Alex vs. The Bug

This time, it looks like the bug won. I sure hope that this is just a one off event and Alex doesn't inherit my nasty reactions to all bugs. Not sure what got him on Wednesday when we were outside, but the photo shows the ugly result of some sort of bug bite. Poor little guy. Fortunately, he was still in great spirits, his normal happy self, but it looked just horrible. I took him to the doctor and she said it definitely looked like a bite, but was not concerned. I gave him a dose of Benadryl and it gradually went down over a day and a half. All back to normal now.

Horses!

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This afternoon, we drove up to Sequoia Arena in Joaquin Miller Park, to attend a Hunter/Jumper Horse show. The setting among the redwoods was so nice and the crisp, the fresh misty air made it seem hard to believe that we were only ten minutes from downtown Oakland. It felt more like fall, than summer, but no complaints here, at least from Alex and I. :-)

Since I rode when I was younger, I thought it would be fun to take Alex to one of the shows, especially since they are so close. This week's show was a Hunter/Jumper show and even though I am not at all familiar with it, it was still very fun to watch and see Alex's reaction to the horses. He loved taking it all in from the bleachers for awhile, while he ate his snacks and was even getting into clapping for the contestants as they finished their rides. The majority of the time, though, he had a blast cruising the trails among the redwoods with David and spotting the occasional horse on the trail, which was quite a source of excitement. The large piles of poo were another attraction. As you can see, he was pointing to them and alerting us of their whereabouts, while trying to resist the urge to touch them....too cute!

It was a great afternoon and within about five minutes of leaving the arena, Alex was passed out in his car seat. Always a sign of a good time!

Explosion!

Alex signing baby. We have a new neighbor baby, so whenever he hears him, he signs baby.

No worries, it is not a disastrous explosion, actually, quite the opposite! As of late, we have had an explosion of language, sign language, that is. We have been working on signing with Alex for a couple of months now and and he has been picking up signs all along, but all of a sudden, there appears to be an explosion of sorts. All I can say is, signs are awesome! A couple of evenings ago, Alex went over by the counter and made the banana sign. We took the banana down and fed him some and he was quite happy. Later on, he went over to the cabinet and stood in front of it and made the cracker sign. The cheddar bunnies were retrieved and he was a smiley, happy boy. Notice the theme.....food....hmmm, I wonder where he gets that from.

Anyway, to Alex, it must feel like being in a foreign country where you do not speak the language, and then finally you pick up a few words to get you by and you are elated, and motivated to learn more. He can finally communicate his needs and wants to us, his sometimes seemingly oblivious parents. Yay!!

He's up to about 20 words or so and is really starting to use them much more frequently and confidently, so we will definitely keep this up. It is so exciting to see him communicate and to see his reaction when we actually understand what he is trying to tell us.

Playtime!

This ball maze is so fun!!


Hey Luke, let's have some sushi.


A duet by Luke and Alex

I had an appointment the other day and Alex stayed with Ayumi and Luke for a couple of hours and obviously had a fun time, as you can see from the pictures which Ayumi so kindly took for me. It was the first time that I left him at someone else's house for that long of a time period and it went well, so it was a great accomplishment for both of us. Thanks Ayumi and Luke for helping Alex have such a fun time while giving me a couple of hours away.

Go Lakers!

Can I have a cold one?

It was a hot summer day and I am ultra lounging in my chair watching my Lakers play the Rockets in game 7. They played well and finally closed out the Houston team. Now I get to enjoy more playoff basketball with my dad. Bring on the Nuggets!

Show me.....

Goats! Goats! Goats!

Alex and a baby goat


Hi Mama Goat!


Bart the guard llama---look at those crazy teeth!


The whole crew at the front gate


Alex milking a goat


In the cheese making room with fresh bags of curds


Carrie, Pat and Johnny in the goat pasture


Mommy and Alex in the tasting room. Yum---fresh chevre!


Yesterday we took a little road trip down to Pescadero to visit Harley Farms, which is a small dairy goat farm. Carrie, Pat and Johnny met us there and we had such a fun time touring the farm. The goats were so friendly that they seemed more like dogs, than farm animals. Alex tried his hand at milking a goat, we watched the process of making fresh goat cheese and then we sampled some of the yummy cheese in the great room above the cheese shop. Yum-i-licious! The feta was really tasty, as was the chevre with cranberries and walnuts. They made some beautiful wheels with edible flowers, which looked like works of art. Alex LOVED the cheese, as would be expected from the little cheese conoisseur.

