The Last 2 Months

I'm finally updating my blog and will hopefully stay on top of it. I have plenty of things to blog about, just no time. So here's what we've been up to the last 2 months.

This year we decided to start the tradition that Rafal had in Poland where Mikolaj (The Polish Santa) brings you a present on December 6th. Alek opened up his present and got a Chuck Stunt Park. We set it up and he thought it was so cool to watch the trucks do tricks. It was nice to give him a present early so he would have some time to play with it before he got all of his other presents for Christmas. This year for Christmas he was of course spoiled. Among his favorite gifts were his Thomas the Train Logging Adventure set, kitchen, and his doggy pillow pet. Marek was more into the wrapping paper than his presents. As Alek opened up presents, Marek rolled around in the wrapping paper. When I asked Alek if he had a good Christmas he said "Santa fordot to get me the bastitball hoop with the hole in the top and bottom like Rykman's. Maybe next year.

The wrapping paper and bows are way more fun than the actual presents.

He loves to watch the cars spin around and loves the noise it makes.

He's already testing his pillow pet out.

Marek had his 9 month check up and here are his stats.
Weight 19 lbs. 8 oz.
Height 28 in.
Head Circumference 45 cm.
He falls into the 50th percentile for everything.
He has been crawling for a little over a month now and at first he would always army crawl, but is now crawling the right way. He pulls himself up on everything and loves to climb the stairs. He plays with anything that is not a toy and loves to knock down his brothers line of animals and destroy his train track constantly. He's such a smiley little boy and is full of energy. He makes me exhausted. He still loves his walker and everyone has to watch out since he moves like a madman in it. He is such a good eater and if you're eating he should be eating too. He will break into hysterical tears if he wants something you're eating and you won't give it to him. He also finally stopped spitting up all the time. It's so nice that he doesn't have to wear a bib 24/7 and I am doing far less laundry now. He is such a good sleeper and we just love having him in our family.

Bathtime is his favorite time of the day.

Alek is now potty trained (HOORAY!) There were 2 things that I wanted to happen before he turns 3 next month and potty training was one of them. (The other is weening him from his plug, but I don't know if that will happen.) He was so easy to potty train because he was the one who decided that he wanted to start wearing underwear. He really hasn't had more than a few accidents and they've luckily all been at home. It's so nice that I don't have to change his diapers anymore. I'm already saving so much money on diapers and wipes. We're so happy that Alek is now a big boy.

All the boys have been sick for the last 2 weeks and are now starting to get better. We've been to the doctor's office so many times in the last few weeks that it's ridiculous. I was glad that I didn't get sick so that I could take care of all of them. Rafal was out of commission for a few days and it sucked. He's so helpful when it comes to taking care of the boys and he was so sick he couldn't do anything. I felt what it was like to be a single parent. Hopefully everyone will start feeling better and we can make it a few weeks or more before our next doctor's visit.

My two boys feeling better.

Alek's New Best Buddy Rudolph

The day after Thanksgiving my parents took all of the grandkids to Build-A-Bear. Alek was so excited and picked out Rudolph. We put the Rudolph song in his paw and outfitted him with a jingle bell collar, hat, and scarf. Alek has not stopped holding Rudolph or let him out of his sight ever since. Anywhere Alek goes, Rudolph goes as well. He even comes into the bathroom and sits right by the bathtub while Alek takes a bath. Alek is usually holding him while I'm trying to get him dressed and has to bring him in the car or to any store we go to. He is so attached to Rudolph and loves him so much. He wraps his arm around Rudolph's neck while he plays with toys or watches TV. After 2 weeks, the batteries in Rudolph's nose and song are not working and Alek is devastated. It's kind of nice since he would bring Rudolph to church and without fail the song would go off during sacrament. We will be replacing the batteries at least so his nose will light up and then I think Alek will be happy. If Alek isn't being a good listener or cooperating, we just threaten to take Rudolph away and he changes his behavior pretty darn quick. I'm surprised at how quickly he forgot about Big Doggy, Baby Doggy, and Doggy with the Hat (he's very creative with his names) since he would carry all of them everywhere. Now they don't even get a spot in his bed most nights. As long as Alek has Rudolph with him he's content.

Gymnastics

Alek and Ryker have been going to a gymnastics class for the past 2 months and have really enjoyed it. Alek loves to climb, swing, run around and be crazy, none of which are allowed in the house. It's been a great way for the boys to get all of their energy out as well as listen and play with others. We have had so much fun and are sad that we only have one class left. I have to admit that it is pretty exhausting chasing the two of them around as they seem to go in opposite directions, but it has been a lot of fun for them.

Halloween

This year for Halloween Alek was a witch and Marek was a mad scientist. When we first received a catalog with costumes, Alek looked through it and immediately decided on the witch costume. Every time someone asked him what he wanted to be, he would say a witch. He didn't want to be just any witch, but a mean witch with a star wand. We borrowed his cousins witch outfit that my mom made and painted his face green and he was so happy with his costume. After I painted his face green he said he didn't need a plug anymore because he was worried his green make up would come off. He loved being a witch and was mistaken for a girl a few times while we were out trick-or-treating. I just laughed. He had a great time trick-or-treating and thankfully didn't come home with too much candy. I wonder what he'll come up with next year.

Marek was a mad scientist which was perfect since his hair is always crazy and sticking up no matter how hard I try to gel it down. When I came up with the idea, his hair was much longer, but I couldn't take it anymore and he had 2 haircuts before Halloween. His hair still looked great, but the best part of his costume were his glasses. I was shocked that he kept them on the whole time. He didn't even bother with them once. Finding a white lab coat proved to be very difficult, so Rafal sewed him one out of a shirt. Good thing he knows how to sew since I have no idea. Everyone got a kick out of Marek's costume and we had a great Halloween.

