Look At Me

I am finally almost done with my newborn clothes. I am 10# and 21.5 inches!

Also notice how my head is almost midline. Dr. Swelstad, who follows my torticollis (tight neck muscle from favoring one side in utero), was super impressed with my improvement. Here is what it was like just 3 weeks ago

Well, I've gotta get packed to go camping again. I am really loving this RV stuff. And mom packed my favorite bed this time! 

Portland 2012

On my two month birthday I was flying to Louisville, Ky. On my three month birthday I was flying to Portland, Ore.  My parents say the pattern will stop here which I don't mind because traveling is exhausting. Dad, Michael, and Hayley went to Italy with half of the extended Keller family. But since I don't have a passport yet, I am limited to domestic travel for a while. So mom and the 3 youngest Kellers went to Mt. Hood so Drew could attend ski camp. Oregon was very beautiful and very wet. It rained 8 of the 10 days we were there and when I say rain, I mean all. day. long. Thankfully Mt. Hood is only 45 minutes outside Portland so there were plenty of indoor activities we could do and on one of the sunny days we headed to the beach, which was awesome. Next year we are going to come back with the RV which will be much better than staying in the hotel for so long.  Here are a few pictures of my trip.

Believe it or not, we each had one duffle bag of clothes. But we also had 2 sets of skis, boots, car seat, jogging stroller, a bassinet and tennis racquets. With construction at DIA getting the luggage to the check in counter was quite the feat

Really, no seat to myself on the plane?

That is Mt. Hood peaking over the green trees

My first trip to a science museum

It really wasn't as great as Brandon said it was

Maybe that's because Brandon wouldn't let me control the robotic arms in the Connect Four match

I did wake up for part of it...still boring though

Downtown Portland is a great looking city

The beach was the best part of the trip

I even played frisbee from this thing

Drew and Brandon liked it too

Sand angels

Great location for a restaurant

Back at the hotel helping Brandon with his game

Looking good after a bath

Hoping Drew isn't going to make me jump at Sky High. I don't quite have the head control yet

So there you have it, another trip in the record books. Now we are home for 5 weeks until we leave on the RV trip to California. I can't wait to meet the Henderson cousins who move to San Francisco tomorrow. I will also get to see Aunt Angie again. She will take me shopping for sure!

Alexa

Favorites at 3 months

I am finally back from Drew's ski camp in Oregon. I have gone from 100% humidity and 60 degrees for 10 straight days to about 3% humidity and temps over 100. Mom forgot the cord I needed for the camera so I had to wait until I got home to post.  

Since this is my baby record keeping book, this post may be boring for most people but I want to remember what things I liked at different ages. Every day mom says I'm becoming more high maintenence because I have a specific way I want things done and absolutely no tolerance for mediocre execution by those around me. For instance, before this trip I loved being in the car for as long as needed and sat in the back seat by myself taking naps or looking out the window. But for 10 days in Oregon my best friend and brother, Brandon, sat back there with me. So now, I will scream hysterically for the entire ride until Brandon sits next to me holding my hand and talking to me.  I am also developing more of a temper. Besides simply screaming to get my point across, I now pull out my hair with my right hand as I'm scratching my face up with my left. Its painful but very effective. Anyway, here are a couple of my favorites right now.

Favorite mode of Transportation

Oh how I love being in "the blue thing"

My favorite way to sleep

I always have a tight grip on my gray blankie. Mom tried to talk me into other binkies that aren't so ugly but I only like this one. And I don't think it's ugly!

Mom learned from our trip to the midwest that I only like to sleep in my rock n play bed. Luckily Louisville, KY sells them and they take American Express.

My favorite diapers

I am doing my part to save the earth and the landfill by wearing cloth diapers. Mom had a hard time with the whole poop issue but once she figured out she could power spray it outside and put it in the washer clean, all is well. Not exactly "slimming" but very comfy.

My room

Notice I didn't put "favorite" in the title because I really prefer to sleep next to mom and dad's bed but someday I may try out this one. Not for a while though because dad would miss me too much

My bath

Not my favorite either but not too bad. At least I'm able to lounge.

My rocking chair

I prefer to stand, a real challenge with my tiny feet

That is all I can think of for now. Before I sign off, here I am at 1, 2, and 3 months...getting older looking and slowly growing. Mom said she has worked very hard and paid a fortune for every single ounce of weight gain. I'm the one eating and puking so I'm not sure why she thinks she works so hard

6 days old- 7#4 oz

1 month old- 7# 3 oz

 )

2 months old- 9#

for some reason mom always takes pic when I'm wearing this outfit. I swear I have others

3 months old- prob 10# 

yes, I still prefer to lean my head to the right but I'm working on midline

Cheers!

Alexa

4 States in 8 Days

Last month I decided it was time to start traveling the country. What I didn't expect was that so many people would want to meet me. I didn't want to disappoint anyone so we rose to the challenge and managed to cover four states in just eight days.

