Various and Sundry

The computer problems are continuing, and we're in the midst of our busiest season at work, so updates will be a little sparse for a while. But Alex continues to be funny and do fun things, so I must share some highlights.

Sock entertainment has become part of the evening routine. When the socks come off, there is no end to the goofiness that ensues -- socks on ears, socks on our heads, and the big favorite -- sock puppets! (I will, however, resist the temptation to call this post "Sock It To Me.")

Alex had his first external school field trip this week to a indoor play center called Day Frog. He had a great time. We had talked to him about the outing in advance, and apparently he spent the whole morning at school talking about "Day Frog" and was the first one to line up at the door when the teachers said it was time to go.

Another awesome thing about Alex's school is that they bring in a librarian from the Chicago Public Library once a month during the summer. What I didn't realize until last week was that this was done as part of CPL's Summer Reading Program. Technically, kids have to be three years old to take part in the program (of course, I had already looked into when he could do the summer program at the library), but since it was done through the school, even the toddlers got to participate. Alex got a certificate that he "read" 35 books (for the little kids that means "was read to") and completed the program. He also got a library t-shirt. The book geek in me was so excited!

More to come, hopefully with pictures again before too long!

Horticultural Update

The computer is back so I can now add the picture of Alex and Mommy's plants. The oregano is on the left. It's doing well, but the basil and mint are really thriving. Since this photo was taken (two weeks ago), the basil has shot up a few more inches and the mint is spreading out like crazy. One of our projects for this weekend is to get a new container so we can separate the basil and the mint. Plus, we also want to find a kid sized watering can for Alex. He loves to help water, but the large can is a little unwieldy for him.

Alex and Mommy's Plants

Carol sent us home from St. Louis with various herb plants. I've been tending to them, often watering on the way between the car and the house going to and from work, and Alex would comment on "Mommy's plants." Well, after this weekend they are now "Alex and Mommy's plants" because Alex helped me pick some basil and mint this weekend and has been helping me water the plants. He now makes sure that we check on them every time we are out back. Maybe the green thumb gene has passed to Alex, even though it skipped me.

(The computer at home is on the fritz, so we can't upload the pictures for this post. Maybe we can supplement later.)

Big Truck Outside

A couple of weeks ago, the house next to ours was torn down and a new house is being built. Alex has had so much fun watching the construction and destruction, although his favorite part is all the interesting trucks that have been part of the process. "Big truck outside" has been a constant refrain around the house. Sadly, the concrete mixer arrived today just after Alex went down for his nap, so he's probably going to miss that one.

That's Our Boy!

Alex was playing in a sandbox this weekend and got in his own way when dumping out of a pail of sand. Surprisingly, it did not seem to bother him at all to have sand stuck to his face. I must confess that Dave and I had a difficult time stifling our laughter.

St. Louis Vacation

Ignoring the heat and Alex and I feeling under the weather, our trip to St. Louis was lots of fun. We had a great time with aunts, uncles, and cousins. Alex thought the Magic House was the neatest thing ever (lots of pics below), and so did we. Our timing was perfect to celebrate Maria's birthday (and enjoy her pool!), and Alex liked seeing two dogs every day, although mostly from afar. The picture below was the closest encounter he had with them, but Aunt Sue managed to help him feed them treats, so that was a big success. Aunt Carol's house was boy heaven, as Alex got to play with lots of fun toys from Quinn's childhood. Thanks family, we had fun!

Waterworks -- We thought we'd never get Alex to leave this room and explore anything else.



Making music with PVC pipes and flip flops.



Aunties waiting at the bottom of the slide.



Working in the Construction Zone.



The wall of pegs was a huge hit! We had to visit it several times while we were at the Magic House.

Of course we had to check out the exhibit on the Judicial Branch and sit behind the bench.

Checking out letters with Auntie Carol.

Feeding cereal treats to the doggies under Aunt Sue's protection.

Enjoying some relief from the heat in Maria's pool with Maria, Anna, and Daddy.

More Brussel Sprouts

Alex had a big meltdown at dinner tonight. Why? Because we ran out of brussel sprouts. At that moment, there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to have more brussel sprouts. We can only hope he remains such a good veggie eater all his life.