Pictures!!!

10 Month Pics from Sears (we did these last Tuesday)

and from the last time I uploaded any pics from my camera, 7/4. (Oi, I have a crapload of vacation pics to take care of still!)

Zander loves books and he really loves to give them kisses!

Zander funny / swim lessons

Zander has a runny nose, he's had it for a few days and I don't know if it's a cold or alergies or from all the fires we have here and ash falling from the sky.

a n y w a y . . . He's tired and teething again so I was trying to get him to sleep. I gave him a few Hyland's teething tablets that he gladly ate up. He grabbed the bottle of Little Colds from me and put the dropper top in his mouth and began to suck, like it was a nipple! I said "Zan there is no milk in there", lol. Then I gave him a dropper full of the cold medicine to help with his runny nose. He does the cutest thing when he has it: he shudders and shivers and shakes his head because of the taste. Then he opens his mouth and tries not to taste it and whispers "ooh, ohh" while shuddering. So dang cute.

We had our last swim lesson tonight and Zander recieved his first of many "Certificate of Completions". I'm such a sap I got all teary eyed reading it and thinking that this is the first of many. Swim lessons were fun, Zander really likes to people watch. He didn't learn to swim and I wasn't expecting that at all. But he was exposed to the water and the atmosphere. I learned things I need to do to teach him to swim and I got over my fear of getting him to take a breath and dunk his head under water (I was so scared!). Zander was a few months younger than most of the babies there. The other kids were working on kicking more than he would, but I know what to keep doing now. Definitely worth $6 for the lessons. :-)

Zander video clips

Low speed video download

High speed video download

This is Zander dancing on Saturday. I wasn't trying to get him to dance, he was just crawling around dancing to the music and I grabbed my camera. Now every time we watch the clip on the computer he dances.

Zander updates...

Zander told my mom "uh-uh" on Friday. She asked if he wanted picked up and went to pick him up and he said "uh-uh" and turned away because he wanted to stay on the floor.

He now waves 'bye-bye' reguarly. But it's not a wave with his hand, it's a full arm wave. And he knows what it means, when we're saying by to people he does it. It's so cute.

On Sunday Zander shook his head "no". I was sitting on the couch with him and I think Mickey was trying to get him to do something and Zander shook his head no and turned away from Mickey.

I think he's pretty darn smart! :-)

Zander happenings

In the past week or so:
-Zander has started dancing to the music. Any music will do, even when Daddy turns on the metal channel. If he's standing he'll bounce up and down, if he's sitting he'll rock back and forth. It's the cutest darn thing ever!

-I picked him last week at my parents and my dad was playing paddy-cake with him and he clapped. From then on he's been clapping reguarly. He'll just do it whenever he feels like it but if you start clapping after he's clapping it's even better, he loves it! Tonight when I sang him ABC's and Old McDonald he clapped along!

-Yesterday Doug said he walked along the length of the couch and crossed over from the couch to the chair. Today he walked along the length of the bed. His love of standing also means he doesn't really want to sit. He doesn't want to sit in the caseat, the stroller, the high chair......it's a battle for mama to get him to sit anywhere.

-I took Zander to the mall play area this afternoon and if I sit him at the top of one of the little slides he leaps towards me. He also does this when we're swimming and I sit him on the side of the swimming pool, he just leaps off the edge. He's quite the daredevil!

Food!
-I gave Zan some Yo Baby yogurt on Sunday. He likes it OKAY, he doesn't love it and he doesn't hate it. He makes these really cute and funny faces. Doug gave him plums yesterday, he loved them! Zan and I went to Olive Garden with my family last night for Mickey's birthday and I got ministrone soup, he happily ate the beans and zuchini. And then he ate some of the mushy part of my eggplant.

We have 2 weeks of swim lessons starting next week!

Zander is 9 months old now, I can't believe it!

Zander's First Concert!

Zander and I went went to a concert and skateboarding thing at Fiesta Mall, it was fun! When we got there we saw Mike Valleley and Nyjah Huston skate. Then we went back to the car to sit in air conditioning and wait for Alien Ant Farm to play.

When we got back out to the skate area we were standing in the shade and this girl said hi to me, it was this girl Shannon that I used to work with at personnel. She was there with her son and her friend and another little boy. So I talked to them for a little bit. The boys were climbing trees and Zander was laughing hystarically at them as they swung from branches like monkeys.

Then AAF came on and we went and watched. Zander didn't watch the band as much but he was so excited to hear it. He was in the sling and he started bouncing and kicking his legs and smiling. He watched some BMX guys during AAF. We sat down in the shade at one point and the coolest boxer puppy was sitting next to us and we got to pet him. Then we stood back up to watch AAF and Zander fell asleep in the sling. I was worried about it being too loud for him, but I think everything was fine. I used one hand to cover up his outside ear and he slept up next to me. There were other little kids and a few other babies there. (Zan was the only one in a sling though!)

