Elfie

We had a special delivery the other day-all the way from the North Pole!  It was wrapped in red candy cane paper, addressed to the three kids from Santa Claus himself.  They were so excited to tell me a package had come for them and that it was from Santa.  Inside was this little guy, along with a note from Santa.  Elfie (Sophia named him) will be with us until Christmas to keep an eye on them.  He will report back to Santa on Christmas Eve.  Santa also warned the kids that Elfie can be a bit mischievous and that they should let him know if he gets into trouble. 

Elfie did ok the first few days.  He hung out by the tv and on a shelf and read a train book in Andrew's room.  We caught him trying to steal a candy cane in the kitchen though and yesterday he had strung toilet paper all over the dining room chandelier.  Sophia and Andrew composed a letter to Santa today telling him all about these incidents.  They told Santa that if Elfie doesn't start behaving, he's going to have to take him back. 

I'm not sure that Elfie's presence is having any impact on their behavior, but they are having a lot of fun looking for him every morning.

Dear Santa

We've got the two extremes this year .  Sophia wants Santa to bring presents to people in orphanages and those who don't have money.  She doesn't want anything for herself.  Andrew, on the other hand, wants plenty for himself.  His list includes an Angry Birds game, Kindle Fire, I-Pad, I-Touch, legos and transformers.  We went to see the Macy's 8th floor display (A Day in the Life of an Elf) and then delivered their letters to Santa.   Naughty or nice?  I guess we'll find out on Christmas morning.

Of course we (I) couldn't leave Macy's without the infamous gingerbread cookies that I grew up getting.  They still taste just as good-inflation sure has made them expensive though!

3 Months

I hadn't even posted Alex's 2 month update and now he's gone and gotten another month older!  I still want to hit the pause button so he doesn't keep growing on me, but it's also fun to see how much he's changing.

We did go in for the swallow test and Alex passed with flying colors. So, we'll continue to keep him on his medicine and have him sleep upright and hopefully everything will resolve itself.  She did notice he's taking in a lot of air when he eats and that could be part of the problem.  Our pediatrician suggested I try going off dairy for a week to see if that made any difference.  I did (do you know how hard it is to avoid anything with dairy in it?) but didn't really notice any difference.  So, after a week I stopped and we had a very unhappy little baby for the next two nights. 

Alex is taking after me and has developed very dry skin.  I took him in to have it looked at because he had a rash all over his tummy and back and just appeared overnight.  They said it wasn't an allergic reaction because of the way it looked but I'm still not convinced its eczema.  It will be there when he wakes up and then completely gone later in the day. 

What does Alex like right now?  He recognizes and loves his family and smiles whenever we talk to him.  He is cooing more and more (lots of oohs) and really likes to contribute to the conversation.  He seems to be paying a little more attention when I read to him.  We've been reading Little Blue Truck, Big Red Barn (gifts from Andrew and Sophia), Barnyard Dance, Flip, Flap, Fly, and Feet.  He pays close attention to his toys dangling from his bouncy beat bar and smiles up at them.  He smiles up at his mobile too but he still loses interest in the crib after the music has stopped.  He's not a big fan of his playmat.  I can put him on it for a little bit but he then loses interest  and starts crying.  He doesn't seem to mind his swing. 

Alex seems to associate his carseat with nap time.  As soon as I put his bear fleece on him and put him in, he closes his eyes and is usually fast asleep.  He's not taking great naps other than that.  He will take very short naps and then he's up again.  I put him in his crib the other day and he actually fell asleep-for about half an hour.  Nights are pretty good.  There was a stretch of three days where he didn't wake up to eat until 5 but of course then next night he was up at 3 and 5.  He does go right back to sleep afterward.  He is still full of smiles when he wakes up.  As soon as I peer over the side of the bed at him, he lights up with a huge smile-I love it!

My mom and I got his latest decoration up in his room.  It's a wall decal that says "You are my sunshine."  The kids and I sang this to him before was born (we still do) so I wanted to somehow incorporate it into his room.  It's right above his changing table and I think it looks great.  The other news is that Alex's Christmas stocking is finally finished!  This was a labor of love and while I definitely am in need of a break before tackling the next two, I find myself wondering what to do at night once the kids are in bed because that's consumed my night for the past two months.

I feel so incredibly blessed that Alex joined our family and thank God every day for bringing him into our lives.  
 

2 Months

I love this little guy more and more each day!  His 2-month stats are:
Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz. (25-50%)
Length: 23 inches (50%)

His smile lights up the room.  His favorite time is right when he wakes up.  It's not as hard to get up in the morning when you're met with his big grin and since he sleeps right next to my side of the bed, that's what I am met with every morning.  Lately, when I'm on the phone while holding him, I'll look down and see him grinning up at me.  He either thinks I'm talking to him or finds what I am saying very interesting.  Alex has also started cooing.  For awhile, he was trying very hard to getting the sounds out and now he is able to have a conversation with you (in his own language, of course).  He will now watch his mobile in his crib, but once the music stops after 15 minutes, he's ready to get up.  He has taken a few catnaps in there, but that's about it.  Just when I get started on a project, he wakes up.  His tummy is still an issue so we have an appointment to take him in next week to have a swallow test done.  He sometimes chokes when/after he eats and they want to check it out.  In the meantime, he is still on his medication and sleeps upright in his bouncy seat next to the bed. On the plus side, the doctor didn't hear any heart murmur at his 2-month checkup.