Our first dinner party... with Alexa!

We had a nice dinner with some friends Saturday night... and brought Alexa along! Our friends have a baby boy named Will who is two months younger than Alexa. Baby Will has the same play mat that Alexa has, so... She had no problem crawling over Will in pursuit of the toys!

After she was done with Will, she crawled across the room to practice pulling up on a box. Then she bounced around in Will's super cool exersaucer!

Unfortunately, she didn't go to sleep as easily as Will did once dinner was served. That two months makes a world of difference in how portable babies are. She calmed down and eventually took a nap in my arms, but we now know that sleep is elusive outside of her own crib. Lesson learned!

Alexa's first vegetable... Carrots!!

Yum, carrots!! Momma loves carrots, Daddy loves carrots, so we decided to see if Alexa likes carrots too! Granted, Alexa didn't get to enjoy crunching on carrot sticks or dipping them into hummus, which I like to do. But she did get a taste of them in a very liquid state...

Here is Alexa, all excited to try her first vegetable!!

Yum, carrots!!

Hmmm, I'm not so sure about this... Carrots??

Update: We fed carrots again to Alexa on Sunday and she ate a whole tablespoon! She then washed it down with water. What a good girl!

I am reading a book called Super Baby Food, which was recommended by one of the women in my mom's group. I don't know if I will be whipping up any homemade baby food, but I certainly can do some things, like mash up fresh bananas or avocados.

The book has gotten us thinking about the foods we give Alexa... We have decided to start with organic foods. So we got a 1st Foods Starter Kit-Vegetable with carrots, peas and sweet potato that we started on right away, per her doctor's recommendation.

We also got a 1st Foods Starter Kit-Fruit with banana, pears and apples for Alexa to try next. Both are from Earth's Best, an organic baby food company. We also got some organic rice cereal and oatmeal. Yum, organic!

Here is one last food shot... Alexa eating rice cereal on Friday!

Alexa, our big "little" baby! (video)

Today was Alexa's 6-month check-up, so off to the doctor's we went! Alexa was such a good girl. She did not pee on momma when I put her (without her diaper) onto the scale! Plus, she was a trooper and barely cried when she got her shots. She even got the H1N1 shot!

She weighed in at 14 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 25 1/3 inches long. So she has grown 1 1/2 inches in the last two months and gained about a pound and a half. Both measurements place her in the 25th percentile. So she's our "little" big girl!

Click HERE and HERE to watch two new videos of Alexa crawling.

Back at home, we hosted some momma friends and their babies at our house for the afternoon. Alexa enjoyed playing with her friends and crawling around. Here she is with her new favorite book. It has crinkle pages, lots of animal tails and sounds.

She also practiced pulling (pushing?) up. Look at her go!

Then she had some computer time...

And, finally, some more rice cereal! Tomorrow we start a new food... Stay tuned to find out what Alexa is eating tomorrow!

Bouncing Baby! Bouncing Baby! (video)

Alexa has a new toy -- a doorway jumper! Alexa loves jumping on our lap, so I had a hunch that she would like a jumper like this. And I was right! She LOVES it! Click HERE to watch her jump!

Alexa is 6 MONTHS! So... She started solids!

That's right, our little baby is growing up! It's amazing that she is 6 months old already. So, in honor of Alexa turning 6 months old, she got her first taste of solid food! Well, sort of solid. It's actually kind of mushy. We started with rice cereal on Saturday and have continued feeding her every night! She loves it!

Here are some photos from her FIRST taste of solids on Saturday. She seemed a little bewildered by it all. And she kept grabbing her spoon. And she spit out the cereal and made such a mess, getting it all over her hands and in her hair and all over herself - and us!

Here are photos from Alexa's SECOND night of solids on Sunday. She got a little better at opening her mouth for the food! We make airplane or buzzing sounds to get her to open. She's still spitting a lot out, but some seems to be getting down her!

We'll continue with rice cereal for a full week, then try oatmeal cereal for a week starting Saturday, followed by barley cereal. After that, we'll move on to fruits and vegetables! Fun!

Gear notes: Love the suction bowl from Pottery Barn; spoons from Playtex; bibs from The Modern Baby Co. and bbib from OOTS; spill mat from Mimi the Sardine!

Alexa is pulling up! Wow! (video)

Daddy was off of work today, so it was Daddy and Alexa day! Daddy took Alexa with him to get his allergy shot, where he reported that Alexa was "a big hit."

"All the old ladies who work there swooned," Daddy said, adding that he fed Alexa her first bottle after the visit. "She took the entire bottle! No problem at all."

Daddy then took a video of Alexa pulling up onto his guitar case! Click HERE to watch.

"It was pretty cool," Daddy said of Alexa's pulling up. "She knows the guitar is in there. She was hitting the case trying to get a guitar sound."

More swing set fun! (video)

It was a gorgeous day today so we took Alexa to the park, where we met up with some friends - Coleen, Andrew and their adorable baby Drew, who has his own blog! I thought Alexa and Drew would have to take turns on the swing, but Coleen had another idea. We let the babies swing TOGETHER!

Click HERE to watch a video.

Alexa loved swinging with Drew! And check out how excited she was when Daddy pushed her in the swing. So cute!

Alexa gets dressed up for lunch! (video)

Today we had a lunch birthday party for Daddy's friend at a nearby pizza place. So we got Alexa all dolled up for the outing. Here she is with Daddy. Look how cute she is in her dress!