It was a great outing and we would definitely recommend it as a day trip. Their website is at: http://www.harleyfarms.com/. After the farm tour, we went to downtown Pescadero (a one block town) and sat out in the barbeque area at a local eatery. Alex and Johnny were able to run around and listen to the music while playing in the grass and eating lunch. It was a perfect day with temps in the mid-70's and the sun shining so nicely. We will definitely head back that way sometime soon. The beaches which were nearby looked so beautiful and relaxing.

Cal Academy

You should come and visit The California Academy of Sciences! It's awesome!

Hmmm, let me check out this turtle.

This tree house is so cool!

We love our membership to the California Academy of Sciences! Alex had a great time yesterday, along with Zephyr and Luke. The highlights of the day were the South African penguin feeding, the wide variety of fish (one of his new favorite signs) in the aquarium exhibits, and the play area which had a bunch of really cool things to play with.

Nice Weekend

Hello, Alex!


This is a great book. Let's trade snack traps and sit on my Daddy's lap.


A bucket, some water and toys....who needs anything else?

Chillin' in The Chia's backyard

Hope that everyone had a nice Mother's Day weekend! Mine was a great one. We spent time with The Chia Family on Saturday, which was a lot of fun, after not having seen them in a few months. Both Nat and Mika have grown so much. All three kids had fun together, playing in the backyard at their house.

On Sunday, David and Alex went out and got Peet's and LaFarine croissants for me in the morning, which is always a good treat! We headed out to Danville for a bike ride on the Iron Horse trail, which is a great place to ride, in case you haven't tried it. Alex was a bit hot in his bike trailer, as a result of me overdressing him (I always forget that it is warmer on the other side of the hills). We took a short ride and then had a nice lunch in Danville on the patio, enjoying the beautiful day. It was a great day and I am lucky to have such a great hubby, cute little boy and nice first-child dog in my life. Thanks for making the day special!

The Little Helper

Whether it is helping in the garden or playing sous chef in the kitchen, Alex is your guy! Today he worked the soil for some wildflowers and peeled shallots too! My little helper is always there for me.

Up and Down

This foam block set was perhaps the best garage sale find yet. For $10 it has provided hours of entertainment, that latest of which is running up and down the ramps.

Our Little Reader

To say that Alex likes books would be an understatement! I think it would be fair to say that he loves books which is not surprising, as both David and I like books quite a bit ourselves. Numerous times per day Alex brings books to me to read to him and quite often we sit down on the playmat and read many, many books in a session.

Some of his favorites include My First 100 Words, his animal books which have texture, Peek a Who, which has a mirror at the end, which he loves to see himself in, all of the Sandra Boynton books, including "Barnyard Dance", "Moo Baa La La La" and "The Belly Button Book", and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", as well as all of his little Sesame Street books. We read through the two boxes of books numerous times each day, so thanks to everyone who has given him books over the past year. They are being put to very good use!

Yesterday, I was working the kitchen and Alex took his puppy out of the Bumbo seat, sat down and started reading his books. He did it again today, which is really cute. Hopefully this continues well into the future. One can never have too many books!

Tour de Cure 2009

Daddy all suited up and ready to go in the rain.



Daddy at the finish


Daddy and Alex as part of Team Bio-Rad


Team Bio-Rad

Thanks to everyone who supported the Tour de Cure! We had a fun time at the ride yesterday. It was wet/rainy/overcast so we decided not to tow the Alex in the trailer so David rode solo. He stopped to help someone fix a flat, paying back some karma points from the morning, when someone else gave him a tire tube to fix his own flat.

David said that it was a great little ride, 25 miles - mostly flat, with a little headwind at one point. Alex and I hung out at the start/finish area at the Veteran's home in Yountville, and played with a number of guide dogs for the blind and for patients with diabetes. The event was pretty well organized, they had a band and wine tasting tables at the start/finish area and a good little BBQ going as well. We are thinking that next year all three of us will go on the ride.