Happy New Year!

We spent part of our New Year's Eve visiting Zoo Lights, which is becoming a winter tradition. It was cold, but we had lots of fun, and we were able to take refuge in the Lion House to warm up and see all the big cats. The leopards and jaguars were pacing, and the tiger showed off his roar and his jumping abilities. Alex also had a nice surprise by running into his friend Cecily.

Happy new year to you all from the three of us!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa C's

We had a fun Christmas trip and enjoyed visiting with almost all of my side of the family (we missed you Paula and Brian). Here's an assortment of photos.

Happy Grandma, happy boy, and happy cow!

Family photo in the tent

Toddler bowling

Two AJs on a chair

Cousin Forrest is so big!

Alex loves his block robot



Big thank you hug for cousin Anna

Riding high on Uncle Mark's shoulders

Helping Grandpa with his papers

Holiday Time!

The seventh night of Hanukkah brought a cool present from Aunt Mindy, Uncle Shawn, Joshua, and Seth -- a color matching game called Hisss. (Thanks to my co-worker Marsha for the tip about this game.) Alex had lots of fun with the snakes before going to bed.





The stockings my mom made are now hanging on the mantel. Alex, however, has decided that they are "Snowman socks."

Playdate Fun

Alex's friend Zoe came over to play today, and a great time was had by all! We could hardly get them both to look at the camera at the same time. They were having too much fun to stand still for pictures.

Making music!



They shared very nicely together, especially in the kitchen where they made drinks for each other.



Everyone loves Crayons (even Dave)!



Having a snack with Curious George.

Happy Hanukkah!

We had a fun evening, and Alex loved his first present -- a book, of course. We're all looking forward to having latkes tomorrow.

Happy Hanukkah from Dave, Lois, and Alex!

Trimming the Curls

Alex had his third haircut yesterday, which was his first one since his hair got really curly. You can see all the ringlets on the floor. It didn't turn out too bad for a DIY cut, and he still has some curls left.

Thanksgiving Fun!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Diamond family. Good company and good food (despite the oven breaking!) were enjoyed by all. Alex had so much fun with everyone and especially adored his cousins and their dog, Max. He didn't quite understand that Max can't hear so well and doesn't really follow orders from a two year old, but he finally realized that he could pet Max and they bonded that way, as well as over treats.

Here are some pictures of the cousins.

Joshua read lots of books to Alex and became his hero.



The boys had lots of fun playing music together.



I think Alex would have taken home all of Seth's stuffed animals if we would have let him. Seth was kind enough to send a little, black doggie home with us.