Month: November 2010

Alex spent most of the day at MDO and I ran errands non-stop. We’d just finished our snack when Abram and Amber came to visit. Evidently my radiator needs a lot of work. Thank goodness the boys are good at “fixing”.

Abram brought Alex a fireman nutcracker that has quickly become a favorite:

Springy Snowman was a gift from Grant to Wade the first year we were married. In our first house, he lived in the living room all year. Now he only comes out at Christmas, much to Wade’s sadness. Alex immediately fell in love with Springy Snowman and is always finding new ways to use him in his games:

Wade is the proud new owner of an old drill press. Wade is always searching Craig’s List for old tools and has been looking for a drill press for months. We detoured (2 hours) on our drive to KY to look at it. We detoured on the way back to buy it. Wade is extremely excited and can’t wait to use it. Thanks Mom for his early Christmas gift!

I used to think I was an early riser. Then we had Alex and he is definitely an early bird. We were up at 5:30 this morning. Thank goodness he is happy and can entertain himself while I struggle to wake up:

Alex loves to help cook and Gram showed him how to make bacon. Aunt Lissy even shared her waffle:

I spent most of the day shopping with Mom while Alex and Wade visited his family. I did get home in time for Alex to wake up from his nap. Lately he sleeps a long time and then is super grumpy when he gets up (just like I am with naps). The only thing that made him happy was having both his milk and his orange juice with the goldfish.

We’d just gotten Alex ready for bed when Dabney and Mary Marshall came by for a visit. Alex was fascinated with Dabney’s fishnet stockings and boots. Mary Marshall seemed to incite a lot of giggles:

Alex and I spent the morning visiting Kate (my high school friend) and her family – Taylor, Anna, and Will. Alex played pretty well, but suddenly ran to the door and kept saying “home”. I loved the new word, but would have preferred to visit a little longer.

We ran to Granny and Papa’s for a short visit before Alex’s afternoon nap. Alex was in a cuddly mood and we managed to get a picture with almost all the grandparents and great-grandparents.

We tried to get Alex to hug Great Granny while sitting in her lap. As you can see by the second picture, he just snuggled close instead.

Judy, Jerry, and Emily came to Mom’s house to watch the Auburn football game. Alex woke up at half-time to join the crowd. Wade tried entertaining Alex with the bellows. Alex would scrunch up his face and then ask for more.

Alex had a great time playing with all of Gram’s toys while major work was being done in the kitchen:

Then we introduced Alex to the parade (he also learned to say “TV” today). He was interested for a few minutes before he was off exploring again:

Alex quickly learned to say “Gram” and knew she was always around for a hug or snack. Daddy was his best bet for going outside:

We had a small group for Thanksgiving this year, but all of our favorites (Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese) were there. Alex actually slept through the meal but we saved him a plate. After his nap we ran out to Granny and Papa’s for a short visit. Alex had a ball and loved spending time with Aunt Emily.

This pretty much sums up our day of early rising and traveling to Gram’s.

Mega Bloks is an awesome company! We lost the little dog to our firestation set. I contacted the company to see how much a replacement would cost and they shipped me one for free.

In the meantime we of course found our dog. Now we have a spare.

When Alex started getting into everything, I moved the items on my coffee table to the mantle. While decorating for Christmas I needed the mantle space and put the items back on the coffee table. The candle centerpiece kept Alex entertained for hours.

Wade has decided he most likely won’t find his wedding ring. It has been missing for a couple of months now. This is the third ring Wade has lost in six years, but we think this one has been around the longest. I bought it on August 7, 2008 (read the story here) and it lasted a little over two years. I guess it is time to go ring shopping again….

We made our yearly drive to a Christmas Tree Farm this morning. This year Tabit got to come along (at Wade’s request):

Then we hiked the fields to find the perfect tree. Alex was very interested in the process and quite annoyed when he couldn’t help Wade cut down the tree.

