Four Month Check Up

Today, Alex had her four month check up with her routine vaccinations. But that's the boring stuff, what we really wanted to know was how big she has gotten. She is now 15lbs, 9.5oz. and 25 inches long. She's in the 70th and 80th percentiles in all of her physical measurements.

She's been rolling from her stomach to her back with regularity and seems verrrrry close to rolling from her back to her stomach. She seems interested in watching us eat and might be getting ready to experiment with solid foods. She loves to grab toys and blocks with her hands and examine them up close. She is very comfortable sitting up in her bumbo chair (as evidenced in this video), and has been able to support her head for over a month. She seems very interested in faces and hands, both her own, mom's and dad's, and whoever may be holding her.

First Christmas

Alex celebrated her first Christmas by spending Christmas morning with mom and dad in downtown St. Paul while dad got his haircut. She got to pose for pictures in Rice Park and in front of the statue of her dad's literary hero, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Christmas Eve night was spent at Grandma and Grandpa Mahon's house with mom, dad, Aunt Tracee, Great Grandma Evelyn, Barb, Grandpa Lynn, Grandma Pam, and Grandma Lael. She got fun stuffed animals, a blinking turtle, and lots of pretty outfits.

Christmas morning was spent at home with mom and dad and the pets. She opened gifts in front of the tree and fireplace. That afternoon she went to Grandma Lael's house for dinner and more gifts. She had a lot of fun with mom, dad, Grandma Lael, Uncle Andy, Aunt Rachael, and cousins Eleanor and Vincent.

It was a great Christmas and we hope all of our friends and family had a great holiday too.


Nikki, Alex, and Scott.



Todd, Alex, and Nikki in Rice Park.



Opening gifts Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's.



Playing with gifts on Christmas morning.



Opening a gift on Christmas day at Grandma's.

Here's a link to a lot more Christmas 2009 photos.

Growing Up Fast: Alex in Action

Over the last few weeks, Alex has been getting better and better control over her motor skills. Here we've got video evidence of her working with her blocks, and a new trick she learned---how to turn on her music maker in her crib. Nikki and I look forward to hearing it over the baby monitor in the middle of the night.

Holiday Pageant

Last Friday, Alex participated in her first holiday pageant which included performing a couple of songs on stage. Here is a video of her participating with the other toddlers and infants in Jingle Bells. She really got into the spirit of the song, kicking her feet and all, and even overcame a little stage fright with dad's help. Enjoy!

Grandpa Lynn

Alex's Grandpa Lynn had a big day today. He had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor at the bottom of his esophagus and top of his stomach.

In the week's leading up to Alex's birth, he had trouble swallowing food. They visited the doctor and just days after Alex's birth on August 17, he learned that he had the tumor. He started a chemotherapy regimen in late September. He handled the chemo quite well and though he sometimes would get fatigued, he never really got all that sick.

He went to Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park today to have the tumor removed. The results were mixed. The surgeon feels that he got all of the tumor out. They removed a portion of his stomach and esophagus. The tumor was about eight centimeters across. They also found more of it further up the esophagus than they had anticipated and were forced to remove more of the esophagus than they originally thought they would.

We haven't seen the oncologist yet, and she will tell us more about what the immediate and longer term future holds. But he is stable and in good spirits. He should be in the hospital for about ten days and then come home in time for Christmas. Alex loves her grandpa very much as you can see from this video at Thanksgiving. We all love him very much.

School Photo

Here is a copy of Alex's first school photo.

Looking Fly in 2009!

We've added many new photos to Alex's Photobucket account. A link to the site can be found in our "links" section at the top, left side of the blog. New photos include images from her baptism on November 29.

The image at the left shows Alex modeling her athletic wear, an Adidas track suit.

Yes, she can roll over

Alex first rolled over (stomach to back) on November 3, 2009, it just took us a little while to get video footage. In this particular video she gets some encouragement from Thor (black cat) and Duke (greyhound). Enjoy!

Three months and counting

I can't believe that Alex is already three months as of today; she has experienced many events, adventures, and accomplishments in these three months! She rolled over for the first time (stomach to back) on November 3, 2009. She can also push up on her arms and lift up her chest -- I am amazed at how strong and determined she is. Alex is also become quite the conversationalist. She will "talk" to her mom and dad in depth often philosophizing about life and other observations, or perhaps she is just saying that she is hungry or has a wet diaper.

I am also including some pictures from Halloween. Alex went as monkey, her dad was Clark Kent, and mom was a witch. We made a nice hodgepodge.

Two months and counting

Alex is already over two months old and the time has gone by quickly. At her wellness checkup she weighed in at 11 lbs 13.5 oz and was 23.75 inches tall -- she is growing quickly!

She is also discovering more of the world around her. This past week she started to notice everything in her room (paintings, stuffed toys, and other decorations hanging from the walls and ceiling), has become fascinated with her reflection, and is developing an expansive vocabulary of baby babbles. Todd and I love chatting and playing with her.

More photos added to Photobucket account.

We recently uploaded more photos to our Photobucket account. Here's a few examples:


Great Grandma Evelyn and Alex.



Grandma Lael and Alex.



Todd and Alex after a bath.



Alex after a bath in her shark towel.



Sleepy baby Alex.



Alex checks out the zzzzzebras at the Como Zoo.

A weekend of firsts for Alexis.

