Dear Alexandria,

How time flies!!    It’s already the end of your second month in this world, and each day seems like it brings with it a new change.  Is there any way we could maybe slow things down a bit?  All eyes are on you little one, because we dare not miss a single minutes of your life.

We’ve seen such a change from last month!  We officially no longer have the tiny, sleepy newborn we brought home from the hospital.  We started to see the first hints of a smile a month ago, and today it seems like you’ll never miss an opportunity to crack a big grin.  Every day we see new facial expressions and hear new adorable baby sounds.  The floodgates have opened, and we cant wait to see what the next day holds.

You’ve done quite a bit of growing too…still a peanut, but a steadily growing peanut.  A few hiccups here and there in the weight gain department, but nothing a few extra bottles each day can’t fix.  Easy for dad to say…it’s mom who gets to juggle a bottle, boob and breast pump at every feeding just to keep up!  It’s quite a bit of work keeping you full, little one!  The upside?  you’ll soon be filling out all those adorable 0-3 month outfits we bought months ago!

One of the best things about the last month has been your new bedtime routine: we call it the 4 Bs.  Bath, Book, Boob, Bed (and the secret 5th B: Booze).  We HAVE to talk about bath time.  Simply put, you LOVE your bath.  You could be fussy, cranky or inconsolable, and as soon as we put you in that whale of a tub, it’s all smiles and coos.  It’s absolutely adorable, and we can’t wait to see if you’ll love the water that much when you get older.  I think we might just have a little water baby on our hands…swim lessons in a few months?  heck ya!

I’m sure by the time this letter is finished, you’ll be on the next big milestone, and everything in this email will be old news.  But I guess that’s why we’re writing these letters: so we never forget how amazing each month is.  We love you little girl…now on to month 3!

love:

mom & dad

This weekend we ventured out to terranea with my parents. . it was supposed to be a gorgeous sunny day. instead we got some gloomy, cloudy weather. Which meant the doodle didnt to tan at the dog beach, and we all just lunched instead.

if you’ve ever wondered how they keep the seagulls away just ask this guy. . . he, along with 2 falcons are responsible for keeping the seagulls far far away from the resort and wedding guests.

this is her “WHY HAVE YOU DRESSED ME IN A ILL-FITTING ONEZIE THAT HAS ICE SKATING BEARS ON IT?!” face.

one-month check-up. . .

pink explosion. . .

music-playin’. . .

zebra pant. . .

easter dress. . .

weight checkin’. . .

stretchin. . .

doodle lovin’. . .

kind of a week.

awkward:

- my first trip to the gym yesterday. first off i have ONE work out shirt that fits. ONE. so i put it on and hit the gym, when i got there i realized it had been so long since i was there they changed the whole thing on me. And the machine i thought was the elliptical, was far from it. it was a moon bounce-kick my butt-felt like i was running up stairs machine. perhaps if i keep it up i’ll have TWO workout shirts that fit? so much for taking it super slow my first day back. . .

- our house has been taken over by baby. how we’ve accumulated so much baby “stuff” in our family room is beyond me. yet somehow ive convinced myself that we need it all.

- i’m officially giving up candy. which is a huge feat for me. so if i appear to be cranky its because i didnt get to eat chocolate for breakfast.

awesome:

- getting to go back to the gym.

- hunger games. finally. this weekend. i’ll be the kid sporting the katniss braid.

- big one month old girls who sleep in their own crib and get big girl baths.

- baby easter dresses. pinky, frilly messes with bows that dont fit properly-pretty sure that’s what easter is all about.

- our CD of newborn pictures.  they’re going to take over our house in a big way.

It’s been quite a month little girl!  So much has happened in the last four weeks it’s hard to know where to begin.  The day of your birth was quite possibly the most powerful, emotional and rewarding day of my life.  Seeing your face for the first time brought tears to my eyes.  After 9 long months, there you were, so rudely thrust into this world.  And suddenly there you were.  The most perfect, innocent, and, honestly, completely helpless human being I have ever laid eyes on.  It’s an indescribable feeling seeing your daughter for the first time.  And I can honestly say that you have instantly changed my life in the best way imaginable.

All the books and DVDs and magazine articles could not even begin to prepare me for those first few days in the hospital.  It was a blur of doctors, family members and nurses all vying for your attention.  But being thrust into parenthood gave us an instant crash course in baby-care basics.  Soon we were both blanket-wrapping, diaper-changing, baby-soothing pros.  After a few long nights we were out of the hospital and on to the next new challenge of assimilating you into our home.  Or should I say assimilating us into our own home.  We’ve definitely had our fair share of hair pulling, fretting, and parental worrying.  But you…you’ve taken everything in stride these last few weeks.  Sleeping in the pack n’ play?  No problem.  Quick snooze in the cradle?  Bring it on.  First night in the big-girl crib?  Piece of cake.

