Big Finish!

Our days in Seattle draw to a close this week, but not without a good deal of excitement. On Saturday morning, we said good-bye to Grandma and sent her on her way home via Portland. Now it is just the three of us again, enjoying a few days to ourselves before we too return home, to Colorado. We are spending the time readjusting to the give and take of the baby hand-off, carefully managing our time, and making sure that diapers are clean and plentiful. My boss Phil's words still ring in my ears, "It's all about the hand-off."

Last week Dana's Dad Michael, stepmom Moira and brother Michael W visited us, thanks to a very well-timed engineering conference.

Alex and his People at the Space Needle (left-to-right, Moira, Michael, Michael W, A-man, Carla, Dan and Dana)

This was the first time that Alex got a chance to meet his Grandpa and Grandma Leite, and Uncle Michael. I believe he successfully charmed each and every one of them, but it was especially fun to watch Alex and Grandpa Michael playing together! We shared several meals together, and also enjoyed a wonderful 19th birthday party for Michael W poolside at the hotel. (I will post more pictures as soon as I get copies from M, M & M)

Alex has taken to squealing, mostly with joy. It is really cute. He makes little squeaks while he's playing with his stuffed animals. I don't know - maybe he's talking to them. Maybe he thinks he's a dolphin. Maybe it's something Mr. Rabbit said.

Another really amazing thing he did this week is play peek-a-boo with us. He initiated the game, and his intent was clear as day. While we were all lying on the bed playing, he had one of his burp clothes in both hands. He slowly pulled it up over his face, then quickly pushed it back down. Each time he did this, he looked at both of us expectantly. After about 2-3 tries, we finally got the idea, and as he pulled the cloth over his eyes, we would both say, "Gosh, where is Alex?? I don't SEE him. Where did he go?" As soon as he pulled his blanket down, we would cry, "There's Alex! Peek-a-boo!" Each time he would either give us a huge smile, or a giggle, or a squeak, or all three. We must have played that game for 20 minutes straight!

Alex with Dad and his Great Grandma Jane

In the midst of preparing for a big move of her own, Alex's Great Grandma Jane took some time off and came up for a quick visit along with Aunt Alison last Thursday. We had a lovely dinner at home, and Alex spent several hours with Grandma. From the looks of it both of them had a great time. We plan to visit Grandma as soon as she gets settled in at her new place in Washington.

Also this past week, Alex has really begun to put together the basics of crawling. While lying prone on the floor, with his hands out in front of him, he has started pulling his legs underneath him so that he is essentially on his hands and knees, albeit a bit wobbly. From this position he can push himself forward with his very powerful legs. Unfortunately, his little arms just aren't quite up to the task yet, so he generally finds himself supported by his legs and forehead in a sort of uncomfortable-looking wheelbarrow position. But he is generally in good spirits when he tries this, so he just flops back down and repeats the maneuver. He can scoot himself along a few feet, at least from one end of his big receiving blanket to the other. We think it is just a matter of weeks before he gets enough strength in his arms to really do some damage.

Bye-bye Alex. Don't forget to be home by dinnertime!

Finally, it appears Alex is very close to having his first teeth. Sticking a finger in his mouth, you can really feel the little lumps along his jaw line, and he has taken to chomping down on fingers, pacifiers, or anything else you care to poke into his mouth. He's no gorilla, but there is quite a surprising amount of strength there. He should have no problem with his first box of Crackerjacks.

He has been drooling pretty regularly, and last night he seemed to be pretty unhappy about his mouth area. We gave him a dose of baby Tylenol drops, and that seemed to soothe him eventually. Hopefully he can wait to pop those teeth out until we are back home in CO.