Monday, September 27, 2010

Well I'm running a bit behind

In case you hadn't noticed, that last string of posts was about July. Sadly I haven't even uploaded the August pictures to the Shutterfly account and this lack of uploading is stalling this blog, that site and this year's book of Alex. I'm sorry we've been busy. Sometimes too busy to take pictures (I only have so many hands). And now I can't find the stupid camera cable to get the pictures off of the camera.

Sigh.

So I'll not spoil the fun of what I have pictures of and just let you know about this weekend.

1-Alex loved being in the class I taught at church Saturday.

2-She actually ASKED to finger paint yesterday. I love it. So finger paint we did. A lot. Jason wasn't so happy that she wore one of his undershirts as a smock but the paint is washable and it's an UNDER shirt no one will see it anyway.

3-During times in between rain yesterday Alex and I walked around the block. She walked/ran the entire way herself not ever wanting to be carried. She's getting so big. *wipes tear away*

4-After dinner and bath while daddy was still resting after his long day of tailgating and football it again started to rain. So I got Alex all ready in her rain boots and coat and grabbed her umbrella. The boots and umbrella are both frogs, it's pretty adorable. And the coat is too big but that works well for playing in the rain. And out we went, with the dog, to play in the rain and find puddles for jumping into. Alex isn't so good yet at holding the umbrella and I really should get a picture of her in the get up when my camera wouldn't be ruined by rain by I digress. We both had a great time. Sadly the only puddles were in the gutter but that didn't stop the jumping fun. Our shoes and coats and bottoms of pants were SOAKED by the time we went in. Not that Alex wanted to go in but it was nearly bedtime. Maybe with this rain planning on hanging around for awhile we'll get to do more puddle jumping.

Life with a toddler that can sort of talk in sentences and is always full of energy is so much fun! I just can't believe how big she's getting so fast.

Anyway hopefully soon I'll find the cable and upload pictures and -I don't know- catch everyone up on stuff from August and September. ;)

Monday, September 6, 2010

My poor broken baby

Periodically I get a wild hair up my ass to ride a bicycle. I would really really love to get into shape and this seems an ideal way to go about it. But that's a post for a different time-that will involve talk of Alex's bike trailer and my new bike and stuff.

Well I bought a bike at a yard sale (mistake 1 as it turns out) and one day I was inflating the tires while Alex was playing on the front porch. She decided to play on her little trike, something she's done countless times both on the porch and off. I'd warned her numerous times about playing too close to the steps.

As that damned Murphy and his stupid laws would have it I was standing up to grab her and try her new helmet on her just as she rode off of the porch. Her face was the first part of her to hit the ground. And not just any ground but the sidewalk. To say there was blood would be an understatement.

She bled a lot and understandably started wailing. Her lip swelled almost immediately and I couldn't tell if the blood was coming from her nose, mouth or both. I learned that while I'm good with dealing with other peoples (or my own) injuries I can't deal well with Alex being injured. While I told myself she'd get her clues from me and I should be calm, I started crying. Her doctor was called and a popsicle was given to Alex to help the swelling.

She wouldn't take Tylenol and had little interest in the popsicle. The doctor called back and said to go to Patient First. By the time Jason got home Alex was calmed and to Patient First we went. Turns out we did everything right and she was fine. We were told to take her to the ER if she started vomiting or passed out. She never did either.

But her little lip was very swollen for a few days. She looked a mess and let us know she felt pretty bad. Baby resilience is amazing and she was 95% better by the end of the week. Understandably she wasn't keen on having her picture taken but I did get a shot or two. My poor little honey.



The bike has permanently been removed from the porch.

Here comes Peter Cottontail

Once upon a time there was a guy who worked 6 days a week, let's call him Jason, and a girl who couldn't figure out how to do yard work, housework and cook while watching a toddler on her weekends, let's call her Sharon. Well these people resorted to paying a nice guy by the name of John to tame their wild yard.

One day when John was taming what was by then an out of control yard he uncovered a bunny nest. In this nest were three itty bitty bunnies all nestled together and snug in their dirt bed. We won't speak of the mowed over bunny baby that was a few feet away but the live bunnies were smaller then a dollar bill and quite timid, as one would expect baby bunnies to be.

These bunnies were a fascination for all who encountered them and Jason and Sharon felt an obligation to make sure they would survive. This meant keeping the dog away as well as making sure their baby, let's call her Alex, kept her distance. We They kept their distance as well and thought the thing to do would be to scatter bunny food along the ground for them so they would be sure not to starve. But what do bunnies eat? Carrots obviously (have you never read a story about a rabbit? These stories would lead you to believe that this is all bunnies eat) and perhaps strawberries and grapes.

So clearly such things were sprinkled on the ground as the concern over the location of the mommy bunny grew. What if the mommy never returned because the safety of the tall weeds had been demolished? Wildlife sanctuaries were called and it was learned that the bunnies would likely be fine. Turns out that well meaning humans often accidentally kill wild bunnies with overfeeding. The thing to do is to cover the babies up with some dry grass to protect them from the sun and all food bits must be removed lest they attract predators. And this neighborhood has predators like fox, raccoon and opossum. Also, it turns out, mommy bunnies only return to the nest twice a day, at dawn and dusk, to nurse their young. This is sufficient for their well being and helps protect the little ones.

Every day the family would check on the baby bunnies. Sometimes they would be in their hovel and sometimes they would have moved down to the corner where the porch meets the house. After about 4 days the rabbits left the families life as quickly and mysteriously as they'd entered it. And they were all left to marvel how fascinating the smallest of God's creatures can be as well as how well He takes care of even these little ones.

Maybe there will be another rabbit family to meet next year.

