Hey Big Sister!

Alex was having quite a conversation this morning with Xena. Well, I guess it was more of a monologue than a dialogue, given that Xena was just kind of looking at him the whole time. Finally, after much cajoling by Alex, Xena walked over to him and kind of sniffed around like, "hey, Little Bro Bro...do you have any food?" When the answer was no, she just kind of walked away and went back to her bed. Alex really likes her and I'm sure once he does have food, Xena will like him even more!

Update from Oakland

Hi all! We had a nice weekend here. The temperatures have cooled off significantly from last week, so it was quite nice. It is still rather smoky from all of the wildfires in California, but hopefully that will die down soon.

As you can see, Alex is enjoying his Exersaucer, in fact, even more than before, as he can now control his movements really well and can spin around and take in all of the toys. Looks like the elephant was quite tasty! He continues to surprise us with the things he does. He tries to sit up alot and has started to notice his big sister Xena alot more. Now he gets quite excited and screeches when she is running around. He tracks her and just seems to be quite curious about her now, whereas before he didn't really notice her much.

We had a fun day today with the Wankel's at their home in Sunnyvale. We got a preview of what Alex will be like at 2 years and then at 4 years----we should never have a dull moment! It was nice to hang out and have a yummy lunch with the whole family.

As you can see in the picture above, Alex's pumpkins are coming up. We'll keep you updated on their progress. There are three seedlings in the big pot outside of the front door, so we check on them often.

By the way, how cute are those little hands in Daddy's hands? Adorable how he holds onto Dad!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Hello

Well, we survived another hot week last week, with temps in the 90's again. It has cooled off considerably, so we are enjoying it while it lasts. Alex is happy and active as usual. He really enjoys sitting in his highchair, playing with his toys and loves when you hold him up so he can stand. He pulled himself up to a sitting position yesterday while lying in my lap, which was quite cool. He is getting quite good at sitting, whether it is in the Bumbo seat, or in between some pillows.

This weekend we tried out the Deuter backpack and as you can see from the photo, Alex enjoyed it so much he zonked out in it on a walk around the neighborhood. Activities during the week included a trip to Lake Temescal, where he liked splashing in the water and grabbing sand; listening to music and dancing--an activity which he really enjoys; and playing with a new toy which he received from his Great Aunt Marvel and Great Uncle Ken--- a puppy which sings many songs, including Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes and the Itsy Bitsy Spider. It is a really cool toy, which he loves to play with! He is quite music driven, so it is perfect. Thanks!

My Daddy's First Father's Day!

Hi everyone! Hopefully you all had a great weekend, like I did. Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day with my awesome Dad! I made his day really special by giving him lots of hugs, giggles and smiles. We went to the park and I was so happy to face forward in my Baby Bjorn....you can see so many more things at the park if you aren't facing inward! I loved it! My Dad is like my own personal robot now.

As you can see from the pictures above, I am growing alot! When I was a week old, I was about the same size as my Bunny Bear, but now I am huge compared to him. I love to eat, bat at my toys, put everything in my mouth to suck on it, and lately I have decided that I love to scratch things. I'm not sure if it is the sound made by scratching, or the texture of things which I like more, but I certainly like to scratch all kinds of fabric, my crib rails and the wall too!

Well, I think it is time for me to take a nap. Talk to you later.

Love,

Alex

Kickin' it at the Park

Hi all! Did you hear the laugh in that video, below? Is that not the cutest giggle ever? I could listen to it all day long---what a cutie pie. We spent a few hours at the park yesterday with some baby friends and their moms. Mosswood Park is adjacent to the Pediatrics Building at Kaiser and has lots of mature trees which provided some great shade from the hot weather. We had a little picnic and Alex hung out on his blanket and kicked around, while watching the other older babies. I think that he learns new things from them every week!

After the fun picnic, we went to the clinic for Alex's next round of immunizations...not so fun. He was a trooper though, and after the initial pain of the injections he was fine. It is always hard to take him in knowing that he will get poked, but he gets through it all right, so all is well. We are looking forward to the weekend and the chance to help Daddy celebrate his first Father's Day! Have a great weekend, and Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there.

I LOVE My Daddy!

Monday

Monday was quite warm, so the house got a little sticky inside. The refrigerator was on the fritz, so while waiting for the repairman, we took the playpen and a chair outside to enjoy the nice weather. Alex was having a blast, enjoying the cool breeze and looking up at the trees. He loves to hold onto his feet...they are quite interesting to him! He also enjoys hearing himself screech, as you can see in the video.

Happy, Happy Boy!

Hello Everyone!

Hi to everyone from me, Alex! How are you all? I hope that you are having as much fun as I have been. Today I had quite a fun day. We all went to the park this morning and took a little hike around, which was pretty cool. It was really sunny and nice outside today.

This afternoon, I helped my daddy and mommy in the garden, as you can see. I sat in my swing and supervised, since I can't really walk around yet. I cannot wait until I can actually get my hands in the dirt though...it looked really fun. We planted pumpkins so that I will have my very own pumpkin to carve on my first Halloween. Now we have lots of stuff in our garden: cucumbers, lettuce, parsley, oregano, mint, basil, cilantro, sage and some hot peppers. It is fun to hang out in the front yard with my sister. We like to stay cool in the nice shade out there. We have a really nice hydrangea in front of our house and my mommy took me over to it so I could really check it out. It was super interesting!

Anyway, I just wanted to check in and let you know how things are going here. Please write sometime when you get a chance, or call us on Skype, so we can see each other.

Love,
Alex

Alex is 4 Months Old!!

It's hard to believe, but it is true. Alex turned 4 months yesterday! Wow---time flies when you are hanging out with such a cutie pie.

We went to his 4 month checkup yesterday and he is a very healthy, happy boy. He weighed in at 14 lb 15.3 oz, which puts him at the 53rd percentile, and he is now 25 1/4 inches long, which puts him in at the 64th percentile. So, he has doubled his birth weight already. It is amazing how quickly he changes.

These days Alex is really into hanging onto or batting at toys. He loves to try to crawl and standing up in mom or dad's lap is a great thing. He is quite a little wiggleworm, always wanting to move around. He seems to really like music, of all kinds. If you read to him or sing to him, he is quite amused. He's quite fun to be around!

Pic of the Day

Weekend Update

The highlight of the weekend was visiting Dan, Evelyn and Cole for dinner at their house on Saturday night. We had a fabulous dinner and enjoyed spending time together as families for the first time since the boys were born. Cole is a super cute, healthy boy, and as you can see, he and Alex spent some time hanging out on his playmat. It is so hard to believe that they are both 4 months old this week.

Alex is loving spending time on his playmat these days. He loves to kick around and play with Dieter the Dragonfly, his jittery elephant, and the rings which we have hanging from the crossbars.