Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Alexandra!!

Week Thirty Two

Another week gone and its almost November! I have a book called The Wonder Weeks that talks about certain weeks when babies make mental leaps. There is always a checklist to mark off with behaviors that your child exhibits. The last one was at 26 weeks and at the time there were very few of the characteristics that Alexandra had met. Now at 32 weeks, many of them are things she does. The next mental leap is just a few weeks away at 37 weeks!

Alexandra has been playing in her Jumperoo and loves it. She can spend at least 30 minutes amusing herself. Tonight she even started jumping while I was holding her on my lap.

As mentioned in the previous blog, Alexandra had a "Two Grandma Weekend." On Sunday, we all went to breakfast and then had pictures taken at JC Penney's. We ordered a CD of photos, so once that arrives, I will add some photos to the blog.

Being sick and having such an adorable daughter sucks! I was not allowed to cuddle, kiss or even touch her until today. Talk about mommy torture! Thankfully, my mom, Dave and Marivel all took good care of her.  I am still a less than 100% so I wear a mask when I am holding her.

Halloween is this week and I am excited to take some pictures of Alexandra in her costume. I like Halloween and look forward to it every year as the start of the holiday season. It is fun to decorate and it will be even more fun once Alexandra is old enough to go trick or treating.

Alexandra loves to practice standing. I have noticed that she is trying to get her feet under her when sitting on the floor so that she can stand up. Tonight I put her arms on the foot stool of one of our chairs and she was reaching for something on it. I let go for a few seconds and she was able to hold on. She has such strong legs that once she realizes she can do it, she will be cruising around on our furniture. For now, she will continue to practice standing when one of us is around to help.

Another tooth is just below the surface and has caused Alexandra to be fussy off and on. And she must be growing again because she is eating like crazy. Today she had 5 ounces of food, 7 ounces of juice and 30 ounces of milk! We tried apple/cherry mix today and Alexandra liked it a lot. In addition, she had mango this week which is definitely one of her favorites. She smacks her lips with that one and peaches. Dave gave her a taste of mashed potato at dinner and she stuck her tongue out at him with the look that said, "how could you daddy." Clearly she did not care for them!!!

Alexandra loves her stuffed animals. I will often play with her that the monkey or kitty is giving her kisses. After about three times of touching her face with the stuffed animals face, she grabs it and snuggles it. It is so adorable to watch. And she makes this really cute little sound of pure contentment.

There is not much else to report for this week, especially since I have been keeping my distance. I look forward to a lot of kisses and cuddles this week to make up for it!

Week Thirty One

I meant to update on Saturday for week thirty one, but it had only been a couple of days since Alexandra's 7 month update. Here is a short blog about a few days last week.

On Thursday , Alexandra took her first official crawl. She went after a toy on her play mat and surprised both Dave and I with her speed. She continues to mostly army crawl, but every now and then, she really gets somewhere and fast. Soon she will be a lean, mean, crawling machine! She is even putting her legs under her and trying to figure out how to stand up. Look out world!

On Friday, Grandma Janet and I took Alexandra to the local pumpkin patch. She loved it (even though she looks bored in the first picture) and we got some amazing photos. These are my favorites:

Grandma Sara came to town for one night and so Alexandra got another "Two Grandma Weekend!" More about that in the Week 32 update coming on Saturday!

Alexandra has decided that sleeping on her tummy is fun. This is how I found her Saturday morning - with legs tucked under her and bottom in the air. I doubt that it is very comfortable, but she seems to really like it! Silly girl!

Well that is all that needs updating since Wednesday. See you Saturday!

Seven Months

Hello Loyal Readers! I can't believe it is time again for my monthly update. What a month it has been!

I guess the biggest change is that I can now sit up and play with my toys for several minutes at a time. It gives me a whole perspective on life that I did not have when I could only lie there looking up at the ceiling! I even started sitting in a high chair at restaurants and in the basket at the store. It is so much fun and allows me to people watch. When I meet someone for the first time, I stare at them intently. It is especially fun to meet other babies while we are out and about! This photo was taken at brunch last weekend to celebrate Grandma Janet's birthday.