After their set they came out and signed autographs and I got Zander's hat signed. We had to have a memento from his first concert! All the guys in the band were way cool and asking how old Zander was. This one girl was like "are you getting his head signed?" I'm like "no, his hat!" then she said, "Oh, cuz that would have been really cool" lol.








It was a good day!

Food!

Zander ate bites of the following tonight, we went to Sweet Tomatos for dinner: garbanzo beans, kidney beans, peas, carrots, sweet potato and CHICKEN! He really liked the chicken.

"caTT!"

Last friday Zan and I were reading one of his board books with animals and we get to the cat and the dog and we pet them and he leans over to kiss them (so cute!) and then he sits back up and pat's the cat and says "caTT!" he emphasizes the T. Sooooo cute! How smart is my kid? And he repeatedly said it and patted the cat.

Then Sunday we were over at Doug's parents house and Doug's dad was holding the cat and Zander was sitting in the high chair and he said "caTT" and everyone heard it! I told my mom afterwards and she said "oh yeah, he says cat" I guess he's been saying it for her. Anyways, that's my kids first word besides mama, hi, and hey.

Yesterday we went to Doug's parents for lunch and swimming. Doug took Zander swimming for the first time, he LOVED it! It was so cute he was kicking his legs and trying to get away, like he knew how to swim already! I took pictures and videotaped, they came out cute.








At lunch he was doing so good with eating! This is good because he has hardly ate any solids and I was starting to get a tad worried. I gave him some little bites of my veggie burger, and some watermellon and a few other things. Since he refuses mushy stuff we're going straight to bites of real food, within reason of course. He loved the veggie burger! He's had watermellon before with Colby, oh, and Colby gave him some peach last week and he loved it.

Zander 8 month update

Zander is 8 months old today so here's an update about him in the past month:
-He crawls all over the place!
-He can go from a crawl to a kneeling position and to a sitting position
-He pulls himself up to stand on EVERYTHING, last Monday was the first time he walked along the couch trying to get the remote.
-He crawls over to say hi to the cats and gets so excited when they let him pet him
-He crawls over to say hi to Vinnie and gets a little disapointed when Vinne gets up and walks away
-He has experienced food in the last 2 weeks but doesn't think much of it
-We tried: sweet potatos, avocado, a piece of mama's regular potato, and banana. He's gnawed on lime, celery and lemon. His favorite thing is rice crispy cereal, we hope to move on to cheerios soon so he can try picking them up himself.
-When I gave him banana(tonight) he promptly threw up.
-He's a total boobie-baby.
-He gives fives.
-He has the cutest giggle while we're tickling him, he cracks up!
-Not only does he have 3 teeth - tooth #4 and tooth #5 are coming in! I can't really let Zander chew on my fingers or hand anymore because he will bite and it hurts. But he thinks it's really funny to crawl up to my knee and bite it, it totally tickles.
-His hair is starting to come in more and he's getting some long locks of hair that curl at the back of his head like both my brothers had. I love it. I love the curls. It's still hard to tell if his hair is going to be brown, light brown or blond. It just depends how your looking at him. But I don't think he'll be a redhead as we previously thought he may be.

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The other day I was reading one of the baby magazines and a mom was talking about how she journaled her daughters life and just wrote little things. I wish I had done more of the little thing journaling. One of the things she wrote was "she folds her hands together when she nurses". Zander always did that and it was so precious. I think I took a picture of it.

So the other night we were laying in bed nursing and he was cuddled up next to me with his feet on my legs. Yes, his feet hit my legs, sometimes my knees! And I love the feeling of little feet up against me. When he was little his feet would be pressing my tummy when we layed down to nurse and it reminded me of how it felt when he was inside me. I love feeling his little feet up against me.

Pictures of the boy from this morning

At the play area at Metrocenter. I had to keep Zander from "kissing the baby", he wanted to kiss his reflection. :-)

And one from when we got home:

love

Zander and I were driving this evening and he was singing at the top of his longs. I mean signing! It was so dang cute. So we get home and I open the door and say to him "we're you singing for me?" and he grabs his little feet, which have is his little sandals on them, and pulls them up in out three times in a little V. So he not only sings for me, he dances for me! Love it.

Zander update

So Zander's been pulling himself up to stand on things for a few weeks. Monday was Doug's day with him and Zander pulled himself up on the couch and went for the remote, so Doug moved the remote and Zander walked along the couch to get to it. :-)

Zander is a speed crawler, he is on the move so fast.

He gives fives. You put out your hand and say "give five" and he does it -repeatedly. So I say "five, five, five, five". It's the cutest thing ever!

On Sunday one of Doug's grandma's was holding him and me and his other grandma were across the table and he demonstrated giving fives. So then me and and his other grandma clapped and said "yay". He looked at me and started clapping! I've never taught him clapping before, he just did it because we did it!

