Happy 1/2 Birthday...

So today is Alexander's 1/2 "birthday" as he turns Six Months. It's a pretty decent milestone because the next 'birthday' will be the real birthday. We didn't have a party and I didn't bake half a cake like I was thinking about. Instead, we had a very lowkey day. Daddy hurt his back and a wisdom tooth started to bother him, so we decided to stay close to home instead.

After a couple of naps for Alexander, Mommy & Alexander ran some errands. We went to CVS to pick up more stuff for any future diaper rashes, then to Home Depot for flowers for the front steps and and Alexander's first pumpkin. On the way home we stopped and picked up an ice cream cake so we can at least acknowledge the milestone. Unfortunately, Alexander wouldn't be able to enjoy the cake...just yet.

Once we came home, we sat outside because it was a gorgeous afternoon. Then we decided to let Alexander play with his pumpkin - afterall, he did help me get it. He was doing such a great job sitting up by himself on the lawn and even was able to bang and play with the pumpkin.

After we were done with outside, it was time for cake! Well more to just celebrate because Alexander wasn't having the cake and it was too early for Mommy & Daddy. I put on his birthday crown that I bought for him for his first month that was too big for his head that we had to hold there. Now it fit right on top (at least we know his head his growing). Alexander even ended up wearing some of the frosting on his face. Don't worry - no child was hurt in the making of this photo. Nor did he have a drop of cake. It was strictly put there by Mommy's finger and wiped off after the photos.

Then it was bathtime followed by bedtime. Happy Six Months, Alexander!!

Midweek Update...

I thought I would do a mid-week update although there really isn't a lot going on. Actually, I feel the need to do a post because I've been sick the past two days and really feel out of the loop. And to help with the loop, here's a cute picture from Tuesday morning as he chills out in his comfy, cozy outfit!

It must have been something I ate on Sunday because Monday night I started to get quite the sour stomach. And it got progessively worse throughout the night. I was hoping it would go away, but alas it just got worse. I drove in, dropped Alexander off at school and barely made it into work without getting sick. I had to go home, there was no way I'd survive a day at work like that. So I cancelled some meetings and headed home. On the way home I got chills yet had to wipe the sweat away. So I slept from 10a Tuesday until 6a Wednesday. After a few more naps on Wednesday, I was back to normal. Whatever that 36 hr stomach bug was, I'm so glad it's gone.

It killed me not to have the strength to put Alexander to bed! It made it even worse not to be able to drop him off at school this morning.

Alas, all is well in our house again which is good because I *hate* being out of commission like that. And for all of those single parents who get sick the way I did but don't have someone else to help - GOD BLESS YOU! I don't know how you do it, but you are made of something special.

Week Twenty Five: At A Glance

Here's a look back at Week Twenty Five (Monday, September 10th, - Sunday, September 16th 2007)

• A good week at school followed by a very nice weekend filled with all of Alexander's Grandparents
• The first night ever of 12 full hours of sleep on Saturday night!
• Loves babbling - he's getting quite vocal. Even Miss Linda has commented that he talks all day
• Loves bathtime and has mastered making big splashes which he doesn't mind when the water gets on his face
• He loves to stand. He can pull himself up from lying down to a sitting position and rather than staying there, he pulls himself up to stand. He would much rather stand than lie or sit down
• School was good this week - was in a very good mood, spent one whole day laughing, they went outside almost every day, took good naps & had bananas & sweet potatoes
• Still has not duplicated an outfit to school and even started the week off with his stylish outfit/hat which all the teachers loved
• Usually will just babble during car rides but Monday morning he was very upset and screamed 90% of the drive
• On Saturday, went to Newport for the first time - got to visit Grandpa & Grandma who were up for a wedding. We drove around Newport for a bit and then went to lunch. Alexander was extremely well behaved the whole day
• Grandma gave Alexander a 6 month present which is a toy train with the cutest animals... I don't know who was more excited, Mommy or Alexander
• On Sunday, Grammie & Grampie came over. We were going to go to a farm but Alexander needed a nap so we just hung out.
• We went to the playground across the street with Daddy & Grammie. We went on the slide & the swings. Most times didn't seem all that interested
• Hung out with Grammie & Daddy on the grass at home and was able to sit up all by himself - without being propped up or held!
• Diaper rash is much improved even though it's still there, it's not nearly as red. But we're still continuing with the baking soda bath, maalox, etc
• Eczema is also much improved - it's gone from his arms, legs & belly. Just a small mark on his shoulder and some on his back

Week Twenty Five Pictures...

