The tax man...

We just finished doing our taxes... which is a big ol' check mark on the to-do list. Can you believe Alex looked like this the last time we did our taxes?

Don't deaf...

Alex has been afflicted with a terrible condition... albeit one that most 1-2 year olds must endure. While Alex is progressing well in her verbal studies, it is becoming clear that she is "don't deaf".

The particulars of this disease, though not painful or debilitating, cause problems all the same. In general terms the only symptom is the inability to hear the word "don't". All other speech is taken in and processed as would be expected, but the word "don't" just flies right by. As an example, if I were to say to Alex, "Alex please don't pull all the books off the shelf", the poor little dear hears, "Alex, please pull all the books off the shelf". Similarly if Michele says, "Don't rub that half eaten cookie in your hair", she only hears, "Rub that half eaten cookie in your hair!".

I'm sure she will grow out of it, but we have had to change our language a little in the meantime to help. Perhaps if she didn't have that evil smile on her face every time it would be easier to be sympathetic.

Signing day...

Aside from some "mama"s and "dada"s, and the occasional "duck" (?), Alex is nowhere close to talking. Therefore, since we have to live with and decipher the little animal, she uses some basic sign language to let us know what she wants. Mostly this is a great help and great fun. Last week when she was sick and crazy thirsty, but couldn't just chug water because it would come back up, it was not so fun. It's bad enough when your baby is wailing because she is thirsty and miserable... it is entirely another when she is signing over and over "water, milk, please, please, please!". But those times are few and far between.

Some of our peeps who don't get to see her all the time have asked for a demo, so here we go. Nothing is textbook, but she knows what she is saying and so do we. Her everyday, useful bag of tricks includes milk, water, more (mas), please, bath (this one happens about every twenty minutes all day), and eat.

Good, clean fun...

Cousin Maxwell has been on a pretty regular schedule lately of visiting on Thursday evenings to play with Alexandra. The normal routine has been that when it is bath time for Alex, Max watches/helps/splashes from the side of the tub. This week Max decided that it was time to get in the action and started trying to climb in the tub fully clothed. The decision was made to strip him and throw him in. They had a blast... but boy are they going to hate these pics when they are teenagers...
After the bath, we could only find relatively girly PJs to put Max in... so we covered them up with a Barry Sanders' jersey that has been worn by at least three Harrington children so far.
Word on the street is that he dug the jersey so much that he insisted upon wearing it to daycare the next day... how cool is that?

Friday the 13th...

When Alex was little she spit up quite often. A little too much in the tank and some would spill back out. We got used to it. Yesterday Alex had a stomach bug... this was the first time she has actually thrown up, and it was a decidedly different experience.

Sometimes I think that there should be a book for new parents that lays out some of the things you think you're prepared for but aren't. We have lots of friends with kids, a niece & nephews, and both grew up around home based daycares, yet somehow I wasn't prepared for that first vomit. Mind you, all she had eaten to that point was yogurt, bananas, and lots of milk. Those of you without kids might say, "so what, vomit is gross no matter what you eat.". Au contraire, mon frère. I'll not get too graphic, but needless to say the stomach has a tendency to separate the curds from the whey.

It was a long day. She whined a lot, and slept a lot, and was generally miserable. The worst part was that she was crazy thirsty (vomit+diarrhea=thirsty) but every time she drank more than a teaspoon it came right back up. The best part (for her) was that the aforementioned nastiness prompted four baths and a shower, which she loves.

Today, aside from being tired and thirsty still, she seems to be feeling better. She has eaten and drank and been merry... and is now back in bed for her second nap of the day. Now we just need to do some laundry and disinfect everything we own...

Driving Miss Alex...

Being a lady of leisure, but still environmentally conscious, is not the easiest of tasks. That is why Miss Alexandra chooses to take her relaxing Thursday evening drives using only eco-friendly Maxwell-power...

It's getting harder every day to keep up with this little monkey. She is walking all over the place. She bounces from one toy to the next, one book to the next with the attention span of a gnat. And on top of all that... she appears to be fearless. She climbs on everything. She wants to go up and down the stairs alone. She dives head first off the couch, not because she doesn't know that she should go feet first, but because it's fun.

I'm going to need to work out more just so that
I can keep up with her.

From A to C, with a short stop at B...

Walking is no longer purely entertainment, and is now a full fledged mode of transportation. Alex is walking everywhere and rarely resorting to the lowly crawl. Her new mobility includes standing from a sit in the middle of the room (no pulling up) whenever she pleases...



...and walking for minutes at a time, often stopping, turning, and/or bending over to retrieve treats/toys/dust bunnies from the floor...



It's getting harder to keep up with her every day... I think she'll be ready to run a 5K with me before the end of summer.

Diet update

Well it has been a month since our "lifestyle change". The results are pretty good so far. Wes is down like 15lbs and I am down 10lbs. Wes has a schedule for working out and I am struggling to find time. Wes does great with schedules and I want to never be on a schedule. Maybe that is why he is having more success than I am. Robin and Bob are showing improvement but currently I do not know the specifics regarding their success.

I continue to struggle with fatigue. I called the doctor this week because I am going to bed at like 9pm. It is an issue when I am going to bed before Wes!!! The doctor said it is normal to still be tired and that it could last another 6-8 months. I have no patience for it! I just want to be back to my "old" self. My old weight, my old energy level. I do like my short hair though...it is a breeze being a mom and having this do.

So that is what is going on with Alex's parents- work stress, fatigue and restricted diet. I think we need a vacation!!!

Baby Sitting 101:

I am hacking the blog again to put in a new post!
Michele and Wes went out to celebrate their anniversary Sunday with Brunch and a Movie. I volunteered to baby sit while they went out. Unfortunately, I had a cold and had to be medicated. Luckily Amy was there to support the baby sitting!
Baby sitting Alex was a pleasure.
During out time together we played dress up with Alex. She received several new outfits that we wanted to see her in. She was perfectly accommodating during her fashion show! Now she doesn't speak much, but I really think she enjoyed it.
Next we fed her and then had to change her from her PJ's to the daytime clothes. And what better choice then to dress her like the sitter. You will notice in the video that the outfit I picked out matches Amy. We sang songs and played. Her favorite was this game that Amy played with her. More (or Mas) is one of the few signs that she has "learned" to communicate. Every time Amy stopped she asked for Mas! We had a great time!