299,259,534

As many of you might know, last Tuesday, October 17, 2006, at approximately 6:46 am Central Standard Time, the US population reached 300,000,000 million people. That led me to question, what was AJ's number? So, we picked up the calculator and ran some numbers (again with the numbers, Dad, geez).
Based upon the growth rate of one person every 11 seconds, little Alexander James was the 299,259,534
person in the United States. Wow!.


On a side note, I went to the doctor's office for a weight check on Thursday and I now weigh 9 pounds 14 ounces which means I gained 18 ounces in 13 days! I took a picture of myself so you can see my new double chin and chubby cheeks. I am told these are good things.

Brrrrrrr, it's cold in here

This is a boiler. I'm told it provides hot water heat through-out our house. I'm also told that this particular boiler is from 1954, the original unit that came with the house. That's even older than my uncle Ed - and he's old.

Why the history lesson? Because this boiler finally gave up last weekend and left us very cold. Luckily it didn't happen in January, but the weather still had us using space heaters and heavy sweaters. I can't speak for my parents, but I didn't like it. What happened to the warm weather I was used to when I was younger - ahhh, those were the days.



This next photo shows me in my parent's bed. For two nights, I got to sleep in their room with the space heater so we could all keep warm. I liked it a lot, but it all came to an end when the new boiler was installed. (AJ wiggles frequently and makes a lot of noise when he sleeps-- we had the new boiler installed as fast as possible so we could get some sleep:)

The last photo is the new boiler that is keeping the house warm now. I'm almost bigger than it is! Also like me, that little thing packs a big punch. No more cold nights. Of course, I'm back in my own room now too. I guess I'll call that my first little vacation. Hooray.

"Milk is Milk" or "A Weighty Issue"

Okay, okay, you are wondering why I have posted a photo of a breast pump. It all started on 10-11-06 when Bry brought Alex in for a weight check. The pediatrician suggested we bring him in 3 weeks after his 3 month check just to be certain he was gaining weight. I thought he was breastfeeding well and he seemed content after each feeding. At his 3 month visit he weighed in at 8 pounds 3.5 ounces, gaining an average of ½ and ounce per day. Not bad, but not stellar. Three weeks later (10-11-06) was a different story. Bry called me after the weight check and I expected him to say, “Alex weighs 9 pounds!”

No, he weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces! I started to cry. Apparently he wasn’t feeding well at the breast. The lactation specialists were no help to me so I decided the best thing to do for him was to quit breastfeeding and start bottle feeding him breast milk. This means I must pump every 3 hours to keep up my supply. This obviously was the right answer as he has been gulping down 25-30 ounces per day. On 10-13-06 we brought him in again for another weight check and he was up to 8 pounds 12 ounces! This number may be a bit skewed since he just ate 6 ounces of milk, but at least he is gaining weight. Alex is much more content, seems to be sleeping better and is taking naps during the day. So for right now, the breast pump is my best friend. But I think Alex is worth it.

Yo!

More Baptism Photos

Just briefly – sorry been busy growing – here’s another couple picks from my baptism. The first one shows me with my little cousin Alyssa. Cuteness clearly runs in the family.

The second photo is me with my parents and my Godparents, Marie and Keith. I manage to kick off my socks at this point. The darn things were just holding me back.

Finally, just a photo of me with my parents. Someone commented at this time that I must be the most photographed man in world. But that's just silly - I'm only a baby.

Mom's Family Photo

This past weekend, we celebrated my baptism. More on that later. For right now, I present my mom's side of the family.

The first photo here was taken after somebody yelled 'make a funny face'. Can you guess who was listening? Doesn't my face look hilarious.

The next photo is the real one. I think we all look pretty good here.




By the way, here's the family from the top left -

Cousin Nate, Uncle Ed, Aunt Kristina, Aunt Rasa, Uncle Don, Cousin Jake

Cousin Julia, Grandpa Earl, Grandma Helen, me, Dad, Mom, Cousin Alyssa, Aunt Marie, Uncle Keith, Cousin Joe

Look at me again, I've got a huge smile for this photo.