Alexander's First Halloween

Alexander had a nice first Halloween.  Mom and Dad wore Army clothes to work on Friday and celebrated with their offices.  Alexander cried that he couldn't go out in his glow-in-the-dark Halloween shirt.

On Halloween, we went to the bank to open a savings account for Alexander.  Then we got ready for Trick or Treaters to come to our house.  Alexander sat on the couch and played with his puppy, just waiting for kids to come to the door.

 
We thought it would be cute to take a picture of our biggest treat in a bowl of treats, but he thought it would be fun to pick through the treats and take out different ones.

He answered the door in his Jack 'O Lantern outfit and many moms and dad's commented on it.  One other little boy came to the door dressed as a Jack 'O Lantern too.  Dad bought pumpkin masks so we could all match.

We played and tried to watch some scary shows while waiting to hand out treats.

After bath time, Mom and Dad watched scary movies and the end of the 3rd game of the World Series.  Alexander was sad the dress-up holiday was all over.  He's ready for a new outfit next year.

Surgery Numero Uno

Alexander in his Looney Toons hospital gown pre-surgery

Life and parenthood is unpredictable yet again.  In preparation for the first surgery, I think Mommy and Daddy were the most worried about the fact that Alexander was not supposed to eat anything between midnight and 7:30 (surgery start time) on Thursday morning.  He usually has two 4oz bottles (at least) between these times.  Plus, the longest he has ever gone without eating before this point was about 5 hours.  So, we came up with a plan to help ease this hunger and were prepared for the worst.  Little did we know that this would be the easiest part of the next 3 days.

Alexander went down for a nap around 6pm on Thursday evening.  We thought he would wake up to eat around 9 and then we could feed him again at 12am to give him as much as possible before his fast.  We were wrong.  (Alexander loves to change our plans and sometimes (like this time) the change is for the better.)  He didn't wake on his own from his "nap."  We had to wake him up from a sound sleep 5 and 1/2 hours later at 11:30pm.  We showed Grandma Gayle how much he loves bathtime before we gave him a large bottle.  We all went to bed hoping that he wouldn't be too loud when he started screaming for food in the morning. 

We needed to leave the house at 5am.  Alexander started stirring at 4:30am, perfect timing.  He fussed a little but didn't seem like he was starving yet.  He cried a little louder as we packed him up and buckled him into his car seat.  He fell back asleep on the way to the hospital.  We checked in, changed him into his Looney Toons hospital gown and set in our "room" to wait for the doctors.  The nurse checked all his vitals and he was awake and smiley most of the morning.  Final at 7am, he realized that he was hungry.  Mommy took him for a walk around the hospital floor and he calmed down by 7:15am.  That was all the crying he did.

Last family photo before surgery

We met with the doctor and handed Alexander off with the nurse at about 7:45am.  We had been told that it would be about a 30 minute surgery, so it was quite unnerving for Grandma Gayle, Mommy and Daddy to still be in the waiting room close to 9am.  Finally, the doctor came in to tell us that it went well.  There had been a delay because the drill didn't match the bits and they had to get a different drill from the other hospital. 

We headed back to the "room" where the nurse brought him back to us.  You could tell his mouth was sore, and he was still very groggy from the anethesia.  His mouth/nose was kinda bloody, but he wasn't really hungry or very fussy.  They wanted to watch his vitals for 2 hours before we could leave.  We tried to feed him, but a nipple (or anything) in his mouth was the last thing he wanted.

Chillin' with his panda the hospital gave him, just waiting for the doctors to come.

Our preacher came by to visit and Alexander seemed happy to see him until the end of the conversation and Alexander had a bit of a screaming fit.  Some pain medicine helped him calm down and try to sleep off the pain.  By noon, we were ready to go home, but Alexander was not himself.

