Marshfield Fair Pictures...

Alexander had his 2nd pony ride of the week:

He got to brush a cow:














He LOVES trains:














Daddy, Grampie & Alexander walking:














Trying to give the horsey some water:

Marshfield Fair...

Today we took Alexander to the Marshfield Fair. He had fun and loved checking out everything! He seemed enthralled with the big boy rides and how fast they were going. We walked around the fair...we checked out the rides, looked at the animals. Daddy, Grampie & Alexander even went over to check out the birds of prey (eagle, hawk & falcon).

Alexander got to see more animals as we went into the 4-H houses. He seemed to love the trains a lot more than the animals, but he did love brushing the baby cow.

We had some lunch and went to go see if Mommy's favorite part (Dan the Candy Man) of the fair was there but alas...he wasn't open yet...two years in a row! That's just so sad...

But at least Alexander had fun - maybe next year he'll go on some rides.

I'll add some pictures of our day, I promise

Zoo+Water=Fun

What do you get when you take a petting zoo add in a kiddie water zone and sprinkle in a warm sunny day in for good measure? A boat-load of fun!





Wednesday, we took Alexander to Davis Farm which is a great place for kids! It has a petting zoo, a Splash Zone, a Mega Maze (made from corn stalks), and an apple orchard for apple picking in the fall. I've done the Mega Maze a couple years ago with Gary, Sharon & the kids and we had a blast. And since Alexander loves animals & water, this place is perfect. I didn't know about the Splash Zone but a friend of Dan's told him about it so we couldn't wait to go.







We got there in the morning when it was still a bit chilly but the sun was shining and the clouds were few & far between. We decided to do the petting zoo first. They had goats, cows, horses, llamas, pigs, sheep and you could feed all of them! Some of the baby goats were not in pens and would just walk right up to you. They were very cute and just wanted your animal food. They didn't want to be petted or to be fawned over - just food! And you had to be careful...if you didn't hold onto your food cup, they'd take it!







We also got a ticket for a Pony ride. At first we thought he was too small because parents were not going along for the ride. We checked with the girl and she said it was fine if Dan went around with him to hold onto him. It was right before lunch, so we didn't know if he'd cooperate but he was great and enjoyed himself.







Daddy got him chicken nuggets for lunch which he ate but didn't love as much as his pizza. After lunch, we went over to the Splash Zone. Splash Zone water was CHILLY. You'd think they'd warm it up just a bit but no...At first Alexander wanted no part of running through the water because it was so cold. We took him over to the smaller section for him to get used to it. Once he did, he had a blast. He would run over to the puddles and splash around. He saw a few other kids jumping in the puddles and he was trying to copy them. But the poor kid couldn't figure out how to get his feet off the ground.







When he was playing with the puddle, some older kid ran by him and shoved him to the ground, intentionally. That did NOT go over well with either Dan or I. Dan screamed at the kid while I explained that you don't push kids smaller than you and that he should apologize. He was on a field trip so his parents weren't there so what did he care. However, after we got done with him he just stared at us with fear!









Overall he had a great day and I can't wait to take him back in late September for some good ole fashion New England apple picking.

17 Months...

17 Months...

Developmental:
-Has started to have mini meltdowns - sometimes at bedtime or randomly throughout the day. They're sporadic so they appear to be more when he's overtired rather than not getting his way
-Gives kisses & hugs, sometimes without even asking for them
-Walking is great, he's even turning into a climber
-Has 2 bottom teeth & 2 top tooth and a third one breaking through on the bottom left
-Excellent at putting things away
-He takes direction very well (You can ask him to get something, find his book, go to his seat for dinner, put away his toys, and he'll do it)
-Eating with utensils is getting better with each week, there's still a mess but he's improving
-He is great with stairs
-Very good with brushing his teeth before bed and can tell if you're tried to trick him with no toothpaste
-Loves to put things in 'hiding' spots-Developing an amazing arm with this throwing ability (don't know if this is a good thing or not yet)
-Loves playing in the water
-Knows what & where to turn the tv on but thankfully hasn't figured out the correct flow of buttons that need to be pushed
-Waves Hi & Bye
-Still a huge flirt
-Loves dogs & birds
-Knows exactly what I'm asking for when I say "go get your dinosaur book" or what his other books are
-He knows all of his body parts except for eye...he can even do cheek & chin but can't find his eye
-He screams, loudly, when he's excited

Vocab:
dada
mama
Ahh Daa (is his word for Please and potentially thank you)
up
apple
turtle
JoJo (His teacher's name is MaryJo)
Aiden (aah-den)
Hi (he's now saying this a lot)
Moo
Quack Quack
woof woof
Yah
Bye
All done (I keep forgetting to add this one)
All gone
baaaa (sheep noise)
toe
shoe (this was a new one this morning)

Animal Noises:
He knows what sounds the lion, cow, sheep, dog, duck, frog, elephant, & cat make. He make not do them consistently but he's done them enough that he knows what he's doing and not just making random noises

Sleeping:
-Wakes up around 5:30-6am every day, even on weekends
-Takes one nap in the afternoon, usually 2 hrs
-At home on the weekends, most times he takes his 2 hr nap in the late morning
-Asleep by 7:30pm each night (on average)

Clothes:
-Everything is still 12 Months
-Shoes: Size 3
-Diapers: moving into Pampers Size 4 Cruisers

