3 Months Old

You can kinda see some of his dimples here in this picture. There's one in his cheek on the right and he has one on top of his lips on each side, just like Michael. SO cute!

I really can't believe that Xander is already 3 months old! It's going by soo fast! Really, I'm not sure where my time is going. I know I'm busy taking care of the boys and the house and Nathan and all, but really, where does it go? I keep expecting Xander to still be little and only a few weeks old. Not huge and 13 weeks old! It's just weird.
A few weeks ago, Xander weighed in at 14 pounds 6 ounces. Since that was about a week and a half ago, I'm assuming that he's over the 15 pound mark. At that appointment, he was 80th percentile!! I didn't get a percentile for his length, but he was 25 inches long. I'm thinking that pretty long, because he has a 9 month sleeper and he's almost too long for it!


I LOVE his legs!! He's just sooooo chubby! Michael was always right at the 50th percentile so he didn't have any of the chubbiness. It looks like I'm squeezing his legs in the picture, but I'm not. I genuinely can not wrap my hand around his thigh! And my hands are not little, either. They're like man hands...Seriously, they're the same size as Nathan's!
Xander is in 3-6 month clothes and has been since he was about 2 months old. It's sad, because he has some clothes that he literally only wore once or not at all because he grew out of the 0-3 so fast! I'm thinking that he'll be in 6-9 months pretty soon, since some of his 3-6 month stuff is either getting too short, to tight, or both.

Some things Xander likes:

• He's starting to enjoy Michael, I think. Or at least he's not crying when he sees Michael walking toward him anymore. Now he'll smile and coo at Michael, as long as Michael isn't feeling too lovey at the moment.
• To sleep! And I like that he likes to sleep! He's a really good napper. He takes probably 3 2 to 3 hour naps and then will go to sleep for the night around 8 or so. And then once he's asleep for the night, he'll only wake up to eat once or twice during the night, but then he'll go back to sleep immediately after eating. It's pretty nice!
• To smile and laugh and coo
• He's trying to sit up straight on his own. If he's propped up against the couch corner or reclined in his swing, he'll move his shoulders and upper body, just trying to sit up straight.
• Spitting up! Now, I'm sure that he actually doesn't "like" spitting up, but it's something he does a lot of. He actually was diagnosed with Acid Reflux when he was 2 months old. We'd been giving him Zantac twice a day to treat it, and it really helped. We're thinking he's growing out of the reflux now which is so nice. He doesn't seem to spit up as much and as often, which is wonderful for our laundry room/bedroom. We also haven't given him the medicine in a few days and he doesn't seem to mind.
• Another thing I'm sure he doesn't "like" but does quite frequently is blowing out of his diaper!!! I swear this is no exaggeration, but Xander poops out EVERY time he poops!! I don't know, maybe his butt is so big that the poop just doesn't have anywhere to go?? I need to find a diaper that will contain all his poop! Were there any keepers for you out there in blogland?? I need some advice! We've tried both Pampers and Huggies. Luvs is next on our list.

Things Xander does not like:

• Being in his car seat. I think this is more not liking the car seat cover we have on it to keep him warm. But, he is definitely better than he used to be! Now, he'll actually let us drive for about 10 minutes before he starts complaining. When he was younger, he would start crying immediately.
• He's not too fond of his tummy. He'll tolerate it for a few minutes, but then he's done.
• Being hungry. When he's hungry or angry, he'll let you know it!! He has a very demanding cry!

Isn't this a cool picture? Michael took it a few days ago.

How I'm doing handling 2 kids and all my other responsibilities???

Not very well.

I'm having a hard time getting out of survival mode--Just doing what needs to be done and not being able to do the rest. It's getting really frustrating! I feel like my house is a disaster area all the time. I'm finding myself getting extremely overwhelmed too often. Things that used to not stress me out before Xander was born are now way too much for me to worry about and I just feel myself shutting down. It's really tough. I'm sure I'm struggling with of post-partum depression.

