Alexander's Web Page

Dear Alex,

We held your third birthday party on Saturday, January 5th at 10am.  The theme this year was Toy Story, your favorite movie.

We had a pretty small party this year.  We invited family: Mimi, Grandma, and Aunt Nicole, and we only invited a few of your friends: Makayla, Rhegan, and Micah, Benji, Riley, and Xander.  Unfortunately, Riley, Xander, and Benji were sick, so only Makayla, Rhegan, and Micah came.  The person who came from farthest away was your Aunt Nicole from Seattle.  The person from the closest location was our neighbors Makayla and her little baby brother, Brayden.

At your party we had Toy Story themed food including Stinky Pete’s walking sticks (pretzels), Buzz’s Fruit Rockets (mini fruit kabobs), Bullseye’s Carrots (mini carrot sticks), and Pizza Planet Pizza (mini bagel bite cheese pizzas).

For activities we had everyone color Toy Story pictures to start with.

Then we had horse races up and down the hallway on stick horses.

Then we decorated cupcakes to look like Mr. Potato Head.

Finally we broke into a Buzz Lightyear pinata all while Toy Story was playing on the television.

With the cupcake decorating, I didn’t make a separate cake this year, but I did decorate a special cupcake just for you with your favorite sprinkles.  You didn’t have any trouble blowing out the candle yourself.  You, of course, ate all the icing off your cupcakes.  Yummy!

At the end of your party your friends got gift bags with crayons, Toy Story stickers, a red bandana, and they got to pick out their own Toy Story Pez dispenser.

We didn’t open presents in front of your friends, but Mimi, Grandma, and Aunt Nicole stayed to watch you.  I think your favorite gifts are the Rex toy from Mimi, the Mr. Potato Head from Grandma, and the Bullseye toy from Aunt Nicole.

Alex, my wishes for you this year are to continue to grow, stay healthy, learn, and be happy.  You are the light of my life.  Happy birthday, Son!

Tags: Birthday party, Pixar party, toddler party, Toy Story

September has been a busy month for us.  Not only did we have the Trike-a-thon, but we played with neighbors, ate out, and a great time.  Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Bath time:

Central Market:

Eating at IHOP with Mimi

Playing with Makayla.  They are going to be trouble!

Trying sherbet for the first time.  I think he likes it!

Riding around the neighborhood

Alex’s school had a trike-a-thon this September to raise money for St. Jude’s Hospital.  We posted his fundraising online and had a huge response.  Thanks to all our friends and family Alex raised $200 for St. Jude!

I was unable to attend the actual event, but James and Mimi went to support Alex.  He had a great time and did really well peddling his own tricycle.  All that practicing really paid off.  Enjoy some pictures!

This school year Alex has really enjoyed going out to the mailbox with me every day to get the mail.  He loves running down the driveway and taking any mail for James in to his daddy.

Recently, Alex got his own mail for the first time!  He was so excited!  Here is what the envelope looked like:

Alex’s Aunt Nicole sent him a package.  There were stickers all over the envelope, which Alex loved, and his name was written on the back.

When Alex realized that there was actually mail for him, he got so excited!  He ran inside to show Daddy.  Together they opened the envelope.

Inside was a letter for Alex and a coloring book!

Alex loved his surprise mail!   Thanks, Aunt Nicole!

Today was Alex’s first day of daycare for the school year.  It didn’t really feel any different since he has been going to his school a lot this summer while I worked.  I have been back at work full time basically since the first of August.  He didn’t change teachers or classrooms from where he has been this summer.  So calling this the first day of school seems a little strange to me, but his school makes a big deal out of today.

So, since today was his official first day of school, so here is the post!

He tried to pretend he was still asleep when I went to wake him up:

He chose his own outfit.  And yes, the irony is not lost on me that the out fit he chose this year…

Is almost the same as the outfit I chose for him last year:

He brushed his teeth:

We drove to his school:

He hammed it up for the camera:

Have another great year, my son!

After writing almost 10 posts over the past two weeks, I am finally caught up with my blog writing.  All my pictures from February through August are up on this blog.

