Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful 3 days of Christmas!  It was a lot of fun to spend time with the family.  Alex had a blast!  He barely slept and just kept going and going!  He got so many nice things from everyone and just loves everything!  We're going to have to really thin out all of his old toys to make room for all the cool new stuff he got.  I guess I'll have a busy weekend!

Mom and Dad also got very nice things.  Games, kitchen stuff, dinner giftcards and a certificate to Acme (we've never been there before!).  Lots of fun stuff!  And, Wil is taking me to Las Vegas in March during his spring break.  

Hope everyone had as nice of a Christmas as we did!

3 year checkup!

Alex had his 3 year checkup on Wednesday. He's 41 inches tall and weighs 43#!! He continues to be off the charts. The doctor said that everything is just fine and Alex is doing quite well (the doctor said something like, "he's 2 going on 20, right?" We got some tips on potty training that I'm going to try. He wants to go sometimes, but other times he runs screaming from the toilet. I took him to Target to pick out some big boy underwear so I'm going to try that this weekend (Cars underwear of course). I can't believe that he's going to be 3!! He wants a brown cake for his birthday with spongebob on it. He is really into music, loves to play around on instruments and listen to the radio. He still loves Taylor Hicks and Van Halen. He also likes Kurt Jorgensen. I'm sure we have the only kid that would rather go to sleep at night listening to Taylor Hicks rather than a lullybye. And he knows many Van Halen songs by the first few notes. We have a lot of fun playing and reading books, and dancing!! He'll often go in his room, turn on the Taylor Hicks CD and dance. He's very independent and wants to do pretty much everything by himself.
Wil almost has my laptop going again, so new pictures soon!

Thanksgiving Fun!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving day. We went out to my cousin Kelly's house and had a huge turkey dinner. It was nice spending time with the family. Alex even got to take his first ride on a 4-wheeler! Shane (kelly's husband) and William (Kelly and Shane's 7 year old) sandwhiched Alex in between them and rode around the cul-de-sac and the yard for a little bit. Alex really liked it! It made me nervous at first, but they went really slow. We had a great day!Wil went to Circuit City on Black Friday and got his new stereo for his jeep and he stopped at Office Max and picked up a label maker for me. (You couldn't drag me out to shop today-people drive me nuts) I love it! I just want to find more things to label. So far I've labeled the bottles for some cleaners I made. I decided that I didn't want all the nasty chemicals in my house, so now I use borax, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and water. It's great-makes the house nice and clean and it's totally safe!And apparently a thanksgiving dinner yesterday wasn't enough. So, I made one today! Just a turkey breast with potatoes, green beans and stuffing. And pumpkin pie, of course! It was wonderful!So, yeah, it's pretty sad that I get super excited about a label maker and making household cleaners. Oh well......:)
Alex is doing great. He's been learning more and more and just soaks in everything. I'm amazed at what he knows.
We are getting excited for Christmas-going to get a tree and decorate tomorrow. We went out one night last week and looked at lights and had a lot of fun.
Hopefully I can get new pictures up soon. My laptop has died and hopefully Wil can fix it.

Happy Halloween!

Alex had a blast this Halloween. This was his first year trick or treating door to door. He did a great job and got some nice things! We were out kind of late and he went right to sleep when we got home.
Wil is off hunting this weekend, so it's just Alex and I hanging out. We're having a good time so far. He got a cold the other night and so we stayed home yesterday because he said, "I don't feel good-I want to stay home."

Leaf Crawl!

Alex had a lot of fun at Robbie and Betsy's annual Leaf Crawl! He loved playing in the huge leaf pile, found some fun toys and snacks, and jumping around in the bouncy house. It was a beautiful day and he looked very cute in his pumpkin costume (he picked it out all by himself!)
Patty, Alex and I went to Albertville outlets yesterday to get him some new shoes. 11 1/2 W now!! His feet just keep growing like crazy!!
We're still having fun geocaching. Found another one today at Battle Creek Rec Area. Great place for a walk and Alex loves 'treasure hunting'.
It was a great fall weekend!

Fall

Fall is just flying by. We've hardly noticed it with the kind of weather we've been having. We've done a little more geocaching when it wasn't raining. Seems like we've spent a lot of time inside!
Alex is doing great. He's getting to be so big! He's curious about everything and just retains so much. He knows all the planets and some other terms associated with the solar system (flashcards). We're so lucky to have such a bright and healthy boy.
We're all ready for Halloween. Alex decided on his own that he wanted to be a pumpkin. He would not be swayed by any other costumes. He knows exactly what he wants. Seems quite excited about going trick or treating. He's got the idea that he has to knock on the door and say "trick or treat!"
Still working on the potty training- he goes occasionally on the toilet, but not consistently. He does nap at gaga and papa's now without a crib, so we're thinking of turning his into a toddler bed. Not sure we're ready for that!
I hope we get a few nice days out of fall yet!

