Catching up

I thought I would play catch up over the past month with an update on Alex. These pictures/stories are in reverse chronological order.

He has been changing so much lately. Just yesterday we were driving down the freeway and it was very sunny so I put down my visor. Alex started saying, "Baby! Baby!" I looked over my shoulder and he was pointing in my direction. After a brief "What the heck!?" moment (I didn't see any babies!) I realized he was pointing at a picture I keep of him clipped to my car visor. It was from when he was about 7 months old.

How cute is that?

About a week ago I decided it was time for Alex to move away from his highchair and sit in his booster seat at the table. He is such a big boy so I figured he would be ready for the transition. I got it all ready for him and set him up at the table in his booster seat for breakfast one morning before daycare. He immediately looked down and said, "Oh no." I giggled a little and said, "Alex is a big boy now. You can't sit in a baby chair forever!"

"Oh no" very dramatically.

Then he looked over his shoulder and saw his precious highchair resting against the wall and said again, "Oh no!" This time he sounded very sad. Needless to say, the transition has not been as smooth as I hoped. He is still using his highchair on occasion, but typically speaking we go booster!



The bond between boy and dog is still going strong. Alex is practically inseparable from his blanket these days and Marty loves to snuggle with him.



Alex enjoying some reading time.



Alex enjoying some art time. And yes, I had the bath water ready! I love seeing Alex use finger paint. He just lights up any time I start getting the tools set up. He LOVES making a mess!


Alex's favorite meal, McDonald's Kids Meal with nuggets and apples. He adores all the dip and makes an enormous mess. He also tends to smell like caramel/sweet n sour sauce combo until you either bathe him or change his shirt. We tend to use a bib now...



Alex enjoying wearing his daddy's shoes. Brent leaves his shoes everywhere... and Alex just slide his feet into them and tried standing up. Since Brent has pretty big feet, we had to help him up - and grab the camera - to document.



Alex in the hallway with his toys. Brent has old Match Box cars from when he was a boy and Alex got incredibly excited when Brent showed them to him. They have a great time playing together.



Alex thinking, "I know I'm cute. Now let's go get some milk!"



And finally, my Snuggle Bug.

A Boy and his Box

It's amazing how much delight a child can find with a cardboard box. Brent and I were gathering up recycling last night and set a box down in the kitchen. Alex was in the living room playing with his trains. All of a sudden, there was a boy inside the box! I just had to get a little video... Enjoy!

Chase!

New Year’s Eve

We spent the holiday this year visiting with the Jacobson family. They have boys similar in age to Alex and it proved to be a fun-filled evening. Before we left the house, we wanted to get in the party mood so we started playing “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga. Alex loved it! We captured his sweet dance moves in the video at the end of the post.

The boys really did have a great time playing with trains and running around after one another. Alex had a great time hiding in the cardboard playhouse the boys got for Christmas. After playtime was over, the adults got to have some fun! It was overall a fantastic time and a great way to bring in the New Year!

See "Poker Face" video below

A Day in the Life of an Elf

This year we toured “A Day in the Life of an Elf” in Santaland on the 8th floor of Macys. We met Grandma and Grandpa Johnson for a tour of this magical place. Alex was excitedly running from display to display. Christmas music was blaring from the speakers above and all of the objects were motorized so it really felt like we were peaking in on the Elves as they readied themselves for Christmas. Alex’s favorite part was seeing all the letters kids wrote to Santa. I was encouraging Alex to touch them as a mom right beside us was telling her child “Don’t touch that! All the kids touch them and they are filled with germs!” I say to that “Bah-humbug!” Kids are kids, they should explore.

The city photos are downtown Minneapolis on a foggy, warmish night. We walked to Lyon's Pub a few blocks from Macy's for dinner. The food was great, and the atmosphere was thick with music. Alex was dancing for all of us as he ate his grilled cheese and french fries. Overall, it was a very fun night out on the town.

Santa!

Alex got to meet Santa this year at the Santa Experience in the Mall of America. We went to a nice dinner at Kokomo’s Island Café and then headed over to see the bearded legend. There was a line for our “appointment” but Alex kept himself busy by running around the lobby and playing Peek-a-Bo barn on Brent’s iPhone. According to an onlooker, he is “very technologically savy for a baby.” As we crept closer to Santa’s location, Alex got more and more interested in the jolly voice behind the curtain. And finally, it was our turn! Santa walked off the “set” while the cheerful camera assistant got Alex settled in a cute rocking chair and handed him a book. Alex was too busy looking at the book to notice Santa swooping in behind him. They took a few pictures this way but none of them were cute. The real action started when Santa lifted Alex from behind and put him on his lap. Alex was instantly on guard and was like, “Who the heck is this guy!?” He arched his back to escape, but to no avail. He was stuck. They got a couple great shots and Alex was free. We got suckered into buying the video of the event and a picture. Well, mommy got suckered into it. The whole experience was a blast. I am proud that my social son handled himself so well and hopefully next year he will give a tug on the ole’beard! If you look closely... he is trying to pry Santa's hand away. Pretty cute!

Videos!

I finally captured Alex walking on video. He tends to pump his arms for momentum and kick out his little feet. He is getting so sturdy! We were watching Sesame Street in the background... rather loudly apparently! Be sure to check out his sweet PJs!



Here is a video of Alex throwing his Vikings football against the hallway wall. HOO-TA!