Snow Camel

How cool are our neighbors!? They don't just build a snowman or snow fort - which are cool, don't get me wrong... But THIS. This is a work of art. And, it will be there for a while too. Current forecast has my best guess at a week and a half. Brrr.
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Egg Nog is Not a Vegetable

Last night, as I was fixing dinner, I asked Alex what fruit or veggie he wanted and he told me, "egg nog".


I had to inform him that wasn't a fruit or a vegetable... He tried to reason with me "But it IS very special."


We had green beans. Usually one of his favorites, that is, when they're not a stark alternative to egg nog.



In the end, he didn't eat his green beans, so, he didn't get any egg nog either!! It's rough being 3.
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A-l-e-x

Alex wrote his name on his chalkboard and then asked me to take a
picture of him with it! He's so very proud of his accomplishment -
and so are we!

Alex and Grandpa

Alex and Grandpa are tearing up the old floor.  Alex is holding the "Get-Outer" and "Lifter".

Me and Joe

Joe is the front loader driver. Alex named him.

Now he's singing row, row, row your boat... And saying "I have to scoop it up".

Hooray for Legos!!

A-l-e-x

Alex is so proud of his name, and that he can write it all by himself now!!

And Alex would like you all to know that he's getting very anxious for Christmas to arrive! He keeps telling us that when it's all snowy outside, that it will be Christmas.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving!!  Today, we said goodbye to Auntie Valerie (very sad) and we just finished planting a whole bunch of bulbs in the front yard before coming inside and writing A-l-e-x on the blackboard that GG and Granddad gave us for Christmas last year! How time flies!

There will be lots of pictures of Alex and Elijah and the whole family following shortly. Stay tuned...
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Sesame Street - 40th Anniversary

Check it out - 101 of them!:
Sesame Street Muppets Index

I know, I know... their anniversary was actually last week. And, Alex doesn't even watch Sesame Street because of it's tendency toward whining or baby talk and oft liberal propaganda (shows that make Stan & I crazy just don't make the cut... see also, Bob the Builder, Sponge Bob, Barney, Telletubbies, The Wiggles, and Sid the Science Kid (post-flu-shot-episode). But I WATCHED SESAME STREET, way back when...
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Bell Ringing

We will be bell ringing for the first time Tuesday, Dec. 8th, with our small group! We're told that having a cute kid in tow ups the giving! :)

October

Beautiful fall colors and fun with laundry baskets!

Funny Bones

Found this in one of Epicurious' recipe collections for Halloween, thought it was an adorably light-hearted take on traditional Halloween goodies!  It was a big hit at Alex's school party and was rather quite easy to make.

I used 50/50 white chocolate chips and almond bark to reduce the cost (and because I had leftover almond bark to be used up).  I also made my own double boiler by using a pot half-full of water on low with a SS bowl over.  Make sure you don't exceed 120 degrees F or you'll wreck your chocolate!!  Use a digital or candy thermometer if you're not sure.  I used a plain ol' dinner fork and was able to turn out 200+ of these in about 2 hours.  Hubby helped putting on mallows after I finished the trial run batch worth.   I stored them in airtight containers with parchment paper between the layers for 1 week before packaging (as seen above).

I'm reminded, once again, never to play with chocolate unless you're using a double boiler!!  Makes the whole process so much better. 

Next:  White chocolate covered fresh cranberries!! 

Using a map

Alex is using a maze from a halloween activity book to help us get to the store! He's calling out turns and landmarks from the back seat!

Count Alexander

Another Trader Joe's Rally

Hi All,
Please join me in telling Trader Joe's that we need a branch in the Kansas City metro area.  Please take just a few seconds to fill out their location request form online.  You can use zip code 66061 (Olathe).

Whole Foods has the market cornered for health and gourmet foods and it's just not cool.  Not that I have anything against Whole Foods, just that they should have some healthy (ha, ha... get it, healthy) competition.

Thanks again!
Tracy

New Books!!

Thanks for my new books Grandma Yoder! I did a lot of reading, all by
myself - I especially liked the big Disney book. I already knew some
of those stories! And I've already painted 2 pages from the paint
with water Pooh book.

