6 months old!

At 6 months old, Alex is sitting up alone and has two bottom teeth! He is now 26 and 1/4 in long (50th percentile) and weighs 14lb 9 oz (10th percentile). He is a great eater and is loving all of his fruits and veggies! He still enjoys his cereal and also started some baby yogurt this week. He is always trying to grab the spoon from you but I keep telling him he is too young to feed himself!
Alex is still crazy about Olivia, always watching and laughing at her. He loves to play with her toys, especially any kind of ball. We definitely have a "Mommy's boy" as I can't seem to be in a room without him wanting me to hold him. He also enjoys pulling off his socks and sucking on them, yum! Looks like his hair is going to be blonde and his dimples seem to be getting bigger everyday! He is always so happy and content and loves to smile and laugh. He is very ticklish especially under his arms and on his back. He loves to be outside just sitting up in the stroller looking around. He had a great time on Halloween dressing up as a duck!! We are looking forward to our first holiday season with Alex!

5 months old!!

Where is the time going? I can't not believe it has been over 5 months now since Alex's surprise arrival. He is now 14lbs. 3oz. and 26 inches long. He has become our little roller and can pretty much get around just rolling! He is still doing great on his cereal and he had his first taste of some applesauce and baby pears this past week. He is definitely going to be a great eater like his Mommy! He has adjusted well to the sippy cup and loves cold water and juice.
Alex is still so happy and always smiling. He is still enjoying his saucer, activity mat, swing, walker, and Bumbo chair. He prefers to sit up as much as possible especially in the stroller. No teeth yet but that constant chewing and sucking on everything is making me wonder if they are about to make an appearance! He is so crazy about Olivia, his face lights up when she walks in a room and they enjoy playing together in his crib. He will sit up for a few seconds alone before falling over but it seems like he is getting better at it everyday! He is so strong and coordinated that I think it will be no time at all before he is mobile! Yay.
We are still not sleeping thru the night even after trying every possible trick I can imagine. If he would only take that pacifier...So I guess I have to accept the fact that neither of our kids like to sleep! Thanks guys! I heard that kids who don't sleep much as babies tend to be very intelligent, so Olivia and Alex had better be some geniuses! Just wait until you are teenagers and try to sleep all day, Mommy will remember this! Outside of the sleep issue, Alex is really a wonderful baby, always so sweet and content, and a true Momma's boy!!

A trip to the Beach!

Mommy, Olivia, Alex, and Grammy went on vacation to St. Augustine Florida for 4 days in September. We had such a great time! Yes, Grammy actually survived a six hour ride with my "wonderful" car riders! The weather was perfect and we had fun staying at Grandpa Pugh's beautiful condo on the beach. Olivia loved the water as usual and was fearless even when the waves would knock her over! She even told us the salty seawater tastes "good"! Alex also loved being outside by the pool and ocean. We pretty much had the beach and pool to ourselves. We spent one afternoon walking around the beautiful town of St. Augustine and we took a train tour as requested by Olivia. Two hours later, both kids were sleeping and Mommy and Grammy were still sweating and sitting on that train! It was a good tour though and we learned some interesting things about St. Augustine. We were sad to leave and Olivia is already asking to go back to "Grandpa's house"!

4 months old!!

Little Alex is getting so big and he is the happiest baby! He is always smiling, even at complete strangers, and he is so easy to make laugh! He had a doctors appt today so he got more of those wonderful shots. He did pretty good though. At 4 and 1/2 months, he is 25 and 1/4 inch long (50th percentile) and 13 pounds 12 ounces (20th percentile). The doctor said he looks great and said he is a "little charmer".

He is still trying so hard to sit up and he is holding his head up so well on his own. Alex will touch your face and grab your hair now when holding him! He also discovered his little feet this past month and likes to pull on them! He loves to play, his favorite activity is the exersaucer! He also likes sitting in his Bumbo chair with a tray full of toys. He's at that wonderful stage of putting everything in his mouth. I thought this meant he was teething but the doctor said it is just a normal thing at this age. He started cereal at the beginning of this month and he is doing really well on it. We are getting ready to start with the sippy cup now. Some of the places he went to this past month include some amusement parks, a water park, the pool, and a birthday party. He is so easy to take out and is pretty much content anywhere!

Alex's face lights up when Olivia walks in the room and he can't wait to play with her! He gets so excited when she sits with him and plays. They love to take baths and riding in the new double stroller together. I think they are going to be the best of friends, I hope!