Alex had a big weekend. She went to her first rock concert when she saw Grant Hart play in Mears Park on Friday night. She also went to her first Twins game on Sunday (see the pictures below). She made it through seven and a half innings, but failed to bring the Twins any good luck as they went on to lose 6-2. In her defense, the Twins were only trailing 4-2 when she left.

Alex at the Minnesota State Fair

On Saturday evening, Alex made her first trip to the Minnesota State Fair. In her brief, three hour tour, she checked out the Ag building, visited the Minnesota Territorial Pioneers, and checked out the swine and cattle. I'm not sure if she opened her eyes once. I guess she wasn't all that impressed.

Lots of Photos

The battery for our camera died before Alex's delivery, so we've been piecing together photos from that night and adding new ones all the time. We're putting most of them in our Photobucket account. We posted a link to it in the link section, but here it is for your viewing pleasure.

Check out the photos of the world's cutest baby.

If You Don't Think This Is the Cutest Thing Ever, Part Of You Is Dead Inside

She's Here!!!!

Please join us in welcoming the most beautiful baby ever to grace the planet. Alexis Evelyn Mahon was born on August 17, 2009.

Vital statistics:

• Born at 7:29pm
• Birth weight: 7lbs 4.5oz
• Length: 20.75"
• Head circumference: 13.25"
• Hair: black
• Eyes: gray

Nikki did an incredible job in the delivery. She was induced at about 9:30am on the 17th. The drug used in inducing labor, Pitocin, creates very hard contractions. Despite this, she performed the entire labor and delivery without any pain medications. Everyone was so proud of her.

Ultrasound Update

We went in for an ultrasound yesterday. Nikki and the kid passed all eight tests. I only remember two of them: fluid levels are good and the kid is practicing breathing with her diaphragm. The next step is a Non-Stress Test on Friday. Actually, the next step is more waiting and hoping that we don't have to go to Friday's appointment...

Ultrasound Pictures at 41 weeks

Here we can see an image of the kid's forehead, eyes and nose. She's upside down here and her forearm is covering her face below the nose. Think of Count Dracula and you can picture it.



I don't remember what we're looking at here. Maybe Nikki can comment.

Still waiting...

Our due date was on August 3. Today is August 7. This is not the blog entry where we introduce you to the newest member of our family.

We're certainly not worried, nor all that anxious. We realize that the first kid comes later more often than earlier. But in the weekly appointments leading up to the due date our doctor said several times that he didn't think we'd make it to our due date. So we've been anticipated the kid any day now for more than a week.

We had a regular appointment today and discussed the next couple of weeks with the doctor. We have elected to take it slow and let nature take its course for now. We have an appointment on Monday to have an ultrasound performed to make sure that Nikki and the baby are healthy and fine and check up on the ameiotic fluid and the placenta. All indications are that things are great. On Friday, we have an appointment for the Non Stress Test, which will measure contractions and give us more information on the baby's heart rate.

So, worst case scenario is we get additional pictures of the baby before its born. Best case scenario is the kid is born before Monday.

Thanks to all of the people who are thinking of us and anxious for more news. We just don't have a lot of news to share.

Update From Mom

I am roughly 33 weeks and still doing great. I do notice that I am starting to tire more easily which can be frustrating at times, but for the most part I take it all in stride. Even though I get tired more easily I do find time to exercise and am staying active with a prenatal water fitness, biking (stationary bike that is), and gardening. I miss jogging and am looking forward to doing that again this fall.

Todd and I have been busy working on putting the final touches on the nursery and preparing for the kid’s arrival. Currently we are in the midst of birthing classes, classes about caring for the baby, meeting with our Doula, etc. June has been a very busy month, but we are enjoying all the preparation and are looking forward to meeting the kid.

Baby Bump

I thought it would be nice to post some photos of me (with child) and a close up of the baby bump. These are from the kayaking adventure that Todd and I took over the Memorial Day weekend. We paddled down the Mississippi River from the Coon Rapids Dam to Brooklyn Park, about an hour and a half ride. It was very relaxing and fun; we saw several turtles sunny themselves along the river banks as well as various water fowl.

Three more animal paintings

Here's the latest in my series of animal paintings for the kid's room. I plan to do one more to finish off the series. The Pig didn't scan well. The ears and snout are actually a really hot pink, but I think it reflected against the light from the scanner. The crown of the series is the one of Thor, who hates seeing rabbits from the window.


Ladybird


Smiling Pig


Thor Contemplates a Rabbit

First series of animal paintings by Todd

These are some paintings I did to hang in the kid's room. I'm going to do four more. A pig, a black cat (of course), a lady bug, and either an elephant or a bear.


Penguin


Owl


Mother Hen With Chicks


Fat Busy Bee


Unhappy Frog

Third trimester

I am now at my 29th week and in the third trimester. Everyone is doing well and I am starting to realize that the baby is coming sooner rather than later. Todd and I are doing some final touches on the nursery: painting the walls, organizing, and making some decorations. Todd is creating a series of paintings based on the Ed Emberley drawing books. He is quite the artist. The next couple of months promise to be an exciting time of preparation for the baby.

The Nursery

Some of you have wanted to know the color of the nursery and if there is a theme. The color is key lime #2031-50, Benjamin Moore; and our theme is animals. Here is a scan of the color chip for those that are interested.

Amazon.com Baby Registry

Our second gift registry. Gimme gimme!

(But seriously, we and future kid are grateful for your thoughtfulness.)

Click here.

The first gift registry

Here's a link to our baby registry at Target. We plan on doing one with Amazon. com too.

Click here.

Second Ultrasound from March 19