Shot Part Duex...

Yesterday, Alexander got the 2nd part of his MMR shot. He was given some good ole fashioned mumps. The third one, Measles is at the end of August, and I know that one won't be a good one given his reaction yesterday.

I picked him up from school a bit earlier than usual so we could head over to the Dr's office (my work, school & Dr. M's office are all within 2 miles of each other). Once I parked the car, he did his usual, screaming w/excitement dance that he does everytime you shut the car off. We got out and he was all excited to hold Mommy's hand while walking to the door. We get in the first door, no problem. The second door had a slight invisible wall built in. Alexander would NOT cross the threshold. I would ask him to follow me, I would give his arm a little 'it's okay tug', nothing. Finally I picked him up and he was okay with that. We checked in and then went to the waiting room where he was just fine.

He played with a puzzle, read some books and just had a grand ole time. He even showed Lee (Dr. M's wife/nurse) all of his body parts.

Then it was time...

Dr. M came to retrieve us from the waiting room and Alexander froze. He could only unfreeze himself long enough to attach himself to me and not let go. We got into the room and Alexander dug himself into my hip and tried to disappear. He didn't even have to see Dr. M bring anything into the room, he already knew what was going to happen. Dr. M tried to get him to smile but Alexander wasn't having it. He grabbed onto me so tight. I squeezed him tighter just to see what he would do, and he returned the squeeze and just kept holding on for dear life. I gave him one last tight squeeze and then held his hand out of the way. He started to cry before Dr. M even did the shot, which was thankfully maybe 3 seconds long. Alexander screamed bloody murder! But as soon as Dr. M was done and had stepped away, Alexander stopped crying.

As we were leaving, he was blowing kisses to Lee as if nothing happened.

I know that when we go back for the final shot in August, he is going to hate the sight of the building. Oh my, can you imagine what he's going to think when we bring him there for his 18-Month appointment in September??? Thankfully he doesn't get any shots then, otherwise he would think we are constantly abusing him.

New Words...

I believe I mentioned that Alexander has started saying 'Up' but I can't remember if I mentioned 'apple'. So both are now becoming more frequent in his vocabulary.
He actually says 'up' all the time now and most times actually gets it correct in context. It's so cute seeing him learn new things and then use it correctly.

We also have "conversations" on our way to school. I ask him about his friends at school and if he's excited to go and play with them. I ask him about Aidan, Ginny & Nina and yesterday he said "Ai-dan" and "Inny" and then gave me a big smile so he's starting to grasp concepts/names/people.

Photo Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, July 21st - Sunday, July 27th, 2008)

Photo Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, July 21st - Sunday, July 27th, 2008)

Week Glance...

Week Glance (Monday, July 21st - Sunday, July 27th, 2008)

• It was a VERY quiet week, especially with Daddy gone for 1/2 of it
• Daddy went to Ireland (he brought us back presents!)
• New words: Mama, Quack Quack, Up, All done
• Had a good week at school, despite getting paint on two brand new shirts - two days in a row! That's it, I'm sending him to school in gray sweatsuit every day
• There was also one day where he was being a bully at school when I picked him up. One of his teachers kept looking at me apologizing telling me that he never does this and she really did look shocked
• Woke up around 5:30am almost every morning except for Sunday
• LOVES playing with his bag of blocks - mainly dumping them out and moving them around, not necessarily building things
• Has begun taking objects from one side of the room and specifically placing them at another end and will make sure it is just right before going to get the next piece
• Managed to get a leg stuck in between his crib rails - thankfully it wasn't a major case of the 'stucks'.
• Time to figure out the crib/bumper situation...
• Ate two whole slices of pizza by himself on Friday night
• Uncle Matt & Aunt Laura came over Friday night to spend the night as they are in the area house hunting so Alexander got to spend time with them Saturday morning
• Took a 2 3/4 nap on Saturday after the playground with Mommy
• Went to the Mall with Mommy before picking up Daddy!
• Was actually running around the house Saturday afternoon for the first time - it was because he was excited Daddy was home
• Had his Weekend walk with Daddy on Sunday and then hung out with Daddy while Mommy went to Boston to take photos

Here we go...

It's time for a new chapter in the life of Alexander.

Sleeping on the floor!

Yesterday morning, I got up to take a shower before Alexander woke up. It would make the whole morning a lot easier! Just as I was finishing up, he started to wake up. He babbled, played, cried, played, and babbled some more. I knew he was fine although he was getting to the point where he was 'saying' "Okay lady, time to come get me out of here".

As I get out of the bathroom and put the monitor back, I can hear him crying but since I'm his Mom I know his cries...and he's fine. Well what do I know! I walk into his room and he has his leg through his crib bars. He's not stuck and it doesn't appear to be hurting but you can tell he doesn't know how to get it out. I don't know if he tried to step on his bumpers or if he just put his leg through. Guess it's time to relook at his bumper-situation...however he sleeps where he bangs his head against the bumper. hmmmm......

