A Photo a Week in 2015 - #27

This week, I am sharing one photo that was taken on the 4th of July as Miss Alexandra enjoyed a cookie and one photo from the park. We have been visiting different parks in Corona to see which one we like the best! So far we have checked out Deleo, Sycamore Creek, Jameson and El Cerrito.

A Photo a Week in 2015 - #19

This week's photo was taken on Mother's Day. We went to brunch at our favorite place, Citrus City Grille. Miss Alexandra wanted to wear both Mommy and Grandma Janet's necklaces. 

Twenty One Months and Twenty Two Months

Alexandra is now 22 months and I haven't written in two months, so I thought I would try something different and just combine them since I can't really remember what happened in each month in many aspects.

Alexandra has added quite a few words to her vocabulary over the last two months including read, go, please, five duck, juice and two. She now brings a book to me and says, "read, read, read." When she sees a picture of a duck, she will say the word and we even managed to get her to respond "ducks" when we asked her who should win the national championship. Too bad that did not happen.

Reading continues to be Alexandra's favorite thing to do and luckily for all of us, she got tons of new books to read at Christmas. This was by design as we were getting tired of reading the same ones over and over. Her favorite ones right now include: Mac and Cheese and the Perfect Plan, Jingle All the Way (that goes with her interactive dog Jingle), all the Biscuit books (she even reads the "woof" when prompted), Corduroy books and the story of the Star Spangled Banner (her history teacher mommy is quite proud of that one)!

In addition to books for Christmas, Santa brought Alexandra several toys, her favorites being a shopping cart and an animal puzzle. Grandma Sara gave her an easel with a dry erase board on one side and chalkboard on the other. Her Grandpa and Nana Kathy gave her a wagon (which she will enjoy immensely once the weather is warmer). Grandma Janet gave her all kinds of books, including one that includes a hand-held piano that can teach her music. She loves to play the piano at her house. Mommy and daddy gave her her very own vacuum cleaner which she thinks is pretty cool! Alexandra loved opening presents on Christmas morning and helping us out was half the fun!

Alexandra had her very own Christmas tree with soft, unbreakable ornaments. She loved taking them off the tree and then putting them back on. While she did not officially visit Santa this year, she did wave at him from a distance. A visit to Tom's Farms (our local farmers market and more) was lots of fun. She and mommy road the little train through the light display and the Merry-Go-Round. She did not want to sit on a horse, but was quite intrigued as we sat on one of the seats.

Prior to Christmas, we held our annual Chili and Cheer Party. Alexandra had a great time playing with the other kids who attended! She also went to a couple of birthday parties in December.

A highlight of the month (at least for mommy) was that it snowed in the Inland Empire. We were able to take Alexandra to the neighborhood right next to ours and let her play in the snow. It wasn't too deep where we took her and she loved it once she realized it was just ice.

Pictures from all of the Christmas activities can be seen in the post of the Shutterfly book that I created.

Prior to Thanksgiving, we spent a few days in Palm Springs with Grandma Janet while daddy went to Cousin Brian's wedding in New York. A highlight was a trip to the Living Desert to see the animals. She even helped mommy feed a giraffe! Pool time, lots of walking and even some shopping were also on the agenda.

Alexandra's swim lessons continue with Grandma Janet taking her every Tuesday.  She now has a private lesson as well as the Parent/To lesson.  The result is a remarkable improvement.  She now turns over on her own and floats without help; launches herself into the water from the side of the pool or the steps also without help, and thoroughly enjoys every minute in the water.  

She loves counting and sorting objects from 1-5.  She knows five very well and cannot be fooled by 4 or 6.  She is very good at picking up her toys and putting them away.  She has her very own bookcases at home and one at Grandma Janet's house, too.  Her favorite thing is to take all the books out at once and then decide which ones she wants read to her. When told to pick them up and put them away, she does so very methodically. She has learned to tell you what sounds a dog, a kitty, a duck, an owl, a horse, a sheep and a lion all make.  

Alexandra loves playing with Dylan (3rd grade) when he comes home from school, as well as Zach (2nd grade) and Zoe (1st grade) at Marivel's in the afternoons.  

In honor of her 22nd month, she took her 14th airplane ride; this time to Phoenix to visit Grandpa and Nana Kathy, see mommy's alma mater (University of Arizona) and more. Next month I will include more from that trip. 