Come and Get it!

We spent an afternoon at a little pond feeding some ducks, turtles, and fish. Olivia had a ball throwing in the bread pieces! She was more than willing to get in the water to hand-feed the animals so we had to keep a tight hold on her! There were so many turtles swimming in the water, even little baby ones with their Mommies! Some of the fish were really big too and they scared Mommy when they splashed the water with their tails! Olivia fed them an entire loaf of bread within about twenty minutes and when the ducks swam away, she said "They are full"!

Olivia turned 2 and 1/2 earlier this month and she has been a great big sister! She started ballet two weeks ago and loves it. She is so cute, pretty much does her own thing. I think she wants to dance fast so I think jazz may be more up her alley in the future. She is going to start soccer next week. She loves to run so I think she is going to enjoy it. She is always making us laugh with the crazy things she says! She amazes me at times with the things she has learned. A few weeks ago, we found out she can count to ten in Spanish! Thank you Dora and Diego!! She is now potty trained and doing awesome with it!! I tried before Alex was born and I guess she wasn't ready. Within two weeks of trying again, she was pretty much out of diapers! We've been talking about what she wants to be for Halloween so we will see what she picks out!

3 months old!

We can't believe that Alex is 3 months old! He is growing like crazy and has been trying to sit up for about a month now! He is always pulling up his head to see if he can do it! He is starting to grasp things more and roll onto his side. Blowing bubbles is something fun he likes to do too! He is still a very happy and content baby, always smiling and laughing! We got his 3 month old pictures yesterday and they came out so cute, we had a hard time picking them!

Alex got his first taste of baby cereal yesterday. He wasn't thrilled with it, kept pushing it out with his tongue but we will keep practicing. That is a few weeks early to start food (he has seemed hungrier lately) so maybe he will like it more with time. His eyes are still blue and his hair has a little bit of a reddish color to it now.

Olivia and Alex took their first bath together last week! They were so cute as Olivia showed him all of her bath toys! Alex still loves the water so I think he is old enough to try the pool this week. He loves to watch Olivia and I know he is anxious to be able to play with her someday!

2 months old!!

I can't believe Alex is now two months old! He is getting so big which makes Mommy so sad :( He now weighs 12lb 2 oz and is 23 & 3/4 in long. He is in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Alex seems to smile more and more everyday and he has started laughing out loud! He has put himself on a little schedule, usually ready for a morning nap around 9-10am for about 30 mins or so and he is always ready for bed about 8pm. He is not sleeping thru the night yet, Olivia slept thru at 6 weeks but I didn't think we would get that lucky again! He gets up around 2am and then around 5am and usually will sleep till Olivia gets up after that. He is pretty much alert the rest of the day except for occasional cat naps here and there. My kids are definitely not sleepers!! Alex is enjoying his swing, activity mat, and bouncy chair. Of course being held in Mommy's arms is his favorite spot! He also still loves being naked and taking a bath!! He is still very sweet and the best little cuddler, definitely a shoulder baby like Olivia was! Alex is starting to watch Olivia more and he seems to get a little excited when he sees her. He will be taking his first vacation to St. Augustine Florida this week for the 4th of July!!

Baptism

Alex was baptized on Saturday June 7th at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. He wore his great Pap Cole's handmade christening gown which is now 89 years old! It has been worn by almost all family members over the decades including Grammy, Mommy, Auntie, and Olivia! He was perfect during the ceremony, slept thru most of it. I think he had more water put on his head then he gets during a bath, but he didn't mind it at all! The ceremony was very nice and there were four other boys being baptized along with him. We had a small family lunch at our house afterwards and it was a very special day for Alex!

Funnybone!

What is so funny Alex?? He loves Olivia's bean bag so that will definitely be on his Christmas list from Santa this year, of course one that is not pink! Everytime he sits in it, he just smiles and laughs! Must be something that we don't see! He makes the cutest laugh type sound, like he is doing a big gasp of air! Those dimples are getting bigger everyday, yay!!!

That's My Baby!

Olivia has grown to love being a big sister! She is the best little helper and Alex now has two Mommies! When we go for walks, she wants to push "her baby!" When it's time for a diaper change, she loves to take the diaper off, put on the pee-pee guard, and ask EVERY time "What's that called"? We all know what she is referring to! Alex is not a big pacifier baby so when I try to give him one, she tells me "He doesn't want it"! She likes to help burp him and says "I be very, very, gentle!"


