Back on Track Almost

Alex is fully recovered from her cold and ear infection and believe it or not I think we might be done with teething! I haven't been able to get a really good look in her mouth, but from what I can see and feel I think she has them all. The week went by pretty routinely with story time, gymboree and swimming lessons. All were a good time, Alex just loves taking it all in and having fun. She's really getting into dancing and jumping around at storytime and did really well with "head, shoulders, knees, and toes." Gymboree is concentrating on slides now so she has a blast sliding down them on the lambies and she likes helping the instructor pick up the balls at the end of class. In swim class we worked on the arm motions and on pushing off which she's very good at, she absolutely loves the water. The subdivision pool opened up over the weekend so we went swimming there and she had a blast. We also went out to Purina Farms for a dog agility trial. She was more interested in the dogs resting in the shade then the ones running. It was a very hot day so we didn't stay too long. Once home I placed an order on-line for a stroller fan and x-tra large sun shade and insulated sippy cups to help get us through the St. Louis summer. The heat hasn't stopped us from playing outside lots. She still loves to play with all her outside toys and we've added a Kettler trike (gotta love German engineering in a tricycle) which she doesn't get how to peddle yet, but loves being pushed around on it. So all in all we've been having a good week, just some sleep issues. She just does not want to go to bed lately and puts up quite a screaming fight about it. I made her a new blind with black out lining and that's helped since it stays light out so late and helps her sleep in a little later which is good. Tonight she fell asleep in about 20 minutes so its getting better. Hopefully she'll be back on track next week.

Up, Down, Up Week

Mothers Day was nice, very relaxed. It was the first day back for Dad so he got to do diaper duty for the day. Dad and Alex made a stepping stone for me with her hand print which I love. Tuesday we of course did story time, it was the most crowded its ever been, almost 20 toddlers. Alex made Miss Daryl laugh she was clapping and dancing so much. Alex was in her element at Gymboree Wednesday as it was focused on tunnels which are her favorite. Wednesday night though she started to get the sniffles and it went down hill rapidly, she pretty much was inconsolable and didnt get to sleep until after 4am. So no story time on Thursday, but a trip to the doctor instead. Basically she hit the trifecta-cold, ear infection and teething. So shes got antibiotics for the ear infection plus numbing drops for her ear, cold medication and motrin. She's also a snot producing machine so the "booger bulb" is back and she's not happy about that. She did start feeling better though so we made it to the first day of swim class Friday, luckily there was no under water stuff the first day so didnt have to worry about her ear. Theres about 7 other kids in class, most right about her age, except for 1 girl whose 8 months. We basically just got them use to the water and practiced about 6 different holds, showed them how to kick and practiced blowing bubbles. She had a blast, took her a little while to get into it, shes always checking out the other kids first, but by the end she was letting loose some major squeals of fun. Saturday we did a little garage saling of course (where I picked up 3 boxes of cool tile for only $3 that I'm going to use to redo the lower level bathroom floor). Then we both took her to a Gymboree class, she had fun, but the instrctor wasnt as good as our usual. Then it was Chinese cultural days at the Botanical Gardens so off we headed. I've really been looking forward to seeing the Chihuly glass exhibit that just opened there so we checked out a portion of that too. Dad got to check out a meditation class and a tea class and Alex got to check out the new Childrens Garden. Its really nice with lots of things for kids of all ages to explore. Alex especially enjoyed the water jets. She was also mesmerized by the Chinese Opera performances-who would have thought. Sunday we did an IHOP breakfast-Alex ate almost 4 sausages and a few bites of pancake. Then it was mostly hanging out while Dad had lacrosse practice and then we went to Children's Place to do a little shopping ( I had a $10 off $10.01 coupon so can't beat that, plus it was 50% off clearance prices). Today we're just hanging out catching up on house work and this blog while we wait for the painter to show up to get things started on staining the house.