Alexandra is such a sweet little girl who loves learning and is almost always happy (even when she has a cold)! 

Christmas 2014 Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

14 Months and a Little More

Once again time slipped away from me and since it is almost half way to 15 months. I will update you on Miss Alexandra's adventures through May 18th.

Miss Alexandra is exerting her independence more and more. We were at Michael's one Sunday (near the shirts for decorating) when she decided to go into my wallet, grabbed a dollar bill and started to walk away with it. Then a few minutes later, she took two shirts off the stack and started to walk away with them.

Alexandra has an infectious laugh. One night, we were having dinner at my mom's when she started to play a game with me. She would knock her sippy cup full of water off her high chair tray, I would catch it and place it right back on the tray. She would then knock it off again. This continued for several minutes with her laughing and laughing. I was almost in tears I was laughing so hard at her laughing!

We had the opportunity to spend the first weekend in May in Palm Desert. Daddy was attending a Toastmasters Convention, so Miss A and I had Saturday to ourselves. During that time, Alexandra had a play date with Lisa, whose mom is part of my after loss group. It was fun to catch up with Chelsea and see Alexandra and Lisa play together.

This month we also celebrated Mother's Day in Redondo Beach. Alexandra's uncles Alex and Fernando came all the way from Hong Kong. Also at brunch were Grandma Sara, Grantie Lorel and Great Uncle David. Grandma Janet was traveling in Asia for a school accreditation, but we spoke with her on the phone.

As a teacher, Sea World gave me a free pass for the year. So Miss Alexandra and I went for a couple of hours. Daddy dropped us off and went shopping. We started out in the Wild Arctic display, but the polar bears were on loan to another zoo. We will be going back to visit them another time as Miss A loves polar bear stuffed animals. Next we saw the walrus. At first she was intrigued, but then decided he was just too big and got vocal when he would swim nearby. The penguins were interesting, but the puffins were definitely her favorite! She was in my arms at the time so that she could see and started kicking her legs when she saw them paddling their feet! It was adorable!!! We also visited the sea turtles and fish, the sea lions (whom she was not at all interested in) and the dolphins. We will be going back once I am out for summer vacation. Here are a couple more fun photos from that day. After Sea World, we all went to Coronado for dinner and Alexandra's first visit to the Hotel Del. And we should mention that she loved the MooTime Ice Cream!

Here are some fun pictures from Month #14!

13 Months and a Few Weeks

I planned on doing this blog update on Easter, which was exactly 400 days since Alexandra was born, but time slipped away from me. I wrote this weeks ago, but now here we are one week from 14 months and I am finally ready to post it. There is a lot to report since Alexandra's last update on her 1st birthday, but I will save some for next week. Here is what happened during her 13th month.

Alexandra loves climbing up the stairs. If left to herself, she would spend all of her time doing this, but it is quite tiring for the adults to chase after her. She is very comfortable walking now, although she still falls often. The first time that I put shoes on her, she cried and cried. Soon she became comfortable with them and now puts out her foot to help me put them on her. She has really cute sandals that she wears most of the time.

We had quite a few nights where we were up with her a few times a night, but that was because several teeth were coming in at once. Alexandra now has 8 total and is back to sleeping well most nights.

Alexandra earned the first stamp in her passport on March 28th when we arrived in Cancun, Mexico. We spent a week at the Westin Lagunamar in a great room that overlooked the pool and ocean. She enjoyed being able to look out the window at the view. Her favorite activity was definitely swimming, which she got to do every day but one. She really had picked up a lot at the swim lessons and would kick a lot when we tried to get her to float on her back. She also was really good with getting her face wet and even started using her arms to swim.

One of her favorites was the fountain in the lobby of our resort. Every time we would walk by it, she would get excited. She really liked being able to reach out and touch the water. It became a daily activity for her.

While in Mexico, Alexandra discovered that she likes bread. At a couple of different restaurants we gave her a small slice of bread which she ate. In addition, she loved re-fried beans! She is not really into finger foods yet, but has sampled string cheese, pasta, cucumber and melon. We give her little samples for her to try, but she still really likes her purees! In Mexico, we were able to expose her to lots of tropical juices including mango, which she really liked. She seems to like all juices. However, when we got home, I bought some pineapple, orange, guava juice which she refused to drink. Both daddy and I thought it was wonderful. And yet she drinks prune juice. She can be a silly girl sometimes!