Even at home, he didn't want to eat, needed more pain medicine and slept a lot.  By Friday night, we were starting to worry that he had only had 4-10oz in two days when he normally eats 28oz per day.  We called some of our wonderful supporters for help and had an in-home appointment for Saturday.  Finally, with tube feeding, Alexander was able to get a full belly around 1pm on Saturday.  Two more feedings straight to the stomach on Saturday helped him rehydrate and start to turn the corner.  After several hours of sleep, he ate 2oz via the bottle at 3am for Daddy and another 3oz from his bottle at 8am on Sunday for Mommy.

Sunday for lunch, he had 5 whole ounces from his bottle and had some fun play time.  Finally, he is back to himself.  He's laughing, smiling, playing, eating, pooping and sleeping in between.  He's such a tough guy and barely needs any more pain medicine.  It might take a day or more to get back to his normal 28oz, but he's already looking and acting great!  It was a rough couple of days for everyone, but we are so glad it was only a couple of days.

Grandma Gayle and Uncle Marcus have headed back to their homes, Nana and Bumpa are on their way back to Lubbock and I think we will get ready and go to our church's Fall Festival.

Talking with Uncle Marcus that weekend

Three Months

I apologize to the very few people who try to keep up with this blog that it has not been updated in well over a month.  So much to say, plenty to write about and many photos to post.  Yet, I never find the time to blog.  You might think that having an infant is my excuse, but it is not.  I get so busy at work and am on the computer all day, so when I get home and have family time, I never turn my computer on.  I blame it on my wonderful I-pod touch.  I check all my mail, look a Facebook and get updated, but blogging and typing in general isn't really worth the time so I don't write e-mails or blog much.

The weekends have been busy, but this weekend is just relaxing and having fun with the cutest baby in the world.

So, where to start with all that has happened since Labor Day weekend??

Nana and Bumpa arrived Septmeber 10th and have been having fun everyday with Alexander.  It is so nice to have someone at the house and teaching Alexander so many things everyday.  Nana makes sure Alexander is talking and having good tummy time while Bumpa makes sure he works on his laugh and smile.

Mommy and Daddy have both gone back to work full-time and been super busy with Fall activities.  Alexander has visited Texas Tech campus a few times.  He's been to dinner with the Interfraternity Council, celebrated a Syrian's 30th birthday and seen the cultures of the world at Culture Day in CMLL.

Grandpa Mickey turned 60 at the end of September.  We all went to Amarillo to surprise him with a birthday party.  Alexander got to meet his Great Aunts Robin and Debbie and many other great family members.

Alexander still doesn't love the camera.  But that doesn't stop anyone from taking pictures of him.  Also, in September, we did the vows of Christian Parenthood at our church.  Alexander received his very first Bible.

Alexander had his first shots at 2 months old and will have his first cleft procedure next week.  More to come.  Now to change a very, very full and stinky diaper.

Booker's 90th Celebration

Fiesta, fajitas, funnel cakes, family, friends, football, fun, free music, food, faith, fireworks...   

The Biggs family of four (Jason, Stephani, Sampson and Alexander) had their first roadtrip over Labor Day weekend.  We all had a great time celebrating Booker's 90th birthday.  Where to start?  This blog could end up being pages long if we detail the entire five days.  So, here are some of the highlights:

We drove in from Lubbock on Thursday afternoon.  We loaded Alexander in his Baby Bjorn from some of our CCL family and headed downtown to find some good food, many friends, and great Mexican music.

Alexander loved walking all over main street and meeting all the new people.  He fell asleep at one point even with all the excitement.  There were probably over 1,000 people downtown enjoying the dancers and the bands as well as the great Mexican food.

 

  

After the long trip and exciting evening in Booker, Alexander was ready for bed.  We put him down at 9:30pm and figured we had until 11pm before he needed to eat again.  So, Mommy and Daddy went out to see Grupo Innovacion on the main stage and left Alexander with Grandma and Grandpa.  We thought we would be home by 11 to feed him.  After the band stopped, we had to go talk to Mommy's friends and take some pictures with them, so we didn't make it home until 11:40pm.  He was still sound asleep and did not wake up to eat until 3am.  This was the longest he had ever slept!  The 5-6 hours per night would continue the entire time we were in Booker, much to our delight.

