All about Alex

Lately our world has revolved around Lucas and his transition to big boy school...so I thought it would be nice to focus on Alex for a change. He recently turned two and with that we have seen an explosion of growth and change. I am amazed at how much BIGGER he seems--not necessarily physically (although he is getting taller!) but developmentally as well. He is not a baby anymore...but he isn't quite independent yet, either, so it is a weird phase. I still struggle with him being my "difficult" child....nothing with him is EVER easy. He has a great little personality all his own and I think he may have actually been molded for the phrase "marches to the beat of his own drum." Here he is below looking adorably disgusting with food all smeared in his hair...he thought it was quite funny. At his two year check up he weighed in at a little over twenty pounds. He is getting taller (forgot the exact height) but we took him out of his high chair because his legs were too long and he has joined us at the family table in a booster seat--which he was SOOOO happy about. I am relieved to say his growth is no longer at the bottom of the charts. His development is still a work in progress. He is actually being retested in most of his therapy areas during this month, so I will be excited to see how he ranks out after the results come in. I know he has made MAJOR strides in speech and physical therapy, but we still see plenty of delays as well. He actually moves to a new classroom at school next week, so I am hoping he will be with children who motivate him to move forward in some areas (like holding utensils, potty training, drinking from a regular cup--these are all things we are working on at this time). We know he has a sleep study and a swallow study being performed on him soon, and I am also hoping those results may shed some light on some of his behavior.

He is a great eater--and will try most anything. But Josh and I both notice that he does not BITE food--he just crams it into his mouth and lately, he is beginning to realize he cannot tolerate that and just spits massive wads of food out. Yuck. His speech therapist (who is SOOO wonderful!!) observed him eating and noticed the same trend, so we are having the swallow study conducted.

As for his sleep...well, MOST nights he sleeps just fine. But once in a while, in completely random pattern and at alternating times, he wakes up and has what we call "a party in his crib". He basically talks to his toys, coos, sings, and stays awake from ten minutes to over an hour. He never fusses or cries out--although as his speech has evolved, he has begun to say "Lucas--wake up!" or "Alex get out!" Thankfully, he still hasn't figured out how to climb out of his crib, but I fear each day will be the day he learns that trick!! So our pediatrician recommended a sleep study to figure this issue out.

And I need it solved QUICKLY with a new baby on the way! We were planning on putting the boys in a room together, but as long as Alex is occasionally throwing crib parties, that won't be an option. Lucas likes his sleep too much!!

Meanwhile, Alex is STUBBORN. He is learning to dislike time out (although he still spanks his OWN hand and puts himself in timeout sometimes, much to my chagrin). But the concept of "No" seems to be beyond him...or he just ignores it. For example, we have been having battles at the table...he seems to think THIS is how we sit at the table:

No matter how many times I push his feet off and say "NO" he just puts them right back up. I end up having to either end his meal early or sit there and hold his feet down. I vaguely remember Lucas trying this foot crap too, but he actually LISTENED when told no...Alex could care less.

Of course, with all his difficulties, he can be incredibly sweet, too. He still puts himself down for naps/bedtime when he is tired, he LOOOOVES playing with bouncing balls--any shape or size, snuggling with us, and he will imitate EVERYTHING Lucas does. He is partial to his father (of course) and they spend lots of time playing together...like this sweet moment:

Overall--I am anxious to see how he adapts to the new baby and I am praying it does not affect his growth and development...I need friends and family to remind me not to loose my little middle child in this whole exciting new baby phase!