Great! That's it - forget putting pillows around the crib, I'm moving the mattress on the floor.

16 Months...

16 Months...

Developmental:
-Gives actual kisses now when you ask and they're just the sweetest kisses
-His walking has really taken off and every now & then he'll break out into a small run
-Has 2 bottom teeth & 1 top tooth
-He takes direction very well (You can ask him to get something, find his book, go to his seat for dinner, put away his toys, and he'll do it)
-Dada & Hi are still the primary words however he is very good about saying "please". Mind you, his please is "Ahhh da" but he says it when you ask him "Alexander what do you say or what is the magic word?"
-Eating with utensils is getting better with each week, there's still a mess but he's improving
-Knows where his head, hair, nose, mouth, ears & belly are and knows the difference between his body parts or others if you ask him
-He is great with stairs
-Very good with brushing his teeth before bed and can tell if you're tried to trick him with no toothpaste
-Great with stacking blocks
-Developing an amazing arm with this throwing ability (don't know if this is a good thing or not yet)
-Loves playing in the pool/water
-Knows what & where to turn the tv on but thankfully hasn't figured out the correct flow of buttons that need to be pushed
-Waves Hi & Bye
-Flirts like crazy, he blows kisses to all women but gives men the "hand up wave"
-Loves dogs & birds - the kid can spot a bird a mile away (at least I know his eyesight is fine)
-Knows what the cow, cat & dog says...and is learning that ducks say "quack quack"
-When I tell him to get his Elmo & Patty cake book he knows which two books to get and where to bring them. He also knows the order of the books and mimics what the book says
-Knows a few of the rhymes in his books and will act them out with me as soon as we get to that page. (When This Little piggy page comes up, he will immediately put his foot up on the book but then squirm away)

Sleeping:
-Wakes up around 5:30-6am every day
-Takes one nap in the early afternoon, usually 2 hrs
-At home on the weekends, he may take 2 naps each day depending on what is going on
-Asleep by 7:30pm each night (on average)

Clothes:
-For the most part, everything is a 12 Months.
-Shoes: Size 3
-Diapers: Pampers Size 3 Cruisers (Dan bought size 4 and they fit but are still a bit big)

Feeding:
-The biggest change is that he is no longer drinking from bottles. Once we stopped, he never looked back or asked. He drinks his milk or water from sippy cups
-Three meals a day: (typical menu for school)
--Breakfast: pancake or waffle & his sippy cup
--AM Snack: Cheerios & fruit (bananas or strawberries)
--Lunch: Grilled Cheese or Hot dog & cheese and milk in sippy cup
--PM Snack: snack bar, fruit, graham crackers, or yogurt
--Dinner: Varies (Omelets, PB Sandwich, Grilled Cheese, Hot Dog) and we're starting to do more pasta and he's liking it as long as there is no meat sauce
-- Does not like food with texture

Likes: Being outside, water, taking baths, Bubbles, going down slides, learning about the bathroom, Singing ABCs, reading books, pushing his truck, playing blocks, says Hi to the vaccum, being chased by Daddy
Dislikes: textured food

Photo Recap

Photo Recap (Monday, July 14th - Sunday, July 20th, 2008)

Photo Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, July 14th - Sunday, July 20th, 2008)

Week Glance...

Week Glance (Monday, July 14th - Sunday, July 20th, 2008)

• Had a good, yet short week at school
• Played outside & played in the sprinkler at school
• Dancing with Ginny at school
• Got his 2nd haircut
• Had his first accident, complete with blood
• Alexander & Mommy went to have breakfast & spend the morning with Grammie on Thursday
• Flirted with all the women in Grammie's office & the women at the restaurant
• Sat in his chair the whole time at the restaurant - had a pancake & some of Mommy's OJ
• Slept a lot this week: Naps were long at school
• Slept for 13 hours straight Saturday night
• Played outside in his pool on Saturday with Mommy & Daddy
• Was very surprised that he kept his hat one for a while in the pool (he normally takes hats right off)
• Played soccer & on his playsets
• Did very well while Mommy, Alyson & Grammie had a yard sale at home
• For some strange reason, Mommy didn't take any pictures of the yard sale...1) everytime I went to get the camera, we got a customer & 2) I didn't want anyone to think the camera was for sale as I'm sure someone would have tried to haggle me for it
• Played in his pool on Sunday during the yard sale - he helped bring in the customers as people commented on how cute he was
• New word this week is "yah" and he knows when to say it and it no longer is just a sound.
• Played with Daddy in the afternoon since he wouldn't nap!
• Got the coolest outfits from Grammie & Grampie
• Was asleep before 7pm on Sunday night!

Littlest Star Wars Fan...