Saling Saturday

Alex and I hit a few garage sales before her Gymboree Music class. We found the cozy coupe-yippee! Its in great condtion and only $5. She loves it. She's figured out how to make herself go backwards, but we're still working on forward. She's really into cars lately. She loves to sit in the drivers seat of Dads car and pretend to drive. She tries to put the key in and shift into gear. She plays with the controls and the radio buttons. Luckily she hasnt found the horn yet. She thinks shes such a big girl and I have to agree, I cant believe how many things she can do and what she picks up on. Since she loves to mimic so much, I thought I would use that to my advantage and got her a Cleaning Trolley today too. Hey-if she thinks cleaning is fun, more power to her. Music class was pretty fun. There were only 2 other kids in class so that doesnt make it as much fun. It took a little while to warm up to it but she was shaking and drumming by the end.

Girls Week

Its been just Alex and I while Dad takes the boys to Texas. They may have lost the first game but they made it to Nationals and thats a season to be proud of. Alex and I did playland at the mall on Monday. Its been raining all week which is great cause the plants needed it, but not so great for playing outside. So she got to burn off some energy at the playland instead. She always has a blast. Another mother was remarking how fearless she is. She defintly takes it all in and then goes for it with zest. Tuesday was storytime which she enjoyed as usual, but she is getting more antsy and usually takes a few laps around the kids section during the last story. Wednesday we had Gymboree. It was a different instructor this time and Alex wasnt so sure of him, but she had lots of fun since the emphasis was on tunnels which she absolutley loves. She really liked the bubbles since we've been doing lots of those at home and she's really starting to think the parachute is pretty cool, especially under it. I made the mistake of letting her go down the slide right before we had to leave, trying to get her out the door after that was not easy since she if she had her way she would have played on the slide for the next hour. Thursday was another storytime, she was pretty laidback since this one is earlier than the one on Tuesday and shes not quit in full throttle mode yet. Sleep is still an issue but it looks like this set of molars are almost in so hopefully she'll sleep easier soon.

Another Week

Another week has gone by, where does the time go. It was a pretty average week with some disruptions from sleep issues. We had a little more than a week without teething, but it was too good to last. She's working on more molars and her sleep has suffered. She doesnt want to go to bed as it seems like when shes active it takes her mind off the pain and when she slows done she realizes-hey my mouth hurts like hell. Then once she is asleep she wakes up in the middle of the night and has a very hard time going back to sleep. So theres been a bit of sleep deprivation for everyone. We were going to go to an extra Gymboree class on Monday, but after being up much of the night, greeting the outside world by 9am just wasnt happening. We may have been up at 7am, but it was PJ's until noon. We did make it to story time on Tuesday and Gymboree on Wednesday. She seems to be warming up to Gymboree a little. I'm going to try to take her to some extra classes and some of the open playtime so she can get more familiar with the place. Right now she seems to enjoy the play land at the mall better, but I think she just needs to get used to it. Didnt make story time Thursday due to sleep deprivation and all around crankiness. She's still a very happy kid, but she does have quite the drama queen side to her. She perfected the lip at such a young age she's now moved on to the throwing her self on the ground and sobbing. She hasnt started the full fledge arms and legs flailing yet so she still working up to that. Fridays a blur and the weekend was jam packed with fun stuff. It started with a big baby sale on Saturday morning, didnt find much besides a few books, probably cause theres not much we're looking for, though I was hoping to find a cozy coupe but no luck so we're still in search of that. Then Dad took Alex to Gymboree Music and I went to a Garden Society Plant Sale. I got 8 grasses to go in place of the rose bushes and 2 more hosta all for a total of $10, gotta love that. Dad said Alex had fun at music, it was pretty laid back since just one other little boy showed up.


It was a beautiful day and we
went down to Kirkwood station for lunch, ate outside so Alex could run around the plaza. She got to make wishes in the fountain and had lots of fun throwing pennies in the water.


Sunday morning we went to a dog show out at Purina Farms. She had so much fun seeing all the doggies, it didnt matter what size they were, she wanted to see them all.














We of course stopped in the barn on our way out so she could see all the animals from her farm books up close and personal. She wasnt too sure what to make of them and did get upset when the piggies were playing too rough with each other.

Then it was time for a nap for her and practice for Dad. Finished off the weekend with a stop at the mall for dinner. Such a young lady with her matching shoes and purse-she's ready to shop.