11 months old!

Alyssa is 11 months old! We have less than a month to her 1st birthday party which is going to be held at a local park with some of our friends and family. We have sent invitations out and I have been working hard at planning the details. It's going to be GREAT! We only wish that Alyssa's Lolo and Lola could partake in this incredible milestone. First Alyssa learned to laugh and squeal, then sit and stand and now she can walk if you hold her hands. How time flies!

It's just crazy how fast it came and went. The picture above is of her at 11 months...

Alyssa - 10 months old

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures I took of Alyssa when she turned 10 months. This is how I find her every morning and after naps. :)

Where did the time go???

I can't even believe Alyssa is almost 10 months old. It seems surreal. I was just looking at pictures of when she was this tiny little newborn the other day and can't seem to grasp how much she has fluorished since. She is an energetic child to say the least. She is a master crawler and climbs like a monkey. Thus far she seems pretty fearless which is scary to me. We have to watch her like a hawk. She has even stood on her own for a couple of seconds. She really is enjoying her newfound mobility. I don't doubt she'll walk before her 1st birthday. This girl wants to get places...fast!

We've had a busy summer. We have gone out of town to Mike's aunts house up in Auburn a couple of times. We love going there. The place is like a vacation resort. It's HUGE with a pool, spa, countless bedrooms, and a theatre room. It really is amazing. Alyssa went in the pool for the first time there and really enjoyed it. She splashes and kicks like a natural. She loves her bath so we weren't surprised. It's like a giant bath tub to her! We also have been busy with playdates, birthdays, lunches, etc.

Alyssa is growing so fast! In her last check-up with the doctor at 9 months, she was almost 18 lbs and 28 inches tall. She is in the 70th percentile for height in girls her age. As far as weight, she is in the 32nd percentile. She was born around the 30th percentile in weight so I think that's really where she ought to be. She's getting better with her reflux since she started solids. We are going to start to ween her from her medication soon. She has finally started to enjoy food - in the morning we feed her oatmeal and some sort of fruit (apple, pear, banana, peaches). At night she eats rice cereal with chicken and/or vegetables. She LOVES chicken, just like her mommy and her great grandma (Leah's Lola). She also really like avocados. She tried cantaloupe for the first time today and loved that too! She currently has 4 teeth and there are 2 on the top that I can see are erupting as well. So really she has 6 teeth.

Her favorite toy is her laughing Elmo. She squeals everytime she hears him giggle and laugh. She likes to play with blocks and anything that has music so she can dance. She loves playing with other babies and gets really excited when they are around. This weekend we have 2 kid's birthday parties to go to. I'm sure Alyssa will have a blast! :)

As for Mike and I, we are doing well. Just plugging along as usual. Mike just celebrated his 30th birthday. We are toying with the idea of starting our own company in 2 years with a couple of partners. We are hoping this market gets better so that lenders will give us a chance to start out own business. Right now it is so hard to get a loan and banks are being cautious with their money since so many have defaulted on their house payments. What did they think was going to happen when they were giving out loans to people who should not have qualified during the last few years? Anyway, our equity in the house isn't enough for us to start our own company so we will need some help from the bank. We are hoping they get it together by then...

Hope you are all well! Until next time...

A bag full of tricks!

She keeps growing, growing, and growing! Our little princess is 6.5 months old and has a bag full of tricks now. At the beginning of April around Easter time, she was just trying to sit up. On her 6th month birthday - April 24, 2006, she had mastered it. She had also been working on clapping her hands and just the other day, she was able to put her hands together and make the clapping noise for the first time. It is so exciting to watch her grow and figure things out. She is always babbling and squealing nowadays. She says Ma and dadadaddadada, growls, grunts and does all kinds of funny noises. She has started scooting for things that she is trying to reach and uses her rolling skills to get to it. Yes, we can no longer leave her anywhere unattended even for just a few seconds. Thank goodness she hasn't crawled yet. Lord knows we aren't in any hurry for her to crawl. With that, we CAN wait! I'm not quite ready for her to be mobile yet.