Week Twenty Five (Monday, September 10th, - Sunday, September 16th 2007)

Daddy & Me...

Daddy & Alexander relaxing on the front lawn... And Alexander is showing off how he's getting the hang of this whole sitting thing.

He's such a big boy and I can't believe he'll be Six Months Old next Saturday. Where does the time go?

I think these two pictures are my favorite ones of him right now.

I love how he's so happy and smiling - it shows off his personality and just how cute he is!

The Playground

This afternoon, Mommy, Daddy & Grammie took Alexander to the playground. Alexander went on the slide & the swings for the 2nd time (the 1st time Daddy took him but didn't have a camera)... Alexander wasn't all that enthralled, but a couple of times we caught him smiling & laughing. Most times he was just looking around and watching the kids run wild.

Practice Makes Perfect...

Someone is perfecting sitting up all by himself. Here he is sitting, by himself and without being propped up. Most time he still leans forward or slumps over to the side but he is getting the hang of sitting up an supporting himself at the same time. Although he doesn't seem to think it's nearly such a big deal the way Mommy does.

Pretty soon he'll be pushing himself up into a sitting position from lying down... and then he'll be crawling, walking & going off to kindergarten.

Someone stop this crazy whirlygig of fun... I'm dizzy!

And so it happened...

The one thing I've been dreading since bringing home Alexander has finally happened. I fell down the last couple of stairs while holding him last night. I have been dreading the stairs for that very concern. In fact, I've had a mental block the past couple of weeks with the stairs that I find I have a hard time taking that first step when I'm holding him.

Thankfully it was only the last two steps and Alexander probably didn't even realize what happened. He wasn't hurt at all as I landed on my knees. I almost bursted into tears at the thought that I could have dropped him or banged his head and it would have been my fault. The thought of it makes me shudder with fear & guilt.

Fingers crossed that this is a one time only type deal...

Handsome Man...

As we all know Alexander is blessed with an extensive and stylish wardrobe, mainly supplied by Auntie Alyson.

He has so many new clothes that I've been able to put him in a new outfit every day for school and each day his teacher, Miss Linda comments on how handsome he is and how cute his outfits are. (Dan calls it an obsession of mine)

I laid out his outfit for Monday so that Daddy could get him ready in the morning. I picked a new white polo onesie and a new pair of blue & white stripped pants from Grammie. He looked quite cute in his outfit - but what Daddy didn't know was that there was a hat to match!

Once we pulled up to school, I put the hat on him so we could walk into his classroom and show off the hat! As soon as I turned the corner Miss Linda let out the biggest gasp. "OOOOOOHHHHH" She couldn't get over his hat and how cute he looked. I took him out of his carseat and she immediately wanted to show him off. She took him over to another room and called for the other teachers attention. Once she was able to get their attention you heard all of the teachers say "Oh my goodness Alexander" and then one of the teachers popped her head out and told me that she checks in the infant room every day to see what he's wearing!

Then one of Alexander's other teachers, Danielle, who mainly works in the older infant room came in and just kept repeating "too much cuteness, too much".

I think we fulfilled the cuteness quota of the day. Obsession...I think not.