Poor kid really doesn't like food. I gave him some avocado for the first time on Sunday and he ate it, only making a little face. Then Monday I tried avocado again and he spit it out and whined about it. Tuesday we did a little bit more avocado with less of a fight. Tonight I boiled a sweet potato and mashed it and mixed in some breastmilk. I thought if I made it mushier he might like it better. Nope, he gagged 3 times and made plenty of faces. Vinnie liked the sweet potato though, I didn't want to waste any breastmilk nutrients - hahahha so I gave it to the dog.

Zander does love his little brown rice crispy cereals though.

Oh, and Zander got a hold of a quarter of a lime at my parents house yesterday afternoon and he shoved it right in his mouth and loved it. Wierd kid.

I feel like I'm not signing enough. We do MILK,DOG, waves hi & bye, and LOVE YOU. I try to do EAT when he eats and DRINK when he drinks. Since he loves the cats, and they actually let him pet them unlike Vinnie, I've been signing cat to him. He was so excited to pet Munky today he just kept looking back at me and I'd say "CAT" and do the sign. He was saying something like he was trying to say cat. He's so smart.

New food for Zan

I gave Zander a new food today - rice crispies made of brown rice! I wanted him to have a 'finger food' type food, but I don't think he's ready for cheerio's since he's only had sweet potatos once. So we were at sprouts and I found some brown rice crispie cereal with no junk added and the peices are so small I figured it would be safe.

It's cute when he eats them, he pulls my hand to his mouth for another one. We sat on the floor eating cereal for a while. He's such a little man eating his cereal then he'd grab his sippy cup and drink water.

nursing musing

Tonight after Zan's bath we were laying in bed nursing. It was wierd because after a while he had switched to that comfort suck but he was still awake with his eyes wide open staring at me. Then he proceeds to shove his hand in my mouth and feel my teeth. And I'd take his hand out, kiss it and try to redirect. Then we'd repeat this cycle. Eventually he went back to nursing suck and fell asleep. It was cute.

Pictures from Studio Mama!

update

Zander went to the doc on Monday, he weighs 22 pounds!!

Zander commando crawls now. That boy can move when he wants something. Things he is drawn to: tv remotes, cell phones, daddy's shoes, daddy's guitar, the cat, money.

Tonight Zander and Vinnie were laying on the bed and Zan scooted his way over to Vinnie and put his mouth on him. ummm, gross. Zan loves to put his mouth on anything. I had to go to work early because I had to go downtown for a class, so I left before Doug & Zan. Doug said he was sitting on the bed putting on his socks and shoes and Zander scooted over, pulled himself on his knees and started licking his back and putting his mouth all over Doug's back. Doug said he was soaked! haha, Zander also will put his mouth on my tummy and I say "That's where you used to live until you grew big enough to be born!" :-)

Zander sees his cousin Jacey all the time and he is FASCINATED. He really wants to touch her, so I'll take his hand and let him touch her leg gently because she is still tiny.

Bath Time!

trip to the Zoo!

Zan and I went to the Zoo with Becky & Sophie on Saturday. It was fun, but hot.

Zander updates

Zander's teeth have sprouted! You can see them now and you can definitely feel them - they are sharp! Zander is constantly sticking his tongue out to feel them. Even Uncle Marty and Auntie Colby noticed how much he's been sticking his tongue out lately.

Zander has such a love for music. He started hitting his toy drum last week so we started putting the bongos in front of him and he loves them! He get's excited when he sees them and just loves to jam out on his drums. He can hit with both hands but he usually hits with his right while scratching with his left.

Last night Doug brought home an acoustic bass from the studio. Zander was so excited when Doug showed it to him this morning. Doug put it in Zan's room so Vinnie wouldn't bother it and while I was changing Zander on the bed I let him check out the bass. He loved it! He kept hitting it and then he'd pull on a string and get so excited.

When Doug came home the two of them sat on the floor with their instruments and it was so cute. Doug played the bass and Zander would hit his drums. Then Zander would just sit and watch Doug all fascinated with the music. Then he'd hit the bass or try to pull the string. At one point Doug rolled back and laid on the floor playing the bass, then Zander decided to lay back just like Daddy right next to him.

He's such an amazing person these days. He is so insistent in pulling himself up to stand. And he loves to "walk" if you'll help him. He does a great job of stepping with each foot. Doug thinks he'll skip crawling and go right to walking.

in awesome news...

Zander signed MILK 3 times yesterday for Doug!!!! :-)

________________
We went to LLL last night and in an effort to crawl and chase after the toddlers Zander did 2 faceplants straight into the carpet, that = a screaming, hard to console child.

His teeth are just about popping through. I thought I saw something and felt something yesterday. Then at LLL one of the other moms was holding Zan while I went to the restroom and she's like "I see them!" she could see his teeth. Well, the are sharp and coming through now and he bit me with the first time with them, lovely.

Picture from Easter Sunday

He's a natural!

