German New Year

We celebrated New Year's Eve German style....that is at a New Year's costume party where you had to dress as your favorite beer. So, after much debate on what we should do, we decided to bring two of our favorite beers, Paulaner and Marzen, and dress as Germans. I went as a Barmaid, and Brian wore the Lederhosen that my dad bought when he served in Germany. We had a great new year's eve, and at least two of us made it up to midnight to celebrate!

Ahlstrand Christmas

The Ahlstrand Family Christmas

was our final Christmas celebration. With 8 grandkids, it was a little wild with lots of excitement around.

By that time, Lexi had perfected opening gifts. However, she was a little bored with the 4th straight day in a row of gifts. So, we let the other kids, who are a little older and a little more excited go to town on their gifts. Lexi worked on her big gift from Grandma all throughout the day by going back and ripping off a little more paper. She would leave it for a while, and then go back again. By the end of the day, she finally had the gift unwrapped. She seems to like her new doll pram.

The one item that Lexi didn't like at the Ahlstrand Family Christmas was the porch door. In order to try and contain the kids, we locked the two doors and kept the little ones on the porch. Lexi was not such a fan of that decision. She spent a lot of the day either standing and pounding on the door or as soon as someone opened the door, quickly beelining for the door to try and sneak through.

Special Gift

We celebrated Christmas with the extended Bunch family. As is typical, it included lots of laughter, good food, and joke gifts. Lexi's great Uncle Jerry made Lexi an extra special gift of a beautiful toy box that he hand made. It is truly a really special gift.

Snow Day

Lexi got her first experience in snow. Iowa got over 7 inches of snow the last couple days, so Lexi went out and played in the snow with her cousins. They had a great time with riding the sled, making snow angels, and throwing snow at Uncle Brian.

Wrapping Paper

Merry Christmas! We had a great Christmas this year. Lexi was in a great mood and is really getting the hang of ripping paper. She also got rather fascinated with the bows.

Although she enjoyed the presents, she didn't quite get the concept that you shouldn't crawl on top of them. Something we will have to work on for next year.

Much of Lexi's day was spent at the top of the stairs with Grandma Bunch patiently retrieving the balls that were repeatedly thrown down them.

Lexi opened her stroller for her doll, and she then got rather intrigued with it, as she loves walking behind things these days. It has quickly become her new favorite toy along with the kitchen at Grandma Phyllis's house that Lexi doesn't quite understand isn't hers.

Finally, we went in to Grandma Phyllis's house and saw Laura's extended family. Lexi got to see her nine cousins for a brief time, as she did get in a good nap since she was so tired from all the festivities.

Christmas Eve

As is tradition, we spent Christmas Eve going to church and then eating dinner with both sides of the family. Unlike last year, Lexi got to go to church with us this year, since she isn't quarantined. However, it wasn't the magical experience I was hoping for, as Lexi wanted to do nothing but pull her cousin's ringlets and got mad when I stopped her. There is a reason we put her in the nursery during church each week! She did enjoy the Christmas carols, though.

The rest of the night was spent with family enjoying each other and reminiscing about past Christmases (some good and some not so good!). We had a great Christmas Eve celebrating family, health, and the true meaning of the day.

Bunch Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas as a family today. Since we won't be at home for the holidays and Lexi doesn't understand the concept of time, we decided to celebrate early, so we didn't have to haul all those gifts with us to turn around and haul them back. So, we opened all our gifts to each other. Lexi didn't get the concept at first. She thought it made much more sense to play with her toys that were already out instead of having to unwrap, free from the package, and then play with toys. She actually had a point.

So, we approached it from a different angle in that here was paper she could tear without getting in trouble. That was a hit. She loved tearing the paper and by the end was even helping Brian and me rip into our gifts. She didn't quite get the concept of being gentle, though, as you can see by her assuming Brian's pile was a set of stairs to climb.

Lexi got some books, pots and pans, puzzles, and a big dump truck with blocks. Her favorite gift...the books (of course) and the dump truck. She managed to destroy the living room in about 10 minutes.

Bonding with Grandma

Grandma Phyllis came down this week to hang out with Lexi, while Laura flew to Philadelphia for a couple nights. This was a result of Laura's company getting purchased by Worldstrides. So, she has signed a new contract and will be working for a new company that she flew out to meet this week. All of her co-workers have signed on as well, which is good news, and she should still be able to work from home. Now, we just hope that companies being bought and unsteady jobs are a thing of the past for both Brian and me.

Lexi and Grandma had a good time hanging out. Grandma clapped for Lexi all the time, which Lexi thought was fantastic. We had to break her of the habit of getting praise for every little movement she made, but that's what Grandmas get to do...spoil the children without reality! Lexi's new favorite thing is playing in both the dishwasher and fridge. She doesn't quite get the concept that playing in them is not a good idea.

Happy Santa Lucia Day!

We celebrated Santa Lucia Day with the Carslakes and Grandma. She got all the kids organized with their wreath candles, and they woke Brian and I up singing the traditional song.

We all got in our bed and ate chocolate doughnuts (yes, Grandma wasn't thinking when she bought those). Lexi loved the excitement and the chocolate even more!

Swedish Heritage Celebration

Lexi's cousins all came to visit today. They all had a great time playing and having Grandma prepare them for Santa Lucia Day. She had them all in the basement getting their crowns ready and having them practice the song.

Grandma gave them all matching pajamas. We think Grandma had even more fun than any of the kids did!!

Lexi also got introduced to Grandma's famous Chex mix, and she loved it!

How to Travel with a Baby

We've taken Lexi on a few trips now, including three airplane rides. After finishing this last trip, we thought we should offer some advice for parents traveling with children:

1. Make certain you allow enough time to get to the airport, check in, and get through security. If you are worried about the prospect of getting all that done, at least take 30 seconds to make certain that you don't leave your coffee cup on top of the car for the entire time you are gone!

2. The standard weight allowance for luggage is 50 lbs. However, when traveling with a baby, don't worry if you are a little overweight as you can easily distract the check-in attendant with your cute child, and they won't even bother checking the scale, so you avoid paying any overage charges. After all, you are having to haul a whole bunch of extra gear.

3. Airlines recommend getting to the airport 2 1/2 hours before your flight to allow for enough time. Most would think that if you are traveling with a child that you would want to allow for even more time. Not true, as you will inevitably be ushered to the front of the security line with the flight crew as soon as they see you with a stroller. Actually, if you are traveling on your own, I would carry a stroller and American Girl doll with you, so you always get ushered to the front every time.

4. If you are lucky enough to travel with someone, that usually helps. However, if you have a husband that on 3 of the 6 flights gets his laptop out, his bags loaded, and then proceeds through security leaving you with 3 bags, a screaming child, and a stroller to collapse then it isn't so helpful. So, you may want to consider bringing a nanny, so the security personnel doesn't have to ask you each time if you are traveling alone.

5. When the stroller gets stuck on the conveyor belt, though, the above helps, as they already feel sorry for you for having to do everything, that they don't get annoyed with the bottleneck in their system.

6. Once you are on the plane, make certain you switch seats, so you are seated next to the old lady on the flight, as she will be way more understanding about noises from a child than the 40-year-old who can't put his blackberry down.

7. When your child, unfortunately, decides to take care of business on the plane, if it is a short enough flight, just ignore the smell and act like you don't smell it. However, if it is a long flight and even you can't stand the smell, have fun balancing your baby on your lap as you squat in the tiny plane bathroom as there aren't changing tables. Hopefully you have plenty of practice on the Wii balance board, as you will need it.

8. During the flight, try not to let your child touch or kick the seat in front of you. However, if you successfully keep this from happening and then have the guy still turn around and glare at you when she lets out one peep, hold nothing back and let her go at it.

9. Best case scenario is if your child actually falls asleep during the flight. If this happens, and the lady behind you decides to dive into her Starbuck's muffin she bought before boarding the plane and crinkles the bag with every bite waking up your child each and every time, avoid turning around and yelling at her that maybe her muffin could wait, so the entire plane can enjoy their ride without a screaming baby. You may get arrested, as they are touchy on planes these days.

10. Before your next flight, forget all about all the inconveniences and issues, as it is worth the plane ride to see the world!

On a side note...if you stay in a hotel and your child poops all over the linens, make certain you leave a note for the maid that says, "Soiled sheets...sorry =)". Happy travels!

Christmas Lessons

This weekend we had a lot of fun preparing for Christmas and trying to help Lexi understand what it is all about. First, Friday night, Brian and I snuck away for a date. Our neighbor graciously offered to watch Lexi, so while she played with Parker, Ian, and Ella, Brian and I grabbed a quick appetizer and then went to see The Blind Side. It was so great to get out and relax at a movie...much needed.

Saturday we met our dear friends for breakfast. Lexi and NJ were contained, so not much interaction, but I did hold Jessie, and Lexi was not so pleased with mom holding another baby. Guess she's not ready for a sibling yet! We had a great time eating and catching up.

Sunday we went to a NICU friend's baptism celebration. Santa came for a visit during the brunch. Lexi did great with him. We set her on his lap, and she just giggled at all the people staring at her. She checked him out a little, but didn't get the concept of telling him what she wanted for Christmas....hopefully we can figure that out next year as well as talking soon! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall trying to figure out gifts for everyone.

Sunday night, we loaded into the car with our hot chocolate (for Brian and me), blankets, and Christmas music blaring and went on the lookout for Christmas lights. Lexi fell asleep before we made it to Tilles Park for their grand display, but Brian and I really enjoyed the lights. We then headed to a neighborhood that had dueling house lights set to music. It was a great end to the weekend.

So, we have introduced Lexi to the important parts of Christmas...spending time with loved ones and friends, Santa, hot chocolate, Christmas carols and lights, and picking out the perfect gift for loved ones. Unfortunately, she's at the bad age for church, so she played while we discussed advent, but we'll give her a dose on Christmas Eve to round out the Christmas lessons.

Thankful for Friends

We have mentioned our dear friend Nick, who passed away a little over a year ago, several times on this blog. Given we were spending Thanksgiving in SW Minnesota, we took the opportunity to drive into South Dakota to go see his family, his memorial, and where he grew up. We spent a few hours with his mom, dad, and sister's family, visiting and hearing stories from Nick's childhood and adulthood.

Then, we went out to his grave sight in Menno and saw the beautiful headstone they have in his honor, as well as where he went to school. It was great to take a little time on Thanksgiving weekend to think about all the things we have to be grateful for, and we are truly grateful to have known such a wonderful, funny, and inspiring person.

Gobble, Gobble

Lexi had her first Thanksgiving meal this year. We traveled to Minnesota to see Brian's family. She ate everything that was offered from the turkey to mashed potatoes to green beans to jello salad and loved every bit of it. She even went back for seconds at dinner with a huge turkey sandwich. She pretty much gobbled up everything she could, which is exactly what you should do on Thanksgiving!

Babysitter

Lexi stayed with her first babysitter, at least first that wasn't a family member. Laura went to see her brother's family for her niece's birthday this weekend while Brian went to cheer Iowa on to a 10-2 record. On Friday night, Beckett and Lexi stayed with Courtney, one of Beck's regular babysitter while the rest of us went to a high school production of Into the Woods. Lexi didn't even cry when we left, and Courtney said she was well behaved, which was good. Looks like we need to start finding babysitters.

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with cousins, playing outside in the beautiful weather, and going to eat at a Japanese steakhouse. Lexi and Beck enjoyed their rides in the car and the wagon and are starting to have some of the same interests.

Trickster

Lexi has become quite the comedian in our house. Whatever she can do to get a laugh and either amuse herself or us, she is all about it. Lately, her trick is to try and pump fake Brian with the ball. She's already proving that she's smarter than her Dad!

Alphabet Soup

Lexi recently had a comprehensive evaluation done to assess her physical and cognitive development at 16 months of age. After being discharged from the NICU, Lexi had been referred to a governmental program in Missouri which assesses kids' development and then recommends therapy as appropriate. We had an initial assessment, and this was the year follow-up to that to see how she was progressing. We just got the test results back today, and here is the e-mail which communicated them to us, verbatim:

"Sorry I didn’t respond sooner but I was out of town on Tuesday thru Thursday of this week. Alexis’ ELAP scores were as follows:
GM 11 months
FM 12 months
Cog 13 months
Lang 13 months
SH 16 months
SE 12 months

No significant delays (which in my mind would be 6 months or greater delay in one or more areas) and PAT visits 1 time monthly; however, team could consider special instruction one time monthly to compliment what PAT is discussing and provide extra attention to overall developmental areas. I should be able to start this report on Monday afternoon. Call me if you have any other questions or need more detailed information. Thanks.

We're so proud of our girl's SH, and we appreciate the great Cog-Lang strides she's made, but realize we need to continue to work hard on her FM-GM. But we're biased parents... what do you guys think of these results?

What, you don't understand all of those acronyms and categories clearly? Well that makes two of us. We appreciate the evaluation, but frankly these results are virtually meaningless to someone without physical therapy training, or without an encyclopedia of acronyms at their fingertips. This was about as helpful as a tax advisor speaking in IRS code or an attorney speaking in nothing but case precedents and Latin phrases. But I guess the results are not completely meaningless, as we can do the math to see how close she is to 16-months, and then draw our own conclusions from there.

Then again, maybe this was a blessing in disguise. After complaining frequently about our daughter being over-analyzed, perhaps it's best all we can do with these results is conclude she's slightly delayed in some areas, but overall is making great progress without any 'significant delays.' The temptation is there to ask several follow-up questions to better understand these results and our daughter's development. However, instead maybe this time we'll just sit back and celebrate the fact that a child development expert finally deemed Lexi something close to normal for her age! Sarcasm aside, though, we really are thrilled to see the progress she's made in the last few months in her Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Cognitive, Language, Self Help, and Socio-Emotional skills and are excited to find ourselves in a much different place than a year ago or even 6-months ago.

Little Friends

Lexi's friend came to visit this weekend from Minnesota. The last time Reese was in St. Louis, she was in Suzanne's belly. We were excited that she was here in person this time.

We were a little nervous when she got into the car at the airport, and the two of them cried back and forth, perpetuating each other's screams for the whole car ride home. However, they quickly made up and became friends.

Lexi got to show Reese the ropes, including cooking at the kitchen and banging on the glass doors. We had a nice day at the zoo seeing the animals. We hope this is the start of a great friendship!