Christmas photos

A few photos from Christmas:

Saturday Guest-Blogger

Mommy said that I can do a little guest-blogging when she gets busy, just to keep the family up to date on my progress and such.  So I thought I'd share a few photos that she tortured me with  took this morning while Daddy couldn't save me went to work.

I got a really cool chair for Christmas from my Grandma and Grandpa.  It's just like the chairs that my Mommy and Daddy have.

I feel like such a big girl now that I'm 6 months old, so it's really the perfect new addition to our living room.  I can pretty much do everything that Mommy and Daddy do.

Daddy likes to watch TV.  Me too.

Mommy likes to hang out with her friends, like my Aunty Katie.  I like to hang out with my friends too, especially my new Monkey Man.

Mommy likes to talk on the phone.  So do I!

Daddy likes to have a drink when he hangs out in his chair, and so do I!

Mommy likes to kick back with a good book, and I think Dr. Seuss is her favorite author, just like me.

So I guess my next step is driving, right?

Peace out!

If at first you don't succeed.....

....try, try again!

Alex's 2nd meal went a lot better! Somehow she realized that the strange substance we were putting in her mouth was actually food! It took about two bites before she was opening her mouth and asking for more.  She finished off the entire bowl this time!  GO Alex! :)

Happy Half-year!

Is anyone else as shocked as we are that it has already been half a year since Alex blessed our lives? I'm just amazed at how fast time is flying!

Today Alex had her 6 month check-up with the pediatrician and she is doing great! She weighs 17 lbs and is 27 inches tall.  She is in the 75th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height.  The doctor gave us the go-ahead for solid foods, so we decided to give Alex her first meal tonight.

How did it go?  Well.....I'll let Alex tell you.

"Hi. I'm starving.  Do you see my tummy?  I look hungry, don't I?"

"What's that you say?  Food?! Finally!"

"Give me that bowl.  Enough pictures, let's get this show on the road, Mommy!"

"Wait a second.  THIS is what I've been looking forward to?  WHAT is this?"

"Where's the hamburger Daddy was eating earlier? I've never seen you guys eating this stuff. Did you give me Sadie's dinner?"

"Hunger strike.  This is foul.  I refuse to eat this."

Merry Christmas from our Santa Baby!!

For Sarah Lou and Leon

Alex received a Christmas gift in the mail from some of my family in Georgia.  They suggested we open it early, so here is the video, for their viewing pleasure!   (Thank you so much for her gift!!!)

Predictable Chaos

I just went to New York for work training.  I was gone for 4 days, the longest I had ever been away from Alex.  It was hard! I was kept really busy during the day and we even had activities planned during the evening.  So I was distracted from being homesick most of the time.  But at the end of the long day, when I got into my hotel bed, I would look to my nightstand on my right, hoping to see the dim light of the video monitor, hoping to hear the soft sounds of Alex breathing in and out--and I really missed her.  Rich took a couple days of vacation to stay home with her, and they had some wonderful time together.  He sent me photo-texts of her throughout the day and it helped me to see that they were both doing great without me.  I found it funny when I came back, he would say things like, "Alex likes it when you do this now...." Like she was a different baby in the 4 days since I left! :)

We have been busy on all kinds of levels lately.  It seems like our life is in a constant state of predictable chaos.  Our heater died, we had a problem with our shower, and both of our jobs are putting more stress and pressure on us than ever before.  But we're dealing with it.  We are trying to balance parenthood, marriage, careers, family, friends, house repairs, holiday shopping.....The list never ends.  And I guess it's okay.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a wonderful 1st Thanksgiving with Alex this year.  We enjoyed a leisurely day (see the video below!) and I finished reading a book (The Art of Racing in the Rain, which was really good!) Then we headed over to Rich's parents house and had an awesome turkey dinner with all the fixings.  We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

I tried to dress Alex up in a fancy little velvet dress, but she wasn't too thrilled with it.  So we opted for comfort instead.

Happy Thanksgiving from our little Gobbler!!!

Alex cheers for FETCH!

Thanksgiving 09, originally uploaded by jenski33.

All of a sudden, Alex thought it was hysterical to watch Sadie catch the ball. We love finding new things that crack her up!

