I'm 30!

I turned 30 on June 25th. It was an orientation day, so taking the day off was not an option. A friend and co-worker brought in birthday brownies, and I had good groups of students that day. All day I looked forward to my first date with John since Alex was born. We went to see Wicked at the Majestic Theatre and it was awesome! The cast was wonderful, and I was really impressed with the actress who played Elphaba.

I had not be dreading turning 30 and having a baby has been a happy distraction. Although I pick on John for being older than me (but only by a few months). I had good 20's, but I do not want to go back. I can't imagine my life without John and Alex.

Poop Story

If you do not want to read a poop story, you will want to skip this blog entry.

Alex woke up in good spirits at 5:15 A.M. and was cooing. I changed a wet diaper, made him a bottle, and fed Frida, our dog. We had a good start to our morning. I was optimistic that Alex was getting over his bug. During his bottle, Alex had a blow-out and leaked through his diaper, but that was just the beginning...

I took him back to his room to change him. He had leaked so much that I wanted to get him changed as soon as possible. Our old pillow from the couch and my clothes were already dirty.

As I was changing Alex, I found out the he was not done yet. I had lifted his bottom to wipe him, which gave him the perfect angle to spray poop on the wall - and some toys, and the carpet, and his shelves, and some books, and the curtains.

I was speechless! The baby monitor was still on, so I called out to John, "Are you awake? I need help!"

It took the two of us to clean the room and one grandma to take care of the baby. It will take two loads of laundry to wash items and my mom scrubed poop from his stuffed elephant and rhino.

Yes, John took a picture in case you can't visualize the scene. http://s348.photobucket.com/albums/q325/scg2005/?action=view¤t=Poopy.jpg

P.S. Happy Father's Day John! I know that you won't forget your first Father's Day as a dad.

Sick Day

Alex and I had to take our first sick day on Friday. Quoting John, "Squirt has the squirts." Alex has stayed in good spirits, but we have gone through many outfits and diapers over the last couple of days.

Making Faces

Here are some more pictures from June 17, 2009. Alex is very expressive with both happy and angry faces.

Tongue

On Wednesday, Alex was sticking his tongue out a lot as we came home from daycare. It was like he just discovered his tongue. He started at the UTSA Child Development Center on Monday.

Playing

Here are some pictures from June 14, 2009. Alex had fun playing "So Big" and started laughing on this day.

Quotes

"Making the decision to have a child-it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -Elizabeth Stone

"What did my hands do before they held you?" -Sylvia Plath

"A mother holds her children's hands for a short while and their hearts forever." - Anonymous

"Children make you want to start life over." -Muhammad Ali

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -Lao Tzu

"Every child begins the world again." -Henry David Thoreau

I may want to eventually add some or all of these to the scrapbooks, so I thought I'd write them here for safe keeping. The blog is much more up-to-date than the scrapbooks.

Weekend Update

Alex continues to grow (and eat) like crazy. According to our home scale, he is now over 15 pounds, which is more than Frida weighs.

Alex is more vocal and grabbing onto more things. He went after my plate at dinner this week and went for my earrings the other day. I have stopped wearing hoop earrings for a while.

Alex is a good traveler and we have been able to take him out and about. It does help to have a ratio of at least two adults to one baby.

Tomorrow, Alex starts at the UTSA Child Development Center. We did not expect to get a spot there so soon.

Yesterday we visited the new Farmer's Market at Pearl Brewery and saw the Riverwalk extension. It was quite hot, so I look forward to exploring it more when it is cooler (probably October). We then had lunch at the Lion and the Rose. Yep, we took our baby to a pub (which sounds better than taking our baby to a bar.)

Alex is enjoying the Baby Bjorn carrier more now that he can face outwards. He is stronger now and holds his head up really well.

The best was this morning when Alex laughed for the first time. My mom was playing with him and he laughed and laughed. I was napping on the couch and it woke me up. I am glad that I did not miss hearing his laugh.

Five Years

Five years ago I started as the Student Program Advisor for the Campus Activities Board at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Friday before John, Jenni, Mickey and I arrived in Texas after a two day, 1200 some mile drive. (Mickey flew back to Ohio after a few days and Jenni moved in November.) Our furniture would not arrive for about ten more days. (I do not recommend using Bekins as your movers.) We slept on the floor and sat in camp chairs in our apartment. We packed a TV and computer in our cars, so we had internet before we had furniture.

I cannot believe that it has already been five years and how much has changed in that time. As I cross a couple of milestones this month (living in San Antonio and working at UTSA for five years and turning 30), I am happy with my life. John and I have good jobs and a wonderful new son. We have made good friends down here but are also able to keep in touch with our friends and family in other places. I wonder how life will change in the next five years...

New Pictures

These were taken on June 7, 2009. It only took 11 shots to get two good pictures with Shrek. In the other pictures he was slumped over or drooling.

3 Months

Alex is now 3 months old. I think that it is time to start counting his age in months instead of weeks. He is going through a growth spurt and has been eating 6 ounces at a time lately.