I have several new toys that I love including a Jumperoo. There are so many gadgets to twist and I also like jumping up and down. I love stuffed toys. I have my monkey Keko that you already know about, but also have a purple kitty and a soft doll. It is so much fun to put them in my mouth. Another favorite that I am constantly trying to get a hold of is the TV remote. Mommy says it is not a toy for me, but it looks like it would be fun to chew. I also like trying to get Grandma Janet's cell phone.

My mouth is changing and there is this funny thing in my mouth. It is just peeking out from my gums, and mommy tells me it is a tooth. I have another one just waiting to break through and it has caused me to be fussy and cry. I am not sure what teeth are for just yet, but I am eager to find out!

I am getting more and more mobile every day. Mommy calls what I do "army crawling" because I move forward on my tummy rather than up on my knees. It may take me awhile, but I now have the ability to move towards an object that I desire. Watch out world, soon I will be crawling all over and getting into all kinds of trouble!

I have tried so many wonderful foods this last month including sweet potatoes, corn, apricots, mixed veggies and squash. I like almost everything, just don't even think about giving me green beans or I will cry!

In the mornings, Marivel's son, Dylan, is at the house and he often reads to me. I have lots of books and love when I get to "read" them. Here we are as Dylan reads me a Halloween story. One of my favorite books is "Squishy Turtle & Friends." It is a cloth book and so I can put it in my mouth. It also has something inside the book that makes this nice sound of crinkled paper. What fun it is to grab it and squish it in my hands!

I am getting very good at laughing. Mommy kisses my tummy when she is changing my diaper and it makes me laugh! She also sometimes kisses my cheeks over and over again just to get me to laugh. It is quite fun!

I was very uncooperative with mommy today when she tried to take my 7 month photos. I did not want to sit still. I wanted to crawl and kept trying to get off the chair. Some of them turned out cute even though I refused to pose as requested. I have to much to explore to just sit back while someone takes my photo!

I am growing a lot. I can now wear some 6-9 month clothes. It is fun moving up to a new size because there are so many new outfits for me to try on. Now that I am teething, I manage to get drool all over my clothes (unless someone makes me wear a bib)! I have enjoyed the cooler weather at nights because it means I get to sleep in cozy pajamas! They are so comfy! I also moved up a size in diapers and they fit so much better. They were getting a little tight. I am glad mommy finally figured that out!

I love to hear my voice. I can babble a lot and mommy tries to figure out which consonants I am using. She says "B" must be my favorite consonant because I use it a lot. I can scream! Mommy tells me it hurts her ears sometimes when I shout loudly, but it is so much fun to hear the different pitches I can make.

Well that is all for this month. I will see you on November 16th. Until then, keep reading mommy's weekly
updates!

Love,
Alexandra

Week Thirty

Its hard to believe that it has been 30 weeks since I first met Alexandra. Time goes so fast now and on Wednesday she will be 7 months old. She will have a lot to report for her monthly blog.

She is currently sitting in my lap and watching intently as I type. Perhaps she wants to make sure I don't forget something or give away all of her secrets! She is babbling away and perhaps telling me what to write. If only I spoke baby. In her babbling I distinctly hear "bababa", but notice a "w" every now and then.

She has started wearing some 6-9 month clothes finally. For sleepers and pants, that size fits perfectly, but the onesies are entirely too long! Oddly enough, there are still some 0-3 month clothes that fit her. Just like all women's clothing, there is no consistency in sizes. Since we have finally had some cooler days, we have been able to use some of her pants and long sleeved tops. This week it even started getting cold at night, so we are using sleepers. One of the outfits that she finally got to wear was this blue, white and yellow one from her Great Aunt Ann.