The things she says these days completely crack us up! She is so expressive and even though she is a little tomboy right now, I think we have a big drama queen in the works! She wants ice on every little bump she gets! When she yawns, she will say "That was a BIG yawn"! We will be playing and out of the blue she will say "Mommy, a popsicle would sure make me feel better"! Food making her feel better already, just like a lady! Then she will say "Nothing else!" like she is mimicking me! If she sees something special, like candy, that she really wants, she'll say "Hmmm, let's see what's over here!", like we don't know! We have been practicing on how to ask people nicely to do things because we have been hearing too many phrases such as "Come here right now"! Sassy girl! She has learned everyone's first names so she will say "Let's go to Nancy's house" instead of Grammy's house! Daddy and Olivia go "driving" in his car every night and she loves it! She loves to call people too and leave messages but all she says is "I'm leaving (Grammy or whoever) a message"! We were laying in bed yesterday and she told me she was getting married. I told her she would have to leave Mommy and then she says she's not getting married! Slow down Olivia, don't grow up too fast on me! :(

Say Cheese!

We figured out that Alex gave us his first smile this past week, at 6 weeks old! We weren't sure the first day or two if it was just a coincidence, but I realized after a few days that he is definitely smiling at us now! It was hard to tell at first if he was just doing random smiles like he has done since birth, especially when he is sleeping. He has the biggest, cutest, "gummy" smile! His eyes squint up as he opens up his little mouth with the best grin! Almost reminds me of a little old man without any teeth! He has been making little "giggle" type noises too! We are all having fun with him and it helps us get to know the things that really make him happy!

King of the Jungle!

A few people have asked about Alex's nursery so I wanted to post some pictures of our little safari! The same lady who did Olivia's mural came back to do his room. He seems to really like it, he likes to lay in his crib and stare at the animals on his mobile and bumper pad. I figured he is going to want sports, cars, or something "blue" for the rest of his life so I decided to start out with something "cute"!

1 month old!!

I can't believe that little Alex is one month old today! The weeks have flown by. He is doing great! At his 2 week checkup he was 7lb 8 oz, almost back to his birth weight. He seems so strong, always lifting up his head and turning it from side-to-side. Alex is definitely becoming a Momma's boy, I think he recognizes my voice and is content the moment he is in my arms! We've gotten better at changing a little boy's diaper. Mommy got a "Pee Guard" for Mother's Day after being sprayed quite a few times! Now that we know to point the "Tallywacker" down before putting on the diapers, the leaky diapers have pretty much stopped! He is still a sweet baby and cuddler and I just can't seem to get enough of him!

Olivia is still adjusting well to her little brother! The meltdowns have pretty much ended and she has started to ask for him and show concern when he is crying. The two of them pretty much wake up together every morning which can be hard on Mommy when both are crying for me. She has told me to "Put that boobie away Mommy!" when I am feeding him and she wants me to do something with her. Usually I try to read a book or something like that with her while I am feeding Alex. We talk about all the things she is going to teach Alex as his big sister. My favorite is when she says, "I'll teach him to eat cookies!" She has been a great helper and loves to help whenever she can. She enjoys bathing him and helping me put on his lotion. Of course she is very interested in the "twig and berry" region! She still enjoys holding Alex or having him lay next to her! I had a wonderful Mother's Day thanks to my kids, husband, and family!!

Big Sis and Lil Bro

Olivia is slowly adjusting to life as a big sister! Except for a few meltdowns, she has been doing well. The toughest times are in the mornings and when she is tired, times she usually likes a little extra attention. We occasionally get "Mommy, put Baby Bro down!" She seems to be most jealous when I am feeding him. She actually asked to hold him for the first time yesterday which made us very excited! It will take time but I think she is going to be a great big sister!
Alex is also doing great! He had an appt on Friday to check his weight and he is now 6lb 15oz. The doctor would like to see him back to his birth weight of 7lb 10oz by the time he is two weeks old. He is in the 75th percentile for length, 50 th for head size, and 25th for weight. He has been a great baby so far, sleeps most of the day and night. Usually 1-2 feedings over the night. So far, he rarely cries and is content laying in the cradle, crib, moses basket, or bouncy chair. He is very sweet and lovable and I just hate to put him down! I know, probably starting a bad habit but they are only this little once! He seems so strong to me, he can pick his head up and roll to one side! He has been living up to his little nickname of "Alex the Great!"