Did you miss us?

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. We've been busy with more visitors. Here's a short recap of the past few weeks.

Scott headed off to Denmark for work and Alexis and I stayed behind. I hate staying by myself. Even in the U.S. I hated it. I'm getting better at sucking it up but this time was different. Usually when I'm by myself I stay up really late so I'll fall right asleep. I'll always but a baseball bat under the bed and put a plastic cup full of coins in front of the shut door. That way if someone opens the door I'll hear the coins tip over when they open the door and that will prompt me to get the bat. Ok, in all actuality I'd probably scream bloody murder but having the coin security system helps me sleep. I never,ever get up in the middle of the night by myself. The bedroom is my safe haven. This time I had to leave my door open to hear Alexis. Talk about panic. AND I had to get up in the middle of the night to feed her. AND sit in her dark bedroom while she feeds and let my mind wonder and think about the boogie monster or ghosts. I sucked it up and dug deep down and slept with the door open and Alexis only woke up once those nights (at 4:30am so it was light out! yay!)

I'll be honest with you...had my best friends, Shannon and Josh not been a few blocks away at the Crown Plaza hotel I might not have slept at all. Funny how knowing someone is close provides security and calmness for you. Sorry Scott, Denmark was a little too far away for comfort.

Shannon, Josh, and their friend David stopped by Brugge during their European road trip. They were here everyday Scott was gone so I was in good hands. We all toured Brugge together and ate dinners and lunches together. Alexis had her first visit to Antwerp and was an absolute angel after she provided us entertainment for a few minutes with her "cat cry" in the car. Thanks for everything guys. It was perfect timing for a BFF visit!

The BFF's left on Friday morning and Scott got back Friday afternoon. Just enough time to clean the house for Scott's sister, Kelly who arrived Saturday morning. Kelly, stayed for a week and we had a nice and relaxing time. Kelly is a mom to two little girls so it was great to get all kinds of mom advice from her. Alexis had a blast with her new buddy, Aunt Kelly, the entire time.

Kelly was lucky enough to be at the doctors appointment for Alexis' first vaccinations. Alexis was a trouper and cried briefly after the second shot. The lady took forever to put the band-aids on and all I wanted to do was to pick Alexis up and comfort her. I think it was harder for me than it was her. I compare it to girls going to the OBGYN for their yearly...you just have to mentally prepare for that stuff. All week I prepped myself for her shots. I didn't cry, but it's hard to watch your tiny baby have pain that you approved them to have. Oh well, we have to do it all over again next month for round 2.

While we're on the subject of Alexis. Guess what? SHE'S SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. It happened right about the 2 month mark. A week before that she starting sleeping right through her 10pm and 1am feedings and just keeping the 4am. Then all of a sudden she slept through that. We're going on week 2 of sleeping all night from 8p.m. to 6ish a.m. and then going back to sleep until 8ish a.m. after she feeds. Hooray for momma getting a full nights rest!

While Kelly was here we went to Paris for 2 days. We had a great time in Paris. Sometimes Paris is a hit or miss on the fun scale but this time we loved it. We saw the Eiffel Tower, took a Seine River Boat tour, ate at the Hard Rock and shopped along Champs Elysees by the Arc de Triomphe. Alexis was great for her first hotel stay. If only we could have said the same for the adults. All of us caught a cold along the way. We were up coughing, blowing our noses, sneezing, and snoring all night. We're all feeling better now and crossing our fingers that Alexis doesn't get sick!

Thanks again for coming out Aunt Kelly. It was wonderful to spend time with you. Thanks too for all of the great gifts and hair bows!

Speaking of gifts, I just wanted to thank everyone that has sent something out to us. I tear up every time I open a gift from someone. It really means a lot that everyone took time and extra money to mail us something out here. Scott and I figured we wouldn't be getting gifts since we were so far away and since we didn't have a baby shower. It's extra special to receive gifts we weren't expecting. Thanks again!

Enough sappy stuff right! Now I think we're up to the current week. Scott's super busy with work. Alexis is growing like a weed and developing new skills each day. This week she's holding toys in her hand. She hates tummy time though so we have to work on that. Oh well, at least she's sleeping through the night, right! Scott got a video camera for Father's Day. We've been taking lots of videos I just haven't had the time to upload them to the computer and figure out what to do next. But, this is a video that I emailed out about 3 weeks ago and it's been requested to be put on the blog for more people to see. I've labeled the video "Morning Toot."

I was innocently video'ing Alexis finding her thumb and sucking it and all of a sudden she let out toot . The toot is toward the end so turn the volume up. It's pretty funny so enjoy!

What's new with me....nothing really. I'm still managing to do all of the things I did pre-Alexis - some things just take a little longer. For instance, I love to read. I've read 2 books since she's been born. Usually, I could finish them in a day or two...now it takes me a week. I did throw my back out about a month ago. Probably had to do with lifting Alexis and walking up our stairs with her. I told Scott I'd kill for a massage so we started researching how to get a massage in Beligum. They don't have spas around here. After weeks of research we found out that you need to be referred to a kiniestherapist (physical therapist type person) and schedule it with them. My doctor prescribed me a massage (funny they had to prescribe a massage) and exercise for 20 weeks at 2x/week. It's not all it's cracked up to be but my back is feeling much better. The therapist lady told me my lower abs aren't strong enough to support my back yet so that's what we're working on. It's actually nice to have someone do ab exercises with you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the time. I go today at 7:30pm so Scott's got Alexis a little tonight.

I think we're all caught up now. Have a great week!

Celebrating the 4th!

Red, White and Blue (not particularly in that order)

My contribution to the BBQ - Flag Jello
Alexis' day outfit before she put on her party dress

First Video

I know, 3 posts in one week. I'm becoming more productive during Alexis' nap time.

Alexis is starting to smile and coo and all the relatives want to see. She's usually cooing more but I think she was distracted by the camera. Enjoy!

It was really hot here yesterday so she wore this adorable dress.....for about an hour. After the picture we had to take it off because of a diaper mishap!

YAY!

Everyone's first question is always...are you getting enough sleep? Well, the answer is probably not, but my body has adjusted and is used to waking up every 3 hours for a feed. Everyone's next question is...are you able to nap? Well, I could but I have other things I need to do. Shower, eat, clean, iron, laundry, etc. It's not easy to just "nap" when getting 15 or 20 minutes here or there makes me more tired. It's more relaxing to me to just sit on the couch and watch some TV!

So getting up every 3 hours in the middle of the night has been my routine for the past 42 days...until last night. Little Miss Alexis slept from 11pm until 4:45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up in a panic at 4am and ran in to check to make sure she was breathing. I came back to bed and couldn't go back to sleep because I was wondering when she was going to get up. After her feeding she was awake so I held her until about 5:30 when I was about to fall back asleep. I put her back in her crib to play alone and she put her own self back to sleep (HUGE!) and slept until 8am!

I'm sure it was just a fluke and she'll return back to her normal routine but it was great to get some good REM sleep!

Is it a girl?

I can't tell you how many times we've had this question asked to us. We don't get offended, we actually laugh. Here's the thing: she's wearing GIRLY clothes. I'm not sure what they are not seeing. You would think the pink blanket, pink outfits, cute purple outfits, hair bows, girly socks, pink pacifier would give them a clue. At least they are asking, right? We think the reason they are asking is because here boys wear pink and purple. Kind of funny!

Here are a few of this weeks pics!