daddy's new "air-pane"

The other day Alex and I swung by the airport to see daddy. For those of you who don't know, Ben just returned from a 3-week stint at flight school in Wichita where he learned all about flying this magnificent brand new jet. We're very proud of our new Captain!


Alex was very excited to spot a "copter" landing not far away.


Getting a feel for the Captain's seat...


And what's a trip to the airport without stopping to watch a few take-offs and landings?

Christmas festivities

I am actually a little embarrassed to even be publishing a Christmas post considering I did a horrible job of capturing the holiday. I really didn't take many [good] pictures at all and from the ones I do have, you'd never know we actually had a nice family celebration at our house that day considering nobody actually appears in any pics besides well, Alex. I need a do-over.

It all started Christmas Eve when we attempted to go to church. We thought it would be fun to take Alex to this ridiculously large church in our old neighborhood because of all the over-the-top festivities they put on. Lo and behold apparently we weren't the only ones with the same idea as we were turned away from the overcrowded sanctuary which holds over 1,000 worshipers. Unfortunately it didn't look like Alex would withstand a 90 minute wait in addition to an hour-long service but he sure did enjoy the cookies, cocoa, petting "zoo", and snow (complete with sledding hill though he didn't go down it). Next time we will make sure to get there earlier!


We came home from our failed attempt at Christmas Eve church and had a delicious homemade pizza dinner, just the 3 of us. The next morning Alex was up before the sun (as usual) and we lounged in bed for as long as he would let us before venturing out to see if Santa had come. I was dying to know what Alex would run to first -- the pint-sized trike complete with airplane helmet and bike bell, Little People airport, or bulging stocking. The winner? His cozy coupe. You know, the one he got for his 1st birthday?

When he finally realized there were goodies to be had what did he go right for? The Little People Airport of course!


He must have played with it for a good 30 minutes before he even thought about moving on to something else. And trust me Ben and I were taunting him like no other. I finally got him interested in his stocking though. Here he is surrounded by all of his stocking loot and where is his attention? The airport.

After much more coaxing and taunting I finally got him to unwrap his first gift (and what would be the first of many, many John Deere items) which he then proceeded to fixate on for another half hour or so (are you seeing a pattern here?).

Anyway, here he is with a few other Christmas favorites -- an actual ride-on tractor from Gramma and Grampa in MN, helping set up a real live choo choo from Great Grampa, and the trike from Santa that he took all day to warm up to.


I hate to break it to those of you who worked hard to give Alex THE Christmas gift but I have to say Great Grampa won that prize by a landslide. Alex went crazy for this thing, chanting "choo choo!" all afternoon and following it around the track. One of these days I'll get the video uploaded and share because it's priceless.


And a couple more from the day after with some of his other newly prized possessions just because they're so cute. Please excuse the aftermath scattered all over our living room.

santa, take 2

Call me mean or even sadistic but I insisted we take Alex to see Santa at the mall this weekend. After being at a friend's house and seeing 15 or so years of shiny framed 5x7 pics of her kids with Santa through the years I decided I really want to do the same. About 40 minutes into our wait I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I was taking my own selfish desires a bit too far but hey, we were only about 10 people away from the man in red!

Alex was actually really good in line. the soft pretzels he shared with daddy I'm sure helped a bit. not to mention the giant Christmas trees bathed in lights. He was in complete awe as we walked under the tallest of the trees which sits right behind and above Santa. You could actually look up and see the inside of the tree, not to mention the lights flashing around on the walls and floor.


Apparently Ben was pretty impressed as well!


So after about an hour in line, 2 soft pretzels, and $19.99, this is what we got. But don't get me wrong...I couldn't be happier with my glossy 5x7! (Is that bad?)

'tis the season

Last weekend was chock full of Christmas fun! We started off Saturday by having breakfast with Santa. It was a pretty cool and very well organized little event put on by the city. We went with the Smith family though you'd never know it since we couldn't get a single decent pic of Alex and Addison together. They were having such a good time (well for the most part -- see below) we could barely keep up with them! Of course Alex loved the breakfast (he's quite the little piggy these days) and his little goody bag, complete with CRAYONS (or co-cohs as he calls them).


However Santa, not so much. We even prepared by reading a Christmas book every night before bed for the whole preceding week. But what can you do? I still love the pics...is that bad? You should see the one they actually snapped us as a souvenir!




He did enjoy the patch of snow they had trucked in. Hey, you take what you can get around here! And of course the kids go nuts.


We also went with some friends to check out the amazing light display at the local LDS (Mormon) Temple. I know the pic is blurry but the flash just didn't do it justice. Those are 3 giant wise men leading camels in the front with the visitor's center right behind that and the temple backlit in the background.


This was a really cool talking nativity scene. The figures stood about 4ft tall.

Alex was in awe!




