Alex's new dance moves

Alex has continued to develop his love of dancing and singing.  His latest is singing "I like to move it!" and has a little dance to go along with it.  It is just too funny and cute for words!

 

Sofia is rolling over!

Every week I get a little email from one of those baby sites that talks about the little milestones my baby is likely achieving soon and the new phase that she is likely moving into.  Last week it had been about pushing up while in tummy time, when I realized that we really had not been doing a whole lot of tummy time.

So I made sure to get out a blanket to let her lay down and play a little more often; in no time at all, Sofia went from being very frustrated at not being able to push herself up so well, to now rolling over.  It's so silly to get even slightly concerned about babies not developing on time, considering they all do it at their own pace and only need the opportunity to acquire a new skill.

Sofia first figured out how to get on to her side; then realized that the more she tried to look above her head while laying down, the more leverage she had to try to roll over.  After a few of those attempts, she learned that her top leg was they key to rolling from her back to her stomach; so on she went, pulling her knee up to her chest and grabbing it with her hand to pull it toward the floor.  And voila! She rolled over and now figured out how to get her arms unstuck and is as happy as can be on her tummy.

Persistence, my friends, persistence...try and try again, never give up!  Oh the lessons we learn! ;)

Sofia meets more cousins!

This weekend Trey and family came in town, and Sofia got to finally meet the rest of her cousins.  We had been trying to get up to Dallas, but with the kids having colds and viruses for the month of July, it just didn't happen.

Ava and Alex had a blast playing in the pool with Payton and Sara (Kirk's niece).  They took full advantage of the super hot day to cool off in the water. Ava really is swimming so well that she looks like a fish. Alex is also gaining more confidence in the water and wants to always try to put is head/face under water.

Sofia enjoyed being held by her aunts, hanging out with the moms while we talked, and just being her little laid-back self.  As usual, everyone commented on how she seems so much older than she is...not because she appears larger in size, but just so alert, so tuned in and aware.  She really does carry herself that way, so I suppose she is just living up to her name that means wisdom...she carries herself like a wise old soul, very tranquil, very content, very grounded.

Cousins!! (Preston, Jacob, Ava, Payton, Alex)

Alex had a great time hanging out with Grandpa too.  After dinner, Ava and Payton decided to watch a princess movie, and Alex thought he would hang out with them too.  But soon he was bored and asked "Where's Grandpa?".  I told him that Grandpa was in the TV room watching football, so Alex very confidently went find him.  I followed, but not too close, so I could just see what he was going to do.  He went up to Grandpa, asked for help to climb in his lap, and wanted to check out Grandpa's back massager.  It was just the cutest sight, so I of course ran for the camera.  It is just so funny and so sweet to see these two, with a 70 year age difference, just really enjoying each other's company. It's what making memories are all about!

Sofia is 3 months old!!!

Our littlest nugget is growing at lightning speed!!!  She continues to pack on the pounds, outgrow her clothes (fitting comfortably in 6 month clothes and moving up to size 2 diapers), and seems more and more alert every day.

She continues to develop muscle strength, easily holding her head up, pulling herself to standing (assisted of course), trying out mini push-ups while on tummy time, and batting at toys on her play gym.

Sofia smiles easily and has such a warm gaze. She lights up when she sees Ava and Alex, who also light up when they see her.

Sofia has also decided that she likes a pacifier - just this week we tried it again, since she was getting fussy, likely due to a sore throat from her cold.  Up to now the chupeta made her gag, but for some reason this week it made her feel better.

She is such a happy addition to our family!  We are so blessed!
 

Alex's first haircut

Like Ava, Alex has very fine, baby soft hair still.  At 2 years old, he still has yet to have a haircut...until today.  I thought with Christina's wedding coming up, it was probably time to see what could be done about all the adorable little cowlicks and natural mohawk Alex has always had.

But, like with everything else, I figured I'd try it on my own with a little guidance from tips found on the internet.  Alex was quite cooperative, as I raced to get it done right after he woke up from nap and while Ava and Sofia were still sleeping.  He sat still on the end table, though kept moving his head around to see what I was doing - certainly not the easiest way to do it, but it worked out just fine.

He looks as handsome as ever and I am sure to get more practice as his personal hairdresser as time goes on!

Sofia's first day at school

I am so grateful to Vovo and God.  Since God decided to bless us with Sofia in May, she had the great fortune of being able to stay in Vovo's care when I went back to work in July.  All our kids have benefitted from Vovo having the summer off to be able to "grow up" a bit before starting "school".  I am so grateful to not have had to send the kids to daycare at 6 weeks old, they are just too little...not that 3 months is not little, but it somehow feels far better.  They are chunkier, bigger, and our routine is much more established.

Sofia had a great first day.  She is in Ms. Lucie's class, the same teacher that had Alex, and our favorite Greek yaya.  She is totally in love with our Sofia, who is currently the only girl in her class.  The funny thing is that although she is the youngest, she is not the smallest.  There are two little 5 month old boys who are just about the same size as Sofia...somehow she is growing so fast and developing at an accelerated pace that she is ahead of the game.

I am so grateful that she is well taken care of, she is happy, a laid back baby girl, and happily accepted her bottle (considering we had a little challenge with that at home with Vovo).  Ava and Alex even were invited to go check in on her, so that they could see she was doing well too.

Thank you God for this little miracle!

Alex's Potty Training

As soon as we resumed going to school at the beginning of July, Alex's teacher asked if it would be okay to start potty training Alex at school.  Since he had already been showing some interest during June, I agreed.

So off we went buying extra cuecas for Alex...or rather hunting down small waist cuecas for him, since he, like Ava, has such a tiny waist!  We took extras to school, just in case of accidents, and he has been doing great!  He has a "potty partner" at school, named Heloisa.  They prefer to train in pairs, as the kids provide a good motivation/competition for each other to do a good job.

Alex has had very few accidents, they actually mainly occur since he ends up peeing out of the potty... but then again, he is sitting down and is always concerned about getting pee on his hands if he tries to push his penis down.  Oh the joys of potty training! ;)  Fortunately he HATES being dirty, having wet clothes, etc., so that is all very helpful when trying to work on this milestone!

He is also already tired of me micromanaging him by continuously asking/reminding him to go.  He sometimes responds in an annoyed tone "no, I don't need to go potty!". Too funny, that little guy.  Love him to pieces!

Swim practice

Once again we enrolled Ava in swim classes for the summer, and this time Alex got to join in too.

They both have loved it and have really progressed quite a bit in just two months! We decided to do it for the months of June and July, but decided to take a break for August, since we figured we could just take the skills they learned and practice on our own.  With work schedules getting crazy, and with both of them not really listening to their coaches very well towards the end, it didn't make sense to enroll for August.

Ava learned how to perfect her freestyle a little more; she learned the backstroke; she learned seated dives; and has gained tremendous strength in her swimming.  She has truly become a little fish and very comfortable in the water.


Alex was quite hesitant at first about getting his head wet; he hates having water in his eyes and getting his ears wet.  Although, over the course of the two months he has grown quite used to going under water, blows bubbles, has figured out how to kick, tries to climb out of the pool (elbow-elbow-knee-knee), and is feeling a lot more at ease in the pool.  I have no doubt that by next summer he will be swimming like Ava!