Baby #2

On May 15th, 2011

Alex will be a brother!

After a long 11 months we have another baby who will join us in 9 months.

I had my ultrasound today and its heartbeat is 139 bpm.

Some Vids

Alex seems to be a very accurate thrower.


Before he jumps off the couch, he says, "TO Infinity and Beyond".


And this is why the videos are becoming few and far between. I have to sneak them and once he sees me recording, he demands to see the footage.

speaking of this boy

Alex has been wreaking havoc on the dog. He "hugs" him, which really is a choke hold. He pets him nicely, which really is a beat down. The dog walks in circles to try to get away from Alex.

At 6:15 this morning the dog is scratching at Alex's door. Why? If someone tortured me that much I'd want as much quiet time as possible. Not our dog.

this boy

He was throwing a ping pong type ball at the dog's head. I asked Alex to give me the ball. He said no. He walks away, I hear it being thrown into the sink then Alex says, "Ball all gone."

When left to his own devices...

I knew he was just too quiet for too long.

a creative breakfast

Lately when Alex wakes up he comes in our bed. This morning he did that at 8am- which is nice and late- but Patrick and I weren't ready to get out of bed. Alex got out and found something nice and quiet to do. A little while after Alex left our room and there was a long uncomfortable silence, I decided to get out of bed to see what he was up to.

The pantry door was open. Remnants of leftover cake wrapped in foil and some rotten strawberries were on the floor. Alex took them out of the trash can. I do not know if he ate any strawberries but I know he ate some icing because it was all over the floor. He just helped himself to a nice, trashy breakfast.

I guess from now on we have to close the pantry door (it already has a childproof handle cover).

workout pt. 2

We're starting to workout and Alex decided to join us

2.5 year old pictures

All pictures from the session are here (CLICK ME)




http://www.doubletakesphotography.com/

Timeout

The cutest thing just happened.

For almost 2 hours, Alex's dinner has been at the table. He's been playing with his trains. Patrick and I have tried to get him to eat. He's said "NO". We've asked him about every 20 minutes for two hours and it's been "NO!"

Just as Alex was rearing back to throw a pillow at Oreo, Patrick told him not to. Alex did it so he was told he needed to go to timeout. Do you know where Alex ran??? He ran into his dinner seat and tried to start eating.

He tried to drink and eat and Patrick took him out of his chair and made him serve his timeout. When timeout was over he had to apologize to Oreo, so he crept over there, bent down and said in the sweetest voice, "I sawy Oh-we-o." Now he's eating. So all it took was a timeout. What are we missing? Oh yeah, we're not 2 1/2.

Mommy had surgery

I got sinus surgery done on the 7th. It's now the 10th and I'm pretty much pain-free. My pain really was from the packing because as soon as that was removed I was relieved.

I cannot lift things that are heavy....mainly Alex. Today he was in his room and I could tell he just climbed on top of his dresser, which also has his changing pad. I went in there to wonder how I would get him down and lo and behold, he had poop. I suppose he knew he needed to be up there anyway. So I changed his diaper then he asked for a bath.


He also pushed his bed from the wall while Patrick was out so I had to leave that too.

I'm so glad he is able to understand and follow through with directions. I laid down on the couch recliner and the tv remote fell between through to the floor. I already had the legs kicked up and told Alex to get the remote for me. "OKAY", he said, then headed down to get the remote. He did a good job!

Some videos for your viewing pleasure

we have some reading, crying, bubbles, and dog food!

Rash Update

see...told you I'd forget

It's a contact allergy to fertilizer used in our yard. His arms are still bumpy but he is not itching them. The dr bumped up Alex's allergy meds to 1 tsp xyzal a day rather than 1/2 tsp. Also rx'd him some cortisone cream mixed with lubriderm.

A rash?

Sunday, Patrick took Alex outside to play in the sprinkler. Shortly after I noticed a rash all over him. It was like a gazillion bumps...flesh colored...on his arms, legs, and face. He wasn't itching or acting abnormally so I didn't give him anything or call the pedi. We also have an appointment Tuesday for a "well" visit due to our visit 2 weeks ago where he had a really bad yeast thing going on "down there". The doctor also rx'd some antibiotics for his congestion, so that's why we need to go back. I figure while we're there just let her see this new rash thing going on.

I hope he's not allergic to grass. He's played outside tons before...they go outside daily at daycare.

Oh, and he's wearing his 2nd bandaid ever. His first bandaid was put on the other day. He scraped his arm really good and the scab keeps falling off (or he's picking it). So, he's wearing a Toy Story bandaid.

I'll post tomorrow about what the dr says about his rash.

random videos

Fearless!

So some of you may have heard/remembered me talking about this goose sound that was happening when I tried to go to sleep. One night Patrick had to make a cell phone call outside because Verizon service sucks in our house and he called me outside to see what was causing it. I tried to keep the video on him because Patrick said he heard the noise then turned around and the frog had a gigantic bubble in his throat. I wanted to catch it but didn't. Anyway, here's the frog. And to all you city people....listen to all the crickets and crap in the background.



For this video, he was talking and kicking the wall a lot so I decided to try to capture some of the magic. He was in his bed for a good 30 minutes before I took the video.

Told you Granny

Over the weekend, Alex ate his spaghetti that Granny made at Granny's house. I told her that I know he won't eat it at my house. I took video to prove this phenomenon.

ENJOY! We did.

The first video is a close-up and I wish I had remembered to make the other one close-up. Oh well!

And I love how he holds his hand over his eyes.

Alex's Movie-going Experience

So, we braved the theater. We saw Toy Story 3 this morning. Alex has watched Toy Story and Toy Story 2 for several months now so we figured he'd be primed and pumped for a new Toy Story.

We get into the theater minutes before previews start to come on and we sit on the right hand side right behind the wall for the walkway. Once we get seated, Alex seemed content. The previews started and he kept saying, "Buzz, Me Stories", which is his phrase for Toy Story. He loved the preview for the owl movie coming out and he thought some things were funny in the Despicable Me preview.

The movie got started and he got excited. I guess he was pretty content for the first 30 minutes- which is EXCELLENT! (his behavior, and the movie)- and then he got fidgety. Thankfully we did have that half wall in front of us so he could stand and walk a little bit. So glad people weren't in front of us. I also packed massive amounts of food just in case. Turns out, we needed massive amounts of food. Alex kept trying to get out of our aisle and onto the fun, lighted stairs. I kept him barricaded in with my leg. A Capri Sun caught his attention and he drank that. Then he had some fruit snacks. For a little while he was content then he wanted more fruit snacks. A little later I gave him some graham cracker cookies.

For a very rambunctious 2 year old, Alex did a very good job. He didn't want to sit in our laps (there were no 3 seats in a row available when we arrived) toward the end so he just danced and walked in our little area.

Also, glad that there were other loud, crying babies because it made Alex not stand out as much. :)

As for the movie....it was so cute! I love some of the one-liners they use.

and more

Playdate with Kylee and Friends

Time for some pictures

seems I've been slacking in that department






At the aquarium with Woody

SHHHHHHHH

So, Patrick and I were in the kitchen and the tv was on in the living room. I had already put Alex to bed and I told him that if he came out of the room I would close the door. All of a sudden we hear "SHHHHH". We think Alex was shushing us because the TV was to loud.

He counted on his own!

We were playing with play-doh and letter cut-outs and he stacked all of his letters on the play-doh. As he was taking the letters off he counted up to 8. He did it in order and correct! It was a pleasant surprise. He's always counted with us but he's never counted something out by himself! I wish I had taped it.

He got us!

For about a week now our new DVR remote control has been missing. I know I saw Alex with it last and Patrick and I searched his room and the entire house. We labeled the two remotes we had (Alex BR and Our BR) and just decided it was gone forever. Today Patrick brought home Alex's bed rails so we could make his bed a real bed with head board and foot board. As we lifted the mattress off of the box spring, we see the DVR remote. How did he get that in there? Never underestimate the brainpower of a 2 year old.

It is official, Alex is a Ninja

Within the past 2 weeks he's started to go to sleep on his own. I just heard a rustling noise and looked over toward his room didn't see anything so started playing back on the computer. Then I hear his train whistle...which is in the playroom. I go in there and he's on the train. I turn the light on and he laughs and floors the gas and takes off on his train (it's on a track so he just went in a circle).

I did not hear him go in there...the sneaky little thing.

New Video

In this video, he played at a playplace with Granny for most of the afternoon. She brought him home tired but he never took a nap.

He is watching Toy Story in this video. I think he is saying "Reach for the Sky".

Nighty Night, Sleep Tight

On May 25th Patrick and I had it with Alex needing us to be in bed with him for him to go to sleep.

From the 26th on, we tried to get him to go to sleep without us. The 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, were quite miserable nights. Alex would run in and out of his room until we finally shut his door (with a baby proof knob cover) and he would cry himself for a good 30 minutes. Sometimes the crying would get softer and we'd think he fell asleep, then "WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" he'd start up again. The last two nights were quite better.

Now, tonight he was in the dog house right before bedtime (see the lamp post) so I can't tell if he was upset and stayed in his room or if he is finally getting it after a week of going to sleep on his own.