But at least not every day is this way. A lot of them are, but I do have some days where I am able to get a lot done and play with Michael and generally feel good about myself and my abilities, but a lot of days are not that great. I know that it will not last forever and I eagerly await the day when it's gone! Until then, I'm just trying to figure out my coping strategies and focusing on one minute or child at a time. If any of you have any suggestions, I'd LOVE to hear them!!

Saturday Is A Special Day

One day, a few weeks ago, I was cleaning our bathrooms and Michael wanted to help. So I gave a wipe and he actually did a pretty good job. While we were cleaning up stairs, he decided that he needed to clean the bathtub. While we were singing I was teaching him the primary song "Saturday" and he really enjoyed learning it. So much so that he couldn't stop singing it! Here's a video of him cleaning the bathtub.

After I took the video he noticed that the tub was wet, so he decided he needed his swimsuit! **Notice he's still wearing his pajama top! SO funny!**

Now, when I say I'm going to clean the bathroom, he runs up stairs, gets his swimsuit, grabs a wipe, and jumps into the tub. Silly boy!

This is a picture I took of Xander about a month ago. I still need to get his 2 month pictures up!! I hate myself for not doing that yet. And then, right after I get those up I'll need to do 3 month pictures! I can't believe he's already 3 months old. It's going by very fast.

One of the few things that I enjoy about where we're living right now is our backyard. We actually have a little patio area. It's great in the summers to sit on, and lately I have been letting Michael going out and playing in the snow. It's great for those times when I don't want to go out with him but he needs to let out some energy. He loves to shovel the snow!

And eat it too!

Nathan Thinks This Is Funny....

I think it's kinda gross. He insisted I put it on here, so here it goes.

Fun Smiles And A Video

I finally got some smiles from Xander caught on our own camera! I was so excited. And, I got a video of him somewhat laughing. I've found that he's a bit ticklish under his chin, just under his jaw line. It's pretty cute. Here he's almost 11 weeks old. He's been laughing a bit since about 10 weeks (maybe 9 1/2) and smiling pretty consistently since about 6 or 7 weeks.

He's always sucking on his fingers! And it's funny, Nathan and I have noticed that it's almost always his left hand that makes it to his mouth. It'll sometimes be his right, but almost always his left two fingers are in there and he's just sucking away!

I even think he's adorable when he cries! It's just so funny, and I almost always laugh (I don't laugh in the middle of the night, or when he's actually hurt. I'm not that mean!) He just has such a demanding cry! It's like he's already throwing little tantrums...I'm not looking forward to this time next year when his independent streak shines through. I'm not sure he'll respond too well to "NO!"

So sweet and innocent!

Tickles and Giggles:

Xanders Blessing

So, I still need to post pictures of Xander's blessing day, but for now here is the text of the blessing. I need to get the pictures off Nathan's computer at work and then I'll post them!

Our dear Heavenly Father, by the power of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, at this time we give this child a name. That name is Alexander Isaac Sunderland. Alexander at this time, we bless you with strength and courage that as you grow you will be able to find direction throughout your life. That as you grow in stature you might prepare yourself to serve in callings in the church, to serve a mission, to find a worthy companion and to serve your fellowman. Alexander you are blessed with an increased sensitivity to the spirit that you might speak with your Heavenly Father who will direct you on the path you need to go. Alexander I also bless you with health and strength and ability to make wise decisions. We also bless you with the knowledge that your Heavenly Father loves you very much. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Cedar City Surprise

For the weekend of Martin Luther King day we traveled down to Kellie's place and surprised my family! It was so fun! Mom had mentioned to me a few weeks before that they were going up for Emma's b-day. I originally didn't think we'd be able to go, but the next week we decided we could go. So I called up Kellie to make sure she would have enough room for us, in addition to my brothers and mom and dad. She said she did, so we got everything ready and headed down there the next Thursday. It was such a fun visit and I'm so glad that we got to go. As I mentioned earlier, we didn't tell my family we were going to be down, so they were utterly and COMPLETELY shocked!!! I don't think I've ever seen my mom's mouth go into a perfect circle before (I also don't think I'd ever been squeezed so tightly before, either). It was great!! It was really fun for them to see Xander (My mom was the only one who'd seen him yet) and I wanted them to see him while he was still "little". (Although he's not so little anymore, though. We're talking 80th percentile, here). We also enjoyed the time we had with Kellie and Brandon before my family arrived. It was a really, really fun trip.

