Another trip to NE

We took another trip to Nebraska this past weekend to celebrate Eric's aunt Emma's 89th birthday. Before we left, we hosted the Balzer family for a night. Their three boys and Alex had a great time playing together. In Nebraska, we of course went to the farm to visit the animals and drive the tractors. Alex had a great time playing with his cousins too. I think we are about caught up on sleep again!

Next week, we hope to visit a Parent's Day Out center to see if it would be a good fit for Alex. If so, he'll spend one day week there and maybe Papa will have time to do some projects... or sleep. :)

You found me!

Don't eat my hand

Chickens are neat

In the big truck

and tractor

Oma has to play barefoot

Kristin and Alex

Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the past week.

Painting is..

serious work

I love Pho!

I can swim

Slides rule

"Back to Oma's House"

Eric and Alex spent a few days last week with Oma. Alex obviously had a great time because before we even got home he wanted to go "back Oma's house!" Alex got to play with the marble machine for the first time this trip. It's pretty neat to watch those marbles go back and forth, but I have to say he probably had more fun dumping all the marbles on the floor. We also went to visit the farm again. Alex loves seeing all the cows, kittens, chickens and trucks! On Wednesday we drove up to Lincoln to visit their Children's Zoo. Alex had fun looking at all the animals and riding the train. I was surprised to see signage in Vietnamese! Evidently there is a large Vietnamese community in Lincoln, or was, when they did the signs. Lincoln has a very active Asian Cultural Center that even offers summer immersion classes for elementary students in Vietnamese!

On Thursday we headed back home and enjoyed a quiet and HOT weekend in KC.

the marble machine

riding the cow

the best way to nap

play-doh

this is cool

Lovin' the weather

July in KC has been unbelievable. We have been taking full advantage of the cooler weather by spending lots of time outside. (So far the mosquitoes have stayed away too!) Last Friday, Alex and Papa went to visit's Eric's friend, Mark, and his two children Avery and Luke. Avery and Alex got along great, but the morning visit ended too soon. Alex spent some time playing with his friend Lucas on Saturday morning and we enjoyed some time at home as well. This week we have been busy getting the house ready for a visit by Alex's cousins. They came last night and headed off to the airport this morning. Alex was excited to see them and wore himself out with all the playing. As you will see below, Alex has also been working on his modeling skills as well.

Check out my hat!

Dinosaurs

Talking to Oma

Being silly

Alex the model

I want some too

No, it's my ball

10 months together

July Fun

We had another fun week in KC. The weather was absolutely fantastic, so we have been doing lots of outdoor activities. On Tuesday we went to Crown Center to see the free Lego sculpture show. It was pretty amazing, but Alex had more fun playing with the Legos! We ate lunch at Fritz's which was way cool. The restaurant uses trains to deliver the food to your table. Alex kept saying "Train! Train!" the whole time we were there.

Wednesday evening we went to the pool to listen to some music. A neighboring town has free pool admissions for families and we had fun splashing around. On Thursday Alex made his first of two visits to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. He loves being outside and close to the animals.... but not too close! Thursday night we went to our first Vietnamese restaurant with Alex. Unfortunately, we don't have any in our neighborhood, but we found a good one about 20 minutes away. Alex was a big fan of their pho bo.

Alex also spend plenty of time in the sandbox both at home and the park near our church. Our church sponsored a hot dog meal for the community Saturday evening and Alex spent most of the time in the sandbox. Boy, was he ready for a bath after that!

Look at my truck

Ready to eat

What a cool hat!

I like my trike

Eating pho

Ride that chipmunk

Watch out

Bastille Day

Today is Bastille Day, the French national holiday. Unfortunately, Jo had to go to work, but we did have a few friends over Sunday evening to celebrate. Alex's friends Lucas, Theo and Tristan were there. All the boys but Tristan, (he's one!) had a great time running around our yard and house.

Alex on the swing

"It's mine"

Time to eat!

I love this car

The wild boys!

4th of July in Kansas

We celebrated Independence Day with Eric's brother and his family in Newton, Kansas. Alex was so excited to see his cousins, Henry, Kristin, and John again. They all have fun entertaining each other! On Friday morning, we went to the zoo in Wichita. Alex had fun looking at all the animals. It was his second trip to a zoo that week. Saturday, we watched the fireworks and on Sunday we headed back home. Alex was worn out by the all activity and slept most of the way home! We forgot to charge our camera, so we don't have many pictures this time.

Alex has always liked to play with our microwave and he is tall enough now to open and close the door. Well on Monday, Alex decided to microwave a skillet and guess what? We now have a new microwave. We also have new rules about touching the microwave! On the positive side, we found the right "reward" for potty training this week, Happy Cola gummi bottles. So far two days and no accidents. We hope it continues!

Alex and the lorikeets at the KC zoo

At the Wichita zoo

Fireworks!

John reads the bedtime story