Under the Weather

After our first week of daycare being such a success, our little guy caught the inevitable cold from starting back to school.

Sunday night, I made lasagna and our friend Brian came over to watch Spectre, as none of us had seen the new Bond movie.  For the first time since he was a newborn, Xander was inconsolable.  He was fed, clean, warm, and neither over-stimulated nor under-stimulated and yet he became so upset he was turning purple.  Daniel suggested we give him just a little Tylenol, and within 30 seconds our little guy was calm and peaceful.  I am always amazed that Daniel can pinpoint exactly what our little bro needs even when I am at a loss.

When this happened again Monday night, I thought, just possibly, our little guy was starting to teethe early.  Luckily, no medicine was needed, just some gentle rocking to sleep from Karlee at Bible study.  By Wednesday, he had a bit of congestion and a small cough.  His teachers said he was a mess on Thursday at school, much more fussy than they had seen him before.  Thursday night my throat started hurting, and today we are both coughing, him much more him than me, my poor little guy.

The good news is, Gammie is in town to watch him for our Dining Out tomorrow night, so she can take care of both of us!  We were both feeling better once we met her at the airport.

Pajama day!

Luckily, I don't work on Fridays, so other than a trip to the Commissary, we are all laying low and nursing these chest colds in the hopes of a quick recovery.  We are so glad to have Gammie here!

My little Beluga Whale in his hat from Gammie

First Day of Daycare

Alexander got all dressed up for his first day of daycare today!

He took right to his teachers and had no tears as I left

My good friend Laura had the brilliant idea of taking him to daycare for a half day the day before I head back to work.  She and I made a day date for breakfast and the dog park so I had something to look forward to after saying goodbye to my little man. 

I had tissues and almost used them until I focused on getting to see Leaha and wish her a happy birthday.  I knew he was in good hands as I headed to breakfast. 

I was dressed and ready to go when I got spit up all over my shirt. It'll be interesting trying to time our morning for work tomorrow!

Laura and I had a great morning.  Zoey and Adelaide loved the park, too. They each had a mini me!

After the park, I met Daniel, Brian, and Adam for lunch then went to pick up my little love. I was so excited to get him!  That little hot shot didn't even look at me when I leaned in to talk to him!  He was too busy giggling at the star on his play mat. My sweet happy boy! I'm glad I missed him more than he missed me.

Leaha peeked in and got a picture for me during "nap" time.  

Alexander and I left daycare and headed to Navarre to meet Ashley and Davis's sweet little lady, Harper.

A gorgeous little lady, only a week old! 

It was wonderful to see Ashley and to reminisce on those early weeks. Easier times lay ahead,  I promise! I'm so in love with my little man but must admit the first few weeks were exhausting. 

We ended our day with an amazing meal from Laura. It was nice to not have to cook and Daniel snuggled and fed Xander so I could prepare for tomorrow- my first day back at work.  Eeeeek!  Nervous! 

Two Month Check Up

Weighing in at 12 pounds 4 ounces and measuring at 23.4 inches, Xander is a growing boy!

He perfectly swapped his percentiles, going from 61st for height, 75th for weight at his two week check-up to 75th for height and 60th for weight.  With as much as he eats, I was surprised he went down in weight percentile, but he was due for his next meal, meaning he hadn't eaten in two hours when they weighed him.

Everything else looked wonderful.  He's right where he should be in all his communication, social, and motor skills!  Also the red bump on his head is in fact a hemangioma, and since it didn't develop until after he was born, it should go away by the time he's about 18 months old. 

At the end of the appointment, we went in for Xander's 2 month vaccines.  He got one oral and THREE injections.  Poor little guy!  He did so well, though, only crying when the shot went in, and calming down immediately after.  The tech said he's one of the toughest two month olds he's ever seen.  Good job, little dude!

The shots did make him a little fussy throughout the day, but the Baby K'tan sling that our friend Kim gave us was perfect for comforting my little man while still letting me do some stuff around the house.  I am a huge fan of baby wearing!!  I can even nurse with him in the sling which is such a great discovery.

