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.