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!

He Speaks!

So much has happened since I last posted! Alex has picked up a few new signs- "all done" and "diaper/diaper change", and he points to everything now. He has started dancing, so we listen to all kinds of music all the time. Well, everything but country. It's so funny to watch him. He'll stand and hold on to things and bounce to the music, and when he crawls, he'll stop for a minute and rock back and forth, crawl a little further, and then rock some more.

But the greatest thing is that he said his first word!! Last Thursday (May 17th for those of you keeping track.) he said "mama"! Clear as day- I couldn't believe my ears. Alex can get very frustrated- yes, the tantrums have already started- and he was trying to get my attention, so I told him, "you need to say mama"... so he did! The exact same thing happened this morning, and luckily, Omar was here to hear it. We are so proud!

Enjoy the pics- they are from Mother's Day weekend. I had a great day with my boys; very relaxing. Breakfast in bed courtesy of Alex and Omar, some family time outside in the beautiful weather, and then some nice steaks on the grill after Alex went down for the night. And Daddy helped Alex to sign my first Mother's Day card with red finger paint!

10 Months Old

Terrible to post his 9 month stats on his 10 month birthday, but here they are...

Stats as of 4/17/07
27 1/2 in tall
18 lbs 15 oz

We've been spending a lot of time outside in the nice weather. As you can see, Alex is becoming acquainted with the lawnmower. Omar says that he'll be out mowing the lawn in no time. We've planted a vegetable garden and are enjoying watching everything grow. He loves to play soccer with us, and likes his new golf clubs. He actually hits the ball!

What he can do...
Alex is climbing everything now- the steps (he's made it all the way to the top- gulp!), the dishwasher, the bed...
He stands up on his own without realizing it, but isn't quite ready to really do it for real yet.
He walks all over, as long as he has something to hold on to.
His signing repertoire has grown- his favorite sign is "light". Still signing for "milk", "kitty", and of course, waves "hi/bye".
Alex is using his pointer finger to touch things now. Not quite pointing at things yet, but I'm sure that's not far behind.
I've started giving him Cheerios, but he just tries to stick his finger in the hole.
He gives mom big open mouth kisses (with tongue!?) and a giggle.
Alex loves learning the names of the animals in his room- his favorite is the Zebra. It's hard to get him to settle for a nap when he is going crazy over the animal pictures. Night, night Zebra!
Almost forgot- his favorite song right now is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". He likes the "Down came the rain" part the best. His favorite song used to be "The Wheels on the Bus"; still a close second though.

B&B @ 1420

It's been awhile...
We've had lots of visitors these past few weeks. Our friend Chris came, and then Christina (hence the fabulous pics! and I promise to post more of 'em), and then the next week, my cousin Chris came for a few with his girlfriend Lisa. There were multiple Ikea trips with both Chris "Chef Mckenzie" and CCD, and a trip to the vineyards with Chris and Lisa. Alex is going to make a fine vintner with all this experience- and a little help from Grandpa and Chef!
A great time was had by all, and we look forward to the next round for Alex's birthday in July!