New Hairdo!

Alex decided to "redecorate" his hair tonight - -

He KNEW that it was there, as he would frequently reach up and touch the macaroni.

Silly boy!! :)

High Heels?

Alex has tried putting on Andy's shoes before, but he has never tried mine on...

Until tonight!!

He brought my shoes over to me - I was thinking that he wanted me to put them back on. Nope! He began to get very upset when I had them on. As I took them off, he tried to put one of his feet into my shoe. Oh, now I get it!!

Here are a few shots of Alex trying to walk in my shoes.....

He did get a few steps in before falling down!

He did this at least a dozen times before he wanted to try this......

Yep, that's Andy's shoes. He did this only once before going back to the heels. He seemed to use the shoestrings more as balance than for walking........

I guess when he's ready for new shoes we'll shop in the ladies department! :)

Monday, Monday......

I think that there's a song that goes like that......

Today was a typical Monday. After the beautiful weather yesterday we woke up to mid-20's...snow, wind, and blech....it made yesterday seem like a dream. Oh well, I did hear some birds early this morning, so that MUST be a sign that spring will eventually be here.

We didn't get any pictures of Alex tonight - I don't think that he slept well, and I think that he is battling a little cough/cold. So it was to bed early, and he was somewhat grumpy for the time he was awake tonight. I also think that he's cutting a couple more teeth, so that doesn't help matters....poor little guy, I want to make him feel all better!

I also have been feeling tired and blah lately - - don't know what it is, maybe I'm fighting something too. Andy seems to be the only one of us that is okay. (Let's hope he stays that way!)

Something for your prayers - besides our health - - I just received a phone call from the Ord Public Schools asking me to submit a cover letter and resume. While it would be a MUCH shorter drive for me (about 2 miles round trip as opposed to the 60+ to Sargent and back), I really enjoy where I am. I've decided to apply and see what happens. Andy and I are also thinking and praying about the pros and cons of a switch. They may already have someone in mind - but it's never hurt to weigh your options.

Thanks everyone! I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow!! :)

Sorry!

I tried numerous times this weekend to post, but my videos would never load........so I posted a bunch tonight. Happy reading!!

Jumping Bean!

Alex has begun to try to go "up" - - climbing up on things, and trying to jump! Although his feet don't leave the ground, it is quite funny to watch him try.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day here today! We got up to 62 degrees, and went for a walk, dried some of our laundry on the line, scraped some of the ice off of the back patio (the spot that doesn't get any sun), and just enjoyed being outdoors. I even opened some windows!! :) I am SOOOO ready for spring!

Sloppy Joe!

For lunch on Saturday, we had sloppy joes. Normally, Alex isn't a fan of meat, but today he LOVED it!! Maybe it was because there was tomato sauce in it, I don't know. He loved it, though.....(I was really glad I had disposable bibs!)


Then it was off to finish up our volleyball season. They started the tournament at 1:00, and we had to leave at 4:00 for an awards banquet for Andy's clinic. We played two games, and had a 1-1 record so far. We went in as the #2 seed, with a 5-2 record. We usually lose our first or second game and then play and play until the championship game.....so I don't know how the rest of the team did, but we had a nice time at the awards banquet.

But when we got home there was a "surprise" waiting for us - and not a happy one, either. Remember a few days ago when we were having plumbing problems?? We thought they were fixed........note the word "thought."

We came home to a FLOODED basement. Apparently one of the pipes sprouted a leak and dumped 13-15 gallons of water into our basement. FUN!! We had a wet-dry vac and a carpet shampooer, so we sucked the water out of the carpet until about 11:30. We had a few fans going, so the carpeting is beginning to dry. It does smell musty, so I am hoping that as the water dries, the smell will go -- otherwise I may need to do more real shampooing down there....

The joys of home ownership!!

Cute story about Alex: While we were at the banquet, Cheryl (Andy's aide) came over to watch him. She said that they had a GREAT time reading, playing, and having fun. She said that he was fine until about 8:50. He came out of his room, walked into the living room, pointed to the door and started BALLING!!! Cheryl changed him into his pajamas, and rocked him to sleep, and he was out. We got home about 5 minutes after he went to bed - - and he was out. We were so thankful that Cheryl was able to watch him - she is one of the people we feel comfortable with, and Alex isn't too shy around. Although Andy didn't win anything, it was a nice time.

ABC's

Frequently, I will sing the ABC's as we are driving in the car, cleaning up his toys, or changing a diaper. Tonight, it REALLY sounded like he was trying to sing along!! (I think that he has the E, F, G part down!!)

