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.

Family Weekend Update

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa C came up for a visit. Alex had lots of fun spending time with them and getting some fun birthday gifts. (We also spent lots of time with Aunt Laura, Uncle Brian, Carolyn, and AJ and hope to have some more pics to share from them soon.)

Elmo pjs! It doesn't get much better than that.



Changing the shorts on his new "Alex" doll.



What's in here?



Bang, bang, bang with the hammer.



I built this car!

Thanks for the help, Grandpa.

Grandma, look at the dinosaur I made.

Family Race

This morning we did the one mile walk at the Chicago Lung Run together as a family. A friend of ours was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and we walked as part of her team.

Alex was so excited to be doing a race. He knows that Mommy runs and has been to some races, so he has an idea of what the event is. When we told him that we were doing the "race" together the first thing he said was "Me too?" His face exploded into a huge grin when we said yes, and then he kept asking every day if it was race day yet.

The rain made things cold and wet, but we still were glad to be out and to be part of this event.

The start of the 10K.



Someone is excited...

Team Diamond on Team DL.

Tomato Harvest

I will post again soon about our great family weekend, but for today here's a picture of our first tomato harvest. There were two tomatoes ready to pick off the plant. They were small but yummy. Alex really enjoyed picking them and then bringing them in to the house to eat.

Water Park Weekend

For the last weekend in August we hit four parks, including two with water features. Alex loves the water and could not have been happier. Here's a large assortment of pictures and a video.

Whoa! This slide is fast!



On his way down the slide.



Nearing the bottom...



I want to go again!



Wiggleworms at Millenium Park. Alex had fun, but kept wondering where Mr. Jarod (our regular Wiggleworms teacher) was.

Alex (and Dave) loved playing with these extra large Tinkertoys. I didn't think we'd ever be able to get him to leave to go play in the water.

Alex meets "The Bean."



Big fun at the big fountains.



The boy loves playing in water.



It's wet!!



He loves when the water comes out of the faces.

A sample of the fun he had.