Happy Birthday Xander!

Wow, I can't believe it has already been a year! Your mommy and daddy love you more then you can comprehend right now. You have put up with us not knowing what you want, when you need your bottle or when you just need a hug. We have done our best and seen so many beautiful smiles. I remember how excited I was the first time I saw that smile and the first time I heard that laugh. It made me feel like I was finally doing something right. We have been through many rough nights and held you while you cried. I just love seeing your beautiful face and hearing you laugh while we play. I want to hold your hand and help you grow into a wonderful person. It just feels like yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital and now we are chasing you around as you crawl. I can't wait to see you take your first steps.

It's been a little while since I posted on here. Life is really busy as usual. We are currently getting ready for one of the biggest events of this year...Xander's 1st birthday. I am so glad that he has made it this far with my mothering or lack of mothering skills. I do the best I can everyday to make him happy and keep him healthy. He is doing awesome except for his allergies. I hope they will clear up for him someday! Poor little guy! It's amazing that it has been almost a year since we brought our sweet bundle home and now he is a mobile 11 month old. He crawls and stands up on everything now. With his new found mobility come the bruises, bumps and scrapes. It's hard for me to see all his little battle scars and not feel bad. With crawling comes rug burn. I found these adorable little leg warmers called Baby Legs that I make him wear just about everyday. It helped clear up the redness on his knees. I don't know how to protect him from the bruises and bumps, except to just wrap him in bubble wrap, or place him in a giant bubble. Yesterday he was crawling around in our kitchen that has hard wood floors. I'm not sure if he is learning to stand on his own, or what he was doing, but he decided to straighten out his legs. He quickly went down in a face plant and bruised up his forehead immediately. It was hard to hear him crying in pain, and I almost started crying. Becoming a mother has made me more emotional.

A year ago, Jerry and I were just awaiting the big day when our baby would come into the world. I was buying girl clothes and decorating a cute ladybug girl nursery. At this point last year I wasn't too uncomfortable yet. It wasn't until the 4th of July weekend last year that I started swelling up and getting itchy. I just can't believe that was a year ago. I can't believe my baby will be a toddler soon. Xander is our life right now. We love to see his cute little smile and to make him laugh. Life would be less full without him in it. We are so grateful he has blessed our lives!

What we have been up to lately

Now that Xander is getting older, we have been trying to take him out to some fun places. I know he still wont get much out of the experience, but the weather is nice and it is something to do together as a family. Jerry took a Friday off a couple weeks ago so we could go to the zoo. It was fun just to spend time together, since we really only get every other weekend as a family. I think Xander only liked the stuff that he could grab and he was exhausted by the end of the day. Just yesterday we decided to go to a dinosaur park up in Ogden. They had a fun playground and we let Xander ride in a swing. I think he liked it. I got him to laugh a little bit. Now as summer approaches we are trying to think of some fun stuff to do. Jerry and I were thinking of planning a road trip down to Texas. If my mom is still willing to take Xander, we were going to take a couple's vacation somewhere. It's just hard to decide where to go, but I know I would love to take a break and go somewhere new. Xander finally figured out how to crawl and he loves to move around the house and find bad things to do. We just have to be more vigilant to keep him safe. He is growing so fast! I am already in the first stages of planning his 1st birthday in July. Time flies!

ABC's

I'm just bored at home on a Friday night...

A - Age: 25
B - Bed size: queen
C - Chore you hate: dishes
D - Dogs names: no dogs, I'm not really a dog person
E - Essential to start your day: A good breakfast
F - Favorite color: Green
G - Gold or Silver: white gold
H - Height: 5'7
I - Instruments you play(ed): piano, flute, saxaphone, guitar, bass guitar, percussion
J - Job title: Medical Technologist, and mommy
K - Kid(s): Alexander Thomas
L - Living arrangements: We live in a lovely house in Kaysville
M - Mom's name: Denise
N - Nicknames: Sweety, mommy, punkin
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none!
P - Pet Peeve: I have a few, my weirdest one is that I find it annoying when people roll down the windows of their car while driving and hang body parts out
Q - Quote from a movie: "Mawiage, mawiage is what brings us together." -The Princess Bride
R - Right or left handed: I'm a left-handed freak
T - Time you wake up: I wake up between 6-7am on my off week and 2:35am on my on week
U - Underwear: garments (LDS)
V - Vegetable you dislike: yams
W- Ways you run late: getting baby stuff together, getting distracted
X - X-rays you've had: I think I've only had 2 x-rays
Y - Yummy food you make: homeade pizza
Z - Zoo favorite: the big cats

Some things I have learned about motherhood

A year ago I was awaiting the arrival of my baby and now I have a wiggly, crazy little boy who is almost 10 months old.

