Off to St. Louis

Not much time to post, just letting everyone know (if you don't already...) that we're going to St. Louis this week. Keith has a business trip, and Alex & I are going along for the ride. We're staying 2 extra days to have a mini-vacation. (Hey, the gas & mileage and two nights of hotel stay are paid for...why not?)

Lots of pics to post when I get home...Oh, and our boy is ROLLING both ways now! :)

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...to Grandmother's House We Go!

After the river and the woods, there's also the expressway & Torrence Avenue...but that doesn't really fit very well into the song lyrics! ;)

Keith went to Canada on a business trip this week. We took advantage of Daddy's time away, and Alex & I spent a few days with Grandma & Grandpa Schurman. He slept amazing well in the pack n' play at their house. Here are a few pics of our adventures at their house.


This is a toy that belonged to Emma. She doesn't really care for it now that she's 9 (can't imagine why...), so it's become Alex's toy. He reached for Goofy every time the carousel goes around. Just Goofy.
Alex & Aunt Donna played together on the floor while we watched the American Idol finale. (Go David Cook!)
Do you like his new bracelet?
Hangin' out with Emma. I promise he was happier than the picture suggests!
I think Grandpa wanted to feed him the whole waffle. He only got away with the Cool Whip...
TWO doggies? Yay! Alex love dogs, and he was thrilled to have two of them running around.

Hey, I have FEET!

Look who discovered his feet *Ü*

(That photo looks like a funny angle, but that's how I was standing when I took the pic.)

Recalculating...

If you own a GPS, you've heard that word more than a few times! ;)

Keith's birthday is coming up soon, and he's been wanting a GPS. Bass Pro Shops had them on sale last weekend. We decided to get one as Keith's b-day/Father's Day gift. (Now he can use his Father's Day gift to navigate us to my Mother's Day Gift. Hee hee!)

When Keith goes on business, he's always trying to navigate his way around a strange city. Well, Pittsburgh isn't strange anymore, but Pittsburgh is tricky! The roads are on different levels. On a map, they appear to connect. In reality, you'll be driving along on one road, and the road you want to turn on is a zillion feet below you! Last time Keith was there, he called me and asked me to look up some directions for him on Mapquest because he couldn't get back to his hotel. Hopefully the GPS will make his next trip a little easier.

Grandma & Papa came along (drove, actually) with us, and after purchasing the GPS, we headed up to New Buffalo, MI to eat at Redemak's. I haven't been there in years. We used to go there in high school. (Uh, did you know that, Mom & Dad? My friends & I would say we were going out for dinner. We did. In Michigan.)

So Alex had his first trip to Michigan...all 60 minutes of it! ;)

By the way, don't try to stop at a grocery store with the GPS still going. All those turns in the parking lot make the GPS lady (Suzy, according to Keith) really angry. ;) "RECALCULATING!!!!!!!"

I'm Not Big Enough...Yet.

Last week Saturday, we went to Donna and Greg's house in Lansing. They were putting a new roof on the house, and Keith was helping. Of course, Alex wasn't big enough to get up there with the guys. He hung out inside with Mama, Grandma, and Emma. (Aunt Donna was at work.)

Here's Daddy...nice angle, huh? HA! That's my dad & Greg's dad in the background.

My friend Sara, who I worked with in Wisconsin, came to visit in the afternoon. I haven't seen her in FOREVER! She tried to visit shortly after Alex was born, but I didn't get the message. So...we finally got together because she was in the area for her sister's college graduation. We'll have to get up there & spend time with her this summer. Road trip for Mama & Alex! :)

The guys were pretty worn out by the end of the day, but the roof was lookin' pretty good!

Here's my nephew Derek...he was closest to the edge of the roof, so I was able to get a better picture. He worked hard! :)

LOTS more posts to come! We've been gone this week & haven't had a chance to update...

I Don't Like Applesauce!

Mama and Daddy,

I love my rice cereal very much. That's why I ate every last bit of it tonight. I really wanted more. That's why I kept screeching at you, Mama. But let me make this perfectly clear: When I told you that I wanted more food, I meant more rice cereal. I most certainly did NOT want that applesauce you stuck in my mouth. Next time, please stick with the good stuff!

Okay, so I said that I wouldn't try any solids other than rice cereal until 5 months. Alex was still desperate for food last night, and I didn't have any more milk ready to mix with cereal...so I grabbed some baby food applesauce and gave it a try. Yeah. That worked well! :) I'm in no rush, so I think we'll wait a bit before we try that again! Poor Alex...he's feeling tortured, and we're taking pictures! :)

The Card

Here's the card that Alex got for me. He even signed it himself.

My First Mothers Day

A funny video started our church service on Sunday morning. It included bad Mothers Day gift ideas and facts about this holiday. One of the bad ideas was asking your wife what she wants for Mothers Day. Keith did ask, though, and I'm glad!

On Saturday, Keith asked me if there was anything in particular that I hoped to receive as a Mothers Day present. I thought about it for a while, and I ended up telling him that I didn't want anything from the store. We have enough stuff in our house, and I'm always trying to get rid of clutter.

So...instead of one more thing to store in our house, I get a fun day with my boys. My Mothers Day gift is a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo with Alex & Keith. The date has yet to be determined, but I couldn't ask for a better gift than time with my family! I'm soooo looking forward to this day! I'd be happy if my gift every year was a family day! :)


Yes, Angie, you did give Keith strict instructions to take a picture of Mommy & Alex on her first Mothers Day. Here it is! I wish we had a pretty backyard like yours...I'm sure your pictures are much more beautiful! Now, I didn't see a picture of you and your kiddos on your blog! Get to it! ;)
We had the Purdy clan over for steak, baked potatoes, and green beans. Delicious food, melt in your mouth steaks, great company! It was a perfect day...as long as you were indoors! Poor Keith was trying to grill those steaks without getting blown away. The wind was even blowing into the garage as he tried to grill in there. Our garage still smells delicious 24 hours later!
See Kyle's steak? That's the cheap kind! ;)
Papa chose not to play cards, and he fell asleep.
Seems to be the thing for the dads to do today...Uncle Kevin did it, too.
Kyle is, of course, playing PS2.Alex played Phase 10 with the rest of the grown-ups.
See? Here we are.

