Carrot Harvest

After an unsuccessful attempt last year (thanks to neighborhood bunnies), we managed to produce a pot full of carrots this year. The greens looked great, but I was still slightly nervous that there might not be any real carrots. Some were tiny, but we ended up with a decent crop. They were part of Alex's lunch this week.

We loosened the soil and
a little bit of orange came peeking through

Pulling out the first one

Showing off his crop

Seven little carrots

Washing off the dirt

Back to School

Today was the first day back to school for Alex, and it was Visiting Day, so Dave and I both went too. The first three days of this week are short -- just an hour and a half each. Thursday and Friday will be back to a normal schedule (although After School doesn't start until next week), and on those days all the returning kids (14) and the new kids (8) will get to be together. We are very excited to be back with the same teachers and in the same classroom. We'll have both of those things changing next year, but for now, the familiarity is quite helpful.

Ready to go! 

Wanting to talk

 

Climbing as high as he can

 

Sunday with Aunt Laura

Alex and I had a great day with Laura and Brian today. Their church was having a festival, which was lots of fun. Alex loved the bounce house, games, and music. I had to drag him away from the band when it was time to go. He didn't know anyone there, but jumped right in and, after a while, was navigating the activities on his own. It was fun to see him exploring so independently. After a while, his bossy side came out, and he decided to help run some of the games, telling people where to stand and helping with mini-golf. 

Making sure everyone does it right.

Then we spent a couple of hours at Aunt Laura's, chasing rabbits in the back yard, looking for cicadas and acorns, and being a huge helper with back yard tasks. It's days like these that make me really wish we had a yard!

Moving the patio furniture. He insisted on doing it all by himself.

Chasing a rabbit around the woodpile.

Helping with the first bird feeder.

Filling the second bird feeder.

Clearing the weeds.

Family Holiday Weekend

The Diamond Family got together for the holiday weekend, and fun was had by all. Alex is always ecstatic when he gets to spend time with his cousins, and this visit was no exception. He woke up at 3:00 a.m. the night before we were going down there because he was so excited. (Needless to say, Dave and I were less excited about that wake up time.)

The weekend was full of good company, yummy food, and fun experiences, including a trip to the Zoo and Alex's first bowling outing (video here).

Happy pose with Grandma

Cousins at the Zoo

Early morning family portrait

Ready to bowl!

Wanted to do it all by himself

Animal Show

There was an animal show at Alex's day care today. He was so excited for it. He talked about it all night and this morning. Luckily, they sent us some pictures. He definitely had more fun than his expressions would indicate. He also got to walk an anteater.

All night he claimed that his hands smelled like chicken

Holding very still because I have a chinchilla on my head

Vacation Part 1

We took a short family vacation at the end of June. The first part of the trip was all about fun and games. We went to Key Lime Cove, which is an indoor water park, and to the Jelly Belly factory. We were hoping to take the factory tour, but Alex was a bit too distracted by the carnival outside. (It's not always there. We had just happened to time our visit with their SummerFest event.) He's been talking about wanting to ride a Ferris Wheel, so this was his chance. Surprisingly, he was able to recognize that he could savor the event by doing the Ferris Wheel last: "I know it will be my favorite, so I want to save it for the end."

We didn't get any pictures inside the water area because we were all having too much fun to worry about keeping track of cameras or phones, but here are a few pictures of the fun outside of the water park, as well as pictures from Jelly Belly and the carnival.

His favorite kind of ice cream -- not cold!

He loved playing Skee Ball at the arcade

Air hockey with Daddy

Giant Jelly Belly!

Jelly Belly car

Ticket to ride

First Ferris Wheel ride

He was having far more fun than this looks like

Belated Last Day of School Post

I was having some photo issues on the computer and finally worked them out, so here are a couple end of the school year photos to commemorate Alex's first year.

June 7 was Alex's last day at school. He had a great first year and can't wait to go back in the fall we are very lucky that he will be continuing with the same teachers then.

The year went by really fast. It's hard to believe it is over.

Dismissal on the last day, showing off his treasure box

In front of Rockefeller Chapel