Zander was given the LeapFrog Learning Drum for Christmas from Uncle Mike & Auntie Nene. Since Doug is a drummer we are given drum related gifts, which is cool. We want Zan to know musical instruments and music in general.

Tonight he was on the floor and Doug turned on his drum. Zander started hitting the drum!! He was doing it soooo good. And he'd even repeat the patern of the drum! I took a little video of it, I'll try to put it up soon. Soooooo proud of our little music boy!

Since we don't have a guitar at home and Doug can't really play his drumset here Doug and I have been playing bongos for Zander, he likes it.

In other milestone news....
Zander has been saying "Mammmmmammmmaammmamm" and "Maaaumm" since yesterday morning. Now, he's been saying "Hi" for a while. It's not just me and Doug that have heard it: Colby, Marty, my mom, Melissa and Mickey have all heard him say it. He's just not real consistent, he says it when he feels like it. Mostly when he notices or sees the person and they say hi. But the "Mammmamaa" has been consistent since yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work. I'd set him down he'd say "Mammmmaaammmm" and put his hands up for me to pick him up. I was in the shower and he was in his chair and he said "Mamamamma" the whole time. I'd ask "Are you saying Mama?" and he'd smile. So yeah, I'm proud. :-)

Happy Easter

Easter eggs

My family colored easter eggs today. Zander would take an egg and suck on it so he got food coloring all over his mouth and hands. It was cute.

Happy 6 MONTHS to ZANDER!!!!

The love of my life is 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!! I can't believe it, he is truly the best kid. Doug and I are always so thankful we've got such a wonderful, healthy son.



Things he does:
-Eats his toes and pulls his socks off.
-Puts his arms up to be picked up.
-Puts his arms out and lunges when he wants to go to someone (ususally me or Doug, but my mom and dad, too).
-Sitting better for longer periods of time.
-Scooting all over the floor, usually backwards.
-If he's on the bed and trying to crawl he pushes up on his arms, gets his legs up and moves his feet but they will slide back and forth on the bed.
-He's talking with his high-pitched voice alot
-Get's really excited when he sees boob when he's ready to nurse.
-Likes to hold the boobs and move them acordingly while nursing.
-Likes to pinch, sqeeze and pump the boobs while he's nursing. I don't make these things up, people.
-Helps hold his bottles of EBM.
-Loves remote controls, cell phones and phones. He likes to talk to mama on the phone while I'm at work.
-Loves his sippy cup, he'll reach for it when he wants it and he can hold it.
-Wants a drink of whatever your drinking and will reach for your glass and wants to hold it. I let him try to drink water but usually just putting his mouth on the glass pleases him.
-Sunday he started chewing. He's not chewing anything but he'll just make the chewing motion.

I can't believe 6 months have flew by since Zander was born.

2 best parts of my day

Today I had to pick Zander up from the grade school field because my dad coaches Mickey's little league. Melissa watched Zan until I got there. When I got there I was greeted by a big ol' grin. Zan and I walked around the playground and I put him on the slides to let him slide down. Then I sat on the swing and held him and started swinging. He LOVED it! He just laughed and laughed and coudn't stop looking around while swinging. Now I look forward to picking up Zander on little league afternoons because we can swing! :-)

We came home and I put him on the floor for tummy time and for playing with his cars. He was trying to get his cars which were just out of his reach but he kept scooting backwards. He scooted himself way back off the blanket and turned himself around facing the other way. Zan can scoot! I can't believe it, he's growing up so fast - it makes me sad because he's not a little baby - but it makes me proud his so strong and healthy. I love him so much.

_________________love

things...

I love Zander so much, he's so adorable and smart and sweet. Doug said today it seems like he's changed alot in the last 2 weeks, he's growing and learning and doing new things.

He "talks" constantly. It's all about ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and baaa-mmmmbah-baaa-gbaaaa and mppppppfffffff mpppfffffff.

He loves being tossed around in the air. Doug holds him up high and then 'drops' him down low and he cackles and shrieks and can't wait for more.

He is so tickle-ish! His underarms get him going and laughing so hard he can hardly catch his breath.

He's rolling all over the place when he's in the mood, although is still perfectly content to lay in bed and stare at the cieling fan.

He get's excited when Vinnie runs across the room or jumps up on the bed. Oh, when your holding him and he gets excited he kicks his little legs all over the place.

He get's really excited to see me when I show up to pick him up at my parents. He gets excited when Daddy get's home.

He smiles for the camera.

He grabs his feet. One time I saw him put his foot in his mouth but it was a socked foot, so I took the sock off and he lost interest. But he grabs his feet and puts them near his face, we say "eat your toes! eat your toes!" and he just looks at us.

Oh, he got sooooo excited today because Doug put new batteries in his Fisher Price Ocean Aquarium. It sits on the changing table and he's always hitting it and touching it wanting it on, but the batteries have been dying. When I turned it on for him after Doug put in batteries it was sheer joy! He was so happy he just kept laughing and touching it and turning it off and on. I put it on the couch and sat Zander up next to me and it provided an hour of entertainment, he loves those fishies!

