Alexander is 1!!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday Alexander! Happy Birthday to you!

Since we last blogged, lots of fun and exciting things have happened! Alexander is enjoying trying all kinds of foods now! He will eat just about anything! It is very nice to go out and not have to worry about bottles and formula, but more so what can we order for him. Daddy took him out the day before his birthday and they ordered his first happy meal! Alexander ate 1/2 the hamburger while Daddy ate all his fries! We have started giving him his bottles of formula in sippy cup to hopefully get rid of the bottle for good. That has been tough...only for mommy! We will stick with the formula for morning and night time bottles for now, but he is getting whole milk during the day.

We have started transitioning into the "Big Boy" Toddler classroom at school. Thankfully we have a full week of transitioning next week as well. I know he will do great, just a big change for ALL of us!

Daddy took Alexander to the zoo last weekend while Mommy had a girls weekend away! He loved seeing all the animals and I can't wait to go back with them!!

We have a new addition to our family. On July 10th, we welcomed Ariana Ryan Baker, Alexander's new cousin! Auntie Toni had her baby girl and she is beautiful. The only picture I have is from Alexander's birthday party....

She is sleeping and has NO clue!

Alexander is not too sure what to think. He likes her, wants her paci but surely doesn't like Mommy or Daddy holding her and not him! We are definitely not ready for siblings! :-) I know they will grow up to be just as close as Mommy & Auntie Toni are and they will have a blast together!

Speaking of birthdays....Alexander turned 1 on Friday!! I know...they grow up sooo fast, but celebrating his birthday has put that in perspective. A WHOLE year has past. He is no longer my baby. He is now my little boy! He has not yet took his first step, but I know it is just around the corner! Before I know it, I will be chasing him out the door to wish him luck before prom night! :-)

Alexander, Mommy & Daddy had a wonderful day spending time together on his birthday! We went shopping, got his very first haircut, had 1 year pictures taken and had Mexican for dinner to end the night! Here are some pictures from our day....

Pre-Haircut, playing in the lobby before our wonderful neighbor who owns her own Salon, Sharper Edge in Holly Springs, cut just a few of his curls off!

Surprisingly, Alexander did very well! He only fussed one time and held very still. Neither of us had the heart to cut off his curls off, as that is what makes "Alexander, Alexander". So, we just had a trim!

After we had pictures made, we went and rode the rides in the mall! Alexander loved the car, airplane, Clifford and Bob the Builder!

Saturday was THE BIG DAY! Party time!! We had a cook out pool party at Nanas and he had a blast! He is such a trooper...or should I say Energizer Bunny! With a very little nap in the AM, he just kept going, keeping people laughing and himself smiling all the way! Daddy was a wonderful "Master of The Grill" while Nana, Great Grandma Sally and Aunt Shirley did all the sides. Food was yummy and spending time with friends and family was awesome! Alexander loved all the attention! He completely devoured his cupcake and Boy! Talk about a mess! Good thing we had the pool to wash him off in! I really thought Alexander would enjoy tearing opening our gifts and he did until he opened the gift with the "Happy Birthday" Balloon and blue monkey ball! Then it was all over! That was all he wanted! So, Mommy & Daddy opened up the rest of the gifts. THANK YOU to all our friends a family that shared this special day! We all thoroughly enjoyed it!

Cupcake "Cake"--Look closely it says "Happy 1st Birthday Alexander!"

Taking time out to swim with Papa

The Girls hanging out by the pool

Fun in the pool!
Loving my Rody! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!
Everyone is singing and Alexander is making his wish! Hope all your wishes come true!!

Just getting a taste of the icing!

Really starting to like this!

"Here Daddy, you can have some!"

YUM!

"So ready to have my hands cleaned!"

The ball and balloon...that's all she wrote!

The one & only time he would wear a birthday hat!

Playing with Jae & Isaac while Mommy & Daddy open his gifts!

Tearing down the streamers...Time to go, folks!

"Is my party really over??"

