More Holiday Fun Plus a Visit to the Dentist

Alex has a new Hanukkah menorah. We had a fun Hanukkah party at Cecily's, and we made menorahs as a craft project. It was a lot of fun and turned out great! We'll definitely be using this again next year.



Yesterday, we put up a few Christmas decorations.

Alex helped trim the tree.



He likes touching the lights.



We have family of snowmen, who all have twigs for arms. Alex put all the arms in and even made a hat for the little boy snowman because he was the only one who didn't have a hat.

The annual shot in front of the stockings.



Yesterday was also Alex's first trip to the dentist. He did great! No crying or even any fussing. He thought the chair and the tools were really neat, opened his mouth even before he was asked, and liked getting "super sparkly" teeth. He said that his favorite part was getting to hold the mirror in his mouth. We forgot our camera, but Dave took a few pictures on his phone. If we can ever get those on the computer I'll post a few.

Happy Hanukkah

The first night of Hanukkah was a fun one at our house. Alex's present was Dave's Tonka fire truck from when he was three. It couldn't have been a more perfect gift.

Lighting the candles.



The boys and the truck.



Alex loaded up all the animals for a ride.

Two Holidays in One

We made our annual trek to Dave's sister's to celebrate Thanksgiving. A good time was had by all, and since Hanukkah is early this year and we were all together, we had Thanksgiving on Thursday and Hanukkah on Friday. Here's an assortment of pictures to enjoy.

Seth and Alex crushed the Oreos for dessert.



Alex loved playing with his cousins. One game was to hide behind the couch while Seth covered him in Beanie Babies.



This post at the bottom of the stairs provided a lot of entertainment. Alex visited it several times every day. Just proving how impossible it is to predict what kids will like.



Less challenging to predict is that the pinball machine was a huge attraction!



Foosball was also a big hit.



Three generations of Diamonds watching Thanksgiving day football.



Max managed to get all the way inside the trash cabinet, searching for some turkey.



Lighting the Hanukkah candles.



Helping Josh sort Legos.



Alex loves his new scooter. (And, boy, is his jacket reflective!)



Happy Hanukkah from the extended Diamond Family!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Alex had to help Dave blow out his candles. The best part was that we had cake for dinner -- what a treat!



Alex insisted on singing Happy Birthday to Dave by himself. That's just as well because I would not have consented to filming if I were singing.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween weekend with our little monkey. Here are some pictures.

He spent about 30 minutes playing in the leaves at the park on our way to the farmers' market.



Throwing them right at the camera!



Having so much fun!



Decorating our pumpkin.



Smile!



Tonight was his first time going Trick or Treating. He had a blast.

Even ringing the doorbell is fun.



Off to find more houses to visit.

A pretty good haul for a short trip around the block.

Yearly Checkup Report

Alex had his three year old checkup this past week. It was such a big kid appointment. The doctor asked him questions (which he answered), he had the option to be measured on the adult scale for weight and height (he didn't do it though), and he got stickers and was allowed to choose a treasure from the treasure chest after the appointment (of all the choices, he picked more stickers).

He is now 34 pounds and 38 1/2 inches tall.

Pirate Adventure

Today was a special Halloween, pirate-themed story time at Open Books. The puppeteers led the kids on a treasure hunt through the store to find the animals that had escaped from the pirate ship. Alex had a great time.

Our little monkey reading a book before the adventure began.



Searching for treasure. (You can see the adult reading the treasure map in the upper right corner of the picture.)



Alex got the tiger.



Two monkeys!



Coloring is fun, but he was mostly so excited here because there was a Curious George book on the table.

A-L-E-X

Dave and Alex were coloring the other day, and Dave decided to work on Alex's name with him. The highly legible version was written by Dave and Alex together as a model. The other letters (and scribbles) are by Alex. The A is at a 90 degree angle but still somewhat recognizable. The L and E are great, and the X is good too, although Alex had some assistance from Dad on that one.

Climbing the Wall

Alex had a lot of fun this weekend at a Pump It Up birthday party for his classmate Duncan. We didn't take a ton of pictures, but I had to share some of him trying the climbing wall. I climbed up and then he took a turn.

Getting the harness on.



On the wall with some help from Dad.

I Want Candy!

Alex had his first lollipop today. We don't let him have many sweets, so he was really excited. This was the treasure he picked at school for being good all week.

Pumpkin Day

Today was full of pumpkin fun. First, Dave and Alex went to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make a pumpkin pie and also came home with a big pumpkin for our porch. Then we went to Harvest Day at the Farm at the Zoo, where they had a pumpkin patch set up and Alex got to choose his own pumpkin. Then after his nap, Alex and Dave made the pumpkin pie. Alex decided that he didn't like it without even trying it, but Dave and I both enjoyed it for dessert.

We went into the barn while it rained, so Alex got to visit the tractor, which is a favorite of his. He was even wearing his tractor sweatshirt today.



Here's my pumpkin!



Happy pumpkin pickers.



The bakers working on the pie.



Adding some of the spices.

Yoga Child

Alex just finished a two week yoga class at school, and he loved it. For the last day all the kids received a packet of yoga cards with the poses they learned. Alex's favorite pose was "Mouse" (known to those of us familiar with yoga as Child's pose). We even got a picture of him doing his favorite pose.

Happy 3rd Birthday Alex!

Alex turned three today. We tried to get a good shot to commemorate the day. A few turned out okay, like this one.



But mostly he just wanted to do this.



My handsome guys. Alex couldn't wait to wear his new fire truck pjs!

Homework

Alex got his first homework sent home from school yesterday. I guess things are different now that he's in preschool! It is optional for more letter practice, but it still amused us.

Birthday Party

Today we had a small birthday party for Alex with a few of his friends. Other than some very minor skirmishes, which are to be expected, the kids played great together and had lots of fun. Well done, kiddos! We've known all of these kids since they were infants, and it's so fun to watch them grow up. It's such a great group of families, and we are glad that everyone was able to come celebrate with us. (Almost everyone, as Alex's buddy Owen was out of town.)

Alex had so much fun, and it was a bit difficult to get him to take a nap today because he was so excited. Here are a few pics so you can share in the party too!

The Tinkertoys were a huge hit with the kids and the dads. Shortly after this pictures was taken the dads were all building too.



We had an inside picnic for lunch.



Alex has been talking about candles and cake all week (even before he knew he was having a party). He said his favorite part of the party was blowing out the candles.

The robot-themed goodies were a big hit. Part of the difficulty in getting Alex to nap was that he didn't want the lights off because he wanted to see his robots.