We ate at Hooters a couple of times. And even though I am not normally a fan, I have to admit the food was good and the service was very good. The second time was for lunch and one of the waitresses was Alejandra. She was quite excited to meet Alexandra (whom we had been calling Alejandra all week) and not only took photos with her, but let her wear her name tag. It was very cute. All of the wait staff oohed and aahed over her. She was quite the center of attention!

Here are more photos from Mexico:

Alexandra attended her first Easter Egg Hunt when my mom's neighbors hosted one for all the kids on the cul-de-sac. She loved the eggs with money in them more than candy because of the noise they made when she shook them. She mostly seemed to enjoy watching the other kids. When we got home, I put cheerios inside them and now it is fun to shake them. She loves to grab them all out of the basket!

That is all I can remember from month 13. I promise to be more timely in the month 14 update! Here are more photos from this month:

Week Forty Eight

Alexandra celebrated her first Valentine's Day this week. It was the last of her 1st holidays. It has been fun to share and document her 1st holidays over the past year.

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

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!

Weeks Thirty Six and Thirty Seven

I am a whole week behind and then some behind!  I guess that is what happens when we are busy having fun! So I will do my best to recap the last two weeks. So much has happened and Alexandra is already another 1/2 month closer to one!

Highlights of Week Thirty Six:

• Alexandra stood for the first time in her crib! She was so proud of herself. Now she is pulling herself up all the time and even starting to cruise on the furniture!
• She had meat for the first time (pureed). Alexandra likes both turkey and chicken. She loves the chicken with apples! 

A Trip to Reno (Part of Both Weeks):

• Alexandra, Grandma Janet and I went to Reno to visit my Uncle Bob and Aunt Sarah. What a great time we had. Alexandra not only earned her 5th state (10% already at just 8 months), but she also met two Labrador retrievers and played (well more like tried to crawl in) the snow! While in Reno, we weighed her and she is 17.4 pounds! 

Highlights of Week Thirty Seven:

• Mommy was off all week which meant lots of quality girl time! Daddy had Thursday and Friday off so Alexandra got more time with him as well. 
• This week she celebrated her first Thanksgiving by sleeping through dinner! Yep, a two hour long nap right before dinner meant she missed it all. She did get pureed turkey, sweet potato and grains. We gave her a taste of cranberry and a taste of pumpkin. She did not seem interested in either.
• Alexandra went shopping with mommy and daddy on Black Friday. Don't worry, we did not even start out until 9 AM! She was a trooper and thankfully we did not really have any lines to wait in or big crowds since everyone else seemed to shop on Thanksgiving (which we refused to do).

Eight Months & Week Thirty Five

Dear Loyal Readers,

Eight months just sounds so much older than seven months! It has been a very exciting month for this little girl. I celebrated my first Halloween, went to the pumpkin patch and learned more new things. I smile all the time, but just did not want to for my official 8 month photos. Finally, mommy was able to catch these:

Halloween was an interesting event. I went as Minnie Mouse and only "trick or treated" at one house (our neighbors Rick & Tina). They gave me an unwrapped sucker to play with. It was fun to chew on the paper. Then all these strange people kept ringing our doorbell and mommy would give them candy. She gave me the empty candy bag and I had so much fun with it. It made some really cool noises.

We visited the pumpkin patch this month and it was such fun. At first I did not know why I was sitting among all of these strange shaped objects, but then I decided it was okay and gave mommy and Grandma Janet lots of smiles so they could take my picture. They even gave me a short ride in a wagon. What fun!

Pictures of Halloween and the pumpkin patch were on previous blog posts, so please go check them out if you missed them!

I still love my toys, but mommy and daddy have so many fun things that I want to play with. My favorites are restaurant menus (which taste so good), TV remote controls, phones and water bottles. Mommy did just get me my very own remote control that plays music and will help me learn the purpose of a remote control. It is so much fun, but I still like the real thing. Tonight we are going to Chili's for dinner to celebrate my 2/3rds birthday! I am sure there will be a fun menu to chew on!