Here's the video:

He also went with me to the Hallmark/Pharmacy here in town today, and LOVED the singing duck that they had out for Easter. Sheila (who is his birthday buddy - she was born just a "couple" of years before Alexander - she works there) played it for him at least a dozen times! Here he is with his new toy!

New Use for Teeth!

Alexander is just so creative - always finding new ways to use the same things.

Tonight he wanted to be up on the loveseat - this time he wasn't asleep!! :) He did want to snuggle with the pillow and blanket, though. Only this was how he "snuggled" with the blanket.



When I had a free shot - I snapped a picture of him yelling something at me. I get such a kick out of his "ramblings" - I guess they're ramblings, because we can't understand a word of it!! :)

I did get a smile - as he relaxed.

Have a happy Friday everyone!! :)

Sleepy Boy!

Last night, after my post, Andy went downstairs to find that our bathroom had flooded.......

ARGH!!!

We think that it's just plugged, so today we tried some Drain-o and he's working on it now as I blog.....

Therefore tonight we had to go out to supper (I couldn't do dishes!!) - - and on the way home, the little man fell asleep - HARD!

Julie said that he didn't sleep real well today, so he's making up for it now!

Once we got in the car, he was out! Here's a shot of him on the loveseat - knocked out!


UPDATE: The clog is fixed!! :) Oh, crap....back to dishes!!!

New Tub Toys!

Tonight was a fun night! We went up to Burwell to see the Sargent Boys' Team play in sub-districts. Unfortunately, they lost......

So we came home and had a fun bath time with some new toys we got! There are all sorts of letters and shapes.
I'd like you to believe that Alex wrote his own name on the wall - but it was me. :) Also, there is a red letter right by Alex's face - so that isn't a bump or rash or anything. :)

Hit the Ball!

Once I married a baseball man, I guess I always knew that my kid(s) would have to love the game --

I guess I didn't realize that it would be so soon.

Yes, Alexander has "learned" how to hit a ball with the bat. Granted, the bat is nestled between his forearm, elbow, and armpit, but he has the general motion down. He did hit Andy's fingers a few times - enough for Andy to voice an "ouch" - but it was pretty funny!

After the video was shot, Andy tried to show Alex how to "choke up" on the bat....Alex proceeded to take a shot at the television with his newfound hold on the bat.

God save us all!

The Rest of the Fire

After I posted last night, we took a few more pictures. We couldn't believe how it had grown!! There were cars parked out in front of our house watching the fire - - small town excitement!

Last night about 11:00 pm - -

I was up around 3 - and the fire didn't appear to have died down at all - - I can't imagine all of the work those volunteer firemen put in - - I think that some of the surrounding communuties came to help out - I am just amazed.

This morning they still had the highway and about 4 blocks surrounding the building blocked off. It was still smoking and they were hitting it with water from every direction. Luckily, the wind was blowing the right direction and the fire and smoke stayed away from the gas station - and our home.

This morning we were able to snap a few shots and really see the damage. This is a picture from 14th and N Street (we live at 13th and M) - in the foreground is the sign for the bowling alley - almost untouched!

This shot was taken at 14th and M - you can see the overhang of the Casey's. (By First National Bank)

A little closer to our home - as you are on M street driving past Casey's. You can see straight through the building.

At church this morning, we did hear a rumor that there was an explosion - whether that's true or not, we'll have to wait and see. From our home, we didn't hear anything.....We did hear that no one was hurt - thankfully!!

Let's hope that we don't have any more excitement like this for QUITE some time!!

For the news story and more pictures check out this link:

http://knlvdata.awardspace.com/wordpress/2008/02/17/ord-bowl-destroyed-by-fire-saturday-evening/

Some of the pictures that they have are in the same locations as the ones we took --

Weekend Excitement!

Small town entertainment for you - -

About 10:00 tonight the town whistle went off (for those of you who aren't familiar with small towns - there are volunteer fire departments and EMT's, and the whistle goes off when there is an emergency).

We heard something outside, so peeked out of the blinds, and saw the flashing lights pulling up to our neighbor's home. We bolted outside and saw that the firetruck (the one that attaches to the hydrant - I am sure there is a more technical name for it) hooking up to the hydrant on the corner. Then we looked past that, and saw the smoke. We couldn't tell if it was Casey's gas station (only a block away) or another building. I ran across the street to our neighbor's (who were standing in their driveway) for a better look. It wasn't Casey's, but the bowling alley directly behind them. As I was standing in the driveway, one of the firemen opened up a door to the alley so they could spray inside - but as soon as he opened it - FLAMES!!! Bright red came shooting out of that doorway. There was so much smoke filling up the sky - just surreal.

