Hiding Out

All the rain earlier this month brought out the kid in Tim. He and Alex worked for at least a week to create the perfect fort in our multipurpose room. I’m not even sure these pictures represent the latest version! Alex loves spending time in his “hide” building houses and rockets out of Legos. He even allows Mommy and Spencer to come inside!

A Strunck Visit

Great-Grandma Strunck, Great-Grandpa Strunck, and Great-Aunt Cyndi drove up for a visit a few weekends ago. Alex enjoyed opening presents for himself and Spencer (who knew having a new brother earned you so many gifts!) and playing monster trucks with Great-Grandma. Spencer enjoyed all the cuddle time!

Alex was hiding his Hess cars from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa

Birthday Parties

Just when I thought we had settled into our new normal, the whole family came down with a yucky stomach bug. Now that we seem to all be on the mend, and I’m getting some sleep at night, I’m finally playing catch-up on the blog. Cross your fingers posts will become a little more regular in the future!

Alex was invited to two birthday parties over the past month. When we went shopping for Rowen’s present in July, I asked Alex what he wanted to get him. His answer, “a blue truck,” was very insistent. We ended up picking out a yellow truck and a black truck instead; I guess no blue trucks were good enough. When Alex picked out two, I really thought he wanted one for him and one for Rowen, but he insisted on two for Rowen, then put both in the gift bag and willingly carried the gift bag in for the party. I was so proud!

Proudly carrying Rowen’s present.

Alex and the birthday boy.

The boy was DYING for some cake!

Alex jumping in the bounce house and on the big trampoline!

Our next party was also our first visit to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Alex was very overwhelmed by all the noise at first, but after birthday girl Cerys brought him tokens and we showed him how to use them, he seemed to enjoy himself. Once again, when we went shopping for Cerys’ present, Alex insisted on giving her a blue truck. Since all the blue trucks were HUGE, we settled on cars from the movie Cars. When Cerys opened her present, Alex kept asking to open the cars, but I’m not sure if it was to play or to watch her play.

Alex’s 2nd ride at Chuck E. Cheese’s … now he’s having fun!

Alex and Cerys, the birthday girl!

It’s hard to believe I’ll be planning a 3rd birthday party in a few months!

Hug the Baby?

Alex has been such a great big brother! He seems to be accustomed to having Spencer around and often asks for Spencer to watch him play or even to play trucks with him. My favorite is when Alex asks to hug Spencer. These hugs always include a kiss and a tickle, and sometimes a high five and fist bump. He does get frustrated on Spencer’s hungry days, but seems to have accepted that I will do my best to play with him and feed Spencer at the same time. Here are some pictures of our sweet boys:

Spencer is 1 month!

The 11th was Spencer’s 1 month birthday! I can’t believe how quickly time has gone by … and I can’t believe how much he has grown! He is still a great eater, as you can see from his almost 3 lb weight gain and is starting to spend more time alert, especially if it means watching Alex play.

Check out these statistics from his 1 month wellness check:

Height: 22cm … 66th %ile

Weight: 10 lbs, 8 oz … 61st %ile (gained almost 3 lbs since birth)

Head: 39.2 cm … 92nd %ile

Just for fun, I’m going to post a picture of Alex at each month milestone next to a picture of Spencer so we can compare each month:

Alex, almost 1 month.

Spencer, 1 month.

I love my sweet, sweet boys!

Our Family of Four

We’ve been enjoying our time as a family of four! We are much less stressed now that Spencer is home and we aren’t driving back and forth from the hospital. We’ve had several visits from friends and family and lots of food brought in. Thank you to everyone who has come by and sent gifts!

Alex shows more and more interest in Spencer every day (I was a little worried when he wouldn’t even look at him in the hospital). He likes to kiss and hug him, and has even asked to hold him a few times. Alex loves to tell me when Spencer is crying and pooping and is extremely interested in watching me pump. While I know Alex loves his baby brother, he does get jealous with all the feedings and cuddle time! He has the hardest time when the three of us are home alone – he’s used to always being the center of my attention!

Alex loves to bring over books or play games on his tablet while I’m feeding Spencer.

Cuddle time with Daddy in the best La-Z-Boy ever!

Alex asked, “I hold baby?”

Alex loves to get close to Spencer and inspect, hug, or kiss him.

Taking a cuddle break while playing.

I love how Alex has decided all baby accessories still belong to him. Check out his chair!

I even survived my first shopping expedition with the two boys. Too bad there wasn’t much room for groceries!