I just had to write everything down so I can remember.

We went to BrU today to check out the carseats. I was wearing Zander in the sling and he was right up front all snug and sleeping (he fell asleep in the car on the way there). He was so sweet and comfortable there, and I had him positioned just right. I should have had Doug take a picture cuz it's hard for me to get him all snuggled right up front anymore, he's so big, normally he's off to the side.

It seems like forever since I updated his pictures (I'm a month behind) but here's 2 so I can show off like a proud mama:

5 Months!

Zander 5 month updates:

-He's "teething" allthough there are no teeth in site!

-He can sit unassisted for about a minute.

-He LOVES dogs! He loves his Vinnie and even spreads out his hand to pet him. He laughs at Vinnie and enjoys watching Daddy & Vinnie wrestle. He also loves Meme & Poppa's dogs: Red Dog and Baby, especially Baby.

-He started laughing like "eh huh eh huh eh huh" - which we later found out he learned from his Uncle Marty, whom Zander thinks is just hilarious.

-He scoots a little on the floor, both on his tummy and with his bottom on his back.

Adorable new thing Zander started yesterday: he takes his mouth and puts it on my hand or arm and rubs his gums back and forth real fast. It is hilarious!

Last week Zander started making this high pitched talk and we couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My mom tells me today "You know what Zander watched and liked, Doug's going to be mad" I said what. "Teletubbies! He LOVED it!" hahahaahha, that's totally where he got the high pitched talk from!

--==HAPPY VALENTINES DAY==--

Look at our cutie-patootie!

Perfection

You are more perfect than I could have hoped,
more beautiful than I could have dreamed,
more precious than I could have imagined...
I love you more than I could have known. - author unknown

4 Month checkup (a little late..)

Zander went to the doctor today for his "4 month checkup", well he's almost 5 months now, oh well.

He weighs: 18 pounds 10 ounces !!!BIG BOY!!!

Nursing an (almost) 5 month old...

Nursing a almost 5 month old has it's challenges. He get's so easily distracted a lot of times I have to go to the other room to get him to nurse. He will watch the dog or the tv or the fan or want to talk to whomever is in the room talking. He shoves his hand in his mouth instead of the boob. He pinches my nipple and skin. He doesn't want to lay down, he wants to sit up. He's much stronger so he arches his back and can pull away when he's mad. If he's overtired it's even more of a challenge to get him to nurse. It's like he wants to be in control.

BUT, the things I love about nursing a almost 5 month old:
- staring into those gorgeous blue eyes
- the noises he makes when he's nursing and content
- he grabs onto my finger so tight and doesn't want to let it go
- AND, this is the greatest, he pets me. he rubs his bottom hand on my side, just gentle little pets. he'll move his top hand around on my skin. he also grabs my shirt alot too. it's so very sweet.

good day!

Zander and I took our first trip to the park for playgroup. It was pretty fun!

Then we stopped by Doug's work to take Zan's picture on the hemi and in the Barrett-Jackson car.

Then we went to dinner with our friends Deitra and Laramie and their family and friends. It was Laramie's birthday. Dinner was a blast! We went to Ah-so, which is Teppanyaki Sushi and Steak. Zander did great during dinner, he just got a little upset when they lit up the big flames, but other than that he was in a great mood. It was very fun!

the labor & birth survey

I've been meaning to fill out, just for fun I guess. And I'm bored.

Was your baby planned or a surprise? Very much planned.

When was the original due date for your baby: September 15, 2004

What is your baby's birthday? September 15, 2004

Was he early, late or on time? Right on his due date.

Did you know the sex of your baby before he was born? Yes, we finally got the right information at 28 weeks. (At 20 weeks we were told it was most likely a girl)

How did you know you were in labor: Contractions were 4 or so minutes apart, and about 45 seconds long. The midwife on call said "You could wait until they are lasting about 1 minute" but Doug and my mom thought it was time to get going.

Had you had any false alarms: nope

About how long was your actual labor: about 14 hours

When did you go to the hospital: Wednesday September 15 @ 5 AM

Did you have an OB or midwife? I saw a few different midwifes and had Marla for the delivery, we liked her.

Did your water break or did they break it for you: I really didn't want it broken, I wanted it to break on it's own. But, the nurse broke it on accident when she was checking me at about 9:30 AM

Did you get sick at all: I threw up once during labor.

Did you have pain meds: NONE!

Did you have any complications: I pushed for 3 hours! Zander was a big baby and his heartrate dropped a few times during pushing so I was given oxygen.

Who was in the delivery room with you? Doug, my mom, my midwife Marla and the hospital nurse.

