Blue eyes...

Look at those big beautiful blue eyes! You have to admit that is one pretty baby boy!
Xander chewing on his new teething beads, he loves them. Between those and teething tablets my sanity is saved! haha

A few more Thanksgiving pictures to share, hope you enjoy them!

Mommy and Xander on Thanksgiving


Daddy and Xander


Grandma Nancy and Xander (my mom)


Aunt Danielle and Xander (Chris' sister)


Me, Chris, Xander, Grandma Ruth (Chris' mom) and Aunt Danielle

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Just a couple of Thanksgiving pictures before I'm off to bed!

Xander before two Thanksgiving dinners...


Xander after...

(I don't think he was happy I was taking the picture ha ha)

We just want to say our little family is so Thankful this year for all the wonderful family and friends we have that have done so many amazing things for us and baby Xander this past year, we are truly blessed.
We hope you all had a Thanksgiving that was happy and filled with as much love as ours were!

~The Pierre Family~

Teething!!!

Yes you read it right, teething! Already! Xander is 4 months old today, and yesterday he started teething! From what I've read this normally happens around 7 months, but can happen as early as 3 months (in rare cases earlier) or as late as 12. Chris and I have come to realize Xander doesn't like to do anything "normal"! ha ha

So here's the story... Yesterday started out pretty average, I should also mention all week, especially Friday he was like a faucet with the drool, first sign, anyways I had plans to go grocery shopping in the morning, then Grandma Nancy was going to take Xander for the night so Chris and I could celebrate our 6 year anniversary (Yay us!), well I should learn never to make plans by now. When I gave Xander his 2nd bottle of the day he started to drink it then started screaming, we fought back and forth like this, he was so hungry but every time I gave him the bottle he just cried more and more, it got to the point where he was just crying and crying, only soothed by walking him around the house distracting him. But he couldn't eat, all day we tried to feed him, he maybe had 2 ounces out of each of his afternoon bottles, and he was so obviously in pain, he couldn't stop crying. Of course Chris and I tried everything the baby book said, tylenol, teething rings - I have like 10 of these all too big for his tiny little mouth, and he can't hold them in by himself, he can put stuff in his mouth but he's not that coordinated yet especially when it's so big for his mouth, I tried rubbing his gums - as the book instructed and that's when it was 100% definite he as teething, he screamed his little head off when I put any pressure, Chris made an emergency trip to Walgreens for baby oragel which only stopped his crying when he tasted how sweet it was then proceeded with the screaming. Needless to say, it was a LONG day. I felt so terrible for him, he seemed just SO SO miserable! Around 7:30pm he finally calmed down, drank almost a whole bottle and played with Chris and I (doing EVERYTHING to distract him) until almost 9:00 when he went to bed.
He's doing better today, I have stopped putting rice cereal in his bottles like I normally do, from what I can tell the cereal was making him have to suck harder and it was hurting him, with just formula he doesn't hardly have to suck and it's easier. I tested this theroy this morning, I was right. Other than that he's ok today, not too cranky, calmer, but still not totally happy.
This afternoon I'm going to make another attempt at the grocery store.

Also any suggestions, advice, anything is welcome on this subject, I knew it was coming but was in a bit of denial all week about it, I guess I figured it wouldn't happen so soon. We will be holding off on trying his first veggie (we were hoping this week) until he's gotten through this teething thing, or at least gotten more used to it, no need to rush. I wanted to let everyone know that his 4 month doctor appointment and shots that were due this Monday have been rescheduled to December 3rd : ( But mom and I did try to weigh him the other day (we took turns holding him on the scale) he's between 14 and 15lbs! And has now grown out of the 3-6months clothes (but only in length, he's still wearing size 1 diapers! He's got a tiny butt!)

Lots of New Discoveries!

First Xander sitting on the couch all by himself like a big boy! He sits SO well!


Sorry it's been so long since I've put up a new blog! We've been very busy, so this will be a long one.

Xander has had so many exciting discoveries recently I've actually had to keep a list going so I didn't forget to tell you guys everything! Where to start...