Daddy said that he's never even seen the Golden Book encyclopedia, he
and Mommy were very excited about those books. I thought they made a
great mountain for my cars to drive on! The pictures were neat too.
I made Mommy read 2 whole books to me just because they had neat
things on the covers.

Thanks again! We are having lots of fun with our new books.

Alex

...

Animal Crackers

I always pack a little snack for Alex, for our drive home from school.  It holds him over until dinner.  Today, it was animal crackers.  Winnie the Pooh ones, in a big bucket from Costco.  Evidently, we're getting toward the end because I hear a distressed voice from the back seat exclaim

His feet!!

What about his feet? 

His feet are missin'. 

Missing? (Surely enough, he was holding only the feet of one character...)

You must have eaten the rest of him! 

Oh...

I will eat his feet, he can stick himself back together in my tummy.


Hooray for 3 year old logic!

Look Mommy I'm an oval!

Alex was having a lot of fun playing with his fun-house mirror reflection in the tub faucet!

Who do you know...

...with a movie stub, a bean, and a half-dozen pennies in his pocket? 

You guessed right!  Our little man.

We went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as a treat from a friend.  It was Alex's 1st movie!  We had fun, though we're pretty sure he liked the popcorn that was bigger than his head, and his own seat, more than the actual movie... It kinda wore him out.  But he was really good so we'll have to do it again, maybe with a less intricate plot. (our recommendation is to redbox the movie when it's released, not that it was bad, it just wasn't great).  Oh well.  The experience sure was fun!!

So, back to the pockets:
The pennies, I knew about.  I have NO IDEA how he got a bean in his pocket. 

Gonna take a bath...

Alex with ear protection

Grandpa Nice is removing their pool to make way for a big new patio.  This had required more work than originally planned, including the use of a jackhammer - hence the ear protection.  Alex loves to be in the middle of all the big boy's projects!

Tractor at Deanna Rose!

Special art for my fishies!

Juice goes in my mouth...

I love my new "light-up cup" that Daddy brought home from a product demo (LED light fixtures... hence the LED giveaway). Everything tastes better in my light-up cup!!

Dancing with Astronaut

ABC's in a bucket...

Alex finished his pretzels then sang the ABC's song into the container! Silly boy!

Aspirations

My son has informed me that he wants to be a pirate when he grows up.

A pirate who builds robots.

And lives on Mars.

All my little toys... (thanks Liz)

Auntie Lizzie sent Mommy a care package, and I got a neat little basket with a star on the front. All my little toys fit in it!

 

costco

Alex is such a trooper - he went to Costco with me, and was a very good helper - he held the list and my pencil, and he didn't fuss. As a reward (and since it was lunch time) he got a hot dog. The thing is, I think he's actually going to eat the whole thing!! Hungry boy!

What is it?

It's a surfboard, a bed, a door, a boat, a pillow, a sled, and a shield to hide behind.
And, remarkably enough, it was once the mattress in his cradle where he seemed oh-so-little!

Just like Daddy

Check them out! Shoes just like Daddy wears (keens), they're even brown like Daddy's. And big like Daddy's (size 12... Ok, so Daddy's are size 14, but considering this is the second size increase for Alex THIS summer, it won't be long now.) And the really cool part about these is that they were under $20 at Payless!

Tonight is just beautiful too, so we're spending some time enjoying the backyard. Can't believe it's August - we should be roasting and with the breeze I'm considering a jacket! Awesome!

Helping Grammy cook!

.... zucchini pie for dinner!

Say *chicken*!

Eating his Sonic kids meal, waiting for the train to move so we can go home! Say *chicken*! :)

Good morning!

Good morning!

4th of July Bike Parade

When I was little, we had a neighborhood 4th of July Bike Parade!! I have such fond (and vivid) memories of it. So it was so much fun helping Alex decorate his bike and being a part of the event!

Waiting for fireworks...

My first fireworks show! Mommy & Daddy made me a special spot (knowing how far past bedtime we already are!).

More updates soon! Happy 4th of July!!

The mailbox

This is the mailbox. It was a happy 4th of July goodie box... Some balloons, a juice box, and a little baggie each of cereal circles (cheerios) and crackers! He put the flag down, opened it up, and squealed with delight when he saw the contents! :)

He said, "Balloons?! I LOVE ballooons! Balloons are my favorite!"

