Meeting Santa 2013

Santa visited Tim’s office this year! He really knew how to make a special appearance … there were all kinds of decorations and a craft room with snacks and cookies! Alex was pretty nervous about sitting on Santa’s lap, even though he had talked to him earlier this week at the mall. Luckily, we had no tears and even a cute smile! Finally, a picture of Alex and Santa! Spencer behaved, too – he really just looks confused as to why Tim put him down.

Since I love looking at old pictures, here is Alex from Christmases past.

Christmas 2010	Christmas 2011
Christmas 2012	Christmas 2013

Getting Ready for “Chrism”

Alex has a terrific vocabulary these days, but he is still pretty stubborn about his pronunciations. So, we celebrated “Chrism” this year instead of Christmas. His version has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Even though Tim and I had decided to hold off on Chrism decorations every year until after Alex’s birthday, I couldn’t help but hang up our felt tree early. Alex was super excited and it opened the door to all kinds of fun conversations about Chrism and Santa and presents.

Decorating his first “Chrism” tree of 2013.

I love all the stars at the top!

We also went to the mall with friends to visit a “snow” exhibit and to see Santa. The Santa was really nice and would talk to the kids, even if pictures weren’t being purchased. I wasn’t able to take a picture, but it was great practice for Alex. He told him he wanted tools for Chrism.

Playing in the “snow” (shredded Styrofoam)

A pic with my boys on the ice throne.

Christmas Tree 2013

I really wanted to cut down a tree this year, but the weather just wouldn’t cooperate. It was either cold or rainy the first two weekends of December, and we couldn’t wait much longer than that to get our tree! So, we went up the road to my favorite produce stand and picked out a very pretty tree. We were going to let Alex pick, but he kept picking all the Charlie Brown trees. He ended up picking out a new star for the top of the tree instead!

Alex loved looking at all the trees.

Family “selfie” in front of our tree.

Alex really enjoyed hanging the ornaments on the tree this year.

Spencer is 5 Months

Spencer is growing so quickly! I can’t get over how quickly things are happening: he plays independently in his exersaucer, he can sit up to play for about a minute on his own, he loves spending time on his belly and really wants to crawl. Unfortunately, he’s not sleeping too well … I think he just wants to practice all his new skills. Or maybe he just wants to be with Alex … he is obsessed with Alex and is always scanning the room for him and trying to reach him. I love it! We’re introducing rice cereal and have given Spencer a small taste of sweet potatoes. He still isn’t much of a fan of formula or bottles, but at least we can trick him into drinking a little formula from a sippy cup.

Here are some pictures from earlier this month:

And now for my favorite part of this monthly post … Alex and Spencer side by side:

Alex … 5.5 months

Spencer … 5.5 months

And … since I’m so far behind on my blog, here’s a bonus video of Spencer:

Alex’s 3rd Birthday Party

Alex had a busy day on his birthday! He came downstairs to find balloons, streamers, a banner, and presents. The boy definitely figured out it was his day to open presents. After every guest arrived to his party, the first thing he would do was look for another present. After opening presents, he played with his little friends and had a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped make Alex’s birthday a special day!

Alex and Rowen playing with Alex’s new toys.

Paging Dr. Alex!

Alex quickly mastered the controls of his new “dig”.

Alex worked so hard to blow out his candles.

I wish this weren’t blurry, but you can still see the proud excitement after blowing out the candles.

I hope my sweet boy will always kiss me!

Liam, Rowen, and Alex … taking a quick cake break.

Alex is 3 Years Old!

Remember this little guy? He’s come a long way, hasn’t he?

It’s amazing to think I’ve been a Mommy to Alex for 3 years now! These past three years have been the most amazingly awesome years of my life and I can’t wait to see what other adventures life with Alex will bring me.

Here are his stats from his 3 year check-up:

Height: 37.5 in … 45 %ile (gained 2.5 inches since last year)

Weight: 33 lbs, 13 oz … 72 %ile (gained about 6.5 lbs since last year)

Alex and Spencer posing by the Christmas tree at our pediatrician’s office.

A fun montage of videos from the past 2 months.

Spencer is 4 Months!

We went to our pediatrician for Spencer’s 4 month check-up today! It’s hard to believe he’s been here for 4 months already! He is definitely meeting all his milestones and is ready to meet more – he rolls both ways and scoots around on his belly. He is also rolling over in his sleep … looks like he is going to be a belly sleeper like the rest of the family. When he is propped up, he tries to sit all the way up by himself. Spencer also loves to smile and talk, especially when he has someone to smile and talk back at him. He is getting on a pretty good schedule, but still doesn’t nap much during the day. I guess it’s hard to nap with a crazy (almost) 3-year-old in the house! He is still drooling like crazy and gnaws on anything he can get into his mouth.

Here are Spencer’s 4 month stats:

Height: 26.5 inches … 89th %ile (he’s grown 2.5 inches since Sept’s visit) *Looks like he’ll be a tall one: Alex was 25 inches at 4 months!

Weight: 16 pounds … 54th %ile (he’s gained about 2.5 lbs since Sept’s visit) *Alex weighed about the same at 4 months.

Head: 43 cm … 80th %ile (he’s grown 1.5 cm since Sept’s visit)

I love doing this part every month! I have so much fun looking back at old pictures and comparing the two boys.

Alex, 4.5 months

Spencer, 4 months

When Did This Happen?

When did Alex grow up? We were outside blowing leaves on Saturday, and I realized that in 3 weeks, he would be 3 years old! Time needs to seriously slow down!! My toddler Alex is long gone … I just have an amazing, brilliant, talkative, loving, and mischievous little boy in his place. **sigh**

This is Alex’s “thumb’s up”.

Waving and posing for the camera.

Running in the leaves.

What a happy boy.

All Bundled Up!

I think Spencer likes getting all bundled up!!

First Round of Colds

We seem to have survived our first round of colds with two sick children. Last Monday, both boys woke up with runny noses and fevers. So, we hunkered down, stayed out of the cold, and rested up. Luckily the fevers were gone by day 2 and the runny noses are mostly dried up by now. Poor Alex was pretty restless midweek – between staying inside due to the weather being cold and not being able to go anywhere because he had a cold, he must have been pretty tired of me. Poor Spencer’s bottom teeth are still pushing, so he had some rough evenings. I’m just glad I didn’t have to bring two sick babies to the doctor’s office! We’ll be going enough in the next month between Spencer’s 4 month check-up on Wednesday, Alex’s check-up in December, and my follow-up.

Here are a few pictures of our lazy week:

All cozy on the couch!

Alex was playing games on the Nexus and watching a movie on tv. Spoiled!

Showing Spencer how to play.

Spencer fell asleep in the 3 minutes between changing him and leaving him to get a snack for Alex.

Mountain Island Library

We’ve tried out several libraries in the area and have recently decided the Mountain Island Library is the best. It’s about 20 minutes away, but they have a fun music class on Tuesdays and story time on Wednesdays, so we don’t mind the drive. Plus, the building is new and gorgeous and they have fun activities for the kids:

Shaking the parachute! Alex’s expressions says, “I’m not sure if I want to laugh at you or not …”

They have lots of fun puppets.

I love these “Tetris” like blocks.

Spencer even had fun in his stroller!

My Gamecock

My handsome Gamecock!