Shortly after birth the doctors discovered that Alex was not breathing properly. Early the next morning he was flown Flight-For-Life to the Denver Children's Hospital. There the doctors determined that Alex was born with a choanal atresia in both nostrils. Basically his nasal passages were too narrow to allow enough oxygen through. They placed stints in Alex's nose to help him breathe. We stayed in Denver with Alex for a week following this operation. There the doctors watched him making sure that his oxygen level stayed at the correct level.

We were able to bring Alex home on Friday, September 3, 1999. We were happy, excited and scared. Although we had spent the majority of each day at the hospital with Alex, we no longer had a full nursing staff and monitors to verify that all was well. But we made it through.

On October 18, 1999 Alex was able to have his stints removed. His entire personality changed after that. He didn't start out as a cranky baby, but you could tell he was relieved and glad to have the stints out. He was now able to lay on his tummy and cuddle.

August 25, 2000 was Alex's last visit to Denver Children's Hospital. It was for a checkup and the doctor determined that Alex will not need to have any more surgeries.

Alexander's Accomplishments...

• On May 23, 2000 Alex learned to pull himself into a sitting position unassisted.

• On May 24, 2000 Alex learned how to crawl without falling. Previously he had to 'Army Crawl' to get where he wanted to be.

• On August 2, 2000 Alex took his first steps. He let go of Granny's hands long enough to take two steps before falling.

• On September 17, 2000 Alex learned how to walk unassisted and hasn't stopped going since.

• Alex has mastered feeding himself. He rarely misses his mouth. He also drinks from regular cups now. He even reminds himself 'Don't tip it'. And he knows his cup belongs in the kitchen. He even reminds Mommy to go back to the kitchen if I forget and bring my cup to the living room.

• Alex has learned his body parts. He can point out his head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, tounge, teeth, ears, feet, toes and belly.

• He is still expanding his vocabulary. He is working on his sentence structure as well. He is able to ask questions and follow directions. He can also sing along with songs and knows some of the dialog to his favorite movies. He also repeats just about everything you say. He's Mommy's little Parrot Boy.

• Alex is now fully potty trained. He is able to go to the potty alone and doesn't need assistance from Mommy until clean-up time.

• Alex has learned his ABCs, Colors and 123s. He is able to count from 1 to 10 and 10 through 20 with help. Mommy is very proud of this accomplishment. He works really hard on 'writing' his letters.  He traces them on his MagnaDoodle.  He knows how to recognize each letter and number when they are out of order and place them in the correct order.  He is able to recognize his written name as well.  He also knows how to spell it.  Our next step is to learn small words.

•Alex began swimming lessons during the summer of 2002.  He started his first class the week of June 17th as a Guppie. At first he was terrified of the water and didn't want to have anything to do with it. On the second day he hopped right in like he never had a problem at all. He graduated at the end of his second week and was a Sea Horse the next time around.  Click here to see his certificates.

Alexander's Budding Personality...

• As a baby Alex loved to dance. Any time he heard music he started to bounce. He bobbed his head and waved his hands as well. Every now and then he would move his mouth like he's singing too. Now that he's a 'Big Boy' he is able to sing and dance.  It doesn't take him long to copy the moves he sees on the TV.

• He has also discovered that he likes to 'drive'. If allowed he would sit in the car for hours turning the steering wheel, playing with the blinkers, lights and wipers and adjusting the radio. When he's forced to sit in the back seat he spends a lot of his time observing how mommy drives.

• Alex's favorite characters are Blue's Clues, Scooby Doo, Bob The Builder, Tigger, Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He loves watching movies with these characters. He also loves Chuck E. Cheese (or Chuck Cheese as Alex says it). His HotWheels are his favorite toys. He doesn't go anywhere without them.

• Alex has also learned to give kisses. These are the coolest! Most are given with a wide open mouth, but a little slobber has never hurt anyone.  He is faithful at giving bed time kisses.  Right after his bedtime prayer.

Alex weighed in at 29 pounds at his 3 year checkup. He stands 36 inches tall. Mommy's little boy is growing up!