Watch What You Say

Alex apparently is going to be a stickler for precision. Here is our conversation from the end of dinner tonight as I'm clearing the table.

Me: Dave, can I take your plate for you?

Alex: It's not a plate, it's a bowl.

Me: You're right, it's a bowl.

Alex: It's a bowl, Mommy.

Our Little Chef

Alex loves his play kitchen (in fact, he's "cooking" there right now), and we've recently started having him help in the real kitchen. The other day he helped put cut up squash in a bowl, and this morning he helped me make scones. Alex "painted" the milk on the top of the scones and sprinkled on the sugar. Then we all enjoyed the fruits of his labor and had yummy scones for breakfast! I hope your day got off to as good of a start as ours did.

Can Your Dad Juggle?

Our friends the Ernsts braved the cold to come over for a play date today. Alex and the girls had a great time together, playing music in the tent, building with Duplos, and sharing snacks. But the best part was the bin of balls. Charlotte discovered that she could fit inside, and we got to see Ted and Dave's juggling skills.

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.