There Were Three in the Bed

Since Alek got his shots on Tuesday, he is having a difficult time sleeping in his crib at night. He has been a great sleeper at night for the last month and a half, only waking up once to eat. He goes to bed between 7:45 and 8:30 and wakes up once for a bottle usually between 2:00 and 6:00, then sleeps until 8:00 or sometimes even 9:00. Although I have to get up a couple of times to put his plug back in his mouth, I actually get a good nights rest. He slept in his crib Tuesday, but Wednesday and Thursday night he slept with mom and dad. He started out in his crib and slept a couple of hours, then woke up crying every 15 minutes. After about the third time, I gave up and put him in bed with us. He slept just fine the rest of the night. Rafal and I have a queen bed and we have plenty of room when it's just us, but when Alek joins us, even though he's small, he takes up a lot of room! Instead of sleeping vertically, he usually sleeps diagonally which requires more room. Rafal and I are both on the edge of our bed trying not to fall out and Alek is nice and comfy in the middle of the bed. Also he doesn't hold still as he sleeps, so I wake up repeatedly to check on him and to move him back to his spot. He loves to sleep on his side and when he does, he moves closer and closer to Rafal which makes Rafal move closer and closer to the edge. I'm surprised he hasn't fallen out yet! I hope this is only a short phase that he is going through because of his shots, otherwise, I am going to be a very grumpy mommy because of lack of space and sleep! I love you Alek, but please sleep in your crib tonight for mommy and daddy.

Thank Goodness for the Plug

Alek had his 4 month doctor's appointment where he had to have 4 shots, 2 in each leg. He cried for about 20 seconds and then we popped the plug in his mouth and the crying turned off immediately. I have to say that I love the plug. It's nice when they can be comforted quickly by sucking on their plug. Everything went great and he is a very healthy boy. He weighs 15 pounds and is 24 inches long. He is in the 54th percentile for weight and the 19th percentile for length. I'm not really surprised that he's on the lower end for length because I am only 5 feet 2 inches and Rafal is 5 feet 8 inches, so Alek doesn't have much of a chance of being tall. However, he has grown 5 inches since he was born. As far as head circumference, he's in the 44th percentile. This is one area that I am glad he is not in the 100th percentile. We see the doctor again when he's 6 months and I'm sure he will have gained a few more pounds with the way he eats.

I Can Sit Up All By Myself!

Today Alek sat up by himself for 3 whole minutes. I try and practice with him everyday and he's getting better and better. He loves to sit in front of the mirror and look at himself. He gets so excited. I'm not sure if he knows that he's looking at himself, but he smiles and moves his arms and feet everywhere. Today I was able to get a few pictures of him before he fell over. He's still trying to master sitting up and playing with his toys. He usually keeps his hands on the ground to hold himself up and then he can't get his toys in his mouth. Pretty soon he'll be able to sit up on his own without falling over.

Happy 4th of July!

Every year our family goes up to Sugar House Park for the 4th of July to watch the fireworks. We go up early so we can find a nice shady spot and then we barbeque, play games, and visit. My mom and dad, Kimberlee and Kris, and Desi, Ryan, Addie, and Sadie went up this year. We ate great food and Addie, Sadie, and Alek played with the toys grandma bought especially for them. This was Alek's first 4th of July and he had a great time. It was so hot that we had to strip him down to his diaper and tie a wet burpcloth on his head to keep him cool. When the fireworks finally started, Alek was asleep, then halfway through he woke up and watched with his daddy. He liked them, but some were a little too bright so he had to wear his sunglasses. Right before the finale, which was very loud, he fell right back to sleep. It goes to show that he can sleep through pretty much anything.

He's Getting So Big!

It's hard to believe that 16 weeks ago today, Alek was born. He was born at 2:49 pm and weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 19 inches long. Today he is more than 15 pounds and at least 24 inches long. (We'll find out his exact weight and length at his "offical" 4 month doctor's appointment in a week.) I can't believe how fast the time has gone. He's definitely not a little baby anymore. Here are some pictures of how he's grown over the last 16 weeks.

45 minutes old

4 weeks old

8 weeks old

12 weeks old

16 weeks old

Are You Done Yet?

I put Alek in his bouncer in the office so I could check my e-mail and look at blogs. He was happy playing and talking in his bouncer for about 30 minutes. I would talk to him every so often and he would smile at me. Soon it got very quiet and I looked over at him and he was asleep. (Yeah!) He was so tired, so I'm no surprised that he finally gave in and went to sleep. I do love how he's folded his arms as if to say, "If you're not going to pay attention to me, then I'm going to sleep!" Little does he know that is exactly what I had hoped would happen. Sweet Dreams. Hopefully this nap will last longer than 40 minutes.

Target or Walmart?

Target is definitely my favorite store to shop at for anything and everything. It's so nice and clean and it's very easy to find things. Every time I'm there, employees always ask if I need help finding anything and if I do, they actually help me. Also I never wait in line more than a couple of minutes if at all. I would go to Target everyday if it was only closer. Usually Alek and I make our weekly shopping trip there on Fridays to buy groceries for the week. The closest Target is about 20 minutes from my house, which isn't bad, but it's not convenient to just run there to buy one or two things.

Walmart on the other hand is only 5 minutes from my house, but I would rather not go there if I can help it. Every time I go there, I wander around looking for what I need. Sometimes they have things in the most random places. Also it's not always the cleanest and I have to wait in line every time! Sometimes if I'm lucky, I can get through the self checkout quickly, unless someone with a cart full of groceries is ahead of me or someone who has no idea how to work the self checkout. At my Walmart they've decided to make things even more complicated by moving everything around. I was finally starting to figure out where some things were and now they are moving everything. The last couple times I've been there to buy something I go to the spot where it used to be and now it's gone and something new is there. If I ask anyone, they seem to know even less than I do. I know people say that Walmart is cheaper, but it's not always and if it is, it's only a few cents. Besides, I would rather pay a little more for a nicer environment where I can actually enjoy shopping.

Sorry if you're a Walmart lover, but I have and always will love Target more.