10 Months

Dear Loyal Readers,

I am officially in double digits for months now!! I can't believe in just two months I will be a year old!

What a month! I celebrated my first Christmas and first New Year! Christmas was wonderful with pretty lights, a great smelling tree, ribbons, new things to play with and most importantly family. I even had my own tree in the family room. We took some professional photos at JC Penney's so be sure to check those out here. Being that this was my first Christmas, I received several special ornaments. My neighbor Tina made me an engraved ornament with my name and 2013. One of the ladies on the March mom's board sent me an ornament with my name, birth date, and birth statistics. It was part of a secret Santa exchange. Here is a picture of them. I also got a couple of other ornaments with "Baby's First Christmas" on them.

I am now pulling up on everything and cruising the furniture like a pro. Of course, many of the things I want to see and play with are ones mommy and daddy don't want me to. They are constantly moving me. In fact, as mommy tried to take my monthly, photo I was far more interested in standing on this chair to reach the number, than I was in sitting down. I have gotten really good at crawling and am exploring new areas like hallways, the kitchen and my bedroom. Tonight I actually stood on my own for a few seconds without falling. Mommy was so surprised and both of us were quite excited!

In other exciting news, I got my passport this week so I can now become a 4th generation world traveler!

It is my bedtime so I better hurry this up and share with you some of my likes and dislikes.

LIKES:

• I love to take my socks off. My Great Uncle David would not be pleased, but its been in the 80s during the day, so who really needs socks? 
• My stuffed animals, especially my white bear and zebra, are so fun to cuddle. I am very loving and make a sweet little noise when I see something cuddly that I want. That does include my blankets.
• Tupperware is so much fun to play with. I enjoy taking it all out of the cupboard at Marivel's house. She will then put it away and I will take it out again.

DISLIKES:

• Sometimes I get very upset when mommy puts a shirt over my head. I also cry when she tries to wipe my mouth after eating. She tells me that neither are forms of torture, but I am just not sure!

That is all for now. Mommy is sorry that she has fallen behind on weekly updates and will try to do a better job for the remaining weeks of my first year. She has now added weeks 41-43, so please go check those out, as well as the nice photo books she made. Until February...

Love,
Alexandra

Photo Book - Alexandra's First Christmas

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Photo Book - Months 5-8

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Week Forty Three

Because I am behind in blogging, I don't have much to write for this week. I went back to work and Alexandra was happy to have time with Marivel and Dylan again. Alexandra continues to get better and better at both crawling and cruising.

She knows how to hug. When we give her the Spanish word "abracito" or tell her to "love the zebra (or mommy or whatever), she leans in and makes her happy whimper sound. It is so cute.

This week included visits with both grandmas. Grandma Sara came to visit for a couple of hours and Grandma Janet watched Alexandra on Saturday while Dave and I went to a Toastmasters event.

She tried papaya this week which she liked at first, but now only likes mixed with pears. She loves yogurt, especially peach, but is uninterested in finger foods so far. She only has two bottom teeth, so she will be more interested once she has some upper teeth.

Sleep was quite a challenge this week. Alexandra would wake up crying and then fall back asleep in my arms. But as soon as I put her back in her crib, she was up again and crying. One night this happened three separate times. I think part of it was that she caught the family cold and was stuffed up. I think another part is just growth.

That is all I can think of for now.

Week Forty One & Forty Two

I am seriously behind on the blog updates again. I got over the first illness and got a second cold on New Year's Day. Plus, going back to work after a two week vacation has been keeping me busy. What a great two weeks it was! See the special blog post of a photo book created for Alexandra's first holiday season. Here are the highlights of the last two weeks:

Week Forty-One:

• Alexandra's 1st Christmas - On Christmas Eve, we went to David & Lorel's for turkey dinner. Cousin Brian was also visiting from Boston. Alexandra had fun seeing all the family members and opening her first presents. She got really cute Christmas pajamas from her Great Uncle Bob & Great Aunt Sarah which she wore to bed that night. She also got to open presents from Grandma Sara, Uncle David and Grantie Lorel. This included a doll and the book, Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, a small Santa Claus board book, 
• On Christmas morning, both grandmas came over and we opened presents. Alexandra got tons of books, an activity center, a stuffed zebra, a blanket, and more. Alexandra was visited by Santa, who brought her some books, a camera (a baby version that makes lots of noises) and an elephant rattle. She loves the camera! In addition, she also got lots of cute clothes from Grandpa Stacy and Nana Kathy. Marivel & Dylan got her the Jingle dog and storybook, a cute hat, and some slippers.

Week Forty-Two:

• A brand new year! On the 31st, Alexandra, Grandma Janet and I went to Marivel's for awhile. Poor daddy did not feel well. But then it was nine and Alexandra was ready for bed. We were all asleep well before midnight, but Miss Alexandra decided to wake up at 11:53 crying. After some cuddles, she was fast asleep and with just 4 minutes left in 2013, mommy turned on the TV to ring in the new year!
• Alexandra got another sleepover at Grandma Janet's on the 1st as mommy came down with a bad cold and felt miserable! Unfortunately, everyone in the family ended up with stuffy noses. This affected Alexandra's sleep and she started waking up in the middle of the night crying.

The best part of the last two weeks was that I was on vacation and got to spend so much more time with Alexandra. Christmas has always been special, but it was even more so with Alexandra this year!