 

Friday:  We spent the morning sleeping in and relaxing.  Then we went and had a wonderful fried chicken lunch over at Great-Grandma Ruby's house.  After lunch, we set up a playdate for Sampson at the Skipper's with their lab, Candy.  He loved having a new friend in Booker and we enjoyed getting to chat with Ranee.  Then, Mom had to go the the Alumni Cheerleading Social and we all had to get ready for the Homecoming Football game.  Uncle Marcus, Aunt Lindsey, Megan and Lauren all arrived just in time for the game.  Alexander sat on Mommy's lap for the first half of the game and then Daddy fed him during the third quarter while Mom and Aunt Lindsey cheered on the Fighting Kiowas to a 33-19 victory.  Alexander loved his first football game.

Hanging out at Great-Grandma Ruby's

 

Saturday:  Back to back excitement.  We decided to skip the parade in the morning but were more than ready for the bed races that were to follow.  Aunt Lindsey decided to plan a team for the races.  Grandpa Mickey made the bed and we all decorated it after the game on Friday night.  Mommy was going to ride, but decided to be in the pit crew with Alexander instead.  So Daddy, Uncle Marcus, Aunt Lindsey and her friend, Megan pushed while cousin Shelley rode in the bed.  Our Hawaiian Hybrid won in it's first heat, but lost to Fluffy the tank in the finals.  We were rewarded Booker rain gauges for our 2nd place finish.  We all had a lot of fun even though the runners were quite worn out after two runs.  The course was a weaving between cones on the way down and a full sprint on the way back.  Maybe next time we will try to make the bed a little less heavy-duty.  After a water break and showers, we headed up to the BBQ at the Ag Building.  In the afternoon, Mommy, Aunt Lindsey and Megan enjoyed walking downtown for some life music and coffee while Daddy and Alexander rested at the house.  After a nice family dinner, Alexander stayed home with the Grandparents while everyone else went the the street dance featuring Brett and Cruise Duke opening up for Rhett Atkins. Mommy and Daddy danced the night away and only had to call home to check in once.  It was nice to know that they could be home in 1.5 minutes if needed but could be out with old friends knowing Alexander was having a good time with his grandparents.

 

  

  

 

  

  

  

  

 And to sum up how they felt afterward:

 

Sunday:  The community wide church service with speaker, Jerry Moore, was great!  It was so nice to see people from many denominations worshiping together like they should.  After the service, we enjoyed a Bierox lunch.  Mommy stayed for her class reunion and the ex-student assembly.  Then, Alexander, Mommy, Grandma Gayle, Aunt Lindsey and Meagan wen to a wonderful shower for Alexander at Ms. Kayla's house.  The 12 hostesses did a great job!  You wouldn't even be able to tell that this event was pulled off in the busiest weekend of Booker's history.  The ladies made Alexander feel like he was the only reason people came to Booker for the weekend.  He got lots of great gifts.  He got a great car seat for when he is a little bigger and lots of good clothes for when he grows.  The food was great.  Several ladies passed Alexander around and took turns trying to figure out his special bottle.  It was so nice of them to welcome Alexander to the Booker family.  After the shower, we went home to get ready for watermelon and fireworks.  But, cousins Loretta, Carol and Burt came to town with even more presents and we just continued the shower at home.  We didn't make it up to school for the fireworks, but we watched the show from our driveway.

 
 

 

Monday:  We pretty much only had time to load the car and eat lunch before we headed back home to Lubbock.  We had a great weekend, but didn't want to get home too late.  All in all it was a very successful road trip and first public appearances for Alexander.  It was great to see our Booker family and friends from the past and the present.  Thanks to all who made it a great weekend!  After all the fun, we were pretty tired.