Alex's Platform

Remember last week, when I said that David and Alex were working on a project? Well, here's the finished product! A few weeks ago, while doing some reading, I saw a gadget called the Learning Tower advertised. It was basically a platform for kids to use in the kitchen to watch and participate in cooking activities.

I thought that this would be a great idea for Alex because he has always loved being in the kitchen with me and now he always wants to see what is going on, but is really too big for the Bjorn these days. The only drawback was the price, which I thought was rather high at $180. I mentioned the concept to David and he agreed that it was a cool idea, and proceeded to draw up plans to make one himself. So, he started on it last weekend and today he finished it up.

I think that it turned out very nicely. He used redwood and then used a beeswax and orange oil finish on it to bring out the color and grain of the redwood. As you can see it has a variety of heights which it can be adjusted to, just move the dowel to the appropriate holes. Alex loves it! He tried it out today and even donned his yet too large apron for the occasion. I am sure that he will get much enjoyment out of this project that Daddy worked so diligently on. Thanks Daddy, it looks great!

New Rides!

Yay! for Craigslist and its ability to help us all recycle kiddo gear which still has lots of life left in it. A couple of weeks ago, we went out to Danville to purchase a bike trailer and Kettler trike for Alex. David had been searching for a used trailer and when this one came up, it happened to be packaged with a Kettler trike. Luckily, we were able to contact the seller quickly and made an appointment to go and pick it up. The trailer and the trike are both in excellent condition and will be put to good use. Bonus was the fact that they were a great deal!

So, that is why David is tuning up the bike and I'm on the hunt for one as well. As you can see, Alex enjoyed both of his new rides, even though the trike is way too big for him at the moment. We should have lots of fun biking moments in our future.

Hmmmm....how does this thing work?

Thanks Uncle Ming and Auntie Fiona!

I just wanted to write a quick note to say thanks to Uncle Ming and Auntie Fiona for the nice stroller which they sent to me this week. As you can see, my mom and I have already taken it out for a spin at the park earlier this week. It is sporty Uncle Ming, just like your Skyline! I can't wait to meet both of you in December. Your wedding will be a fun time, for sure. Thanks again for the new ride.

Love,
Alex

My Cool New Space!

Hi everyone!! I just wanted to post a picture of my cool new space. What do you think? I really, really like it. My parents have given me half of the dining room as my very own space. Just wait....in a few more months, the whole place will be mine...well, really it already is, just don't tell Mom and Dad! My sister is a little bit upset because my new play space happens to be right in front of her favorite window to look out. She told me that she will let me have the window for now though. She's pretty cool!

They tell me that once they put the fence up, it will be completed. Yeah right, and then I will need to find a way to get the fence down, because what fun is a fence?

I can totally sit up on my own now and I am trying to figure out if I really want to crawl or not. I can get on my hands and knees and rock and then sometimes I just decide to go on my haunches instead, like those sprinters did in the Olympics....maybe I can just learn how to run.

Do you see that little buggy in the picture? My Grandma and Grandpa Chng brought that for me when they came to visit. I like it, and will have even more fun with it once I can sit on it by myself. It has a gear-shifter, a bell, a little trunk to put some of my little toys in, and a whirly thing on it---pretty cool!

I Love My Changing Table

Outing to the Park

Hi all!

I celebrated my three week birthday yesterday by taking an outing to the park. We took a picnic to Point Isabel and walked around the shoreline and enjoyed the beautiful weather. My big sister was quite happy to be able to show me one of her favorite spots to spend time. The weather this week has been great, so we wanted to make sure that we enjoyed it, and we certainly did. Here's a picture of me, my dad, and my big sister....you can't see me, but I'm sleeping in my stroller. I love to take rides and sleep in the stroller!

2 weeks!

Hi all!
I am about to turn 2 weeks old tonight. Wow, it has been a pretty fast 14 days. I have kept my mom and dad on quite a schedule as I have my dad's metabolism or something, I get hungry every 2 or so hours! I really like hanging out with my grandma Elaine and my big sister Xena. I love it when she licks my feet.
I love to wiggle around when I am awake and am looking around as much as I can. There is sooo much to see around me. I also love modern jazz and Sarah Mclachlan, Sting not so much. But my favorite is the kitchen hood vent fan, the louder the better.
I check back in later,
Love
Alex.

A Changing Table for Peanut

Over the past few months, we have been working on many projects to prepare for Peanut's arrival. The latest, which was tackled last weekend was a
changing table. As many of you know, our apartment is not really large enough for alot of extra furniture, so David came up with the idea to make a changing table similar to those which you see in public restrooms---the ones which fold down from the wall. Really good idea! A search on the Internet showed an overview of something similar which was done on "Wasted Spaces" on the DIY Network.

So, David made a changing table from scratch and it is now proudly mounted on the wall in the hallway between the two bedrooms. It looks great, is efficient and will be used many, many times in our future. We tested it out, using one of Xena's toys, as you can see in the pics. Xena was very interested and helpful in the whole process.