Our 3rd Anniversary!

Wil and I spent the weekend in Sioux Falls, SD for our 3rd anniversary. We decided to do something a little cheesy, but a lot of fun. We discovered that Sioux Falls has a Sonic and a Pizza Inn (2 of Wil's favorite eating spots from back home). So, we made the drive on Friday and spent the weekend in a great hotel with a jacuzzi, wandered around the area and relaxed. We drove to Mitchell, SD on Saturday to see the Corn Palace and a prehistoric indian village. On Sunday we sent to Falls Park for a little geocaching (1 solid find and 1 not so sure yet). It was a great park!
Alex spent the weekend with Gaga and Papa. He spent a lot of time at a local church carnival and it sounds like he had a great time! I was very glad to see him though-I really missed him.
We also took today off (Monday) and so far we have found 2 geocaches with Alex. It's been a great weekend!!

Weekend in Duluth

My best friend Jenny got married Friday. It was a great day and she looked beautiful. Alex had a blast at the reception. He looked so handsome in his shirt and tie and slicked down hair. He was a very good kid. And he danced and danced and danced until he was practically falling down! It was so much fun watching him. He even danced with a young lady (Jenny's niece Alexis). It was too cute.
We decided to head up to Duluth for the rest of the weekend. It wasn't very nice, but we had fun anyway. Alex had his first hotel stay and he slept in a big bed all by himself. We swam in the pool and sat in the whirlpool for awhile. It was a really good time. Wandered around Duluth a little on Sunday (very windy and cold!). It was nice to just get away.
Alex is now a big Van Halen fan! Every morning in the car we listen to a few songs and he pretty much recognizes them all!

Summer fun!

We've found some nice parks in our area that have great play yards. Alex is becoming much more confident and independent. He is climbing all over the place, going through small tunnels and LOVES the slides! He likes it when other kids are around and is getting better at socializing with them. He will kind of play with other kids now. Wil and I have a good time watching him! He loves to play! Will post pictures soon once Wil gets them on my computer.

Summer fun

We took Alex to the Ramsey County Fair last weekend. He had a good time walking around, seeing the animals, eating food. He played some games and won a couple prizes and even went on a couple of rides. He rode the carousel and went on the Giant Slide with Wil. He loved it! He got a little scared when they got to the top, but after going down it he ran up to me and said, "I want to go again!".
Yesterday we went to Lumberjack Days to see the Kurt Jorgensen Band play. It was Alex's first "concert" and he just loved it! He danced and clapped and listened to the music. It was a good time and a really nice evening for it.

Not titled as the program isn't letting me put one in. I was going to write "Raising a Nerd/Geek". Wil is a very proud geek, and I'm probably more like a nerd. Alex is learning so much, so fast that it seems like his brain will eventually get too full. But, he just keeps soaking it in. He now knows his address (He says, 1819 Ross--pauses--St. Paul--pauses--excellent!), he's almost got his phone number down (he throws in an extra number or two usually), knows his full name and that his birthday is on New Year's Eve. He remembers things that happened a while ago. He's known the ABC's, colors, shapes and numbers for some time now. It's pretty amazing!
Summer has been fun for him so far. We spent our day off on the 4th of July driving to St. Cloud in the Jeep and did some geocaching. Found 1 of 2 caches and it was Alex's first! He loved walking around in the woods and was excited to find the prize. He got a little car from the cache. We got caught in a little rain, but nothing major-there was thunder even and he did not get scared at all. It was a great day out and about.
Looking forward to more summer fun!

First camping trip!

We decided to try camping this weekend. We went out and bought a tent and got all the stuff we needed together. Left kind of late on Saturday and wanted to just try a night to see how Alex did. He loved it! We had an awesome time. Stayed at Moose Lake State Park (after getting to Jay Cooke State Park and it was full). Very nice campground. We had a nice dinner of chicken and baked potatoes, enjoyed a campfire and made S'mores. Alex did well sleeping in the tent (stayed up until 10:30) and loved his "Cars" sleeping bag. He woke us up early (6:30am) on Sunday. We packed everything up, had a light breakfast and headed over to the swimming beach. We spent some time playing in the water and throwing rocks into the lake. Headed home, stopped for lunch in Hinckley and then spent the rest of the hot hot day in the house. It was a great trip and I am looking forward to going again!

Potty time!

Alex has started going on the potty! He started yesterday at Gaga and Papa's after he woke up dry from a nap. He went again later in the afternoon. He's doing really well at it today too. We're not to the point yet where he says he has to go and he's not keeping his diaper dry, but he's learning how it works!
I can't believe how much my little man is growing up!

