Monday, March 31, 2008

That Aveeno endorsement is his for the takin'

Here are a few pics from bathtime tonight. I would be happy just to sit and look at them myself, but I'd be depriving the rest of you of Alex's cuteness, and that'd be selfish. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Never too prepared

Alex wanted to look especially dapper for Community Group tonight because Miss McKenzie would be there, and we all know how A likes to impress the laaaadies. So we pulled out the ol' camo cord blazer from Grammy and Poppa and his flyest jeans, popped his collar, and tousled his hair for a "looks good without trying" style.

I think his strategy worked, because McKenzie and Alex seemed to enjoy each other's company and held cryptic conversations throughout much of the evening.

A actually got to play with a dog who didn't run away at the sight of him. The Mosts dog Barkley was a little less intimidated by Alex than Murphy is, although I can't possibly imagine why...

Alex was pretty good throughout our lesson, although his increased mobility and vocalization has made it a little harder to keep him entertained and quiet during group. Despite the piles of toys and snacks I brought for him, he was more interested in getting stuck under the coffee table, climbing the fireplace hearth, playing with Barkley's dog toys, and chewing on Kara's watch.

This last image pretty much sums up my life as a mom/pack mule. Bear in mind, I have one child, and our meeting was an hour and a half long. After laughing at my expense (not that I blamed her), Robin convinced me that this moment needed to be documented. I agreed.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Back to the grind

It's always hard to come back from vacation and have to settle back into our daily routine, which can be a bit stale, and dare I say it, boring. We have been trying to keep ourselves occupied, and luckily, Alex has been a provider of non-stop entertainment over the last few days. Now don't get me wrong, he's always a chipper chicken, but this is ridiculous. My theory is that he's figured out how to move his high chair across the kitchen, scale the chair 'til he reaches the counter, where he opens the cabinet where the coffee is stored, and drops a handful of grounds into his sippy cup for an afternoon pick-me-up.

His overly cheerful demeanor may be related to the good sleep he's gotten lately. He slept great at my parents' house and has been going down for naps and bedtimes without yelling nasty things at me before falling asleep.

His giddy behavior and abundance of energy have kept us occupied in more ways than one. He can now cruise at the speed of light...

...and today, he discovered that climbing is just one more way to reach things that he's not supposed to have.

Another development, as of today - he has started to share his food with us, which is nice as long as his food isn't a handful of mushed beans. Here he is sharing an apple-flavored wagon wheel with me (after he does his piggie impression, first).

I have been trying to pack up anything in the living room that is not bolted down, because Lord knows if ain't bolted, Alex is taking it with him. Of course, the open boxes strewn about are just as attractive as the stuff that goes in them.

We've spent most of the last two days cooped up in the house, cuz the weather's been less than ideal.

However, we did venture out last night to have dinner at the Primms, where Alex played Oliver one-on-one on a half court then took a ride on Uncle Seth's shoulders.

Against my better judgment (ahem, Timothy), we stayed way past Alex's bedtime, so he fell asleep in the car (after lots of screaming and crying, which was why I wanted to avoid coming home late in the first place. AHEM, Timothy). He was so cute that I kind of forgot about being annoyed that he was sleeping in the car and not in his bed. Kind of.

A Rotten Egg

So it seems Alex is well on his way to being completely and utterly spoilt rotten. Here he is with just a portion of his Easter loot (albeit a large portion). He got baskets and gifts from Grandmas and Grandpas, Grammys and Poppas, Great Aunts and Uncles, friends he hasn't met yet (thanks Luke & Laura!), his Mom and Dad, and of course, that good ol' Easter Bunny. He got toys, treats, books, and clothes. He even got a toothbrush and paste from the Bunny, as per tradition, to keep his new little teeth sparkling white after he's eaten all those snacks. He ended up with 12 Easter baskets in total (not including his drum) and over 100 plastic eggs (not pictured). Seriously people, can you say "egg-cessive"??

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Easter extended

We were having too much fun to leave Peoria on Monday, so we decided to stick around an extra day. Uncle Nick was gonna be in town for a couple more days, too, so he and Alex were able to hang out. He read Alex one of the books that the Easter Bunny left, and then Alex proceeded to strangle him for not executing the "duckie" sound correctly. "It's quack-QUACK, Uncle Nick, not quack-quack!"

In the interest of saving his own life, Nick distracted Alex with his new drum set. It seemed to work, although the look on Alex's face suggests that he knew something was up.

I had a hankerin' for some sushi, perhaps because I felt like a cow after having eaten so much "comfort food" over the last few days and felt like I could redeem myself with a little raw fish and veggies. Alex's impatient self couldn't wait 'til we got there to eat, so he had himself an appetizer before we left. Vegetable flavored Baby Mum-Mum rice rusks, anyone?

We headed to Sushigawa, where Alex made eyes at all the cute Asian waitresses while we feasted on Alaskan, Spicy tuna, and Spider maki.

A little more QT with Grampa before bedtime.

A went to sleep, then Tim and I gathered our bags and our baskets and our boxes of bags and baskets. We wanted to get on the road before Alex's morning nap again, because that puts us on schedule to get home by his bedtime. The ride went smoothly, and despite a much needed dinner break at Lambert's, we made it home by 8. A fell asleep in the car on the way, but went back to bed without a fuss when we got home. As well as he slept while we were away, it was obvious that he missed his home and missed his bed, which was further evidenced by the fact that he slept past 8 the next morning. Hmmm, time to plan our next vacation...