More Holiday Fun Plus a Visit to the Dentist

Alex has a new Hanukkah menorah. We had a fun Hanukkah party at Cecily's, and we made menorahs as a craft project. It was a lot of fun and turned out great! We'll definitely be using this again next year.



Yesterday, we put up a few Christmas decorations.

Alex helped trim the tree.



He likes touching the lights.



We have family of snowmen, who all have twigs for arms. Alex put all the arms in and even made a hat for the little boy snowman because he was the only one who didn't have a hat.

The annual shot in front of the stockings.



Yesterday was also Alex's first trip to the dentist. He did great! No crying or even any fussing. He thought the chair and the tools were really neat, opened his mouth even before he was asked, and liked getting "super sparkly" teeth. He said that his favorite part was getting to hold the mirror in his mouth. We forgot our camera, but Dave took a few pictures on his phone. If we can ever get those on the computer I'll post a few.

Happy Hanukkah

The first night of Hanukkah was a fun one at our house. Alex's present was Dave's Tonka fire truck from when he was three. It couldn't have been a more perfect gift.

Lighting the candles.



The boys and the truck.



Alex loaded up all the animals for a ride.

Two Holidays in One

We made our annual trek to Dave's sister's to celebrate Thanksgiving. A good time was had by all, and since Hanukkah is early this year and we were all together, we had Thanksgiving on Thursday and Hanukkah on Friday. Here's an assortment of pictures to enjoy.

Seth and Alex crushed the Oreos for dessert.



Alex loved playing with his cousins. One game was to hide behind the couch while Seth covered him in Beanie Babies.



This post at the bottom of the stairs provided a lot of entertainment. Alex visited it several times every day. Just proving how impossible it is to predict what kids will like.



Less challenging to predict is that the pinball machine was a huge attraction!



Foosball was also a big hit.



Three generations of Diamonds watching Thanksgiving day football.



Max managed to get all the way inside the trash cabinet, searching for some turkey.



Lighting the Hanukkah candles.



Helping Josh sort Legos.



Alex loves his new scooter. (And, boy, is his jacket reflective!)



Happy Hanukkah from the extended Diamond Family!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Alex had to help Dave blow out his candles. The best part was that we had cake for dinner -- what a treat!



Alex insisted on singing Happy Birthday to Dave by himself. That's just as well because I would not have consented to filming if I were singing.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween weekend with our little monkey. Here are some pictures.

He spent about 30 minutes playing in the leaves at the park on our way to the farmers' market.



Throwing them right at the camera!



Having so much fun!



Decorating our pumpkin.



Smile!



Tonight was his first time going Trick or Treating. He had a blast.

Even ringing the doorbell is fun.



Off to find more houses to visit.

A pretty good haul for a short trip around the block.

Yearly Checkup Report

Alex had his three year old checkup this past week. It was such a big kid appointment. The doctor asked him questions (which he answered), he had the option to be measured on the adult scale for weight and height (he didn't do it though), and he got stickers and was allowed to choose a treasure from the treasure chest after the appointment (of all the choices, he picked more stickers).

He is now 34 pounds and 38 1/2 inches tall.

Pirate Adventure

Today was a special Halloween, pirate-themed story time at Open Books. The puppeteers led the kids on a treasure hunt through the store to find the animals that had escaped from the pirate ship. Alex had a great time.

Our little monkey reading a book before the adventure began.



Searching for treasure. (You can see the adult reading the treasure map in the upper right corner of the picture.)



Alex got the tiger.



Two monkeys!



Coloring is fun, but he was mostly so excited here because there was a Curious George book on the table.