GO BUCKS!!!

Things were a little tense Saturday as we watched the big game! Alex was visibly upset as the Wolverines started making a come back.
In the end, the better team won and all was well with the Little Man.

Firsts...

Last week was an exciting week for us as we got to experience one of Alex's firsts. It happened last Tuesday morning. Alex and I were lounging in bed "talking" after finishing up one of his many morning meals. (That boy can really eat) As I talked to him he smiled at me. Immediately I started questioning if it was a "real" smile or one of those fluke gas moments. It was the most adorable thing though. His mouth was wide open and his eyes were little slits, it had to be real. Right? When the hubs came home from work that night I was so excited to tell him the big news.
Me: Guess what happened today.

Him: What did Hannah get into today?

Me: This isn't about her, although I'm sure I'll find something she got into when I pick up the
mess she made today.

Him: Well, what happened?

Me: Alex smiled!!!!

Him: Are you sure that he really smiled?

Me: Yes, of course.

Him: Sure.

So, I made it my mission to either catch it on camera or get him to see it. Thankfully the next night he got to see the smile. All I had to say was "See, I'm not crazy." We have caught a couple good ones on camera. Here is one of the best:

Don't you think that is one of the cutest smiles you have ever seen?

The difference between people with kids and without

On Monday the Golden Corral chain was honoring the veterans and active duty members by offering a free meal to them. Side note: Thank you to those of you who have served and are serving our country!!! The hubby and I decided to venture out into the madness because hey, it was a free meal. We understood that we live in a military town and that it would likely be packed but we decided to give it a try anyway. Well, we pulled into the parking lot to notice that the line was all the way out into the parking lot. Um, yeah two kids....not going to happen. If we didn't have kids we would have been right there waiting with the rest of the crowd, who incidentally for the most part did not have children. So, we turned around and drove back to our town and picked up chinese. As we walked into the house we heard a strange sound. After looking around for about five seconds we realized the fish tank was leaking all over the carpet. At that point I was thankful that we didn't stay at the feeding frenzy because we had lost about 1/3 of the water while we were gone and it would have really been a mess if we didn't arrive home when we did. However, the food was hot and Hannah was cranky so we ate are chinese before messing with the darn fish (I did however throw some towels under the tank to absorb up some of the water). Since we had just driven from our neighboring town that has actually has stores where you can buy fish tanks, we decided to wait and just put the fish in a Rubbermaid tub for the night. Which Hannah thought was the funniest thing!
Coincidentally, I also had my 6 week check-up on Monday. Unfortunately, even though Tony told me to schedule it for that day because he would be able to watch the kiddos, he couldn't get off. So, I dropped Hannah off at a friends and to Mr. Man with me. He did fine until I got into the exam room. So the nurse rocked his seat while I got examined...which I hate at this office. Instead of changing into a gown they give you this paper sheet to cover up with and you leave your shirt on. The problem with the paper sheet is that it is not very big. I don't consider myself to be a big person and I can barely fit it around my butt. So as you're sitting on the table waiting for the doctor you feel like your crack is hanging out for all to see. Regardless, after the doctor leaves I throw on my clothes and meet him in his office. When I walk in he kind of chuckles and says "This is how you can tell the difference between women who have kids and those that don't. The ones with kids get dressed in under 30 seconds because they know that is about all the time they have." That right there is the story of my life!

Loveable

Although he is quite the cutie, he is also quite a handful. Just today I was telling the hubs that Alex is the type of baby that makes you wonder if you're really cut out to be a parent. But really he's not that bad I've just been spoiled. You see I had the easiest/happiest baby in the world when I had Hannah. Either that or I had some mad parenting skills....go ahead laugh. I'm sure that's what God was doing when he heard me think that! Sure she was jaundice and I had to feed her with a medicine dropper because she wouldn't latch on, but she was easy. At least I remember her as being easy. She was sleeping in her crib (after she got out from under that "light") and would go right back to sleep after eating. At least I remember her going right back to sleep, but honestly I'm picturing us in our house on Loblolly, so she was already two months old. She didn't cry whenever you put her down and she did not spit up that much! Maybe it's just the added stress of having a two year old, but this one is the exact opposite. I am having the hardest time with breastfeeding this one. It seems like he eats non-stop and he's not that good at it. He has a hard time latching on correctly. He roots and roots rubbing the oobie, which in turn gets the milk flowing and he's still not latched on! Then we have milk spraying out, a mad baby and a toddler jumping on my lap wanting to watch monkey movie right now. Only hello, mommy has her hands full right now could you please be patient? "Yeah, Hannah patient" is her response, only five seconds later she is demanding to watch the movie again. Not to mention once he's finally latched on he has to burp like five seconds later and starts arching his back and we all know how wonderful that feels! Then there's the whole wailing whenever put down thing. Seriously, if he's not sound asleep do not even think about putting him down for longer then two minutes. Tack that on top of not getting any sleep and not getting out much and it's enough to make me wonder how much it would cost to ship him to grandma's house...at least until he's sleeping through the night. Of course when calculating the price I also have to add in the cost of overnighting milk so he can be fed. Hmmm, I wonder what I would have to pack it in? Of course then I look his adorable little face and kiss his little feet and realize that this won't last much longer. In fact all too soon he will be the two year old demanding my attention and not wanting to be held or snuggled. I have to beg Hannah for a kiss or hug. Occasionally she'll give me one on her own and she doesn't sit still long enough to snuggle. So all together it is worth the lack of sleep and zombie like state because I realize how precious these first few months are....even if my oobies are really sore from the poor latch on techniques!

When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling bad....

Here are a few of our favorite things:

Alex absolutely loves his sling! He is as content as can be when I put him in there. Usually it's because he's cranky and I need to get something done around the house. Since I'm able to hold him and be hands free it makes me love it.
Another favorite is his swing. We finally broke out the batteries so he could use it and he seems to enjoy it quite a bit as you can tell from the content look on his face:)

As you can tell from the outfit she picked out Dora is a favorite for Tater. She has on a Dora shirt, pajama bottoms and to complete the look her Dora bathing suit. She found it when I was sorting through her drawers the other day and since has wanted to wear it every time she sees it!!!

I don't have a picture of my favorite thing, which is sleep. If only I could get more of it. With Alex spitting up so much he does not sleep good at night. We have him sleeping in his Baby Papasan, (inside of the Pack'n Play) but after he eats he just doesn't fall back to sleep right away. He's usually agitated and a little gassy until he finally gets out a good burp which may or may not soak me in spit up. Anyway, it's not as easy to get the extra sleep when you have to stay conscious to look after the two year old who is wreaking havoc on the house.

Changing

I can't believe that Alexander is already one month old!! He has done quite a bit of growing in the past month. Here are his one month stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 11 3/4 oz

Height: 22 inches