Overdue Updates

Well, let's see...I haven't had time to blog lately because I haven't even had time to do the things that are higher on the priority list.

Like laundry.  I have 4 loads of laundry that need folding tonight.  I dumped the clean clothes onto my bed so that I have no way of putting it off till tomorrow, because otherwise I won't have anywhere to sleep!  Does anyone else do this little trick?

And some of my administrative duties for work are piling up, giving me a bit of anxiety as I try to think of when I will have time to do them.  And my refrigerator is in dire need of a visit from the Organization Fairy.  And the Grocery Fairy.

I wish, I wish, I wish......there were 48 hours in a day.  Or that I only needed 2 hours of sleep.  Where is the Wish Fairy when I need her?

Onto other topics....our baby girl turned 5 months this past week!  She is growing up so fast before our eyes, coming into her own personality and interacting with us more than ever before.

Some recent Alex highlights:
-She is all healed up from her 2nd ear infection and 1st cold.  I am still trying to recite the mantra given to me by our pediatrician--"You want her to get sick now, it's GOOD for her. Daycare is GOOD for her."  Maybe I will believe it if I keep saying it?
-She is still doing wonderful on her Alimentum formula.  Aside from the astronomical cost of this stuff, it has been the best thing ever!
-We aren't anywhere near starting solids yet. I'm in no hurry to open this chapter because of her tummy and allergy ailments. We will get there when we need to, but for now, she's doing just fine with her bottles.
-Alex weighs almost 16 pounds and is almost 26 inches long! She is in the 90th percentile for both height and weight!  (See my previous point--we have no worries about her getting adequate nutrition!)

Here is a recent photo with her Nubby bear.

Remember the same photo taken when she was 7 days old?

-She is really learning how to make different facial expressions.  She smiles and laughs and scowls and pretends to cry, only to burst into a smile the minute I reach for her.  She is learning things so quickly that I can't believe it.
-Aside from rolling, she is trying to stand a lot too.  She holds on with her fingers and will stand for a few minutes at a time, usually very proud of herself too!


-She plays a lot now. She loves her exersaucer, and her rattles, stuffed animals, and teethers.  I love seeing the wonder in her face as she reaches for a toy and shakes it.

-She loves sucking her thumb, and her new habit is stroking the back of her head with one hand while she sucks her thumb on the other hand.

That's a pretty good summary.  She's awesome! (Have I mentioned that before?)

Roly-Poly

Roly-Poly, originally uploaded by jenski33.

Alex rolled over for the first time on Sunday! It's funny, because they say it's usually a 4-month milestone, but she hadn't done it yet at her 4-month mark. The doctor wasn't too worried, so we stopped being concerned too.
All of a sudden, she decided it was time. And ever since Sunday, she has been a little roly-poly baby. I think it's amazing how one day she learns a new skill, and then all of a sudden she is doing it all the time, like it's the easiest thing in the world.

My Best Friend's Wedding

Tee hee.  I thought that might be an appropriate title to this post.  Love that movie.  But seriously, my friend Katie was married this past weekend, and what an amazing wedding it was!

After many years (Oh, a decade or so) of dating, Jeremy and Katie finally made it official.  It was a long time coming, but well-worth the wait.  I was her Maid of Honor (notice I said 'Maid' of Honor even though technically I'm married and that makes me the 'Matron' of Honor, but I politely asked if I could ditch the elderly-sounding title and take the youthful 'maid' title instead.  Katie obliged.) Is that weird that I wasn't really digging the Matron of Honor title?

Rich was the Best Man.  (Anyone else find it ironic that they don't distinguish a married best man vs. a single one? They're always trying to emphasize women's age. And by 'they,' I'm not sure who I'm referring to, but you get my point.) Anyway, what was I saying? Right.