At the restaurant, Alexa sat in a high chair like a big girl! Most of the other kids there were older than her -- Logan is 15 months, Stella is 2 years and Danny is 2 1/2 years. Alexa didn't get to eat the pizza, but she did a good job hanging with the big kids!

Back at home, we rolled out our new Berber carpet rug in our sun room. Alexa loved it! What a great place for her to crawl around on! Click HERE and HERE to watch videos of Alexa crawling!

Then she spied Daddy's iPhone.

And started typing...

Soon, she was eating it... iPaci?

And typing her first status update!

Alexa's fist status update, on Daddy's account: Caz "2.-bing

Alexa's swings and rides the see-saw!

I was home from work yesterday and today as part of my phased-in return to full-time work. It was sooooo nice to spend the days with Alexa! I missed my baby!

This morning, we went to Stroller Strides at the mall where we met up with Coleen & baby Drew, Blythe & baby Avery, and Amy & baby Landeric. We enjoyed a great workout, followed by some coffee and mommy chit-chat.

Then Alexa and I drove out to Virginia to meet up with Kristin & baby Kaitlyn for lunch and a walk to the park! Check out Alexa's first ride on the see-saw with Kaitlyn!

And... Alexa's first swing set ride! She loved it!

After our fun at the park, Alexa and Kaitlyn relaxed at Kaitlyn's grandma's house. The girls are finally starting to "notice" each other. It's so cute! Look at them looking at each other!

What a great couple of days. And the good news is: We now have the weekend to enjoy as well!

Please... Vote for Alexa's nursery!

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UPDATE: We did NOT win. Boo! But, we came in 2nd place! Unfortunately, there is no runners-up prize. Still, I am pretty happy that out of seven nurseries, we came in SECOND! Yay!

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Alexa's newborn photographer, Amber from Little Moon Photography, is having a contest for best nursery... And Alexa's nursery is in the running for the top prize, which is a free photo shoot in the nursery!

Click HERE to see the nurseries. Don't forget to vote for Alexa's nursery - #7! Voting closes Saturday at 7 p.m.

I was too busy to take new photos of the nursery... I wish I had. Because you all know how much I love taking photos! I sent in some old photos, but they still look good! Anyway, we took some more photos in her nursery this morning. Since I was home from work as part of my phase-in back to full-time. Love it!

Update: Alexa sits! And commando crawls!

As you can see here... Alexa is sitting! Without having to lean on her arms in the so-called "tri-pod sit." She's still wobbly and she still prefers to be on her tummy instead of sitting. But she is a much stronger sitter than before!

Also, the "creeping" or "scooting" that Alexa was doing has officially turned into "commando crawling." She uses her arms mostly to pull herself across the floor with at an increasingly fast speed! She is a baby on the move! She has started to move her knees, so she's very close to traditional crawling.

Click HERE to watch Alexa "commando crawl" across the room!

Also... Alexa is teething like crazy! And her gums look swollen and white. So I think she might pop a tooth soon! Here is sweet Alexa asleep with her teething toy, Sophie the Giraffe. How cute is that?!

Revise that.. Alexa will sit still for SOME things!

Some things, like buttons you can push that make sounds and play music! Alexa loves the music table we have at home where she can push buttons and hear songs. So it's no surprise that she loved this toy at daycare that makes sounds too!

Look! It's a football-shaped Oball!

Also today, Alexa went to her first music class at daycare! This is a supplementary activity where Dave the music guy comes and plays songs for the babies. It costs extra, but Alexa loves music and who am I to deprive her of a music class that the other kids get to go to? Oh dear. Slippery slope.

Anyway, here is an e-mail to the parents about the class:

Hi everyone! It's Dave your music guy. Just wanted to tell you that we are having a great time with our songs and song stories. We are learning new ways to sing our major scale as well as signing to a new frog song(wrote that one in traffic). I was actually amazed at how quickly the children learned the sign language part. Younger children are doing well with songs that promote sharing. The babies are fantastic. They each have their clear favorite songs and they are so tuned in! We are improving our rhythm every week. It's so nice to learn while laughing. I must confess how much fun I am having. We will soon perform for you and in the next session we will begin to actually read music and drum more and more. Take care. Dave

Alexa's first finger painting!

Today, when we dropped Alexa off at daycare, all her teachers were wearing red and white striped hates in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. Music was playing. It was a party! Alexa was excited to join the fun!

So, in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, the babies did some finger painting! They painted the baby bird from "Are You My Mother?" We have that book and have read it to Alexa. Check out her artwork! Thank you to Daddy, who picked Alexa up at day care today, for taking this picture!

Here is the baby bird they painted today:

And here is Alexa's depiction of the baby bird:

It really looks like a baby bird! What a great painter she is!

Alexa isn't a sit still kind of baby!

When I dropped Alexa off at daycare this morning, her teacher put her in this little plastic ring where she could sit and play with a toy bar. There was only one problem. Alexa is not a sit still kind of baby!

I have seen other babies sitting in this same spot, and they seem pretty content to just sit and stare at the toys, or play with them. Alexa? Not so much. She pawed at the toys for a second before they lost her interest. And off she went!

Oh, and if you scroll down to last Wednesday... I just posted a new picture! I found out this morning that Alexa made her first art project! Last week, my first day at work, she worked with paint for the first time and made her first hand prints! So cute.