More talking practice

Alex practiced talking quite a bit more today. He is experimenting with tone, volume, and what to do with his tongue. He also can make some talking noises while he inhales.

In the afternoon and evening, he played in his 'gym' and studied the animals above. He was able to grasp the giraffe a number of times. It looks like he is close to having some fine motor skills in his hands. In the morning, he gave all 3 of his mobiles some intense study.

He tried to watch the Vikings game, but he got too angry watching their poor play.

His spitting-up seems to have returned. It may be correlated with Mom's dairy intake.

Fun Hike

Alex really enjoyed hiking Cougar Mountain today with his baby friend Gabe. The air was cool and refreshing, and he likes the motion of the Baby Bjorn.

He also seemed to really like his bath this evening. He spent the whole time staring in the mirror trying to figure out who that baby was and why he was copying him. He also tried a few splashes in the tub. He seems to really like the warm water and the head massage when we do the shampoo.

4 Month Doctor's Check-Up

Alex got his 4-month check-up today. His health is great. He got some vaccination shots that hurt, but he has recovered well. For a 4-month old, Alex's weight is in the 10th percentile for his age. He weighs 12 lbs., 14 oz. But, after adjusting for his arrival 7 weeks early, he is probably a little larger-than-average baby. The doctor recommends that he start solid food in 6 weeks.

He also visited Grandma and Grandpa Felton and wished Grandpa a quick recovery from his surgery.


He wished Grandma Brady a happy birthday on the phone tonight and thanked her for the mobile.


Maybe the biggest news of the day was that he slept for 10 hours straight last night. Mom and Dad were surprised and a little concerned, but glad to see it. He did great during the day.

4 months old

Alex is 4 months old today! To celebrate, he slept for 9 hours straight last night. Mom had to send Dad in to check on him because he had slept for so long.

We seem to have emerged from the newborn phase. He is sleeping well, eating well, and learning new things everyday. The newborn phase was much easier and much more fun than we expected. Either Alex is a really good baby or he's saving himself for the terrible two's.

Alex found his hands

In the last week or so Alex has discovered his hands. He likes to suck on them really vigorously and loudly. If he's lucky, he'll get a finger or thumb in his mouth, but most of the time it's his whole fist. This is a great step in his development as he can sometimes soothe himself when he gets upset. At night we now swaddle him with one or both hands out, and so far he has slept well like that.

Typical Tuesday

Today was a typically Tuesday for Alex. We walked Green Lake, went to the post office, and played a lot. In the afternoon Mom decided she wanted to do an exercise video. Instead of waiting til Alex fell asleep, she put him on the floor next to him. He really seemed to like watching and he didn't cry at all. He moves his arms and legs so much that it looked like he was exercising too.

Alex visits his new school

Alex visited the daycare that he got into today. He really liked the teachers and the other kids and looks forward to starting there November 1.

He also saw Grandma Felton for the first time in a while. She had just visited Great Grandma Beck who apparently loved looking at photos of Alex, especially the smiley ones.

Over 8 hours of sleep

Alex had his longest stretch of sleep ever last night. He slept from 8pm to 4:20am and then from 5am to 7:15am. Hopefully this will continue.

Below Alex is squirming while watching the Vikings with Dad. Like yesterday, he spent much of the day fussing. Perhaps it's a growth spurt, since he definitely is eating more at each feeding.

Grumpy

Alex had a grumpy day, perhaps because Grandpa and Grandma left. His most frequent expression was what we call "the lip". Below he is demonstrating the lip with Dad.













But, tomorrow is a new day and Alex is usually happy in the mornings. Here is a video of him yesterday morning.

Last Night with Grandma and Grandpa

Alex enjoyed his last evening with Grandma and Grandpa before they fly back to Minnesota. He also had some great tummy time earlier in the day.

We also got some very exciting news: Alex got into daycare! We had been on many waitlists and made many calls and Mom was getting a little nervous. But, we got into our favorite one. It costs a fortune but the peace of mind is worth it.

Not Ready to Play Ball

Below is a cute video of Mom trying to play ball with Alex. He isn't quite ready to do any activity that requires arm control. We think that's coming soon, judging by other babies we know. Dad is very eager to throw the football around.

Alex is excited because Grandpa Stewart and Grandma Jane come back tomorrow for one more night.

Ups and Downs

Alex and Mom had a lot of great conversations and smiles today. He loves to lie on the ottoman while Mom sits on the chair. He also had 3 loud fits, including 1 in the middle of Mom's exercise class (Baby Boot Camp). Luckily they are always short and then he falls asleep.

Alex missed out on some fun playtime with the other babies in PEPS tonight. He slept the entire time. We woke him up at 9:30pm to give him one last bottle so hopefully he'll sleep til at least 3am.

Talking Practice

Alex is working hard on his talking skills. He really studies your mouth while you talk and tries to imitate. He had a conversation with a baby friend of his, Addison, earlier today. Below is a video of him trying some different movements with his mouth to imitate Mom.

Alex has a string airplane mobile from Grandma Brady that he has come to love. Part of his bedtime routine is watching the WWI airplanes spin around and around and chase each other. The motion is very fluid and it looks like the planes are floating around his room. He will let out a squeal when the mobile gets a new push.

Evolving Nap Schedule

Alex had a pretty quiet day after all the excitement of the weekend. He spent an hour at the gym's daycare and otherwise hung out at home. One development is that his naps seem to be much shorter. They used to run as long as 2.5 hours and now they max out at 1 hour. This leaves more time for play. His favorite activity is still to lie on the changing pad and talk to the animals and smile at Mom.

In the evening Alex tried on his new hat that he got to show support for the Vikings. He also had a little bout of fussiness of unknown origin.

