Alex's Nursery

So this is the 3rd nursery I've decorated in the last 4 years and yes its the first one I've decorated for a boy but STILL its the 3rd in 4 years so things come into perspective a little. When I decorated Ava Claire's everything had to be new, I spent a small fortune on it with custom curtains, custom bedding, EVERY THING in the room was custom. Seriously it cost a small fortune. Looking back I see how completely ridiculous that was. HA ! So Anyway when I started thinking about a BOY nursery all that came to mind was BOY STUFF, to me, red and navy scream boy. They remind me of radio flyer trikes and red wagons. My sister-in-law Kim, my sister Michelle and my sweet friend Kesia helped to make Alex's nursery what it is. It turned out great I think, and I couldn't be happier with the result.... The nursery furniture was his sisters, they both slept in the crib and lets just face it I didn't want any more cribs, we have 2 for crying out loud. When Alex gets older we will buy him big boy furniture that is all his but for now, the crib both his sisters slept in is working out just fine. The rocker was also his sisters, the cushions were pink when they used it, I just ordered navy ones. The pillow with his name came from lemondrops and ladybugs, you should find them on FB! Her work is second to none. His bedding came from etsy, it was not expensive at all and was just perfect for his little boy room. The dresser is a revamp that Michelle and I did, we found it on mtn brk trading which is a kind of yard sale site, it was brown and ugly and old, we painted it navy and red and it is one of my favorite pieces in his room. The trike and the push along radio flyer toy came from mtn brk trading as well, his MIMI found them and bought them and they are both functional and adorable ! The 3 pictures above his rocker are from a yard sale my good friend Kesia marks found them and got a smoking deal on them for me, she also painted the red table beside his rocker for me which was also in Alivias room. I'm telling you this nursery was SO much fun!! Oh! I almost forgot, the adorable piece over his bed was made to match his bedding by ARTSY FARTSY, they are a talented couple of sisters, also on FB !

Easter 2014

We had a great Easter holiday! Ava Claire had her class party on Thursday, Alex,Livi and I joined her and mommy sent enough eggs so that Livi could hunt too. She has the sweetest little class and one of THE best teachers around! We love DFBK and Mrs. Jaynie!! We started the weekend on Saturday going to Nonnie and Pops church for an Easter Eggstravaganza, they had an Easter egg hunt, jumpies, hot dogs and prizes for the kids, they even got their pictures made with the Bunny himself.  We went to Mimi & Jus's after we hunted eggs and ate a wonderful easter dinner, played, saw baby chicks, and Bart and Uncle Jus moved Ella Rae's crib in her room and put it together. We will have another sweet angel joining us next year for all this Easter fun!! I can not wait to be an aunt. On Sunday we went to church, and on our way home went by to visit Mamie and let her see the babies in their Easter frocks. When we got home we made a quick change and headed to my mom and dads for more Easter fun and dinner. Holidays are always so busy at our house but I am SO thankful we have our wonderful families to celebrate with and try to cherish every single moment with them all !!

SO thankful for a risen Saviour this easter !!!
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Happy Easter !!

8 Months.....

Sweet Alex is 8 months old already, time is a flying.  He is such a joy.  This month we have officially learned to crawl, first he army crawled and now at almost 9 months has finally decided it is time to get up on his hands and knees and crawl like a big boy.  Alex is pulling up, starting to eat lots of table food, and LOVES oatmeal (maple and brown sugar is his fave). His only word so far is MAMA which I am just super pumped about, especially since both girls said DADA first. The boy has me wrapped around his finger, I won't even lie. He also is sleeping in his big boy bed for 2 naps, one at around 10 and one at around 3, he sleeps for 2 whole hours at a time.  We had to drop his bed down to the next level because he has started pulling up too ! This is by far the most he has done in a month thus far.  I expect him to take off and start walking at any given moment.  Alex is also doing MUCH better with baby food and food in general, I'm not sure if its because hes older or his mouth has changed but food rarely comes out of his nose anymore.  He is doing fantastic and our palate repair is right around the corner which makes me nervous and excited all at the same time.  He is doing so great though, he has finally started in the last couple of weeks sleeping through the night until around 5 am, he goes to bed around 8,  and usually will take a bottle at 5 am and go back to sleep for a couple of hours.  If you have held Alex recently you know that all the boy wants is DOWN, he wants no part of being in your lap, he is a busy little fellow.  Here's a few sweet memories from our boys 8th month of life !