What time was your baby born: 1:18 PM

How much did he weigh and how long was he: 9 pounds 8 ounces, 21.5 inches

If you could, is there anything you would change about your birth experience?
I wish we would have had the video camera on, not from the crotch view, but we had it set up to be on the side up near my head. No one knows how to do anything with the video camera but me so it didn't get turned on. I wish I would have had the moment Zander was born on video, I can only try to replay it in my head.

I would have also had my sister in the room taking pictures, again, not from the crotch view.

I would have waited to start pushing until Marla was in the room. The hospital nurse had me pushing all wrong, it wasn't the way we wanted it to go. I woud have utilized the squat bar and the all-fours positions like I wanted to. Birthing on your back is the worst way to go, especially with a huge baby. I knew this, it just didn't work out the way I wanted it, too. Otherwise everything was good, except I wish we would have birthed at the birth center instead of the hospital. Oh well.

What one thing about your baby's birth really sticks out in your mind? It was amazing. Pushing my baby out like that was the most amazing thing I've ever done. I believed in myself and my body and I knew I could do it without drugs. I was on a high, I felt so strong and empowered.

What one thing do you remember most about your baby when you saw him for the first time? His poor little cone-head from being in the birth canal for 3 hours. He was beautiful though, and HUGE!

Who came to visit: my Mom & Dad, Melissa & Mickey, Mike & Lindsey, Marty & Colby, Doug's Mom & Dad, Dani, Mikey and Madison. They were all in the little waiting room from about 9 am until the baby was born. Doug's grandparents also visited us, twice.

Who was the first to hold the baby: Me! I helped pull him up to my tummy. Then Doug, then my mom. When the kids came to visit I think Colby was first, then Lindsey.

What did you do the hours after the baby was born:I scarfed the food they brought to me but I couldn't eat the sandwich cuz it was turkey or something. Our families came in the delivery room. We got moved to recovery. Doug's family got me more food that I could eat. Tried breastfeeding a bunch of times but Zander wasn't hungry. Fought off the evil nurse witch that wanted to give him formula! Eventually he nursed. Then slept.

Did you know what name you wanted before he was born: Yes, I knew I wanted Zander Daniel since before I became pregnant. Convincing Doug was the hard part.

How long did you stay in the hospital: I spent 2 nights, so we got discharged on Friday. I needed the sleep and rest but it sucked fighting off formula-feeding evil nurses! And then the different lactation consultants we're annyoing. And having to keep track of how much he nursed and when and his poopies and pee's. Ugh. That sucked. But I'm glad we stayed 2 nights because coming home to Vinnie was a challenge.

Random hospital memories:
Scarfing the food everytime it came. I was so HUNGRY I couldn't wait for the food to get delivered and I would eat it all up so fast. And it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed the breakfast of: oatmeal, toast, eggs and a hash brown with milk and juice. And for lunch and dinner I'd have a gardenburger, fries and fruit.

The second night we stayed Doug brought movies from home, we watched Singles, then Vacation, then High Fidelity.

I remember thinking "Wow, I don't have to go to work for like 12 weeks!" haha. (Oh, I miss materity leave!)

We had an awesome recovery nurse the first day, it's just he one that was on that night sucked ass. Then our awesome nurse came back the second day and we told her about evil nurse. She made sure we had a good pro-breastfeeding nurse the second night, and she was good. The last day our nice recovery nurse stopped by to say hi, she wasn't even working!

quote from mothering magazine

The way you talk to your child becomes his or her inner voice.
The way you model acceptance of your own body becomes the way your daughter learnes to accept hers.
The way you model the distribution of chores in the household provides a blueprint for your children's marriages.
Bringing consciousness and awareness to the small acts of your life with your family can change the world.
Your mothering is enough.

We went to the movies!

Last night Doug, Zander and I went to see the 10:20 showing of Meet the Fockers. Zander was a perfect angel! He sat on my lap watching about 1/3 of the movie while I rocked him. He even laughed at some of the funny parts, he liked the baby. Then I nursed him and he slept. He didn't make a peep the entire movie! The movie was pretty funny....alot of parenting references to breastfeeding, baby sign, co-sleeping, Ferber-izing, Continuium Concept, etc. The movie wasn't as funny as the first though.

And now my favorite pictures of Zander, so far:


(this one has a border around it so you can't see the top part)

Good day!

+Zander is 4 months old today! He is so wonderful, I just love him so much. I tell him all the time he is the best kid and we're so lucky to have him.

+I took Zan to Kiddie Kandids to do his 4 month pictures. They turned out AWESOME!

+Doug, Zander and I went to Glendale Glitters - which wasn't that exciting but there were a few good things. We had to park a few miles away so they had big busses shuttling people down to Glendale. Zander was in the sling and he loved being able to see out the window. There were christmas lights everywhere and hot air balloons lighting up everywhere. There was also people everywhere. We looked at some antiques and just walked around.

+There was an awesome rock-a-billy swing band called Dynaglider. It was Zander's first time seeing a band! He was very interested in the band and I bounced him around a little bit to the music in the sling.

