Birth Announcements and Thank You cards have been MAILED!

If you didn't get one, and want one, let me know! I just addressed more than 150 birth announcements and wrote about 80 thank you cards! Most of them went in the mail on Nov. 23 and the last of them were sent out today!

I beat the 3-month mark! Yeah, go me. Alexa helped.

The cards are from Peek-a-boo Paperie, which is a fabulous little online boutique. Stamps from Zazzle. And return envelope stickers from Vistaprint!

Deals! Deals! I got some great deals!

The weather was amazing today, so we all went for a walk! As Alexa slept and Daddy watched football at a nearby restaurant, I snuck away for a few minutes to check out the Wiggle Room, a baby and maternity consignment store near our house.

I had seen a Baby Hawk carrier there that I was interested in. These carriers can be customized in the color and fabric of your choosing and go for $90-115. The one at Wriggle Room is brown with white, green and pink fabric. The price of $34 was set to decrease to $20 in a couple days and I wanted to see if it was still there!

It was... And they gave me the lower price early! What a deal! Here is my new (refurbished) Baby Hawk carrier!

I also got a brand new, still in its packaging JJ Cole Toddler UrbanBundleMe just like our current Infant one for only $15.73 (retails for $59.99)! And I picked up a second Miracle Blanket for just $5.50 (retails for $29.95) and a black Bravado nursing tank top for $10.50 (retails for $45).

Yay! We love deals!

Alexa second (play) date with a boy!

Don't worry, Daddy chaperoned. Here are Alexa and I with Jason and his mom. Jason was born a month before Alexa. What a cutie pie!

The two babies didn't seem too interested in each other though...

After our visit, we hit the road hoping to make it back to DC before the crazy traffic on Sunday. Unfortunately, there was a tractor trailer accident on the Turnpike, so our trip took 10 hours! Luckily, we were not in a hurry. So we stopped about every 2-3 hours to feed and change Alexa.

Here she is having "music time" with Daddy before getting back on the road! Lucky for us, she slept the whole time we were driving, even in traffic, only waking up at rest stops. Good, baby!

Alexa meets cousin Kim and little Amanda!

We had a nice day-after Thanksgiving party at Grandma's house where Alexa got to meet more family. Cousin Kim came over with little Amanda! We had a blast!

Here are Alexa and I with Kim and her daughter Amanda, who is four years old and the cutest little girl ever! She sang songs for us from "Little Orphan Annie" and had Alexa laughing all day.

Amanda also helped Alexa work on her tummy time. See, Alexa? Someday you will be able to do what Amanda is doing!

Alexa: "It's not as easy as Amanda makes it look!"

Here are Kim and Alexa... Kim is a speech therapist and was able to get Alexa to start talking and repeating her sounds! If only Kim could see her in the morning when she is the biggest chatterbox, she talks and talks and talks! Agoo Goo Ga Oooooh! You know, baby talk!

Alexa with Daddy and Aunt Phyl!

Amanda and Samantha with Alexa! (And me, since she was getting tired and didn't want me to put her down... She went down for her nap afterward, and we all got to eat lunch!)

Alexa was all smiles after her nap! She had so much fun with her Oball that I had to take a video... I mean, just look at that motion blur in the second photo! Click HERE to watch her!

Alexa's FIRST Thanksgiving!

We started off the day the way we usually do... With a little exercise! It was such a nice day that we went for a walk in the neighborhood. (I also ran two miles. Boy was that hard!)

In the afternoon, we headed to Daddy's sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Here is Alexa getting all dolled up for her first Thanksgiving! Her outfit was a little big, but it was still cute!

Daddy's family has a great tradition. Every year we go around the table and everyone says what they are thankful for. This year, it was obvious what to say: I am thankful for my beautiful daughter! (Extra thankful that she slept through dinner!) And thankful that she was born into such a wonderful family.

With that, we dug in! My sister-in-law hosted Thanksgiving and, as always, the meal was amazing. I couldn't tell you what my favorite was because ever dish was a favorite! And, like I said, Alexa was a good girl and slept through dinner so we actually got to eat and enjoy our meal.

That, by the way, was thanks to the E.A.S.Y. schedule! I have been keeping track of her feedings and naps for the past few days and I've noticed that she catnaps for 30 minutes to an hour most of the time, but ONCE a day, she naps for a good 2-3 hours.

I monitored her all day to make sure she did not take that big nap until the right time. Then, right before leaving for Daddy's sister's house, I fed her. She then fell asleep in the 30-minute car ride. And she stayed asleep for two more hours! Yay, success!