We're excited to be able to go down in April for my Dad's birthday!

Mom and Xander the night they arrived. Mom did not recognize Xander AT ALL! And really, who could blame her!!

As I mentioned, Emma had her 3rd birthday while we were there and that was a lot of fun to be there for that. It was the first time in a loooooong tim that I'd participated in a little kid b-day party and it was fun to help Kellie plan it out. It makes me less scared to do a party for Michael in about 5 weeks!

The b-day girl

All the kids who came to the party.

Michael coloring his Mickey coloring page. Just a little note about his coloring: I was really surprised with his ability to color in the lines. I don't really have any coloring books for him to color so I haven't even thought about if he could do that. But he did a really good job and seemed to really concentrate and focus on trying to stay in the lines. I guess preschool is helping him out!
The kids also played Duck, duck, goose. Every age just gets funner and funner. A few weeks ago I taught him and a friend the games Mother may I, Simon says, and red light, green light. It was so fun because he actually got the concept (for the most part) and he really enjoyed playing.

Another game they played was "Put the sticker on Mickey's nose". Kellie was blindfolding the kids, but Michael didn't want to be blind folded, so she just spun Michael in a few circles to try and get him dizzy. It sort of had a delayed reaction. He walked right up to the picture, put the sticker on the nose, and then started acting dizzy. Either he was incredibly determined to get that sticker in the right spot, or he was faking being dizzy after...Who knows!

The cupcakes Kellie and I made. She had a really good idea for the toppers. She went to a dollar store and bought Mickey Mouse Playhouse stickers and we stuck the stickers together with a toothpick in the middle. I thought it was a really good idea and it looked really cute!

Emma getting ready to blow out the candles on a big sheet cake. Does anyone else think it's kinda gross to blow out a candle on a cake? I mean, I know it's fun, but especially with little kids, can you imagine how much spit must end up on the cake! Gross! That said, it's certainly not going to prevent me from having Michael do the same!

Look at those cheeks! She must have blown about 5-10 times before the candle blew out!

Michael taking a big bite out of his cupcake

After the party Emma opened some presents from Kellie and Mom. One of the presents she got was a pink telephone. Here are Michael and Emma talking on their "phones" with eachother. You can see Michael on the stairs and he has a small baby phone and emma is on the floor with her new phone.

It was really fun to watch Emma and Michael together. I'd say they played really well together. But poor Michael! He must have been so confused by the end of the stay! Obviously we were at Emma's house so all she had were "girl" toys and it seemed like he was always being told not to play with that toy and go play a different one! Especially after Emma opened her presents. She got a baby doll and a bottle and sippy cup came with it. He really wanted to play with the baby, and he did get to a few times, but not with out some male telling him it was a girl toy. He really did look confused!

Michael looking very pretty in Emma's very girly helmet.

And here are some more fun pictures from our weekend:

Michael and Emma riding in a wagon and being pulled around by Bryce.

Xander smiling. He's got the cutest smile!

Cute, happy boy!

Now not so happy!

Michael and Emma giving hugs before Emma went off to church and we headed back home. This dress Emma is wearing was from my mom. Isn't it the cutest thing! She looks so cute in it!

Christmas 2009

We had a really fun Christmas this year and we hope you all did too! I love that children makes Christmas so much more fun, and that fun gets bigger and better every year.

