Three Months Old

The next Iron Chef America

Alex knows the good life.
He makes the cutest face when he is upset. His lower lip comes out and then the wailing begins. This is pre wail.

He smiles ALL the time now!

Mommy just couldn't resist this cute new hat.
Chillin' before bed.

Little Alex is now officially three months old and boy has he changed and grown! In some ways, the past three months have flown by and in others it seems like Alex has been with us forever!

It is amazing to see how much Alex has developed in just 12/13 short weeks. Some highlights include:

1. He is so alert now. I have noticed that he has started following objects like toys or even Henry and I around the room. Many times I have been doing something in our room only to look over at Alex's pack n play and I have seen him looking straight at me. When I move, his eyes move with me. He also knows when I leave his sight and has started fussing accordingly until I come back and then he is ALL smiles.

2. Speaking of smiles, he smiles ALL the time. It is now everyone's mission to get Alex to smile at them. It is amazing what grown adults will do to get a 3 month old to smile at them. He has even started to flirt with the ladies. I took him to my grandfather's retirement community the other day and, of course, he was the hit of the place, but you should have seen how he was playing his audience...smiling, cooing, batting his eyelashes, etc. The ladies couldn't get enough of him. I was worried for a moment that one of them would steal Alex and never give him back!

3. He is constantly moving his arms and legs. In fact he has bopped me in the eye, nose, etc many times in his exuberance to move his extremities. He has also discovered his hands and feet and is fascinated by them. He loves watching his toes and has this fascinated expression on his face when they actually move. It is like "Wow...am I actually doing that?"

4. He has gotten so strong at grabbing and moving toys. His favorite toy now is this little blanket that his Aunt Carolyn gave him. It is the simplist thing, but the one that he loves the most. It has fleece material on one side and satin on the other. He is entertained by this thing for HOURS. He stares at the pattern, touches the different sides, and also puts it into his mouth. Which brings me to point number 5:

5. He is starting to put everything into his mouth. His favorite thing to go into his mouth is his fist. He tries to get his enture fist into his mouth at one time. It is funny to watch. He still hasn't gotten the whole thumb sucking thing down yet..I figured he would have by now, I think he is just thrilled with the challenge of getting more than one finger in his mouth at a time. The other thing he constantly tries to get into his mouth is my fingers.

6. He has amazing head control. He can now pretty much fully support his neck when sitting up. He can't sit on his own, but if someone is with him, he can totally keep his head pretty steady. He loves to sit on your lap and look out and watch whatever is going on. Henry and I got him a baby bumbo and he seems to be liking it so far.

7. He has been sleeping through the night more often than not. THANK GOODNESS!

The one thing that has been a challenge is tunmy time. He HATES being on his stomach. I mean, there is screaming, face turns purple, coughing fits with being on his tummy. It is very seriously a battle of the wills. A 28 year old mother against her 3 month old son. So far the 3 month old is winning. If any wise mother's have any advice on how they got their children to like tummy time, please let me know. My sanity and my head thank you in advance...

Our house hunt has started full force. We have seen many homes and have seen a few that we like. It is just hard reconciling that we gave up the new construction we had down south where everything was new and nice and that we are probably going to have to put some work into the next home we purchase. However, we will gain a family room, basement, formal dining room, etc so hopefully it will all even out in the end. We have found one home that has great potential and we may make an offer on it, but are waiting to hear back about some questions we have.