Alex is 9 months already?

I know it is hard to believe, but our little boy turned 9 months today. He is growing by leaps and bounds!  He has been a "roller" for quite a while now, but is getting pretty good at it.  He graduated to the next room at daycare, and it didn't take long for him to start picking things up from the other kids.  Alex can get pretty much anywhere he wants to go by rolling and turning around in a circle on his stomach.  This weekend he showed us a new trick, he is starting to get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth.  Crawling can't be too far away!  I think he is the only kid in his daycare room that can't crawl yet, so he is very motivated to learn.  I prepared this week by putting safety plugs in all the electrical sockets, and padding on the fireplace and furniture corners.  Being a little boy I am sure he will get his share of bumps and bruises, but I will try to avoid them as much as possible!

Since my last post we have been very busy.  My mom came to visit the first weekend in February, so we decided to finally get our act together and have Alex's baptism.  We were a little nervous since church was right during Alex's naptime, but he did great.  He hammed it up for the congregation of course, and everyone loved him!  We celebrated afterwards with a soup dinner and cake.  Alex really wanted the cake, Uncle Paul saved him from taking a nose dive into it!  Sorry buddy, in three more months you can literally "dig in" to your birthday cake!

On a less fun note, Alex just got over a nasty cold and ear infection.  He had a cold and a terrible cough for almost five weeks!  We took him to the doctor after 2 weeks and they said it was just a cold, nothing they could do, and to let it run it's course.  Well two weeks later he was getting worse and running a mild fever.  I had enough and took him back to the doctor.  This time they said he had RSV and another ear infection.  Which means we get to see the ENT this week.  I see tubes in his future, but we will see what the ENT says.  I will do anything to avoid more ear infections, Alex is so miserable when he has them.  But enough of that, how about some pictures!

Watch out mom, I'm gonna take off soon!

Alex and Aunt Jenn, his new Godmother!

Alex started to freak a little with the water on his head, but never cried!

Alex and Pastor

I want that cake!

Alex had his first haircut!  He was not a fan!

Big boy in his 9 month picture!

Cutest cupid I have ever seen!

Catching up

It is hard to believe I haven't posted since Halloween!  I think in the back of my mind I thought I had been posting, when in reality that's all I did...think about it.  So I will try to catch us up with some pictures.  For Alex's first thanksgiving we went to Great Grandpa and Grandma Eicher's house for dinner.  Alex did pretty well but had another ear infection so we had to change his clothes a couple times (Dang antibiotics!)  Then we went to his Great Great Aunt Glenda and Uncle John's house for second thanksgiving dinner.  Mom and Dad were stuffed but Alex didn't seem to mind!  He got to see his cousin Collins again and now that he is getting bigger they were able to play a little bit.  I can't wait until they are both a little older and can play on equal ground!

Alex was very lucky to have 5 Christmases this year.  That is pretty good for your first Christmas!  We started out the season by traveling down to South Carolina to see Grandma Des and Grandpa Haynie.  It was a great trip and we missed out on a snowstorm back home so that was an added bonus!  We went to HollyWild to see the Christmas lights and Alex got to meet some new animal friends!  We also got to take a trip to Biltmore Mansion.  Alex slept through most of it but when he was awake he enjoyed the beautiful decorations!  His second Christmas was the weekend before Christmas, when Grandma and Grandpa Webb came to visit.  We had a yummy ham dinner with all the fixins!  Next he had Christmas with Great Grandma Nancy, Aunt Jenn and his cousins Meghan and Andrew.  I had to work all Christmas weekend, so we ended up having our family Christmas on Christmas Eve after I got off of work.  As usual Alex enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes more than his presents! Last but not least we went to Grandpa Steve and Grandma Stephanie's house on New Years.  So he got to celebrate his first New Years and fifth Christmas together!  Alex had fun but didn't quite make it to midnight.  Which I am sure is a good thing!

Alex's 6 month picture, such a big boy!

 Alex in one of his many thanksgiving outfits

Alex and Collins

Alex's first time with Santa!

Cutest santa ever

Alex and his loot from mom and dad

Happy Halloween!

Here are Alex's Halloween pictures taken by the talented Meghan Miller!

Enjoy!

Germ City

Germ City...the name of our house in September.  The entire month someone was sick.  Tim started out with a cold/sore throat and once that was over Alex decided to get a fever of 102.6.  I whisked him away to the doctor who declared he had a sore throat.  Great.  Dr. Harrison said to call back the next day and let us know how Alex was doing.  Well Alex wasn't much better the next day, his fever went away over night but came back with a vengeance in the afternoon.  So back to the office we went.  This time Dr Harrison found that both of Alex's ears were infected.  He thought one of them might have even perforated, it was hard to tell because the ear canal was so swollen.  So we were sent home with antibiotics, and several days of Alex being uncomfortable.  A few days later we thought Alex was feeling better when he vomited three times one day.  Of course it was Sunday so when I called the doctor I got the answering service, who directed me to a nurse's hotline.  Well I wasn't too impressed, I reached a nurse but all she did was plug Alex's symptoms into a computer program that gave me some vague answers and not much help.  So I decided if Alex vomited one more time I would take him to the ED. Well luckily he never had any more problems so we figured it must have been a stomach ache or something.  Well then the next day Tim had horrible vomiting and I had a stomach ache/body aches.  I swear it did not end!  Needless to say I disinfected the house from top to bottom after all that!

Alex had his four month checkup in September, and everything looked great.  Dr Harrison thought Alex was doing well developmentally, and is growing well.  He was up to 13.5 lbs and 25 inches.  His weight is now in the 25th percentile, so he is still on the smaller side for his age but is catching up!  We got the all clear to start cereal with Alex, but Alex has other ideas.  He wasn't too impressed with rice cereal and even a month later he still spits half of it out.  But some babies don't get the hang of it until 6 months so we will keep trying!