That's about it. A great day with family, a perfect first Mothers Day...and it's not over yet. I still get to go visit the rest of the family at the zoo ;)

Happy Mothers Day! (Saturday)

A wise person would have cropped this picture before adding to the blog, but I'm pressed for time...Alex could wake up any minute! This was at the Mother Daughter Banquet on Saturday afternoon. We had 4 generations of Purdy (Duncan) family here. Alex was the only boy at the Mother Daughter banquet! :)

Here's Jessica with Alex. She spent a lot of time holding & caring for her cousin this weekend.
Here's Aunt Leanne with her nephew. She's a good auntie, but she's a little concerned about Alex's bare feet ;)

Keith is working on the concrete pads outside of our shed. He poured the step on Saturday while we were at the banquet. When I got home from the banquet, we took Alex out to get his handprint in the concrete.

Unfortunately, Alexander had no clue that we needed his hand OPEN for this. Sooo...we moved on to trying his foot...
That didn't work so well, either. We got a mushy blob, but the concrete was a little too set to take on the actual shape of Alex's foot.

Keith smoothed out the blobby footprint, and we settled for writing "Alex 2008". It'll have to do. Maybe we'll try again when Keith does the concrete outside of the big shed door in a few weeks.

The night ended as most Purdy family nights end...card games. We all sat around playing a game of Five Crowns.

Two-Headed Boy

Dear Auntie Deb,

Mama put this hat on me today for the first time. I really like it! Puppies are my favorite! Mama says I look like I have two heads, though. She's so mean to me! ;) Thank you for my cute one dollar hat!

XOXO,
Alex

I can't think of a title.

Yesterday was a busy day...Alex's eye doctor appt, my one "up north" day for the week, and dinner with friends. We didn't get to see Grandma Schurman this time, and we're sad :( We hope you feel better soon, Grandma!

After the eye doctor, we stopped by Crown Point Christian to visit Uncle David and the office staff. We didn't stay long, but popped in to say hi.

Sabrina has a toy called Bounce & Spin Zebra, and Karen has mentioned that Sabrina just loves it. Target stores have it on clearance for $22, and it's a $40 toy. I had to visit 3 different Target stores to find it, and apparently not every Target has the same clearance prices. I payed $31, but I had a $5 off $25 coupon to bring it down to $26. I guess that's not too bad. Now it's put away until my little guy turns 1...and I just can't imagine that ever happening. He's going to be my baby forever! ;)


After all our Target stops, we went to Meijer to do a little grocery shopping. Got home, put away the groceries, got in a quick nap for Alex, Daddy came home, and we headed back out again for dinner at Jack & Angie's house. We had yummy chicken! I might want that recipe, Angie! Angie also made root beer floats. I haven't had one of those in ages. Yum! Thanks! ;)

Emma showed us how she rides her 2-wheeler and how she reads, both of which are impressive skills at 5 1/2! Emma & Jackson were proud to show us their rooms, toys, and their cool little 4-wheeler. They are so darn cute! :)



Since I'm writing this on Thursday morning, I can add...Alex is doing a totally new sleep thing this week. He's going to bed as usual at 10 PM, waking at 4 AM, and then sleeping until 8:30/8:45 AM instead of his usual 6:10 AM. So now we've got one less nap in the day, but a much longer night's sleep for him. While I don't appreciate the 4 AM wake-up, I'm glad he's getting better nighttime sleep. We'll see how long this lasts.

Today is a boring, stay-at-home day. Good! My house could use some cleaning. Maybe I'll actually manage to mop the kitchen floor...

Alex Goes to the Eye Doctor

Keith had some eye issues as a child, and our pediatrician wanted to be sure that Alex didn't have any troubles. She had noticed that the light reflects differently off of Alex's eyes, so she sent us to an eye doctor at St. Anthony. Long story short, Alex's eyes are just fine.

Alex screamed and screamed in the waiting room while I filled out insurance forms. He didn't need anything...just wanted to be held. Nice job embarrassing your mother, son. I wasn't flustered or anything; that's just how it goes with a baby, but you do feel guilty being the mom of the screaming kid in a busy (and otherwise quiet) waiting room. A nice lady with 6 children of her own (who she wisely left at home with a babysitter) rocked his carseat and talked to him, trying to keep him calm.

Once we got into the room, Alex was a perfect angel. He didn't even flinch when they put in the drops to dilate his eyes. He stared intently at the doctor, even flashing him some of those charming little Alex grins. We snuck a few pictures when the doctor left the room for a few minutes.

Lots of pictures, again...

Alex had a rough night last night for some unknown reason. He was up 4 times, and Mommy didn't get much sleep. I can't really complain, as he's usually sleeping about 7.5 hours straight now. I wanted to post, but I just can't think to type full paragraphs. You can have a bunch of pictures with captions instead.

Sittin' with Grandma Schurman on Aunt Donna's front porch
wearing Grandpa Schurman's hat
I really like your toy, Emma!
Flower shopping at Sunrise with Aunt Deb (that place is amazing!)
I'm pretty cool, huh?

Mmm, that pie looks pretty yummy! I wonder if it tastes better than rice cereal?

Sunday was so beautiful! We took a walk, then we enjoyed dinner on the back patio.