So Big, So Fast!

On Thursday, Alek learned how to crawl. He's been army crawling for at least a month or so and from time to time he would get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, but then go down on his stomach once again. On Thursday, he finally got the hang of it and has been crawling all over the place. On Friday, he learned how to pull himself up in his crib. He was supposed to be taking a nap, but instead he was standing in his crib as happy as can be. We lowered his mattress once again and I didn't think he'd be able to pull himself up, but sure enough he did and he had the biggest smile on his face. Nap time is becoming difficult now because he wants to crawl all over my bed and pull himself up by holding onto the headboard. He also loves to hold onto your hands and walk and has even taken a few steps on his own. He has so much energy and is always on the move. He's now 9 months old and he's just growing up way too fast. I can't believe how much he's achieved in these last few days. I'm so proud of him, but at the same time, I feel like I'm losing my little baby. At least he takes a few seconds out to give his mom and dad a quick love every now and then.

Ice Skating with the Family

The whole family I'm hungry I can't put my arms down Me, Sadie, and Mom ice skating Nanny, me, Sadie, Mom, Dad, Addie Nanny and Mike Jen and Alek Lala and Addie Watching us ice skate is so tiring The lights at Temple Square

My family started a new tradition a few years ago where we go to dinner, ice skating, and see the lights. The last two years, it's been my parents Christmas present to us. It's always so much fun to get together and do something to get the holiday season started. This year we went on December 7th, which was also Nanny's birthday. We ate at Texas Roadhouse, which is always delicious. Alek enjoyed the food too. He ate the entire time we were there. After dinner, we went downtown to the Gallivan Center for ice skating. Alek was bundled up so much that he couldn't even put his arms down or move, but at least he was warm. I was surprised he didn't even make a sound as a bundled him up. As long as he had his plug and his daddy, he was happy. We had so much fun ice skating. Everyone helped hold onto Addie and Sadie and I was glad that the ice rink was fairly small so it didn't take us too long to get around without falling. Nanny was the ultimate ice skater and the rest of us did okay. My dad was trying to do tricks like spin around and surprisingly he didn't fall. My mom and Addie wiped out but they were okay. Rafal held Alek and took pictures. By the end of ice skating, Addie was able to skate on her own. She had the biggest smile on her face. We went over to Starbucks and had hot chocolate and warmed up before heading over to Temple Square. The lights were amazing as always and Alek loved all the colors. It wasn't too cold and we had a really good time. I don't think Alek made a sound while we were ice skating or looking at the lights. He was having such a good time. I love spending time with my family and I'm so happy that we have traditions that bring us together.

I WANT MY MILES!

I signed up for an American Express card because I had an offer for 30,000 sky miles if I spent $500 dollars within a 2 month period. Well, I spent the $500 dollars in a 2 week period plus I've been using that card exclusively and I still don't have my miles. I read the fine print several times and it stated that once you spent the money, then you would receive your miles within a 6-8 week period of time. It has been over 8 weeks and I'm losing my patience. I called them and they said they're not sure why I don't have my miles, but they'll file a dispute claim and I should receive a letter and then my miles in 7-10 business days. I'm getting so frustrated because we would really like to go to Chicago right before Christmas to see Rafal's family and for us to afford the trip, we really need those airline miles. I called American Express again because I was so mad and I had every intention of telling them that I am not going to use their card anymore and as soon as I get my miles and use them, I'm cancelling the card, but I got the nicest customer service representative and I just couldn't get mad at her. So everyday I check my account keeping my fingers crossed that my miles are there and everyday I'm disappointed. I've been checking airfare and I'm missing out on all of the good deals. Airline seats are selling so quickly that in the 2 seconds it takes for me to click on the deal, it's gone. I refuse to drive to Chicago again, especially with a baby. I guess we'll see whether we make it to Chicago or not. It would be so nice for Alek to see his Grandma and Grandpa Hajdo and his aunts for the first time, so I hope it all works out.

Christmas Pictures

I took Alek to get his Christmas pictures taken today at Kiddie Kandids. My sister Desi and I decided it would be fun to get pictures of Addie, Sadie, and Alek together as well as some with our parents for Christmas. Alek and Addie are so cute and smiled so well. Sadie, on the other hand, would not have anything to do with the pictures. She cried and held onto her mom the whole time. We thought that because grandma and grandpa were in them that Sadie wouldn't be scared, but no such luck. So, Sadie is not pictured, but Addie, Alek, grandma, and grandpa look so cute. Alek really enjoyed getting his picture taken. As soon as the flash would go off, he'd smile even bigger. In the picture of him laying on his tummy, he kept pushing himself up and trying to crawl away. In the picture where he's sitting up, he was pulling at the white curtain which was the backdrop. Thankfully, even though he is a very busy boy he was able to hold still long enough to get some very cute pictures. Addie and Alek look just like brother and sister in the picture of the two of them together. People often mistake them for siblings because of their red hair. Addie was so go to hold him, but after a few pictures she was happy to get Alek off of her lap. He does weigh over 20 pounds and is such a wiggler, but he did well to sit on her lap for a couple of minutes.

