My work decided to switch to a new system. After 4 years, suddenly I can no longer use my Apple. I have to be running Windows for all the software to work correctly. We tried running Parallels, but that ran MUCH TOO SLOW. The latest idea is to put back together Wade’s parents’ old computer and try to make it work. This is what it looked like when I went to bed:
(To make matters more complicated, Wade had gotten rid of most of his extra computer parts. We only have macs at our house and he convinced his parents to switch last year. He had decided he would never again have to deal with piecing a computer together – oops.)
Month: September 2011
This picture was taken at Alex’s request. Madison was on the rug and he posed himself and his frog with her.
I happened upon a large stash of free firewood today. Alex and Wade spent the evening unloading, splitting, and stacking.
Alex had a front row seat for the road construction in front of our house.
This tree has lived with us since South Carolina. It looks fantastic in the summer and then moves inside. Over the winter it loses all of its leaves and looks pretty bad. This past winter it really suffered because Tabit (in her kitten months) decided to use it for climbing and chewing. Here is a beginning of summer picture and an end of summer. Amazing.
I spent the morning unpacking and walked in the spare bedroom to find Alex “packing” last year’s winter hats in a padded swimsuit. (He dressed himself – both the lack of shorts and the hat)
Almost home. Waiting for our bags at the airport.
We spent the morning on the beach before driving to Mobile to catch our flight. The entire flight Alex was telling us we were “up in the sky”. (Wade and I joke that Alex narrates our life.)
While we were waiting for our bags, Wade pointed out that some of his googly eyes were still in place at the airport.
Wade went to a Tech football game yesterday and brought Alex a helmet. Alex keeps calling it his “Packer helmet”. He’ll learn eventually….
We decided to celebrate my Mom’s birthday while we were all together (a surprise to Mom). Alex was so excited to give Gram the pumpkin he picked out and the card he colored (and the envelope included special crayons for Gram).
After a few days at the beach, Alex’s favorite activity is using the water hose to “clean” toys.
What’s a little more sand after dinner and bath?
Cousin sleep – over.
Alex was so excited for our “hairplane” trip today. The minute he woke up he started talking about it and he handled the first flight really well. He played and read and played and ate.
After two flights and a decent car ride, we made it to the beach!
(Alex jumped right in – clothes and all)
Alex ran into my room screaming “astronaut”. He then explained that he was wearing an “astronaut hat”. I didn’t even know he knew about astronauts.
Wade is a great photographer (see here), when he actually picks up a camera. Unless I specifically request it, Wade only tends to take these kind of pictures:
Madison and I taking a Saturday afternoon nap.
I came out of the bathroom to find Alex on Madison’s pillow “reading” to her.
Just like Daddy.
Practicing that throw!
We had perfect fall weather today for an outing to Apple Holler. We got there early and there were few other people. The boys had a blast running from place to place.
When it came time to talk about dinner, I told Wade I didn’t care what we ate but it needed to be in front of the fire. He grinned and said, “Pizza or Chinese?” We placed our order for Chinese and Wade was just about to go pick it up when we caught the Strouds loitering in our front yard (actually they were comparing our roof to their new one). They heard us mention Chinese and placed their own order. The boys played inside while Nick and Wade went to pick it up. We invited them to picnic in our living room and suddenly we had a party!
Alex and Madison have been buddies for a long time (see here), but today I saw a first. I saw them together on the couch with Alex mindlessly petting Madison. Normally he has to be prompted or it is a hard pet that Madison runs from.
I knew Alex was feeling much better this morning when he woke me up by saying, “I want milk. I want a snack. I want to play Legos.” I even determined he was well enough for school. While I was packing his lunch I told him to go wipe his nose. I found him like this:
When we got home from school Alex wanted to read books on the front porch. It wasn’t too long before Abram came to play. (And not too long after that before all the guys joined in.)
Making important calls.
Alex has his first sore throat. I was suspicious yesterday when he would cough and then cry for a few seconds before resuming playing. Today he had a fever to go with it and was pretty lethargic in general. He got a lot of books, TV, and snuggles. Hopefully tomorrow he’ll feel better.
The worst part of the day was when he would cough, tears would run down his cheeks, and he would say, “Mommy make me happy.” Poor boy.
Definitely sick. Alex’s first sore throat.
That’s right. Chocolate custard for dessert.
(Alex has a sore throat and only ate a few bites so we promised the rest for breakfast.)
Every year he has been at MDO, Alex has had a different sleeping arrangement. The first year it was a crib. Last year was a cot. This year it is a pad on the floor. According to state regulations that means he has to have a blanket under and over him. A sleeping bag makes sense and Alex’s new one arrived today!
Alex is practicing his bean bag skills.
This conversation actually occurred Friday evening as we were walking home from Tosa Fest.
(The picture is from earlier in the week.)
Alex: I need a shower
Me: No shower tonight. You had one after your nap.
Alex: I want a shower.
Me: Not tonight
Alex suddenly decides to eat the cookies he has been holding and not eating for the last 15 minutes.
Alex: I have cookies on my chin. I need a shower.
Smart Boy. Still no shower.
Alex’s Little Tikes Coupe is an older model that came to us from friends. Most of the stickers are long gone so Alex has enjoyed “painting” his car all summer.
Wade is always coming up with fun activities (at home and at work). At work he convinced his boss and colleagues to enter the Soapbox Derby. In the end they had enough interest for two cars. Alex and I had a lot of fun watching the races.
Watching the cars at the Soapbox Derby.
(More pictures here.)
Yay for awesome weather! Alex wanted his after-nap snack on the front porch. While we were there he opened a box from Granny and Pop to find some people and cars. Abram joined us before too long and the boys had a lot of fun playing “fireman”. I was informed that they were going down the fire pole when they rolled down the hill and in the firetruck for the last two pictures. I’m not sure Alex completely understood but he was happy to follow Abram.
Watching for trains at Tosa Fest.
Helping Daddy make Sours for the Packer game.
Alex is a great helper in the kitchen. When I mentioned making cookies, he ran to get the cookie sheet out of the cabinet. I convinced him we needed to mix the dough first and he got to pour all the ingredients in the mixer.
Wade came home with oranges and lemons – ingredients for Whiskey Sours. Alex was excited to help him “squish” the fruit. (He was also very interested in licking the peels. Yuck.)
We had a packed day today! We left the house early for a trip to the zoo with some friends from MDO. The zoo was pretty empty, which was a good thing with five kids running around like crazy.
(The tiger was very interested in the kids and put on a great show.)
Pure joy at riding the train!
First day in the Two Year Old class at Mother’s Day Out.
(For the first picture of last year click here.)
Today Alex started back to school. On the drive he seemed a little hesitant so I was telling him about his friends and all the toys he would get to play with. He immediately said, “Mommy you play.” I told him I would play with him for a few minutes but then I had to go home to work. He replied with, “Mommy play bigger.” I said, “Do you mean play longer?” He proceeded to use the words “bigger” and “longer” interchangeably for the rest of the drive.