Alek the "Witch"

Marek the"Mad Scientist"

Alek was convinced that Rykman wanted to be a cupcake for Halloween. After seeing a cupcake costume at Old Navy that was too small, he came to terms with the fact that Rykman was going to be Buzz instead.

Our carved pumpkins. Alek did a great job cleaning out the insides and then poking holes all over them. He loved looking at them lit. We had to bring one in the house so he could look at it all night.

First Haircut and Riding Bikes

Before his haircut his hair almost covered his entire ear and we had to make a big curl in his mohawk so it wouldn't be so tall.

His hair was so long we couldn't even see his neck.

He looks like such a little man getting his hair cut.

Marek had his first haircut a few weeks ago and sat like a pro. He has needed a haircut since birth, but we decided to wait until he was a little bigger just to make things easier. He sat in his bumbo chair and Stacy was able to cut his hair with no problem. After his haircut he didn't look like my baby anymore. He looked so grown up. His hair grows so fast and he has so much of it that we will probably have to take him back for another trim in a few more weeks. I was happy that he sat so well, he must have watched his big brother who also sits so nicely for his haircut. Alek loves Stacy and will only let her or sometimes Aunt Desi cut his hair.



One of Alek's favorite things to do is ride his bike. He rides it so fast and has no fear. Almost everyone's driveway in our cul-de-sac is a hill and he's not afraid to speed down any of them. He starts at the top, lifts his feet and races to the bottom then moves his feet as fast as possible and keeps going. He is tall enough to pedal, but can't go nearly as fast. He reminds me of the Flintstones with as quick at his feet move.

What's New?

I know it's been over a month since my last post, but I just don't have any time to spend on the computer. Now that Marek sleeps through the night and I finally get more sleep, I want more sleep so I've been going to bed earlier instead of blogging. A lot has happened in the last month, so here are the highlights.

We went with my family to Fiesta Days in Spanish Fork and had a great time. Alek loved riding the rides this year, but the best part was getting his face painted. After seeing his cousins Addie and Sadie with their faces painted, he wanted his painted too. He chose the ladybug just like Addie. He kept looking in the mirror at his face and even had to sleep with it on. Luckily the next morning he decided that he didn't want to be a ladybug anymore and we washed it off.


Marek is getting so big and is now starting to play. He loves to lay on the floor or in his bouncer and kick. He's also sitting in his walker and will occasionally pick up a toy. His favorite toys are his fist and his bib. He loves to pull off his bib and he is always sucking on his fist. He is talking and smiling all the time. Although he had colic at the beginning and was a little unhappy, he is now a very happy baby. He loves when his daddy talks to him in Polish. He smiles and talks right back to him. He's had thrush for the past few weeks and we are having a hard time getting rid of it completely. Hopefully after this round of medicine it will be gone.


I've started watching my nephew Ryker again and he and Alek are the best of friends. Most of the time they get along great and play nicely. We have the occasional hitting sometimes, but they are quick to say sorry and love each other better. Their favorite things to do together are play with the remote control trains, play baseball, and swing. It's nice for Alek to have someone other than me to play with each day.


Marek had his CAT SCAN last Tuesday and was so good. He couldn't eat for 6 hours before the procedure and I thought that was going to be hell, but he was as happy as could be. I think that he knew he needed to be very good that day and he did great. I was going to wake him up to give him his last feeding, but he woke up on his own and he never wakes up at that time to eat. Then he went right back to sleep and I had to wake him up again to get him ready to go. Usually after his bath he's starving, but he didn't fuss at all. We went to the hospital and they prepped him with an IV to sedate him for the scan, but said they would try it first without sedation. He held still for that minute and they were able to get a clear picture without sedating him. We were in and out within an hour. I was so nervous about the whole thing and everything turned out just fine. Marek still has his cystic lung lesion and will need surgery, but the doctor wants to wait until he's a little older, so we'll recheck it in 3 months. The good news is that he won't have to have another CAT SCAN. I'm not looking forward to the surgery because he'll be in the hospital for 3 to 5 days, but at least he'll be a little bit bigger.


I turned 30 last week! I can't believe I'm out of my 20's. I don't really feel older or look too much older except for some new little lines around my eyes, but I'm 30. Rafal said that 30 is the new 60 and teases me saying he needs to trade me in for a newer model. My 20's were great years and hopefully my 30's will be even better. Alek's been saying "Mama today's your birthday" every day for the past couple of days and when I tell him my birthday is over, he looks sad and says "Why?" I think he just likes to help blow out birthday candles and eat cake.

2 Month Check Up

Marek had his 2 month check up on Monday and here are his stats:

Weight 11 lbs. 11 oz. (50th percentile)
Height 22 3/4 in. (50th percentile)

Head Circumference 39 cm. (25th percentile)

Marek is such a great baby and a wonderful sleeper. He is officially sleeping through the night. He usually goes to bed around 9:00 or 9:30 and sleeps until 4:30 or 6:00, then has a bottle and goes back to bed until 8:00 or 9:00. It is heaven. He is such a little piggy and drinks about 4 oz. with every feeding. He is smiling all of the time and starting to talk. He loves to lay in his bouncer and kick his feet while listening to the music play. He now likes his bath and usually doesn't start crying until I do his hair. With that full head of hair it takes some time to comb it all and get some gel on it. He is such a sweet baby and Alek loves holding him and helping take care of him. I can't believe how much he is growing and how fast the time is going by. Pretty soon he'll be a little boy just like Alek, but for now I love having a sweet little baby boy.