Peek-A-Boo

Alek's new game that he likes to play is peek-a-boo. He takes his blanket and lifts it up by his face and then I say "boo" and he moves it down again. He thinks it's so much fun and always smiles. He's learning to do so many new things and is so much fun to play with.

Finally.....Asleep

Beginning on Monday, Alek was having trouble taking his nap. I laid by him as I always do and he just rolled around the bed, playing with the pillows and pulling my hair. I was getting kind of frustrated because he was obviously tired and he doesn't usually have any trouble going down for his morning nap. After an hour of trying, he finally fell asleep. He has been teething, so usually I attribute his sporadic crankiness to that, but on Tuesday night, he cried every time I laid him down. After an hour of holding him, feeding him, and trying to lay by him, he finally went to sleep. I noticed that he had been pulling on his ears and when I tried to clean them out after his bath, he pushed my hands away, so I thought he probably had another ear infection. I took him to the doctor today and sure enough, he has his THIRD ear infection. I was just at the doctor less than a month ago and he had an ear infection then as well. They say if they have five to seven in a year, then they usually suggest tubes. My sister always had problems with her ear when she was younger and her ear drum actually ruptured. My niece ended up having tubes in her ears after many many ear infections. So, Alek may be following them. The good thing is that he has Amoxicillan which gets rid of his ear infection as well as any other infections, so he should be feeling good in a couple of days and fingers crossed this is his last ear infection.

Polish or English?

We were at my brother's house a few weeks ago and his friends and their baby boy were there as well. Alek went crazy over their baby, who is a month younger, because he was just his size. Alek was jibber jabbering to their baby and Rafal was speaking to Alek in Polish as he always does. After we left my brother's friend asked what language Rafal was speaking to Alek. He told her "Polish." Then she asked if Alek was going to know English. My brother told her "Yes." Her final question was if he was going to have an accent like Rafal when he spoke. My brother said "No." It was so funny when he was telling me this because my 4 year old niece is also very concerned that she won't be able to understand Alek because he will not speak English, or Kid as she sometimes calls it. We explained to her that Alek will speak Polish and English so she will be able to understand him. Before Rafal and I even found out I was pregnant, we discussed how it was important that our kids be bilingual, so that they can speak to their Grandma and Grandpa Hajdo who only speak Polish. So Rafal speaks to Alek in Polish and I speak to him in English. In the process, I am also learning some Polish, but sometimes Rafal won't tell me what he's saying because he says it's between him and Alek. I do understand Polish better than I can speak it and for some reason I am able to remember all of the bad words. When Alek gets older, he better not try and say any of those because I will understand and he'll be in big trouble!

Say "Mama" and "Dada"

We are always asking Alek to say "mama" and "dada" or "tata" (Polish for dad) and when we ask him he always shakes his head no. He thinks that he's so funny and it usually turns into a game where anything you ask him to say, he will shake his head no. However, in all his jibber jabbering he said the words "dada." I'm not surprised that those were the first recognizable words out of his mouth, after all he is such a daddy's boy. Of course Rafal is a thrilled and very proud dada.

Cleaning My Closet

Today I decided it was time for my yearly go through my closet and get rid of some clothes time after the sweater I put on today was too short. That's right, I said too short for me, which never happens. I swear I wore that sweater last year and it fit just fine and I was even pregnant. Well maybe it's because after being pregnant, I'm so used to everything being so long. So, I went through my closet and got rid of some things. I was able to get rid of at least 15 shirts and 1 pair of pants. I'm still hoping that all my jeans that don't fit now will fit eventually. It's sad to think that my jeans fit me when I was 6 months pregnant and almost 8 months after having Alek, still DO NOT fit. But, I guess that had to do with the fact that for the first 6 and 1/2 months of my pregnancy, I was sick and throwing up. At least now I have some more room in my closet so I can at least see what I do have. I've also decided that I am seriously going to get rid of these extra pounds and soon. It took me 9 months to put the weight on and I think it will take at least 9 months to take it off. If anyone has any great suggestions of things that have worked, I would love to know. I can't afford to buy new pants for the winter and I want to feel like I look good again.

