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.