Overall Alex is a really great kid - she’s sweet, good-natured, affectionate, kind and full of joy. This past week, however, she was exceptional. She was always smiling and laughing, hardly fussed at all, was full of hugs and kisses, played by herself, hung out with me while I exercised, and tried to talk even more. She was almost easy to watch. She still gets into things that she shouldn’t but that is just natural curiousity - she isn’t trying to cause trouble. I really has such a wonderful time with her all week.

They say that the terrible twos start at 18 months - Alex will be 18 months in December and I think she is being slightly affected. But it isn’t so much that kids are ‘terrible’ it is more that they are becoming more independent and want to assert their own will rather than having to constantly do what they are told.

Overall Alex has been SO good - she is so delightful and funny and happy. But there are certain things that she doesn’t want to do and there are other things that she wants to do that she isn’t supposed to which up causing struggles or as I like to put it ‘Little Earthquakes’.

Currently Alex does not want to get dressed and she doesn’t want to change her diaper. Unless she is really tired she will not lay still. And she doesn’t care if we get angry and talk in a stern or even angry manner - she just laughs and laughs. As you can probably imagine in some instances this is a bigger problem then in others.

And then there are other things she doesn’t want to leave alone even though she knows she’s not supposed to do it. She want to play with the cat’s water dish and more than once I’ve discovered her soaking wet from dumping out the water and sliding all over the kitched floor. When I catch her she looks a little startled but then just smiles and laughs - it’s as if she’s saying -”I know I’m not supposed to do this but I don’t care - I going to anyway.” I have, however, become more proactive and have been putting the cat’s dished up on the counter. Alex also loves getting into our comic books and books that are on the bookcase in our room. (granted I need to move them to avoid the tempation - I just haven’t gotten around to it yet). She pulls everything out, spreads it all over the floor and drags the comic books around the house. Again she is a little surprised when I catch her but she just laughs no matter how annoyed I seem.

This new behaviour is aggravating and cute all at the same time.

When Alex was sick last week she was VERY snuggly - all she really wanted to do was sleep and be held. She’s all better now - and is she ever lively - she’s like Yosemite Sam after 30 cups of coffee. She is still, however, very cuddley and likes being held, sitting in our laps, and likes giving lots of hugs. I don’t know if this new behaviour is related to being sick but it is quite a coincidence.

Alex is also much better at responding and following instructions - she understands so much of what we say to her. She doesn’t really talk but she nods and shakes her head, points to things, and goes to get objects that I tell her to like baby doll or her books. She recently started saying dada and is SO excited when Marc gets home from work.

Alex gets a gold star for the day! She has been perfectly wonderful from start to finish. She played and laughed and didn’t fuss all day except for a tiny bit after her bath - she usually gets crabby after her bath because she is tired and she doesn’t want to wear clothes. And she went to bed without any problems - she even played in her crib for over an hour, didn’t cry at all and finally fell asleep on her own. After struggling in October to get her to learn her bedtime she was having trouble again the last couple of weeks - she would go to bed and then within an hour she would be crying and would get back up for a little while. And then she had the bad fever last week and the teething problems. Marc and I didn’t know how we were going to get her to go to bed again without problems and even talked about it quite a bit last night. And tonight - no problem … the only thing that is different is that Marc isn’t home (he is at a Christmas party for work) so maybe since it is so quiet she doesn’t feel like she is missing out on anything. Anyway, it has been a great day …

I called the doctor’s office today because Alex’s behaviour seems so strange - they think that she has just reached a developmental milestone and is now able to soothe herself and doesn’t need to be so fussy. Since she doesn’t have anything physically wrong with her like a fever they don’t think there is any cause for concern. I’m glad I called because I was really starting to worry. It’s weird though - she looks like my baby but she sure isn’t acting like my baby …

Alexandra has been so mellow the last two days - completely out of character. She has spent a lot of time sucking on her hand and staring off into space. She even hangs out when I am doing chores and doesn’t fuss after a bit … I’m a little worried because she is usually Miss Energy and isn’t still for a minute. I guess I should be grateful to have some quiet but if she keeps this up I am going to call the doctor. It’s strange, however, because I would think that if she didn’t feel good that she would be fussy rather than so quiet.

Friday night Marc and I went to see Tori Amos. I was nervous about leaving Alexandra at night and was worried that she would cry the entire time. Grandma B. (Alma) came to babysit and planned to stay overnight since we were not going to get home until midnight. We got Alex ready for bed like every other night and when I put her in bed she started crying (she was exhausted because she hadn’t really napped all day). We decided to leave and Alma assured us that everything would be fine. We had a rental car and we had only gone a couple of blocks when our cell phone rang - my heart sank - I was so anxious to go out and couldn’t believe something was wrong at home. But Alma called to tell me that Alex had stopped crying and was fast asleep - I was so glad that she called to tell us that because then we were really able to enjoy ourselves without worrying that Alex was going to cry all night long.