I got to take my first airplane ride. I expected mom would get a picture of the event but since dad and the boys were on a different flight, mom was carrying a car seat, a stroller, a diaper bag, a carry on, and me. That was her excuse but I think she just dropped the ball and forgot. Lets face it, she wasn't holding any of that stuff once we got to our seats. Oh well, she will get another chance Monday when we take Drew to ski camp.  The other passengers on the plane looked happy to meet me as well. They all smiled as we walked past their row. 

First stop was Louisville, Ky so I could make sure mom and her friends behaved themselves on their girls trip. Steve Varriano rocks for making the house exactly how I like it. Mom told me all about the dangers of hotels and what they can find with a black light so I was happy to stay at the Varriano's. Louisville had great shops and one of the best vegetarian restaurants ever. We will definitely be back.

Next we picked up Dad, Drew, and Brandon and headed to Ohio to meet the Keller family. Alex and Layla hosted a  BBQ and I got to meet Grandma and Grandpa Keller, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins. Next time I will be old enough to ride in Uncle Aaron's golf cart too.

Our next stop was Indiana to visit Grandma and Grandpa Keller at the house dad grew up in.  We are taking the RV back at Thanksgiving where everyone will be together for the first time in a few years. 

We went back to Indianapolis for a few days to see mom and dad's friends. 

This is GIna answering one of many emails and not giving me her undivided attention. I let her have it after the 2nd email

Chris Pierle hosted a dinner for me and Teresa was able to come. She is the one who introduced my parents to each other in college 21 years ago

Chase Kroger also hosted a BBQ for me with all the neighbors from the old "hood". This is his dad Cory bonding with me.

Before we left I got to have dinner and hang out with my good friend Jude Schaefer. I liked him so much that I made sure to throw up in the grass and not on any of his stuff. That's love! Mom forgot pictures again but we will be back to see him in August so I will take some myself. Jude was my inspiration to start this blog. He writes one as well because his parents must also be bad about keeping track of his adventures. 

The fourth and final state was Illinois. We drove to Chicago to see my Uncle Steve and Uncle Mike who are mom's brothers. When we pulled into town I thought maybe they were having a parade for me because the streets were blocked off, there were people everywhere, and security was tight. Then uncle Mike burst my bubble when he explained they were protesters in town for the NATO convention and the security was to prevent riots. I would have been alot more entertaining than the guy with the megaphone and picket sign.

 Here we are in front of Cheesecake Factory on Michigan Ave.

And there you have it. That is how you cover 4 states in 8 days and see a ton of people. We were pretty exhausted and mom says we will never try it again unless its in the RV. I have to agree. The back seat of a Honda Civic gets quite boring after a while. 

Caroline greeted me back home. I was wearing my travel outfit from Traci, of course.

Cheers!

Alexa

Firsts

Now that I am on a roll I want to get caught up with all my "firsts" the past 2 months. 

My First Visitors when I was born

Kenra Haftel

Robyn Kinnick

And the one we played the joke on, Tanya Riters

  

My First Vacation- 3/23/12

Grandma, grandpa, mom and I (in the blue wrap, of course) rode a snow cat to Drew's race course in Winter Park while dad, Brandon, and Charlie snowshoed up the mtn

My First Trip to the Hospital- 3/25/12

I got to hang out with our best neonatologist, Tami Garmany, so it wasn't all bad

Mom and I fought about the oxygen...she won! I thought it was fun to show everyone how good a baby could look with O2 sats in the 50's. Thankfully the hole in my heart closed on its own and I got to ditch this ugly tubing and annoying green tank after just 2 weeks

My First Holiday- Easter 4/8/12

Easter with a basket as big as me. Wait until next year when you see how small it really is

My First Visit from Aunt Angie

She was as fun as my brothers and sisters made her out to be

My First Stroller Ride- 4/23/12

Maybe mom will actually exercise now because I look so cute in this thing

My First Crawfish Boil- 4/28/12

Now I know why everyone loves Miss Traci from New Orleans. She is the best and boy can she throw a party. And she made sure I was dressed for the occasion

Miss Kerri and I 

My First Smile and Laugh

First smiles on demand- 4/11/12

First laugh 5/22/12

My First airplane ride and "girls trip" to Louisville - 5/11/12

Beth got very possessive when Paula asked to hold me. It could have gotten ugly

My First Annular Solar Eclipse- 5/20/12

We got to see the moon pass in front of the sun which was so cool. It started out a full circle and you can see it getting crescent shaped on my pj's. Dad did a great job with the backwards binoculars trick but we are getting cobalt welding glasses next time. Anyone want to join me in Australia in November for the total solar eclipse?

My First Real Camping Trip 5/27/12

We went to Utah. It was fun to sleep in the RV but they wouldn't share their BBQ ribs with me

Dad loves to show us cool petroglyphs. These were Sego Canyon

My First game of Apples to Apples-6/3/12

They wouldn't let me play because they say I'm a slow reader but at least I could watch

Ok, I think that just about catches up my first post. This blogging stuff isn't that hard. Not sure why mom was so bad at it.

Cheers

Alexa