Life goes on

Alex had a busy week. We went to Nebraska to visit Oma for Valentine's Day weekend. It was a good trip and Alex enjoyed looking at the snow! This week we went to the doctor for a well child check and Alex is doing really well. Most of his energy is going to growing up, not out! He has probably grown 3-4 inches since October and we can tell in his clothes that he is growing. Unfortunately, he received two more vaccinations and had some bloodwork done. That did not make him happy.
Later in the week, a parent educator from the Parents as Teachers program stopped by for an initial evalution of Alex. This is a great program provided by our local school district for children up to age 3. She said Alex seems to be on target developmentally for his age. She gave us some tips to help him with his speech. He does very well with non-verbal communication and because we understand what he wants, he is less likely to use words to ask for things. Overall he is doing well.
This weekend Alex had two friends over to play. Justin came over Saturday morning to play. It is interesting to see Alex react to other kids playing with his toys. (He does NOT like it) Yet they got along well. In the afternoon Lucas came over for a visit.
During the week, Alex and Dad played with his dinosaurs. They had a lot of fun and Alex thought it was hilarious to see the dinosaur laying on his back with his feet up in the air!

Playing with Oma

Look at the horses' tails move

We like John Deere!

Mr. Fix-it

Riding with Justin

Playing with Lucas

Check out my new shoes!

Dinosaurs rule!

Sunny Days

We had some awesome weather this past weekend and early this week. Alex loves to be outdoors, so we definitely took advantage of it. It sure was nice to be outside for a bit before winter settles back in.
This is the first full week for Eric as Mr. Mom. So far the house is still standing and Alex is doing alright. No big changes to our routine and Alex usually goes with the flow. Alex is using a few more words , but still grunts and points a lot to get what he wants. Part of the problem is we usually understand the grunts, so it makes it too easy for him. Our next project will be to work on his vocabulary. Alex loves to sing though. We have a bunch of CDs and "Old MacDonald had a farm" is a favorite. He is quite good at the E-I-E-I-O part! It is such fun to see him get excited and into the songs.
Another thing we did this week is go to storytime at the library. We had tried this back in November, but Alex did not do too well then. Now he sat and listen to the story and even got into the songs and did some of the motions. It is absolutely amazing how much progress he has made in a little over 4 months.
Here are some pictures from our adventures this past week.

Little Red Cookie Monster

I like to climb

What is this sand stuff?

Balloons are fun

Look at my dinosaurs

Sidewalk Chalk

The cat is here.... Run Away!

Two days later .... Best Friends

February already?

Wow, it is hard to believe we are already in February. That means a few changes for us. The big change will be Eric staying home full-time with Alex. He was already doing that, but was also working from home. Starting next week, he will be only Mr. Mom. It should be a smooth transition and hopefully he can maybe have time to start baking bread again!
This week we celebrated Joëlle's birthday. It was extra special to celebrate with Alex. We went out to our favorite chinese buffet. Alex still likes rice! The best gift though is Alex sleeping through the night. He seems to have figured out. He is usually out for 10 or 11 hours each night. Yeah!
This morning Alex decided he wanted to go down the stairs himself. Now we have been practicing a bit and he scootches real well on his bottom, but this time he told Dad he was going down and off he went. Our little man is getting just a bit more independent. He also is doing better at independent play or with us leaving the room for a moment. Our friend Frederique has been helping out in the afternoons and Alex has gotten much better at letting Daddy work these last few days.

Alex and Gilbert working on a truck

Alex is one cool dude

Here I am!

I love my dog

Alex the chef