It was a really busy week leading up to the event, with me flying to Dallas for business for a couple days, having a business dinner meeting one night, and Katie & Jeremy's rehearsal dinner another night. Whew!  I think I blinked and the big day was there!  Friday was Baking Day for me--I baked two huge sheet cakes for the wedding, which probably seems like it should take all of a couple hours, but ended up being an all-day affair.  I am a pretty experienced baker, but this was definitely the most baking I have ever done at once.  I started in the kitchen at 9 am and finished them at 11 pm (with about a 2-hour break in there when I went to the salon for a nails-and-spray-tan-appointment).  I made 6 layers in all, 3 red velvet and 3 german chocolate, and I think the final total was close to 5 lbs of butter, 5 lbs of sugar, 3 dozen eggs, 2 lbs of flour, 5 sticks of cream cheese, and a GALLON of heavy whipping cream.  ha! They were very healthy cakes. I was proud of the final result--they tasted delicious and looked pretty.  They were the cakes that no-one actually saw, but were sliced up in the back by the caterers and offered to guests as an additional choice to the standard white wedding cake.  Katie's sister, Kelly, who is pretty much the most creative person I have ever met, made the beautiful display cake.  She took a couple of cake-decorating classes and told Katie she thought she could do it, and lo and behold, she did.  It was amazing.  The top four layers were styrofoam, covered with fondant, and the bottom layer was real cake.


 Here's a close-up of the gum-paste orchids that she made.

She only took a few classes.  Seriously?!

Here is my german chocolate cake.

Almost as nice, right? HAHAHAHA! Well, as I said, my cakes weren't on display for the guests to see, but they were quite delicious for them to eat! :)

Katie came over to our house on Friday to spend the night, and we did last-minute wedding preparations and spent most of the night talking into the wee hours of the morning.  Finally, at 2 a.m., Rich sent us a text message (from the bedroom) suggesting that it might be time to go to bed, and could we please turn off the lights for him?! Oops! It was like we were in high-school again, getting in trouble by mom! Ha!

So we finally did get about four hours of sleep and woke up just in time to get to the salon for our hair and makeup appointments.

Then we headed to the wedding location.  When Katie put her dress on, I almost started crying at that very moment.  But I remembered the make-up lady told me to do my best not to cry because as she said, "False eyelashes and water don't mix!" Ha! Of course, once the night progressed, I was a teary mess anyway.

Back to Katie.  She was stunning! Seriously, look at this gorgeous bride:

The ceremony was perfect, everything was beautiful, and we had a blast!  I danced 'till my feet ached.

After it was through, we came home and relieved Rich's parents from babysitting duty.  They watched Alex all day and said they had a great time with her.  All in all, it was an awesome wedding!

Sometimes my heart just melts....

....when I see these two together.

This was completely candid, taken as Rich was dancing with Alex.  She was smiling so much that I think those big cheeks of hers must have been aching!   Ahhh....nothing like a daddy-daughter dance.

Happy Halloween

We have had a great Halloween weekend.  I think we are all healthy again (knock on wood!!), and really enjoyed some wonderful family time.  I am not normally too enthusiastic about Halloween; I think it is a silly holiday and don't really go out of my way to do anything special for it.  But this year, with Alex, of course we had a lot more fun with it!

Alex was a ladybug.  She didn't cry when we put her costume on, but I definitely don't think it was her favorite outfit either.  She seemed a little confused as to why we were giggling at her, but I think she was okay with it.

Then we went to the pumpkin patch with my parents.  It was the first time I had ever been to one!  We had a great time, wheeling Alex around in a wagon.  We sat her down with the pumpkins, and she was fascinated, touching and kicking them!

When we got back, Rich and I carved up our pumpkins after Alex went to bed.  We finished off the night with a game of Scrabble.

One sick family

This has been just a wonderful week.  I mean that with all the sarcasm I have.

I'm pretty sure I have the flu.  Rich caught it too.  And Alex has an ear infection.  This family is a mess!

On top of it all, I have had such a busy work-week and could only stay home a couple days. I really should have been in bed all week, but what can you do when you already have appointments, lunches, breakfasts and work meetings to attend?

Rich has been swamped at work, leaving before Alex is awake and coming back home after she is asleep.  So not only do I feel like a single mom (kind of, although I'm not even pretending I know what that is like), I feel like a SICK single mom.  And poor Alex has been off her game with a fever, fussiness, and refusing to drink her bottles!  Her antibiotics seem to be kicking in, so I am hoping she is turning the corner any minute now.

WAAAHH! Enough complaining already, right?  I am sure things are going to get much better very soon.  It can only go up from here!

Photography Sunday

This morning I spent some time with the camera and Alex.  I think the camera loves her.  Is it just this mommy's biased opinion?