I was told that the bowling alley closed early tonight, so we are hoping that no one was inside. We didn't see any ambulances, so we are hoping for the best.

I tried to take a couple of pictures from our front porch, just to give some perspective......

The truck hooked up (in the foreground) and the lights of Casey's. The bowling alley is to the left of Casey's. (The white lights underneath the left orange streetlight are directly beside the bowling alley.)

A "zoomed" in shot of the alley - just a hint of flames (maybe?) and a little bit of the smoke (it was at 10:00 pm - hard for the camera to catch!)

My post tonight was going to be titled, "What Can YOU Do With a Swiffer Duster?"

Alex knows what he can do! :)

Valentine's Day cont'd.....

I promised that I would dress Alex in his Valentine's Day shirt today - and here are the shots! We took them before we left for childcare and work - because we knew that the little man would be a MESS when he came home! :)

Enjoy!! :)

The shirt says, "Mommy's My Valentine" (Also note the beautiful flowers in the background that I got!!) :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Let's see how this red looks - all the better for the "love day"!! :) Plus everyone needs a more little "color" in their world - right???!!!!?!

It was a SUPER-cold day here - I debated whether to dress Alex in his Valentine's shirt - but it's short-sleeve, so I decided that it could wait until tomorrow when it will be a bit warmer.

When I picked Alex up from Julie's (the childcare lady), he had a bucket (yes, a BUCKET) of goodies and treats. Alex had been going after a certain sucker all day, and I decided that it was fine if he had it. Rookie Mom mistake......

Before we even walked out the door it was ALL OVER his face, hands, running down his chin and onto his jacket.......and then came the carseat.......good thing they make baby wipes - otherwise he would still be stuck to the seat. Ugh.

Here's a shot of the little man and his sucker. Pay special attention to the extra-rosy chin and the slobber/drool/sticky mess running down the right side of his jacket. (My neck was even sticky from his hand touching it - my HAIR stuck to my neck!!)

Yes, he is launching the sucker as Andy took that picture. As soon as Andy shot the picture - well, you take a look.

So we were all a sticky mess.

For Valentine's Day we went out to Blanquita's - the mexican restaurant here in town. Awesome food - and it was fairly quiet! :) Alex had a softshell taco with extra tomatoes, and we had some sopapillas for dessert (no honey for Alex, though). YUM!!

Alex learned to "dip" his dessert into the cool whip. Such concentration!!!

Almost gone - - -

Once it was gone, Alex decided to eat the cool whip all by itself - - such a mess -- but we were sticky already, so we may as well make the best out of it!! :)

Then it was home and INTO THE BATH!!!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

Leapfrog!

A new game was discovered tonight - and it brought laughs to ALL of the faces in our home - and we hope that you enjoy it half as much as we did.

Both Andy and I had pretty crappy days, and this cheered us up immediately. Yeah, God, for giving us such a PERFECT gift!! Tonight's one of those nights where we are so happy that we have each other, and Alexander!

Enjoy!

Books in the Bathtub??

Well, we had a first tonight - -

Reading in the tub!! :)

I guess I never thought to read in the tub - but Alex got a book (from Grandma Le and Grandpa Dave) that was specifically for the tub! It even has a little "squeak" at the end when you're all clean!! There's an added bonus to it, too - - it's a Sandra Boynton!!!! (She's Alex's FAVORITE author!!)

What bathtime fun! :)

New Uses for Spoons and Highchairs

No Volleyball tonight - aren't you lucky?!?! :)

Alexander certainly is showing his creative side - or maybe it's just that he has no prior knowledge of how things are to be used (I think I remember something about that during my education classes - something about schemata, maybe??).....anyways........

We have been encouraging him to use his fork and spoon when eating, although he usually resorts to fingers - because that is so much quicker! Tonight, however, he found a new use for the spoon.....

I don't think that it's going to do much good that way - but maybe it's the new weight loss fad! :)Silly boy!!!

Late last night (after my post), Alex had some fun with his highchair. He has played underneath of it before, but this was the first time that he played "peek-a-boo" from under it.

Where's Alex??

There you are!!!

Update from the weekend!

