Since Alex learned how to pull herself up she is trying to climb up on everything! Me, her walker, her toys … and when she gets up and she looks at me with this huge smile like she is such a big deal. When Marc gets home from work he takes her while I take a little break. He usually brings her into our room and puts her in her playpen while he changes out of his work clothes. Yesterday she pulled herself up in her playpen and just stood there looking around for quite awhile. It was really funny when she finally plopped down - she looked so disgusted.

Alex is also scooting all over the place - and in the living room she no longer wants to play with her toys - instead she heads straight for the stereo and Marc’s cd’s - we are going to have to find a cabinet for the tv and the stereo soon - I can’t figure out what is so fascinating about it other than that we don’t want her over there. It has gotten really hard to watch her anywhere except in her room.

Alexandra is 25 weeks old today … I guess I’ve reached the point where you don’t really count weeks anymore. And she is really trying to crawl … she gets up on all fours, trys to move forward, and then kind of bell flops on the floor. She is, however, really good at doing what I call the inchworm scoot - she gets around.

Yesterday Alex had her 4 month checkup and 4 shots She cried pretty hard with the shots but did a lot better than she did the first time. She slept a lot yesterday but had a hard time getting to bed - she was up to almost 11pm. When she went to the cardiologist on Monday she weighed 14.4 and was 23.25 inches long - yesterday she weighed 14.9 and was 24.25 inches long! She grew that much in only 3 days - unbelievable.

We also discussed with the pediatrician how difficult it can be to get her to bed at night - how she is ready for bed around 8pm but keeps fussing, nursing, and waking up again until 10pm. He talked to us about letting her cry - he said the first night the baby might cry for 2 hours but by 3-5 days the baby has learned when bedtime is. I don’t know about this - it sounds harsh and goes against what I believe in. But, on the otherhand any habit she has by 6 months of age will be almost impossible to break and as it currently stands I can’t leave her to go out at night without her crying the entire time.

I have new pictures, which I will be scanning in and adding soon.

I forgot to mention that they weighed and measured Alex at the cardiologist yesterday … she weighs 14 lbs 4 ounces and is 23.25 inches long. Like Johnny says, “Teeny little parents, big baby” :- )

Last night, October 11th, Alex laughed!!! It was short but both Marc and I were in the room and we looked at each other like did that really happen. She did it again today and I think she is just about ready to start cracking up all of the time. She sure does smile all the time

Alexandra is 4 months old today - and she is growing and changing so much everyday. Her motor skills are really improving and she can now sit up with assistance, she can reach for and grab onto things and can hold some of her toys, and she is almost ready to roll over from her side to her stomach. And she is SO curious and interested in everything - toys, books, magazines, objects only she can see :-), people - everything.

Today we slept in a little bit and then Alex got up and played and took a short nap and Marc cleaned the bathroom while I went through my mail and started unpacking (Alex and I were in Vermont for a week). When we were done with that we took Alex out in the stroller and did a couple of errands (like buy a plunger and talk to our landlord) and then we went to Wurst Pizza and got some food. After than we went to the Farmer’s Market and bought some produce. I think Alex had fun … she got a little sick of her stroller at then end and I carried her home but she is still overtired from all of our traveling.

Like I mentioned we just got back from Vermont - I will write about our trip later - Alex had a lot of fun, got used to the car seat, and had her picture taken at Sears!!!

Alexandra has a new thing where she clasps her hands together and sometimes chews on them at the same time. It is really cute and it looks like she is scheming - like she is plotting to take over the world or something …

She’s been so good and is such a happy baby. The only hard part is that she won’t give up and go to sleep at night even when it is obvious that she is exhausted. On the plus side is once she gets to sleep she sleeps for a long time. Last night she finally got to bed at 10pm and slept til 7am. The she went back to sleep at 9am.

Natalie and John are coming to visit today … I am so excited to see them and for them to see Alex.

… that’s 105 days!!! Alex is really such a happy baby - she’s full of smiles all the time She has started sucking her thumb … Marc doesn’t like it but I do - she doesn’t like pacifiers so instead of using me as a pacifier she is using her thumb and her fingers. Sometimes she tries to stick her entire hand into her mouth - looks pretty goofy.

She holds her head up great and is always trying to sit up by herself. She also loves to stand. She has a sort of laugh but she hasn’t really done it yet - I can’t wait to hear what that sounds like. Well, Alex and I are going to go sit on the porch and wait for Marc - he should be home soon.

Since last night Alexandra has been an absolutely perfect baby. The last two weeks have been really difficult getting her to bed - by 9pm she is exhausted but she nurses, falls asleep, and then wakes up as soon as I put her in bed and the cycle continues until midnight. It has gotten where she goes to bed at midnight, gets up at 5:30am to eat, and sleeps til 9 or 10. Being a morning person this schedule is not working out very well for me. So I have been bringing her to the bedroom at 9-9:30pm and laying her down, she doesn’t fall asleep but I pat her back and talk to her about it being bedtime. Last night I did that, she got up one more time and was asleep by 10:15. She slept until 5am, ate, and then slept until 8:30. I actually woke her up because we had to start getting ready for church. It was so nice to get to bed early and have such a good nights sleep. I am hoping that she was going through her 3 month growth spurt, which is winding down.

Then all day today she has been wonderful. She fell asleep on the trolley on the way to church but woke up after the first reading. She was awake the entire mass and didn’t fuss at all. She just looked around and enjoyed the people and the music. After mass we went to The Gallery and got something to eat and then I went to Strawbridge’s because they have a fairly private area to nurse. She didn’t eat for 2.5 hours and was being really mellow and just having a great time. She fell asleep so Marc and I looked at baby clothes, went to the Toy store and the software store. At the toy store we got her the Ocean Wonders Aquarium. It was a little expensive but we had a gift certificate and it was 20% off. We then went to Starbucks and then took the trolley home. She didn’t wake up until we got home. Marc put the toy together and Alex’s reaction to it was priceless. Her eyes got really wide, she smiled, and even “talked” to it. I think her enjoyment of it is going to make it worth every penny.

So, we had a lot of fun and a really easy day out and about with Alex. Marc left for work at 3 and Alex is taking another nap. I hope the perfect baby day continues and I have as much success getting her to bed as I did last night. I’m also anxious to play with this toy with her some more when she wakes up. She’ll probably sleep about an hour and then stay up until bedtime.

Alexandra is three months old today - I can’t believe how fast time is going by and how quickly she is growing. She has become a lot more verbal this past week - one funny thing that she does is “sing”. When the music plays on her Sparkling Symphony Stacker she goes ooh, ooh, ooh until the music is done playing. It is like she is singing along with the toy.

3 months old!!!