Valentine's Dinner

On Valentine's Day, Alex and Julia set up a cafe and had some of their puppets and stuffed animals come to join them for a dinner which they cooked in their kitchen.  I had purchased the little tables second hand the day before, thinking that they would be useful and they immediately took them and used them as desks the first night and then the next night, this is how they were used.

When I inquired as to the name of the cafe, Alex responded "Whatever kind of food you like....it's all here!"  Maybe more of a tag line, but sounds like customer service is their strong suit!

Out and About

As you can see from the photo, Alex still loves the cows at the Little Farm. This time, he fed the cow some lettuce and was very excited to pet it. There is not one ounce of fear in regard to the cow, even though its head is huge, compared to him. The chickens remain a close second as the favorites on the farm.

Today Alex did a lot of exploring at Dimond Park, after the library's storytime. He found someone's wheelbarrow and had a lot of fun hauling dirt around, and the stairs were another hit. Curiosity is something which Alex has an abundance of, something which makes me very happy. It also tends to make me very tired sometimes, but I can deal with that.

Laid Back Week

Although it started off a bit rainy, this week ended up to be quite nice. It was Alex's friend Miles' birthday on Wednesday, so we went to their house for a playdate. The boys were particularly interested in the stereo equipment, which is no surprise, right? Alex had fun exploring all of the toys and books at Miles' house and came home with a cool car, which he enjoys having us zoom across the room.

Since the rain subsided, we were able to break out the sandbox, which was one of Alex's birthday presents. I am sure he will gets lots of use out of this new addition to the front yard in the future. It is always quite fun to move a little sand around. Luckily, it has a nice cover, which keeps it dry and closed to any kitties who might think it is something else.

Yesterday, we took a trip to the Oakland Zoo in the afternoon. Alex especially enjoyed the giraffes, which he tried to climb under the fence to see, as well as the meerkats. There is a tunnel to go through to get to a special meerkat viewing area and he was able to see a meerkat come right up to the glass to greet him. Quite fun!

Thanks Cuz Cuz Landen!

Alex received a cool Click Clack Alligator Push Toy from Cousin Landen for Christmas. As you can see, he really enjoys it. The alligator mouths open and close as he pushes the toy around. There have been a few near collisions with the tree and Alex loves to try to actually pull the mouths off, so it is considered to be quite a loved new toy. Hopefully the two cousins can spend a Christmas together soon!

Playing!

Alex enjoying his new activity cube, which he received from Grandma Elaine. Thanks!

Little Driver

The Latest

Alex has been keeping busy this week, especially during the unseasonably warm weather on Monday. After finding out that our BlueSky Family Club had shut its doors, only a few weeks after buying a membership (bummer!), we decided to meet some of our friends at TotLand Park in Berkeley. It is an awesome park for the kids. They have so many toys for them to play with, including the car, walker and rocking horse, which you see Alex on above. Doesn't he look like a little old man, looking into the mirror to switch lanes in that photo? He had a fun time playing and then we all had a picnic lunch in the park. I guess we will all be meeting at one another's homes during the rainy season, which is too bad, because the club was a great place to meet.

The other day, while getting ready to take Alex and Xena on a walk, I came back in the room and there Alex was, holding onto the leash. Just had to get a shot of that...pretty cute! He has recently learned to open up cabinet doors, which means that we need to get those childproofed. He loves playing on the foam block playset, which we bought this weekend at a neighborhood yard sale. It has a couple of ramps which can be used to climb and then slide down as well as a couple of other shapes to play with.

As you can see from the recently posted video, he continues on his culinary explorations. In the video, David was feeding him bits of a LaFarine chocolate croissant (none of the chocolate, of course). He was very interested, as you can see. We went for dinner at a local Cambodian restaurant on Friday evening and he enjoyed sampling the rice and charbroiled pork. These days his favorites seem to be stewed pears (from the backyard) and yogurt, or baked sweet potatoes, lentils and rice.

He keeps us on our toes, and we love it!

A New Ball!

Hi everyone! The new interest of the week is a soccer ball, which Daddy purchased for Alex. It is a size 1, just perfect for him! He really enjoys when you roll the ball to him, and likes to pick it up and then of course, try to suck on it. He has been practicing his crawling skills and can now get to things if he really wants to. He can go from a crawling position on his tummy, back to a sitting position as well, which has been nice for him (and us). He also seems to be trying to attempt to stand. I think that he knows how he would go about doing it, but just has to become a bit more balanced and stronger in order to get there. I'm sure it won't be long. Alot of babyproofing is on our horizon! He's just getting bigger and cuter every day....

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!

Who needs toys when you have a box?

Fun Times!

When he arrived home last week, Alex found that his Daddy had purchased a new toy for him. The Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage is pretty cool. If you wave the microphone or hit any of the buttons it will play songs. When you hit a particular instrument, it features that in the song. Alex likes it and enjoys the mirror feature as well. He is getting very good at sitting up, basically unassisted, so it is perfect. We have a pillow to help support him, but lately he is a great sitter!

He's becoming more vocal and likes to practice his words. He will grab at absolutely everything, so it is something you always need to keep in mind when carrying him around. He is getting so big and even more active, which is really fun to see.

Smiles All Around

Hi everyone! Well, Alex continues to grow like a champ and keeps us on our toes. He is so fun to be around. He started to smile more this week and we were finally able to capture it on film. His smile definitely produces more smiles all around! We've been keeping busy, running errands, meeting his new friend Cole (who is 5 days older than him), meeting Dr. Cosca (the doctor who delivered him) and of course, the normal eating and sleeping. He has taken a liking to his Lullaby Gloworm which he received as an arrival present. He now seems to associate that the music is coming from it and does listen to it. Just wanted to give you an update on what is happening here.