9 Month Check

Mr. Alexander (Salamander Flanders) had his 9 months well baby today & filling out the questionnaire was nerve-wrecking. All the 9 month olds I see & hear are standing already and some are even trying to walk. What the freak. Mr. Alex is not even crawling yet. He'll push himself backwards & he has started pushing with his feet but he's still a ways from crawling, let alone standing by himself! So, all these questions of *is he doing this yet?* and answering no to most of them was upsetting. Also his weight. Now on my scale at home he gained like .8 of a lb in 2 months. Woo hoo! At the clinic he gained NADA! Home scale: 13lbs 10.5 oz. Clinic: 13lbs 4oz.  I weighed him at home after breakfast, 2 hrs before his appt. Also he pooped on the way to the clinic so I guess that might be it. Le Sigh! But thankfully my doctor was A-Ok with no gain because he has grown in length. All of .8 inches. Also she was ok with my non-crawly boy. She had him stand just holding his hands & he supported himself. I've been trying to do it for a week & he'll stand for 2 seconds & be done & that's holding under his arms. I was amazed he stood for her. Then tonight I tried it at home & he did it. He thought it was hilarious to stand. And he even stood holding onto the table(for dear life). So I was proud! So, mister magoo is now 25.6 inches long. In size 6-9m clothes (still with growing room, 6m pants because his waist is small) and size 2 diapers. He LOVES bath time, definitely a water baby. I bathe the kids together & they both enjoy it. I can't believe my little man is 9 months old already, what the heck! It's going so fast! He LOVES food! If we eat, he must eat. He gets so worked up & whines when he wants food. Definitely impatient! Haha. I think he's a way better eater than Katie but shoot, it's been 3 years so I don't really know. Still breastfeeding, woo hoo!

Katie Bug is miss attitude. She likes playing on her tablet (because it's a treat, she rarely gets too), running, & singing. She runs every single day, EVERY SINGLE DAY! She loves singing as loud as can be, my goodness. She two favorite shows/cartoons are PJ Masks & Frozen(Let It Go as she calls it sometimes). She loves having me braid her hair because it's like Anna or Elsa (depending if I do one or two braids). She can spell her name out loud & she can spell Alex also. She is semi obsessed with counting down.

These two adore each other. Seriously adore! When Katie wakes up she looks for her brother and if she's asleep in our bed (she sneaks in after daddy leaves for PT every morning) while brother is feeding he'll look down at her & watch her. His face lights up when she walks by him & he squeals in excitement. He seriously loves that girl. He's a very happy baby & he loves to be tossed in the air. Oh, Katie loves riding her bike/trike. When we go on a walk at night she rides her bike while dad walks Hersh & I push Alex in the stroller. She is extremely excited about Easter, though she's excited by every holiday. She loves seeing decorations. She's bossy on the playground, I sort of feel bad for the other kids but she also follows once in a great while.

Well, I guess I'll go. I know it's a little all over the place but I wrote as it came to me. I want to write stuff down so I'll have record of it but it's hard to remember every thing. So, Good Night!

7 Months

7 months ago we became a family of 4(humans, 5 with dog). 7 months ago my world was turned upside down. It truly has been a difficult change. Do I love my son, yes, but I also miss the life we had with one child. When we got to focus on only her. I miss the relationship I had with Katie, it has changed so much since Alex came. Daddy still seems to get his special Katie time & I get some time too but I get mini moments. Could I have more or longer ones? Sometimes yes but I am so exhausted. All. The. Time! I told someone the other day that Alex was high maintence & it's true. We went home on vacation & he didn't take it well. He didn't like all the new people, he wanted mommy. He would be fine if mommy wasn't around or he didn't hear mommy but the second I walked into the room or he heard my voice he lost it. He Wanted Mommy & NOW! It was exhausting. Vacation was exhausting. He also went from sleeping decently to waking up every 2-3 hrs, sometimes worse. Since getting back 2 weeks ago he's had one decent night sleep & one good one. Oh I miss sleep. Any ways. I miss my daughter. I miss being able to have special time with her. I can't wait til I can have a mommy daughter date with her & I think we're about at that age with Alex(that I can leave him without daddy freaking). I think I really need a date with her. Just us. It's getting better though I guess & I know it'll continue to get better. I will get more time with Katie & I will be able to focus on her & solely her at times. It's just been hard feeling distant from her, feeling like I don't have as strong a relationship with her. Anyways. On to updating.

Dec 8th, the kids & I flew on the plane to Ca. Katie got to go into the cockpit & the both did great on the flights. Everyone kept telling me how well behaved they both were & how surprised they were that neither made a peep. Woo hoo! We got an extra week in Ca before Daddy made it out. Katie had a blast with all her cousins & I was glad more family got to meet Alex. We also drove from Ca to Tn and it freaking sucked! I never look forward to that drive again.

