Category: Alex

Alex is 11 months old! I am sure you are happy to hear there’s only one more of these posts after this one! I will keep doing yearly posts, but these monthly ones are coming to an end!

Alex is one silly, happy little boy. He has started making silly faces and sometimes I can get him to dance for me. He has the best laugh when you tickle him, too!

The biggest news this month is that Alex finally got a tooth! Two actually! A couple weeks ago the first one cut through and then about a week or so later, he got the second one (both on the bottom). He puts his fingers in his mouth and seems to be a little confused by the sharp things he finds in there. And I have to remember I can’t let him gnaw on my fingers anymore because those baby teeth are sharp!! (I haven’t been able to get a good picture of the teeth yet.)

He has finally started cruising around the couch and coffee table. Of course, this also comes with more falling over, bumps and bruises. But he is pretty proud of himself and will even stand against something and hold it with only one hand. We have a little walking/riding toy that I have been working with him on. He can take a few steps with it, but doesn’t do it on his own yet. It’s only a matter of time, and I am not encouraging him all that much. I’m in no hurry to have him running around. He’s already a speedy little guy that gets into plenty of trouble now.

He loves being under your feet or wherever you are. He will crawl and then stand up by grabbing your pants. He usually likes to do this while I am making some meal and if I can’t play with him, he just sits and cries at my feet. Usually he can be distracted by a spoon, cup, goldfish or ice toy, thankfully.

His sisters still just dote on him all the time. Dannie won’t call him anything other than “YOU LITTLE BABY” in a very deep voice (which I think she is imitating me) and aggressively pointing at him. Maddie likes to wrestle with him and they can both get him giggling like crazy over the tiniest thing. In general, it’s a good thing babies are durable.

Speaking of durable. Chuck and the girls like to wrestle when Chuck gets home from work and most days, Alex likes to crawl right into the fun. I like that he wants to be a part of it all.

He likes to yell and babble. He hasn’t acquired any new sounds this month really, but he has gotten better at copying the sound you want him to say. He is also copying motions or doing commands more regularly. Maddie likes to ask, at dinner, “Who’s going to eat all their dinner?” and we all raise our hands. Alex will typically join in with us, but he sometimes has a hard time with one hand and prefers two!

I have gotten him to dance a bit when I sing to him. He will shake his head and then giggle at me. I think it’s pretty adorable, but I’m a huge sucker for his happy eyes and little dimple!

Chuck’s dad sent us some pictures from when Chuck and his sister were little. We found a couple in there that look just like Alex. I have always thought Dannie looks a lot like me and Maddie is a pretty good mix of us both. Alex is definitely a mini-Chuck.

He likes being held, but isn’t big on snuggling (unless he is in his carrier or looking at my phone). When we try to read books, he still tries to eat them more than look at the pictures. But I have seen him playing with books a lot more and turning the pages. He also really likes pressing buttons on toys.

He’s a great eater and really eats whatever we are eating. Apple slices are about the only thing that are still a little hard for him without any teeth, but he does pretty well. I just have to make sure I grab it from him before he gets the last huge chunk.

We have also cut down on his bottles since we only a have a number of weeks left of them. I am looking forward to no more bottles and not being so attached to that with him. When he does get one, he will see it and start crying or saying “mamamamama” and crawling toward me. He does love his bottles. I think he’s going to be sad to give them up.

We have some playdates with my friend Mallory and her kids a couple times a week. Some days we just hang out there while Maddie is at school. Her kids are almost the same ages as Dannie and Alex and all our kids play so well together.

Happy 11 months, little buddy.

Our baby is 10 months old and quickly becoming, well, not a baby.

We are just two months away from his first birthday. I have already started planning a small joint party for him and Dannie. (It’s going to be so cute!!) Ok, I’m off topic. And this was a picture for Maddie’s school and the best picture we could get of all of us.

Alex has started to actually crawl instead of army crawling. He also does this funny sideways scoot. It’s weird. But he is happy that he can get places more quickly. He is also working on standing and pulling up on things. Since Alex has learned to stand, he has started pulling up in his bed and only once kind of got himself stuck there and forgot how to sit down. He was so mad! But mostly he’s just happy with his new skill.

His favorite game is crawling all over me. Some days I just want to sit on the couch a minute and watch them play. But Alex does not like that game at all. He will sit at my feet and cry. Once he forgets why he is crying, I’ll go sit on the floor (because I don’t reward the kids for crying at me when they want things). Then I’m just a huge jungle gym and climbing (and eating) toy.

And if I am lucky, I’ll get a snuggle. But mostly it’s very short lived because this kid does not sit still unless he is sleeping. And he is still a great sleeper!!

With Alex being good and mobile, he has gotten himself into a couple funny places. Last night he crawled into a box. Then he put his head in another box and got stuck. It was hilarious! He also crawled under the jumper and I thought he was stuck. So I went to take a look. Nope. Happy as can be and crawled right out. Ha! Goofball!