Alex starts his second year of school tomorrow.  I know that technically it isn’t even preschool yet, but Alex loves his school, his teachers, and his friends.  He has learned so much.  I feel blessed to have gotten him into such a good program.

More pictures to come soon!

Relatives!

This August we were very lucky.  We had the wonderful opportunity to get to spend some time with some of our family from Louisiana.  Alex got to visit with his Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Steve, Aunt Chris, and Aunt Iddy.

The first night we all went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants: La Hacienda.

Alex enjoyed the saddle seats in the waiting area.

And the horses outside…

The next day we hung out at Mimi’s house for some barbecue.

We all enjoyed eating together.

Alex had fun playing with his Mimi and some noise makers.

We had a wonderful time with our family.  Thank you so much to all of you for coming to visit!

Now I am not trying to say that I have not had other perfect days, because I have.   But, Alex and I had a wonderful day this month, just him and me.

Our day started out with breakfast at one of my favorite Dallas breakfast eateries: Cafe Brazil.

Then we drove to Stonebriar Mall, which I had heard has the best play area for kids of all the malls in the Metroplex.  We played and played.  Alex took some risks, interacted with other kids, yelled at complete strangers, and had a blast.

Then we went to the cookie booth and enjoyed a cookie while watching the ice skaters.

Then, we went shopping!  We went to the Lego Store, The Children’s Place, and (Alex’s favorite) The Disney Store.

We also rode the carousel.  Alex loved every minute!

After the mall, we ate lunch at a local diner called The Purple Cow.  They are famous for their purple milkshakes, so of course Alex and I shared one. It was delicious.

After lunch, we both went back to the house and took a nap.  It was a wonderful, wonderful day with my son.

VACATION – Part 2!

Sleeping in the condo gave Alex a chance to sleep in a big boy bed for the first time.  It was actually a bunk bed.  The ladder actually acted as a railing so that he did not roll out of the bed.  He really enjoyed his bed.

Our days in the condo started off with Alex and I having breakfast and watching Dora while we waited for James to wake up.

On day 3 of our vacation, we drove to Padre Island.  The water at Padre was much more calm, the wind was calmer too, and the beaches were nicer.  The only bad part was all the seaweed in the water, but Alex didn’t let it bother him too much.

For dinner that night, we found a restaurant in Corpus that had a playground out back.  Alex loves playgrounds.  He is even starting to interact with the other kids more.

Our last day started off with the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus.  Watching the dolphin show…

Trying to touch the sting rays…

Looking at the turtles….

Watching the snakes…

After the aquarium, we had lunch at one of the oldest Whataburgers in Corpus.  It is a two-story, A-frame building that overlooks the ocean.  It was fun.

Then we got on the road and headed back to DFW.  We did mange to stop along the way for Dairy Queen, a Texas road-trip tradition.

All in all, I would consider our vacation a success.  Alex really loved the ocean, he behaved well in the car, and I am not so nervous about taking another road trip with him.

VACATION – Part 1!

We got to take a family vacation this summer, and we decided to introduce Alex to the beach.  So, we drove down to Corpus Christi and spent 3 days there.  Here is our photo journal…

Here is Alex in the car as we are about to pull out of the driveway:

Our first stop was Pappa and Meemaw’s house.  Alex especially liked the wooden bear out in front of Pappa’s house.  We had lunch with them and then got on our way to Austin.

We stopped in Austin on Monday night and caught up with some friends of mine.  They took us to a great restaurant that had a playground out back.  Alex loved playing on the playground and watching the older kids playing.

After dinner with my friends, we spent the night with James’ friend Osman, woke up and had a delicious breakfast at Kerby Lane, and then got on the road again.  Here is Alex telling me not to eat his eggs:

This is how much we enjoyed our breakfast…

We got to Corpus around lunch time, but couldn’t check into the condo we rented until four, so we decided to have lunch and spend the afternoon being tourists.

We had lunch at a restaurant right on the ocean.  Alex loved watching the sea gulls flying around.

Then we went and toured the Lexington.  It isn’t the ship that James was stationed on, but he pointed out the similarities.  We all had a great time.

After the Lexington, we did a little grocery shopping, checked into the condo, and then hit the water!

And that is the end of day two!