So, real updates. Katie is up to 25 lbs. Woo hoo! Alex weighs 12lbs 13oz as of today. On the 12th we had his "6 month" check up (he was a day from 7 months). He weighed 12lbs 9oz on my home baby scale, which has always been even with their baby scales. Well, clinic baby scales were down so they weighed me, then both of us, to get his weight. I use to do this with Katie & it was always very off. Big surprise it was there too. It showed that Alex weighed 11lbs 8oz, which would be a 1oz loss in 3 months. I flat out told her that it's not what he weighs & that's not an accurate way to get a baby's weight. I understand they have to do what they have to do but I'm not starving my kid & he did not lose weight. Look, my kids grow very slowly, they gain VERY slowly. Katie only gained 9 lbs in her first year of life. So I keep track of it, I'm very on top of it. I was worried that he hasn't gained anything(as of the 12th) since 5 months. Well, because he showed a loss & you know "she has to look out for him & to make sure he's healthy & taken care of" we have a weight check on Tuesday. She claims he must gain so much & weigh so much to reach certain milestones. WRONG! He's doing good on sitting up & he's ahead of his sister on that. He is a happy active baby. He's small, yes, but so was Katie. The doctor wants him to gain a lb in a week. I flat out told her there is no way he will. Except that their scales were wrong & if they get their BABY scales in then it should show his true, nearly 13 lb, weight, instead of the 11.75 lb weight. That would show a one pound gain. He has gained 4oz in 5 days so he might gain another oz by Tuesday. So I'll update, hopefully, after that check. Oh & he was 24.8 inches tall. Woohoo! He gained 1.5 inches in 3 months. :) Size 2 diapers & 6m clothes.

Gotta go, he's fussing. Bye & Love!

Flying by...

Time is flying by. Our son is now 5 months old, which is so absurd. He has changed so much the last month. He smiles a lot more & he talks a lot more. He's working on sitting up & he's rolled over a few times. He laughs a little bit I know a lot of babies his age have/are doing a lot more. Mike's coworker's son (born a day earlier) sits up like a champ and he laughs like a champ. He's also 4 lbs heavier than Alex. Alex weighs 12lbs 8oz now, not sure on height/length. He wears size 3m & 3-6m clothes. 3m pants are a little short on him but the waist of 3-6 are so big. He wears size 2 diapers. He eats ALL THE TIME! Night time feedings average every 3 hrs. Once in a great while I get a 5-6 hr space but unfortunately sometimes I only get a 1.5-2.5 hr spacing. Ugh, the short spaces are really hard. Alex is getting good at grabbing things & gets excited now. He flails his arms & legs, it's so funny. He's starting to put everything in his mouth. He grabs his feet now & rolls to his side. Who cares about fully rolling over, he's good. :) He still sleeps in our room in the pack n play but we'll probably move him to his room after the holidays. We waited til 6 months with Katie too.

Katie adores her brother & always wants to be in his face, except when I could really use her to entertain him. When I'm doing chores she tends to ignore him. Katie is FINALLY saying F's. Fish is Fish instead of Shish now. Now to work on other letters she has trouble with. She has SO much energy, all the time. She's usually pretty good but girl can be a terror too. She's wearing size 3T & 2 or 3T pants. 2T pants are too short on her but ey, still use them sometimes. :)

Well, that's about it. These use to be a lot longer when updating about Katie.

4 months!

How is my mini munchkin 4 months old now? And how is it that my first munchkin was conceived 4 years ago next month?! My goodness!! My life has so truly changed in the last 4 years and it's amazing.
Mini Munchkin stats: 11 lbs 8.5 oz. I'll find out how tall next week at his 4m well baby appt. He "talks" all the time, mostly to his sister. He ADORES her & she adores him. They're going to have an amazing bond, that's for sure. He likes to push with his heels on his back. He does not enjoy tummy time but he sits on my chest a lot. His head is still very wobbly, not sure if it's suppose to be or not. He's wearing 3m clothes mostly but some 3-6m ones too. Size 1 diapers still. I think he might be going through a growth spurt, he eats a lot & is fussy a lot. Fun times in the house.

Katie is almost done with her soccer classes. She likes them some times & hates them other times. I don't think she's a big group activity person. She does better one on one. She is so smart & has SO much attitude. She amazes me every day.

Welp, the kid is fussing so off I go. Have a blessed day!

Update: Alex was 11 lbs 9oz & 23.25 inches long at his 4m appt.