Alex has been eating just about everything we eat at meals. He had grilled cheese and peaches last night and I think he thought he was in heaven. But, still no sign of teeth. That certainly hasn’t slowed him down eating at all. And if you put your finger in his mouth, you know he could chomp anything…ouch! He loves loves loves squeeze food. He sucks those things down faster than I think should be possible. And I got him a new straw cup and he loves being able to drink whenever he wants by himself.

He has also gotten really good at holding his own bottle. I mostly put him on the boppy to keep him in one place. If I am getting the girls’ breakfast ready, he can lay there and feed himself. It is so nice and I think he enjoys doing it. He seems quite proud of himself.

The girls are very in love with him. Maddie loves playing with him and sometimes has to be reminded to be a little more gentle with him. But she means well, she just thinks Alex is her own baby. Dannie loves to help him with things and bring him toys. Every once in a while I will get a rare, sweet moment when all three of them are playing together.

Alex loves playing with his friend, Brayden (who is 3 weeks younger than Alex). They are buddies. Brayden is such a teeny little guy. I about throw him in the air when I pick him up. They follow each other around looking for toys and snacks their sisters have dropped on the floor.

We took the kids to a park one weekend and they all love swinging. Alex giggled (and snorted) the whole time. He is also obsessed with sticking out his tongue these days. It’s the funniest thing.

We have been working on sign language and I have caught him signing for a drink a few times. The other ones I am working on are “more” and “all done”. They are so very helpful! He can also do a few other tricks (except he never does them on command when I’m trying to show someone he can do it). He does “so big” (with his hands in the air), he will clap when you sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and “tick tock” (he will tip his head side to side, although lately he just does “tick” and looks a little silly)…that’s all I can think of right now.

He has been talking (babbling) more. I have heard “dada”, “nana”, “baba”, “mama” and a couple other silly noises on occasion. Still nothing incredibly consistent. “Dada” is pretty clear on command and he usually yells/cries “mama” as he is crawling to me when it’s time for a bottle.

He has been loving books and toys with lots of buttons to press. There’s one toy that is a pretend cd player and he could sit and open and close that thing ALL DAY LONG. And everything is still going in his mouth. Maybe that will calm down if he ever gets some teeth. We are still waiting on the first one to pop through.

Other than that, he’s an extremely happy baby. He laughs and giggles all the time. We love him to pieces!

Alex is such a happy little guy and really goes with the flow. He is giggly and wiggly and my sweet little boy. He was 22 pounds 5 ounces and 29 inches long at his 9 month checkup. No wonder I get tired holding him. He’s strong and solid!

He is exploring everything and is loving his newfound mobility. The girls don’t appreciate said mobility quite as much, but they are getting used to keeping their things they don’t want him to get off the floor.

Alex is a good little eater even with no sign of any teeth yet (I love his big gummy smile). The only thing he hasn’t liked so far is yogurt. We’ve cut back on bottles now and giving more solid food. He likes water from a straw and he’s getting really good at finger foods. He likes being part of our meals and trying all the food we are eating.

Just recently, I was singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” to him and he started to clap. I didn’t even know he knew how to clap. But he was so proud and repeated it over and over. Since I figured he can clap, I’ve been working on sign language more (only working on “more” right now since I have used a sign that is similar to clapping). He just thinks I’m really funny and laughs at me.

Alex is still army crawling. He’s trying to get the regular crawl down, but hasn’t perfected it yet. He has started to pull himself up to his knees and once in a while gets on his hands and feet, but he’s not standing on his own yet. He loves it if I am holding him up, though. He likes to follow me around the house and see what I am up to. And he loves being wherever his sisters are.

The girls love him and Maddie sometimes needs to love him a little more gently. She means well, but it’s a good thing babies are durable. Every once in a while, I will grab Alex’s ankles and pull him closer to me. I’ve seen Dannie do it not quite as gently as I do. Whoops. 🙂 They love helping me feed him and are such good helpers with him.

The most recent thing that he’s been doing is babbling and making more noises. He just started saying “Dada”. Of course, all the kids say “Dada” first. 🙂 I just love hearing his little voice.

I’m looking forward to all the new things he will be doing soon and I just love watching all the kids play and learn together and I love seeing the girls teaching Alex things. It makes my heart melt!

Happy 9 months, baby boy! We love you and your kissy little face!

Our little peanut is another month old. He’s such a happy baby.

This month we have been trying lots of new foods and he loves meal time. He also loves feeding himself some snacks. I’m looking forward to the day when I can just throw some food on his plate and he will gobble it up.

Alex isn’t crawling yet, but man does he want to. He gets so frustrated that he doesn’t know how. He rolls all over the place, moves in circles and sometimes scoots backwards, but hasn’t figured out crawling yet.

He also chews on everything. I haven’t seen any teeth coming in yet, but he does love his chewing toys.

We are also working on sitting up. He loves sitting in my lap, but I still put a pillow behind him to sit on his own because he gets a little crazy and will throw himself backward. But he’s getting better each day and it makes him really happy to be sitting up.