Grandma Sara visited last weekend and got some quality time with Alexandra. As I mentioned in last week's blog, it was a "Two Grandma Weekend." What fun and what a lucky girl! We went to breakfast at Coco's and out to dinner at Lonestar. We also went shopping. Alexandra was able to show off her new moves. She is getting really good at scooting. Grandma Sara helped her exercise her legs in preparation for standing some day soon. She loves to play what we call the "Up the Baby" game and made sure Grandma Sara did it with her!

This week we transitioned from her seat in the bathtub to a little ducky bathtub that goes inside the big tub. She loved it because she could sit up on her own. She really enjoyed tonight's bath and was splashing her hands and getting water every where! This girl is a water baby for sure! We figure that we will use it for a few weeks until she can sit in the tub without sliding around. I probably need to purchase a tub mat. Here is a picture of her new bathtub.

This week Marivel got a Jumperoo from a friend and Alexandra LOVES it. She has all kinds of toys that she can play with and the best part is jumping up and down. We had to put a large flat pillow underneath as her feet don't hit the ground. She will need to grow a few more inches before that can happen. Nevertheless, Alexandra is intrigued and can now entertain herself for hours. Okay, maybe not hours, but certainly for quite a few minutes!

Alexandra tried several new foods this week. She liked bananas, apricots and mixed vegetables, but HATED green beans. When Grandma Janet gave her a few bites, it was obvious that even though she ate them, she was not enamored of them. This week when Marivel tried to give her green beans again, Alexandra started crying at the first taste of them! When we went out to dinner last Sunday, we gave Alexandra a taste of baked sweet potato which she liked and baked potato (plain) that she did not like. During the week we also gave her some mashed up avocado, which she did not seem to care for at all. It is fun to see her reactions to the different foods. We have several new purees for her to try this week including: apples & cherries, mango, sweet potato & corn and pears & pineapple. Now that we are giving her stage 2 foods, there are some interesting combos!

Marivel speaks to her in Spanish and uses the word "leche" for milk all the time. When we were out at dinner, I asked Alexandra if she wanted milk and even showed her the sign for milk. She looked at me but did not really react. A lot of the time she will get a big smile with either. When I said, "Quieres leche?, " meaning "Do you want milk?" her head turned very suddenly towards me and it was clear she understood exactly what that word means!

The other bit of news is the unmistakable white of a tooth that has appeared just below her gums! It is not poking through yet, but it is definitely ready and should do so any day now. Well, that is all I can think of for this week. Be sure to visit back during the week for Alexandra's 7 month notes! Here are a few more parting shots! Enjoy!

Week Twenty Nine

Another week is gone! Alexandra had a doctor's appointment on Friday. She is 15 pounds 11.5 ounces and 26 inches long. She got three shots and handled them well.

Alexandra has been eating like crazy this week. The doctor told us to up the amount of solid food we are giving her so now she will have 2 ounces twice a day. We plan to give her fruit in the morning and vegetables in the evening. She did try a new food this week, squash, and seemed to like it. Alexandra insists on feeding herself. We get the spoon ready, then she grabs it and turns the spoon over to lick off the food.

In true "Mama-ratzi" form, I took a ton of pictures this week. I even experimented with some outdoor photos of Alexandra and then did some editing with Picasa. It was fun to experiment, although my subject was a little bit challenging on the cooperation side. She was more interested in putting things in her mouth or staring at the trees than posing for this photographer.

Alexandra has started laughing a lot more. She laughs when I kiss her on her tummy while changing a diaper. She laughs (or screams depending on her mood) when we wash her face after she eats. Every day I see more and more of her personality emerging and it is so fun!

Alexandra is becoming more and more mobile. She can scoot several inches at a time and soon will be fully crawling. She uses her arms to help move her forward.

The doctor said he felt teeth under her gums and I think a tooth will appear soon. She wakes me up several times a night with little cries that many people tell me may be an indication of teething, plus she drools, and drools, and drools.

Grandma Sara is in town and so Alexandra is having a "Two Grandma Weekend" and loving it! Extra attention and extra cuddles - what more could a girl want?

That is about it for this week, so here are some more photos from this week! Enjoy and check in next Saturday for week 30. Really? Did I just type that? Wow!!!

200 Days