A Hand-to-mouth Life

Everything Alex gets in his hands, goes directly into his mouth. A small toy, a big toy, mommy's chin, daddy's thumb, they're all great for sucking on. And Alex has lots of stuff to put into his mouth, as you can see in his King of the Toyzone picture.

But Alex is not only sucking on things, he is also starting to nibble and bite on things, because, as of today (May 6), he also has his first teeth in his top jaw! Alex has dealt very well with the process of getting his first teeth. Apart from the unstoppable drooling, he showed none of the typical signs of teething. He has been remarkably good-spirited through all this. Only today, the day that the teeth actually broke through, he was a little fussy.

Alex can also do more and more tricks. As you can see below, he can now sit by himself, although somewhat unsteadily... Wobbling back and forth, he manages to stay (more or less) upright for quite a while, until he forgets that he should use his arms for support when he leans sideways, and he falls into Rob's or Cindy's hands.

His favorite activity is jumping. He loves it. When he is held under his arms, like Rob is doing in this picture, he starts jumping up and down like there is no tomorrow, and he smiles brightly! He also likes to jump in what we have dubbed his Jolly Jumper, and in his UltraSaucer.

He likes to be on his stomach, in stark contrast with his opinions on that position a few months ago. When he is on his stomach, he pushes himself up high and he looks around, surveying the room. He also rubs his heels together really fast, like a cricket but without the chirping.

Even though Alex has accomplished all these things and many others in the past month, he is still adamantly refusing to roll over...

Alex' first big trip is coming up

Rob and Cindy are preparing for their first big trip with Alex. In the second half of May, they will visit Rob's parents, family and friends in the Netherlands. All the trips Alex has done so far have been in the back of a car, with soothing noise, comforting vibrations, and Alex has invariably slept through most of his journeys. Hopefully he will respond in the same way to the soothing jet engines, comforting turbulence, and changing airpressure...

Changes to this Website in the Past Month

May 11 Added pictures of Alex sitting up to this homepage,
May 6 Added new pictures and new movies, added Sitting up under first things, updated Alex's length, weight and head circumference, and added a closeup.

Next major update: June 2, 2002

Do you think you may have missed something? Check our list of previous homepages. If you want to be informed when this website has been updated, send an email to webmaster@robandcindy.net.