Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday Alex and I wrapped gifts and baked Brad a cake in honor of his 28th (gasp!) birthday. We went out to dinner and later celebrated with the cake which Alex had been so eager to dive into all day long. He is getting better about recognizing time of day (i.e. "after dinner", "tomorrow", "not in this lifetime").

Cassie celebrated by doing what she does best, sleeping.

What a sweet ring bearer!

Alex did such a great job this weekend as ring bearer in my cousin Amanda's wedding! Now, he did fight when Brad and his Mom started getting him dressed, but a few toy diggers saved the day! He also took in The Little Mermaid on his DVD player while waiting for the ceremony to begin. Thank goodness for distractions!

He kept his jacket on for the 2 hours prior to the wedding and during the wedding but as soon as the wedding was over, he lost the jacket, tie, and vest. Shortly after photos he was almost asleep on the floor so Brad took him home and he skipped the reception. All in all, it was a success, much to the contrary of the 75% of you who thought it might be a bust :) I must admit, I was one of those votes! Can't wait to see the professional photos!

All Tuckered Out

Can you tell which one of these shots is the "real" nap?

Most days lately Alex does not take a nap, and it is getting easier and easier. He still sneaks one in every few days but for the most part he is "nap free" with an early bedtime. Today he was such a good sport about running errands with me and then playing at the gym after lunch, that by the car ride home he decided to take a little snooze. The funny part was that he stayed asleep right there on the couch even while I took off all his winter gear and his shoes. This sort of thing happens rarely so I thought I'd capture it on camera!

What's wrong with this picture?

All I kept asking Alex was, "why, Alex, why would you color on the carpet?". He seemed to be at a loss for words. The good news is, all early attempts have shown that the crayon does come out of the carpet. No more crayons unattended.

A New Buddy

Now, our neighbor Baby Jaydon is only 3 months old, but yesterday Alex asked him to come play trains. So, we moved the bouncy chair next to the train table and they "played trains" together. He also showed Jaydon how to get all the bells and whistles on the bouncy chair to work. What a good little friend he is! Why Alex is playing with an Easter basket in this photo, I have no idea.

Happy Valentine's Eve!

Tonight we went out to celebrate Valentine's Day (a night early)! Baci, in downtown Plainfield, is one of our favorite Italian restaurants so we were excited to go back tonight. Alex was unusually patient tonight waiting for his dinner and had lots of entertainment from Mom and Dad to keep him busy!

Alex is kind of getting the hang of Valentine's Day. We've been reading some books with a Valentine theme and he thinks now that anything having to do with a heart means Valentine. We have some special treats for his friends on the street so tomorrow we'll hand those out, and probably color a few more hearts :)

Time for the sandbox yet?

Alex asks several times a week if he can play in the sandbox yet, to which we reply "no, it is still too cold". Last night we ran around out in the snow for a bit and after he brushed all the snow off the sandbox, Alex was ready to throw the lid off and jump in. Brad convinced him that playing in the sand with "glubs" on is not very much fun.

As an aside, this sandbox is incredible. Everytime we have 50mph winds or other nasty weather, I always worry about the lid flying off or water seeping in. So far, the lid has yet to disappear and the sand remains dry :) It will be interesting to see how it looks after the great thaw in the Spring.

Weekend Projects

The extreme cold temperatures and wind chills kept us home most of the weekend, but it provided an opportunity for us to finish lots of little projects around the house. Alex rebuilt his train track on the train table, Mommy finished up Alex's scrapbook from year 1, and Daddy so lovingly installed 3 under the cabinet lights (some easier to reach than others).

Me and My Shadow

This weekend more than any in recent memory, Alex tagged along behind Brad every minute. Every time Brad would leave the room, Alex would say "Where Daddy Go?" or "Comin' Dad?" or "Wanna Play in the Basement Dad?". By Sunday night, Brad was pooped (Alex was too!).

To Boat or not to Boat

Today I told Alex we were going to vote in the Super Tuesday election. When we got to our polling site, he ran all around looking for the boats. Boat, vote, same difference.

Superbowl Snow

This will forever be the "winter it snowed all the time"! Check out the remnants of our snow again last night. I guess we got several MORE inches while we were all inside cheering the Giants to victory!

Snow as far as the eye can see :) Don't worry, they are predicting another 3-6" tomorrow night. No chance of us running out of snow anytime soon!