Basketball and Burning Wood

Family basketball

On Thursday, Alexander and I went and watched Daniel play basketball.  He's on a team at work that plays games during lunch twice a week.  They didn't win their first game, but they won while we were watching!  Daniel scored at least 20 points and had multiple assists and rebounds in yesterday's game!

Little man slept through the game, so we'll have to go again soon!

Great D (Defense & Daniel!)

We spent the entire day out and about on Thursday, running errands and having fun.  I even got a workout in while Zoey watched squirrels at Ferry Park.  Thursday evening, Alexander and I headed back to base for a Ladies Craft Night with the spouse's group.  On the agenda?  Wood burning!  It took a lot of patience, but was such a good time.

Meriel (on the left) is a pro at all things crafty!  She is the lead of our craft nights along with Patti.  They are amazing at planning fun events!  Megan (on the right) made the coolest cutting board of her own design.  It was a design with dots, and looked completely professional.

Elena and I did our best and had a blast, but admittedly we are not the craftiest crafters!

Still, we both managed to create products we are proud of.

I made a spoon and a cutting board using a dandelion stamp

Favorite pic of the week:

Victory! I got a quiet night when Xander allowed me to swaddle him.  

Didn't work the next night, but oh well!  One night was a gift.

Milestones:

Xander is smiling and cooing and it absolutely melts my heart.  Motherhood becomes more and more fun as he begins to develop his personality.  A majority of his smiles and coos are reserved for his favorite thing in the world: the ceiling fan.  Still, Daniel and I have been graced with smiles which just melts the heart.

He is much easier to calm when he gets upset.  I think this is partially because I have created The Rapid Response Team, knowing that it just isn't a good plan to finish up one or two things when the fussing starts, but also he seems to not get quite as escalated and to deescalate more quickly.  I am so glad to have a few more weeks before going back to work so I can enjoy this happier little boy!

Keeping Busy- Baby on the Go!

Xander loves to be on the go so Operation Busy Baby 

has been underway on any day that the weather permits!

Over MLK weekend we went to visit Heather and Becky.  Becky is recovering from surgery and hadn't gotten to meet little man yet.  They were so sweet to share the brownies Leaha had made for them and to let me be when I passed out on their couch.  I've learned to grab those zzz's whenever and wherever I can!

Zoey came to Heather and Becky's too and even posed when I pulled out the camera

We enjoyed a yummy seafood lunch at the Shrimp Basket since Daniel had off for the MLK holiday

Daddy's day off

Zoey loved the sunshine and a bite of the hushpuppies

On Tuesday, Xander and I made it to prayer group at ECAC.  I was excited to get us both fed, dressed, and out the door to make it to our 8am group with a few minutes to spare!  It was wonderful to see everyone.  I was so happy to be among my wonderful coworkers, we stayed for two hours and went through every diaper in the diaper bag!

I wanted a picture with our prayer group, but as we were wrapping up, little man required some clean up so I had to step away.  We have such a strong group of prayer warriors!

Staci and Brooke got snuggles on our trip to ECAC

Later in the week Aabett joined the Martin crew as we loaded up and headed to Pensacola for my quarterly trip to The Butcher Shoppe.  It is worth the three hour round trip for me to get the freshest meat which comes from local farms and happy, free range, antibiotic/ hormone free animals at super reasonable prices.  Not to mention the owner, Kevin is the nicest business man I've ever met.  He is quick to provide whatever he can and accommodates his customers to the best of his ability.  Did I mention how reasonable his prices are?  This place is amazing!  I've been shopping with them since we lived in Pensacola.

Zoey came along for the ride (and a few treats along the way)

We bundled Xander up because it was cold!

Xander's first trip to The Butcher Shoppe

Xander got to meet my favorite Butcher, Kevin

On our way home, we stopped by Oh Snap! cupcakes for a sweet treat.  We pulled off at a little park and ate the yummies while trying to stay warm.

Aabett got a red velvet and I got an Andes mint...  the salted caramel is my favorite still, I think

This little man loves the ceiling fan!  He loves daddy's seat because it has the best view. The fan doesn't even have to be on!  The other night, Xander stayed up all night babbling at the fan and wouldn't even eat because he kept losing his latch to turn and look at the fan.  Who needs a mobile when you have a fan?!