Window marker love

Jason discovered window markers at work early in the summer. We then found them at Walmart far cheaper then what they sell for at the grocery store. I hate Walmart but I like cheap so I gave in and gave Walmart my money.

There was a bit of a learning curve for Alex. She got grounded from the markers a few times for drawing on walls and stuff before she got the idea that they're only for glass. Lucky for all of us, they wipe off super easy.

Anyway, Alex loves arts and crafts and drawing in general. These markers are a HUGE hit. Granted she often asks for us to draw silly things like smiles and birds and dogs but far more often she makes her own window creations.

Whether its too hot or rainy to go outside or if we're just having a bad day these markers are a bright spot. On the occasion that we just need something different to do Alex just gets the markers and we open the main door and she has at the window. It always makes her happy which in turn brightens my day. The only downside is that when I sit down to play with her she thinks she needs to sit down which means she can't reach the window. It's all very silly.

I like to think of these as another step towards her being a little creative genius. Well obviously she's a genius anyway but this is another form of genius. ;)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Mommy's night off

Every now and then I get a night off. That is, once a year. Typically this nighjt finds me at a baseball game. This evening was no different. I went with Alicia and Jenn and good times were had by all.

Of course I couldn't resist the urge to be a big kid and go down the inflatable slide (seriously have you met me? I often bahave like an oversized child). Really you have to love the Ironbirds stadium and their willingness to let even adults act like children.

Oh how we love the park

She really loves this wagon
Among our many blessings is the fact that we live only a few blocks away from a pretty cool park. Sure we travel to other parks sometimes but far more often you'll find us going to our local park as a family. On these trips the dog gets to come and we all get a little extra exercise.



Daddy swinging with Alex


We've been going to this park since she was born. Well technically when she was littler we'd just walk past it but since she could sit up we've taken her and at least put her in the swing. She's always loved the swings. Now she can get up the steps to the slide(s) herself and even tries to climb up the slides. This freaks us out a bit but we know it's a kid thing and watch her like hawks as she makes her attempts, which are sometimes successful.


Pure joy
Time to play on the big girl swings

There is no way for us to be happier about her love of the outdoors and running around and playing. It's something we hope she remains in love with as she gets older. Active children are healthy children after all.

oohhh pudding pie

The final product. It even looks tasty.
Periodically we decide to make very random things. A few days before we got our new stove (one that actually works and stuff) we decided to make a pudding pie. It's one of our favorite things to eat and make. No cooking is needed and it's messy and fun so it's the perfect project for Alex to help make.

It's starts with an Oreo crust (store bought). Then we add chocolate pudding, a layer of banana slices, vanilla pudding then top with chocolate chips. Before you know it a weeks worth of dessert is made. Not only does Alex love helping make it but she adores eating it. This was no exception. She really is turning into quite the little chef.
Not as messy as she could be but we ended up in the bath.

A perlompsing we will go


Quite awhile ago our daughter started trying to hop. With that came her falling on her butt on the floor. We were horrified while she was elated. This led to our finding a safer place for her to express her joy at hopping up and falling on her butt, a past time we refer to as perlompsing.


The wall behind our bed may be a work in progress but Alex is perfect just the way she is.

Obviously she needs a softer place to land then our hardwood floors. This gave way to our over sized bed. It's king sized after all and soft and perfect for throwing oneself down upon. Alex loves, loves, loves this. She often points at our bedroom door and asks to go perlomp. We are apt to allow her up and we all find ourselves throwing our bodies onto the bed.



Getting up from a perlomps
It can last for moments or hours and good times are had by all. Sometimes she decides that she's going to cuddle on a pillow (in Alex speak that's pee-low) and under a blanket to pretend to sleep. That is often short lived and she declares herself and us awake and the perlompsing resumes. It's fantastic, silly and cheap fun. Needless to say, we approve. After all, why stifle something that brings her so much joy?

My what a funtastic mess


Back in April my mom (Grammy) and Jason's mom (Mumsy) began to watch Alex during the week. You see, Jesi had a new family member to welcome and needed some time for that, we were happy to give it to her. After 8 weeks Alex returned to Jesi for one less day a week. Jesi was happy to have her and she was happy to see her friends again. Not to mentin the fact that she immediately fell in love with baby Rowan.



Well we wanted to do something nice for Mumsy and Grammy to say thank you for their time. After all they both rearranged their lives for 8 weeks to spend time with our little girl. Obviously they all loved it but we still wanted to say thank you. The original idea had been to take them out to dinner. But going out to eat with a toddler is not an enviable task.



So instead we made them personalized canvas bags. And by we I mean Alex. The bags are decorated with hand and foot prints. Mumsy and Grammy each got two, Mommy got one, as did Mrs. Jesi. The plan was simple, cover the floor with drop cloths and line up the bags for decorating.

We used cloth paint and I let Alex choose the colors we'd use at each stage. She had a fantastic, awesome, spectacular time. The bags themselves turned out great and were a pretty big hit with everyone. Here take a look at tem yourself. Man Alex is talented. :)

Then there were zucchini

Once upon a time we planted a garden in the backyard. We were very ambitious and planted all sorts of things. If I were being honest I'd say we planted lots of stuff because I'm not much of a gardener and therefore expected most of it to die.


Well barely any of it died and it became Darwin's garden as plants overtook one another and only the strongest ended up surviving. Among the strong were the zucchini plants. These plants produced at least 10 zucchini's. Apparently you're not supposed to let them get as big as we let them grow but they really do go farther when they're huge.


After loaves of zucchini bread, zucchini casseroles, zucchini crab cakes and grilled zucchini we were pretty sick of the stuff so we gave quite a few away.


As you can see Alex was pretty enamored with the green squashes. And who wouldn't be? She's helped with the garden since day one after all. Besides the zucchini aren't only healthy but super tasty. Although next year I think we'll stick to only one vine.