Spectacular September

Well, it is almost the end of the month, so I figured that I might as well go ahead and talk about everything that happened this month. It feels like September just flew by! I can't believe October is right around the corner. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays, so we are excited for October and all the fun that Fall brings.

As usual, we will start with Alexander and some fun things that he learned to do this month. His vocabulary is improving. This month he learned how to say "no." He also tries to sing "E-I-E-I-O" with us when we sing him the "Old MacDonald" song. It is truly adorable! He also learned how to sign his first ASL word! He now signs "all-done." It is really cute. He had been throwing food on the floor like crazy, but once he learned the sign for all-done, he learned that he could just sign it, and we would pick him up. The funny thing is that he also thinks all-done means "pick me up." So he tries to make the sign when he wants us to pick him up to go over a baby gate or outside. It is really cute and really useful too!

He is getting much more active too! He has learned how to climb off the couch and can almost climb out of the bath tub! He has also started running. He is so fast that sometimes we have to run to catch up to him. Since I am getting more and more pregnant every day, and he is getting more and more active, we decided to invest in a harness for him. It is a little monkey back pack with a leash on it, so that I can take him on walks in the neighborhood, and not have to worry as much about him running into the street. I used to be very opposed to the idea of a harness because it reminded me of a dog leash; but I have to say that they are very handy. It is nice to not have to try to run after him.

Scott started playing this cute game with Alexander this month. Scott will spin in a circle, then stop and point at Alexander and say, "Your turn!" Then Alexander will spin in a circle until Scott says, "My turn!" It is so adorable and he loves it. It seems like spinning is one of his favorite things to do. The only problem with the game is that Alexander likes it so much that he will keep doing it until he falls over from dizziness!

One of the cute things he started doing this month was feeding other people. He started out feeding Mommy and occasionally feeds other people. It is really cute! He will eat his food, and if he decides he is full, he will start feeding his food to me. The funniest time was when he started feeding me his Cheerios during Sacrament. I ate so many that morning because I enjoyed the fact that he was being quiet! He has also started pointing this month. He seems to point to everything he sees. It is really cute.

One of the most adorable things that happened this month was that Alexander became very attached to his blanket. One day, he was feeling a little cranky, and after I changed his diaper, he reached his arm in the slats of the crib to grab his blanket. Of course, I helped him get it out, and he started carrying it all around the house! Now he is frequently carrying around his blanket. We think that it has become a big comfort thing for him because he is teething hard core. He has been working on getting his molars in all month. His gums have been black and blue where they are trying to come in for over a month now. They still haven't broken the skin yet, but hopefully they will come in soon.

The scariest moment of this month, was when Alexander tasted his first bit of peanut butter. I had given him half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I knew peanuts were a high allergen, so I made sure not to give it to him until after the year mark, but alas, he is indeed allergic to them! He was sitting in his high chair, just loving the peanut butter sandwich, when he all of a sudden got cranky. Assuming he was just done, I pulled him out and gave him some milk. That is when I noticed hives forming around his mouth. I didn't think much of it, until a few minutes later he started getting more cranky and rubbing his eyes. That is when I noticed about fifteen little bumps on just one eyelid. I started to panic, called the doctor, and they squeezed us in for an appointment. Luckily, his body started to handle the allergy and by the time we saw the doctor, he was looking a ton better. Even though it turned out that it wasn't as serious as I thought, it made me glad I rushed him in, just in case it was something more severe. It looks like we will have to skip peanuts for awhile.

Every time I start a blog about the things he learned in one month, I am shocked to see all that happened! It is amazing how much they are learning and growing each month! Well, we did have a few fun things happen this month. The first was that we attended a temple dedication for the newest temple the Brigham City Utah Temple. It was my very first temple dedication and I loved it! We had one of my friends watch Alexander so that we could attend together. I even purchased some cute white handkerchiefs that had the Brigham City Temple embroidered on them. They were really cute. I have to say that I do love the temple so much and it was so neat to see all the little details that go into dedicating a temple. I was really grateful for my opportunity to attend.

One of the other fun things we did this month was attend a "Pirate Night at the Museum." We went to a small museum in Lehi with Scott's family. It was super fun getting all dressed up as pirates. I was surprised to see that the pirate costume we bought for Alexander last Halloween still fit him! It was pretty big on him then, and just barely fit him this time. He was by far the cutest pirate there. Below are some fun pictures of us that night:

 

Well, there isn't much else to report. I would like to take a moment though and give you an update on the pregnancy. Overall, things are going really well. My morning sickness is all gone, and I have a bit more energy. The hard part is that Peanut is a bit of a kicker! He kicks me so much more than Alexander did. He is frequently waking me up in the middle of the night with his kicks. This month I have also been having some pretty intense cramping every time I walk. It seems like if I decide to go out for a short walk with Alexander, than later that day it hurts to walk at all or even lift my leg over the baby gate. The doctor said that it was just intense round ligament pain, but I have to admit, I don't like it! Hopefully it will go away soon. A week ago, we all caught the stomach flu too! So on top of all these random aches and pains, we all threw up three times. I have to say having the stomach flu and being pregnant is not fun. Especially when you have a sick hubby and baby to care for at the same time. We are so glad that is over! Although pregnancy can be pretty tough at times, I still feel so grateful to be having Peanut. There are times when he starts kicking me and I just giggle and enjoy his movements. Having another baby crawling around makes it hard to appreciate the little moments of being pregnant. So sometimes, at night, when I am super tired and Peanut starts kicking, I just smile and think of it as our special time together for just the two of us. I really am so blessed to be a mother.

This month, we also took some fun family pictures. I just scanned in the pictures because we haven't gotten a cd yet, but they turned out so cute! Below are a few of my favorite ones. I hope you enjoy them!

Lastly, I'd just like to take a moment to talk about my hubby. I really am so proud of him and feel so grateful for all he does for me. As I have been dealing with the aches and pains of pregnancy, he is always so good about stepping in and helping out. He will put Alexander down for me and order me to bed, or just help with a little extra housework on those days that I am too tired to finish my to-do list. On top of that, he is a hard worker. This month he got numerous compliments from his coworkers about what a great job he is doing and how much they appreciate him. His boss even made a point to pull Scott into his office and congratulate him on all the great work he has been doing. It is so nice to see him work so hard, and feel so appreciated too. I just love him!

Well, I need to get to bed, so that is all for now. Tune in next time for something special :)