Growing Up

Well, Alec is 8 months old tomorrow. Where did all that time go? Not that it flew by too fast to enjoy it - the past 8 months have been the best in my life, just that he is already so grown up to be that same baby that we brought home with us in July. As of last weekend, he now says DaDa and asks for milk in sign language (he has actually been doing the latter for a couple of weeks now but it took us a little while to determine that he knew what he was asking for, not just repeating a hand movement he saw us doing).

Hard to Blog When You're Having This Much Fun

So sorry for the erratic blogging! Alec's increased interest in the computer is making it difficult to keep it regular. Not to mention all the fun that is to be had with books, toys and stuffed bears.

Here are a few Alecgator-facts for fun:

Fav Book: Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb (recently changed from Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See)

Bedtime Books (which we read each night): Snuggle Puppy, Goodnight Moon, The Going To Bed Book, Goodnight Gorilla

Fav Songs: Knees Up Mother Brown, Little Liza Jane, Little Green Frog

Fav Vegetable: Squash
Fav Fruit: Pears
Fav Toy: Too Many to List!
Snuggles With: All Soft Bears and Animals

New Tricks

Alec and I have been busy lately practicing a few of the things that his Dad has been teaching him, such as climbing up the furniture (i.e. with a little parental support), using the headboard in the master bedroom as a musical instrument and pulling himself to standing (also using Mom or Dad) and walking. That Dad sure is clever.

A Bib? Not For Me Thanks

Lots of our adventures over the last few days have been food related. First, Alec tried cauliflower. And promptly threw up. Twice. Second, he has learned how to remove his bib. Here he is just after removing it for the first time. Cheeky? I think so.

Touch

A few weeks ago, we took Alec to see a Naturopathic doctor for diet and general wellness advice. She impressed upon me the importance of touch in learning and suggested that touch and feel books were very worthwhile at his age. Since he has started spending more time with these books, I have noticed that he is more in tune with different textures - in one case he picked up his little ball that has different textures, felt a couple of them, and laughed as if to indicate he thought it a very odd thing!

P.S. Here he is listening. I've always felt a little silly saying to people, "I saw him listening". Now you know.

Many Faces of Alec

Before I had Alec, I thought that most babies cried most of the time and, if a baby wasn't crying, he was in a general state of pleasure, most likely to be short lived.

I don't know why I thought this, I had known many babies who were complicated individuals in their own right (many of whom were also very happy indeed). Still, the misinterpretation persisted. Now that I know how very wrong I was about this, I'm fascinated with the high number of emotions he seems to experience in any given short period of time.

Here are a few random pictures, taken within the span of a minute or so.

Happy Valentines Day!

Roses Are Red

Violets Are Blue

You're The Sweetest Blog Readers

A Boy Ever Knew

Alec has two Valentine's Day outfits so here are two sets of pictures (both taken about a month ago) for you to enjoy. Happy Valentines Day!

Love Is In The Air

Alec's cousins visited this weekend on their way home from a ski vacation. Alec was so happy to see them he gave them each a big hug.

Let Me Count The Ways

In honour of Alec's Nova Scotia Grandmom's birthday, here are a few of the reasons why she's such a special Grandmom, in Alec's words:

1. When I was brand new (1 day old in fact), Grandmom came to visit me and showed my Mom how to look after me. Good thing too!

2. My Grandmom likes to hear about me as much as my Mom likes to talk about me.

3. When I do something new, no matter what it is, my Grandmom always says "Oh, he's so smart" with a lot of excitement in her voice.

4. My Grandmom sends me the snuggiest pj's from Nova Scotia. Wearing them is like getting a big hug from her.

5. My Grandmom loves to talk to me on the phone. Anytime, anyplace, she's always ready to hear from me.

Applause In Order

There is clapping chez Alecgator. We noticed the beginnings of clapping a couple of days ago, evolving to full on applause by last night. Encore!

Keep Warm!

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Off The Beaten Path

This picture shows Alec's bald spot, caused by always lying on his back for sleep. I think it is very sweet and wanted to document it before it is all gone (it is currently on the decline).

Sign Us Up

Last night, we attended our first American Sign Language class with Alec. Apparently, children can sign before they can speak and thus signing is a means of communication that precedes that of verbal language.

We learned 5 songs, including ABC's and numbers to 10, and Alec loved to watch the adults sign and see the other babies in the class.

Not Available in Stores

Here is Alec just before Christmas looking rather underwhelmed. The truth is, the blanket in the picture is putting him to sleep! I didn't know the blanket had magical powers then, but I sure am taking advantage of it now when things don't go smoothly all on their own. Anyway, the blanket was knitted especially for him by my Uncle Bill's Mom. I guess something as good as this can't be bought!

Alec, Not Wearing Any Hats

Yesterday, I set out to get some pics of Alec in hats. Here are the results.

Sleeping Handsome

Alec is 7 months old today and it's been awhile since we've had some sleeping pics to share, so here you have one. Enjoy!