Fall Fun

Alex's fall Scholastic book order arrived today and he was anxious to look at all his fun, new Halloween books this afternoon. We had also ordered this cute autumn-themed sequencing set to practice patterns. He's had fun so far putting the leaves, acorns, apples, and squirrel manipulatives on the pattern cards. I know they practice with cards like these at preschool and maybe this will reinforce some of what he learns at home. He did not seem as impressed with the lacing cards but maybe that will change.

Alex has been singing up a little storm around here lately. He loves to listen to his CDs and sing (and dance) along! It is getting dark quite early in the evenings so he gets lots of practice singing and dancing while we clean up the dishes. He gets his second wind after dinner and it is a good way to run off his extra energy since we can't be outside as much.

Lots of Helpers

Brad and I had lots of helpers painting Alex's room. While Scooter pretty much kept his distance, Alex and Cassie were all about "helping". We've finally moved Alex's furniture back into his room and thanks to the addition of a few new closet shelves, things are much more organized in there. Alex's favorite part was taking off and replacing the outlet covers. We painted one wall slightly darker than the others and it looks cute with Alex's Jungle Monkey bedding. I realize now I should have taken a photo of that too!

Some more painting...

Sorry for the lag in blogging, we are trying to finish up some painting projects around the house while it is still nice enough out to keep the windows open for ventilation. Alex's room needs one more coat and I'll be sure to post photos when we're done in there. Brad's been busy getting the house ready for winter--can you tell we have a definite "end date" in mind this year?! We are looking forward to spending the New Year getting to know this new little guy/girl and playing lots! Time flies!

Scissors are for Paper, not for Hair

Alex just informed me that "scissors are for cutting paper, not cutting hair". I know they've been practicing using scissors at school and I wonder if they had a hair cutting incident. Alex has a renewed interest in playdough as I think they do this pretty often at preschool. He's been sitting at his picnic table with his playdough set for nearly an hour now, crazy!

Oh, and he also told me that "we have to be quiet when Ms. Charlene is talking". It is amazing how much these kids are like sponges at this age!

Set 'Em Up, Knock 'Em Down

Since rain was in the forecast for the entire weekend, we were trying to think of something to do with Alex indoors that would be new and fun for him. Our neighbors recommended this little bowling alley (24 lanes max) nearby that had open bowling from 1-5pm today.

Alex LOVED the whole experience and this was truly a family-oriented place. We saw kids on just about every lane this afternoon and the family sharing our area even had a 3 year old daughter and the mom was pregnant, due in February. Alex picked out a bright yellow ball and got to work battling the bumper lane. I bowled with a 7 lb ball also so as not to strain myself too much :) After a few frames bowling between his legs, Brad asked the workers for one of those ramps that Alex could use to jumpstart his ball along a little faster down the lane. They even turned on the blacklights and fun music to enhance the atmosphere for the kids (and adults too!).

We played one game, then took a snack break, and played one more game. About halfway through the second game Alex had reached his limit so we sped that one along.

How We Started Our Day

Alex and I started our day on our computers, with a check of the night's hurricane events in Houston. Alex, of course, was practicing his letters on his computer while Brad and I were feverishly trying to log on to the Houston news stations and watch the live feeds from various news sources. Tonight we've been able to see more of the damage online as the reporters have ventured out into the suburbs. Looks like the Seabrook area was hit much harder than our old subdivision, Bay Glen, but all scary nonetheless. Even our friends in the Woodlands, TX, north of the city, experienced very high winds, power outages, and downed trees (luckily not on their house).

Chicago was not without their own flooding troubles today as we received more than 6" of rain last night and today! It is supposed to continue raining into tomorrow and the grass is very, very happy :)

End of a Long Week

This is how Alex finished off his first week of preschool--with a relaxing dinnertime nap. While I was making dinner, Alex snuggled into the couch and closed his eyes for a bit. We sort of hoped he might stay asleep through the night but sure enough when Brad moved him to his room to sleep, he sprung to life. I can hear him downstairs now running around pretending to "trick-or-treat".

When Alex woke up this morning, he told me right off the bat that "Mommy, I do not want to go to school today because I do not like wearing a smock" (during art time). I tried to clarify with him whether he meant he didn't like wearing his smock or smocks in general and it was definitely smocks in general. So, after a little coaxing he got ready for school and seemed content because it was raining and he could use his cool dolphin umbrella. When I picked him up I asked the teachers if he gave them any trouble about using his smock and they said he was great all morning, smock and all!