Once he understood that he needed to stay in his room to fall asleep, we leave the door open. Every night he would be put down with the door open (after a book reading, of course) but every night he would play cat & mouse with us until we had no choice but to shut his door. But tonight, we started with the door open and he hasn't come out yet...it's been about 20 minutes.

we had a corner lamp

Here I am, trying to study for interviews, when CRASH. I turn around and there's glass everywhere. Alex runs behind the couch and I just wish I could've captured his face on camera. He was shocked at the noise from the lamp and me scooping him up so he wouldn't get glass all over him.

I guess our next corner lamp will be suspended from the ceiling.

See what daddy taught him

He taught him how to fake sleep. I don't know why or how he's on the table.



and the only reason he said, "Okays" to get off the table is because he saw the camera and he wanted to see himself on the video.

Use your words

Alex is addicted to fruit snacks. He comes in, points at the pantry, and grunts. We are trying to get him to use his words and tell us what he wants. Tonight I refused to get him anything until he told me. He climbed on top of me, hit me, whined and I kept saying, "Tell mommy what you want, use your words" etc. About 5 minutes into it, he just stopped whining and walked out of the room to go play.

the faker

Alex is climbing on top of his dresser. We have since taken the knobs off of his dresser. Today, Patrick caught him on top of the dresser. Immediately, Patrick told Alex he was in timeout, then Alex, immediately decided to fake snore. When Patrick put him down in timeout, he pretended to sleep and fake snore. It was too darn cute.

Bless You

I sneezed a big sneeze and Alex looked up at me and said, "Bess You".

some videos in the past month

Aunt Meggie took this video of Alex pretending to sleep. Too cute!


So, Alex decides that instead of making a house, he's going to use the box as a slide. Shortly after this video was filmed, he slid on his upside down train table and cut his neck pretty bad. He's fine though.



This video goes perfectly with his new Toy Story obsession.


Here is Alex, in all his glory, dancing and singing along to a segment of Yo Gabba Gabba.

Obscene or Really Offensive?

10 points if you know what movie that's from

Tonight, Alex christened me. He pooped in the tub.
GROSS WARNING....DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU GET GROSSED OUT...

I'M SERIOUS....DON'T READ

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!


I saw him fart then he looked at his butt and a well formed stream of brown flowed out and seemed to suspend in the water. So nasty! I grabbed him out of the tub so fast, drained the water and bathed him in our tub. The tub is currently soaking in bleach water. Is it bad I wanted to take a picture of this momentous occasion?

Dora's influences

If you don't know, Dora the Explorer is Alex's new favorite show. If you've never seen Dora, you don't know what you're missing. There's a singing backpack and when it finishes its song it eats the contents of the backpack and says "Num num num num num, delicioso" (delicious in Spanish).

So, yesterday it was all too quiet in the house. I walk around looking for Alex. I find him in my bedroom, in the corner with a bag of malted milk balls. I ask him what he's doing and he says, "Num num num num num, delicioso". How can I fault the kid for using the phrase in the correct context?

Big news, Big news

Alex peed in his little potty right before bedtime. Patrick finished brushing Alex's teeth and when Alex went to throw his cup away he passed the toilet then had Patrick take off his diaper. He sat down to pee! Yay!!

Fun at Granny's

Earlier in the night I unpacked Alex's clothes and saw how much fun Alex had with food and dirt. I used Oxi Clean but before I washed I just had to take a picture to prove how good this stuff is.

tormentor

Alex just got finished tormenting the dog and getting put in timeout...several times. Finally, he finally understood that I was serious and he needed to be gentle with the dog. I told Alex he needed to be gentle and that he was hurting puppy. He put his hands under the dog's mouth and said, "Sowwy Oreo" then he hugged him.

Potty Time/ Bath Time

We have had a training potty in the bathroom since the Saints won the Superbowl. Alex sits on it almost every night at bath time and does nothing. Tonight, he got in the tub, looked down, said "Pee Pee". So I got him out, brought the potty over and he sat down for about 2 seconds and wanted back in the tub. As soon as he got in the tub he peed. I hope he doesn't think that's how it works.

At the end of the bath he was playing with an Elmo and a cup. He put Elmo in the cup upside down and said, "Sowwy Eh-mos". It was so cute.

Strawberry Fest and random videos

Patrick wanted a snack....so did Alex. Everytime we eat an ice cream cone, Alex never wants any. But last night, at 9pm...right before Alex's bedtime, he hijacked Patrick's cone.


We went to the Strawberry Fest in Ponchatoula and Alex had a decent time.

A New Trick

Alex is just full of the dickens! I heard him beating on something in his room. Patrick went to go inspect, and he said, "What are you doing up there?" So I went in the room and he was on top of the dresser. I waited a little bit and lo and behold, he did it again. I got video of it....this was after I put him in timeout for climbing up there, so this was about the 4th time.

aaaawwwwwaaaahhhhhhaaaaaaboooohoooooo

Alex has been very very very stubborn lately. Patrick and I cannot figure where he got that from ;)

His ritual when he gets home is to run to the backyard and play. We play for about an hour and have to coax him inside with juice, fruit snacks, fruit, or dinner. He will not just come inside because we ask nicely. Once inside, it's a screaming fight to get undressed (because he's either filthy or wet because of the water table). Then he finally eats and that's a peaceful time. After dinner he needs a bath, but tonight was EXTRA special because he wanted to watch CARS and he just screamed and cried and threw his body all over. I just had to video tape it because no one ever believes us.