Michael was in LOVE with Santa this year! He didn't get to see him until about a week before Christmas, but when he did he was SO excited! Nathan had taken Michael with him to the store and Santa happened to be there at the time. When Michael saw Santa, he ran right up to him and gave him a big hug! Then the next day we went to the store again (isn't that way it always is? You go to the store one day, only to realize the next day you still need something!) Anyway, we were tipped off by a neighbor that Santa was there again so I brought along the camera. The night before I had gone down to Idaho Falls and purchased our Christmas presents. I found the best gift for Michael! A storm trooper hat and costume. Michael LOVES Star Wars and storm troopers so we suggested that maybe Michael should ask Santa for one when he saw him. So when he saw Santa, he did just that. It was so funny. He didn't waste a second. He got up on that knee, and immediately said I want a storm trooper hat and gun! And then he asked about the reindeer. It's just funny to compare him to last year and to see how much he's grown and matured.

I feel like I have so many funny stories of Michael from this Holiday!! It seemed like every hour he would say or do something hilarious! He was, of course, excited to have Santa come to our house and bring us presents. He was so giddy the whole day on Christmas Eve. I just couldn't get him to calm down! That morning we wrapped up the presents I bought for Nathan. They were a Dilbert desk calendar for him to take to work, and a pocket knife. Of course, Michael thought the pocket knife was pretty cool and stared at it for a long time. So we wrapped it up and later that day (about an hour later or so) Nathan called (He was working for the first part of the day). Michael was talking to Nathan about the days events and I was busy changing Xander. Then I hear Nathan asking Michael what was in his present! I, of course, yelled to Nathan not to ask, and Michael was good and just said it's a surprise Daddy, it's a surprise! Well, later that day we were driving in the car and Nathan decided he would be funny and ask Michael if they had wrapped some keys for Nathan or something else that was goofy. Michael laughed (silly, daddy) and yelled out, No daddy, we wrapped up a pocket knife!!! Dang it!! Then as if saying it once wasn't enough, and because he got a good reaction, he said it again!

After Michael's nap he and Nathan went to the store to get some last minute things for my stockings and to get me a present from Michael. When they came home Michael set the bags on the counter and started to take them out of the bag to show me what they got! And then, on Christmas morning, he handed me the present he bought me and nonchalantly said, "it's a candle!" So he did a good job of letting us know what was wrapped up for us before we could have the chance to open the gifts ourselves. He's pretty funny!

Here he is with the cookies and milk for Santa. This year we also wrote a letter to Santa, and that night Santa wrote back! Michael thought that was pretty cool!

Here is a video of Michael "reading" his letter for Santa.

Our huge Christmas tree and all the presents underneath. We were lucky to get such a huge tree! Michael picked it out with Nathan and we had no idea it was so huge! All the trees were wrapped tight with that white string stuff, so we were surprised to see how big it was!

The stockings. We don't have one for Xander yet, and we figured that was okay. He's only 7 weeks old and Michael didn't seem to notice or care that Xander was being left out. Inside Michael's stocking was a chocolate orange, a candy cane, a jump rope, and a package with a top, yoyo, kaleidoscope, and bouncy ball attached to a racket thing.

Michael looking through the kaleidoscope

I LOVED this picture of Michael. He's just opened some markers he got from Uncle Bryan.

Okay, you have GOT to watch this video!! I have NEVER seen Michael soooo excited! It was great! This is him opening his light saber and Storm trooper mask and outfit from Santa Claus. Oh, it was great! So fun!

(Sorry about the video quality. It's not the greatest camera, especially for videos.)

Our storm trooper!!! When I was looking through the pictures on the computer, I called Michael over to see this one. I said to him, "Oh my gosh, we had a storm trooper in our house!!! Where did he go??" He looked all surprised and started looking around for the mysterious storm trooper! It was too funny. We told him it was him and he looked all surprised, and then the rest of the night when he put the costume on he'd run to me and say "Mom, I'm a storm trooper in your house!"

Xander slept through all the festivities of the morning.

