Week Ten

We have hit double digit weeks and Alexandra is now 10 weeks old! She is 70 days today as well...wow! In case you missed them, please check out her two month post and week nine (which was posted late).

About Alexandra: Alexandra is consistently sleeping a six hour stretch, eating and then sleeping for two more hours in the morning. Swaddling her has become part of our nightly routine and helps her sleep. More frequent baths are also important now that it is so warm out. Alexandra loves the water and I look forward to when she can sit up on her own and play with bath toys. She loves to hold on to things including mommy's hair, her burp cloth and her bib. We are trying to introduce her to other things to hold on to like stuffed animals. She often pumps her right fist like she is shadow boxing. She also has blown bubbles in her bottle a few times. It is so fun to watch as she develops new skills and likes, almost on a daily basis it feels like.

As always, she loves walks. She "chats" as we walk, making all kinds of cute little noises as if she is talking about what she sees. And she almost always is alert and smiling. Her other favorite thing is still to fall asleep on mommy or daddy (or a grandma if available). It is so fun to snuggle with her and we are cherishing it now, knowing that all too soon she will be "too big" for that.

What's New: Alexandra has grabbed her feet a couple of times. They are not in her mouth yet, but I have heard it is only a matter of time! When I put her over my shoulder to burp her and we are sitting on the couch, she will push with her feet like she is trying to get higher up. We will have to get her one of those jumparoos.

Visitors: Alexandra met a ton of people this week. On Wednesday I took her to Temecula to meet my hair stylist Ellen and then to school to introduce her to some of my co-workers and my 6th period students. She slept through the entire experience.

Today she met some of mommy and daddy's friends. Joell and David and their two kids, Kadin and Kiyan came over for a visit. The boys had fun playing at our house while we caught up with their parents. And Shiao and Armando brought their son Julian (who is about 3.5 weeks younger than Alexandra) over for a play date. Alexandra enjoyed meeting another person closer to her own age!

Mommy: Maternity leave has flown by and I have to go back to work in one more week. That is the bad news. The good news is that I am only working 6 days before school is out and it is summer vacation. I won't have to go back to work again until August 9th.

Photos: Here is our little cutie at 10 weeks!

And more fun photos:

Week Nine

I am late in posting week nine's update so this will be shorter than normal. Please check out Alexandra's special two month post from last Thursday. She had some interesting things to say!

About Alexandra: Alexandra went through a few days of fussiness which I attribute to a mental growth spurt. There is a book called The Wonder Weeks which discusses 10 significant mental leaps that babies take in the first 20 months of life. One of these occurs at week 8-9. By the end of the week, she was back to her smiley, happy self.

When we got the bouncy seat from our friends the Rifkins, they also gave us a matching swing. We used it for the first time this week and Alexandra seemed to enjoy it. It is small and portable.

What's New: Alexandra holds on to objects more and more. She seems to like grabbing and holding on to burp cloths. As we were trying to take the weekly photo, she kept trying to take the paper or would bat it away.

Visitors: Alexandra's Grandma Sara came to visit for all week! Mommy had an extra set of hands to help her out and Alexandra got some quality time with grandma! We also went to Grantie Lorel's house where Alexandra met her cousin Darren and some of Lorel's friends. She wore one of the Ralph Lauren outfits sent by Uncle Alex. Our little girl is a fashionista!

Photos: Here is our little cutie at 9 weeks!

And more fun photos:

Two Months

Hello Readers,

I am back for my monthly update. So much has happened to me since April 16th. I know mommy has done a good job of keeping you up-to-date, but I have more to add. You know that my parents are both Toastmasters, so I guess I get the gift of gab from them!

I am getting better at sleeping during the night. Most nights I will sleep for a five hour stretch before waking mommy up. But, three times I was just too tired and slept through the night. The first was on May 3rd. Mommy was so surprised when I did not wake her at 4:00 for my normal feeding. Instead I slept from 11:15-5:45. If you think that is impressive, just wait until you hear what I did for mommy for Mother's Day. The night of May 10th, I was so exhausted that I went to bed much earlier than normal at 9:00. I fussed in my sleep a little at 2:45 and acted like I was going to wake up, but by the time mommy got the bottle I was sound asleep again. I finally got up at 6:00. Yep, I slept 9 hours!!

I love to dance. When I am put in my bouncy seat, I get the urge to move my legs and arms. Its even better when mommy plays some music on Pandora. I prefer country, but will dance to most anything she plays. By now you have probably seen the video of me rocking out to Luke Bryan posted under week 8. Has it gone viral yet?

Walks are becoming a regular occurrence and I love them! Sometimes I ride in the stroller and other times I get to be close to daddy in the carrier. Mommy does a good job pointing out things that I am seeing as we walk, including trees, flowers and puppy dogs. We always have to walk in the evening once the sun has started to set so that I don't get sun. Its cooler then too and I don't have to have a cover so I can see the world go by.

Tonight we went to dinner at Miguel's to celebrate my 2 months....okay actually it was because my Grandma Sara is leaving tomorrow to go back to Phoenix. It has been very nice spending the week with her and getting so many cuddles. I will miss her! I love it when my Grandma Janet takes care of me too. I hear she is going to spend a whole week with me in June when mommy goes to work for a week in June. I am such a lucky girl!

Mommy wants me to go to sleep because I have been up for hours, but I am wide awake because I have to finish this blog before I can rest! So let me continue...

Mommy finally filed my nails last night. She has been trying for several days, but I just would not cooperate. I scratched my nose this week and so I decided to give in. I made her do it while I was distracted with eating. Now she wonders when I will let her file my toenails. Only time will tell.