Alex has been sleeping through the night for a little over a month now. We started sleep training him right around his 6 month birthday and he sleeps like a champ. This kid knows when it’s his bedtime. He will start crying at me before nap and bedtime for his bottle. And he falls asleep pretty quickly after you put him in bed. I can’t complain. He’s been a great sleeper.

I’m surprised it took Maddie this long to put a bow on Alex’s head. But I know it won’t be the last time! The girls just love him to pieces and usually fight about who is going to be closest to him.

We are also at the stage where he will not sit still during a diaper change. It makes me bananas. And he’s so strong. It’s almost impossible to wrangle and diaper a squirming baby!

Not much else has changed in the last month. We love our smiley little guy and he’s such a charmer. He’s always making people smile wherever we go. Happy 7 months little monster!

Half a year has passed already. It has been a whirlwind with all the stuff we have gone through in his short life. But he has been a good boy and just goes with the flow. Granted, he's a baby and doesn't have much choice, but still. 🙂

Alex has had a pretty big month. Eating more food (and eating it more quickly), eating (semi)solid, sleep training, no more pacifier…being 6 months old is brutal at our house. Most of these happened in the last week. 😉

He loves his new solid food. He kept yelling at me to give him more rice cereal. He didn't really care for the sweet potatoes, but had a repeat yelling match at me over applesauce. Also, I gave him a fast nipple on his bottle and he can suck down 6 ounces of milk in 6 minutes! It took a couple bottles of gagging at the faster food, but he definitely has the hang of it now.

Last week, I had Alex taking his naps in his bed and un-swaddled. He needed to get used to sleeping on his stomach. I kept things the same at bedtime. Then by the weekend, when I got hardcore, he was ready. I fed him and put him to bed awake (so he knows his surroundings in case he wakes up). Then I let him cry himself (self-soothe) to sleep. If he woke up in the middle of the night, I didn't get up to feed or change him. Some people may choose to do this, but at 6 months, they don't need to be fed at night, so I choose not to. So the first night he slept from 7:30-730. I can't complain. The second night went pretty well, too. He gets really tired around 6:00, but I don't let him nap anymore, so he's good and tired at bedtime. He cried a few minutes at bedtime a couple nights, but he hasn't put up much of a fight since. And in the mornings he wakes up and is happy and playing in his crib. One more baby, successfully sleeping through the night.

Today, I took Alex to his 6 month checkup. The doc says he is doing great and growing like he should. He is 17lbs, 7.5oz and 26.5in. long. He's about 50th% for both. He's in mostly 9 month pjs now. He also got his shots and was a trooper. He cried for a second then was happy as could be and went back to chewing on his hands.

The girls still just love him. They love getting him toys and Dannie loved giving him his paci and was devastated when she couldn't anymore. I had to explain that he was a big boy now. She still tried, but when I say no, she tells me “Alex is big boy.” It's really sweet.

We read books before bedtime with the girls and we have started to have Alex read books with them. He loves the pictures and likes trying to eat all the pages. I like that they are all involved in bedtime together and it also helps keep Alex from getting too tired before he gets put to bed.

We are working on Alex sitting upon his own. He wants to and loves being upright, but just isn't strong enough to sit on his own yet, he keeps falling over. But we are working on it. And he used to roll all over, but then decided he doesn't want to anymore. No matter how much I spread out his toys, he just kicks his legs and burrows his face in the blanket. But he is all over his crib, so I know he is capable, he just doesn't want to. Stubborn boy.

So our baby boy is a big boy now. He has changed so much and is a chatty (yell-y) little thing. But he is so happy and smiles and giggles all the time. Before I know it, we will be planning his birthday party. Happy half birthday little monster!

Alex is 5 months old! This little guy just melts my heart. He's such a sweetheart and my tiny snuggle bug. He loves his mommy and his smile just lights up the room.

The biggest things I have noticed from him this month are his babbling (this kid just “talks” all day long). I've taken a couple videos because he just acts like he's having a serious conversation.

The other thing is his hand control. He's gotten great at grabbing toys, holding them, chewing on them…he makes the funniest slurping noise when he's chewing on his hands.

He still rolls all over the place. He will roll from his back to stomach the instant you lay him down. He can roll back to his back, but he doesn't really know what he did. He still hasn't become very comfortable on his stomach enough to lay his head down. He just gets mad and rubs his face on the carpet.

This lack of love for his stomach is going to become an issue soon at bedtime. He loves being swaddled and at some point I am going to need to stop that and he's not going to like it. He gets drowsy most of the time just after you swaddle him. The tighter you get the blanket, the better.

He has been getting slightly better with naps and will fall asleep without the swaddle. But he usually needs to be very tired for this to happen.

The girls are still enamored by him, they hug, kiss, play and help with him all the time. Maddie loves to sing and dance to entertain him and he just lights up whenever his sisters are around. It's so sweet to see how much they all love each other.

Also, he's very fascinated with me while he eats. He pulls my hair, hits me in the face, grabs my glasses or necklaces, puts his finger in my mouth or nose, pokes me in the eye, scratches me…it is quite fun. 🙂 Thankfully he eats pretty quickly so it's usually short-lived.

Happy 5 months little love bug!