of your second month.  One day you were not so alert and active, so mommy called your doctor.  As a precaution he decided to send us to the ER for some blood work.  To make a very long and complicated story short . . . after a very LONG 2 days in the ER we found out that you were just fine.  You must have just had a sleepy day.  It was the scariest thing your mommy has ever had to go through, but I'm just so happy you are okay! 

We also discovered that you have a heart murmur in all this fiasco so you needed to have an echocardiogram.  Everything turned out great from that exam as well. 

All I can say is that it was a very difficult time, so if you can just stay your normal and active self from now on I'd really appreciate it.  I love you so much Alex!  Here's what you look like at 2 months old:

This second month has been amazing!  I'm REALLY not looking forward to going back to work soon, but we have some wonderful people lined up to play with you while I work.  We still have one week left though, so let's make the most of it!

I love you!

Love,

Mom

Alexander - One Month Old

Okay, so I'm a little late on this post.  How dare me actually spend time with my baby instead of writing about him!  This first month has just flown by.  I feel like if I blink Alex will be off to college. 

To my sweet baby boy, Alex:

Wow, this first month with you has flown!  We have both gone through a major adjustment and I'm happy to say that after a month we are really starting to get things down. 

We were in the hospital for a couple days and you had many visitors.  Everyone was so excited to meet you!  Your daddy even got you your first birthday cake and some champagne to celebrate your arrival with all our friends and family.

We brought you home from the hospital on July 23rd.  We dressed you up in the special outfit your Gram brought for you.  You could tell your dad and I were first time parents because we had to call in the nurse to help us learn how to get you into your car seat!  When we finally got you to the car, your daddy drove so slow.  We got stuck in traffic for a few minutes and you didn't like that at all.  You really like to be in motion.

As soon as we got home all I wanted to is snuggle with you.  After all commotion at the hospital, you were finally all mine. 

The next two weeks were a challenge for both of us as you adjusted to life on the outside and your dad and I adjusted to your nighttime feeding schedule.  But after those first two weeks we finally started to get into a bit of a routine.  One thing that got me through the difficulty of so little sleep is the cute way you eat.  You get so excited and start shaking your head with your mouth wide open.  When you finally latch on you put your right hand right next to your face and your left hand behind your ear.  You are so focused and it makes me smile every time.  

You have really seemed to love your baths so far.  When you first came home we had to give you sponge baths:

 

But after your umbilical cord fell off at 3 weeks, we were finally able to give you your first submerged bath.  You really enjoyed the warm water and you had so much fun looking out the sunny window.

And just look at that belly!  You have really been growing and gaining weight!  I was so worried that my one breast wouldn't be enough for you, but it really looks like it's doing it's job.  We weighed you on Gram and Poppy's scale the other day and you were already up to 10.25 pounds!  We will be seeing your doctor in a couple weeks so we will get an official weigh in then.   

You have also started to smile more.  These started off as sleepy smiles only:

Then little smirks:

And finally full on laughs:

You are really starting to focus on things now and respond.  These bigger smiles were brought on by mommy and daddy.  Other things you really enjoy right now are fans, shadows and the lambs on your swing.  The sleepy smiles are usually in response to a clean diaper and a full belly.

Your neck control is also developing very well.  You never cease to amaze us with your strength.  Whenever Poppy holds you he is always surprised that a baby your age is able to hold his head up the way you do.

Your daddy and I have also been trying to take you out as much as possible.  You and I have gone for walks as long as the weather has not been too hot (you were born during a long heat wave where the temps were 100+ for a couple weeks).  You really like to be warm so it hasn't seemed to bother you too much.

We also took you to Adriana's and Cunettos for the first time since you have been on the outside.  Believe me though, you have had it plenty of times when you were on the inside and you will be having them both plenty when you get older.

I wanted to take you to El Maguey too, but I guess that is something that will have to wait till your next month of life.  We have also taken you to both of your grandparents houses, to the mall, to church, Our Lady of Snows, Affton ball fields to watch your daddy play and to the nursing home to meet your Great Grandpa Herm:

I promise we will be taking you many, many more places in the months and years to come. 

As I said before, this first month has just really flown by.  It feels like you just came into our lives and yet I can't really remember life without you.  All I know is that you have made me a very happy mama.  I love you!

Here's what you look like at 1 month old:

Love,

Mom