"Mom, Scooter needs a hat too". Of course, Scooter immediately thought it was something to eat.
Driving home from dinner the other night, Alex began singing along to his CD in the car. We have had this CD in the car for as long as I can remember (a year or more) and he loves listening to "5 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed". Imagine our surprise when he started singing along to all the little songs on here. It was very cute, and he operated on about only a 5 second delay with the rest of the song :) 
Alex was so happy to see Daddy last night when he returned from his long trip to D.C.! He even got to stay up extra late to greet Daddy and was up extra early to wake him up :) I decided to break out some vintage photos for this post because they are so cute! Photos are from 8 months (above), 1 month, 9 months, 23 months, and 31 months (current). 
Alex really likes the movie Happy Feet so for Christmas we adopted a penguin at the zoo. They sent him this plush penguin puppet (which I'm confident was probably half of the adoption fee)and he carries it everywhere. He can't go to bed at night without "my Bird, my Bird". I wonder when kids start to give their animals names. The penguin is "Bird", the teddy bear is "Bear" and his giraffe is, well, "Giraffe". 
Even after bundling up in all this gear, Alex continued his daily "no jacket" mantra. We still wrestle him into it, but he's never happy about it. In his defense, I don't like wearing a big jacket either, but I'm not 2 and prone to croup.
Everyone seems excited about this weekend's anticipated warm-up! Seriously, 32 is a HUGE improvement over the single digits we've been seeing the past few days. Snow is falling now, should get a few more inches before morning. Alex is thrilled! 
Cassie was jealous that Scooter had his own blog post so I promised her equal blog time. Cassie is one year older than Scooter. We adopted her from the same rescue organization when she was 5 or 6 months old, Dec 2003. This is the first photo we took of Cassie. Here, she is still wearing that collar with the bell, which terrified her from that day forward. She is also still scared of her carrier, whereas Scooter just trots right in, almost as if he doesn't remember that means he's headed into the car. 
Initially, Cassie ruled the roost around our house. She was very attention-seeking and we had plenty of attention to give her. She used to be the annoying one at night who would meow and keep us awake. I found that her obnoxious behavior stopped when I began maternity leave and was home 24/7 with both her and Scooter. Scooter still acts out in the middle of the night, it's just his thing.
Cassie also loved to climb up on the couch with us as a kitten. She was very cuddly. This behavior is finally beginning to return, as she took a 2 year hiatus from cuddling with us. First there was Scooter, then Alex, then we relocated to IL and now she knows things are calm. 
Here's a photo from our first Christmas with the 2 cats. Look how small he is compared to Cassie! They were hilarious together--Scooter really gave Cassie a run for her money, even as a kitten! The first few days she tried to show him who was boss, but he had other plans. To this day they play and chase each other around the house, but the play usually begins with him pouncing on her first, as he is now twice her size. She is beginning to sneak attack Scooter and we all cheer her on. 
At our house in Texas, there were really wide window sills where the cats could share a space, usually unwillingly on Cassie's part. Cassie is far more timid than Scooter and is scared of most all strangers. She is also very dainty, very much a girl. Whereas Scooter, well, he'll eat anything, sleep anywhere, and doesn't mind getting dirty outside. 
Here's our first night home with Alex after his birth. Both cats just looked on in awe and fear. I slept the whole night with one eye open in fear that one of them would jump up into his crib. They didn't and I chuckle about it to this day. Cassie has finally warmed up to Alex and while she still won't let him pet her, she simply moves a little further away as he approaches. She used to book it to the nearest staircase if Alex even said her name, but she's definitely more comfortable with him. Wow, that took her 2 1/2 years!
Brad and I adopted Scooter when he was just a little kitten (maybe 3 or 4 months old) in 2004 from a rescue group who found him behind Outback Steakhouse. He was dining on leftovers from the restaurant each night and I'm sure was bummed to have to make the switch to dry cat food. In any case, Scooter has made up for any food deficiencies he may have had early on. He is on a strict diet from the vet and we are trying to give him a little more exercise. 
I just cannot understand why Scooter has weight issues?!? Do all cats fancy chicken fried rice? I'm pretty sure this is NOT on his diet Baby Josh! 
Scooter and Alex are great playmates. From a young age Alex has followed Scooter around and Scoot is very patient with him. Even now when Baby Josh is over and pulls Scooter's ears, he holds back the urge to nip at him. These are some fun photos from when Alex was around 14-16 months old. 
This is our favorite picture of Alex and "Ter" as he calls him. Alex adores Scooter. If we leave Alex's door open at night (which is very rare), Scooter will climb up and sleep on Alex's bed with him. We keep this photo on the fridge to remind us not to be too mean to Scooter. He meows, alot, when he wants attention, and it is so loud, and so annoying. During the day Alex attends to Ter's needs, but at night he wears our patience thin. 
Here's a photo of Scooter when we first got him. He was pretty bow-legged as a kitten but that has straightened out quite a bit. We love our little Ter!
At dinner the other night, Alex said "Mom, there's an R in my bowl" and from there he proceeded to point out all the letters on his spoon before he would eat it. It was really funny. To be honest I had forgotten that we buy the ABC Spaghetti O's--but Alex didn't! 
Yesterday we went downtown to the Museum of Science and Industry with our neighbor and her sister in law. The boys had fun chasing each other around and just for the record, they have a surprisingly nice food court :) Alex loves looking at the train exhibit they have there and boy was he tired after lunch--he let everyone know it!
Alex sitting on the cow in the farm exhibit--enjoying a few snacks, shh, don't tell the security personnel. They busted us for having snack time later.
We were all in need of a little physical activity, so after much deliberation, we have joined a gym. We are really excited about it and hope to get a lot out of our membership, especially during these cold winter months when it is impossible to get much exercise outside. Tonight was our first time going as a family.
Alex's current favorite book is I'm Sorry by Gina and Mercer Mayer. We've been trying to put this lesson to good use and I really think the book is helping to reinforce when to say "I'm Sorry".
At bedtime it often looks like a disco in Alex's room, and he loves it that way. He still has colored Christmas lights up on his bookcase. There is the CARS lamp he received for Christmas, the light on the top of his monitor base, the nightlight plugged into the wall, and the light on top of his humidifier. We tone it down a bit in there when we go up for the night--try to give the electric meter a rest.
After a few mornings of waking up with crazy bedhead like this, we decided it was time for a trim!
Why is it so much easier to put up the ornaments than to take them down? There is such anticipation for the holidays when we start decorating in December, but in January it is hard to get the motivation to take all the decorations down. Still working on packing all these ornaments up, but for now, they are on the dining room table. 
This is our favorite new ornament of 2007. 
