8 Months Old

So much has happened in the last month. We started the month off with Easter Egg Hunts. When we arrived at the first post hunt Alexa was sound asleep. I ended up driving back home and letting her sleep. The next day we had the neighborhood egg hunt. I took a blanket with us. I would put Alexa on the blanket next to an egg and encourage her to find the egg. I learned very quickly that it was not going to happen. I ended up putting a few eggs on her blanket and she was happy.

Alexa started at the CDC full time. She is the butterfly room. Her teachers are great. I really like her lead teacher, Ms Carolyn. Her classroom has 4 infants (6months-12 months) and 5 pre-tots (12months- 18 months). It is a very interesting dynamic. The first few days Alexa was over stimulated and had a lot of trouble sleeping. I am told she really enjoys going outside, which they do every day weather permitting. Since she has started there she has learned to wave. Its not the traditional wave but more of a flapping of her arms. On her second day Ms. Carolyn told me Alexa had a great time all day but when she put her on her stomach she gave her attitude.

We have had Ariel over for three play dates recently. Alexa and Ariel have a good time playing together. Alexa loves that Ariel brings her toys. We did some finger paint & lots of playing. We even had one sleep over. The girls slept in separate rooms but enjoyed their breakfast together. Alexa sleeps really well after her play dates. I think we will need to have Ariel over more often ;)

Easter weekend we flew to Cincinnati. The flight there was wonderful. The plane was less than half full. Alexa played in the seat next to me and was very happy. Everyone complimented me on how well behaved Alexa was. It is a great feeling when people compliment your child. Our weekend in Cincinnati was brief. We spent Saturday with my Dad. We took Alexa to see the Easter bunny & out to lunch with Megan & Matthew. In the evening we saw Maggie, Jeff & David. Alexa slept on the car ride to my Mom's but woke up to play for a few minutes before going to bed. Sunday morning we were about to see Heather, Jan and her children. We spent the afternoon at Megan's with the rest of the family. I am glad Alexa and Matt were able to have some time together. I am sure they will not remember it, but we took pictures.

Sunday night we were scheduled to fly home at 8:40pm. The flight was delayed a few times and we did not take off until after 10pm. Alexa was TERRIBLE on the plane. She was overly tired and was not happy. She screamed for a few minutes straight. It was not a normal cry, instead it was a high pitched yell. The man who was sitting next to me was someone I was talking to while waiting at the airport. He offered to try calming Alexa and out of desperation I handed her over. She went to sleep after a minute of him rocking her. He has 4 boys at home, two of which were 1 year old twins. Clearly his experience was appreciated by our full plane. Alexa slept the rest of the flight in my arms. After a lot of small delays we made it home just after midnight.

The next week was all about catching up on sleep, chores & FRG obligations. Alexa continued to thrive in her new daycare. It is very relieving to pick up a happy baby & hear all the great things she did that day. Alexa's teachers took pictures of her playing and napping for me. I was pleasantly surprised with Alexa's first piece of artwork. It was a cloth that was painted & colored on. That Friday was Military Child Appreciate Day. Alexa's class was participating in the parade. I walked with her class for the entire thing. Alexa was asleep during most of it, but it was still adorable. Who does not love a baby parade?

Alexa continues to get the hiccups fairly regularly. Recently she has started making the sound of "ut oh" while she hiccups. I did get a few minutes of it on video. I have not been able to get her to say "ut oh" outside of the hiccups.

Last Wednesday I received a phone call at 11am from Alexa's daycare. They told me she had a 101 fever & was lethargic. I told her to the doctor and was given an antibiotics for her eyes & told to give her Tylenol for the fever. We stayed home on Thursday and tried to go back on Friday. I made it 2 hours at work before getting called again. We spent the weekend taking medicine every 4 hours and trying to rest. For some reason Alexa did not want to be on her back. She slept on me for her naps and woke up every few hours during the night.

I also hit a huge milestone this month. I moved Alexa's crib back into her bedroom. When Justin left for basic training over two years ago I really struggled living alone. I slept with the TV on and the bedroom door locked. Over the 5 months he was gone I got to the point where I was able to shut the tv off but still kept the bedroom door locked. We he deployed I knew I would have some trouble but gave myself the goal of putting Alexa in her room before he returned. Alexa has been in our room since she was born. Even though she is a great sleeper I have always enjoyed her being in there. I liked being able to check on her whenever I needed to. On Mother's Day I felt ready to make the transition. It did feel good to final get her nursery put together.

The last week Alexa has returned to her normal self. We jumped right back into our routine. We both made it a full week at work/school. The weather was in the 90's and then down to the 50's. We had very few days were it was not too hot or too cold to go outside.

This month we are looking forward to our weekend trip to Chicago as well as Alexa's swim lessons.

7 Months Old

The last month has been one of our best. Justin arrived home on March 19th. After a long day of waiting for his flight to arrive he made it home just after 9pm. Alexa and I were dressed in knee length dresses. We waited right next to the security door. Alexa went right to her Daddy. The next day we went to the Kansas City Zoo. Alexa had a good time riding around in her stroller. Having Justin home was a great change of pace.