The BIG 1-year birthday is done! A very HAPPY and sad day for Mommy and Daddy! Our VERY tired little boy is having very sweet sweet dreams as I update the blog! Only to wake up and spend the day playing in his new sandbox that Nana & Papa bought him! I know he can't wait!!

Now, here we are.... onto BIG things as a BIG 1-year old!!~

11 months old

Busy, Busy, as a bee---that is what we have been! I just realized that it has been nearly 2 months since I blogged and there is so much to blog about! I was able to celebrate my very 1st Mothers Day with my little man and that was so nice. Now we are getting ready to do Fathers Day. I know Eric has a whole day planned, just him and his little guy!

Alexander is just about 11 months old and so much has changed in his little world in just 2 months! I cannot believe I am preparing to plan his 1 year old birthday party! Time flies!!

He is babbling up a storm! He says "ba-bah" for bye-bye and will wave. He stopped doing the cute little baby wave backwards and now just throws his hand up at you like his daddy does. I listen closely as he babbles to see if I can make out any other real words. I still cannot get him to say mama or dada. Each time I try, he laughs and ignores me! His new word today is "pu-peee" for puppy. That is what I call both of our dogs and he has been trying the pu pu pu sound for a little while. This AM, I had him on the changing table and one of the dogs walked in his room, he pulled out his paci and said "pu-pee" just as loud and clear as day! I know one day he will be talking up a storm!!

Alexander is much more mobile now! Probably why mommy and daddy stay so busy! He is crawling all over the place. Pulling up on everything, walking around holding on the furniture and your fingers! He loves walking! He is even testing my nerves by trying the stairs!!

We definitely have a performer on our hands! Anytime he hears music, whether it is a commercial on TV, music on the ipod or one of his toys singing "ABCs" he is dancing and singing right along!

He went swimming for the first time 2 weeks ago! The pool was quite cold, but mommy braved the cold waters with him. He loves the bath so much now, I knew he would look at the pool as a big ole' bathtub, and he did! He loves to float in his cool floats, splash and play with papa!

He finally has 3 teeth!! Once one came in, they all 3 came in back to back! So, now he can chew a little bit better! He eats everything! I mean everything he can get his hands on! His favorites right now are macaroni and cheese and cheerios. We have tried meats now, he is surely not crazy about them but will eat them. Trust me, if he doesn't like it, out it comes! He is getting very independent with wanting to feed himself. Some things we just let him go at it and he thinks he is so grown picking up his food, cramming it in his mouth. Some things, mommy and daddy still have spoon control! :-)

Health wise, we have been better. After being sick with a tummy bug and battling 2 ear infections back to back, we went to see a ENT doctor to have Alexander evaluated for tubes. Daddy is not a fan, so we are holding off through the summer. Next ear infection he gets, the ENT will take a look and see how bad his ears get once infected. So far, so good. He plays with his ears constantly, but we're holding out!

The next month comes with very big things...

We are all looking forward to Alexander's cousin's arrival. Auntie Toni is due in 3 weeks and we can't wait! We had her baby shower 2 weeks ago, so Alexander was able to see his Great Grandma Joyce and other wonderful family! Here are some pictures of that.

Also in the next month, preparing for Alexander's move up to the toddler room at daycare, we have lots of changes to be made. We are all very sad to leave the infant room as we love his teachers, but it is obvious he is a big boy now, no longer a baby when we see the other small babies that just started at the center. When he moves up right after his birthday, he will be in the toddler room. There, they no longer drink formula from bottles. So, we are weaning him off his formula onto whole milk and trying to get him to take it from a sippy cup instead of his bottle. That also means, adjusting his feeding schedule to not needing those 2 bottles in the middle of the day! So, we are obviously offering more "big boy food" and snacks to keep him full. In the toddler room, they also sleep on cots, no longer in a crib! Can't wait to see how they keep him on a cot! No more swaddling--he does great at daycare with this, not so much at home. He is doing well adjusting to less time with his pacifier. They put it away after he settles from arrival and then he doesn't have it again until naptime. Once nap is over, it is put away until we pick him up. When we pull it out of the bag, he acts as if he just found his long lost friend, but they say he does really well without it most days.