Time Change

I used to love the time change in the fall because it meant one more hour of sleep before school or work. However, now that I have Alek, it means I have to get up even earlier, or at least the clock tells me it's earlier. He is finally on a good sleep schedule, but now with the time change everything is messed up. He went to bed last night at 6:45, which is quite early for him. Then he woke up 3 times to eat, which he never does and then was awake for the day by 6:30, which technically was 7:30, but it definitely felt too early. Tonight Alek went to bed at 6:15 and it only took him about 30 seconds to fall asleep. I've had 3 whole uninterrupted hours. I was able to catch up on my TV shows and paint my nails. Then as I was blogging, he woke up to eat and every time I put him back in his crib, he started crying. So, now he is in our bed with Rafal and may be there for the rest of the night. I sure hope that when we spring ahead it won't be such an adjustment for him. Oh well, one day I'll get that extra hour of much needed sleep.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I dressed up as a kitty and Alek dressed up as an owl.

We went trick-or-treating at my brother-in-law Ryan's work.

My sister Brianna as an Angel and her husband Mike as a Devil.

Perhaps they should have switched costumes. (Oh Burn!)

Alek digging into the candy bowl.

He had his first lollipop today and he loved it. There was only one problem. While he was eating it (or should I say gumming it) he wasn't swallowing, so all of his sticky drool was coming out all over the place. He wasn't too happy with me when I took it away.

Alek as an owl, me as a kitty, Addie as Darth Vader, Sadie and Desi as witches, and Ryan as a used car salesman with the worst combover ever.

Carving Pumpkins

Rafal carving Alek's pumpkin. He has so much patience and is such a perfectionist.

Sadie and Ryan showing off the pumpkin they carved together.

Addie, Sadie, and Dad's carved pumpkins.

Addie wearing her Darth Vader costume.
When she put on her mask, Alek just laughed.

Alek with his carved pumpkin. He took off the top and tried to eat it.

A Beautiful Fall Day

Since it was such a beautiful fall day and the trees were changing colors and losing their leaves, I thought it would be a great idea to get some nice pictures of Alek. I thought that he would probably love the leaves just like he loved the hay at the pumpkin patch. After his nap, we took him across the street to my parents house and placed him in a pile of leaves for pictures. He didn't care much for the leaves and wasn't in the best mood to smile, but the pictures still turned out cute. We used my dad's camera which has a mode where it will take pictures as fast as you can push the button, so we were able to get some pretty good pictures. Here are some of the ones we liked best.

Sick Little Boy

On Tuesday afternoon, Alek started getting a stuffy nose and a goopy eye. I was hoping that it wasn't turning into a cold, but sure enough by Tuesday night he was coughing and not feeling too well. On Wednesday morning, he woke up at 5:30 and would not go back to sleep. By now he was so stuffy that he couldn't suck on his plug, which is his favorite thing, and both of his eyes were goopy and red. That morning he took a 2 1/2 hour nap which unfortunately is not normal, so I knew he wasn't feeling well. We went to the doctor that afternoon and after waiting almost an hour finally got in. It turns out that Alek has an ear infection, his second, as well as an eye infection. The doctor was quite concerned about his eyes because there was so much redness around them. She told me that there was a slim possibility that it could turn into something more serious that could affect his optic nerve, which made me pray that it wasn't anything serious. She gave me a prescription for Amoxicillian and some eye ointment. Although Alek looked and sounded terrible, he was still in such a good mood. He played happily until bedtime and I'm happy to say slept very well in his crib. When he woke up this morning, his eyes looked so much better and he's not quite as stuffy. I'm hoping that he'll be feeling like himself in a couple of days. I do have to say that I'm lucky because even when he's sick, he's still such a good baby.

