Picture Recap...

Picture Recap (Monday, July 7th - Sunday, July 13th, 2008)

Week Recap...

Week Glance (Monday, July 7th - Sunday, July 13th, 2008)

• 3rd tooth has official broken through (top left tooth)
• Had a good week at school (still sporting a lot of new outifts for the summer)
• Still no bottles and no issues at bed time this week - went down very well almost every single night
• Sleeping was per usual this week - asleep by 7:30ish and awake by 5:45pm and babbled til 6a in his crib
• However, he did sleep until 6a on Sunday morning
• Ran around in the sprinkler at school
• He will wave at men but wave & blow kisses at women even without being asked
• Sings "Twinkle Twinkle" in his own 'words'
• New words: oh boy, ok, apple, oooh/ahhh at the right time as Daddy was singing them in a song, yeah
• Daddy went to PA for a few days so it was the Alexander & Mommy show
• Went to Mt. Washington Hotel in New Hampshire for Mommy & Daddy's work outing (made a mess with his food at breakfast & dinner)
• Flirted with everyone at Mt. Washington
• A group of us went to Storyland and had fun, it was the 1st time for Alexander and he went on a Merry Go Round
• Saw a knock-off version of Cinderella but he had no problem going to see her
• Went to bed way past his bedtime both Friday & Saturday night but was still in a decent, yet exhausted, mood
• Played with Ava all weekend (the daughter of our housemates while in NH) and did very well, they really liked each other. Towards the end, they would hug & kiss each other.
• Didn't nap all that well during the car rides (Up he was more fussy but going home, he was asleep within 20 minutes)
• Played in the sprinkler at home on Sunday after he took a very short nap (teething)

Posting in Progress...

I am poooooopppped.

I'll update what I can tonight, but be forewarned, I am pooped. We were in New Hampshire this weekend and we wore ourselves out.

I'm not sure I'll get to posting pictures since there are so many from this weekend but I will do the week recap.

Storyland...

We headed off to Storyland with 3 other couples, 5 kids in all. Sarah & I had told the gents that we wanted to leave around 12p so we could get back in time for their naps, so we had about 2 hours to walk around. There is not a whole lot of things a child under the age of 2 can do at Storyland since most of it is geared towards the age of 4-12.

There was a small kid section so they did get some things in. They had a small slide that we had Alexander go down but he really wasn't into the slide at all. He went down once and that was it. I think he was still overwhelmed at all the different stuff to look at. In the kid section, they had a Ball Craze thing that Alexander LOVED. The whole time he was in there I kept saying "Oh Grammie isn't going to like this, but can't argue with this level of enjoyment". He just wanted to stay in there and push the balls around. At one point, Dan moved all the balls around him so just his head was popping up and he kept laughing. His laugh had strangers come over to look at what he was doing. They also had this whale thing that spurted water, and as we all know Alexander looooovesss water. We had a hard time getting him away from the whale.

He walked into Alice in Wonderland's tunnel but didn't want to go all the way through to Daddy on the other side. And around Alice's area were different animals and Alexander screamed with excitement anytime we saw animals. The three little pigs (real pigs), Billy Goat's gruff (a real goat), Mary's lamb (real sheep), and some chicken that I didn't go over to read who's chicken it was. You didn't expect me to, did you??

We came up to our first ride of the day, the Merry Go Round. Almost all of us went on the Merry Go Round with the kids. It was helpful to hold the kid, take a picture, and then swap. None of the kids cried and liked being on the horses. Then it was time to go to Cinderella's Castle and on the way they walked through a Mist Tent that Alexander found so exciting. It's a small tent that gives off mist to help cool you off. Kids love it! You don't get wet but it's just enough to cool you down.

Keep in mind, I knew this wasn't the Disney's version of Cinderella, so I was all prepared to stalk her, but alas she was a poor imitation. It was just a knock-off Cinderella's Castle with a Cinderella. I did get a great picture of Alexander & I in Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach so that's the bonus.

By the time we walked out of that area we were starting to get into the area for the bigger kids with rides, etc. Our little ones would really not have anything they could do. So we opted to use this time to head home with plenty of time to give the kids lunch & a nap.

Overall a nice time but not something he can fully appreciate for a few more years. We'll have to think of something else for him to do next year if they have it at Mt. Washington again. I hear Santa's village is fun...

For the record - all faces of kids who are not mine are blurred out as I don't have permission to post them.

Mt. Washington...

We left Friday early afternoon for Mt. Washington. We tried to time it so that Alexander would take his nap in the car on the ride up. It didn't work out all that well as Alexander became overtired and took a bit too actually fall asleep.

We made it up there in 3 hours and didn't hit any traffic, which was nice. We checked in to our townhouse, got settled and then went to visit with friends (who all have kids around Alexander's age) before heading up to the Friday evening gathering. We shared a townhouse with a guy, PJ, from Dan's group and his wife (Sarah) & daughter, Ava (who just turned one). At the townhouse, Dan found a sled on the back porch and dragged Alexander around the backyard which Alexander found hysterical.

