July 2012 – Part 1

July was an extremely busy month.  We celebrated the fourth with neighbors, went on vacation, and played and played and played.

First, we got together with some neighbors for July 4th.  Alex loves swimming at their house.

After swimming, he collapsed onto a pool float in their house.  He was totally exhausted.

Thunderstorms were brewing one evening, but they weren’t close yet, so Alex and I went out into the backyard to watch them blow in.  I got some good shots.

Alex loves jumping from the retaining wall in our back yard.  Here are some action shots:

Bath time pictures!

Before all of the Chick-Fil-A controversy started, we took Alex there for the first time because our power went out and it was getting very hot in the house.  At first, he was too timid to play on the play structure, but finally he warmed up and played with some of the other kids.

One of Alex’s new favorite past times is playing in closets.  He loves to just sit in the back of his closet or our closet.  Recently, he walked out of our closet wearing his father’s boots.

And yes, you can probably tell from the picture that each boot is from a different pair and they are both left shoes.

Alex loves driving around the neighborhood in his car.

Alex had fun at Grandma & Deepaw’s this month.  He “rode” the carousel horse with Deepaw and played with the magnets on the fridge.

One evening, we went out for ice cream.  Alex loves ice cream – just like his mommy!

Alex played at Mimi’s house:

We also took Alex out for sushi for the first time.  Let me tell you, Alex is not an adventurous eater.  We have a really hard time getting him to try new food.  Sushi was no exception.  He wouldn’t try a thing – not even the chicken teriyaki we ordered for him.  Finally, he tried the white rice.  He loved it!  It is now one of his new favorite foods.

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June 2012 – Part 2

This is the second half of my June post.  We took Alex back to Parr Park this month, and although it was extremely hot, Alex wanted to run around and play until we made him leave.

Alex also took swim lessons this summer from his school.  He had lessons every day for 2 weeks, and Alex had a blast.  His teachers told me that he was one of the most eager students they have had.  One of of the first days, he jumped right in the pool without waiting for his teacher or any other students.  Good thing it is shallow and his teacher was right behind him.

Alex puts his face in the water, kicks his feet, moves his arms, and he can climb out of the pool all by himself.  We were allowed to watch the lessons from inside the school (and behind a fence) but we couldn’t get any closer.  Sorry that the pictures aren’t very good.  I hope you can see how much he is enjoying himself.

We also took Alex swimming at a local pool.  He loves being in the water more than just about anything.

I know in these pictures of Alex with his father and with me he doesn’t look all that happy, but he was actually laughing and having a good time.  I just couldn’t capture that on camera very well.

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June 2012 – Part 1

I have so many pictures for June, that I am going to split this month into two different posts.

We got Alex a Big Wheel this month, but we might have been a little hasty.  He loves “riding” his new bike, but he can’t get the pedals to work be himself.  He needs help unless he is going downhill.

We discovered a great place to eat with Alex.  Central Market has a great play area for kids outside.  Alex loves it!  Plus, on Tuesdays, kids eat free.  You can’t beat that!

Here are some random pictures of Alex eating out this month.  I love catching him in different poses.

For Father’s Day we had everyone to our place again.  I am really liking the tradition of having family over to our house for both Mother’s and Father’s Day.  It gives Alex lots of time with his grandparents and he can run around with them instead of having to sit still in a restaurant.

Me and my daddy!

We took Alex to It’z Pizza for the first time this month.  For those of you who don’t know, it is similar to Chuck E. Cheese Pizza, but it is closer to our house.  Alex had a blast and loved running around, but I have to say that the food was horrible.  You don’t expect great pizza, but it was much worse than Chuck E. Cheese or any other pizza I have had.  I do not know if we will go back or not.

To end this first post on June, here are some random pictures from the month.  Here he is watching Totoro for the first time:

Watching Buffy for the first time:

Reading a comic book on the way back from the comic book store:

Walking around the neighborhood:

And lastly, I was cleaning out a bag of my old childhood things and found a Mickey Mouse nightgown that I used to wear when I was little.  Alex saw it and claimed it immediately.  He loves wearing it to sleep.  He is definitely my boy:

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May 2012

May was a busy month for us.  It was filled with all sorts of activities: birthday parties, eating out, Mother’s Day, and playing with the neighbors.

First, Alex was invited to the birthday party of one of our neighbors, Makayla.  She and Alex are great friends. The party was held at one of our favorite parks.  There was even a pinata.  You didn’t hit it with a stick (thank goodness) but instead pulled ribbons until the candy came out. Here are some of the best shots:

The week before Mother’s Day, Alex’s school had a lovely event called “Muffins for Mom.”  I got to go in when I dropped him off and have breakfast with him.  It was fun!