So really what we’re trying to say, is thank you.  Thank you for being the most amazing daughter ever.  Thank you for being an angel these past few weeks, even when your parents didn’t always know what they were doing.  I have a feeling if we keep up this kind of teamwork, we’ll be in for a great ride.  I, for one, can’t wait to see what next week holds.  I love you little girl!

we had a lazy doodle. . .

surf-checking. . .

bieber-rific. . .

sleep slumberin’. . .

delicious cookin’. . .

elephant lovin’. .

kind of week. . .

Awkward:

- swollen ankles and feet from a c-section. no lie. it was the grossest, most awkward thing EVER. thank goodness its back to normal, i can walk, and have kissed my giant cankles goodbye.

-i swear our pediatrician thinks i’m not feeding our child. but slow and steady wins the weight gain race.

- taking the stroller AND the dog for walks. alone. tucker and i are still trying to work out all the kinks.

- coming home from a walk last night to find the house leaking, and then frantically calling mike. . . who’s advice was to “head to higher ground”. pretty sure he pictured me holding the babe above my head wading through chest high water, and not just a clogged pipe that it took the plumber 30minutes to fix. i wonder how much longer i can blame “pregnancy hormones” for being emotional? i vote at least another year.

- being weighed at the doctor TWO weeks after giving birth. It’s just not fair. Although losing 25lbs in 2 weeks might count as an “awesome”, if only i didn’t still have a LONG way to go. i blame jellybeans and cupcakes.

Awesome:

- lexi saves her “open air accidents” for her daddy. it’s their “thing”.

- awake babies and tummy time. my favorite times of the day are when lexi is wide awake and working out those neck muscles. we’re getting quite strong.

- baby snuggles. sometimes a girl just needs her mom and a snuggle sesh.  i’m more than happy to oblige.

- hearing that i might get to start working out again in 4 weeks. my countdown to get back to HIP has officially begun. Let’s hope they go easy on me the first few weeks. Pretty sure i couldn’t plank for 1 minute to SAVE MY LIFE right now.

- welcoming red-bull back into my life. finally re-united with my long lost friend.

- all the visitors we’ve had. i swear our friends and family are the greatest thing since iced cupcakes. They’re keeping us sane, entertained, and our freezer well-stocked.

The past two weeks have flown by. They’ve been filled with a whole lot of recovering for this mom, and a whole lotta diapers, sleeping, feeding, doctors visits, tummy-time, first-baths, and more sleeping and feeding for lexi. i must admit we’ve been taking a ton of iphone pictures, but have been seriously lacking on the nice camera pictures, but how many pictures can  you take of a sleeping baby? i’m sure in the upcoming day’s we’ll have a lot more “awake” time, and many, many more kodak moments to capture-much like daddy’s hair-styling skills after lexi’s first bath.

Alexandria made her debut on march 11, 2012. At 18in long, weighing 6lbs 5oz, Alexandria came into this world at 6:04pm. And it was quite a ride.

The contractions started on saturday afternoon right as we were moving furniture out of el redondo (our first home, which finally sold!), i wasnt quite sure it was 100% “it”, so i didnt tell anyone until later that evening, i finally broke the news to mike “so, i um think i’m having contractions. and they’re um, kinda getting stronger?”. . . so we walked, and walked, and walked, and got some pizza, and then things started getting intense. I sent mike to bed to get some sleep (i knew i’d be needing my coach in good spirits), and stayed downstairs on my exercise ball watching “make it or break it” (yes, i’m a huge fan of teenage tv shows). . . finally at 3am i knew it was time to head to the hospital. We got to the hospital, and the nursing staff was INCREDIBLE. I was admitted at 5am (after my water broke), and the real fun was just beginning. We didn’t make it very long before the epidural was in, the contractions were getting stronger, and things were happening. . you know “down there”. Finally it was time to push. . . and push i did. For TWO hours, and nothing was happening. NOTHING but searing pressure down there, and the intense need to get the child out. After two hours lexi, mike, and i were worse for the wear, and it was time to consider alternative actions. . . aka- cutting into my used-to-be-finely sculpted abs and getting the babe out. Well at this point you can imagine what i though about lexi– this child is clearly MASSIVE. a GIANT baby. At at 6:04 we found out just how “giant” the baby wasn’t. She’s a tiny peanut.

Welcome to the world Alexandria. We love you more than you’ll ever know.

our first family picture. . . (ignore the puke in my hair)

look how happy we are to FINALLY be out of the cramped womb. . .

Tucker and Reagan are coping quite nicely to their new baby sister,  they’re full of curiosity-but still keep their distance.

yup. daddy’s girl already. . .