We have yet to travel down to the beach this summer but can't wait to do so. Dying to see his reaction to all the sand and water! Until next time--

9 Months Old!

Wow, this month has flown by and Alexander has been busy as a bee! He is so mobile now, it is scary! He loves to hold on to your fingers and walk around! He can crawl and definitely gets moving when there is something he wants! He loves pulling up on stuff and walking while holding onto furniture. I know, I know, It is not too long before he will be walking around the house on his own. When he wakes up at night, instead of laying there waiting for us to come get him, he is sitting up, tapping his knees begging us to come get him! He has started a habit of waking back up at 3am...hopefully this is just a phase!!!

Alexander enjoyed a surprise visit from his Uncle Billy, from NY! It was quick, but always a joy!!

We are finally healthy...just fighting allergies! Alexander battled pneumonia at the beginning of the month. Yes, even that was scary for a mom that is a nurse! It is so different when it is your child! After 5 days on steroids, breathing treatments and 10 days of antibiotic, he was back to his normal self!

(Enjoying the sun in papa's lawn tractor!)

It is so nice listening to him babble. And of course, we know exactly what he is saying. He will say "bye-bye" and wave as we go. He hasn't said "mama or dada" and as soon as we start "practicing" it, he sticks his pacifier in his mouth! For now, we will just enjoy the excitement he shows when one of us walks in the room.

He is starting to like his walker that Nana bought him. Loves standing at the back door and watching the outdoors. Not sure what is so fascinating...isn't it nice to just enjoy the little things! Still enjoys his music table & motor cycle. He is becoming less and less fond of his exersaucer as that is stationary and he doesn't like sitting still very long!

Alexander still loves to eat! We are enjoying trying different fruits. He loves peaches, pears, blueberries, bananas, mangoes, yogurt and so much more! We even enjoy things that are sweet, and probably shouldn't have -- nilla wafers, ice cream....and the list goes on! We are still waiting on teeth so we can explore more!

With the nice weather, we have visited the park a few times. We let Alexander experience sand for the 1st time, against Daddy's wishes! He liked it at first, but then realized it was "yucky".

For Easter, the Easter bunny brought Alexander a gigantic stuffed animal duck, a couple toys and books. He enjoyed them all, but wasn't very fond of the Easter grass! I think he will be like his Daddy, and not want to get dirty!

We have our 9 month check up coming up in a couple weeks. Will love to see how much he has really grown!

Alexander gets to meet our God-son this weekend--Nathan. Should be a blast and can't wait to post more pictures!!

More later--

Am I Cute or What?

Here are just a few pictures of our little man hanging out, playing.

He loves to stand and bounce!

Isn't much a fan of his sunglasses....he likes to chew on them though!

Still trying to crawl, if he is determined enough, he will get to it, one way or another!

We tried playing with bubbles! This was fun for a few minutes until he got really frustrated when the bubbles kept popping and he couldn't "hold" them!

I knew the day would come that he would be "on the go" all the time. My sweet boy is very much a busy body....He wants "up", then down. He wants to crawl, then be held. He wants to hold your hand and walk. He wants you to play with him, by his side. Don't dare think you are going to go do something else, while he plays in the floor. :-) Even as much of a busy body that he is, he still likes to have the occasional cuddle. Here he is with Auntie Toni...boy does he love her!

Everyone always says "the time goes by so fast!" And boy, does it ever!! I can't believe how "grown up" Alexander already is. He has such a personality. He lets you know what he wants, when he wants it. He holds his arms out for you to pick him up. Gives the best kisses (drool and all!). He can even say bye-bye and wave. I don't think Eric and I ever realized the joy we were missing out on until we had Alexander. We are SO in love with our little man!