Feeding:
-He drinks mainly milk or sometimes water from sippy cups
-He likes to be a big boy and use a cup without a lid and ends up drenched
-Three meals a day: (typical menu for school)
--Breakfast: pancake, waffle, cereal bar or muffin with his sippy cup
--AM Snack: Cheerios & fruit (bananas or strawberries) or graham crackers
--Lunch: Grilled Cheese or Hot dog & cheese, applesauce and milk in sippy cup
--PM Snack: snack bar, fruit, graham crackers, or yogurt
--Dinner: He loves PB & Jelly Sandwiches but we're trying to get him to try different foods but the staples are: PB&J, Hot Dogs, Grilled Cheese, Egg but he will eat veggies & fruit in the Gerber containers (he loves to feed himself)
-- Does not like food with texture
--Has tried: Cheese puffs (loves them); dried papaya (loved it); broccoli, cauliflower, pickles, lemon, limes, broccoli & cheese soup (loves it), pretzels (loves knawing on soft pretzels), he also loves to sit in his chair and eat a slice of bread - that's it just a slice of bread. He'll go over to the fridge and when you open the door, he'll put out the loaf and wait for a slice

Likes:
Being outside, water, taking baths, Bubbles, going down slides, Singing ABCs, reading books, pushing his truck, playing blocks, saying Hi to the vaccum, being chased by Daddy, showing off that he knows his body parts, medicine, sweeping

Dislikes:
textured food

Picture Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, August 11th - Sunday, August 17th, 2008)

Picture Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, August 11th - Sunday, August 17th, 2008)

Weekly Recap...

Weekly Recap (Monday, August 11th - Sunday, August 17th, 2008)

• Had a decent week at school - a few times got a bit fussy before nap or wouldn't eat all of us lunch
• Had a few meltdowns this week at night before bed/nap
• The mini meltdowns caused some noncooperation to which we ended up having mini picnics on the kitchen floor a few times rather than sitting in his seat
• Daddy put him to bed on Tuesday because Mommy was stuck in traffic
• His new favorite food is eating a slice of bread (thankfully it's whole wheat) - he'll go over to the fridge and tug on door until I open it and then he will pull the loaf of bread out and hand it to me. He'll sit on his bum and wait for you to hand him a slice
• Does really well with a spoon & fork
• Words are starting to come more frequently and when they're supposed to (Example: He says "Hi", with a wave, when he walks into a room and sees you or if he wants to come up onto our bed in the morning he'll walk over put his arms up and say "up"
• Says JoJo (his teacher is MaryJo), and Aa-den
• Took a short nap on Saturday and got fussy later because of it - thankfully he went down for a 2nd nap (because he needed it)
• Had a few people over on Saturday for a small cookout (Grammie, Grampie, Alyson, Grandpa, Grandma & his cousins)
• Alexander proceeded to eat his birth weight in cheese puffs and was covered in faux-orange cheese
• Loved playing with the boys and throwing the ball around
• Played Ladder Ball with Grandpa and got very excited when he put a ball on the rung
• Grammie & Alyson gave him a bath and then he went to bed @ 9pm due to having company over (thankfully he got his 2nd nap which allowed him to stay up that late)
• Took his walk with Daddy on Sunday morning for breakfast, walk at the gazebo & some playground time
• Took a 2 1/2 hr nap on Sunday (which could be because he went to bed so late the night before)
• He got a scratch on his arm and now knows to call it his "booboo"
• Went on a special trip with Mommy & Daddy today (August 17th)
• After our special trip, we went to Castle Island where we watched planes take off, doggies run by, and birds swoop in - we had some french fries & a hot dog and then walked around the Sugar Bowl. Alexander loves watching all the doggies run by

Castle Island...

Dan, Alexander & I went to Castle Island this afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather (not a rainy cloud in sight)!!

We ran into a bit of traffic so the poor kid was very good since he probably just wanted to get out of the car. However once out he was so excited to see water, dogs, and people on bikes! Everytime a dog would be in view, he would scream with delight.

We went to Sullivan's and got some food and found a perfect spot on the grass to eat where we could watch the planes from Logan Airport take off. Nothing like a hot dog for Alexander, cheeseburger for Daddy, and french fries w/vinegar for Mommy. Everytime the plane would go above us both Alexander & Daddy would look up and follow the plane.

After lunch, we played a bit on the grass and then walked around the castle. As we walked around, Alexander was torn between looking up to see the planes overhead or watching the doggies walk by. After the walk, it was time to head home since the little guy was starting to rub his eyes non-stop.


Next time, we'll have to bring him on the playground and let him run wild! The more and more we go, hopefully the more he'll love this place as much as Mommy does...

CHEESE PUFFS...

Alexander tried Cheese puffs for the first time last week at Uncle Steve's house and I thought "hey why not..." So I bought a bag for him for grandparent-cookout (that's what I'm calling it).

He would have eaten them CONSTANTLY all day if given the opportunity.

Whenever he could he would grab one from anyone who would hand him one and just knaw on it. Whether it felt good on the gums or just tasted good - he was in heaven.

We did have to take them away otherwise he would have been grown an orange-tint to him.

Do you notice that with each of these pictures he has a cheese puff in his hand???

Cookout...

As mentioned, we had a very small cookout on Saturday.

Normally, we have a huge cookout (50-60 people) but this year due to other things going on and everyone else having a crazy schedule, we decided to keep it very small. For the most part it included our parents, my sister and Dan's nephews.

Hopefully next year we'll be able to go back to our big shindig. But I will say my house was neat & clean a lot quicker than usual...

Alexander enjoyed himself despite the length of nap in the morning but you could tell he wouldn't be able to make the whole day, it may have been the cheese puffs keeping him amped up!

Words...

Here is just a quick list of words that Alexander either says all the time or has said occassionally

• dada
• mama
• up
• apple
• turtle
• JoJo (His teacher's name is MaryJo)
• Aiden (aah-den)
• Hi
• Moo
• Quack Quack
• woof woof
• Yah
• Bye