After school we came home and got out our fall decorations which was oodles of fun!!! We are ready for Halloween even if we are a month and a half early!

Please keep the residents of Houston in your thoughts as Hurricane Ike prepares to rain down on them tonight. So many of our friends have evacuated, including all of our former neighbors. We can only imagine the worry and fear going through their minds as we would be in that exact situation if we still lived in Houston.

Scissors and Accidents

Today Alex had a great day at school because they practiced using scissors! This is one of his favorite activities at home so I'm sure he was thrilled when the teachers told the kids they were going to cut paper today. He made a lovely collage and also practiced coloring--8 sheets worth to be exact. Why he colored 8 of the same worksheet, we aren't quite sure, but he had a great time with those crayons!

Alex has also picked up from various sources that "accidents happen". The problem is that he'll do things intentionally and then say "it's OK Mom, accidents happen". For example, he will throw a toy across the room leading to a loud noise and then when we yell at him not to throw things in the house he says "it's OK, accidents happen, it was just an accident". We'll have to work on the difference between accidents and making bad choices.

So Alex, How Did it Go Today???

Alex had a great first day! He loved playing playdough and doing puzzles with the other kids. They took a tour of the school together and learned how to walk like a "train". He told me, "Mom, there's another Alexander Ross in my class". This means there's another kid named Alex in his class, go figure :) We taught him to say that his name is Alexander Ross and now he tells everyone that. He came home today and took a 3 hour nap--I'm hoping this was only because he was up so early and didn't get a full night's sleep last night.

My First Day of Preschool

Today is Alex's first day of preschool :) He was so excited that he had trouble falling asleep last night and was up at 5:30 this morning, yikes! Let's hope those are just first day jitters and this will not become a routine wake up time! He was very good about following the routine they set out for the kids--prior to entering the classroom parents should take them to the potty and then wash hands. No problem. Except that this takes Alex way longer than it takes, say, an adult. So, Wednesday we'll leave the house a few minutes earlier. Five minutes is not going to cut it for a pre-class bathroom break! I'm praying he has a fabulous day and will post tonight about what he says he "did at school today".

Cooling Off...

Today's high was in the 60s with lots of rain all day long. The five day forecast shows highs in the very low 70s and lows in the high 50s. Alex and I spent the day at the mall riding the carousel--which I think goes way too fast, and climbing the treehouse play structure--a.k.a. requisite mall germ haven. Tomorrow Alex has meet the teacher day at his preschool as he prepares to start school on Monday. Brad and I met the teachers last night and they both seem very sweet and loving. We are optimistic that he will adore school :)

Scooter has taken to the cooler, rainy weather by curling up in Alex's monkey chair. On nicer days, the cats prefer to play in the backyard (under supervision) and keep an eye on the birds at the feeder.

Getting Ready for Baby

Granted, we still are months away from the arrival of Baby Ross #2, but we had been eager to get started on some painting around the house and the nursery was at the top of that list! After two coats of primer, we were ready to add a coat of soft yellow and presto, a new nursery was born. Many thanks to Grandma Kathy for her help supervising our smallest laborer and for her hours of painting assistance!

A few days later Brad and Alex put the crib back together so we could make sure that ALL the pieces had made the move with us from Houston. This room is definitely a little smaller than the "nursery" in our last house, but most things will fit. I'll post more photos once we make some finishing touches to the walls and add the bedding to the crib.

Super Long Weekend

20 weeks

Alex and Grandma Kathy posing for pix after dinner.
"Mom, can I play in there????"




Brad was able to take some extra time off around Labor Day weekend so we could get the nursery painted and do several fun "end of summer" activities around here. Alex had been asking to go back to the "park with the bell tower" in Naperville so Thursday night we headed up there for dinner at Heaven on Seven (cajun food for the MidWest). Dinner was great and the weather was just right for walking around afterwards.



Friday we took a small break from painting to head over to the Springbank Aquatic Center in Plainfield. Brad and Alex practically had the the place to themselves now that the kids are back in school. It's probably a good thing because I'm sure if lifeguards had been around they might have curtailed some of Brad's fun on the kiddie slides!