Thankful

I am thankful for:
John
Alex (I am extra thankful to have him here, healthy, and happy!)
Family
Friends (old & new)
Having a job in tough times and one that I enjoy
My co-workers
Living in San Antonio
Good neighbors
Technology that allows us to keep in touch with friends & family
Our home
Learning new things
Creativity
Having Alex at the UTSA Child Development Center
The wonderful gifts and hand-me-downs that were given to Alex

Let the holiday season begin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the Menu for Today:
Turkey
Gravy
Rolls
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
(Pies care of Costco)

Alex will get some pureed turkey today. We gave him chicken out of a jar as his first meat. It smelled awful, but tasted ok. I am going to try to make him pureed meats instead. We will also make him some mashed potatoes to try soon. My parents will be joining us for the food and football.

Updated: Alex did not like the turkey we made for him. I think that it was too thick. We may try the jarred stuff tomorrow. My mom took the photo show above.

Video of Alex Crawling

I expected Alex to crawl up on all fours, but he is happy crawling on his belly. Some have called this an Army crawl. The video was taken on November 13, and Alex is eight months old.

Getting Back into the Routine

Alex got off of his routine last week. He was home for a few days with a cold, and then he seemed to be teething over the weekend. He did not want to fall asleep on Saturday night, so we randomly drove to Boerne and back. After about 45 minutes in the car, he still was not asleep...

He returned to daycare today, which I hope will help him get back into a routine. (I especially miss him sleeping through the night...) He seems to enjoy daycare, including the buggy rides, crawling after the "walkers," and "hugging" the younger babies.

He was exhausted when he came home today. He was not happy when he realized that Daddy had done some baby-proofing today. He noticed that the wires and cords in the family room are now out of his reach.

The photo is from Sunday, November 22. Alex is over 8 months old now!

Brendan's Visit Part II

Brendan posted his pictures from his trip to San Antonio last month. (I am thinking that it was much easier to do with his new computer.) John, Brendan and I headed downtown and had lunch at Mi Tierra. Alex had fun playing with his Uncle Shrek. Good times!

Playing

Alex enjoys playing with others or on his own. So far, he is an easy going kid. He is happy most of the time (unless he is tired or hungry), and people have noticed. Multiple staff members at his daycare have mentioned how much he smiles. These photos were taken on November 8, 2009.

Crawling?!

It is time to baby proof; Alex is crawling! He is not up on his hands and knees but slithers on his stomach. I am calling it crawling since he can move quite fast now and get into things that he should not... (John had to cover the phone jack in the family room with a blank plate. This morning he was heading right for the power strip by John's desk.) He also is getting around his daycare room more and wants to be wherever the older babies are playing.

Growth Spurt (again)!

We are seeing the results of Alex's latest growth spurt. John had to drop his crib down a level today. We moved the baby monitors because Alex could now reach them. He has become interested in the video monitor. (Does he know that we can watch him?) Also, he just feels heavier when you pick him up. He sure is good at growing!

This photo was taken on November 6. John put Alex down to play, but he was exhausted and fell asleep right away.

Advanced scooting

Alex is doing what I have started calling advanced scooting, but he is not crawling yet. He also can push up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth.

We can tell that Alex has been growing. We need to readjust his car seats, and he feels heavier. 8 months old and counting!

"Alex paints like no other."

I have been very happy having Alex at the UTSA Child Development Center. His brave teachers allow the babies (and a few toddlers) to paint! For Alex's first painting, they covered the mattress of his crib and had him paint with his feet. He still had some blue paint in his toes at the end of the day. We recently were able to bring home his first painting. I am trying to resist the urge to frame it. I referred to Alexander "Picasso" having his blue period in a previous post.

For Alex's second painting last Monday (October 26), he painted a foam pumpkin orange. (I think that he chewed on the pumpkin before paining it...) This time, they put him in a tub and he painted with his hands. Alex only had a little paint on him at the end of the day, but one of his teachers had a large blob of orange paint on her t-shirt care of Alex. The artwork and pictures of the kids making the artwork hang outside of the classroom. The caption on Alex's photo reads, "Alex paints like no other."

November 1

This post covers Alex's Halloween costume and his 8th month picture with Shrek. As a mom, I am all about multitasking and the blog is no exception.

Alex's costume was purchased used, so there was not a tag identifying it. It looks like a cow from the front and a horse from the back. I called it a horsey costume and John called it a cow costume. Luckily Alex is too young for us to confuse him with this. (We will try to make future costumes more clear.)

We took the pictures this afternoon instead of yesterday since Alex was tired. I have learned how important sleep is for kids. John carved the pumpkin yesterday to have two front, bottom teeth just like Alex. I had to make sure to take a picture of the back of the costume to show the part that looks like a horse. Paddy, my parents' dog, also wanted to be in the picture.

Halloween

I could not decide on a costume for Alex's first Halloween. Many of the costumes for babies are made with heavy material, and I was worried that these would be too hot for South Texas. I did find a Halloween bib, hat, and socks at Target. I found a costume this week at Kid to Kid, which sells mostly used items for kids and babies.

Alex wore his candy corn socks on Friday and Saturday. He wore is pumpkin bib on Saturday. After lunch on Saturday, we went to the pumpkin patch at a nearby church to buy our pumpkin, and Alex slept the whole time. I tried to put on Alex's costume later on Saturday, but he was not happy about it. In fact, he was tired and went to bed early. He slept through trick-or-treat and did not wear his costume on Halloween. At least Shrek got to wear the pumpkin bib and hat.