The Shrinking Bear Chair

We take a bear chair picture every week. (That way, we can watch the chair shrink...becuase I *know* my boy isn't getting big!) Here is Alex's 9 week photo. I'll make a new slide show in a few weeks, but I can't resist sharing this week's picture. Yes, that is a real Alex grin. It melts my heart!

Also, Alex went backwards on the bottle thing. He's been refusing all bottles, screaming like the bottle is the nastiest thing ever. He'd rather go hungry. I bought a different bottle that was recommended, and Alex took a bottle for Deb yesterday. We'll see if Daddy can get him to take one tonight. It's not that we need the bottles now, but it would be nice if we could go on a date at some point...I know a few Grandmas who would love to babysit! ;)

(By the way, we had lunch with Deb & Donna at the mall. It's nice seeing my sisters every week!)

I got my driver's license renewed yesterday, so I'm no longer an illegal driver. Someone from church just happened to be in there, so I had a "babysitter" while I took the vision test & got my photo taken. That was the easy errand of the day.

Then we went to the Government Center in Crown Point. If you've been there, you know that the parking lot isn't exactly close to the entrance. You also know that there are a number of steps to climb. I knew all this. What I didn't know is that cameras aren't allowed in the building...and I happened to have mine in the diaper bag.

After trekking through the parking lot, up the steps, and into the building holding that darn heavy carseat, the security guard made me go BACK down the steps, out to the parking lot, and return my camera to the car. THEN I turned around, headed across the parking lot AGAIN, up the steps AGAIN, and to the security guard AGAIN.

It took a whopping 5 minutes to get upstairs, get the birth certificate, and get out. I sure got my exercise for what should have been a simple errand! ;)

I don't say this to complain...just to ask one question. Why are cameras not allowed if it's okay to bring your cell phone, which most likely has a built-in camera? What's the difference?

Just because...

He's such a little man. I love him in his little blue jeans!

Weekend...

Daddy threw away Alexander. He got tired of him. Just stuck him in the trash. Anyone want a baby?

No, really...he just set Alex there as he was opening the car door. Don't call Child Services on us, please! :)

We stayed home most of Saturday. By Saturday evening, Alex wasn't fussy anymore, so we went to Menards to order cabinets for our laundry room. We keep putting it off, but finally did it because we're afraid they'll discontiue that style. Alex slept through the trip, and also slept through most of dinner at Applebees. It's so easy to take him out for dinner at this stage! We'll take advantage of it while it lasts.

Alex did NOT sleep from Saturday through Sunday. Sunday was Mommy's first day back to teaching Sunday School. Wow, I was tired for that...oh well, that comes with having a baby! Daddy stayed home with Alex while I taught, and he found out how tough it is to get out of the house on your own with a baby. Good job, Keith!

Grandma & Papa came over to visit Alex on Sunday night. They saw us, too, but we know the real reason they came! ;)

Alex got back on schedule on Sunday, so Monday should be a pretty good day. We'll see...

Ouch! (Friday's post)

Alex had his 2 month checkup on Friday. I'm awfully glad it was on a Friday, too. Poor kid fussed all night. I thought watching him get the shots was bad...but watching him feel miserable all night was a million times worse.

I'm calling the pediatrician to reschedule Alex's 4 month vaccination appointment. It's scheduled for a Wednesday. We're definitely rescheduling for a Friday so Daddy is around to help if Alex has another few fussy days...and so Daddy's work-night sleep doesn't get interrupted by a sick, crabby boy.

Happy news: He's 100% healthy and growing too fast for his mama's liking! :) At 2 months, he's 11 lbs, 7 oz and 23.5 inches long. That's 50th percentile for weight & 75th for height. He's a cute, chubby little thing now.

After his appointment, we went to Target & had lunch with Aunt Deb. (Yes, at Target...Pizza Hut!) After a little shopping, we met Aunt Donna at work. No pictures this time, but Alex was definitely a hit around there. I think Donna's co-worker Carol might have taken Alex home with her if I didn't keep an eye on her! ;)

Daddy had volleyball, but Mommy stayed home with fussy Alex this week. He didn't give us much sleep at all this weekend, but as Im writing this on Monday, he seems to be feeling much, much better. Thank goodness!