Cute Pics from the Week

Whoa, dad, do you see that?!

Our little raccoon

Teddy Jams

I'm the little brother

Whatcha doin' with my brother?

Smiles

I don't wanna get a job!!!

Cheeks you just wanna squeeze

Happy baby video

Morning Snuggles

We are officially in 3 month clothes and weighing in at over 10 lbs.  He isn't sleeping quite as well as he was a couple weeks ago, but I think he may be going through a growth spurt.  He is overall a happy baby, but has a period each day, usually for about two hours, where he is simply not happy and needs something about every five minutes to keep him calm.  He still enjoys tummy time and absolutely loves the Ergo baby carrier, walks, and car rides.  I had my six week check up today and got the all clear to return to regular exercise!

We're off to our Ladies Bible Study tonight!

Newborn Photo Shoot and One Month Old

Right before my mom left to go home to Atlanta, we had Lindsey Mullins, a coworker, friend, and professional photographer come to take pictures of our little man.

Despite feeding him right before she got there, Alexander was not overly happy about posing.  I should have thought it through more.  I know he hates diaper changes, and gets cold easily, so I should have had some outfits picked out for him, but really, what's cuter than a naked newborn?

Despite needing to take a couple breaks for eating, some screaming and quite a bit of bathroom messes, the pictures turned out wonderfully.  Thank you, Lindsey!

On Friday, Xander hit the one month milestone.

He looks like such a little boy!

The big question is how did he get so tan?!  I can only assume it's from my dad.  I have fond memories of being at Grayton Beach watching my dad use oil and lay out, getting darker than my brother or I have the melanin to accomplish.  I always wished I had gotten my dad's bronzed skin.  Hopefully Xander will stay tan as he gets older!

My brother says Xander looks just like I did when I was born.  It makes my heart smile to think of how close my brother and I were right from the beginning.  So much so that he still remembers what his baby sister looked like.

On Thursday night Xander went to his first spouse's social.  Zandra hosted a wonderful night with a baked potato bar, a plethera of amazing options for s'mores and a fun game called the three dice game.  I completely forgot to bring my camera so I don't have any pictures, but we had a blast.

Alexander is sleeping for up to five hours at a time, but still has nights when he wants to eat every hour.  He is spitting up less and has significantly less gas now, so he is also a much happier baby.  He is awake for much of the day and LOVES puppets as well as hearing silly sounds.  Thus far, he is not a fan of recorded music or any of the apps designed to soothe babies.  Not a big techie, just an old school outdoorsie little guy.  He absolutely loves being outside and around big groups of people.

  We read together nearly every day from our extensive library that our wonderful friends and family have helped us to build.  He loves to snuggle close to me and to be bounced by Daniel.

On Our Own

Well, company has all gone home and Daniel went back to  work yesterday, so it's been Alexander, Zoey, and me!

Zoey giving brother kisses

On our first day as a trio, I failed to nap when 

little bear was napping, but made it until 9pm!  

We loaded up the car and went to the mall for a single item  and 

then to the Commissary for a couple things.  Xander loves his car seat as well as his baby carrier, so car trips and neighborhood walks are always a good time!  Our first day on our own was a long one but a great one.  I even managed to cook dinner- win!

Photo Memories

A happy boy

Good times with the Berggren crew

Kim and I got to catch up and talk babies while Daniel rough housed with Kim's kiddos

Courtney came to visit after work on Monday

The Dawgs played well and won Xander's first game! 

Laura and Jon came for snuggles

Zoey laid claim to Jon

Laura's first look at Jon with a newborn- he's a natural! 

Milestones

We had our newborn shoot with the amazing Lindsey Mullins!  Pictures to come. 

Xander is sleeping up to four hours at a time,  mostly at night. Much appreciated, little dude!  During the day, he often wants to eat every hour. It can get exhausting but I'm so grateful for night sleep that I am not complaining! 

He officially moved into size one diapers.

We made our first trip to Ferry Park, Zoey's favorite place in the world.  Alexander cried until I held him. He was hungry again even though he had eaten only about 30 minutes before.  Hungry boy!

Smiles at the park

Ferry trip