Later in the afternoon, we headed up to ECAC for a training.  It was great to be back with my coworkers and made me feel a lot better about the idea of going back to work next week.

Our team mascot and our team supervisor.  Clearly, he's already a fan of Lynsie!

Princess getting baby snuggles

Little man tried to interrupt the training so Rob had to step in and practice a hold... call it the Soothing Baby Hold.  Worked like a charm!

Alexander FINALLY got to meet his buddy, Kasch.  Kasch may have enjoyed kicking and hitting Alexander as much as he did the toys on the mat, lol!  Both boys start daycare next week.  It will be a big adjustment for us mommies!!

Blog Catch Up: Two Months Old

After an amazing trip home, I am trying to soak up every moment of my last week of maternity leave.  Needless to say, I have not updated my blog with all the memories and milestones as I was enjoying mommy snuggles far too much.

Alexander enjoyed a front facing walk when we finished our long drive home

We spent our last day in Georgia driving to Augusta to spend an amazing day with Daniel's mom.  Alexander absolutely loved spending the day with his Grandmomma

So at peace on Grandmomma's shoulder

While we were visiting, our friend Elizabeth stopped by to soak up some time with our little man.  Her two kiddos, Sophia and Christian, were at school.  We hope to see them soon!

Shorna and I had a blast road tripping to Augusta together.  We have made many road trips together, including the long cross country drive from Atlanta to Texas when I moved there so long ago

Lunch stop!

We had a great visit to Atlanta!

Meeting Great Aunt Rose

Baby in a cat bed?  Because, well, cuteness!

Jay got Zoey all dressed up for a sleepover with Posey

My dad and Jay gave Alexander a real treat with playing airplane and going for "laps"

He found a new interest while staying at my dad's.  He loved their stained glass!  Lucky for him, his aunt Robin is a very talented glass artist!

We also had a great time getting to see Rachel, Tyler, and Cohen for pizza at Felinni's.  The last time I saw Rachel was for her bachelorette party when I was seven months pregnant.  I had to miss their wedding because of little Xander.  Marriage seems to suit both of them!

We were all very happy to be home and reunited with Daniel.  Zoey may say she missed him the most, but I must say I was very excited to be back as our family of four.

Milestones

Two months old on 2/15/16!

We both got haircuts today.  It was so nice to relax and get a little pampered.  The scalp massage was amazing!  I went to my friend Alyssa at the local Aveda salon.  I met her at Bible study and am thrilled to have a trusted stylist again.

Xander had his little duck tail trimmed.  No mullets in this family!

Xander has a strong grip now and stands strong on his legs with balance support.

We have his two month appointment this Thursday.

Atlanta Bound

With most of my family and friends being conveniently in Atlanta, it made sense for Zoey, Xander and me to wrap up maternity leave with a road trip.

Normally a 6 hour drive, it took just over 7 with making 5 stops for feeding and dirty diapers. Still, it was an uneventful ride with no traffic and no backseat freakouts. I think Zoey enjoyed exploring on the longer feeding stops.

Since we've been here, we've had so much fun spending time with people that mean so much to us. We even got to be here to celebrate my mom's 65th birthday!

Craig and Heidi hosted a fun night of Rockband in their beautiful house

Alexander loved meeting Erin

Shorna taught me the secrets of swaddling

We have taken lots of walks despite the cold

As  usual, Xander loves being on the go and meeting new people.  At home,  he often becomes tired of me and needs daddy time in the evening.  It has been nice passing him around during the day and having him need mommy time in the evening.

He got to meet Grandma Jay finally! 

I finally got to meet Weston's son, Hudson. Such a sweet, handsome boy!

Peace and quiet after a big meltdown

Birthday lunch for my mom

Alexander demanded his own lunch soon after Heidi got him from Craig

Jacob is exactly 4 weeks younger than Xander.  He makes my boy look so big!

Grandma Jay got Zoey bundled up for the temperature drop

We got to see snow flurries! 

Alexander with my Godmother,  Josine. She lived with my family when I was his age. 

This is a bit of a photo dump from our trip. We are having such a great time it would be hard to express in words!

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!