Jeepin'

Alex is very excited about our new (used) Jeep! We picked it up today and he loved riding in it. He kept saying, "Jeep, Black Jeep!" and just smiling away as we drove around.

Spring in the air!

We're so happy that winter is behind us. Looking forward to being outside!

Alex had a nasty case of hives last week. Not sure why, but it didn't take too long for them to go away. He has to take Zyrtec for awhile and we're cutting out nuts and fish for now just to see what happens. Information from the doctor said that 10% of kids get hives once and then never again. I hope that is the case.

Alex is loving the great weather. He loves playing outside so much. He would be happy to just stay outside and never go back in!

Happy Easter!

We had a nice Easter weekend. Alex has an ear infection, but seems to be feeling better. He didn't let that get him down. We colored eggs on Saturday and he had a good time with that. He loved looking for the eggs on Sunday morning and getting his Easter basket. He also got to hunt for some eggs at Gaga and Papa's. We had a great dinner and just hung out.
Alex's new favorite movie is "Finding Nemo". We've watched it several times over the weekend. He laughs so hard when Dory says "Do ya, do ya, do ya?". He still really loves music and coloring.

Music, music, music

Alex has been doing great. It seems his favorite things involve books and music! He really likes playing on the piano and has been trying to get some sound out of a harmonica we bought him. He actually got a toot to come out of it yesterday morning! He has the idea that he has to move the harmonica back and forth across his mouth, but doesn't quite get how to make sound. So, it was exciting that he was able to do that. He's been trying to do it again. I am thrilled that he really loves music. We went to Famous Dave's today for brunch. He was interested in Moses Oakland who was playing the guitar and singing some blues. All of a sudden, Alex started moving his hands on the table like he was playing the piano. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm playing the piano!". It was so cool.
We then went over to Southdale so he could see the Easter Bunny. He really liked that and we got some cute pictures of him. He loved seeing Aunt Patty at work too. He ran up to her and gave her a big hug.
Wil had his Ipod going in the car and the song "Mas Tequila" by Sammy Hagar came on. I didn't think much of it but then Alex started saying "Watch Tequila!" It was funny. Now he really likes the song and we listened to it about a dozen times on the way home. We're really not encouraging our 2 year old to run around talking about Tequila, but the music part of the song is good.
He's growing up so fast and learning so much. He can spell his name, Bubba, Mama, and Daddy (well, kind of- he says ddy).

The cutest face I've ever seen!

February Fun!

Having a hard time updating pictures. Wil hasn't made them available for me to grab them yet.

Alex is doing great. We have so much fun with him. He loves music and will occasionally sing for us. He knows "We're gonna win Twins!" He uses various toys for microphones and he dances around. It's cute. He knows his alphabet and numbers inside and out. He loves Taylor Hicks and we always have to listen to "Tay" in the car. He's now a fan of SpongeBob SquarePants too.

I'll get new pictures put up as soon as I can.

Wil and I decided to take a weekend away for our main Christmas gift to eachother. So, last weekend we drove to Amana, Iowa to explore the Amana colonies. We left Friday afternoon and spent the night in Cedar Rapids. Set out the next morning for Amana. There are a lot of little stores and we spent the day walking around and shopping. Had lunch at the Ox Yoke Inn, where they serve German type food. Visited a few wineries and a microbrewery. We ended up coming home Sunday night as we ran out of things to do (a lot of things were closed due to the season). It was nice for us to get away together and spend some time alone.

Alex is doing great. He keeps making us proud!

2 Year Checkup!

Alex checked out just fine at his 2 year appointment. He weighs 38.4# and is 37.5 inches tall! He's healthy and doing great in his development. He's been using one of his little drills to check out his ears (like the doctor did today).

Christmas and Birthday fun!

It's been a busy couple weeks with Christmas and Alex's birthday. We had a great holiday season. Alex really started to get into Christmas this year. He liked all the people around and even ripped into some presents. He got so many nice things! And now we have a big 2 year old boy! It's hard to believe that he's growing so fast. We had a party for him with family. The deep fried turkey turned out great! We finally had a day of snow, but it's almost completely melted already. I was hoping that we'd get enough to do some sledding or just play in the snow, but no chance yet! I don't mind the warmer weather we've had, but I did actually miss the snow for Christmas.
Alex is so much fun. He's getting into playing more and we can see his imagination working. He still loves "Cars" and it's about the only thing he'll watch. He knows the movie by heart, I think. He managed to climb out of his crib once last week at Gaga and Papa's. I bet he won't do that again for awhile! We're not ready for the big bed yet!