Couch Potato

Alex hung around the house today. In the morning he did some more playing with Grandpa and Grandma. In the pictures below he is looking in the mirror with Grandma and doing some pull ups with Grandpa.

At noon Alex said good bye to Grandma and Grandpa. He was sad to see them go. In the afternoon he watched football with Dad. After the Vikings and Seahawks both lost in the last minute, Alex got a little fussy and requested lots of milk and some bouncy ball time to settle down.

About town with Grandpa and Grandma

Alex had a fun and busy day with Grandpa and Grandma. He visited the Future of Flight exhibit in Everett where he designed his very own airplane. He was too little to do the Boeing Factory tour, so he hung out with Dad while the rest did the tour. In the afternoon, Alex had lunch at the Redhook Brewery and did the tour where he learned how to make beer. In the car, Alex gave everyone really big smiles. In the evening, he had his own personal eating contest followed by a spit up fest.

Grandparents!

Alex finally got to meet Grandpa Stewart and Grandma Jane. He was very excited. Everyone seemed to have a good time.



































He had a very busy day. He also met some of Mom and Dad's friends: Wendy, Sam, Brian, and Elaine. He had a very nice dinner at a restuarant downtown and then rushed home to meet his grandparents.

Alex Meets Grandpa Stewart and Grandma Jane Tomorrow!

Alex is really looking forward to finally meeting Grandpa Stewart and Grandma Jane tomorrow!

Alex had his photo taken at a professional portrait place today. It was quite an accomplishment to ensure that he was awake, not hungry, not spitting up, and relatively happy. He did really well and we're reasonably happy with the proofs. We probably won't order too many, though, since they cost a fortune and we have so many fun shots of him around the house like the one below.

Alex went to the gym day care this afternoon. He slept in his car seat the whole time. The day care attendant wasn't happy since she wanted to play with the cute, cuddly baby. This evening Alex had a lot to say to Dad.

Blogger.com has added a video player to their features. It looks like we no longer need YouTube links. Here are some videos from today -- a mobile and a bouncy chair.

The bouncy chair:

Here is a mobile video.

Girls' Night Out / Boys Night In

We had girls night out at PEPS this week where Mom got to go to a nice restaurant and enjoy a really good meal. The Dads and babies were left to fend for themselves. Everyone did great and had lots of fun. Mom would like to make it a regularly-scheduled activity.

Fun Day on the Town

Alex had a very busy day. He went for a walk around Green Lake. Then, he went to Mom's work to visit his friends Julie, Lara, Teresa, and Rebecca and have lunch. Then, he checked out another daycare downtown. Then, he and Mom did some errands at the mall.

Alex was alert and smiley most of the day. It must have been tiring since he fell asleep while playing with Dad this evening.

Many Outfits

Alex had a grumpy & hungry morning. He spit up so much that he got to wear 4 of his cute outfits. Mom is sad that he's outgrowing the 0-3 month size.

After a long nap in the afternoon, Alex was happy again and had fun with Mom. He even played quietly by himself in his gym for 45 minutes while Mom got some work done.

Busy Weekend -- Sept. 8 and 9

It was a busy weekend for Alex. First, on Saturday, Mom, Dad and Grandma Felton rode the MS Bike Tour in LaConner, WA with Grandpa being both babysitter and support vehicle. Then, he stayed at the rider village and socialized with Mom and Dad's riding team. He seemed to like it there, but it was a lot of time in the car and a lot of waiting around.



Sunday was a very special day because it was Mom's Birthday. Unfortunately, he had to ride in the car again on a long ride to go pick up Dad. But after that, he had a good time hanging out with his family. He had a number of good smiles.



In other developments, Alex's weight is now nearly 12.5 lbs. He seems to be in a growth spurt and is hungry much of the time. Mom and Dad are delighted to see this, but he is wearing out Mom.

7 hours!

Alex's massive bedtime meal sure helped his sleep. He slept for 7 hours!

This was Alex's first evening away from Dad as John is camping at the MS Bike Tour. Mom and Alex will join him tomorrow. Below, Grandma tries to console Alex as he misses Dad.

Biggest Meal Ever

While Mom was off playing tennis this evening, Dad gave Alex a bottle with 7oz of milk. This is nearly double his normal intake. Dad insists that Alex was starving and he hasn't spit anything up yet (25 min later), so perhaps he needed it. Hopefully he'll sleep really well tonight in his milk coma.

Here's a cute picture of Alex on his changing table. It's his favorite spot in the house. He likes to talk to the animals and stare at the cute baby in the mirror.

Better Sleep

Alex has made a lot of progress on his sleep recently. He is now taking at least 3 official naps during the day. At night, he sleeps 5-6 hours, eats, then sleeps another 3-4. Mom is very happy about these developments. Today he wasn't fussy at all and did lots of talking and smiling with Mom.

Smiley

Alex had a fairly fussy day and spent much of it eating. However, while we were in Stehekin he really improved his smiling. Unless he's really upset he will smile at you if you're smiling at him. Usually it's a big open-mouth smile. It's very fun to see. It's tough to get a good picture since he doesn't smile for the camera but there are a few below.

Stehekin

Alex had a great time on his first vacation to Stehekin. We had great weather and lots of good company. On Friday we left the house at 4:30am, so Alex was a little out of sorts by the time we got there at noon. But after many consecutive feedings and some sleep, he was as good as new.

We hiked about 7 miles each day. Alex loves to ride in the Bjorn. He looks around for a while and then goes to sleep. He also likes being held by all of his friends, two of whom declared him a "snuggler" and a "flirt".

Alex had lots of smiles in Stehekin. And he made a sound that sounded like a laugh. We are eagerly awaiting a second one for verification.