Busy Start to Summer

June has already been a very busy and fun month for us. Here's what we've been up to.

My dad, sisters Desi and Brianna, Rafal, and I all ran/walked in the 5K race to kick off Art City Days. After the race they handed out a lot of great prizes, well most of them were great. My dad was the only winner in our group and he won a giant mushroom for his lawn. He calls it his "major award" and has proudly displayed it in his garden.
After the race it was time for the baby contest. I'm proud to say that Alek won 2nd place in the 14-17 month age group. He got a medal, his picture in the paper, and we were in the parade. Alek loved riding on the truck and waving to everyone at the parade.

We went to the Art City Days Carnival and had a great time riding rides and eating great food. It was so rainy on the day we went to the carnival that we had to wait for it to stop before we could go. When we got to the carnival, hardly anyone was there so we didn't have to wait in any lines. Alek rode a few rides, but cried on two of them and tried to stand up to get off. He started out fine, but I think that when I waved at him each time I saw him he thought I was leaving and started crying. I guess we'll have to try again next year.

We took our annual trip to the zoo with Desi, Addie, Sadie, Asher, Brianna, Jen, and Ryker. Alek loved the zoo this year. The animals were definitely more active and we had a great time seeing them. Alek would get so excited that he would pound on the glass and open and close his hands to get the animals to come over to him. Alek rode the carousel and the train. He kept switching animals on the carousel while he waited for it to start. On the train he sat next to Rafal on the seat and put his arm on the arm rest. He thinks that he's so big.

Rafal and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. We had such a busy weekend that we ended up just watching a movie. We decided that we'll go out to dinner another weekend.

Alek had his 15 month doctor's appointment and is a healthy boy. He weighs 23 pounds 11 ounces (39th percentile) is 31 and 3/4 inches tall (71st percentile) and has a head circumference of 47 1/2 cm (60th percentile). Alek is no longer a fan of the doctor's office and doesn't even want to sit on the scale to be weighed without crying. He cried through the whole exam. We took Ryker to the doctor as well and at only 5 months, Ryker is 21 pounds 1 ounce. Alek better watch out because pretty soon Ryker will be bigger than him. When the doctor started checking Ryker, he started to cry and so Alek started with the sympathy crying. Thank goodness Rafal was there to help me. As soon as we were done, both boys were happy once again.

I'll be teaching preschool in the fall so I'm busy planning my curriculum. I'm excited, but at the same time I really enjoy staying home and not worrying about a job. At least it will only be a few hours 3 days a week, so it shouldn't be too bad. I hope that it works out well and it will be nice to have a little extra money so that I can supply Alek with his new wardrobes and maybe even buy something for myself.

Summer has just begun and already we've been so busy. Hopefully it will stop raining so much and we can spend some time playing outside and relaxing a little.

Alek's New Bed

Alek has been sleeping in our bed every night for a couple of months now and we decided that it was high time he started sleeping in his own bed. It all began when Alek decided that he didn't want to let me hold him and snuggle him to get him to sleep. So, I started laying next to him in our bed where he let me snuggle and kiss him until he fell asleep, then I would move him to his crib. This worked well for a couple of months, until he decided that he would much rather stay in our bed all night. The truth is that I was so tired of constantly getting up that I let him sleep with us so that I could get some sleep, plus I absolutely loved snuggling with him. After a while he also started taking naps in our bed and they were 2 to 3 hour naps as opposed to his 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hour naps in his crib. It was nice to be able to get ready or get something done while he was napping. We tried to put him back in his crib a few times, but after a couple of days, he would get an ear infection or he would get sick and so I let him back into our bed. He actually became terrified of his crib and would freak out and hold on to me for dear life if I tried to put him in. He is not one that likes to be contained at all, so I decided that maybe we should convert his crib into the toddler bed and then see if he would sleep there. I told myself and Rafal that by the time he was 15 months, he would need to be sleeping in his own bed. Surprisingly, I followed through and Alek has been sleeping and napping in his own bed for 5 nights now. The only catch is that Rafal or I have to sleep on a mattress right next to his bed. I read an article that said that when transitioning kids back to their own beds, it's a good idea to sleep in their room for a week so that when they wake up they can see you are still there, so that's what we're doing. Rafal and I take turns sleeping on the mattress and when Alek wakes up and sees us or feels our touch, he goes back to sleep. He likes his toddler bed much better than his crib and I love sleeping in my bed without him. The other night, Rafal slept in Alek's room and I slept in my bed by myself and had the best sleep that I've had since Alek was born. I think we'll probably end up sleeping in his room longer that a week, but it is so worth it if it means that he will now be sleeping in his own bed. We're still snuggling with him on the mattress to get him to sleep, then moving him to his bed, but at least he is in his own room. Next step, putting him in bed and letting him fall asleep on his own. We're taking baby steps, but at least we're making some progress. I honestly don't know who these things are harder on, Alek or us.