We have learned that Alyssa is a social girl. She loves watching kids play and she attended her first birthday party a couple of weeks ago. She fought her nap to stay up since she was so stimulated with everyone around her. She loves people! That same night, we had some friends over for dinner and they brought their 11 month old with them. Alyssa had so much fun with her playmate. Of course she crashed after they left. She has been fighting her sleep a lot lately. In fact, she's been fighting a lot of things. She has been on a bottle strike for about 2-3 weeks. I hear it's common for infants to refuse their bottle when they are teething. It's also common when reflux children need their dosage of zantac upped due to their weight gain. We took care of the latter and we are giving her tylenol and teething tablets for her gums when she seems fussier than usual. She also has quite a few teething toys that she has been enjoying more and more lately. No teeth yet though!

We are doing well..I'm finishing up my last two classes for Real Estate to make my conditional license one that is good for at least 4 years before I have to take more classes and renew again. I have yet to sign up with a broker as we don't have a permanent sitter for Alyssa yet. We have been busy with playdates, lunches and parties. It doesn't die down for us until after Memorial day weekend.

This weekend we have Nonnie's (Mike's grandma) 80th birthday tea party and we are going to an event called Baby Loves Disco. It is an afternoon dance party featuring real music spun and mixed by real djs blending classic disco tunes From the 70s, & 80s. It's for children 6 months - 7 years. There are bubble machines, baskets of scarves and egg-shakers, a chill-out room (with tents, books and puzzles), diaper changing stations, a full spread of healthy snacks and dancing, LOTS of dancing. But at it’s core, Baby loves disco is a community event that brings kids together with kids and parents together with parents. It'll be our first time going to such an event. We are meeting with some other couples - many of which I met through my mommy's group. Alyssa loves music and bounces up and down when she hears it. So I figured, it's worth seeing how she'll react...Stay tuned!

We had a wonderful Mother's Day. We spent it with the In Laws. I still can't believe I'm a mom to this beautiful girl. It's so surreal sometimes. Mike and Alyssa got me a gift certificate for a massage at a spa so I can pamper myself. I can't wait to use it!

Well, I think that's about it. I've caught everyone up as far as what we have been up to. I sure hope you are all doing well! I have attached some photos of Alyssa from April. The ones with the white background are her 6 month pics.

Until next time...

Alyssa has been Christened!

It's been a while since I posted last. I'm sorry for the delay. Alyssa is 4 months and 3 weeks now. She is about 14.5 pounds and 25 inches long. She's doing well but has recently decided to stop sleeping through the night, so mommy is extra tired these days. We are thinking of starting her on some rice cereal because I don't think the formula is enough for her anymore. I think we'll try it next week when she hits her 5 month birthday.

Alyssa got her ears pierced too! Boy does she fight me when I have to clean them 3 times a day. I was told to clean them for 6 weeks so I have a little over 4 more weeks to go. I can't wait until we're done with the cleaning. She started playing with her feet and toes a little over a week ago and is obsessed with them. It's so cute! She also has a new favorite toy - her Baby Einstein discover and play center. She likes to talk and squeal at the animals that do their noises. Hahaha...We have a video of it which we will post soon.

The other big news is that Alyssa got Christened last weekend - March 11, 2007. Her godfather is her Tito Neil and her godmother is her Auntie Katie. She did so well and was incredibly well behaved all day. The reception went well too...we had about 45 people who attended. Lolo is here from the Philippines and we have been trying to spend a good amount of time with him while he's here. I think he's enjoying Alyssa a lot. He carried her at the baptism reception and didn't realize how heavy she was. He quickly gave her back. Hahahaha...she's a wiggle worm too, a real active one so sometimes it's hard to carry her. I think she got her dad's hyperness.

Anyway, that's about all that's new around here. Mike's doing well at his job and Alyssa looks forward to him coming home everyday. There's no plan for me to go back to work just yet but I am thinking of doing something part time whether it be Real Estate or something else within the next few months. When I do that, Alyssa will have to go to daycare part time as well. We aren't there yet so obviously this is just hearsay...

Hope you all doing well!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Mike is making me a gourmet dinner as we speak. He came home and brought me roses too. Ahh...the romance is still alive - even with a 3 month old! Hehee.

Well, Mike has started his new job and really likes it. We love it too because he's always home by at least 5:15pm.

