Adventures with Alex

Alex: "Mom, why do squares have four sides and triangles have three?"

Mom: silence

Alex: "Mom, why are there so many water towers around here?"

Mom: "I have no idea."

(Alex at 4 months old)

He is so inquisitive, wanting to know the why surrounding everything. It is adorable and usually I do not have an answer for him. Lately, he's been saying "I love you" and we don't even have to prompt him. So sweet!! Today at swim class, Alex swam a good little distance on his own. He had a terrified look on his face when he realized the teacher wasn't holding onto him, but he continued nonetheless. He's still in the class at the Y where they wear a "bubble" floatation device on their backs, but soon he'll move on from that. Abby loves to sit poolside as his cheerleader :)

Alex's current faves:

Drawing pictures with actual shapes, no longer just scribbles :)

Counting out loud

Mazes

Using markers

Playing computer games, mainly phonics related

Sandbox

Loving on Abby

Kicking the soccer ball back and forth with us outside

Scissors--this kid has more scissors than an entire kindergarten classroom!

Cutting tags off of things, even things we may want to keep the tags on

Chocolate milk

Go Diego Go

Playing Uno

Getting up at night for a drink of water (not one of our faves)

Isn't She Lovely...

Abby is so sweet, she really is. She smiles, all the time, and is generally a very happy baby. I try to grab the camera each time she gets a giggle fit but I am not fast enough. Something makes me think we'll be in for it once the toddler years roll around, as all my friends with girls say they are full of drama. However, for now, we'll enjoy all of her sweetness!!

She is doing more "chewing" on her pacifiers these days than actually using them to soothe her. The swing is her new-found friend, and Mommy's as well. Now that the weather is getting nicer, she's perfectly content to sit outside in her stroller or Baby Bjorn and watch the kids run around. She LOVES to watch Alex play and be silly. I have a feeling that she will become his shadow, much like Alex is Brad's shadow, as soon as she is mobile. Alex follows Brad everywhere all weekend long, it is really quite funny!

Earth Day Picnic

Using his magnifying glass to investigate these leaves.

Showing off his "plant in a shoe" hanging on this fence at the park.

Snake in a tank. I was cool with this until they took it OUT of the tank and let the kids pet it.

Alex getting his groove on at the song and dance portion of the picnic.

In honor of Earth Day, Alex's school hosted a picnic at one of the local parks. They had various stations set up for the kids to walk around and play games or learn about wild animals, nature, recycling, etc. The kids planted a flower in an old shoe and tied it to a chain link fence--I didn't really get this but I think they encouraged the kids to come back during the summer and check on their plants. They had a station where the kids sang songs that they had been practicing and a picnic spot which was our favorite :)

We left after lunch as it was 80 degrees out and Abby's still too little for sunscreen. I think we were all sufficiently warm and thirsty by the time we left! It had also rained the night before and there weren't very many paths, so pushing the stroller through the deep mud was like pushing a lawn mower through long, wet grass, only messier. Abby didn't nap much out there either given the lack of shocks on the snap-n-go stroller :)

Let's Play!

Abby is becoming more playful everyday. This morning Alex and I sat on the floor with Abby and showed her how to hold her toy keys, and how to chew on them. She even took them with her in the carseat this morning and held on tight to them. I'm not sure if her gums are sore or not, but she really wants to chew on her hands and these keys--forget the pacifier! Alex is really good about entertaining her in the backseat too. He does everything he can to keep her calm.

Just for good measure, here's a photo of the new lamps that we are in love with :) Not sure why it looks like our bed is slanted to the right here but I swear all is level in our room! I must have been tilting the camera to try and get a photo without Cassie on the bed.

50/50

This weekend's weather was for sure a 50/50 split. Saturday was gorgeous! Temps in the high 60s/low 70s, plenty of sun, just lovely. We cleaned out the toys in the garage--which is always a time-consuming task. Alex is a very blessed boy and he is learning how to sort through toys he may not play with anymore and pass them along to those who don't have quite as many toys. The pile-up is currently under control and we are going to try hard to keep it that way. The cars barely fit in the garage as is, but once we start piling up bikes, wagons, toy lawnmowers...well, you get the idea. I realize now I should have taken some before/after shots.

Today was rainy, cooler, and just yucky. We caught up on a lot of things around the house, which was great, but we were longing to play outside for a bit. Brad hung two wall sconce lights on either side of our bed and they look awesome. Neither of us really enjoy hanging anything on the walls, but these went up rather smoothly and without incident.

