Another Plea to Daddy....

Dear Daddy,

Here is more evidence that you really need to come home!!  I don't know if you can tell, but there is even a pink purse in that stroller!

Love,
Alex

Am I the cutest or what?

Save Me!!

Dear Daddy,

It's time to come home from Iraq.  Look at this....she's putting her jewelry on me now!  You must come home and save me!!

Love,
Alex

Flowers, Poetry, and Poo?

For those of you who read this blog and don't have kids yet, one day you will learn that there is a lot of talk about poop when you have a little one!  

As soon as they enter the world, have they passed meconium yet?  You learn to talk about poop during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  You learn all about poop explosions...which diapers hold it in and which don't!  Then, sometimes, no diaper in the world is ever going to hold it in!  You become somewhat obsessed....  He's pooped 5 times today, is that possibly normal?  He hasn't pooped in 5 days, is that normal?  Is it smelly poop?  Is it green poop?  Is it yellow poop?  And, so you get the idea....

Well, now that Alex is eating more solid food, his poop is on the change again.  A change for the bad, that is.  It's smellier, it's thicker....it's just down right more disgusting!!  It has me rethinking my cloth diapers and thinking those disposable diapers can make it out to the trash can very quickly and I never have to see or smell them again!!!

I guess I've been complaining a lot about his poop to Jeremiah because a couple of weeks ago he sent me flowers and the following poem about poop!

Roses are Red and Violets are Blue,

I'm Sorry that Alex has such smelly poo.

If I were there I would bear it with you,

But I'm not so all I can do is send flowers just for you!

It was very sweet and funny of him, but I do hope he knows it's not going to get him out of changing a whole lot of diapers when he comes home from his year in Iraq!!

BYE!

Alex has started waving a lot and I have noticed that when he hears the words "Bye Bye" he knows to wave.  In fact, this morning, Elmo said "Bye" to someone on Sesame Street and Alex waved at Elmo.  It was very cute!

While we were on Skype, Jeremiah was saying "Bye-Bye" to see Alex wave.  To our surprise, he waved back AND said "Bye!"  It couldn't have been better to have him say his first word and say it for Daddy too!!!  So perfect! =)

I don't have any photos of him waving, but here's my favorite one from our photo shoot while Daddy was home!

Life with Alex!

Here's the reason I never get to sit down anymore....  Anyone want to come visit?!?!

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!!

Avocado + Mum-Mums in the hands of an 8 Month Old 

=

Chips and Guacamole (Baby Style!)

At It Again!!

My little climber is at it again finding new ways to climb things!  Today, he moved one of his toys over by the coffee table and the cabinets and used it as a step. It helped him be able to reach more things on the table and reach all the way up to the first shelf.  I guess mommy will have to start doing even more babyproofing!  It sure is fun to watch the wheels in his mind working to figure out new things.

More Photos from MiMi and Pop's House!

Family Photos...At Last!

While Jeremiah was home, we had some family photos taken.  The photographer, Hadley Scott, has a blog where she posts about her sessions.  Here is the link to her blog about our session:

www.hadleyscottphotoblog.com/pictures-in-seattle/

I should have the photos back next week, so I'll send real copies as soon as I can!

Ramblings about Parenthood!

So far, parenthood has been full of quite a few lessons....they come almost daily in fact!  A few that come to mind are:  

1. There is no real way to explain parenthood until you become a parent!  It's an experience and a love like no other! 
2. Only you know what is truly best for your child and don't judge other parents for their decisions. (Who knew I could ever be so happy that Alex would finally take a bottle???)
3. Babies don't always act the way you want them to or you think they will!  Sometimes they just come into this world ready to rock your world...kinda like Alex! :)
4. Be prepared to function on very, very little sleep.

One of the other things it does is to make you look at your own parents differently.  It sure makes me thankful to my parents for so many reasons.  The first of which is the pure fact that they kept me alive!  Thanks for that Mom and Dad!!  I'm also so thankful to them for giving me such a wonderful childhood filled with love and so many opportunities to explore and learn about the world.  They always believed in me, encouraged me to do whatever I wanted, and loved me every step of the way.  I would not be where I am without them and I truly hope that Jeremiah and I will be able to do the same for Alex!

And, even better than all that mushy stuff, is the pure enjoyment I get out of seeing my parents be grandparents.  They are both so amazing with Alex!  They get on the floor, play, squeal, climb, laugh, dinosaur scream, tickle, blow raspberries, and much, much more!  It is so wonderful to see them play that role in life and to see how much Alex lights up from being around them or talking to them on Skype.  I only hope that at some point soon in the future we will live much closer, so that they can spend even more time in their roles as MiMi and Pop!

All in all, this a long rambling diatribe to say thank you Mom and Dad for being the greatest parents and now the greatest grandparents!!!  Alex and I had a wonderful visit with ya'll and we love you both so much!!

And, last but not least, here's a new picture of the little guy who is teaching me all these lessons in life (and the one keeping me from having a good night's sleep)....