On Monday morning I went back to work after being home with Alexa for a week. Justin and Alexa spent three days together. It was a learning experience for them both. They came every day for my lunch break & were always waiting for me to get home. Thursday started off with Alexa's 6 month appointment. Our little peanut weighed in at 14lbs 14oz & 26inches long. She was in the 20% for weight, 30% for height & her head was 65%. So she is continuing to grow well. The doctors only concern was her ability to push herself up. She gave us a card for an organization to come and evaluate her. The occupational therapist came 3 weeks later. Alexa tested right around her age group in every category. The therapist reassured us that she is not behind at all. We did get some suggestions on how to encourage her to use her arms more.

After Alexa's 6 month appointment we took her for her 6 month photos. She was laughing and smiling the entire time. She sure does make it hard for us to only pick a few. In the afternoon we took Alexa to her dermatologist appointment. The doctor said she graduated and no longer has to come back. We were sooo excited about this. The dermatologist believes Alexa's hemangioma will completely disappear over the next few years.

Friday morning we headed to St. Louis. We met up with my Mom, Megan, Matthew, Donna & David (Justin's Mom & her husband). Alexa and Matthew went swimming together at the hotel. We also went to the St. Louis Arch & Budweiser Brewery. Alexa and Matthew both passed beer school. Alexa had such a good time playing with Matthew. Friday night she had trouble going to sleep. She was laying in her bed laughing as though she was too excited to sleep. It was a great weekend & I am glad Justin was able to see some family while he was in town.

Monday morning we packed up and headed to Miami, Florida. It was our first official family vacation. Alexa did OK on the airplane. She enjoyed riping the pages out of the Skymall & even gave Justin a dirty diaper to change in the tiny bathroom. Alexa's first time on the beach was something we will never forget. She sat in the sand and smiled. Then she went face first into it with her eyes open. She had sand in the whites of her eyes, in her mouth & everywhere in between. I felt TERRIBLE! For as bad as it looked she really did not get that upset. We were able to flush her eyes & clean her off. The rest of the week she stayed on a towel or blanket while in the sand. She really did not care for the bright sun. She wore sunglasses & a hat but still seemed bothered.

Tuesday we went to Jungle Island. It is similar to a zoo but it is just jungle type animals. There were birds, monkeys, alligators, and all sorts of fun things. Alexa really really really enjoyed the shows. We did our best to sit in the front row & she enjoyed seeing the animals up close. We decided to watch the monkeys playing. After a few minutes one monkey which seemed very nice decided to throw dirt at us. It was crazy! We were all in such shock. Alexa was covered. Once again we had to clean out her eyes & mouth. Later in the day Alexa was able to hold some birds. She enjoyed watching them eat & even tried petting them.

Later in the week we did an Everglades tour. The tour was a little longer than an hour and was on a wind boat. Alexa had to wear a baby life jacket. It was adorable! She did not care for it but eventually she got used to having it on. We were able to see a total of 7 alligators & a ton of wild life. The captain called Alexa his little Co-Captain.

Over all we had a great time in Florida. We did our best to just enjoy the moment. The flight home was rough. Alexa was tired, hungry & not wanting to sit still. But we made it home with a lot of good memories.

Justin was suppose to leave Monday morning. Sunday evening he was having some kidney pain. We decided it was better for him to get it checked out before he left the States. The doctors prescribed a medication that would make for a very uncomfortable plane ride. He was able to change his flight to Wednesday. Although he was not feeling well, it was nice to have him home for a few extra days. Wednesday was bitter sweet. I did not want Justin to go back but I knew that the sooner he went back the sooner he would be coming home. We are now into the second part of the deployment. Since Justin has only been gone 3 months we know this second half will be a lot longer. Of course we are hoping for an early homecoming sometime in the fall. For now we are keeping the January date on the calendar and anything sooner will be an early Christmas present.

On Thursday, Alexa and I started back in our normal routine. In the afternoon Alexa's sitter told me she was becoming overwhelmed and no longer interested in watching Alexa. My Mom offered to come and watch Alexa until she started in the new daycare center. On Sunday we went to the zoo. Alexa had a good time with the sheep. There were around 10 sheep wondering around in one part of the zoo. I bought food to feed them, but they were more interested in Alexa. One sheep was licking Alexa's legs. She thought it was funny. It was a good time, but I had to wash Alexa down in the bathroom right after.

Alexa spent Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday with Grammie. I was told they had a good time. In the evenings we went out to dinner. I really enjoyed having my Mom here. It helped me catch up on a few things around the house. Thursday & Friday Alexa was in hourly care. This is located and ran by the same people she will be with full time. I got a good report both days. I was told I have a very happy baby.

This month we are looking forward to our Easter egg hunts, Alexa starting full time in daycare, and hopefully many days of warm weather.