TRIP TO AZ

Alex had a really fun time at Poppy and CC's house in AZ last weekend!  He got to hang with his Aunt Mal-Mal (he corrected me when I said Aunt Mallory, so funny!), went to his first NASCAR race (good headphones Poppy), went swimming, and got to drive the race cars and play golf at Cracker Jacks!  He's already looking forward to his next visit!

GREAT VISIT W/ PAW-PAW & SUSIE

Alex and I were truly blessed to have my dad and Susan come visit two weeks ago.  It was quality, much-needed family time and as you can see we had lots of fun!!

It was great that they got to see Alex's last soccer game!



 Alex and Grandma Susie got in LOTS of playdoh time...thanks Susan!

 WOW!  Grandma Susie made Alex.  He thought this was the coolest thing EVER!

 Alex assisted Paw-Paw with making some all-star breakfasts...yum!

 Paw-Paw got the gator all charged up and ready to go...Alex must have done 100 laps around the cul-de-sac sidewalk throughout the weekend!  He still loves that gator, that's for sure!

MY BABY IS ONE!

Okay, I'm talking about my first avocado tree everyone!  On Feb 4th my first avocado tree I planted turned one year old.  It did go by fast...but three years to go until I get an avocado!  I WILL get one.  I planted my second one on June 24th (see the second picture) and so it's just over 7 months old.  My third one has been in water for about a month and I'll be planting it in a pot this weekend.  You have to have more than one for cross-pollenation!  This has been a really fun project for Alex and me to do together, talking about how things grow and seeing the progress of the seeds.  The three trees will be making the trip up North when Alex and I move in June! 

I threw these two funny pictures of Alex up from last night...he's such a ham in the costumes.  I told him to show me his gladiator face for the second picture.  Vicious!

YOU'RE MY FAVORITE DEPUTY

I bought Alex tickets to see Toy Story3 on Ice a while back and he thought the day would NEVER come!!  It finally did (yesterday) and he couldn't wait.  It was a really great show and we had lots of fun.  Before I bought the tickets I showed him the preview of the show online and he said he would not be scared of the costumes.  Right as the show was about to start, he looked a little anxious, covered his eyes with his hands and looked at his lap.  Then when the first skaters came out (Mickey and Minnie) he looked up and cracked the fingers over one eye, peeking out.  It was so cute!  He saw Mickey and Minnie and it was all over, not scared!  Whew!  He kept saying throughout the show, "I'm not scared mommy!"  He was sad when the show was over but wants to go again! 

 Who doesn't love $12 popcorn????

On a side note, Alex did say that he thought it was Uncle Charlie in the Woody costume and Aunt Kelsey in the Jessie costume!  He doesn't forget a thing, even from Halloween 3 months ago!

BIKING THE CURBS

Alex has been really practicing riding up and down the "curbs" (breaks in the curb at driveways) and I think we're there.  The training wheels are actually hindering him at this point so I think we'll try taking them off in a few weeks when my dad comes to visit.  Great job today Alex! password to video is "alex" below.

Biking the curbs from Carrie Cornelius on Vimeo.

REWARD CHART

Alex got a reward chart for Christmas...it is awesome.  You pick the 5 chores/things (sharing, not whining, get dressed by yourself, put toys away, etc) and then he gets a star for each of the 5 he does each day.  Then mommy picks the number of stars for the goal.  There are lots of rewards to pick from and we were going for "Trip to the Zoo" in week one.  Alex is VERY motivated by his chart and easily got the goal so he and I headed to the zoo this past weekend.  We had lots of fun!  He already earned a "special treat" (ice cream cone) for last week that we'll cash in this weekend.  This week we're working for a trip to the movies for 27 stars!!!

 The sheep's head is actually looking towards the camera but he/she is so wooly you can hardly tell!