3.5 months

Mr. Alex is 3.5 months old & he's growing like a weed. He was 10lbs 11.5oz at 3 months which is a one pound heavier than 2 months. Right on track, my little man. Life is still really hectic. Mike is currently at Ft. Polk, LA for a month. He only left a few days & it's been extremely hard. I've been super emotional, like pregnant women emotional (no, not pregnant). Katie started soccer classes almost 3 weeks ago & she loves it. It's 8 weeks of Saturday classes & it ends on Halloween. I hope she starts being more independent at the classes because it's hard to help her & lug around mister chunk. I'm hoping each class she'll be more independent & confident, I think confidence is a big part of her wanting me/mike right there & us needing to repeat what the coach says. That's about it. The kids are growing like weeds, it's going by so super fast.
Alex has laughed a tiny bit twice. The start of a laugh, just enough to know it's a laugh & not just a sound. He's still in 0-3 clothes, except sleepers he's in 0-3 & 3m. Size 1 diapers & probably will be for a while. I think that's it. :)

PICTURES!

Our First Family Photo, June 17th

June 17th

June 19th

4th of July (4 wks old-Alex)

July 13th (1 month)

Aug 13th (2 months)

Aug 16th, Katie's 3 yr & Alex 2 month shoot

Life with 2(kids)

One of my worries while pregnant was how I was going to raise 2 kids. I was use to one kid & the thought of a second scared me. I mean I wanted a second kid but when it happened so fast & the realization that life was really going to change, I got really scared. Everyone kept telling me it's easy. It's super easy. Kid 3 is the hard one but the second, oh, you barely notice. LIES! Fucking Lies! It has been SO hard going from one to two for me. Katie was such an easy baby & Alex is so demanding. A demanding baby & a demanding toddler is far from easy. It is mentally & physically exhausting. Sleep, I miss sleep! It might also help if I didn't have a second bad Csection that is still healing. It's been 11 wks & I'm still having wound care visits and appts. My last one took 5-6 months to heal. Anyways, my kiddos!
I updated all the time on Katie & her growth and I'm trying to remember with Alex. He's growing so much faster than our baby girl did. He is, a normal growing baby. Which is bittersweet. I loved my petite princess & I loved her staying in clothes forever.
I don't know what info I have entered for Alex so here it goes!
Birth/June 13th: 6lbs 6 oz. 19.75 inches
Lowest weight: 5lbs 13oz
June 29th(16 days old)- 6lbs 4oz 20inch
July 10th(4wks)- 6lbs 15oz 21 inches
Aug 7- 8lbs 13oz
Aug 13(2 months)- 9lbs 4oz
Aug 18- 9lbs 11oz 21.75 inches
I moved him into size 1 diapers the last week of July & into 0-3 clothes the first week of August. Mr. Alex(as his sissy calls him) weighed at 2 months what his sister did at 4 months. Bittersweet! Nicknames: Katie calls him Mr. Alex or Baby brother. Mike calls him Alex or brother man. Even my father in law has a nickname for him, Big Al. I have no idea but ok. I have no nickname for baby boy. I've tried Bubba, Bubby, Monkey, Chunkers. Nothing sticks or fits. I guess I'll stick with Alex or Mr. Alex. I just wish I had a personal nickname for him & maybe one day I will. We'll see.
Alex smiles, oh such a big sweet smile. All you have to do is talk to him or say "are you going to smile?" I love seeing his smile! He's starting to really take off on talking. The last week it's grown so much, louder & longer periods. Oh, his sweet voice. We might be in trouble, he might be more talkative than his sister. :) Then again, he has a sister in his face all the time so he's bound to do things sooner & want to catch up/be right in there with her. Aww. My babies.

Quick update on Katie.
24 lbs & 34.5 inches (aug 18th). Aww, my baby girl is growing. I really need to update on her too.
My baby girl.... is no longer a baby girl. Ok, I know she hasn't been for a while but still. I feel like she's grown up so much since Alex came. She is so helpful, her vocabulary & understanding seem to have vastly improved, the kid has one hell of a memory! She's using the big potty now, I threw out the little one. I got her a step stool for downstairs & in the last week she carries that thing EVERYWHERE! She takes it to turn on lights, the reach things, feed her fishes. :) The other day she told me the blinds were opened wrong. I was feeding brother so I couldn't get up then. Next thing I know she had gotten her stool & turned the blinds the way she wanted. I was shocked! All so she could look in at me from outside, like a stalker. That made me realize A) wow, she's so smart B) she's so grown up. She has a big girl bed coming eventually. Oh & she's learned to peddle a bike, just yesterday. Well, she was taught before but yesterday she actually rode it herself. Yay, baby girl!