Look at me sitting up in my crib in this picture at the right. Mommy just caught me doing it for the first time a few minutes ago. She has never seen me do it before! I am also working hard on trying to stand up by myself and am getting much better at crawling! What a big girl I am!

I am learning Spanish. Miss Marivel has taught me so many words in Spanish and even mommy speaks Spanish to me sometimes. I am excited to become bilingual! My favorite word is "leche," which means milk! But I am learning all sorts of other words. I gave Marivel a hug the other day because she takes such good care of me while mommy and daddy are at work!

I am now wearing 6-9 month clothes. Some of them are huge on me so I have to wear pants over the onesies to make them comfortable. It is fun to transition to new clothes. I can still wear the 3-6 months, but mommy says its time to outgrow them since I have been wearing that size since July!

A funny story from tonight. Mommy was trying to change my diaper in preparation for bed and she decided to do it on the floor since I had been wiggly earlier. Well, I thought it was far more fun to roll around than to get a diaper. Mommy had to get daddy to hold me down in order to get the diaper on. All three of us were laughing!

Mommy entered my photo in the Gerber Photo Contest. Please vote for me! You can vote for me every day at https://www.facebook.com/Gerber?sk=app_586462271392312&app_data=234200 Thanks! Speaking of photos, we took some professional pictures at the end of October and mommy forgot to post them, so here are a couple of my favorites!



Since mommy usually does her weekly update on Saturday, she asked me to include some stories from this week. Last weekend we went to Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach and spent time with Grandma Sara. We had a great time seeing grandma's new apartment. With no furniture I was free to crawl almost anywhere I wanted. We also went out to eat several times. I love to people watch. I usually stare at the waitress or waiter for a long time. A walk on the pier and boardwalk was fun. When we were walking into the sun, mommy put the shade down and it was hard for me to see so I used my feet to kick it up just enough to see out, but still be out of the sun. The crib that I had to sleep in had bars and was smaller than my crib. It was "baby jail." On Monday, I went over to Grandma Janet's and got to sit in the new high chair she got for me. I decided it would be fun to put my feet on the table since it was there.

Here are some pictures from this week:

Well, that is all for now. I will see you on December 16th and will be able to update you on my 1st Thanksgiving. I am so excited. Mommy says I can try meats now that I am 8 months old and that means turkey!!!

Love,
Alexandra

Week Thirty Three

You know you have an infant when it takes you 30 minutes to read and grade one essay since you have to keep moving the little one from crawling into harms way! That is how my evening has been and why I am behind on my blog this week. But here it is...

Lens caps and water bottles, remote controls and telephones, restaurant menus and computer keyboards.....these are a few of her favorite things! Yes, Alexandra has become quite interested in electronics and other everyday gadgets. She still plays with her toys, but the items listed above get her attention quickly if they are visible.
Alexandra had fun crawling around on Grandma Janet's new carpet, before all the furniture was placed. She got a good workout going after mommy's water bottle!

Alexandra has decided she is okay with green beans after all. Marivel fed them to her this week and there was no crying. She definitely has her favorite foods. After eating peaches this morning, she licked her lips to make sure she got all the surrounding peaches into her mouth as well. It was quite cute to see!


This was quite a week for Alexandra as she celebrated her 1st Halloween. She wore a Minnie Mouse outfit and was as cute as can be. She was not interested in candy, but in the bag containing the candy because it made some fun noises. The only place she visited as a trick or treater was our neighbor's house (Rick & Tina) so she could show off her costume. She seemed quite intrigued by all the people who came to the house.

On Friday, we went to Irvine so she could have dinner with her Grantie Lorel, Great Uncle David and Grandma Sara. Both grandmas were there so it was another "Two Grandma Weekend." This morning we all had breakfast together before Grandma Sara got on the road back to Arizona. Alexandra will be seeing a lot more of both grandmas now that Grandma Janet lives 5 minutes away and Grandma Sara is moving to California (Redondo Beach)!

Here is a cute picture of Alexandra hanging out at Grandma Janet's:

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Alexandra!!

Week Sixteen

What a week of firsts this was for Alexandra and she did well with all of them! In addition, she added state number 3 - Colorado. It was only fitting that we go there during this time because it was exactly one year ago when we found out she was on the way (on July 1, 2012 in Breckenridge, CO)!

