It's been a couple of weeks since I've had time to sit down and upload some new pictures and write a quick update.
Alex continues to keep us busy, and we're really settling happily into life with our son. Alex is still a very happy, healthy and active baby and we sometimes can't get over how well he's fit into our lives. His personality is starting to show through more now, and he's also refining a lot of his motor skills.
Since my last entry, Alex has really started to get around the place. Not only can he crawl at a very fast pace, but he's also now started to crab walk (bum in air, walking on hands and feet) from time to time, and he's pulling himself up on EVERYTHING and cruising around the room from one piece of furniture to the next.
Alex is also getting much better about using his hands and fingers with smaller things like cheerios or pieces of fruit or other food. He now gets almost everything into his mouth instead of having it somehow drop out of his fingers enroute to his mouth.
Alex is also starting to express his opinions a bit more by pushing our hands aside if we cover a toy he wants, or by getting frustrated if something he wants is taken from him or is out of reach. He still doesn't seem to have much of a temper, but it is interesting to see how his personality is evolving as he becomes a bit more independent.
We've been sticking close to home a bit this week as all three of us ended up with the sniffles again, but we have been taking him out for walks when the weather cooperates, and Chris took Alex on a shopping trip to Chapters and Zehrs, and Alex spent the whole time flirting with people in the stores, or making his dad laugh.
Today (Sunday), we're taking Alex to a short meeting that Children's Bridge (our amazing adoption agency) is holding for couples who are considering adoption. They hold these information sessions in different cities, and they ask local parents and their babies/kids to come by at the end to answer questions and meet people.
Our big plans coming up are to take Alex to Kingston for Easter, and the whole family will be there, except Mary who could not get the time off work (she'll be missed lots!) I'm sure it'll be tons of fun with Alex being able to spend some time with his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. We'll be sure to take tons of pictures and post them upon our return.
I've put up a new picture album that includes a few recent pictures of Alex, but also has some older ones I received from my cousin's wife, Denise and my sister, Jenny. The pictures include the shower that took place back in January (the day before we heard that Alex was coming home!), as well as a picture of Alex with friends of ours (who are expecting their first child almost any day now), some airport homecoming pictures and also some pictures from the time we took Alex swimming with Jennifer and Sarah when they were in town.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Monday, March 7, 2005
Adventures in Babyland
Well, it's been another fun week in the Reeves household. We've been doing lots of different things, and Alex has been having fun with visits to different people and trying new things.
Our week started with a visit to a new doctor who has agreed to take all three of us on as patients. Since moving to this area, we haven't yet been able to find a doctor that is taking on new patients and is also not creepy or a bit frustrating.
A pediatrician that we saw soon after Alex came home was kind enough to get us in with a doctor he knew who was also an adoptive mom. She normally wouldn't take on new patients, but she's agreed to in our case and we were totally thrilled with our appointment with her!
Chris has been referred to an ENT for his hearing troubles and perforated eardrum and Alex got two shots that are part of the new vaccine program the Ontario government has launched. Alex didn't like that part, but the rest of the checkup went really well.
One of the biggest bits of excitement in our household was finally introducing Alex to some finger foods. I'd hesitated doing so out of fear he'd choke, but everyone assured me he was ready for this step (still not sure if I was ready for this step myself), so we tried him on some cheerios that were broken in half, and then also gave him a teething biscuit the next day.
Alex took to it all really well, and he concentrates so much on getting his new foods into his mouth (I put some pictures in the newest album). He's great at picking things up with his thumb and finger... but that doesn't necessarily mean it actually makes it into his mouth, but I'd say he's got about a 75% success rate for actually getting the food where he intended it to go. Failing that, I think he's realized that cheerios will stick to his hand if it's wet, so he just puts his hand down on a few of them and sucks them off his palm. We'll continue to introduce more finger foods, plus we're now focusing more on foods that have more texture and taste... once he got over the initial surprise of food that wasn't pureed, he stopped spitting it out and now is quite comfortable with the new tastes and textures.
We had a pretty busy Sunday with him, with a visit with our social worker for our two-month report (which is required by Korea). We had a lovely visit with her, and then she surprised us with having another couple drop by whose son, Nathan, came home only 3 weeks ago. We adore this couple, but haven't had any chance to see them in months, so it was a wonderful treat for us to see them and their adorable son (more pics in the same new album).
We then went over to my see my cousin Nick, Denise and their daughter Maddy and had a great visit with them and our Aunt Julie (who was there for a bit as well). The kids got along very well, and Madison was great about sharing some of her toys and keeping us all entertained (again, more pics in the album, including one that Nick and Chris thought would be funny with Alex and a bottle of beer *grins*).
After that, it was home for a couple of hours and then we were treated to a dinner out with Chris' sister, her boyfriend and her two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. We had a great time and the kids were all really well behaved.
Today starts another work week for Chris, and I'm hoping to get out a bit more with Alex now that I'm confident he'll be okay in new situations and with new people.
I'll be sure to post another update as soon as I can.
Our week started with a visit to a new doctor who has agreed to take all three of us on as patients. Since moving to this area, we haven't yet been able to find a doctor that is taking on new patients and is also not creepy or a bit frustrating.
A pediatrician that we saw soon after Alex came home was kind enough to get us in with a doctor he knew who was also an adoptive mom. She normally wouldn't take on new patients, but she's agreed to in our case and we were totally thrilled with our appointment with her!
Chris has been referred to an ENT for his hearing troubles and perforated eardrum and Alex got two shots that are part of the new vaccine program the Ontario government has launched. Alex didn't like that part, but the rest of the checkup went really well.
One of the biggest bits of excitement in our household was finally introducing Alex to some finger foods. I'd hesitated doing so out of fear he'd choke, but everyone assured me he was ready for this step (still not sure if I was ready for this step myself), so we tried him on some cheerios that were broken in half, and then also gave him a teething biscuit the next day.
Alex took to it all really well, and he concentrates so much on getting his new foods into his mouth (I put some pictures in the newest album). He's great at picking things up with his thumb and finger... but that doesn't necessarily mean it actually makes it into his mouth, but I'd say he's got about a 75% success rate for actually getting the food where he intended it to go. Failing that, I think he's realized that cheerios will stick to his hand if it's wet, so he just puts his hand down on a few of them and sucks them off his palm. We'll continue to introduce more finger foods, plus we're now focusing more on foods that have more texture and taste... once he got over the initial surprise of food that wasn't pureed, he stopped spitting it out and now is quite comfortable with the new tastes and textures.
We had a pretty busy Sunday with him, with a visit with our social worker for our two-month report (which is required by Korea). We had a lovely visit with her, and then she surprised us with having another couple drop by whose son, Nathan, came home only 3 weeks ago. We adore this couple, but haven't had any chance to see them in months, so it was a wonderful treat for us to see them and their adorable son (more pics in the same new album).
We then went over to my see my cousin Nick, Denise and their daughter Maddy and had a great visit with them and our Aunt Julie (who was there for a bit as well). The kids got along very well, and Madison was great about sharing some of her toys and keeping us all entertained (again, more pics in the album, including one that Nick and Chris thought would be funny with Alex and a bottle of beer *grins*).
After that, it was home for a couple of hours and then we were treated to a dinner out with Chris' sister, her boyfriend and her two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. We had a great time and the kids were all really well behaved.
Today starts another work week for Chris, and I'm hoping to get out a bit more with Alex now that I'm confident he'll be okay in new situations and with new people.
I'll be sure to post another update as soon as I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)