Abby is still trying to shake this cold and it is making it difficult for her to sleep. Naps have been few and short in duration and she's been waking up several times a night. Today she spent lots of time in her swing (yes, she's coming around on the swing), in the carrier, under her play gym, giving the Bumbo chair another chance, and being held by ALL of us. Here's hoping that she gets a good night's sleep tonight.

Road Rash

In his first solid fall of the season, Alex skinned up his cheek and top of his nose pretty well the other night. He and Josh were chasing the soccer ball when he tripped and wound up kissing the sidewalk. It didn't look so bad that night but by the next morning, I was defending his wounds to his preschool teacher. Luckily DCFS didn't catch wind of his "injury" :) Boys will be boys!

Easter Photos

Here's Alex taking a break from church and egg hunts on Easter Sunday.

Grandma Kathy and Abby

By the end of Easter Sunday, we were pooped!

Abby meeting Great-Grandma Dot.

Abby celebrating Easter with cousin Aiden. He's my cousin Amanda's son, born 2/25/09, so does that make him Abby's 2nd cousin?? Either way, they were cute together.

Nicci's Shower

Great-Grandma Dot and Diane Ivory (mother of the groom)

Nicci and Abby

Diane, Mom and a very sleepy Abby

The day before Easter we threw a bridal shower for my sister Nicole. Her wedding to Andrew Ivory will take place on May 24, 2009 and we are all super excited for another family wedding! Brad and Alex hung out at Grandma Kathy's for the day while Abby and I had lots of shower fun at cousin Amanda's house. Abby slept through most of the shower but was happy to be passed around.

Happy Easter!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We had several Easter celebrations during our trip to Cincinnati this past weekend and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to upload some photos. The kids were troopers on the car rides down and back and for that we are truly thankful. Saturday, I threw a bridal shower for my sister Nicole, and we are excitedly looking forward to her wedding in May. Hopefully the kids will be as well-behaved as they were on this past trip to Ohio. The Easter Bunny even managed to find us at all of our temporary locations over the weekend, as well as our house here in IL. Scooter and Cassie are happy to see us and are hoping we don't break out the suitcases anytime soon. We all seem to have picked up a bit of a cough with some congestion, typical of our trips to the Cincinnati area. Even little Abby has acquired the saddest little baby cough I've ever heard!

3 Months Old!

I cannot believe it, but little Miss Abby is already 3 months old! She has changed so much in three months and is turing into such a little girl. She's doing great holding her head up, but does not yet have the upper body control to sit in the blue Bumbo chair seen in these photos(not for very long anyway). The swing is growing on her and they are becoming friends.

She sleeps in her crib at night and will usually sleep one 6 hour stretch and then one 2-3 hour stretch. We are thankful for every quiet hour she gives us at night and have no complaints! Brad is very good about giving Abby her requisite "tummy time" each day and she seems to enjoy it more with him than with me.

Abby has been drooling like a madwoman, but I know Alex didn't cut teeth until he was much older than this so surely it isn't teeth already...?? :)

She outgrows clothes daily and I am constantly rotating clothes in and out of her closet. I thoroughly enjoy doing this since I think all of her clothes are ADORABLE! I do get sad packing up the especially cute outfits though.

In our opinion Abby is a beautiful little baby and is growing up way too fast! Her hair is still a very dark brown and she seems to be very very long. People say she has super long eyelashes and she loves to smile. She is generally content and has even let out a hearty giggle or two recently.

She enjoys bath time, being swaddled at bedtime, staring at mobiles overhead, and playing in the bouncy chair. She is pretty adaptable as we drag her all over town (and the U.S.) with us! She still loves to be held and that's just fine with us!

Easter Egg Hunt

Today we took the kids to an Easter egg hunt at a church right down the street from us. Our neighbors met us there and the kids had fun picking up as many eggs as they could cram into their baskets. Abby just kind of took it all in. Next year though, I'm sure she'll be a force to be reckoned with!

Swim Lessons

Alex has been taking swim lessons again in preparation for the summer swim months. Now that he's three, we no longer have to get in the water with him each week, and this is a good thing. Brad took a few photos this morning. Alex is doing well getting in the water with the instructor and following commands, and it getting more comfortable trying to swim by himself (with the floatation device on his back of course, we're not that advanced yet!). We'll keep taking lessons until he gets it. Summer will be here before we know it!