6 months

WINNING! ...the bed battle that is. I am a fierce competitor and I will not give up easily. I wanted my rock n play bed back and I got it. 

The crib remains empty except for playtime while mom showers. Waking up every hour all night long wasn't doing the trick so I resorted to getting sympathy votes. Look how well I've perfected my sad face

Mom and dad couldn't get the crib as elevated as the rocker which keeps my nighttime vomiting at a minimum. So after two weeks of waking up with formula coming out of my nose, they caved. Sorry to get graphic but hey, it worked. Of course they assure me the fight is not over. Mom has a wedge pillow being delivered soon and is positive it will do the trick. I'm happy to give it a try but I won't guarantee I will sleep there. In the meantime, I promised to resist the urge to pull myself up and hop over the side of the bassinet. See, I'm reasonable.

Last Tuesday I turned 6 months old. Besides being a super fun age, it also means mom and dad are able to file the adoption papers in court so their names will be on my birth certificate. It is the last step in the adoption process and while things have been irrevocable since May, it becomes completely official.  This is significant because it means I will be able to get a passport and dad will not be able to leave the country without me like he did in June. Hopefully the court date will be in the next couple weeks. 

Just thought you may want to see how flexible I am

As far as growth goes, I have completely stalled out. I look like an older baby and can sport some pretty great pony tails, but my height and weight are the same as they were at my 4.5 month appointment (13.6 pounds) and 23.5". As you will see from the pictures, I am not thin by any means so we don't think there is any reason for concern.  And my doctors are watching me like a hawk so they will let us know if we need to adjust meds or anything. 

Developmentally I am about the same. I really prefer just sitting and playing with my toys over moving around the room. I have a very laid back personality. I enjoy the daily walks we take and still love being carried in either the "blue thing" or the regular carrier. Mom took tons of pictures on my 6 month birthday so I will sign off with those.

Cheers!

alexa

A New Room

I have mentioned in older posts that I really do not care for my crib. As a matter of fact, I really don't like my whole room. The color is great and my clothes fit nicely in it but it's lonely. I can sleep there for about an hour and then I'm done. Mom has been telling me that I can sleep in her room as long as I have to eat every 4 hours because its easier on her. Since that schedule is not going to change any time soon, I have a new room.

Notice the crib is empty

This bed is the best. 

I will need to move into the crib soon because I'm too old for the Rock n Play but for this week, its still mine. 

Its not too bad with my toys 

My new motor skill of the week is standing up holding things. I cannot do much when I'm up there but if you hand me a toy, I can throw it in the basket.

It was a very quiet week. We are trying to adjust to school being back in session. Today I learned what Sundays are like in our house. I had no idea that NFL games went all day long. The highlight was Peyton Manning's debut as a Bronco. What a great game and hopefully a great season.

My Current Stats- 13.6 pounds

                            23.2"  long

Have a good week.

alexa

Carnitine Uptake Defect

So much for the every Sunday posts. I will blame the holiday and try to do a better job next week.

After the final stage of the bike race in Denver, mommy and I headed to Indianapolis for our "stealth" medical trip. She called it stealth because we only told a few people we were in town since we were so short on time and wouldn't get a chance to do much. We will be back the week of Thanksgiving for a few days with the whole family. This time I got my own seat on the plane and travelled in style.

The purpose of the trip was to meet with the metabolic doctor. Its pretty complicated but I will try to explain a little bit of what has been going on. If medical jargon bores you, feel free to skip to the end of this post and look at pictures instead. 

Every baby born in the US is tested for a variety of genetic diseases before they leave the hospital. Most people have heard of PKU but it tests for about 40 other rare things as well.  I tested positive for Carnitine Uptake Defect or CUD. For everyone else, carnitine helps stabilize blood sugar by converting fatty acids to glucose/energy. Because my levels of carnitine are too low, I cannot do this so my blood sugar can drop to dangerous levels if I don't eat often enough and take a carnitine supplement. Besides my vomiting issue, I shouldn't have any problems now or in the future as long as we follow those rules. I had to go see Dr. Escobar so he could evaluate my development so far and try to figure out why my levels are low. I was excited to go to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, as I assumed I would get to meet the legend. Instead, they pulled a bait and switch and tortured me to take tons of blood. If this is how they treat kids here, I can see why Peyton had to leave town and join the Broncos. I think #18 should stick to football and leave caring for children to someone else! The bloodwork was done to rule out some scary things with chromosomes and mitochondrial diseases. If they are all negative (which mom assures me they will be because I currently look so good), then I will come off my medicine in November for a month. If my levels are okay off the supplement then we will assume whatever was going on has resolved. If my carnitine level is low again, then it confirms I have CUD and will have to stay on the medicines and food schedule for a long time. Whew. Long explanation.

I got to see my friend Jude again while I was there.

Since we were on the ground, mom and Lisa put gift wrap down for us. Kept our clothes clean but our hands...not so much. "A" for effort mom and Lisa

mom handing over the car key

Jude and I deciding whose carseat will fit better in the driver seat

My favorite thing right now is reading magaizines

...or eating them. Let me know if you want your pages back, Gina

Gina didn't want her magazine back and let me take it to the airport

I am doing a great job sitting up and I roll to get anywhere I want. So the baby gates have come out. Everything is fair game now!

My mom had her usual airline luck and our flight was delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight. So we spent an extra night in Indianapolis and got to wake up at 4am Sunday to get home. Now its back to the school routine around here.

