Holidays

Santa visited Alex in Washington and it was a lot of fun! Alex got some cars, a trumpet, some superballs, and a puzzle. Julia got a picture book, a new bottle, a peacock, and some crinkly paper. Thank you Santa! Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Alex the gymnast?

Here's how Alex was sleeping last night when we checked on him at 10pm.

Alex's Special Day

Alex didn't go to school in the morning because he had an appointment at 10:40am for his H1N1 shot. Instead, he went to Kids Cove in the mall, said hi to Santa, played on the chalk board at the doctor office, and got his shot. When we finally got to school at noon, he was really sad to have all the fun end. He convinced Mom to take him home and have a "special day". So we went home and he skipped his nap, played soccer with Julia, read books with Julia, looked at xmas card photos, and made ravioli for dinner. It was a special day!

Getting Ready for Santa

Alex and Julia are getting ready for Santa. We don't have the official Santa photos yet, but we should soon. Alex has helped make a couple batches of cookies for Santa and friends. Julia is being extra good. Alex has been asking for a Dora the Explorer trumpet (we don't believe there is an official Dora trumpet) and a superball. Julia wants some more hugs and kisses and friends to play pattycake with.

Julia sleeps through the night!

Julia slept from 9pm to 6am and then mom panicked and woke her up. Unfortunately, Alex was up twice last night so mom hasn't gotten a full night of sleep, but it should be coming soon.

Julia was so well rested she gave lots of smiles today.

Christmas Carols

Alex really loves singing Christmas Carols. His favorite is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Here is a video of Alex and Julia hanging out in the easy chair listening to the music. Just minutes before Julia was giving huge smiles but we had some technical difficulties and didn't get the video.

Busy Weekend / Good Sleep

We had a fun and busy weekend. Alex and Julia hung out with Dad on Friday night while Mom went out with her friends. Luckily Julia ended a short-lived bottle strike, although she still doesn't like bottles. On Saturday, we went to our favorite playground and played basketball. Saturday night we had a new babysitter Randi whom Alex really liked. He was very mature and didn't cry at all except at bedtime (which is a daily occurrence). Julia did great too. On Sunday Mom worked at the coffee stand of a holiday bazaar and then we had dinner with our friends the Gills. Their kids weren't there except at the end, but Alex did great playing by himself and then playing cars with Aaron. Julia enjoyed the backrub that Marie Gill gave her. She was so relaxed that she slept 7.5 hours straight!

Late November Videos

Here are some video clips from the last few weeks. They include time with Cousin Emily in Suncadia and the Snowflake Lane parade in Bellevue.

A Happy Thanksgiving

We had a happy Thanksgiving with G&G Felton, John, Ann, and Emily. Alex enjoyed throwing snowballs with Dad and eating turkey and pie. Julia gave many smiles including the first caught on camera.

Here's Alex sleeping at 4am with his feet up on the castle, his arms behind his head, and all his clothes on.

First Snow

Dad was gone this weekend so Alex, Julia, and Mom headed out to Suncadia for our first snowfall of the year. Alex loves the snow, especially making "Jack in the Box Snowmen" with Grandpa F. It was also fun to play with Cousin Emily again. On Friday Julia had her 2 month check up and she continues to be in excellent health. She weighs 10 lb 10.5oz and is in the 25th percentile for both height and weight.

Julia Smiles and Sleeps

Julia gave her first real smiles to mom and dad yesterday. She has a great smile that we'll try to get a picture of soon. According to Alex, she's been smiling at him since she was born. Julia also slept 6 hours straight last night.

Alex was the "special child of the day" at school yesterday. His class is studying families so each kid gets a day where they share pictures of their family and their house and they bring in a special toy to show their friends. Alex brought in his viewmaster and enjoyed showing his friends how to use it.

Bowling Champs

Julia just turned 2 months old. She is fighting off a minor infection called thrush, but is otherwise doing great.
-- She sometimes sleeps 5 hours in a row
-- She can hold her head up at tummy time
-- She will turn her head to track Mommy's voice. Sometimes she will even follow Daddy's or Alex's voice to watch them talk
-- She is already an expert at eating from the faster flow bottles











Alex is also doing great. His asthma is acting up a tiny bit, but otherwise he is great. His school has warned of many cases of flu recently, but so far so good with him not getting it. Alex loves to read books with Mommy and Daddy most evenings. Recently, he is enjoying the Arthur book series and the What do Dinosaurs Do series.

He also went bowling for the first time and had a lot of fun. He bowled an 82 (see the picture of the scoreboard)! Great start!

Family Time

We had a fun weekend, mostly hanging out at home. Alex's friend/neighbor Nathan came over to play and we went to the kids museum. We also saw cousin Emily very briefly - she's almost big enough to play ball with Alex. Julia enjoyed watching it all and is starting to contribute her own vocalizations.

Halloween and Grandma Brady Visit

Alex was a monkey/astronaut for Halloween. Julia was a pumpkin. Alex went trick or treating with the neighbor kids and had a great time. He also went to Daddy's office.





Grandma Brady visited a couple weeks ago and we had a great time. Grandma got to meet Julia for the first time -- both were very excited.

Alex moves to a big boy bed

Now that Alex is a big brother, we decided to get him a big boy bed. It is a twin mattress that we put on his floor with his favorite quilt and firetruck blanket. We were wary of pushing him before he was ready, but he was very excited and has done great the last 4 nights. He even decided to give his little sister his old crib and rocker so her room looks nice now and she is more comfortable. We're very proud of Alex.

First Bottle / Tummy Time

Julia had no problem taking her first bottle. Alex was very helpful feeding and burping her. Julia has also started doing some good tummy time. She can lift her head up and turn it side to side, although she sometimes prefers napping at tummy time.

Fun Week

We had a great week and weekend. First, Alex did a great job picking a pumpkin and finding his way through a huge hay maze:


Next, Julia had a great time playing with her cousin Emily in Cle Elum. Alex and Julia are big fans of Uncle John and Aunt Ann!