The next morning Alex woke up around 5am, ate, but didn’t go back to sleep so Marc got up and played with her while I snoozed for a little longer. At 6am Alex ate a little more and then went back to bed until 8:15. I went back to bed a second time until 7:30. When I finally got up Alma and Marc were watching Attack of the Clones After Alex got up she had cereal, we all had breakfast, and then we went out. We went shopping in the Northeast and went to Target, ToysRUs and the Willow Grove Mall. Alex was so good the entire day and really seemed to enjoy herself. At Target she rode in her stroller and at the mall she smiled at another baby she saw at the Disney Store (I have got to get her into a playgroup) and drank an entire bottle from Marc while were eating Taco Bell food at the food court. She is also really excitable and you can tell when she likes something because she smiles and kicks her legs (non-stop kicking is her new thing - it is kind of like she is in ballet class). Alma showed Alex a stuffed snowman which Alex loved - it was so cute. And of course she got two new books and some bowls for her cereal.

On the way home Alex fell asleep in the car so when we dropped Alma off we didn’t go in because Alex hadn’t has a nap all day and I didn’t want to wake her up. When we almost home she woke up and cried the rest of the way - she was hungry and only had a little bit of her bottle left. But I don’t blame her for crying - it was a really long day and she was such a good sport - I really think she had a ball. And she was excellent even in her carseat.

That night she passed out and went to bed at 7pm!!! She had a really long but fun day and was totally pooped!

Alexandra really is good natured. After church on Sunday we dragged her to a bunch of stores, to lunch and then to the park - it was a beautiful day. After church she was a little cranky because she was tired but she slept for a little while and then hung out with us everywhere that we went. Sometimes I think she puts up with a lot but I also think that she likes to get out - we’ve been taking her out since she was 5 days old and it seems like she likes to go to different places and see new people. She especially likes the park - there is so much to see there.

Alexandra has been so wonderful the last four days. First, after all the trouble trying to get her to bed at night she has gone right to bed by 8pm for four nights in a row!!! And when I lay her down she is usually awake so she has learned how to go to sleep and not be nursed to sleep. She is also learning to do the same thing when she is tired during the day and needs a nap. On Saturday she was starting to fall asleep in her swing and I took her out and put her in bed - she was awake and went right to sleep. It’s like she has learned that sleep is good and that she doesn’t need to fight it and cry about it We were also having some trouble with the number of times she was waking up at night … at her age she should be able to sleep at least 6-7 hours at night without needing to eat and for a week or so she was getting up every 3-4 hours. I was exhausted because I wasn’t getting enough sleep at one time. So, we decided to put her in her own room to sleep from now on and if she wakes up a couple of hours after going to bed we wait a little bit before going to get her. Usually she goes right back to sleep - when she was right next to me in the co-sleeper I couldn’t help but get her up immediately. And last night she went to bed at 8:15 and didn’t get up until 5:30. She then ate and went right back to sleep. I think the cereal that she is now having twice a day is helping to fill her up. What’s also ironic is that as soon as we called Alex’s doctor to talk about all the sleeping problems we were having with her she started going to bed without any problem.

And during the day she has been so much fun!!! She is always happy, she loves her cereal and has such a good time playing with her toys and running errands with me. The only time she fusses is if she needs a nap or after her bath at night because I don’t think she wants to get out of the tub and get dressed and at that point she is really ready for bed. She also got fussy during church yesterday but when we got out we realized that mass had lasted 30 minutes longer that usual (we had the endless sermon that went nowhere) so if it had gotten out on time she would have made it without a problem. I thought she was hungry but when we put her in the sling when we were leaving she went right to sleep so she just needed a nap.

So, things are getting so much easier - Alex is so much fun and I am starting to get enough rest. And after 8pm Marc and I have time together - we usually are so tired that we sit and stare at each other but it is quality staring time

Oh, Marc doesn’t work on Saturdays anymore so he now has a whole day off where the three of us can be together. This is helping a lot and he gets to spend more time with Alexandra - he really enjoys feeding her her cereal.

Alex has been such a wonderful baby today - if she keeps it up she gets a gold star for the day. She got up early in a great mood, was wonderful in church, and was really mellow and curious when we went shopping. When we got home she took a nap and is still sleeping - she hasn’t taken a two hour nap since she had her cold!!! And she is doing great getting used to her new bedtime. Life is good today.