Dr Harrison had us come back to the office this week for a recheck of Alex's flat spot.  He thinks it is getting better and since there is no facial or ear deformity he doesn't have to wear a corrective helmet!  So we will keep working on reshaping his head and get it nice and round.  Alex is now 14 lbs 15 oz!  Still in the 25th percentile but since he is gaining weight and healthy the doctor (and mom and dad) are happy.  The bad news...Alex still has an ear infection in his right ear.  So more antibiotics.  I have a feeling he will have problems with his ears like I did.

I started a new job at Bergan Mercy Medical Center here in Omaha, I know work on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  A big change from my old med/surg/ortho job, but this is where I wanted to work since nursing school.  It is going great so far, I have a lot to learn but luckily they are very patient with teaching me!

Well I think that is about it for updates on our little family, now the moment you have been waiting for...pictures!

Alex cheering on the Cyclones against Iowa!!

Alex is the boy of many faces!!

Alexander 3 months

Well our little Alex is 3 months old now!  I say this all the time but it amazes me how much he changes from day to day.  He is full of smiles and giggles, and loves it when you talk to him and look at him.  He is getting pretty good at holding his head up when you hold him, but is still far away from sitting on his own.  You definitely have to pay attention when you hold him that he doesn't flop out of your lap! 

Alex and Great-Grandma Nancy

He still isn't very motivated to roll over yet.  When I put him on his play mat he kicks and bats at his toys, but seems to be content on his back.  He is happiest in his bouncy chair, the kid loves to bounce.  If you aren't bouncing him hard or fast enough, he will let you know!  I don't want to jinx myself, but Alex is a great sleeper.  He usually sleeps about 9 hours a night, and he pretty much tells us when he is ready for bed.  Around 830 he starts to get sleepy but we try to keep him awake until at least 930. Then we put him in his crib with the mobile turned on and he puts himself to sleep!  He must take after his mommy and realize how great sleep is.  I wish this would last forever! 

For the most part things have been pretty quiet around here.  Work has been going well for both me and Tim, my transition back to work wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Yes it was hard for me to be away from the family and leave Alex at daycare, but I have the benefit of only working three nights a week.  So I get a lot more time with Alex than most working moms do.  My first week back to work was hectic though, it was hard to get back into my routine!  It is amazing how many little things you can forget or overlook when you haven't worked in 9 weeks.  Luckily after a couple days things were back to normal.   Well as normal as you can be with a new baby!

Alex had his three month pictures taken this week, and they are adorable!  Meghan took all these pictures at our house. She got some great shots!  I also weighed him to see how big he is getting, and he weighed in at a whopping 13.2 pounds!  I was really excited about that because since we see him everyday it is hard to judge how big he is getting.  He was 9 lbs 4 oz at his 2 month appointment so if he stayed on his goal of 1 oz per day he would need to have gained 2 lbs by now.  He has far surpassed that!!  Dr Harrison will be pleased next month.  Enjoy the pictures!

Kristin

Webb summer get together, 4th of July, and 2 month dr visit

The end of June was Alex's first Webb get together, so he got to meet some of his Great Aunts and Uncles.  We were nervous taking him on a long road trip to Illinois, but for the most part it went very well!  He likes to ride in the car, pretty much all he did was sleep haha.  We just had to stop every couple hours so he could eat and get his diaper changed.  But to be honest I was happy to get out of the car and stretch my legs!  We had a great weekend of eating great food and catching up, I couldn't have asked for anything better!

Alex and Claire

Alex and Grandma Mary

How cute!!!

Paul, Toliver and Tim playing some ball in the backyard

Alex and Great Uncle Ron

Well Alex had his first 4th of July!  He loved it of course!  On July 2nd we went over to our friends Aaron and Kendra's house for a grill-out and fireworks.  Alex did really well with the fireworks, I think the bright lights bothered him more than the noise.  However, after about 15 minutes he was not enjoying it any longer, so we went inside.  On the 3rd we went over to my Aunt Glenda's house for a family get together and Alex got to meet his "cousin" Collins.  I say "cousin" because let's face it, it's simpler.  My mom and Sarah are 1st cousins, and Collins is Sarah's daughter.  So we joked that Collins and Alex are "some sort of cousins".  Alex wasn't too sure about Collins, but I think Collins loved Alex and thought he was her new toy.

Come here little baby!  I want to play!

Awe holding hands!

One of Alex's July 4th outfits from Great Aunt Jenn.  Of course you should get your own parade cutie!

On the 4th we went to our friends Amanda and Kevin's house for another 4th of July picnic.  Alex was a huge hit especially with the girls...everyone loves babies!

Alex's second 4th of July outfit!

All the kiddos oooing and ahhing over the baby!

Amanda and Kevin were setting off some pretty big fireworks, so Alex and I watched them from inside.  Or should I say, he went to sleep while I watched them!

Alex had his 2 month Well-baby visit this week.  I think it was hard on the both of us since he had to get his first round of vaccinations!  The good news is that he is up to 9 lbs 4.5 oz and 22 inches long!  He is in the 5th percentile for weight, 7th percentile for length, and 16th percentile for head circumference.  So he is still a little guy. But Dr Harrison said as long as he gains 1 oz per day, he is doing well.  And so far he has surpassed that!  The rest of his checkup went great!

Alex on his boppy during "tummy time"

I can't believe how big Alex is getting and how much he is changing day to day.  He is getting really good at holding his head up and pushing up on his arms during tummy time.  It's just a matter of time before he rolls over!  His hair is growing back, I swear I can see it getting longer every day.  In some light it looks white/blonde and in other light it looks red.  Time will tell!