About Alexandra: Alexandra had a very busy week with many new things. She has her 3 month shots on Monday, so I will be able to update her stats next week. I believe she is about 12.5 pounds right now. She does not seem to be bothered at all by being passed from person to person. Everyone in the family wants to hold her so we are constantly playing "Pass the Baby" at family gatherings!

Sleeping is one of her greatest strengths. She is consistently now at 9 hours each night which mommy and daddy greatly appreciate. During the day though, she is not a big napper. We are lucky to get one good nap in. She does better sleeping in the car during the day than at home. Yesterday, she fell asleep on my shoulder after a bottle. She was snoring! But as soon as I put her in the pack n play, she was wide awake!

She is also a really good eater. One funny trait that she has is that when she finishes a bottle, she almost always cries for a few seconds when I take it out of her mouth. Then she calms right down. It is funny!

What's New: Alexandra had her first airplane flight last Saturday. It was a two hour flight to Denver. She alternated between my lap and Dave's. After a bottle right when we took off, she fell asleep and slept the entire flight! Then when we arrived at the airport, she had to ride a subway-type train between the terminals and then a bus to the car rental. Three transportation firsts in one day! Here she is sleeping through her first flight:

On Monday, Alexandra had her first college visit to University of Colorado, Boulder. It was just a trip to the bookstore and student union so no we are not getting ahead of ourselves! Mommy wanted a t-shirt to wear for College Wednesdays at school.

Alexandra celebrated her first Independence Day. We went to breakfast with a huge group of family members before heading to the airport, with stops at the Air Force Academy and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. On the flight home, there were about 100 empty seats, so Alexandra got her own right next to the window. She was very good, even sleeping a little bit of the flight.

Visitors: Alexandra met several people this week. Sunday and Monday both were packed with people to see! On Sunday morning, we met Annie and her two girls (Kate and Ella) out for lunch. Then we went to her parents house. Ella was so excited to hold Alexandra!

Then for dinner we went to see family. Alexandra not only met her 1st cousins once removed (Scott and Sarah) and her second cousin (Carter), but lots of other extended family at this BBQ. This included Tori and many of Great Aunt Ann's siblings. As an added bonus, Grantie Lorel and Great Uncle David were there as well. Carter loves his little cousin. He let her hold his lion blankie which is a BIG deal! She got lots of hugs and kisses from him.

On Monday, we met a girl I know from the Parenting After Loss and March 2013 Mom boards on The Bump. Her name is Dana and she has two girls: Samantha (4 years old) and Emma (born March 21st). We had lunch and ice cream in Boulder.

Monday night we went to dinner at the home of Paula & Jeff (a college friend of Dave's). It was a great night for an outdoor BBQ and Alexandra enjoyed it!

Wednesday, we drove down to San Isabel and the cabin of Great Aunt Ann and Great Uncle Tom. It was their first time meeting our little girl. Ann has said we could call her Grantie, but neither Tom nor David want to be called Gruncle! She also got to meet another 1st cousin once removed, Brian, who flew in from Boston. Grandma Sara also had come out from Phoenix and Alexandra got lots of quality time with her!We spent that night and the next morning hanging out with the family before heading home. Here is our whole group on the 4th of July!

Photos: Here is Alexandra at 16 weeks.

There are plenty more great photos from this week, but too many to add to the blog. You can see all of our Colorado photos at: share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AasWbZi2cNGLdyg

Three Months & a Happy Father's Day

Hello Readers,

Its me, Alexandra, writing to you again. Has it already been a month since I last wrote to you? Wow, time does fly when you are having fun. Instead of doing her weekly blog post, mommy left it up to me to update you all on this weeks events. I am no longer a "newborn, " but officially became an "infant" this week!

This has been a busy weekend for me. I got my 2nd state when we arrived in Arizona on Friday afternoon, I met a ton of people yesterday at a meet & greet held in my honor and today I turn 3 months old and it is daddy's 1st Father's Day!

Yesterday we had a party at Grandma Sara's house so that many of the people that she and daddy know could see me all in one place. I met tons of people, including both my uncles (Alex and Paul) and 2 cousins (Kai and Jacob). It really wore me out to socialize with so many people so I was a little cranky. As I said last month, it is hard work being cute and adorable!