Nana's House...and a day with Grandma

(This picture is worth clicking on if you want to see a GREAT BIG Alex smile!)

Alex got spoiled today...spoiled with attention AND with gifts. What a lucky, LOVED little boy!


Grandma Purdy & Mommy took him to the bank to meet Grandma's co-workers. Alex pretty much slept through that part of his adventure.


After that, we headed up to Merrillville to shop for a Pack n' Play for Grandma's house. Grandma couldn't resist buying a cute little outfit for Alex. It won't fit until summer, but it's definitely going to be Mommy's favorite summer outfit for Alex. THANKS, Grandma! Grandma picked up a pair of cute OshKosh blue sweatpants to go with a shirt that Alex has at home, too. Mommy also got Alex a pair of teeny little denim jeans! So cute!


Next, we met Nana & Melissa at TGI Friday's for lunch. Yum! We headed back to Nana's house to give her some quality time with Alexander. Nana got her first Alex smiles! :)















Nana wanted to get Alex a special toy for his crib, and she knew just what she wanted. She stayed home, but Grandma & I headed to Burlington to look at more Pack n' Plays and to pick up the gift from Grandma. It's a little rainforest lights & music toy for the crib. It's just adorable! Thank you, Nana! I'll have to take a picture of it on the crib tomorrow...


After a few more stops to look at Pack n' Plays, we headed for home. Wow, are we tired! :) Thanks for a great day, Grandma & Nana.





















(By the way, Grandma, Keith says if you're spoiling us, he wants a flat panel TV. I told him he wasn't cute & cuddly enough to get a present like that from Grandma, so he said Alex wants the TV... Ha ha!)

Presents? Playmate? Ignored?

Rawhide bones. This is what I find in the baby's room almost every day. I have no idea why. I pick them up, put them away, and they magically appear again by Alex's crib.

I've also found Maggie's tennis ball in the bouncy seat or swing while Alex is sleeping in these places.

I wonder if Maggie is giving presents to the baby. I also wonder if Maggie somehow believes that a 7 week old baby is going to play with her.

Have I ignored my dog so much that she's resorted to playing with a helpless infant? Perhaps I ought to make an effort to pay attention to my dog for 5 minutes a day? LOL!

Auto Show

We knew we wanted to go to the Chicago Auto Show, but we weren't 100% sure about bringing the baby. Dad had offered (with mom, I imagine...) to keep Alex while we went to Chicago, and we did consider it. Finally, we decided to go ahead & give it a try. Alex won't always take a bottle, and we didn't want to be an hour away if he was screaming for food. It worked out GREAT, though!

A man in the elevator hinted that Alexander was too young to be at the auto show, and said he should be wearing a hat or he'd get cold. (Never mind he was indoors & in his stroller with his carseat cover up to his chin...)

Another (very nice) guy walked up and handed us a free ticket for the show while we were waiting in line. He saved us $10! Now THAT'S the kind of stranger we like! ;) As a side note, in the past 7 weeks, I've learned that people often do kind things for people with babies. WOW!

Keith noticed it's funny how your focuses shift as life changes. This year we didn't even glance at concept cars or sports cars. We did see every mini-van and small SUV. We especially liked the Honda Odyssey & the Ford...um...Escape, I think. Keith can correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, Alex was a perfect angel & we enjoyed a great day out!

the rest of the week

matching haircuts & shirts for the cousins...

Daddy came home on Friday night, and we're so glad!

Thursday was haircut day, and then lunch with Aunt Donna & Aunt Deb. (Grandma had to work at a luncheon at church.) We had a nice day!

Poor Joshua didn't have such a great day, though. My nephew broke his ankle yesterday afternoon & got his cast on Thursday. I'd accuse him of trying to miss a few days of school, but I know that he ended up missing out on a family weekend of fun. Poor kid!

We hung out with Grandma and Grandpa until Keith came home on Thursday night. What a fun time we had this week!

Friday we had a busy day. We went to McDonald's with Bonnie & baby Sam for 2.5 hours! (Guess who's camera stayed at home?) Grandma P came to visit. We went to Daddy's v-ball game.