Here is Miss. Alexa after she woke up, having her Thanksgiving dinner via bottle with Daddy.

After her meal, she played with cousin Jason and tried on sunglasses. You know, fun stuff.

Off to Grandma's we go!

We left bright and early for New Jersey today! We had previously thought about driving up Tuesday night, but I didn't want to mess with Alexa's sleep schedule and thought it would be nice for her to have one more night in her crib before our trip.

We put her down early -- at 10 p.m. She slept until 4 a.m. SIX HOURS! I nursed her and put her down again, then when she woke up again, we hit the road, around 7:30 a.m.

The roads were clear and we had a great drive. Alexa slept for two hours in the car, then we stopped at a rest stop for an hour to get snacks, use the bathroom, nurse Alexa and change her. She then slept two more hours until we got there! It was almost too easy....

Below are some photos of us at Grandma's house! Daddy showed Alexa how to fly an airplane... She was skeptical at first, then she loved it!

Alexa discovers the Oball!

We had a nice day, especially since it started with Alexa getting SIX hours of sleep last night! Yay, go Alexa, sleep queen! We then drove up to Rockville to have lunch with a college friend of mine who has a 9-month-old baby, Emma.

After lunch, we walked to Buy Buy Baby and my friend introduced me to the Oball, which is soft plastic with holes in it so a baby can grip it. Since Alexa just started grabbing the rings on her activity mat, I thought she's like grabbing the ball - and boy was I right!

Click HERE for a video of her playing with her Oball!

Oh, and by the way, I just mailed most of our thank you cards and birth announcements! Yay!

Lots of playtime and tummy time!

I got a lot of work done today on thank you cards and birth announcements. Meanwhile, Daddy and Alexa played!

Click HERE to watch a video of Alexa grabbing her rings! She grabbed them herself! Note that she grabbed them with her RIGHT hand. Daddy thinks that means she will be right handed.

Also, since Alexa is such a fan of mirrors, I got her a new toy! It's a pyramid with ribbons and crinkle fabric on it, and also a MIRROR! It's perfect for tummy time! Here is Alexa enjoying it on Sunday morning.

Later in the day, I took a break from the cards and we walked to lunch while Alexa took a nice afternoon nap. I woke her after about three hours to eat, then she played some more with Daddy. We pulled out the mirrored pyramid again for some more tummy time!

Click HERE to watch a video of her. Look at that head control!

A very nice day with Alexa

On Saturday, we headed to downtown Bethesda for lunch. Alexa was a good girl and slept the whole time! What a cute sleeping baby...

While she slept, we also took a short walk down the Capitol Crescent trail. Then Daddy headed off to get a hair cut and I took Alexa to a bookstore, where I was able to sit peacefully and look at some baby sleep books while she slept. I finally woke her to eat so that she wouldn't sleep too long. Still, it was a very good and well-timed nap! And when she woke up, she was in such a good mood!

Later that evening, I left Alexa home with Daddy and took off for dinner with the girls. Alexa was a little nervous about being left home with Daddy!

But to his credit, Daddy followed our new bedtime routine perfectly! He gave her a bottle, followed by a bath, put on her sleeping clothes, read her a bedtime book and then put her down in her crib using the Miracle Blanket. We are practicing putting her down sleepy but awake so that she learns to put herself to sleep. This can be a difficult thing to do. But Daddy figured it out! I came home to find Alexa sound asleep and Daddy chillin' on the computer!

Alexa is LEGAL!

Guess what we just got in the mail? Alexa's Social Security card! I won't be posting a picture of it... But she did get a very good number. It has several of our favorite digits! We also got a copy of her birth certificate last week. So... Alexa is legal! She exists! Yay!

Alexa's first Yoga Class!

Today we met up with some other moms in my mom's group for a Mommy-Baby yoga class! It was great! Here is Alexa all dressed up in her yoga outfit, ready to go!

The class was taught at a nice yoga studio in Chevy Chase, D.C., which is about 15 minutes from our house. It was packed - 16 mommies and babies! Other than myself, there were two other moms from my mom's group, my friend Mary Clare and her baby Catherine and another former co-worker Laura and her baby Luke.

The class started off with us massaging baby's shoulders and belly. We then held their arms out wide and then folded. We also moved their little legs like riding a bicycle and rocked them gently on their back (like the "happy baby" pose). Then, we let the babies relax on their blankets while we did some mommy poses, like down dog, plank and warrior.

Alexa loved the first part of the class, then she got fussy so I fed her. But then she fell asleep! Unfortunately she fell asleep during the most fun part, where all the mom's sat in a circle and bounced their babies in and out of the circle. She eventually woke up toward the end of the class, which was nice, because then I could take her picture:

We are looking forward to going back the week after Thanksgiving!

