Charleston

We went to Charleston a couple of weeks ago to visit my college roomate Morgan and her husband Andy. We had a fabulous time and enjoyed ourselves so much! While we were there, Alex had his first visit to the beach (loved it!) and we took family portraits on the beach as well. All those pics are uploaded at http://www.shivers.photosite.com/. Look under "Alexander James".

Happy July!

:)

We're all CRAWLING

I knew that crawling was a natural stage for babies to go through....but I had no idea that I would find MYSELF on all fours during the process. Let me explain... Alex used to be a fabulous sleeper. I bragged about his naps and his nights--and a few months ago that all came to a screeching halt. He is still a good napper, but his nights have been really difficult. It's come to the point that if he's only up once or twice, it's a "good" night. Yikes!! So after a few months of waiting for him to grow out of it, Kevin and I realize that he's getting settled into a habit that may haunt us for years to come. SO, we've entered into week 1 of SLEEP TRAINING. I've read a couple of books, searched online for miracle cures, and talked it to death with anyone I know that has a baby who sleeps. We gave the "crying" method a shot....and two hours later decided we needed Method #2. And then that method has holes, and then the next wasn't perfect either.....
So last night I sat on the floor next to Alex's crib and repeated "shh, mommy's here, shh, lay down, shh, please go to sleep...." for about three hours (okay, more like 15 minutes, but it SEEMED like 3 hours) and then, for fear of him seeing me sneak out, I crawled on all fours out of his room. I stopped outside his room, gently closed the door and had a good laugh at myself. I couldn't help but wonder how many other moms and dads had ever found themselves in the same predicament--probably quite a few!!
Today he only slept for 30 minutes in the car so we set his bedtime for 5:00. He peacefully fell asleep after his night-time bottle (we're only fighting one battle at a time here, so no comments on the fact that he's still using a bottle, please!! :)). He's in his bed and we are about to have a nice quiet dinner. Hopefully he won't smell the food and decide it's time for Round 2.
:)

Bees, Trees, and Sugarsnap Peas

Well, the first year has officially come and gone. I think I've said it in every single post so far, but I CANNOT believe how fast the time has flown by. When I started this blog, Alex was just a tiny bump that gave me an excuse to by a new wardrobe. Now I'm writing this while he's standing next to me and stealing corn off my dinner plate and then "walking" his way around the room to play with all his toys. One of his new favorites is a Leap Frog musical activity station, hence the "bees, trees, and sugarsnap peas" reference--just one verse of a million syrupy baby jingles it plays. :)

We've had a wonderful year filled with lots and lots of happy memories and thankfully only a few bumps along the way. Alex has been very healthy and happy and though he tends to be nocturnal, a really easy baby. (Kevin says I have to stop calling him "baby" now, but I just can't do it.) He weighed a whopping 22 pounds at his 12-month check-up and is 30.5" tall. He's got 6 teeth now and getting new ones all the time. He's started to eat table foods and loves chicken and goldfish (the cracker variety, not as sushi). He took a few steps the other day but has yet to repeat the performance. Video cameras are standing by, just in case. But he crawls like crazy and pulls up, opens, and/or climbs on everything he can. Our house has turned into its own gated community and resembles a mini-obstacle course for grown-ups and toddlers alike. Need to open a drawer or cabinet, go down stairs, or plug something in? Good luck!!

Alex can say "da-da" and "no-no" and every once in a while will give a "ma-ma". The intensive tutoring lessons did not work and it looks like "da-da" is going to have to go down as his first word. Sigh.

Thanks again to those of you who made it to his 1st Birthday bash, and for those who missed it, pictures are up at http://www.shivers.photosite.com/, under Alexander James. There are also new pics from months 10 and 11 too (hey, it's hard to work at a computer now that he's into EVERYTHING!!).

We're looking forward to another exciting year, especially as so many friends are having new babies of their own and joining us on this crazy ride (congrats to the newest mommies, Kristen, Christine and Christy and their new babies!).

Have a great summer!