Pittsburgh...yuck, Grandma's...yay!

Daddy is in Pittsburgh for work. Mommy & Alex went to visit Grandma for a few days. We've had visitors...Phonesavanh, Bella, and Gabe...Uncle David, Auntie Janice, Kate, Josh...Aunt Deb...and more to come, we think! At least we're not too lonely waiting for Daddy to return.

Happy Birthday Nana! (Sunday)

Olive Garden, which was too dark for good pics

Happy Birthday Kyle (Saturday)

Kyle's 9th birthday party...we'll let the pictures speak for themselves :)

No pics today

Sorry - no camera! I'm disappointed.

My neighbor April came over with her little guy Preston. He's 9 months old. I wanted pictures of Preston & Alex. I forgot. I forgot the last time Preston was here, too.

This afternoon Grandma P & I went up north to buy Kyle's birthday present and run a few errands. We met Aunt Deb for lunch at Chili's. (Odd family mix, I know, but Deb had something to give me, so we had to meet anyway...) No camera.

Tonight was Keith's volleyball game. No camera.

Hopefully I'll remember to bring the camera to Kyle's birthday party tomorrow!

By the way, Kyle, I saw your birthday cake. You'll like it! You'll especially like the big Bears helmet that Grandma stuck in the middle of the cake. Ha ha! ;)

Whatever works...

So, I think I've mentioned that Alex thinks he should be held during naptime. He sleeps GREAT in his crib at night, usually from about 11 PM - 4 AM. I'm kind of liking that 5 hour stretch! :) In the daytime, though, he REFUSES to have anything to do with his crib. He just screams!

I've just started getting him to nap in his bouncy seat or swing, but even those weren't working today. I walked and rocked that fussy boy all morning. Finally, out of desperation, I set a screaming Alex down on the office floor while I looked through the file cabinet for some insurance papers.

THAT is where my son chose to take his nap today. "The Rules" say you can't let babies sleep on their tummies, so I didn't dare leave him alone. I paid bills, made a phone call about an insurance issue, and anything else I could do in the office. But that nap was GREAT! I accomplished stuff! :) (It's just too bad Mommy couldn't nap while he napped...oh well!)

Alex Goes To School

Alex visited every classroom Kdg - 6th. He even spent some time in the office. I should have taken a pic of his first trip to the principal's office, ha ha!

The words & pictures aren't lining up...you'll have to figure out which caption goes where ;)

(1) with Kathy, the 4th grade teacher (2)with Lori, my former classroom aide

(3) with the 3rd grade girls (my last class) (4)with Betsy's kdg class

boring days...

nothing too exciting or picture worthy around here...



My wonderful mother in law took care of Alex yesterday while I brought Maggie to the vet. They actually had a vet at the office in town, and I liked him. I think we have a new, close-to-home vet. $44 later, Maggie is bandaged & healing. Given a little time, she'll be just fine.



Never left home yesterday except for the vet. Didn't leave home today because Bible study was cancelled...for fog that didn't exist! My friend Trish just asked me to meet her at church for a little bit, so I think I'll go over there just to get out for a bit. I'm sure Alex will be well-loved there.



Here's a picture just for those of you who need your baby fix. Remember Alex's "green bean" swaddle blanket? Well, our washer ATE it a while back. Yes, ATE it...we never found the missing chunks. We got a new & improved one...it's easier to use, made of thick fleece (warmer/sturdier when the washer gets hungry) and unzips from the bottom for easy 3 AM diaper changes. I will miss it when he outgrows it! Not very exciting, I know, but all I have for ya today...

Superbowl (with pics added...)

church (which I really enjoyed today)

lunch

naps for all (yes, the dog, the baby, & I really slept that way...well, I dozed...)

volleyball practice for Keith

laundry for Alex & Mommy, organizing Alex's closet

Superbowl party at church (with our friend Karen's girls, Keelie & Sabrina)

The kids (Seth, Gracie, Keelie) cheering; Sabrina copying the big kids

By the way, in case you wondered, Maggie's claw is not going to heal on its own. She keeps chewing off the bandage, and she's bleeding and hobbling on 3 paws. That means I get to learn how to haul a dog & a baby to the vet on Monday. Wish me luck!