Backward

Today was Alex's first Easter!  He got an easter basket this morning & another one at grandma & grandpa's.  He was fussy most of the day, but was in a good mood at the end right before bed.  He crawled (well, it was more like scooted) backwards for the first time!!  It's the beginning of the end ;) 

All that is green

Alex enjoyed his first Dublin Shamrock Festival today.  It was a lot of fun & he behaved himself for the most part.  He sat on and felt the grass for the first time, and started to pull it out of the ground.  We shared a funnel cake (I gave him a little bit of ice cream and a little bit of whipped cream on the tip of his tongue.)  It was a fun (except for the cold wind) and memorable day.  I hope it becomes an every year tradition for us.  

Bart trains & butt paste

Last Saturday, Alex went on his first BART ride.  We got off at Powell and looked over the mall for Renee's birthday.  He was extremely well behaved and didn't start fussing until we were about 3 minutes away from our stop back in Dublin.  He is sitting up by himself for long periods of time now - can sit up for about a half-hour unassisted.  We got him a play pen to be on the safe side, since we can't lay him on his mat anymore without coming out and finding him half way across the room.  He likes to sit in it and play with his toys. He likes to chew his thumb, and we are hoping that he isn't going to start sucking it.  Last night/today, he got his first real case of diaper rash due to pooping so much.  When I wiped it, he went hysterical and it almost made me cry because I could see that his little butt crack was so raw & painful.  I bought him some boudreaux butt paste or whatever it's called, and some balmex.  So far Balmex is the best only because it is so thick and doesn't melt off as fast as desitin.  

Sitting

This week, Alex has gotten really good at sitting up by himself... so combined with the ability to roll onto his tummy, I'm sure crawling isn't too far in the future.  He doesn't sleep very well, either, and wakes up several times every night.  I thought this was something that was going to improve in time instead of worsen, but I guess I was sadly mistaken!