Merry Christmas!

Most of you received our card already, probably...but for those who didn't:

11 Month update

Daddy is "driving" Alex around in his cardboard box "car".

Okay, so he's almost 12 months...but I refuse to admit that my baby is days away from being a big boy! Here's what Alex is up to these days...

• Alex is feeding *us* instead of the other way around. I know all babies do this, but it's always cute when they decide they're big enough to take care of you.
  
  
• Consistently going to bed between 8 - 8:30 PM and waking around 7 AM. Now if only we could break him of that 5 AM feeding. I told Alex a while ago he won't get that once he turns one. That's only a few days away. Now we'll just have to deal with the screaming, I guess.
  
  
• Standing up everywhere and walking along everything. Sitting is for babies, you know.
He's standing in the closet to reach my belts, a favorite toy.
Thanks for the halo, Angie! We're not so sure he's an angel, though. Ha ha!



• Barking. Yes, Alex is barking. Maggie loves to bark when she runs around the backyard. Alex likes to stand by the back door and watch. A few weeks ago, he started barking at Maggie. Now he does it all the time. I've tried to catch it on video, but no luck.



• Climbing stairs. About 2 weeks ago, Keith went up to the bonus room & left the door open. Alex crawled towards the stairs with me right behind him. I wondered what he would do. Well, he just started climbing the stairs without a second thought. He gets a little faster all the time now. (He often says "up" or "bup" when he's climbing. He never says "up" other than this, so I'm thinking it might be a word.)
  
  
• I originally said no TV before Alex turned one. I came pretty close to sticking to that. In the past 2 weeks, I've allowed Alex to watch Praise Baby's Christmas dvd, an old Mary Rice Hopkins concert video, and a few episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba. (It's a strange show, but the characters are cute. Kids can learn a LOT by watching the show. We used to watch that show every day when I babysat Brent, Rachel, and Haley.) TV will continue to be a pretty small part of Alex's life, though.
  
  
• We've put all his "messy" toys upstairs, so the upstairs is now his playroom. He gets all excited when we open the door to the bonus room. (Only his big toys with very few small pieces get to stay in our living room now. Less mess!)
  
  
• At church a few weeks ago, there was no one to work in the nursery during Bible study. I kept Alex with me during class. My class is at the bottom of the stairs. Nursery is at the top of the stairs. When Bible study was over, I set Alex on the ground while gathering my things. He immediately headed for the hallway, climbed the stairs, and went straight to the nursery. Smarty pants.
  
  
• Eating EVERYTHING. He loves food. His newest favorite is chicken nuggets. Oh, and you MUST put just a touch of barbecue sauce on them. This kid loves flavor & spice. Alex has this little almost-whiney noise that he makes to let us know he wants to try what we're eating. At Alex's "request", Keith fed him a very small chunk of jalapeno from his sub sandwich last weekend. We expected him to pull a face, but he LIKED it! A few other favorites are spaghetti/mostaciolli, any soft fruit, mixed veggies, corn, muffins & breads, and graham crackers. No more baby food here.
Mmm, pasta!


• Tolerating foods with "hidden" milk. We haven't tried straight milk or cheese, but he's had scrambled egg made with just a touch of milk, garlic bread made with regular margarine, and a few other things. No troubles other than tiny patches of eczema. Progress!! :)
  
  
• Operating his own CD player. Alex now knows how to work the CD player in his bedroom. He regularly starts the music when he's playing in his bedroom.
  
  
• FINALLY starting to get the hang of a sippy cup! He has understood what it is before, but now he's actually starting to suck on it rather than just chew on the rubbery spout. He still won't drink a whole cupful of anything, but it's progress. I think the white grape juice idea might have helped. Thanks, Deb. (Don't tell Alex, but he's going to be "all-cup, no mommy" by the end of May. Mommy insists.)
  
  
• Finding trouble everywhere. "Hmmm, what happens if I pull the water resevoir off of the humidifier?" "Hey, I think I'll push this button on the carbon monoxide detector." "Hey, somebody left the toilet seat up...let's splash!" "Oooh, a straw holder...let's spill 100 straws on the kitchen floor and have a really fun time scattering them everywhere!" "Oh, wow! The computer printer opens up and it has lots of gears and cartridges inside. Fun!"

Can't you just see the mischief all over his face? :)
Enjoy standing under the table while you can, Alex...your head almost touches!

As usual, there are probably some things that I've forgotten. Just thought you'd all enjoy the pictures, and I will enjoy looking back on these facts someday to remember at what age Alex accomplished different things! :)

Edited to add: In the 2.5 hours since I wrote this post, Alex has...

1. broken a lampshade
2. eaten part of a dog treat (GROSS!)
3. knocked over a picture frame on an end table
4. gotten the cordless phone & pushed many buttons.

(Three of the four happened while I was on the phone...guess I'll have to stop answering the phone!)

In each of these instances, I was no more than 3 feet away. The kid is quick! I'd like to think I'm a fairly attentive mother, but apparently I'm only an oblivious mother who hangs out close to her mischiveous child! ;)

That reminds me to add some other current "Alex Favorites"...

• standing to reach everything on the end table
• stretching to reach things on the entertainment center or kitchen table
• opening kitchen drawers to search the contents
• dumping all the dog's toys
• putting his socks in the dog's water dish.

"Why You Should Never Leave Pens On End Tables"

It was a click-style pen, and it was off.

I turned my back for less than a minute, and he was only about 2 feet from me.