He and his buddy Peyton loved the live music put on by some very talented choir members.


And what would an Alex post be without a funny story? This pic was snapped seconds after he took a spill into one of the flower beds while attempting to inspect some lights a little more closely. I call this the "what, did I do something wrong?" face.

us, tackyfied

Before you say anything, I know it has been forever since I've updated the blog and for that I'm very, very sorry. Ben has been out of town more than he's been in and at this point I'm not sure he's ever coming back. Hopefully he can manage a fly-by for Christmas. Just kidding, he'll be home before Christmas. Anyway, keep scrolling as there are a couple of new posts and pics I've added today.

And just for giggles, here's a rare family shot. Ben and I were headed off to a "tacky" themed birthday party but Alex just had to get in on the photo op. He put the glasses on and stood there all on his own. What a ham!

such a boy

As if we didn't know this already based on his mischievous nature, no-fear attitude, and love of anything and everything motorized, Alex is officially all boy. Well except maybe when he clomps around the house in mommy's shoes... He and daddy spend a lot of time "working on things" outside on the weekends lately. That is when Alex isn't dragging Ben back and forth to the park down the block.

Here they are mowing the lawn...


And Alex's newest hobby -- checking the tire pressure on my car. More like letting all the air out...

turkey day

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I know we did! We went out to Mike's new house where there was lots of space, lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun. Alex had a great time "hiking" the mountain out back with Ben and riding the quad. He claimed the biggest leg of the two turkeys Mike slaved over only to lick it! I think Ben was more than happy to finish it for him though...



Gramma was excited to bust out some Christmas books she's been hanging on to and of course Alex was happy to join her. One is a really neat pop-up of the Nutcracker that kept him occupied for some time (quite the feat these days!).

goodbye duck tail, hello big boy

I'm sad to announce that I finally gave in and got Alex a hair cut. Our friend Lindsey is a hair stylist and was kind enough to relieve him of the wings over his ears and duck tail that had formed on the back of his head. I was hanging on to hope that they would indeed turn to curls but alas here in the driest of dry climates it was just becoming a funky frizzy mess. She didn't even touch the top or front yet it makes such a difference in his appearance! And he was such a good boy, sitting there patiently (once he got a snack of course) even though it was long after bed time.



Here he is the next day showing of his new 'do and his Vikings pride. Ben couldn't resist the pint-sized Peterson jersey at the Football Hall of Fame on his last trip to Cleveland.


And just because he's so dang cute, here he is loving the neighbor's trike (not to mention it's Backyardigans so I had to post for Cousin Macord). Guess what somebody's getting for Christmas this year?

Happy Birthday Spencer

Today our angel would be 3 years old. We love you bubba!

Alex does Seattle

Last week I went to Seattle for my first business trip in years. All of the planets must have been aligned the day the plans were made because it just so happened I got to take Alex with me. My mom was already planning to be in Washington helping my grandparents move and of course jumped at the chance to play nanny for a few days. While I was busy working they were even busier seeing the sights.

The first evening we were there we were lucky enough to meet up with one of my online friends (or as Ben would call her, one of my "imaginary friends") and her son. We had a great time exploring the famous Pike Street Market and some of downtown Seattle. Thanks "Al-Dawg" (this is what her son calls her these days) for the great time!

here's Alex picking his nose in front of the market

and the boys on the pig


just some of the amazing fresh goods available there...
I brought a couple of these babies home and had ourselves one heck of a dinner this weekend!


I also couldn't resist bringing home one of these amazingly beautiful pepper garlands. I know, you're thinking why the heck would someone from Arizona buy peppers in Washington but I have never seen anything like them!


fruits and veggies galore

I seriously think we need to pack up, move to Seattle, and take up residence in the hotel we stayed in. Not only did Alex sleep like an angel while we were there, the view of the traffic kept him entertained for hours!

The second day there was all work for me so Alex and gramma hit the town!


They even took a duck (land/water) tour. My good boy waited so patiently with his duck whistle which he finally figured out how to blow just the other day...


I know you can't tell from this picture but apparently he was so excited to get on the duck he could hardly contain himself. Unfortunately he only lasted about 20 minutes before succumbing to the motion and hum of the motor and drifting off to sleep. Isn't he cute all bundled up?


On day 3 they hit the Children's Museum. Gramma says Alex practically owned the place. They were there for hours and he just kept going and going and going from one "station" to the next. He slid...


and shopped...


and "dined"...

and drove...

and created his own Mr. Potatohead (these pics amaze me because he looks so intent and is even putting the parts in the right places!)...


and painted...


and threw a tantrum or two...


and made music...


...and did so many other things any more pics would blow up my blog! But I think you get the idea. The kid had a pretty good time. He was such a good little traveler too (minus the 20 minute episode on the way home but hey, it was late, he'd had a busy day, and at least the plane was half empty!).