Friday night, we walked around the hotel/porch and just mingled. Dan was all excited to show off Alexander to anyone & everyone. He had him saying hi, waving, and blowing kisses like there was no tomorrow. At one end of the porch is where the band/DJ sets up so Alexander was quite excited to jump around, chase the disco lights on the floor and scream after other kids. Finally it was time to get Alexander & Ava home to bed as it was way past their bedtime. We were lucky that they were both still in good moods even if they were exhausted. Guess there was too much to look at and take in to have a meltdown.

The kids were in bed around 9:45pm (EEEKK), but went down well, which was good because they were up early.

Saturday morning, we woke up, played around in the townhouse and went up to the hotel for breakfast before going to Storyland. Alexander wanted no part of the food I got for him (eggs, ham, pancakes), thankfully he ate his breakfast at the townhouse. He did think it was hysterical to put both hands in the eggs and then touch everything. Joy.

Then we went to Storyland - which I'll leave for a separate post.

After naps and dinner for the kids, we got ready & headed back up to the hotel for dinner & another gathering. Alexander was a bit better with dinner than breakfast. He sat in a booster seat a lot longer than I expected but he still didn't want to eat any grown up food. After dinner, we walked around the porch and headed over to the kiddie time. The DJ was playing all sorts of kid music (Wiggles, Twinkle Twinkle, etc). Plus she had balloons so the kids loved it. They were running around, chasing each other and the balloons.

We didn't keep Alexander & Ava out nearly as late as the night before to make sure they got a better night sleep. They were both in bed before 9pm which is a huge plus since it was almost 10pm the night before.

Sunday morning, Alexander woke up @ 6am, ready to go. Since no one else was up, we played blocks & read books in the room so we didn't disturb anyone else. Daddy had a very late night so he was still trying to gather his senses. Mommy packed everything so all we had to do was empty the fridge & pack the car. After everyone was up, Alexander & Ava played together. They shared toys, took toys away from each other, sat together as we read books to them. They were really sweet together the entire weekend and was genuinely interested in one another. No major fist-a-cuffs!

We went back up to the hotel for breakfast and then took the 3 hour drive home. Daddy & Alexander were asleep 20 minutes into the drive so it was a peaceful drive with no traffic! All in all a very nice weekend and it was nice to bring Alexander up there for the first time.

Weekend Plans...

This weekend is our works' annual Company Outing. Every year, the company has a summer outing and for the last 5+ years it has been at Mt. Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. We didn't go last year but thought Alexander would enjoy himself this year as there will be LOTS of kids.

We're staying with a guy Dan works with and his family. They have a daughter a few months younger than Alexander so it will be cute to watch them play & interact. We're all going to go to Storyland on Saturday. It should be a good time.

As usual, I'll post a recap complete with pictures.

Musical Talent...

Alexander is starting to sing. And it's adorable.

He'll sit in his carseat on the way to school and will just sing and sing "da da da da" but in different notes. He also does this thing with his hands where he touches his fingers together.
I asked his teacher and she said they sing "Twinkle Twinkle little Star" and do little motions with their hands. I've started to sing the song and he immediately will sing with me and do his hand-motions. Priceless.

I'm trying to get it on video. I did get him "giving me some skin" on video so I'll have to post that one shortly...he's a funny kid!

Photo Recap

Photo Recap (Monday, June 30th - Sunday, July 6th, 2008)

Photo Recap...

Photo Recap (Monday, June 30th - Sunday, July 6th, 2008)

Week Glance...

Week Glance (Monday, June 30th - Sunday, July 6th, 2008)

• Stopped using bottles this week ... he's officially bottle-free
• Only one night did he have a small temper tantrum but nothing significant
• Teething a bit in the week and we really thought those top two teeth would pop through any moment
• Woke up around 5:30am each morning & asleep by 7:30pm each night
• Played in the sprinkler at school & loved it
• Had a parade at school on July 3rd for the 4th of July (just walked around the block)
• 4th of July photoshoot and he was into the props more than usual
• Celebrated 4th of July with our annual day in Boston (lunch & walking around)
• Had some bread, garlic and some pizza at Vinny Ts
• Does this cute thing where he puts his hands on his cheeks when you say "oh my"
• Went to the Public Garden & Frog Pond
• Loved playing in the water at the Frog Pond
• Went over Chris & Chris' for the 5th annual Pinewood Derby (next year, we'll have to enter a car for Alexander)
• Alexander & Daddy played on the playground & swings (liked the swing as he normally doesn't)
• Alyson, Grammie & Grampie came over on Sunday to visit - had a litle cookout and then he played out in his pool
• Got a new bike from Auntie Alyson which he was more interested in pushing that riding, but that could be because Daddy was mowing the lawn
• Took 2 naps on Sunday (both decent size naps too)
• Ate quite a bit of dinner (pasta, sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce) and then wanted some of everyone's ice cream

I have no idea why this week seems so slow...

5th Annual Pinewood Derby

For the past 5 years, Chris & Chris hold a Pinewood Derby. We've gone every year and participated in the first 3 and support for the past 2. Next year we'll work on a car for Alexander.
Last year Alexander was only 3 months and just finished his first week of daycare. This year he was able to watch & take in the festivities...he was very excited when Daddy stood him at the end of the track and watched the cars come down. He was also able to go play at the playground & swings with Daddy.

Chris, you'll have to send me a copy of the picture of you & Alexander since we took it with your camera. That way we can add the picture of Alexander & Auntie Chris to his blog. *Updated with Chris' picture*