Jumpin' and a Splashin'

Alex loves to practice jumping..."1...2...Jump!"

Mommy is starting to get a shower during Alex's baths!

Catch Me If You Can!

Here is Alex playing chase with Marc!

March Madness

Well, March is going by in a whirlwind! Alex has been enjoying gymnastics on Saturday, playing in the snow, and then playing outside in shorts 5 days later! This weather is crazy!! The day after I returned home from California the snow came down!We got 6-7 inches Sunday-Monday (2 March)

Alex would not be dining outside.

What better thing to do on a snow day than open a new toy! Alex has LOVED playing with his farm and animals! He loves to open and close the gates to put the animals in their stalls.

More fun with the farm

We forgot to sing Happy Birthday to Marc on Sunday before Alex went to bed so we did it on Monday, during our snow day. Alex needs to see candles blown out...we have less than 6 months to practice until his 2nd birthday!

Oh Wow.

1-2-3, make a wish! Thankfully Alex didn't use his toy bat on the cake.

Group reading time. I think Rummy fell asleep.

Alex loves to try on Marc's gloves...

...and my dishwashing gloves. He has a promising mitten-dancing career like his Aunt Megan and mommy.

Well, after the snow melted during the week it was 74 degrees and sunny on Saturday so we busted out the shorts and T-shirts. Yes, that's Bill the Goat on his shirt!

Self-timeout or something.

Taking advantage of the warm weather outside...

Action shot!

Alex likes to go head first down the tunnel slides. He is very daring.

Look at that goofy, mischievious grin

Alex had a rough Sunday. I think he was congested from the sudden change in weather. We had to leave church early and naps/nighttime didn't go well for a few days. Here he is resting with daddy.

self-feeding spaghetti with a spoon...don't ask why he has a white t-shirt and bib on. not a good move by mommy and we stained his NAVY T-shirt.

look what a big boy i am

this is so fun and messy!

MILESTONES!!

happy 34th birthday to marc today!!! (pictures coming!) we love you!

alex is 18 months old today, wow!!!

I am home from my two week trip to the West Coast and thoroughly enjoyed my 9 night stay with Charlie and Kelsey at Camp Pendleton. Kelsey is looking fabulous and feeling great. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Callie next month!!! Here are two videos of Alex from the month of February...

Oh yeah.

Video Time...The Elephant song, Alex's favorite!!

Right now...11:30pm our time, it's snowing w/ 2+ inches of accumulation so far but I'm going to bed incase we still have to go to work!

Odds and Ends

New Haircut on Monday, 9 February (posted so Uncle Charlie can give his approval, after the last haircut). Alex is starting to give us lots of looks like this. His personality is really developing and it's hilarious. I see a LOT of Marc's faces on Alex and it makes me smile!!

Bed head after naptime...from the side it was a mohawk. This also shows a nice view of the haircut's rear...CHARLIE. Notice the use of shadow and LIGHT.

Tongue out=concentration.

We are now taking Alex to open gym every Saturday morning from 8:30-9:15. He has so much fun and gets great exercise, especially since it's so cold out now. Here he is prancing around on the trampoline.

Stretching time w/ the group...he definitely does not get this yet but we're working on it.

Running on the long trampoline, which leads to.....

the PIT of despair!!! Dive bomb, Alex!!!

Alex likes to crawl down the big mat ramp. No, he cannot do "Iron Cross" on the rings yet. We're working on it.

More Trampoline fun.

We had a couple of warm days so Alex and I enjoyed some playground time in the neighborhood.

On January, 30th, Marc and I enjoyed our first St. Barbara's Day celebration. We caught up with LOTS of friends that we had not seen in three years since Lejeune and Marc chatted with guys he served with 10 years ago! It was lots of fun!

Fun reunion of the Camp Lejeune wives!

Carrie and Linda

Anja and Carrie

Alex is VERY into racing his big trucks from Aunt Megan and Uncle Michael these days. It's just wonderful on Marc's knees, too, ha ha!!

Alex is in the lead!!

Bath fun

Alex likes to "swim" in the tub these days and I'm always amazed at how much of the tub he fills up. If he can grow 2 more inches by his second birthday he'll be on track to be Uncle Charlie's height, 6'7" which would be neat. Marc measures Alex almost every weekend to check for progress...he he he.

No standing in the tub!

So fun!

Here is Alex galavanting at the gym and then "jumping into the pit after daddy.

Alex was VERY excited on Super Bowl Sunday. As you can see, he was ready to cheer on the Steelers! He cheered with mommy and daddy for a little bit of the first quarter but then had to go to bed.

New Videos

Alex was a giggle monster while knocking down block towers with daddy!

Alex cleaned his plate for dinner one night last week. He was also trying out his booster seat, which we're SLOWLY transitioning to from the highchair.

FINALLY, SNOW!!

Well, Alex finally got his first snow day for this winter. It started snowing Tuesday morning and it lasted almost all day...about 2.5-3" total accumulation. Last year he was only 4 months old and wasn't able to enjoy playing in the snow. We bundled him up (see video below) and let him roam the driveway and front yard while Marc and I (w/ Alex's help, of course) shoveled the driveway off. We really had fun and there were even a few snowballs thrown!!
Venturing off of the driveway!

Trekking back from Rick and Randi's yard!

A little bump in the road...

What is this stuff, anyways?

Ooooohhh...I can do it, it's all about balance and center of gravity.

Alex and daddy take a break from shoveling to throw snowballs at mommy!

Mommy's turn to shovel!

Alex was a good helper shoveling and cried when he didn't get to hold/push the shovel. Poor Marc had to finish with a huge, plastic dustpan so that Alex could get his way! Spoiled!

Dad, my shovel is bigger than yours!

I got this guys!

Put a little stomach push into it...

Okay, I'm tired. Keep going daddy.

Good work boys!

Home, Sweet Home!

Alex got bundled up to play in the snow. He could barely get up on his own when he fell...it was so cute!

I think Alex thought huge chunks were falling out of the sky!

Note the grunt at the end as he pushes the shovel...priceless.