+We sat under a gigantic weaping willow tree and ate the goodies, then I nursed Zander right next to where the band was playing :-) He was getting distraced cuz the music though so we had to wait till they took a break. After the break the singer/guitar player from the band walked by and said "Now that is the coolest hat!" about Zander's winter hat - he gets so many compliments on the hat!

+Then we watched more of the band before we left.

Intact Baby Boys Are Love

Zander is on an anti-circumcision webgraphic!


Intact Baby Boys Are Love

Zander is on the right with a big 'ol grin! :-)

Milestone: Rolling Over Part II

Zander rolls over from back to tummy now!!

I was on the floor playing with him when he did it and I couldn't beleive it. Doug said "Oh yeah, he's been working on that now" because Doug was with him all day the day before(Monday).

Our boy is so strong!

Happy New Year!

I've gotten really behind on updating the website with pictures and stories since I've gone back to work. I hope to try to update at least once a week.

Zander's doing great, he continues to be healthy and grow. He loves to stand if you hold him up and he loves to giggle and "talk".

He got to stay with his Nani & Pappy and his great-grandparent's Maw & Paw over the Christmas break weeks while I was working. He also stays with his Mimi & Auntie Colby a few days a week while I'm working.

We're so very thankful to everyone that helps take care of Zander. Thank you for loving our little boy as much as we do.

Zander!!

Zander
Protector of mankind : Greek


You have great self-confidence and a charming personality which attracts many friends and admirers. Your innate sense of personal power and ability to lead are ideally suited to positions of authority. Being so versatile and seeing the big picture your ambitions are high and much is usually expected of you. With patience and tenacity you will certainly fulfill the great potential you have for success.

from here

2 Month Doctor Visit

Zan Man had a doctor appointment today. He weighs 15 pounds 8 ounces and is 24 inches long! He got 3 shots: DTap, Hib, and IPV. He was a champ though.

Another birthday celebration

We celebrated my 29th birthday with the Murphy's tonight. Zander got a little bit scared during the singing & blowing the candles out.

Here's some pictures:



Again, thanks to everyone that gave me money for my birthday. I got enough to buy my breast pump. It's going to an excellent cause!

For my 29th Birthday...

Zander and I celebrated with a movie! We went to see an 11:20 showing of Alfie at Harkins Metro. Zander was great! I wore him in the sling when we got there, we got popcorn and a soda (a nice lady helped me carry my soda!). As soon as the movie started I nursed Zander and he fell asleep on me. I was able to eat my popcorn and drink my soda during the movie. Zander woke up once and I nursed him again and he slept some more. He never made a sound during the movie. So happy birthday to me!

Then we walked around the mall. When I wear Zander in the sling people stop to talk to us way more than if he were in the stroller. He enjoys being up at my level and looking around, too.

We had birthday dinner at Doug's parents house so Zander got to visit with Noni & Pappy, Maw & Paw, and Auntie Dani and Cousin Madi. It was fun, Zander was totally hamming it up for everyone. Here's a picture:


Zander asked his daddy to get me a nice card and asked him to write about how much he loved me. It was sweet, I cried.

It was a great birthday! Everyone gave me money as a gift, which I really appreciate! I will be using the money so I can buy a breast pump for when I go back to work. This way I can pump mama's milk for Zander while I'm working. So, thanks to everyone!

Smiles & Giggles Every Day

Zander is just hamming it up! He smiles so much now. He smiles during diaper changes when I sing silly songs to him. He smiles when Doug and him have 'Daddy Time'.

He laughes a lot now. It is the cutest thing ever! And we 'talk' a lot too, it's mostly just "ah" and "eh" back and forth but he seems to be enjoying the conversation!

We had a busy weekend. On Saturday we went with Mimi & Papa to a arts & crafts festival in Litchfield Park. Zander slept in his stroller (with Mimi pushing) almost the entire time, he loves to be on the move! Then we went to the Roadhouse for dinner with Mimi & Papa to see Marty & Colby. Zander slept on Mimi pretty much the entire time. He loves his Mimi!

Today we had a nice breakfast, drove up to the Desert Hills area to pick something up and then went to the Anthem Outlet malls. Zander spent the beginning of shopping in the stroller. They have a nice "Mother's Lounge" at the outlet mall so we nursed in there on a comfy couch. And then I put Zander in the sling for a bit, then Daddy held him for a bit, then it was back to mama. He loves being held of course! By the end of shopping he was asleep in the stroller. It was a nice day!

Nursing Baby Fun!

Yesterday Zander and I went to nursing mama's group. I really like going and Zander enjoyed it this time as well. We were all sitting at a long table because the birth center was being used and Zander and most the other babies were sitting on the table. He really took notice to the other babies and was listening to their noises. There's another little boy born the same week as Zander and theres a 2.5 month old little boy. The other babies are a little bit older. It's nice to be around other nursing mama's and babies though, I'm going to miss it even though I've only gone twice. I'm going to try to make the December meeting though, if I do it will be my last one cause it's during work hours.