6 Weeks Old!

I can't believe that Xander is already 6 weeks old! I feel like I need to go to our calendar and count the weeks just to make sure. It's funny, the last 6-8 weeks of a pregnancy take soo looong, but yet the first 6-8 weeks of a baby's life goes by so fast!

I'm not really sad that it's going by so fast. I know a lot of people really enjoy the newborn baby stage, but I really don't. And I'm okay with that! I'm excited for him to start interacting with us. He's starting to smile a little bit more. A lot of times we'll get little mouth movements that coincide with widening eyes, so I know he's working on it.

He's already starting the outgrow some of his 0-3 month sleepers (this does make me sad). It's surprising me how fast he's growing! I'm anxious for his 2 month appointment so we can see how much he weighs. It's so fun to watch him grow! When they're this little it's almost like you can see them growing. Every day his cheeks are fuller and fuller, and his legs are getting fluffy. He's a pretty cute little guy!

Almost a smile. If only our camera was a little faster, I would have caught it!

All bundled up in his snowsuit

Michael holding Xander. I think Michael is really excited to start playing with Xander. I feel bad for Michael, because he wants to interact with Xander sooo badly!!! Whenever Xander is awake Michael is ALWAYS right in his face and touching him, or pulling his hands, or trying to give him kisses. It's funny, because this really bugs Xander. When Michael starts Xander immediately starts fussing and arching his back. But, it's good when Xander's doing tummy time or hanging out on his back, because Michael lays down too and talks to him. It's really fun to see him talking and interacting without Xander crying.

Adventures With Scissors

I know that every kid has an adventure with scissors which ends with chunks of hair of the floor, but I was really hoping my kid was unique......

He's not

We were tipped off by him proudly announcing that he was "cutting his hair and wiping it off." (He was supposed to be washing his hands)

The damage.

Before the big cut

We were afraid we'd have to buzz it, but luckily we didn't have to cut it that short. But it is the shortest it's ever been. Too bad it's winter!!

The after.

He's never been a fan of getting his hair cut, and this time wasn't an exception. Every time he complained we just said it was because he cut his hair. Hopefully this will prevent him from playing with scissors again.
It doesn't look too bad. It's definitly short, but it's not too short. He at least he still has some hair!
These next pictures are just cute, fun pictures we took that I liked.

One Month Old

I can't believe it, but Xander is one month old today!

Weight: 9 lbs, 9 oz

Lenght: around 21 Inches

~~He's definitly a fiesty little man! He will scream and scream anytime he's remotely naked--even if it's just a leg! So, needless to say, he hates his diaper changes and bath time! He also is not a fan of getting dressed, but he doesn't object as loudly as when he's getting changed or bathed.

~~I've gotten a few little smiles out of him so far. The first one was on Monday, a day shy of being 4 weeks old. It was really fun. He was midway between eating (All smiles I've gotten have been after eating) and I was talking to him and Nathan was sitting next to me on the couch when all of a sudden Xander totally grinned! It's was so fun! He would only give us one, but it was awesome because Nathan got to see it and Michael came running over. I know it's cheesy, but it was almost like a classic "hallmark" commercial and family moment. So fun!

~~He still sleeps A LOT! (I'm not complaining! Although, it'd be nice if he slept a bit more during the night!) He's not awake much at all during the day. He'll wake up to eat but as soon as he's done, the eyes are closed and they wont usually open up again until he's hungry. It's a bit frustrating, but he will usually have a long 6 or so stretch at night and then in the morning, but never is it when I'm trying to sleep! As soon as I'm lying down starting to fall asleep, I hear the squeaking that means he's awake. I can't wait for the day that changes!

~~Michael still very much enjoys his little brother--Sometimes a little too much! We still haven't had any jealousy issues or anything, so I'm really happy about that. Michael loves to kiss his head and pull on his little hands. Sometimes he gets a little too loving, and we have to remind him to be soft, but it could be a lot worse. Michael also loves when we put Xander on the floor for tummy time. He's always right there with him laying down and talking with him.

Here are some other pictures of Xander for your enjoyment!

In his Sunday best!