Catching Up

I am sick at home today, so time to catch up on some posting! Our whole family has actually been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks. I am the last one to catch this eye/ear/nose/chest infection. Good golly, I don't remember the last time I felt this bad. Poor Alex - he has a double ear infection that didn't respond to the first round of antibiotics and is on stronger Augmentin now, which seems to be doing the trick.

I should update on some of Alex's development otherwise, as my Mom likes to joke, we will need to put one dollar in the therapy jar for ever less post he has compared to his brother.

Turning 9 months on April 27th, Alex weighed in at 19 lbs, 6 oz at the doc's office. Alden weighed in at about this much when he was 15 months old (adjusted to 12 months at the time, but still). Alden is right now in 3 year old clothing, weighing in at about 30 lbs. He is still small for his age, but is steadily growing, so his doctor isn't concerned. She said that he could still, and probably will, have a catch-up growth spurt in the future. But he will NEVER be chunky.

So, back to catching up on posting. Alex got his first tooth on April 18th. He has yet to get another. As you see in the pic above, he plays peek-a-boo. He can wave "hi" and "bye." He says "Da-Da" non-specifically. He signs "Milk" while nursing and eating and really anytime he sees me. He lunges onto all fours to go after something, then flops into his tummy and grunts, wiggles, and rolls around in frustration to his destination. He LOVES his kitties. He's shy around strangers. He likes to eat books and most foods. I am making Alex's baby food this time - I was too stressed to experiment with things like making baby food and cloth diapering with Alden. I must say that it is so much fun to watch Alex eat fresh food creations.

I compared Alex and Alden's (adjusted) development - and they are SO similar. It is a bit of a relief (for Alden's sake) that they are virtually identical.

Alex's head is also larger than average, not as large as Alden's, but pretty close. So there, Mr. Neurosurgeon! It's GENETIC! :)

There, consider yourself caught-up. One less dollar in the therapy jar for Alex. I feel better already.

Learning to care for my little bro...

Looking out for Alex during his first bike ride...


Alex is so easy to feed!

Happy Fourth Dinosaur Birthday, Sweet Alden!

Oh, the torture of having to wait to open all these awesome presents! Alden has waited WEEKS to turn four today!!!


Cousin Noah helps Alden open his gifts. "I got my pterodactyl!"


Alex, 7.5 months, is excited to see his brother turn 4!


This is the COOLEST cake - thank you Grandma Sandy!!!


Can I make a wish now, Mama?


Making a wish...


Alden prefers to eat his cake with dinosaur bones. He's that hard-core.

First Protest!

This blog isn't intended to be at all political (we have Facebook for that!). But I do want to document Alden and Alex's first protest. We are so proud of them! And, since both Mom and Dad are in unions.... and since Mom works for Public Health and Dad works for Public Schools, both of which are worse off after the budget bill... it only makes sense that the kiddos should protest the sad direction our state is heading! Around our home, we frequently hear Alden chanting, "Kill the Bill! Hey-hey! Ho-ho! Scott Walker has GOT TO GO! What's Disgusting? UNION BUSTING!" Here are a few pics from our month-long protest...

First protest!
February 18th:


March 5th:




March 12th:
We're so happy and thankful the Farmers joined the protest! Alden sure does love a good tractorcade!










We estimate there were at least 100,000 protesters today. The City of Madison states that this protest was bigger than those held during the Vietnam war. Alden and Alex will be proud to know that they were a part of this historic time.

First Visit to the Pacific Northwest

We finally made it out to Washington and Oregon to visit very dear friends and family. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Dave and I had such a lovely time visiting that we didn't take many pics of our friends and no pics of family. Sorry all -- we will do better next time. Amber did take some great pics and has an awesome post on her blog, Planet Silas...

Here are Amber, Alden, and Silas enjoying a view of the sound...


We were all as excited as Alex to tour Bainbridge Island, where Amber, Dtew, and Silas used to live (They now live not to far away from there)...


Alden loved all the sheep! And sang the song, "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" for most of the trip...


All three boys were great on the ferry to Seattle... they especially had fun looking for, um, sharks.


Si is taking a picture of us!




Hi Seattle!


Enjoying a fountain in the rain...


Here are a few pics from our glorious drive from Washington to Oregon...








We made it to Seaside, OR!


Alden was so excited to feed the seals!


Brrr!


It was a lovely (even if cold, windy, snowy, and rainy) vacation!

Four-and-a-half months already!

Alex is growing fast, so I am trying to have him wear the sweaters I made for him as much as possible! He was 15 lbs at his 4 month check-up, which is about average. He was also average for height. He's developmentally on track and just a sweet baby. He might have a bit of reflux affecting his eating habits, however. Still feeding about every couple of hours - through the night as well. And his feeding are only about 5-10 minutes max. We started him on a very low dose of renitidine, so hopefully it helps!


Look, he can play and suck his thumb at the same time! :)


This is Alex today - snuggled in his Sunshing Sweater and Sunshine Blanket I made for him while on bedrest. He is resting now, recovering from Croup...


OK, now you are all caught up - next post will most likely be after the holidays! May yours be full of merriment! :)

Happy Halloween!

This is the first year that Alden really got into the Halloween spirit! He thought that carving pumpkins was especially gross and exciting...






Alden's little pumpkin is from a preschool trip to the farm...


Alex fit into Alden's old costume! My little pumpkin...


Alden loves to go fishing with his Daddy, Uncle, and cousin. One neighbor commented that he was dressed as a "true Wisconsinite." However, I had to promise Alden that next year he could go as a green and purple dinosaur. Better start looking for that perfect costume!