Fast Friends

Lexi had quite a busy week catching up with all her friends. Of course the playdates wouldn't be complete without a few pictures to share. 

The three of us traveled to Red Bank on Saturday to visit the Gallagher family before they welcome Baby G #2. Hanna just loved Lexi and showed her the ropes!

On a walk with Miss Keaton (watching Adrienne 

maneuver this double jogger tires me out)

Spending time with her buddy (and older man) Rex

Clearly, Lexi felt comfortable around Alyssa!

Daddies and daughters

Little Snuggler

Whenever daddy or Nanny are around, Alexis braces for lots of cuddling. She doesn't seem to mind one bit! 

Luck of the Irish

While this post may be a little late, Lexi celebrated her first St. Patrick's 

Day in style, thanks to her thoughtful Aunt Wendy.
On March 17, Alexis wore her kelly green onesie proudly. After all, she IS 25% Irish!

Some Big "Firsts"

These days, it seems new adventures lie around every corner! Alexis recently visited the Big Apple to meet one of her mommy's former colleagues from Origins, Amy, and her new son, Ethan. A picture in front of the big clock at Grand Central was a must. Mommy used to pass by it each day en route to the office. 

That weekend, Alexis said goodbye to mommy and daddy as we headed up to Okemo, Vt for a ski trip with friends while she enjoyed time with Nanny and Grandpa LaRose. They had so much fun with her all weekend and said she was quite the chatterbox. Boy were we excited to see our ladybug by the time we returned on Sunday. 

And, several days after turning four months, Lexi ventured into the world of "solids". So far, she seems to enjoy rice cereal...though she's not the neatest of eaters quite yet ;)

Happy 4 Months!

Happy 4 Months, Alexis Rose. 

While we said it before, this month your personality really came shining through. Your smiles are contagious, and your squeals and babbles are so entertaining. Everyone who meets you says what a social, happy baby you seem to be, and we certainly agree. You love to be the center of attention and happily delight in amusing your audience. You love to stretch, smile, practice rolling over from your tummy to your back, babble and lately even yell and squeal out loud. You have quite a grip these days, and nothing is out of your reach - burp cloths, blankets, toys, mommy's hair and even her jewelry. And most of what you grab goes directly into your mouth. Since sampling new textures and possibly soothing sore gums occupies much of your time right now, bibs are now a necessity. You find comfort in your lovies and your pacifier, and Mr. Bear and Duckie are your favorite toys at the moment. 

At your check-up this month, you weighed 13 pounds, 14 ounces (60th percentile) and were 25.5 inches (90th percentile). For such a little peanut when you were born, you're growing in leaps and bounds these days. We packed away your newborn clothes and even most of your 0-3 months since you're so tall right now. 

You still love napping in your swing, but we've begun a daily routine with you and you have taken quite easily to naps in your crib. This is great for mommy since you were waking up at the slightest noise when napping downstairs, ready to start playing when you should be sleeping ;) This daily routine has been helpful for us all as we now know exactly when you should be eating, napping and playing, and you seem to crave the familiar regimen each day (hmm, does that sound like someone else we know and love?)! Nighttime is going well for the Hamilton household too. You sleep anywhere from 6-10 hours right now. Sometimes you awaken earlier than that, but you just need your pacifier and a little bit of comforting, and you drift right back off for another few hours. 

You have begun playing in your jumperoo and exersaucer and seem to enjoy being up in a standing position, checking out these new toys and all the entertainment they provide.  This month you ventured into the big apple for the first time. You also had your first daddy-daughter weekend (I think it went well as Daddy confided that that particular Saturday was one of the best days of his life), followed directly by your first weekend with both mom and dad away. You did great without us, but we were so happy to be greeted by your smiles when we returned. 

Alexis Rose, Happy 4 Months to our little ladybug! We love you so much and can't wait to see what the coming month has in store.

Daddy-Daughter Weekend

This weekend, I left Alexis for the first time and headed off to DC to see all my college friends and attend a baby shower for one of them. These days, we are married, several of us are new moms, and we're scattered from New Hampshire to Houston, North Carolina to Chicago. But while the distance between us has grown, the friendships remain the same. 

