Ice Skating 101

Getting suited up!

He had the walking part down pat!

Alex with Mommy, 38 weeks.

No, Mama did not go ice skating :) But, Alex and Brad had a good time at the park district ice rink on Monday and I tagged along to take some photos. I found these ice skates for Alex at a garage sale last fall and they were just his size. Brad still had skates from college and really enjoys skating so we thought we'd introduce Alex to the ice. They practiced walking around in the skates first then hit the ice to try it out for real.

Alex seemed to enjoy being dragged around the ice by Brad. Mostly, Brad skated backwards and pulled Alex in front of him. I asked Alex if he'd like to take a toddler ice skating class up there and he seemed interested so I'll look into it for the winter. I think Brad's back did get sore after a while so maybe a few lessons for Alex will help.

Alex's Take on Guitar Hero

Alex seems generally unimpressed with Guitar Hero. We did take this photo of him with the guitar around his neck, making us realize that it is not safe to leave the straps attached to the guitars. Brad and I played the other day and Alex just sat in his chair drinking his juice, oblivious to the fact that we were jamming behind him :)

Christmas with Brad's Family

Alex showing Grandma his new barn.

All tuckered out after shopping.

Playing Mario Kart with Grandma and Aunt Jackie.

Scooter trying to make friends with Gigi.

Brad's family came in to visit this past weekend and celebrate Christmas. Luckily we had much warmer weather, making it a little more enjoyable to venture out and about. We had a really nice visit and spent lots of time playing new games. Alex is very into ALL the games he received for Christmas and is perfecting BINGO, Crazy Eights, Go Fish, Dominoes, Cootie, etc. His favorite is still the Mario Kart game on Wii, and he is improving each day with his steering. He no longer needs to sit in our lap and have us help him stay on the track. He's also been cooking up lots of food for us on his kitchen set!

Guitar Hero

Kathy and Jackie getting their groove on.

Brad really rocking out!

Guitar Hero for the new Nintendo Wii is proving as much fun as the Mario Kart game. We all tried it out tonight after Alex went to bed and were laughing pretty hard at Brad's wild movements. Everyone else stood still while playing but Brad was moving all over the place playing his guitar. Maybe this was his calling in a past life or something?! We can't wait til Alex sees this in the morning. He'll be itching to try it out I'm sure.

Merry Christmas!

Here's a clear shot of Alex's eye injury from Thanksgiving. It is healing up nicely and hopefully the scarring will be minimal.

Before Christmas Eve Church.

We've had lots of much needed fam bonding time the last 24 hours and hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Tomorrow we anticipate the arrival of Brad's family for more celebrating! Last night we went to Christmas Eve church at the "church with the bells" in downtown Plainfield and stopped for pizza on the way home at Alex's request. This morning Alex was in awe as he saw Santa's footprints in front of the fireplace and crumbs on his cookie plate. He has been riding his new bike around the hallway all day and enjoying the playtime with Mom and Dad. We are excited by the idea that this time next year we'll have one more little one running around :)

17 Days to Go!?!

Am I reading that ticker at the top of this screen correctly? Does it say only "17 days to go" until Baby #2 makes his/her debut? Yikes! I have my 37 week checkup tomorrow. Hopefully the roads are plowed well enough to crawl up there in the traffic. We received another heaping of snow today that will turn to freezing rain and I think all the precipitation should be over sometime tomorrow. Brad and Alex had a great time playing in the snow tonight after work :)

Visit from Suzanne's Family

Saturday-Monday (today), Suzanne's Mom, Grandma, and Sister joined us for Christmas--sub-zero style!! The weather here is extremely, bitterly cold so we tried not to venture out unless necessary. "Necessary" being out to dinner one night and gingerbread house decorating at the local bakery. We played lots of Wii (an early Christmas gift from Grandpa) and as it turns out, Alex is a Mario Kart addict just like his parents!! Of course, Alex had a blast opening all his presents and is looking forward to more Christmas celebrations later this week.

Here's a photo of Alex eager to try on his new CARS flannel PJs. He wanted to put them on right over his clothes!

Alex and Mommy at the bakery decorating a gingerbread house. It was a great deal for Alex--decorating fun and all the candy/toppings he could eat. One on the house, one in his mouth!

Here's Aunt Nicci trying to manage the frosting "glue" with Alex.

The beautiful finished product!