Relief Society

As I was sitting in church and looking around I realized that there are so many babies in our ward about the same age as Alek and most of them are boys. I also realized that after four years in this ward, I only know a few people. Our ward is quite transient because there are a lot of twin homes and rentals so there are new people moving in constantly. I live in a cul-de-sac and so I really only know the neighbors that also live in the cul-de-sac, which include my parents who live across the street. It never really mattered to me to get to know people before because Rafal and I were both busy with work during the week and on the weekends we usually spent time with my parents or alone. Now that we have Alek and I'm home everyday, I need to get to know some people in our ward so that Alek will have someone to play with and I will have someone to talk to. So, I decided that I would go to Relief Society and figure out who these people are that I see every week. When I lived in Connecticut, I went to Relief Society every week and I really enjoyed it. Since I've been in Utah, I haven't been very often. I was in the nursery for awhile, then once I got pregnant, I was so sick and uncomfortable that I barely made it through sacrament, and now I have Alek and three hours of church is a lot for both of us. But today, I gave Relief Society a try and it was great! I must have been inspired to go on this particular Sunday because the lesson helped me out a lot. It was about Joseph Smith and all the trials and tribulations that he and his family went through. The day after he had tar poured all over him, he still showed up to church. I admire his faith and willingness to serve the Lord. So, I decided that if he can show up to church after such an ordeal, I can make it through Sacrament and Relief Society each week. I might even go to Sunday School.....if Alek's not conveniently taking a nap during that time.

7 Months Old

I'm 7 months old now and I'm getting so big. I love to walk in my walker. I'm getting really fast. Sometimes mommy gets in the way and I have to run over her toes. I love to play with my toys. They make a lot of noise and they taste pretty good too. I love to eat and if mommy would let me, I could feed myself without any help. I only squirt myself in the face sometimes when I'm holding my bottle and usually I know which end to drink out of. Also, I can hold my own spoon, but mommy doesn't think so and she always helps me. I guess she thinks that I'll make a mess. I'm taking better naps now since I'm growing which makes my mommy very happy and I'm a lot happier too. I can even put myself to sleep in my crib sometimes. I look a little like my mommy and a lot like daddy. I love my daddy. He's always playing with me, singing to me, and talking to me in Polish. I love my mommy and I know that she loves me because she's always kissing me and hugging me. Sometimes I just want to play, so I pull her hair a few times and she usually stops and puts me down. I'm working on this crawling thing, but I can't quite do it yet. When I do learn, I'll be into everything!

SOOOO GOOD!

I have a huge sweet tooth and I love to bake. I usually make the same things over and over again. I was trying to think of something new that I could make and I found this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting and they are delicious. I made them on Saturday and I'll be surprised if there are any left by Monday. If you're looking for something new and so good, try this recipe. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ginger (optional)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

*Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, milk, and egg and mix well.

*In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, and salt.

*Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

*Add vanilla and chocolate chips.

*Drop by spoonful on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10
minutes. Keep an eye on these - they burn fast.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8oz packages of cream cheese softened

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

*Cream the butter with the cream cheese.

*Add the vanilla.

*Add the powdered sugar slowly to the cream cheese mixture. Mix until
smooth.

*Spread the cream cheese frosting on top of your cookies and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Fun At The Pumpkin Patch

Grandma and Grandpa took Alek, Addie, and Sadie to Jaker's Jack-o-Lanterns to pick out their pumpkins for Halloween. You could either pick your pumpkin off the vine or choose one that had already been picked. We chose one for Alek and as soon as we put it in front of him, he began trying to eat it. He also loved the hay and kept pulling pieces off and trying to eat them. They had a little maze out of hay that Addie and Sadie had so much fun going through and climbing on. Alek enjoyed sitting on the hay and looking around at all the kids. After the pumpkin patch we went to Old MacDonald's for dinner so the girls could play on the toys. Alek was eating french fries, the ketchup packet, and the toy from the happy meal. We had a great time and can't wait until we carve our pumpkins for Halloween!

Splish Splash I Was Taking a Bath

After eating dinner and a teething cookie, Alek was a mess. He always has his bath in the morning, but he was in need of a bath, so I put in the sink. He absolutely loved taking a bath in the sink. He was splashing and having a great time. In the bathtub, I always lie him down and he'll kick his feet and splash sometimes, but in the sink, he was going to town, splashing with his hands and kicking his feet. I was all wet and there was water all over the counter, but he had a fun time. The washcloth goes right in Alek's mouth every time and I have to pry it out of his hands when his bath is over.

Our Trip to the Zoo

Rafal, Alek, and I went to Hogle Zoo on Thursday. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the animals. Alek didn't seem too interested in most of the animals because a lot of them didn't do anything but just sit there. However, he did love riding the train and looking around at all the people. It had been a while since Rafal and I had been to the zoo and I was excited to see the new lion and tiger exhibit. When we got there however, the only animal that we saw in the whole thing was a leopard. I remember going to the zoo as a child and seeing so many different animals. Now it seems that the animals you do see just lie there and do nothing and there are quite a few empty cages. Next year, I think that Alek will be more interested in the animals and hopefully we'll see a few more.