Ode to the Jew Curls

R.I.P.

11... and a half months?

Alex has learned so much this last month and a half!
On our trip home, he began to sign “night, night” and finally started feeding himself. His favorite things to eat right now are cheerios, blueberries, and avocado (which is a little slippery, so we’ve been experimenting with a plastic fork).
Omar has taught the little guy to say “ha ha” ala “Nelson”, the bully from The Simpsons (I can't wait for the phone calls from his teacher), and he says “uh-oh” as he throws things on the floor.
Alex gets excited when he hears airplanes and then we watch them as they go across the sky.
He barks along with the dogs in the neighborhood with a high-pitched “oof”, and moos when he sees a cow- “bbbvvvvv”.
We got Alex a Baby Einstein “First Signs” DVD, which he totally adores. He started signing “baby” right away!
He’ll start impromptu games of peek-a-boo with anyone available by trying to get your attention and then whipping his head back and forth.
Standing is no problem, and he walks around holding on to the coffee table like it ain’t no thang, so we’re looking forward to those first unassisted steps.
We love to cook and to eat, and Alex is following suit. He stirs in his bowl and feeds mom. Chef in the making! Well, this week anyway.

First Birthday’s coming up- looking forward to having our visiting friends and family in the next few weeks!
Here are some pics from the zoo and swimming with Ryan and Myah.

Memorial Day at the Shore

Finally getting around to posting a few of these pics...
We spent Memorial Day with our surrogate family in Avalon. Great to see everyone and thanks again for the hospitality! Jordan, I thought this one was really precious.

Our Trip Home to TX

Alex got to see quite a bit of family earlier this month in Texas- grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Alex helped us to celebrate cousin Marisa's birthday, cousin Alise's (belated) birthday, and Grandma and Grandpa's 30th wedding anniversary. We went to some good restaurants and had some good Texas barbecue. Alex turned 11 months old while we were there, too!
We were glad to see everyone and miss you all greatly. I think Alex misses Mimi the most, though. After we got back, he would wake up very sad from his naps when he realized she wasn't there to see him. That's why we love the web cam!

When in Rome... er, uh,Texas.

Shiner Bock- It's the best!

Beto makes the best brisket and salsa. Gotta love some barbecue with the fam!

Vacation Playdates

Alex's 7 month old second cousin, Nicholas, came to visit him at Mimi's house (pre-haircut). It was great to finally meet him, since he was being born the last time we were down in Texas! We went to visit our good friends Rachel and Zach, and their 18 month old daughter, Zoe. I think the two of them had a good time together. Alex held his own playin' with a big kid!

Alex's First Haircut

Alex had his first haircut on the 5th, courtesy of Aunt Melinda. Mama misses his little "Jew curls", but they've been tucked away in nice little ziplock bag for posterity.

Little Traveler

He did so great on the plane on the way down to TX (guess I didn't need that valium... heh heh)! We're just glad no one was sitting in front of him on this leg of the flight- they would've gotten bonked on the head a few times.

Get Up, Stand Up

He's Standing on his own now. I made him a little "coin bank" out of a plastic container and baby food lids. He loves it. Way to work on the motor skills kid!