Cheers!

alexa

US Pro Cycling Challenge

While Hayley and Michael were going back to school, the rest of the family decided to see our favorite professional cyclists and announcers from around the world who came to meet me.  Mom and dad said they were here for a big bike race but I think that was just coincidence. I mean, look how happy Bob Roll is just because he got to hold me...

Here he is talking to the 2011 Tour de France winner, Cadel Evans, and he doesn't look near as happy. I will let you form your own opinion.

Here are a few more pictures from our week.

This was the finish line of stage 1 in Telluride. I wore my jersey in case any of the teams needed a last minute sub

Here are Drew and Brandon enjoying their day off school

Andy Scheck couldn't make it but he sent a 30 foot picture of himself to Boulder. That is me covering up his shin.

In other news, I am now sitting up on my own!

I am playing with a duck AND a cow

And I love, love, love my bath. I can get water to about 3/4 of the kitchen floor if I splash hard enough with my hands and feet

So that about sums up my week. I am in Indianapolis right now to see the metabolic doctor in the morning and get more information on the carnitine deficiency I was born with. Since I am doing new things on a weekly basis, I am going to try to update the blog every Sunday...unless I am in an airplane using slow wifi like last night. 

Cheers!

alexa

Saying goodbye to month 4

My bathtub in the RV. Look at the rolls on my arms

That's right, another month is in the record books. I am getting big at 13 pounds and 23.5 inches. As of now, I do not look destined to be an NCAA basketball star but that could change. Here is a look at my accomplishments as a 4 month old.

We tried changing my diet a bit this month...FAIL! I do not tolerate much more than my current special formula. My cousin Pier was nice enough to share some of her formula with me when mom left mine behind and I promptly gave it back in more ways than one. Thankfully Kristi Lee was with us in the Nordstrom bathroom to help mom get my clothes into the trash. They could not be saved. Together they have 8 kids and both claim they have never seen anything like it. A few days later mom was thought it would be a good idea to try some rice cereal in my bottle. She obviously is not a fast learner...So we will wait a little while to try anything new. I suggested steak but dad caught me. I didn't think anyone would notice me at the table.

I have started to take an interest in my toys and my feet. They are both equally entertaining. 

I tried to shake my giraffe's head off but its on there pretty good

Here we are watching food network while mom showered

This month I started moving around a bit. I am not fast but I get there eventually. It took me so long that mom had to break it up into 2 movies. Wait until next month, I will be faster. 

I am sleeping much better at night. My big growth spurt was because mom thought I was waking up every 2 hours to eat. The truth was that my stomach hurt from the last feeding. So when she stopped feeding me so often, I was able to sleep for 4-6 hours at a time again. Told you...slow learner.  However, that means my food intake has gone from 40-50 ounces a day to a normal baby amount of 25-30 oz. Hopefully my weight won't be affected too much. I have Dr. appointments in 2 weeks to learn more about my carnitine deficiency and my vomiting problem. That means I get to travel to Indianpolis and see my friends there again.

Sunday we are camping for a couple days to watch Andy Schleck and his pro cycling friends as they ride through Colorado. We will also watch the final stage in Denver before dad takes us to the airport.

Cheers!

Alexa

The California RV trip

Whew, what a trip. It was a lot of driving but couldn't have gone smoother and it was great to get to meet my cousins for the first time. Day 1 was the longest drive of the trip. We drove 14 hours from Grand Junction to Boca Resevoir in the Lake Tahoe forest. I did great sitting in my carseat for 13 hours and then I was DONE. The last 45 minutes was because we missed the turn for the campground and had to drive an extra 15 miles to find a place to turn the beast around. Mom was not a fan of the iPhone navigation before and had she been able to figure out a way to get the RV windows open, the phone would be at the bottom of the Boca Resevoir right now. Needless to say she will not forget the android charger again. 

Here we are pulling away from the house

Its a good idea to keep one hand on the call button at all times

The messy RV from trying to stay entertained all day

The view from our camp spot at the resevoir

 helping Brandon in the Phase 10 game

Our original plan for day 2 was to see the giant redwoods in Northern Ca.  But after so much driving already, we decided the extra 6 hour detour to San Francisco was not a good idea and we would all just pretend we could drive through the redwood tree in Grandma's backyard. So we stayed in Sonoma instead. The Hendersons met us there and stayed with us all week as we inched our way down the California coast. 

The pond at Cline Winery

Meeting Uncle Loyd and Pier for the first time. She was born 2 wks after me

Tai, Sydney, little D, and Brandon

Day 3-5 were our San Francisco and Santa Cruz beach days. Mom was right, there is just nothing like the ocean. Our RV spot was facing the Pacific Ocean.

Yes, that's me in the drivers seat

No doubt I will make a good wingman for dad

my version of playing in the cold water

Hayley is going to teach me how to do this on the next trip

Our first family beach photo

The Santa Cruz boardwalk

Roller coasters and a beach= kid heaven

Hanging with Aunt Angie

The rest of the trip was spent in Southern California where I met the Klines, Lees and Goldstines. I also visited mom's favorite beach, Zuma. I slept in my blue wrap the whole time but rumor has it the waves were huge that day. I will add body surfing to my bucket list for next trip.

At Grandma and Grandpa's house

And finally the 13 hour drive home

Stay tuned for the next post where you can see how much I grew during our trip (think adults on a 2 week cruise).