As I was enjoying myself down South, Vic and Lexi were busy enjoying a daddy-daughter weekend themselves! Grandpa Tom came Friday to visit and spend the night, and the three of them seemed to have a wonderful time. Being a social butterfly, Alexis showered Tom with smiles, babbles and bubbles. Come Saturday, the warm weather led to a daddy-daughter team with places to go and people to see. Later that afternoon, with the errands complete and bath time over, Vic took his little lady for a walk to see the geese nearby and greet all the neighbors. 

Lexi went over to her friend Madison's house on Sunday morning as Vic joined his brother and some friends at the Rangers game, and we're told by Laura and Corey that she was a perfect house guest. So proud of my little girl (and missing her quite a bit), I was happy to scoop her up around lunchtime. The weekend was a success for us all, and Vic had a hard time leaving her this morning. Their bond is a joy to see, and the pictures and videos he took so I could feel part of their fun make me smile. Enjoy!

Can you tell who dressed me today? 

In case it's too small to read, the shirt says "Daddy loves me"

I've begun to grab hold of everything in sight, 

in this case it's my ducky

When do I get to go to my first Rangers game with you? 

That Sean Avery is kinda cute.

<

Snow Bunny

As we continue to watch the snow fall on this first Monday in March, I thought it might be fun to let Alexis experience a snowstorm for real (during the last big storm, she slept right through it all). I have such wonderful memories of winter in Sparta, sleigh riding in my back yard with neighbors Jen and Caitlin and having snow sleepovers at the Kuhl household during high school. My father never did heed the warnings that only emergency vehicles should be on the road when I pleaded for him to get me to my friend's house for the night. 

So, I bundled my lady up in her pink snowsuit from Nanny, and we spent some time playing in the winter wonderland. She actually seemed to enjoy herself and was a quick study in the art of making snow angels. Just another few years and our daredevil might test out whether a tongue really can get stuck to a pole.

 

In the meantime, we'll savor our precious pink snow bunny!

Apparently Nanny thinks I'm a very big baby

(that, or this was the only girl snowsuit left in the store)

Can you tell my mommy is ready to 

put the Bob Jogger to use? 

I'll just keep quiet that it doesn't look 

like we'll be hitting the roads today

Lent in the land of Lexi

Now that we have joined a church locally and are gearing up for Alexis's baptism on Easter Sunday, it seemed like an appropriate time for me to really stick to sacrificing this Lent season (and stick to it for all 40 days). While the true purpose of these 40 days is to rid sin of one's life, we decided to start with small vices and kick start our morning routines. And the whole family is in on the act: Vic has said goodbye to his Dunkin Donuts coffee, and to ensure its competitor has one less patron, I have given up my daily beloved venti, scim, no-whip Starbucks hot chocolate. I think Big Ray, Tara and the gang over there must be missing me and my $3.18 each day. 

Proving that she won't be outdone by these small sacrifices that help us begin our days, Alexis has decided to sleep through the night! Over the past few weeks, she all of a sudden began waking up each night about 1:30 or 2 am. I suspected that it wasn't out of hunger, but merely out of habit as she was never very excited by her bottle for this new middle of the night feeding. I read Babywise and felt that her new and less thrilling sleeping pattern was becoming a routine, so for several nights, we let her cry it out. Don't think we are terrible parents - we went in every 5 minutes or so to soothe her, put her pacifier in, pat her back and let her know she was okay. Hard? Yes! And, our eyes were glued to that video monitor to ensure she was comforting herself and falling back to sleep. Well, the results are in, and Alexis has slept through the night the past two nights. She's woken up her cheerful, smiling, babbling self both days, ready to play. It seems that the change was as good for her as it was for her parents.

So as we continue on our journey towards Easter Sunday and all the excitement it will be bringing this year, we hope all three of us stay strong and fight the urge to cave in to caffeine, chocolate and middle-of-the-night cries. We'll certainly report back on this!