Well Xander is now ticklish! Starting last Friday night, Chris tried to tickle him to see what would happen (this hasn't worked before), Xander curled into a ball and giggled and laughed like I've never seen him! HUGE smiles and big laughs, it was amazing! Then when I was out Saturday Chris tried it again, he said he laughed so hard he couldn't believe it! After a while Xander started to figure out what daddy was doing and before Chris could even tickle him he curled into a ball and started giggling in anticipation! We haven't gotten him to do it again yet, but I think you have to catch him in the right mood.
What else is new? Xander knows his name! He'll respond when I say his name by looking at me and usually smiling. I think he's definitely figured out that he's Xander, or at least that Xander is a good thing. When I put the blanket over his head and we play "Where's Xander?" He gets SO excited when I find him and say his name. Also he has discovered his face in the mirror. I'm not sure if he realizes that the baby in the mirror is him, but he sures stares and stares at that baby when you put him in front of a mirror. He becomes mezmorized. It's very cute.
Next he has discovered that when he gets dressed he needs to push those little arms through the holes and then he can resume sucking on his hands (probably his favorite activity by far). Now when we get dressed it's a big help that he searches for the arms holes himself and pushes his little arms through before I even get the chance to help him. He's so independent!
We are starting to think he will be walking before he crawls. He tries to stand up alot more often and when sitting tries to push his legs into the stands position. Of course he can't do it himself but he tries and tries. I have also figured out a new trick to getting him to take naps at the office, make it dark. He's just like his mommy when it comes to this (if you've ever seen me sleep you know I still use one of those eye covers because I can't sleep with ANY light) Xander has been napping better at the office since I've figured this out. I had started to notice when he gets sleepy he tries to put the bunny on top on his head and over his eyes. I thought maybe he's trying to make it dark, I was right. So now at the office I can put him in the swing, leave him in the back room with the light dimmed and he'll sleep as long as I will let him, it's wonderful!
My favorite new discovery is that he likes mommy! ha ha He is actually starting to favor me over other people! This is such a first, because Xander has always been pretty happy with whoever, as long as you hold him he's happy. After he went to his Grandma Ruth's last week I started to notice. We got him home, I knew he HAD to be starved because they had just started to feed him when I picked him up, but I thought we'd just wait till we got home, he'd have a bottle and go to bed. But when we got home he could care less about the bottle. He just was so happy to be home for the first time! He was VERY smiley and giggly and he just played and smiled at Chris and I for about an hour before he realized he was hungry again! Then we've noticed the last few days, he follows me with his eyes when I leave the room. He seems to be favoring me holding him too. I love it!
Bedtime... Chris and I have also been working on getting him to take naps and go to bed without the 30 minutes of rocking him to sleep it has been taking. Mommy's back was starting to suffer severely so we decided it was time he started working on falling asleep on his own. He already sleeps great in his crib, but I was resorting to a boucing, rocking, pacing routine that was getting difficult as he gets bigger and bigger. He's actually doing pretty well on his own. Usually he won't cry until he's escaped his swaddle, then we'll go back in re-wrap him, start the music again for him and say goodnight. At first it was difficult, considering I can't handle him crying AT ALL, but it's actually starting to work! He is crying less and less each time, now it's down to no more than a couple minutes.
So I'm sure you all remember me mentioning Grandma and Grandpa Simpson coming to visit. They drove all the way here from Michigan, and we were SO SO happy to see them! Xander had a wonderful time and I think he really loved having Grandma and Grandpa around. I think they may have liked it too! ha ha Bailey (our dog if you don't know) may miss them more than any of us, I think he was liking all the extra attention. He's done really wonderful since Xander's been home, but I think he still feels left out and a bit neglected. Grandpa took him for 4 walks a day (maybe more I lost count)! He was just plain spoiled, and he loved it! Of course I was a bit spoiled too, I came home Monday from work and my kitchen was taken over, I didn't mind it one bit. My house smelled like Grandma and Grandpa's house, it was heaven! We were all sad to see them go. We wish they lived closer, but they have promised us a weekend visit here and there more often, and we are holding them to that! Chris and I are planning on driving to Michigan first chance we get, hopefully next summer, as long as Xander can handle it, we're going for it!
Oh also, here are a couple pictures!

Grandpa and Xander, do you recognize that Simpson nose?


Grandma and Xander!

I love Rock'n roll!

Or maybe just twinkle twinkle little star! haha Well the past 2 days Xander has developed a fondness for music. He was not in the least bit interested in anything musical before, he just ignored it. Aunt Judy sent him this wonderful Baby Einstein toy that goes in his crib, it has a screen with fish that swim and light up. It plays baby versions of classical music like Mozart and Bach. When we recieved it I was so excited I put batteries in it right away and put it in the crib. Xander on the other hand was not at all amused, much to my disappointment. I was sad that he might not like this toy or enjoy the music at all. I guess he was just too young for it still, because yesterday I switched it on, just for the heck of it, to see what would happen, and he turned his entire body towards it and became entranced! It was amazing, he LOVED it. Then today the strangest thing... I put him in his swing at work, which I was worrying he was starting to outgrow due to the fact that every time I put him in it he cries after about a minute, so I put him in it one more time just to try it, but this time I turned on the music, for the first time in forever, and he stared and stared at the place where the music was coming out and then fell asleep! When I tried to turn the music off, after he'd been out for a while, he instantly woke up and I had to turn it back on! He is growing so fast and everyday is a new discovery for him (and me).

On another subject I just have to say, I'm itching like crazy to feed him baby foods, but his doc said to wait and we could start them after we discussed it at his next appointment on Nov. 24th. I'm trying to hold out till then. Maybe for thanksgiving he'll get to try sweet potatoes or carrots! That would be SO exciting! He already watches us so intently when we eat, I think he's very curious about it. He definitely is paying attention, which is a sign he's getting ready to eat. Hopefully he'll have his mom's taste and appetite, not his dad's! ha ha ha

Also I have to mention we are very very very excited to be expecting the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Simpson all the way from Michigan this weekend! Xander can't wait to meet his Great-Grandparents and we are SO excited that they are able to make that LONG drive! We will share all the pictures and stories soon! So I might be slow on the blog for about a week or so.

Also here a couple new pictures one is Xander and daddy on Halloween, we didn't get many great Halloween pictures except for that morning because he didn't really like wearing the outfit for long stretches of time (good thing I didn't spend money on a costume!) Also I added a few to his photo album, note: the bunny is on his head by his choice, I tried to take it off and he put it back! What can I do?