boobie boy

One of Alex's favorite activities of late is to empty things. His toy bin, the laundry basket, the refrigerator, the tupperware cabinet, drawers... The other day he discovered the treasure chest that is Ben's 3-drawer night stand. Ben has been casting random goodies into those drawers since we got that furniture 4 years ago, apparently including part of a gag gift he received for his 30th birthday -- the Mini Sipper. If you can't tell from the picture, the Mini Sipper is something like a tiny ceramic coffee cup shaped like a boob. It even has a nipple on the front. Therefore it should be no surprise that Alex became immediately infatuated with it. Alex carried this thing around our bedroom with him for at least 20 minutes this particular afternoon, stopping every so often to take a "drink" (it was empty)...and no, not out of the nipple!

music man

Every Tuesday for the past few months Alex and I have been going to a music class at Gymboree. To say that he loves it would be a HUGE understatement. The "theme" changes every 3 weeks so right now we're in the middle of Jazz which I think is his favorite so far. He's been quite the dancin' machine these past couple of weeks! We've also done Celtic, Reggae, Broadway, Big Band, and next week we move on to Folk. Every week we sing, dance, and play with various musical instruments and other toys. The "props" change about every other song and while in the beginning I would have to pry one from his hands (or mouth), he now actually helps put them away! Most of the time Alex is a bit of a class clown, cheesing it up the entire time, but sometimes he wreaks a bit of havoc bowling over the smaller kids (or inadvertently sitting on their laps) to get what he wants. But through it all I am happy to announce that Alex has met his first official guy pal, Peyton! These two definitely rule the roost!

The class is led by Miss Susie who is simply amazing! To watch her in class you might say she's a bit of a "pied piper" because the kids are just captivated by her every move (mind you she is the one with the toys!). Each time she reaches into one of those mysterious cupboards, each set of little eyes is just glued in anticipation of what's coming next. Jingle bells? Balls? Rain sticks? It's all so exciting!! But as enchanted as they all are I think Alex is particularly enamored. Dare I say he's developed his first crush? I mean you should see the way he smiles at her.

P.S. I couldn't resist one last pic because it just cracks me up. At the beginning and end of every class Miss Susie rolls out these floor drums that the kids of course go nuts for. We then sing hello or goodbye to everyone while the little ones "keep the beat" for us. As you can see, Alex just can't get enough of the drum...

so long old friends

Today Alex and I returned Ellie and Jake to the Arizona Adopt-a-Greyhound group. We cried the whole way home. I'm sure they will find a nice, loving new home but there will always be a place for them here in our hearts.

baby steps

Literally. Yesterday Alex took his first independent steps (with the encouragement of Daddy of course). He loves to practice walking (only with Daddy) and can even hold on with just one hand! At times he gets going with such determination and momentum that it looks like he's pulling Daddy along behind him. Let go and he sits down. If I try to practice walking with him he sits down. He's a very particular little guy. He barrells through the house pushing his cozy coupe (one-handed) like a bull in a china shop (a bull with a walker that is) running over and knocking down everything in their path. Know what I have to say about that? BOCK BOCK BOCK B'GOCK!!!

In other news, he went to the doctor today so Dr. M could have a look at the dog bite. It looks good and is already healing nicely. He weighed in at 24lbs 8oz and is about 30" long.

Alex's horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day

As you can see by the subject yesterday was not such a great day for Mr. Alex. As it turns out he is only part monkey (though he appears to think he's 100%) and in testing his climbing skills fell off the couch and hit his cheek bone on the edge of our bed's footboard. Later in the afternoon I finally managed to convince him that playing with two feet and even his bottom on the floor can be fun too. At one point his attention went from cars to Jake and to make a long story short, he got bit. Nothing serious, just a nip on the shoulder. It wasn't enough to break the skin but did bring blood to the surface. So needless to say, Jake and Ellie are now at the dog sitter's patiently awaiting a new home. We'll miss them terribly but know it's for the best. There will always be a special place in our hearts for those crazy greyhounds!

pictures!

We paid a visit to our favorite photographer Kim last week to wrap up Alex's "Baby's First Year" package and get a few family shots too. Alex kept us all pretty busy chasing after him but as always Kim managed to get some amazing shots. You can see them all HERE. Click on the arrow to start the slideshow. Being the thoughtful lady that she is, Kim even set it to Alex's favorite song off her website (he dances up a storm whenever he hears it)!

Funny story... Notice the rock in his left hand in the shots of him in the yellow shirt? He picked that up at the Wigwam (where the outdoor shots were taken) and unbeknownst to us carried it all the way back to Kim's studio. Of course he wasn't about to give it up by the time we discovered it!

olé!

Two Sundays ago Alex went to his friend Ava's 1st birthday party. Being that her birthday falls on the eve of Cinco de Mayo, it was quite the Mexican Fiesta! As you can see Alex had a great time.

he's this close!

(picture me holding my thumb and forefinger about a centimeter apart)

To walking that is... Today we were at "aunt" Nancy's house and Alex stood up from kneeling all on his own with no support for the first time ever (at least that I've seen)! Sources say this is the big indicator that walking is soon to follow. He actually kinda sorta took a step/shuffle sideways before getting back down on his hands and knees. I know it's only a matter of time because he's been standing on his own for longer periods of time and his balance is excellent. He reminds me of a mini body builder at times because he'll stand there with his legs a little more than shoulder width apart and lift one end of his little plastic wagon from underneath while grunting and growling. I'm enjoying these last days (weeks?) of "limited" mobility because everyone seems to think that once he figures out how to actually take a step he'll be running. Lucky me!

Side note: Gramma Penny claims to have witnessed him taking a step or two on his own a few weekends ago at cousin Mason's birthday party but since I didn't see it, it didn't really happen!

$115,930!!!

This is how much money was raised through Spring for SIDS this year! Last year we raised about $80,000 nationwide and our goal this year was to break the $100,000 mark so we are extremely excited! Thanks to everyone for your support and donations. This money will go a long way to fund SIDS research and education.

Spring for SIDS
American SIDS Institute

like father, like son

I hate to say it but Alex is his father's son. {sigh} Not only does he gravitate toward anything with wheels, he's obsessed with wings as well. All he has to do is hear an airplane and his eyes immediately go to the sky. The second he sees one his finger shoots upward and he repeats excitedly "da! da! da!" We even have two picture books that have multiple pictures per page and he will almost always open them to the same page and immediately point to the airplane. And as if we needed more proof, just look at how happy he is in a cockpit...