November

Back around Halloween, we got some sun near the Des Plaines River. The weather cooled off the following weekend, but we still found time to play in the backyard leaves (two, three, four, five). The swing was a good spot for a break before shooting some hoops and watching a video.

The second weekend of November, it was warm enough to rake some leaves. Those bags of leaves were heavy, but Alex demanded we let him pull them himself. He even helped with the clean-up.

After a failed attempt at a professional haircut, we broke down and bought some trimmers at Target. Before picture here. (That $20 trimmer has already paid for itself!) After some screaming, a hug, and a bath, he was pretty happy with his new look. The Play-Doh probably helped, too. He got a bit concerned by linked rings of Play-Doh at first, but then figured out how to tear them apart.

The Christmas tree went up over Thanksgiving weekend. He liked looking for presents under the Elmo chair but was surprised to find none. Back in Iowa, he went nuts riding my (thirty-year-) old bus around the basement. The singing gorilla was not popular, and was quickly pushed away in favor of a quick jig.

Christmas came early with a large voice-controlled train set. The rest of us didn't get much time with that wireless mic/remote control! That wasn't the only train, of course -- here, Aunt Kendra helps him open a box of wooden trains. He enjoyed playing with them, especially the gravity-defying magnetic couplers until the "Shake Your Booty" truck appeared and ran around the kitchen. Family picture time, then a snack and off to bed.

Two Years Old

Alex is now two years old! We started off with a breakfast of Raisin Bran and oatmeal and a call from Aunt Mindy. This was followed by a trip to the Chicago Auto Show ("cars!") where he got to "drive" a Jeep and BMW and inspect the new Mustang 5.0 engine. He had no interest in crawling around in the back of a truck, however. Once home, it was nap time.