A SWISTAK STORY

Friday, February 5, 2010

Helping

If anyone wonders why my house isn't spic and span and my laundry isn't always folded and put away, it is because I have an adorable distraction that provides too many photo ops!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

So that the jogger wouldn't swallow Alekzander, and so that our little prince would have the comfiest of thrones to ride around in, I bought him a JJ Cole Body Support and JJ Cole Reversible Strap Covers. Quite the upgrade!

On our walk yesterday, five days after Charlotte's BIG snow of 2010, we saw three kids playing in a cul-de-sac... two of which were wearing shorts and t-shirts! It was nearly 50 yesterday which was a heat wave compared to the weekend! Alekzander, however, was bundled up in his stylish Gap sweater from Ryan and his all-purpose knit hat and cotton blanket from Mia.

Precious Pie

Wouldn't you love to eat something called Precious Pie? Or at least love to love something called Precious Pie?

For me, Precious Pie would be a combination of all the most wonderful things and types of pies... like as comforting as pumpkin pie, as sweet as cherry pie, as welcoming as apple pie, as lively as key-lime pie, and as delicate as chocolate mousse pie.

Alekzander has earned the nickname Precious Pie from me because he is all of those things and more. He smiles and coos in response to this silly name, which makes me want to use it even more.

Today we had a major play session and my sweet finally let me capture a smile on the camera!

Wouldn't you just want to eat him up?!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Double Digits

Our big man is 10 weeks today! I watched a live c-section on the Today Show yesterday and actually shed a few tears thinking back to 10 weeks ago as Alekzander was welcomed into the world by a team of doctors and nurses. Its amazing to think that 10 weeks ago Alekzander couldn't do any of these 10 things:

1. Nurse effectively

2. Smile in response to a silly mommy or daddy

3. Coo and talk

4. Do push-ups on his play mat

5. Sit up tall in his Bumbo

6. Grasp toys in his hand (on purpose)

7. Take a bath (and enjoy it, too!)

8. Stay awake for 2 hours straight

9. Kick and flail his arms and legs playfully on the changing table

10. Make and maintain eye contact

While all of these feats amaze me, my favorite two skills that Alekzander has learned are #2 and #10. His wide, gummy smile and baby blues melt my heart, easily 10 times a day!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Sweet Smell and Sacrifices

Sweet baby boy has a new smell... instead of a fresh, sweet baby, he now smells of hyrdocortisone cream (majorly souped up/prescription strength) to help with a sad case of eczema. Surprisingly, it isn't a bad smell at all, though after 4 applications a day, I'm sure I'll tire of its new sweetness. For about a week, Alekzander has had a little rash of pimples that appears across his left cheek, ear, neck and shoulders. More of an aesthetic annoyance to me than anything else at this point... It breaks my heart that his perfectly smooth skin isn't quite perfect right now, but I'm a girl, and I worry about things like that... boys are "rough and tumble" and I will have to get used to that quickly! We originally thought it may have been an allergic reaction to something, but the doctor saw it last Monday and guessed it might be a flare up of eczema. Since it didn't go away on its own, a call to the doctor resulted in two prescriptions for hydrocortisone cream and lotion to treat eczema. Though we saved $25 co-pay to the doctor, the magic lotions cost $66 after insurance was applied. Quite expensive for cream (I won't even pay $10 for a face moisturizer for myself), but I quickly realized that this is just the first of many times that we will spend a little extra money to make our son happy and/or comfortable. And a small monetary sacrifice is just the beginning of the great lengths we'd travel for the good of Alekzander.