Wade also tested out turkey cooking on his Big Green Egg. Yum!

We are pretty much all in love with our latest addition. Alex has spent the last few days saying “Ta-bit” over and over and over. Wade and I fight over who gets to hold her on the couch. Even Madison seems to want her around.

There is constant chaos in our house, but it mostly consists of little boy giggles:

Alex was a busy little boy all day long. While I folded the laundry, he played with Madison and read his books:

After morning nap, we played with blocks, Madison, and Tabit:

After afternoon nap, Alex and Abram played:

I don’t know about Alex, but I’m worn out!

The weather was great today so we played outside after MDO. Alex loved riding his bike up and down the street.

I actually caught part of Alex and Tabit’s game of Tag on video.

Then today they were playing so nicely together with Alex’s firetruck:

Alex loves to play in Wade’s shop. Wade was doing a few things and let him go wild. Alex quickly found the sawdust pile:

We attended TrainFest this morning and Alex had a blast.

There were small trains and big trains. There were old trains and new trains. There were even Thomas trains. The best were the trains set up on the floor so Alex could stand and watch as long as he wanted. The majority of the trains were on tables and next year we’ll remember to bring a stool.

We tried a yummy (and quick) new recipe tonight – Cider-Glazed Chicken with Browned Butter-Pecan Rice from Cooking Light.
Ingredients
1 (3.5-ounce) bag boil-in-bag brown rice (such as Uncle Ben’s)
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 pound chicken breast cutlets (about 4 cutlets)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup refrigerated apple cider
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preparation
1. Cook rice according to package directions in a small saucepan, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. While rice cooks, melt 1 teaspoon butter in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan. Add cider and mustard to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until syrupy. Add chicken to pan, turning to coat. Remove from heat; set aside.
3. Melt remaining 5 teaspoons butter in saucepan over medium-high heat; cook for 2 minutes or until browned and fragrant. Lower heat to medium; add pecans, and cook for 1 minute or until toasted, stirring frequently. Add rice and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to coat. Serve rice with chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Wade was late getting home from work so the kitchen was a little chaotic as I cooked dinner. Alex has recently been helping me set the table so I sent him to the dining room with his fork and spoon. I got distracted with the stove until Alex asked me for a fork. Then I realized there were none in the drawer. He had been quite busy while I was cooking:

Don’t worry. No matter what Alex should have enough silverware for this meal.

Maren brought Mariel and Elise to play today.

Mariel was happy to supervise while Alex and Elise ran all over the backyard. Elise was fascinated with Tabit and wanted to carry her everywhere. Tabit was a pretty good sport about the whole thing.

Me: Can you say Madison?
Alex: Madison
Me: Can you say Tabit?
Alex: Meow
Me: Can you say Mommy?
Alex: Mommy
Me: Can you say Daddy?
Alex: Dadoo
Me: Can you say Monster?
Alex: Mooster
Me: Can you say Monkey?
Alex: Monkey
Me: Can you say Pumpkin?
Alex: Monkey
Me: Can you say Granny?
Alex: Papa
Me: Can you say shovel?
Alex: Chopin
Me: Can you say car?
Alex: Beep beep
Me: Can you say airplane?
Alex: Awplane
Me: Can you say Abram?
Alex: Abum
Words Alex can say clearly: water, fish, fire, firemen, ball, bike, choo choo, chicken, bean, dog, outside, chip, digger, Cheerio, bus, shoe, done, more, on, up

Wade is a definite Mr. Fix-It. Today he fixed Alex’s fireman hat. Alex proudly wore it the rest of the day.

Amber and Nick hosted a Friendsgiving for the neighborhood. The kids ran wild while the adults put the finishing touches on dinner preparations:

Dinner was fantastic, but really it’s all about the desserts. Alex wanted to play in them, but Abram was up for tasting:

My favorite part of the evening was when the boys got out the tools to “fix” the table. This entertained them for an impressive amount of time: