Fun Run and Kite Day

Saturday was a busy day for us! We started off by going to the Fun Run Josh's company was hosting. Alex and I walked in the 5k while Josh ran! I am so proud of him, he has not run since the fun run last year and was only like 30 seconds slower this year! Alex and I actually finished the walk this year. Last year it was sooo cold and my RA was at it's worst so we did about 1/3 of the walk. Alex had a blast! She got to see Abby and had so much fun playing with Ina and our new friend, Kate and her mom Candace.

Alex and Josh Fun Run 2009

Alex and Josh Fun Run 2010

Alex and Ina

After the Fun Run we went home and relaxed a bit. Then we went to Martha's Bloomers for Kite Day. Alex could care less about the kites everyone was flying, she was more interested in the kite tied to the canopy. We didn't stay very long because Alex was getting tired and cranky.


When we got home it was nap time for the little one and both of us! I hopped in the shower since we had dinner plans with the James' then I took an hour nap with Josh. It was just what we needed. Tracy and Katie took us to Christopher's as a thank you for taking care of Abby. They arranged for a sitter to watch the girls at their house. Both kiddos cried when we left but it didn't last long. We heard Alex did well and she was soo excited when we got back to pick her up. She was so full of energy, she didn't go to bed until 9! Josh and I had a great time at dinner. It was so nice to dress up and have some adult conversation, a delicious dinner and not have to worry about trying to eat with the kids. I wish I would have taken my camera because we all clean up well! :)

Josh and I were sooo full from dinner we couldn't sleep well. He was up at 4:30 and I managed to doze off and on until 7. Josh made us breakfast then we went to get some plants. We came home and had a busy day. We pulled a ton of weeds in the back yard (one of the only bad things about having empty/wooded lots on both sides of us) and planted a few shrubs. After that we painted some small areas in our bathroom, bed room and Alex's bathroom to try out some colors I picked up last week. Our next big project is to paint!

Duck Duck!

We met Josh and the guys for lunch today. We were ready a little early so we stopped at the pond to feed some ducks. The ducks must be fed quite often, because as soon as we got close to the rail, they swam right up and waited for food! Alex loved them. When they got bored with the bread we fed them, they swam off so we took a walk around the pond. While we were there, Alex learned 2 new words, duck and quack!

random pics

Here are random pics from the last few weeks I realized were still on my camera!

Little Monkey See Monkey Do unstrapping the toys from her activity table just like Grandma did!

Alex in the dress she wore for her 1st birthday
(that will be used as this years Easter dress!)

Alex and Josh having some fun Daddy/Daughter time!

I adore her wild little pig tails! (Her hair is getting soo long!)

Alex and Me

Alex always takes time to smell the flowers!

that's right, whipped cream straight out of the can!

Smoothie Queen

Alex has a new found love...smoothies! Alex has started snacking a lot in the afternoon and wanting dinner early. I decided to help fill her up, instead of Kix or goldfish and milk, I'd make her a smoothie. I always pick up huge bags of frozen fruit at Sam's because I love it with yogurt and granola. I picked out some strawberries, threw in 1/2 a banana leftover from breakfast, some vanilla yogurt and milk. Alex LOVED it. Pretty much every day since, I'd made her a smoothie as her afternoon snack. I change it up a little every time I make one. One day it was peaches, mango, honey, yogurt and milk, today it was all the different fruit (strawberries, peaches, mango and pineapple). I love using frozen fruit because it makes it a little thicker! As different fruit are coming in season, I'll probably start using a mix of frozen and fresh. The only problem I have with frozen fruit it that it isn't as sweet as fresh, which for Alex that's ok, but if I'm sharing with her, I add a little honey. I've actually read several different places that you can throw a handful of fresh spinach in and it doesn't alter the flavor. I'm picking up some on my next grocery run so I can try it out. I love it because she is getting dairy, fruit and soon to be veggies! Since she still tends to be picky it makes me feel better knowing she is getting some good stuff!

Poor Collie

We love our Cooper to death. I'm not going to lie, since Alex arrived, and more so since Alex started walking, Cooper has received less and less attention. We rarely go on walks, he prefers to sleep on our bed most of the day, he gets in more trouble because he is constantly knocking Alex over with his rear end. I snuggle with him as much as I can while Alex is napping because I know once she gets up, all my attention will be on her. Well, Cooper has decided to let us know he does not appreciate getting the shaft. He has started nibbling on Alex's toys. Alex does not appreciate it one bit. If she sees a toy he has nibbled on, she gets my attention, points to it, the points to Cooper. She looks at it funny, then kind of avoids the toy because she knows there is something wrong with it.

Now don't go thinking Coopers life is worse because Alex is here. In fact, I think he'd have to say it's better. He gets more people food then he knows what to do with! Alex loves to share her snacks with him. In fact so much that when we took him to the vet, she said he could stand to lose a couple of pounds! When Alex is done eating, Cooper sticks his nose in her highchair to get any crumbs she may have dropped! If Alex and I are outside, she always lets Cooper out! Alex pets Cooper, kisses him and just loves him with all her little heart! They play so well together and I just love listening to her laugh while she plays with him!

Notice the long Collie face intently watching?

one for you and one for me!


Free at Last!

Martha's Bloomers

These are the days I love! It's supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow so Alex and I took advantage of the warm sunny day and went to Martha's Bloomers this morning. We want to add a tree and flower bed in our backyard so Alex and I went to look around to see what we liked. I knew Alex would love it because she can just walk around and explore. She loved playing with the gravel, looking at the fish in the pond, digging in any dirt she could find, smelling the flowers, chasing the cats that live there, checking out the birds and just wandering around! By far her favorite thing was picking up gravel, dirt and rocks and putting them in any container she could find! After we left, we met picked up Josh for lunch! We've seen him ever day this week for lunch, I am starting to get spoiled!

I love the Texas Redbud in the background! I'm thinking I want one for our backyard!

Alex and the cat...checking each other out!

she wasn't sure what to think about the birds

mmmm, the metal flower smells good!

they had huge ceramic balls around, Alex tried to pick up every one and got frustrated when she couldn't!

Finger Painting

So, we tried our first activity yesterday. Alex finger painted. She HATED it at first. She was excited to put her fingers in the paint, but the second she realized her hands were dirty she freaked out and started crying. After I dipped my finger in the paint and put fingerprints on the paper, she was ok with it. I know I shouldn't have laughed, but it was too funny! She ended up loving it!