Sorry I didn't post over the weekend - we had company - Andy's parents from Colorado! I also had the day off on Friday because of Parent-Teacher conferences (late Thursday night) - so Alex and I had a WONDERFUL day on Friday! :)

We spent most of Saturday at home, playing with the grandparents. Alex got a hold of one of the 2-liter bottles, and decided he was going to pull a page out of Daddy's book (drinking directly from the bottle).......



Saturday night we went out to eat - and Alex ate his weight in green beans. He not only finished the ones on my plate, but some off of his Daddy's, and both of his grandparents......the man loves his veggies! Some corn dogs and applecause, and we had a complete meal!

Sunday after church we realized that we hadn't taken too many pictures, so here are a few that we shot. Here's Alex with his Grandma Bowin.



All of this camera business got Grandpa Bowin in the mood for some shots, so here he is while Alex goes through his camera bag.....



Look! I found some film!! (aka a memory card!) :)


Grandpa Bowin decided that Alex needed to know how to work the camera himself. This is now on Alex's birthday and Christmas lists - -

We did have a good weekend - as always it went by way too quickly - Mondays always come too fast!!!

I don't think we have volleyball tomorrow night, so we should be able to post...but if I don't post, you will know where we are. :)

New Use for a Mower

How many times have you thought, "What else can I do with a lawn mower?"

Well, tonight, Alex must have asked that question, because he came up with a new use for a mower.

He rode it around the living room for quite some time like this.....sitting on the buttons as it made noise.

Silly man!! :)

Clean Ears!

Volleyball last night - we're 5-2!!! :) Now no more volleyball until our tourney on the 23rd...(unless they decide to make up a game from a couple of weeks ago - that may be next Monday night, we'll see!)

Alex had the last of his "15-month" checkup today - and the ears were CLEAN!!! :) YAY!!

So he, unfortunately, was able to have the shots he needed. It was only two, so not a huge deal, but we cried nonetheless. (Ryan, Andrea, and Rogan - I thought of you as they brought the shots into the room - - I double-checked with the nurses before they gave them to him! Dr. Julie (our doc) said that she'd be HAPPY to have you come and see her if you need to - but she does understand the drive!) :)

They didn't do any more of the "specifics" as they just did this last week. We do think that he has a couple more teeth getting ready to pop out anytime now.....fun times! :)

Our little man wasn't too upset afterwards, though. This was taken right after supper (at about 6:15) - - silly man!! :)

How Do I Look in Purple?

Happy Superbowl Sunday! After today, no more football for a little while (well, a week until the ProBowl..it'll be awhile until REAL football). :)

To celebrate the day, we are showing off Alex and his newfound kicking abilities (he frequently grunts as he kicks the ball.....)

And then on to why we named this post what we did.......

As he was playing early this afternoon, Alex tried to knock himself unconscious by running into the wall - and then falling onto the baseboard heater. OUCH!!! Here's a shot of his new bump (it's a REAL gooseegg - I feel so bad for him!!) It's right between his eyes - this is the best shot we could get of it. I'm sure it will keep developing, so we can get a better shot in the next few days.

We did ice it while he slept - he SCREAMED every time we got the ice near it while he was awake. I think it helped a little - but it must've hurt, because he took some Tylenol willingly!!!

Fork!

Yes, I know - three posts in 12 hours - a new record for me! As Alexander was eating his breakfast this morning (bananas and pancakes - our favorite weekend meal!) he used his fork to pick up the bananas and pancakes and put them into his mouth! Usually, he picks one up and then puts it onto the fork (or spoon), but this morning, he did the WHOLE thing with just the fork! :)

Yes, I sound a little funny in this escapade - I wanted to keep encouraging him, and he would give me a VERY funny look as he was chewing (you can see it a little bit on this video).

What an amazing, funny boy!! :)

Sorry.....

Hello faithful readers.....

We decided tonight that we wanted to make our blog "private" - meaning only those that we want to read it will have access to it.

We have invited all of our family and friends, as we want to share our experiences with you - but I am also a little worried about having our lives open to whomever - - I guess it freaks me out a little bit. Not that I am trying to hide anything, I just don't need Joe/Jill Whomever from out east knowing when we are out of town, seeing my little man in the tub, and knowing where we live, etc.

So if you know of someone who would like to see the blog (and I inadvertantly missed their e-mail address in my original invitations), please let me know and I will add them ASAP.

Thanks for understanding!!!

Splish-Splash!

Sorry I didn't post last night - it got late and I was super tired.

Thankfully, I have a video from Alex's bath last night. It was just hilarious....he would splash and then giggle......splash - giggle - - and so on. The bathroom was soaked when he was finished, but it was so much fun!!! :)

Enjoy! :)