I plan on joining Le Leche League soon. I've been meaning to go but keep missing the meetings. It's great to be around other nursing moms and I'm hoping there will be some working moms at the evening meetings.

Milestone: last night he laughed!!

Zander had been a little fussy all day yesterday. So after Doug came home from work he was holding him and talking to him and Zander started smiling and then Doug tickled his thigh and Zander laughed! It was a real happy boy laugh!! He had a big smile and just stared at Doug and laughed! Neat huh?

Mama & baby milestone...

Zander has been nursing for 6 weeks! I'm so happy to be giving my baby boy the best!

Milestone: Rolling over already?

One day last weekend I had Zander on his blanket on the floor for tummy time and he used his back legs and kicked himself over to his side then his back. I thought it was just a fluke.

Well, yesterday I put him on the blanket on his tummy and walked to the kitchen to wash my hands when I came back he was off the blanket and on his back. Then today during tummy time he did the same thing, I put him on his tummy and he eventually got himself on his back.

Zander seems to enjoy tummy time. If I put my hand underneath his chest for support he will rock his bottom back and forth on his knees. He kicks himself all over the blanket, he just doesn't have as much arm and upper body strength/control as his lower body yet. I know they aren't supposed to crawl for months. I don't think Zander is even close to actually crawling. He's just not your avarage 6 week old.

Webiste updates...

I just uploaded Zander's 1 Month Portraits and Week 6 Pictures.

Enjoy!

Zander's first mini-vacation

We had Doug's 10-Year High School Reunion last night. The reunion was in Scottsdale and since Zander's too little to leave (he only nurses right now, we haven't introduced bottles of breastmilk yet) we got a room at the resort where the reunion was and my parents came to stay with us.

So, we packed up extra diapers and blankies for Zander and headed over to Scottsdale. Doug and I went to the reunion and after we finished dinner my mom called to say Zander was awake. I went and nursed him and then brought him back to the party to show him off. He was a hit, everyone thought he was the cutest baby! He was the only baby there, of course.

Zander is 1 month old today!

Wow, I can't believe Zander is 1 month old already! Time flies...

We're having so much fun with Zander. He's growing so well and each day he grows a little bit more. He's starting to smile a little bit. Zander is beginning to take notice of everything going on around him more. He has great control of his head, or as we call it 'his big noggin'. He loves to kick his legs and climb up us when we're holding him. He's not too fond of bath time but loves to kick around when I dry him off on a towel on the counter.

We're having a wonderful time with our little boy.

Tonight we had Zander's pictures taken at Sears, they are really cute. I'll get them scanned & posted soon (can't right now someone's sleeping on me).

Daddy's Birthday & other stuff...

Wednesday was Doug's birthday! Zander & I met him at the original Garcia's for lunch! Zander slept through most of lunch and woke up towards the end.

After lunch I headed down to The Training Academy for a quick visit. We got to visit with Anita, Grant, Nanette and a few other people, it was fun. It was also weird after not being there for 3 weeks! :-)

That night for Doug's birthday we went over to Noni & Pappy's for dinner. Mimi & Poppa, Maw and Dani & Madi were all there too.

Thursday I went to the Nursing Women's Support group at Bethany. It was very nice to meet other nursing moms and babies!

Zander's Third Week

Week 3
Zander and I had a busy day on Wednesday. We started off with a visit to the doctor at 8:40 a.m. We weren’t planning to go back so soon but I need a referral to get his second PKU test done at the lab. I was glad we went because I wanted her opinion on his jaundice (he was a little jaundiced, but that’s perfectly normal in newborns, especially breastfeed babies). She said he looked much better, his color was looking great! She weighed him and he was 10 pounds 12 ounces! He gained a pound & a half in a week! He’s a big, healthy, beautiful, boy!

Then Auntie Melissa came over and went to Sears with us to get Zander’s 2 week pictures done. He slept the entire way to the mall and while we were waiting. So, we had to wake him up and hope he wouldn’t be too fussy or want to eat right away. He was great, he didn’t get upset during the pictures. Thye turned out really cute!

Later that afternoon I had to take Zander to the lab for his PKU test and I was really dreading it! He was just sleeping in his baby seat and I took him back. The lab technician was really nice and she got him out of his seat and he woke up a little. He was laying on the table just looking at me when she poked his foot and he let out a scream I’ve never heard before! Poor baby! It was so hard to see him cry like that, he actually had tears in his eyes. She had to shake his foot to get the blood out for the test and when she was done she picked him up and he stopped crying.

That night we went to Noni & Pappy’s for dinner. Doug’s grandparents Maw & Paw came over as well as friends of the family: Pam, Maria and Micki. Dani & Madison also came over later. Everyone got to hold Zander and he slept most of the time we were there.

We went to the Murphy’s Sunday night for Auntie Melissa’s birthday.