He did not go get his towel, which he usually does. I had to carry him to the bathroom. Once he's in there he usually just jumps in the tub but he threw a screaming fit for about 10 minutes. Once he's in the tub he usually plays, but tonight he didn't. This is the first bath on record that he cried and whined the entire stinking time. He cried out of the tub, he cried on the potty that he wanted to sit on.

After I put his diaper and jammies on, he finally calmed down and watched CARS for about 10 minutes, and right now, he's behind me whining.

There are no teeth that I can feel, but I pray that he stops this whining or Patrick and I will go nuts.

Behold...

Easter Break

I've been off all week. I have been catching up on SELU work and doing some light housework and errands. Today, Friday, Alex didn't have daycare so we played. Oh my goodness I am so tired tonight. We went to the park, played on the slides and swings, and rode his trike. When we got home he played in the sandbox then stood at the back of my car and shouted "Ride My Bike!" until I took the bike out of my car. Who knew object permanence happens at such a young age? He's so smart! We went up and down the block on the bike and I'm becoming an expert at running in flip flops. Alex and mommy dyed eggs for Easter and just hung around.

Once Daddy came home he started working on the fence....which I need pictures of. Then Oreo and Alex played in the yard until Alex fell in a hole and got all muddy.


On Dora (his new favorite show), there's a singing backpack. After the backpack sings and shows all the stuff in his pack, he "eats" the stuff and says "Num num num num num, delicioso" (delicious in Spanish in case I spelled that wrong). Out of the blue the other day he was saying that and I thought he was saying "Oso" for Special Agent Oso (a Disney show), but we barely watch Special Agent Oso...then I realized that he was saying what the back pack says.

New Videos

Now there's no reason for the baby gate. One day shy of 2 years and 3 months old, he learned how to climb over the baby gate.


"shy boy" is saying L, M, N, O

Updates

Wow...Alex is growing so quickly. He's like a little parrot. I'm going to have to get video of his ABC's but when he knows I'm taping he gets shy...if you can imagine. When he says L, M, N, O, P he rolls his tongue around and then says P.

We played outside almost the whole day yesterday, while Daddy cleaned up the servitude. I'll get pictures later because I'm supposed to be doing homework right now.
Click here for all of yesterday's pictures.
Here are some teaser pictures from yesterday's sandbox and bike adventures.





This is how Alex puts on his hat if Mommy doesn't do it quickly enough.








Note: proper placement for safety helmet!

My crazy boy

Here he is watching Toy Story for the first time. We think he's saying "To Infinity and Beyond".

A sick boy

Last year around this time Alex got Roseola. The reason I know this is because last year at this time we had just moved in to Grandma's and he was sick around the beginning of that. This year, now, he has a sinus infection. Last Monday I missed work because he was up all night coughing and I wanted an appointment so I needed to be available the whole day. The doctor gave Alex an antibiotic with Sulfa (which my mom and I are both allergic to). The doctor wavered about the decision because of our allergies but she decided to try it because it was the best antibiotic for the problem. We had no problems all week. Fast forward to Saturday and he starts with a fever. Then Sunday he gets some spots on his back. He didn't eat much this weekend and he was very whiny and clingy. He also complained of "poo poo, bo bo" and then he had a massive poo diaper. Patrick is taking off tomorrow because Alex has a fever and he needs to be checked to see if the rash is an allergy to the medicine.

At least poor Alex is off of the breathing treatments and codeine cough syrup. Poor little man.

Mockingbird

Hopefully this video uploads problem-free.

Sit

I was on the couch while Alex was playing with his train table. He took a pillow from the couch, put it on the floor next to the train table, walked over and grabbed my hand, pulled me from the couch, pointed to the pillow and told me to "Sit".

I wonder where he gets that from. He's getting such a little personality now. He's like a parrot, repeating everything....or trying. Daddy's trying to teach him to say homeslice, it doesn't really sound like that at all but he thinks it's cute. He does say cheeseball.

Milk sounds like muck, it's so cute!

Click ME for professional 2 year old pics Pictures were taken by Nikki Spreen http://spreendoubletakesphotography.blogspot.com/

2 videos

something went wrong :(

Finally

It's been a long time, I know. We're busy. I started 2 grad courses at SLU/SELU.

It snowed today. Shutterfly Link to pictures

Happy Birthday!