Today is Father's Day so we went to breakfast with my grandpa and his wife, Kathy. I got a bunch of Disney books from them and can't wait for mommy to read them to me. Kathy let me sit in her lap and I enjoyed that and being able to look at everyone and all the things in the restaurant. It was nice to meet her and see my grandpa again!

Daddy's friends Dan and Christine came over with their 4 year old Nicolette. She colored a few pictures for me. I can't wait until I am old enough to color!

Now on to the monthly update from me. There is lots to share as I am learning and experiencing so much each day!

I love to sleep. I think I get that from mommy because she also loves to sleep. Mommy and daddy are thrilled that I sleep through the night. Most nights I go to bed at 9:30 and sleep until around 6:00. A couple of times it has been closer to 7:00. Apparently 8 hours at night is unusual for a baby my age, but I don't hear anyone complaining! Sometimes I sleep even more than 8 hours. All of the excitement of meeting people on Saturday wore me out to the point that I slept 11 hours last night! I probably could have slept longer if we had not had to go to breakfast. Mommy says that I smile a lot in my sleep so I must have happy dreams.

I have really started cooing and talking with mommy. She often tries to imitate me and I think it is so cute that she is trying so hard to speak baby! I also have long conversations with Grandma Janet when she visits.

One of my favorite things is taking a bath. Even when I am tired and fussy, a bath cheers me right up. I have this cool flower shaped tub that gets put in the sink. It is nice and soft for me to sit on. Mommy has promised to take me swimming in a pool soon.

As you already know, I have more clothes than I know what to do with....and I acquired more this weekend! Now that I am 3 months old, mommy has added some of the smaller 3-6 month clothes to my rotation. Most of the clothes are way too big, but a few fit me just fine. There is a huge bag full of 3-6 months clothes just waiting to go in the drawer when I outgrow the 0-3. I am on the petite side weight-wise so I think I will wear them for at least another month. Unless of course I have a big growth spurt. I am almost 24 inches long so will outgrow them lengthwise before I meet the maximum weight!

Mommy introduced me to apple juice and I love it. The doctor told her to start giving me a half apple juice, half water mixture to help with my digestion. At first we tried water only, but I did not like that very much. I love the apple juice though. I get 2 ounces twice a day and it is such a treat! In another month, I might get to start to try real foods like applesauce! Speaking of food, I always have to wear a bib when I eat. I prefer to wear it backwards as a cape!

Mommy took me to school last month one day to meet some of her co-workers. I slept through the entire experience, but here is a picture of me on her desk in her classroom. I opened my eyes just this one time!

My official three month photos will be taken when we get home, you know the ones with the bear and in the laundry basket that we take each month. But for now, here are some cute photos from this week. By the way, daddy thinks mommy takes too many pictures of me and calls her the "mama-ratzi." But I like having my photos taken and I know my adoring fans demand lots of photos.

I am getting very sleepy and so I am going to take a nap now. I will let daddy finish this post with a few thoughts.

Until next month,
Alexandra

From Daddy:

Hi! Daddy here.  Today is my first Father’s Day with my daughter, Alexandra, whose blog all of you have been faithfully following. Alexandra has changed my life in ways that I had not ever thought of.  I can’t believe how sweet she is (98% of the time!) and what a personality she already has at the ripe old age of 3 months.  90 days.  It goes so fast!! I know that this is just the beginning of a long journey, and one that I am looking forward to, more and more each day that goes by.  It won’t be long until she is crawling...walking...going to school...driving...dating...OK, let’s just stop right there.  I have a few more Father’s Day’s to look forward to (survive??) until I need to worry about some of those ‘D’ words!  For now, I am just very lucky to have a daughter of my own, and today is that day that I can just savor the moment, and look forward to all of what life has in store for me now that I’ve earned the honor of being called ‘Dad’.  It reminds me how lucky I am that my own father, and my step-father (whom I lost this year) were such positive role models in my life.  I hope that I can live up to their examples!  Lots of Love for my ‘Lady A’!

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

Easter

Alexandra's first Easter was spent with lots of family members including both grandmas and her Grantie Lorel and Great Uncle David. The Easter Bunny brought her a bunny rattle and some books. Grandma Janet gave her a musical device that attaches to her crib. So far she seems to love it and music in general. Grantie Lorel gave her a white bunny and some clothes. She also got a purple bunny from a friend of Lorel's.