I find motherhood to be very challenging, but I feel rewarded when I see a smile or get a laugh out of Xander.
I can't believe how amazed I am at every single milestone that he hits. It's so exciting to see what he will do next.
I didn't realize how much bedtime meant to parents until I became one. I used to think my parents were punishing me. Now I know that it is sometimes the only break that mom and dad get all day.
Putting Xander on a schedule saved my sanity! As soon as I put him on a schedule, he started sleeping better and now he's just a happy healthy baby.
I didn't realize how tough the baby blues would be. Working out has been my anti-depressant and taking some baby breaks.
Being a mom is tough, and I do miss my pre-baby life, but I know how much fuller my life is as a mom. I wouldn't trade motherhood for anything.
I love my beautiful blue-eyed boy so much. I live for him and to see him smile and laugh at me everyday.

Unfortunately I had to work on my very first Mother's day, but it was still good. Jerry and Xander came up to my job and spoiled me with gifts. Xander helped his dad pick out a beautiful diamond Mother's day necklace and then Jerry spoiled me with my favorite stone, the emerald.

May Day

I just thought I would make a post before my off week ends. Xander will be turning 10 months old in a couple weeks. He has been working really hard to learn new things. He is still not crawling, but he is doing a lot of other things. He can scoot around and reach for toys. He still loves rolling everywhere. We still haven't childproofed, but we need to for sure now. He will be going mobile anytime soon. I am already spending his waking moments with him keeping him out of trouble. I have to make sure things don't fall on him and stop him from grabbing electrical cords. I am excited and worried for him to start walking and crawling. That little guy is going to be a handful! I think most boys are handfuls when they are really young.

We took Xander swimming for his second time a couple weeks ago. I thought he would love it since he loves bath time, but he just didn't seem to be excited. I will keep taking him since swimming has always been a favorite thing of mine. I'm sure he will love it when he is older.

Life is going pretty well for us. There isn't anything too exciting going on. We are just staying busy with our little guy and our careers. I am grateful everyday that even though I have to be a working mom, that I can still stay at home with Xander every other week. I get to watch him change and grow. There is always something new, being a parent.

Xander's 9 month stats

Xander just turned 9 months old yesterday and had to go to the doctor for another well baby visit. He weighed in at 21 pounds 9 ounces and was 28 inches long. I think he is 29 inches and that the nurse measured wrong because he seems a lot taller. His 12 month pants are getting short on him. He wears 12 month and 18 month clothes right now. We are continually buying him new clothes because he is growing so fast. The growth is finally slowing down a little, since he has only gained one pound since his 6 month appointment. At 9 months he has already spent more time out in the world then he did growing inside me. He was only in my belly for 36 weeks 6 days. According to a chart that I used, he is 39 weeks old. I'm definitely glad he is out of my belly. I can't imagine I would be walking very well with a 21 pound baby inside!
Xander can be a really happy baby. He has lots of smiles and he giggles a lot, especially when we play peek a boo. He is still not crawling. He rolls around to get places. We are working on getting him to stand better. He will put weight on his legs, but he is wobbly and has to be supported in order to stand. He can sit up and play just fine on his own and lately he is showing an interest in pulling himself up. His pediatrician is not worried that he is not crawling yet. Xander is just the laid back type and doesn't want to learn too fast. Plus our home is not adequately child proofed yet. We still haven't found a baby gate that will fit our wide staircases. He finally got his first tooth about a week ago. This teething thing has been going on for a long time!
Our world revolves around Xander right now, until he gets a little brother or sister someday (still hoping for a girl). He keeps us busy and I am just trying to enjoy these moments, because everyday he needs mommy less and less. I realized that today while I was giving him a bottle. He grabbed it and fed himself. He wouldn't let me help him. He's also a master at inserting his own Binky's and stuffing baby puffs in his mouth. I only have 3 months left to plan his 1st birthday. I'm so grateful that we have made it this far and are a busy yet happy family.