How freakin' cute is this?!?!?! Alyson, Grammie & Grampie (honestly I can't remember which one as they were all in a big bag o' stuff - SORRY!) got this for Alexander! It's absolutely perfect since Mommy is a huge Star Wars fan/nerd. It's 18-24months so it won't fit him right away.

I was so excited when they told me about this and even more excited when I saw it in person! I'm going to have to get some in bigger sizes and even get the Darth Vader one so he can wear them later!

Sleeping...

For those of you who know Alexander, you know he is an early riser. He's not a 12 hour a night sleeper. Never has been and I don't presume that will change anytime soon.

This weekend, he blew away all presumptions & expectations. Friday night, he went down quickly without fuss and was asleep by 7:15pm. This was even after his little bathtime bump. Saturday morning, he woke up a little before 6am which I can completely handle on the weekends. He & Daddy had their weekend morning walk & Dunkin' Donuts jaunt. Daddy must have worn him out because he was zoning out & rubbing his eyes. He took an hour & half nap in the morning.

After lunch, we filled up his pool and played outside as it has been incredibly hot here this weekend! He played in the pool, played soccer with Mommy & Daddy, and ran around the back yard looking for birds. Again, he was getting tired - heat & playing in the pool can do that to a little one. I put him down for a nap around 3:30pm just to see if he would lay down again. After a little bit of crying/playing in his crib, he fell asleep by 4pm.

Well...that was it from him! He was out for the ENTIRE night. A few times around 6pm, I was going to wake him because I wasn't sure if he was asleep for the night, but no one could bring themselves to wake him as he was out cold! We checked on him several times but he just kept right on sleeping.

He woke up a little before 5am this morning and got about 13 hours of sleep! And that didn't stop him from taking a 2 hour nap this morning! He will not, however, sleep this afternoon even though he really needs a nap...can we say cranky??

I'm still in shock - 13 hours?!

First Accident...

Alexander had his first accident with blood tonight during his bath. Now before the grandparents from NJ start freaking out and calling everyone - everyone is fine! This was as minor an accident that you can have!

I put him in the tub to a) cool him off as it was 90* and in the meantime b) give him his bath. Alexander goes in phases where he will either sit down during the entire bath or he will want to stand up, then sit down, and then want to stand up again. It can be challenging when you've already put soap in his hair and your hands are soapy, but I do manage to get him back on his bum.

This time, he was standing up facing me & the side of the tub and I was asking him to sit down on his bum. I was holding onto both of his hands. I then tried to get him to bend his legs but he didn't want to. He stood there and cried a bit. Then he tried to get out of my hands and in the meantime bumped his mouth onto the side of the tub.

At first, I just thought he bumped his mouth and that was it. He was crying pretty hard so rather than have the kid stand in the tub, I picked him up and that's when I noticed the blood. It was so minor that after I wiped his mouth with the face cloth, it was gone. Not even enough blood for a picture.

However, he still had a head full of soap and refused to get back into the tub. So...Daddy turned on the shower and jumped in. The plan was that Daddy would stand under the water and get Alexander rinsed off. However, Daddy had a different plan - to just dunk the kid under the shower. Alexander was NOT happy. I rinsed his hair while Daddy held him and we just tried to get him out as fast as possible...poor kid.

I checked his mouth before bed as he was brushing his teeth and nothing is swollen so it was a minor little bump with no side effects.

2nd Haircut...

I took Alexander to get his haircut today as it was getting long. We went back to the same place as we went for the first one so hopefully it gets easier and easier. Per usual, he was all smiles and flirting as we walked in but the minute we walked over to the chair he clutched onto me and wouldn't let go.

We got him in the chair and before she even touched a comb he was crying as if he knew what was coming. This girl (I forgot her name), had a lot more patience than the first girl which I think made a difference. One thing that really helped him was that she didn't spray him with water but instead sprayed her comb instead. Plus, she used clippers with the guard so it actually made it quicker & safer.

The receptionist came over with a big thing of bubbles and that really helped. He calmed down enough to check out the bubbles and even tried to grab for them. I'll have to remember that for next time - bubbles! He fought the majority of the time, but it wasn't nearly has bad as the first time.

And of course as soon as I took him off the seat, he was just fine. He smiled at the girl and blew her a kiss. We went over to pay and to get his 'prize' and he was laughing up a storm as the prize came out of the machine. I then sat him on the couch to take a 'after' photo to which he had no problem posing for me.

His haircuts seem to tranform him instantly into a little boy and I think it makes him look so much older. This time was no exception, my little guy is growing up fast.

Whew...

Whew - everything is updated/posted/uploaded!

All posts are complete with pictures for your reading/viewing enjoyment!

Off to bed...

Picture Recap...

Picture Recap (Monday, July 7th - Sunday, July 13th, 2008)