5,6, & 7 Months

So life is busy around here and I'm a little behind posting but we are doing great! Moving along just as normal as can be, except for eating baby food that is.  We have to eat our baby food from a bottle with a huge hole cut in the nipple because when we feed from a spoon it comes STRAIGHT out of his nose.  Bless his bones he gets really frustrated with it and starts sneezing and making these awful faces.  :( In the last few months he has started to roll back and forth from back to front and over again, at 6 months he started sitting up and now at 7 months he is trying to crawl !! He is a happy guy, unless he is sleepy or hungry and LOVES his big sisters. 

Our palate surgery will be in 3 months, on June 27th, and I can't wait.  We have struggled with ear infections, even after tubes, we've had 2, all related to the palate being open and when his palate is repaired he will be able to eat without anything coming out of his nose !!!

5 Months......

6 Months......

7 months.....

Heres a picture of his palate, its the only photo I have ever been able to take of it. 

You can see the problem it could cause since it opens up directly into his nose.  It deals us fits but this is what we do with baby food and as you can see by chunky monkey's legs he is not letting this palate stop him from eating. :)

The top picture is of a litle device Nonnie found, it has tiny holes cut in it so that he can hold it and we fill it full of baby food.  He sucks on it to his little hearts content.  This is great if we are going out to eat and need something to keep his little hands busy.  The second picture of the nipple is without a valve, its our pigeon nipple and bottle, so that its easy to squeeze if you need to just with a giant hole in the nipple.  We have absolutely worn out these nipples since these are the only ones he is able to use and as they get worn out the hole gets bigger.  We just start using them for baby food.  We currently have about 6 nipples we rotate in and out and wash and wash and WASH!!! Hopefully though we will be off the bottle soon and onto a sippy cup so we arent buying anymore pigeon bottles.  This seems to work for us really well so far with baby food though. 

He is FINALLY able to hold a paci in his mouth, after MANY months of having to hold it in while he sucked and sucked and sucked we are finger free !!! This is LIFE CHANGING if you have ever had a baby that had a cleft lip or palate you know just how life changing.  These are the kinds of things I have always taken for granted with my other babies.  Alex has taught me so much.  Being thankful is just one of the many things he has taught me, even in the small things.  So all of you cleft mommy and daddys out there, there is HOPE !!! We tried EVERY paci known to man and it wasn't the paci it was just that baby boy couldn't hold a suction in his mouth because of that old cleft.  Things are getting more normal around here every day.

And heres a few pictures one before and a few after just to show off  Dr. Grant's handy work and just how good GOD is, most people don't even realize anything was wrong anymore. 

Alex 4 Months

As you can plainly see he is handling four months of life just fine, lounging in mommy and daddy's bed.  Is there any better place to be? He sleeps pretty well all night until about 3 or 4 am and then we bring him in our room and yes he sleeps with us usually until we start getting up, sometimes later.  He is rolling over randomly but not consistently. He weighs 15lbs 9 oz, still eating like a champ and is in love with his hands.  He put them in his mouth constantly and sucks on them to his little hearts content.  Since his lip repair we have been using a bottle nipple as a pacifier because the paci rubbed his lip where his sutures were, I'll admit its frustrating at times. When you need to get up to potty or need to move your hand to scratch your nose and you can't because the little fellow can't hold a paci in his mouth but if that is the hardest thing we have to face I'll take it!! He has learned to hold his nipple on his thumb and suck the nipple but randomly forgets where it is and has a fit. HA! Anywho we are making it around here, both the girls even lend a helping hand and proudly hold that nipple in the little guys mouth if mommy are daddy need to step away for a moment.  Those girls just adore him and I mean who wouldn't? The adorableness is at an all time high and we haven't had a boy around here besides daddy..  This boy business is tons of fun !!