For Mother’s Day, we had everyone over to our house again.  Alex sure does love spending time with his grandparents.  Spending time with Pappa:

Why is Grandma laughing?

Alex is hiding behind her tickling her!

Playing piano with Deepaw

All the mothers

My sweet boy

One of Alex’s best friends is our neighbor.  Here are some shots of them playing and swimming.

I have a feeling these two are going to be trouble!

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April 2012

In April this year we colored Easter eggs with Alex for the first time.  Although Daddy did most of the work, Alex had a good time.

Then we had an Easter Egg hunt at our house.  Just like last year, Alex really enjoyed himself.

After the egg hunt at our house, we went to Mimi’s house and had another egg hunt.  He had another great time.

In April, Alex’s Aunt Nicole came for a visit.  Alex loves spending time with her.  One of our favorite things to do when she is in town is go out to eat at H3 in downtown Fort Worth.

Alex laughing —

Showing off his indie music cred:

Playing around with his aunt:

We capped off April by washing our car.  Alex helped his daddy for the first time.  He really enjoyed playing in the water, and he kept sticking his head all the way into the bucket when he was getting more water on his sponge.

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March 2012

I have a lot of catching up to do.  Let’s start month by month.  The last time I posted was February, so I”ll start in March.

In March, we took a family weekend trip down to Austin to see James’ childhood friend, Osman.  We had a great time!  Alex especially liked the stone cows.

Later we went to Zilker Park and enjoyed lots of good food.

We also took our first bluebonnet pictures.  I know, it is practically a sin that as a Texan I did not take any pictures of Alex in bluebonnets before now, but here they are:

And that is a recap of March!

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First Story

My son just told me his first made-up story —

Alex: Dinos in classroom

Me: Dinosaurs were in your classroom?

Alex: Da. (His form of ‘yes’ – maybe it is the Russian blood, but that is how he has always said ‘yes.’)

Me: What happened next?

Alex: Teachers running.

Me: What did you do?

Alex: Alex play with books.

Me: So dinosaurs were chasing your teachers while you played with the books.

Alex: Da.

Of course, maybe this isn’t a made-up story.  Then he must have had a crazy day at school today!

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Fort Worth Stock Show!

Today we took Alex to the Fort Worth Stock Show for the first time.  We didn’t try to see the rodeo, but we did have a great time with some friends showing Alex all the animals.  He had a blast looking at all the livestock.  There was even a petting zoo that got him so excited he was jumping up and down in the middle of the petting zoo screaming, “Animals!  Animals!”  It was too cute!  Enjoy some pictures of our day:

Alex on a pony.  This is my version, but the actual paid-for version isn’t much better.

Alex looking at pigs

Close-up of my boy with his busted lip.  He fell in the hallway on Saturday, and it is still swollen.

Petting a baby goat at the petting zoo

Yelling, “Animals!”

Meeting the llama

Petting a rabbit

More rabbit

Enjoying the midway with Daddy

Death grip once he noticed the pirate ship ride moving

All in all it was a great day, and I can’t wait to take him back next year!

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Wordless Wednesday 1.18.12

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Birthday Journal #2

Dear Alex,

We had your second birthday party this year on Saturday, January 14th at 11:00 o’clock.  The theme this year was Sesame Street.  We invited your friends Makayla, Ian, Ellie, Mia, Riley, Xander, Micah, Noah, and Newton.   Your Mimi, Gamma, Papa, and Meemaw also came to celebrate with you.  The person who drove from farthest away was Gamma, who drove from Richardson.  The person who came from the closest location were our neighbors Ian and Ellie who live right next door.

At your party we had snack food that included Elmo’s goldfish (goldfish crackers), Cookie Monster’s cookies (miniature chocolate chip cookies), Abby’s cookie with fairy dust (iced animal crackers with sprinkles), and pizza.

For activities we had Sesame Street houses that the kids loved running through, balloons to play with, and we listened to Sesame Street music.

I ordered your cake this year instead of making it.  I was just not sure that I could pull off an Elmo cake, and I knew that was what you would love.  I found a great local, family-owned bakery in town and they made you a scrumptious Elmo cake that everyone enjoyed.

You still didn’t blow out your own candle this year, but you tried.  Next year I bet you’ll get it all by yourself!  You enjoyed eating your cake this year – unlike last year, but you definitely liked the icing best.  A boy after your mother’s own heart!

This year we opened presents at the party, and you had a great time.  So did all your friends, who wanted to help you.  Your friends were very generous and you loved all your presents.  Your favorite gifts so far seem to be the books from Riley & Xander and the musical tool box from Makayla.

I spent most of my time taking pictures of you and everyone else, but thanks to my friend John there are a couple of pictures of me helping you open presents.  Thanks, John!

Happy Birthday to my Two-year-old!

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