I guess I'm glad that Alex's artwork isn't on the furniture. :)

Elf Yourself

We're not spending the $5 to download the video, so click on the link below if you want to see Alex, Daddy, and Mama disco dancing! ;)

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/LAMfeJ4UAvaQfQgUev9k

Thankful

Thanksgiving, to me, is the best holiday of the year. Most other holidays get too commercialized or overshadowed by Easter Bunnies and Elves. Thanksgiving has turkeys, but the meaning is clear - giving thanks for our blessings.

We are very thankful for many reasons. We are blessed to have:

• a warm home
• wonderful families
• a job that provides for all of our needs and many of our wants
• the opportunity for me to stay home with Alex
• a great church family
• a happy, healthy baby boy
• freedom to worship God
• health
• plenty of good food to eat...and not just on Thanksgiving Day
• good neighbors

I could probably go on all day! Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving time with family.

(This pie crust turkey is made from Alex's handprint.)

We celebrated at our house with the P family on Thanksgiving Day. It was your pretty typical Thanksgiving Day - football, family, food. Add in a little Fisher Price Ring Toss, and you've got our day.

Thanks for the cute bib, Aunt Deb!Turkey, stuffing, corn, carrots, roll - all dairy free!
Uncle Jim helped Alex 'play' football.

Kari took Alex on a little walk.

(Nana - the only picture of you is your arm & leg...sorry!)

My mom had her usual homemade soup & bread night on Friday night. It's a wonderful, yummy tradition that she started a few years back, and I hope she keeps it up for a long time! Family, games, and Mom's delicious homemade bread. Yum!

Uncle David, usually you let someone else give you bunny ears!)

Grandpa fed Alex apples & sweet potatoes.

Almost Thanksgiving...

Keith was able to take off of work from Tuesday - Friday, which meant that he was home with us. How fun having Daddy all to ourselves! I know Keith enjoyed the time away from work, sleeping in just a little later, and having lots of quality Alex time. I thorougly enjoyed having the time with Keith, too!

As I write this, we're waiting for the Bears game to end & then heading off to bed. Tomorrow starts reality again. Yuck, but it pays the bills!

This first picture is a little dark, but it's Alex's new "thing" - headbutting. He'll headbutt you and then giggle like crazy. He's obsessed with cars & trucks, likes to growl, and now he's headbutting. Yep, he's a boy.
Keith asked if I'd like to bring Alex outside while he raked leaves. Alex LOVES to play with the leaves that Maggie tracks into the house, so we figured he'd really enjoy playing in a big pile of leaves.


Nope.
He was afraid.

He ended up totally panicked & screaming.
Poor kid.
Mama tried to calm him down while Daddy finished the leaves. Alex still loves to watch Daddy on the tractor, so we stood in the shed (out of the cold breeze) while watching Daddy. Alex spotted his little ride-on toy that Grandma S & Aunt Donna picked up at a garage sale over the summer. He loved it!

My birthday was this week. I had to subtract 2008-1976 to figure out that I am now 32. I truly couldn't remember. Aunt Deb & Grandma came to visit & to help hang some photos and hang my birthday presents from Grandma S. (You'll see the new wall art in some of the Thanksgiving photos in the next post.) This was after they took a few wrong turns & took the scenic route to our house...ha ha! We also enjoyed lunch at Subway...Thanks, Grandma! Thanks for the fun day!

After enjoying a date night with Keith, we came home to relieve Grandma & Papa of their babysitting duties. Thanks for watching our boy while we enjoyed burgers & ice cream! (...and a little grocery shopping, too...what a birthday treat - grocery shopping...but it was my idea.) I opened my birthday present from Grandma & Papa. Alex play the paper. Both Mama & Alex loved it! Thanks, Grandma, for the book & chocolate & socks & basket! All have been used & enjoyed already!

One last thing...on Friday, Seth made an adorable turkey hat at school, and he came home all excited about helping Alex to make one of his own. Alex wasn't so sure about having it on his head, but loved to look at himself in the mirror. Can you see his big smile?

That's it for now...but Thanksgiving posts are coming soon.

Picture Post

Updates on the important things and the little things that make us smile *Ü*

A few weeks ago, Alex & Mama went to visit for the day to hang out with Phonesavanh & Jen - two wonderful friends who we don't visit often enough. Here are some pics of Jen & me with Phonesavanh's kids. I don't know where Phonesavanh is, but she's not in the pictures...

See where Alex likes to play now? It's a new form of Peek-A-Boo!

Kyle was baptized on Sunday, November 16th! What a big decision :)

On Saturday, November 15th, we went to see Danielle's volleyball game. I enjoyed getting a chance to see my alma mater & how it's changed since I went to school there. Lucky Danielle has the benefit of all-new furniture in her dorm! See the message that Alex wrote on her door? It's on the bottom left corner.

Watching Danielle's games...which they won! :)

Danielle is serving.

Grandma & Alex at the game

Alex & his cousins (where are Kathryn & Matthew, and how did I miss getting them in the picture?!)

Grandma P came over last Friday to bring an early Christmas present for Alex - The Fisher Price Nativity. Alex loves to eat the camel's tail & push the angel. The angel plays Away In A Manger...over and over and over...but we do LOVE it! Thank you, Grandma!

See what Alex can do? Last week, it was sitting by the drawer. Yesterday, it was standing by the drawer. How long before he's *IN* the drawer? Ha ha!

I'll leave you with this last picture to make you laugh:

Look closely at the name on the pizza box.

I knew I should have kept my maiden name.

(Click on the picture to enlarge it if you can't read it. Thanks, Marcella's Pizza.)