ALEXA SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!

This is HUGE!!! We put her down in her crib and turned out the light at 11:30 p.m. Then we went to bed. And slept. And slept. And slept!

At 6:30 a.m., when Daddy gets up for work, I peacefully woke up - on my own! We then turned to each other and wondered... Alexa????

Daddy asked: "Did you get up last night? Because I didn't hear you..." I was amazed because... No, I hadn't gotten up. Immediately, Daddy rushed to Alexa's room to check on her. She was fine. She was sleeping! So I brushed my teeth, got ready and then when I heard her waking up, I went into her room and told her good morning. She was all smiles! What a good girl!

Some big developments in Alexa's world!

Every morning, we have been coming downstairs after Alexa nurses so that she can play on the activity mat while I make and eat breakfast. She loves it!

Here are some key development milestones that she is working on this week...

1. Being able to play independently. This is important. She needs to be able to entertain herself. And by the looks of it, she is getting good at it! She kicks at the toys on the activity mat and squeels in delight as they move. It's pretty funny to watch!

2. Practicing her head control. Look at her go! She can hold her head up 45 degrees when on her tummy!

3. More head control work. She holds her head up when being burped on our shoulder and if you sit her up and hold her or prop her next to pillows, she can hold her head up on her own. Look at how adorable she is!

4. Practicing turning over. Look at her hips in this photo. This is the second time that she has rolled her hips over like this... It looks like she is practicing being able to roll over!

Hanging out with Grandma E!

We had a nice visit with Grandma E this week! She took the train down on Tuesday afternoon and stayed until Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, we took a nice morning walk and got some coffee. Then we drove to downtown Bethesda and we adults enjoyed a nice lunch while Alexa slept! She was still sleeping when we left the restaurant so we took a nice walk on the Capitol Crescent Trail!

Alexa woke up hungry, so we headed to Barnes & Noble to nurse in (where else) the food section! Haha. After she finished eating, we read Alexa some books!

And then... She fell asleep again! So we went to Lululemon to so some shopping before heading home to enjoy soup for dinner! Yum! Alexa enjoyed her swing while we ate. What a great day!

Click HERE to watch a short video of Alexa in her swing!

Another good sleep night!

On Alexa's second night in her crib, she slept FIVE hours! Way to go! So I felt really great and got ready early for my mom's group.

I also tried out the E.A.S.Y. theory and fed Alexa at 8 a.m., followed by an hour or so of awake time as I got ready to leave. As expected, she then fell asleep in the car ride to the 10 a.m. group . I let her sleep and then woke her at 11 a.m. to nurse. We played a little bit and then she fell asleep by the time we went to lunch around Noon.

So far, so good!

We went for a walk in the afternoon and met up with Daddy and Grandma E for some coffee! Then after feeding Alexa and letting her have some awake time, we headed to dinner at Mia's and she slept the whole time! Yay!

Alexa slept her first night in her crib!

Yup, that's right. We did it. We put her in her crib and she slept soundly! Actually, she slept really well in her bassinet on Saturday night -- ALMOST FIVE HOURS! But when we put her in her crib last night, she slept FIVE AND A HALF HOURS!

This is big stuff, folks!

We are using the Miracle Blanket and once she nods off, I wrap her up, turn on the ocean waves sound machine and tip toe out of her room. We leave her door open and our door open so we can hear her. She's doing so well! Our big baby girl!

Also on Monday, Daddy didn't have to work so we went out for a nice lunch and sat outside. Then we went to Barnes & Noble and got "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer," which has an interesting theory on babies and putting them on a schedule.

Essentially, the books says that you can use the E.A.S.Y. schedule where every 3 hours, your baby EATS, followed by a period of AWAKE time and ACTIVITY. After that, they SLEEP for little bit and during that nap, you have a bit of YOU time to get stuff done.

I'll let you know if it works!

What a productive day - and great weather too!

Sunday was great. We slept in and then made pancakes for breakfast! Yum! Then Daddy and I got to work on a couple of house projects...

Daddy installed a dimmer in the office! Then we hung the A-l-e-x-a letters that we had ordered! Finally, we put up a series of six bird prints above the crib! The nursery is almost done... It looks great!

PHOTOS TO COME.

In the afternoon, I went for a run and Daddy took Alexa on a walk to the park. Here is adorable Alexa in her Baby Legs!

We ended the day with dinner over at our neighbor's house. They gave us a HUGE basket of children's books that their kids had loved - plus some baby proofing stuff. Awesome!