I've joined a mommy's group and so far I like it. I have met quite a few people and it's just nice to get out! My friend Elyse and I have a weekly date on Thursday's. She has a 3 month old boy (Brady). We go to the Santa Clara library lapsit where a librarian leads a group of mommy and kids with songs and story telling. Alyssa really likes it. I think she especially likes looking at all the other babies! We also have a weekly lunch date with Tito Neil on Monday's. Alyssa really loves playing with him. And well, vice versa! Neil has a hard time leaving to go to work!

Alyssa is going through some separation anxiety which makes it really hard on me because all she wants is mommy. Daddy tries to help but she just gets hysterical. I hope this phase passes soon! She barely let's me put her down and my back hurts!

We have set a date for Alyssa's baptism. It will be on Sunday, March 11, 2007. Dad will be here by then so it'll be nice that he'll be able to make it. She will be baptized at Queen of Apostles (where Mia was baptized) and is also the church where I grew up. So it'll be special. I sooooo wish that those of you who live far were able to make it!

Anyway, I hope you all had a great Valentines Day! I have posted some pictures above taken by who else but her proud daddy!

Also, here's a link to a video we took of Alyssa giggling last week. :)

http://www.thenielsensonline.com/laugh.wmv

Alyssa is 3 months old!

It's hard to believe that Alyssa is already 3 months old. Time has flown! Recently we went to her pediatrician because she developed what looked like rashes all over her body. Her doc said she has infantile eczema and that she was bound to get it due to her sensitivity. I guess it usually shows up around 2-3 months and most of the time goes away by the time they are a year old. It's not that bad anymore because per her docs recommendation, we have been giving her oatmeal baths and really lathering her up with baby eczema cream. It used to bother her more - bath time was hard, it must have stung! But now, she seems okay. One day at a time....

Mike is finishing up his last week of work and then moves onto his new job next week. We can't wait for him to be closer to home! I am officially an at home mom and my days go by so fast! With taking care of Alyssa, household chores, cooking, cleaning, etc, before I know it, Mike's already home from work! We are also going to start meeting with a local playgroup here in our town and I'm excited to meet other moms and their babies. :)

Big but good changes. :)

Well, we have been really busy here at the Nielsen household. Both Mike and I have officially turned in our resignations. With Alyssa having acid reflux and having to take medication 3 times a day, we both agreed that we would feel more comfortable keeping her at home instead of in a day care. So, I am officially an at home mom for now - at least until she gets better. KeepMedia took it well...I did work there for 4 years so I did my time. Hehe...

Mike on the other hand has been going on interviews during the last week or so. He had numerous offers from good and well respected companies (Go Mike!) and just decided today to accept an offer with a company closer to our home. He will be working 6 miles away which is fantastic considering he's been commuting an hour each way to work and back daily. We are both very excited about it because it means less time wasted in good 'ole hwy 101 and more time at home with Alyssa and I. We can't wait to meet daddy for lunches during the week!

Alyssa is smiling and cooing and really wanting to talk now. She's doing better on the medication and on her new hypo-allergenic formula. My breast milk was hard on her stomach because almost anything I ate gave her an upset stomach. We also found out the hard way that she's allergic to the milk protein or soy in formulas. She has an extra sensitive stomach and it was so hard to see her tummy hurting and in so much pain. She would scream at the top of her lungs for hours and until she lost her voice. She is like a whole new baby now. Much happier for sure.

Getting Started

Happy New Year everybody!

With the new year upon us, Leah and I decided that we would create a family website to share everything that is happening in our lives since it is changing on a daily basis. In 2006 we saw a lot of big changes, Alyssa entered our lives, we remodeled more of the house, Tony and Heather got married (congratulations again) and Dad left Cisco among other things. Alyssa is now 9 weeks old and growing like a weed. She has been sleeping better now that she is on Zantac for her acid reflux which makes our lives a whole lot easier. Leah’s mother Lily came and stayed with us for a couple months to help out with Alyssa, and boy did we need it! We miss having her here but we did have to figure out how to be parents on our own. So far so good. It has been great seeing everyone that has come over to visit and thanks for all of the well wishes and gifts. For those of you yet to meet our little monkey don’t be shy, we are more than happy to show her off! :) We truly are proud parents and look forward to all of the upcoming milestones and experiences that go with it. We will be updating this blog and website frequently to keep you all up to date so be sure to check back regularly. We wish you the best in the New Year and hope to hear from you soon!

CLICK HERE for a clip of Alyssa from yesterday. The end is really cute!