Week Twenty Four: At a Glance

Week Twenty Four: At a Glance - Monday September 3rd to Sunday, September 9th

• No School on Monday for Labor Day - so had a day with Mommy & Daddy. Took a long walk and got some ice cream
• Didn't take have a great day of napping on Monday so he was fussy as bedtime approached
• Went for a walk with Daddy a couple times this week
• Had bananas earlier in the week... Miss Linda says he loves his bananas
• Still has eczema on his arms & legs - it gets worse in the heat. Poor little guy has Mommy's sensitive skin.
• Had a little rash/eczema on his belly & face but went away by Friday
• Daddy took him to the playground across the street and he went on the slide & swing with Daddy for the first time
• Started to develop a nasty case of diaper rash Wednesday night
• Didn't like bathtime on Thursday due to his diaper rash
• Although he had the diaper rash, he was in a really good mood
• Diaper rash was so bad on Friday that I picked him up at 11:15am and brought him home for the afternoon.
• Called the doctor for the diaper rash and they gave me a remedy of a Baking Soda bath along with a Maalox/diaper creme concoction (which by the way is working really well)
• Alexander went o' natural on Friday & Saturday (without a diaper) to help air out his bum region.
• He ended up peeing on me 8 times this weekend. We had an accident twice but thankfully there was blanket to protect me otherwise it would not have been pretty
• Daddy had a softball tournament on Saturday so it was a Mommy & Alexander day
• Took several baking soda baths throughout the day
• Daddy & Alexander went to see Cousin Nick's football game on Sunday
• Watched the Patriots season opener with Mommy & Daddy (Pats won!)
• Was in a great mood on Sunday despite the diaper rash and not a lot of napping
• He still has his Diaper rash but it definitely has improved greatly since Friday
• I'm holding off on bananas, oatmeal, cereal, etc to see if he had a reaction to them which caused the diaper rash for this week.
• He loves to stand but is getting a bit better with the sitting. He was able to sit by himself this morning for a few minutes before toppling over.

Week Twenty Four Pictures

Week Twenty Four Pictures (Monday, September 3rd - Sunday, September 10th)

I'm busy here...

Obviously I was disturbing him as he enjoyed eating his hand & his clippy toys...and he gave me the look to let me know it too!

Mommy & Me

We haven't had a good picture of Alexander & I in a while so I thought I would post a one...we were practicing our walking after Daddy fed him some bananas.

Did I mention that he loves to stand & walk yet isn't fond of sitting?? Yup, looks like we have a mover on our hands...

PS - Mom, does this pose look familiar? Isn't there a picture out there with you holding me just like this?

Week Twenty Three: At A Glance

Week Twenty Three Glance: Monday, August 27th - Sunday, September 2nd, 2007

• Was a quiet but good week at school - Played well, went outside a few days, had good tummy time & some decent naps
• Brought in bananas & sweet potatoes for school - Miss Linda said he loved them and gobbled them up each day
• Brought Miss Linda flowers for her birthday, she was very happy
• Still wearing new clothes to school (Daddy scolded Mommy for the obsession however it's not my fault if we're still going through his clothes - it's not as if we're out every day shopping)
• He did very well this week with sleeping - usually woke up at 5a... a couple times woke up at 6a & 6:45a!
• Only one night did he wake up during the night and need to be put back to sleep
• Usually plays has his quality daddy time in the morning when he wakes up as Daddy will go play with him on his mat.
• We took out his AC and replaced it with a fan and an Air Filter to see if that makes a difference with his congestion & potential allergies.
• Still loves to swim during bathtime
• Loves to stand! Even does a pretty good job moving his feet to walk but still doesn't want to have anything to do with sitting.
• Does a great job of rolling both front to back and back to front.
• Stopped to visit Steve, Carolyn & the boys to give Will his birthday present (a few weeks late)... loved hanging out with his cousins
• Went to Steve & Ann's for Sierra's birthday party - it was baby central!
• Went in a real pool for the first time - wasn't all that happy because it was chillier than bath water.
• Met Uncle Pete who took him into the pool
• Went in a big-boy jumpy with Daddy
• Daddy had his Jimmy Buffett concert so we went to Fanueil Hall with Alyson (the line for the Aquarium was too busy all day) - we had fun walking around and letting him take in the sights
• Tried oatmeal for the first time and seemed to like it
• Was very tuckered out on Sunday and fell asleep on the changing table getting his pj's on