I have been meeting all kinds of new and interesting people. I hear there are some babies my age that live with mommy and daddy's friends, but I have yet to meet them. I hope I can soon. Its exhausting having to look so adorable for all these adults, although I do appreciate the compliments! I don't think babies will care so much.

Well, mommy insists that I go to sleep now so I have to sign off. Whatever I forgot, I will make sure mommy mentions in the 9 week update on Saturday.

Thanks for reading my blog. See you next month!

Love, 

Alexandra

Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day with both grandmas. Brunch was delicious at Citrus City Grille in Corona. Alexandra slept the entire time. It was over 100 degrees here so the heat is probably making her so sleepy. Here are a few pictures and a special letter to Alexandra.

Dear Alexandra,

What a difference a year makes. Last year I was sad on this day because of my loss and I hoped for a beautiful child like you. This year my dream came true and I have you to hold in my arms. In just 8 short weeks you have brought so much joy to our lives and we can't wait to watch as you continue to grow and explore your world. Each day brings something new to make us smile. The world is better with you in it. I love you so much sweet daughter.

Love, 
Mommy

Week Eight

It is hard to believe that another week has passed and Alexandra is almost 2 months old! Tomorrow is Mother's Day so look for a special post and pictures!

About Alexandra: Alexandra loves walks and is much more alert. Instead of sleeping through them, she gazes out at the tree tops and looks around when there are objects at her level in the stroller, like rose bushes.

She is very predictable on sleep waking at 4:00 for a feeding. She usually goes to bed in the 11:00 hour, although last night she was asleep by 10:15. We are swaddling every night now and she seems to like it. We use the Aden + Anais blankets from Target. She wants her hands free so they work better than the velcro ones. We put her to bed at 9:00 tonight because she has been awake for many, many hours!

Speaking of eating, she does not do well at burping after a meal so mommy sits her upright for at least 15 minutes to prevent spit ups, or at least minimize them.

Alexandra is getting better at "Tummy Time," lifting her head more and moving her legs. She is also "talking" a lot, making all kinds of different noises.

What's New: Alexandra really moves her arms and legs now. She enjoys making the bouncer move even more. She seems to have a rhythm that goes with music. She is a country fan. Of course mommy and daddy love that! Here is a video of her "dancing" to Luke Bryan's "I Don't Want This Night to End."

She is really noticing things more and is very intrigued by the wall hanging from South America that we have in the media room and the fan in the living room.

While she discovered her hands early on and has been putting them in her mouth for weeks, she is starting to grab at other things, like her burp cloth. Last night she was using it like a security blanket. It was so cute! 

The other day when she was playing in her bouncer, I swear I heard her laugh a few times. It does not happen all the time, but she definitely is in the early stages of laughter. 

Visitors: Alexandra's Grandma Sara came to visit for Mother's Day and will be staying the week. Grantie Lorel, Great Uncle David and Lorel's mother, Edie. I went to my dermatologist this week and took her to see Charity who had really wanted to meet her. She knew about my loss and then was so excited when I got pregnant again. Alexandra also saw our neighbor Tina and neighbor's mother Judy.

Photos: Here is our little cutie at 8 weeks exactly! We color coordinate well!

And more fun photos:

Week Seven

Another week has flown by and now Alexandra is seven weeks old! I am a day late in posting this which means she is exactly 50 days old today on Cinco de Mayo!

About Alexandra: Alexandra makes me laugh with some of the things she does. When she calms down after crying a lot, she gives a huge sigh that is so adorable. I hate seeing her so upset, but it warms my heart when she makes that sigh, as if to say, " I am okay now mommy." I put a bib on her to feed her a bottle because she is a messy eater. She acts like bibs are a method of torture and her little arms start to flail and fight me!

She is a night owl like mommy and does not want to go to sleep until 11:30-12:00. Often she will just stare at me after eating. I love the quality time just holding her. Fortunately she is sleeping 4-5 hours before waking after that. Then she usually lets me get another couple of hours in the morning. On Friday night she slept from 11:15-5:45! That is 6.5 hours! Then after a feeding, she slept another three hours! Mommy and daddy were so happy - let's hope it was not a fluke, but that she continues to sleep through the night! The "Sleep Sheep" has been so wonderful in lulling her to sleep. I set it to play ocean waves so that it is nice for mommy and daddy too. It turns off after 25 minutes so I don't have to worry. I have also been swaddling her, just leaving her arms out. She seems to like that.

She loves walks and is becoming more alert and taking it all in. One of her favorite things to do is kick the blanket off of her, and sometimes off the stroller completely. What fun it is to make mommy stop and pick it up!

I am having so much fun dressing her and she looks cute in almost everything she wears. However, her best colors yellow and green.

Mommy & Daddy:  Where I once had trouble functioning with less than 8 hours of sleep, I now seem okay with 6 broken hours. Amazing how we adapt! I have been cleared by my doctor to exercise more and took walks 7 out of the last 9 days. Daddy is enjoying taking her for walks in the carrier so that he can "wear" her.

What's New: Alexandra is smiling a lot more and now she responds to me with smiles. She is definitely a happy baby most of the time. She also is following me with her eyes and head when I move around in front of her. This happens mostly when she is in the bouncer and I am doing other things in the room. When on her play mat, she bats at the objects that are dangling in front of her and at her side.

Visitors: Alexandra met more Toastmasters on Friday when she went to hear daddy compete in a speech contest. They oohed and aahed over her. She still has tons of people who want to meet her though, including most of her family. We booked a trip to Colorado for this summer so she can meet some cousins and another one of her great aunts and great uncles (she has 3 of each).

Photos: Here is our little cutie at 7 weeks exactly!

And more fun photos: