Anderson Ryan Alexander {10 months}

My blogging has really been few and far between. Well, to tell you the truth, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. A lot of things have been going on that are out of my control. Health issues have interrupted my daily life and I am determined to figure out what is going on so I can get on the right path to getting my life back. For the time being, I've been so exhausted for the past few months that I don't feel able to keep up with even the little things. I missed Anderson's 9th month update for this reason and haven't done anything worth talking about this summer. It's kind of sad that my first summer in Maine was a total waste. Well, not entirely. We did go to the farmer's market a handful of times with my sister-in-law, and we went to an aquarium in Boothbay (also with my sister-in-law), and we attended an art festival a month ago…so I guess it wasn't at TOTAL waste.

Now for an update on Anderson:

This little man of mine is out of control. Between his 9th and 10th month he decided it was time to walk. Yes….I said walk. I can't believe that he is walking on his own. He is such an adventurous soul. He is very in tune with his surroundings…you can almost watch him look around and take it all in. He wants to touch, taste, and throw anything in his reach. He loves to climb the stairs and chase the dogs around. He also love to play with Amar'e and pull her hair whenever he gets the chance. It is fascinating to watch them interact. I sometimes envision how they will interact with each other when they are older. This thought puts a huge smile on my face.

Yes, I know this one is out of focus. I just love it too much not to share

Had to share this great shot of Ama'e

Why…..Why….Why

I must hear the word why a million times a day with a curious three year old tagging along with me everywhere I go. Why this, why that. It doesn't bother me at all, even under the most stressful situations I try and answer her questions. I find it incredibly important to not only answer her why questions, but I answer all her questions with full responses. And If she asks me a question I don't know the answer to, I admit to her that I don't know. I rarely respond with a "just because that is the way it is" because there is always an answer to"why" if you think about it. But she is pretty good about why-ing me into submission.

  I know she doesn't fully understand most of the answers I give her but she will in time. If anything I'm hoping this makes her feel as though I value her curiosity, because I do. I know she won't be this age forever so I try and soak up every ounce of it that I can. I love engaging with her and her question she has about the world around her. 

Amar'e, hit me with your best why!

Anderson Ryan-Alexander {8 months}

As I sit here typing this post, Anderson is screaming at me from his crib because I am working on sleep training him. I've never had to sleep train a baby before because Amar'e and Damien did pretty good on  their own for various reasons. With Anderson, it's all different. He is in the habit of nursing to sleep. Now this habit is terrible for a couple reasons. First, I'm the only one who can put him to sleep for obvious reasons and second it makes it incredibly difficult for me to leave him with the sitter.  It would be better for everyone, including him, if he were able to get himself to sleep. It is gonna take a few trial and error attempts but I'm ready to do this. I'm not really following a method, but more like combining various aspects of different methods I've read about. Fingers crossed that it will go smoothly! (Who am I kidding? This is gonna suck!)

Besides sleep training Anderson is all over the place these days. He started crawling, yes I said crawling, last week! I'm not prepared for this what so ever. I still haven't put all of the baby proofing things in place….and he has a tooth, with another one close behind! All of this happened at the same time and so fast. 

Our Maine Life

Life in Maine is amazing. We are having a wonderful time exploring our new environment. Anderw and I have never lived away from the place we were born, so it is equally exciting for  us to be exploring our new place together. Where we live in Maine we are minutes from the ocean, a few more minutes from the city, museums, and options in which we were not accustomed to having back were we lived before. For example, yesterday we went to Reid State Park which is only 13 miles from our house. This type of day trip would have taken a day to plan and pack for if but now we can now make this decision on a whim and be there in less than 30 minute from departure. I love it!

Below are a ton of pictures from our visit to Fort Popham, Fort Popham Beach, Cudy's Harbor, Reid State Park, Old Port Festival, and our backyard.

The sea ants you see are property of our friend 2. Yes his name is a number and it's a long story. 

This photo is unedited. It was taken from our back yard.