Once we'd played with the balloons a while, he returned to the mailbox and asked for the snacks.

Stan commented that he didn't remember balloons being such a draw when he was a kid and it reminded me of my brothers, at about this age. They'd run around as bumble bees - with a balloon stuffed in the back of their nearly-matching striped shirts, making buzzing sounds and laughing. (Until they didn't watch the corner on the loop in the hall and cracked heads with each other... ahhh... good times)

Balloon play (and puppy sitting) have been great motivators for keeping his toys picked up though. As if keeping Penny the Poodle from chewing on them wasn't enough, the other day he stepped on a moose or other small figurine while chasing a balloon around the room. It's hasn't been hard to convince Alex to pick up since!

Well, we're all tucking in for the night. Tomorrow is the 4th and there's a bike parade ending with a bounce house and popsicles for all the kids - and i'm so excited that my Alex is old enough to participate now! Such fond memories I have from Sonoma Drive parades!

Happy 4th of July everyone! (Don't blow anything off. (papa))

Thank you GG & Granddad!

Thank you for my mailbox and all the goodies inside it!

Alex

tricky spoons

Alex & Penny the Poodle

Grandpa Nice got a new puppy for Father's Day!  She's the sweetest little toy poodle, only 11 weeks old.  They named her Penny.

 

Alex calls her "Penny the Poodle" (being a big fan of Phineas & Ferb = Perry the Platapus...).  It's very funny.

 

They're already enjoying the backyard together!  Hooray for Grandpa catching these sweet moments - they're just adorable!

 

 

Introductions

We were splashing around at the community pool Sunday afternoon and Alex was just hilarious!

Another family was playing in the other corner of the kiddie pool. One of their toys floated over to Alex, so he decided to return it. He very confidently went over and said "My name is Alex Nice. (turning with open hand in our direction) And these are my friends, Daddy, and Mommy."

Serious. He's 3 going on 30 and TOTALLY my child. Fearless socialite.

It was all Stan and I could do not to burst out in laughter right there... but Alex would have thought we were laughing AT him, so we had to restrain ourselves. We just get to laugh now... And tell the story for years to come! So funny!

mooooo

We visited Deanna Rose with friends Saturday morning... Alex milked a "cow", got to ride the little tractors, played in the teepees, and fed the goats.

The most hilarious moment was when we exited the chicken house and Alex and Owen both ran around flapping their elbows and clucking like chickens!

A good time was had by all! :)

It's not the ring around the tub you should be afraid of...

Getting ready for bed this evening I glanced down only to see a dinosaur staring back up at me! This is what I get for letting Alex have bath time in my big tub... A T-rex overseeing my bedtime routine.

Alex plays with two dinos in the bath, rex here, and a velocoraptor that he's decided is actually a baby t-rex. It's a Daddy and Baby thing. They swim and dive and roar at each other. It's really very funny.

And I don't think that Alex placed the dino staring up at me on purpose... Though anymore, I can't put it past him. He gets much more than we assume, every now and then he slips up and we can see the depth that that little noggin contains! Today, it was a play on words while watching Phineas & Ferb. He laughed at the humor - we laughed in amazement that he got the joke!

It is so cool being Alex's Mommy!

Conversation with Alex

Sunday afternoon, after his nap, Alex struck up a conversation. It went a little something like this:

I Alex Nice.

Yes.

You Mommy Nice.

Yes.

I am a boy.

Yes.

You are a girl.

Yes. (he requires validation)

Alex Nice is a boy.

Yes.

Daddy Nice is a boy.

Yes.

Mommy Nice is not a boy, Mommy Nice is a girl.

Yes.

I am Alex Nice.

Yes.

You are Mommy Nice.

Yes.

I am Alexander Nice.

Yes.

You are Mommyxander Nice.

Um, no... (chuckling) I am Mommy Tracy Nice.

Oh...

My little 'puter...

Alex found the headphones on the front table and asked Stan "watch my little 'puter?"... It's really a portable DVD player, but to Alex it's all his own little computer of happiness! He was bopping to Bunnytown. (Mommy & Daddy not having to sit thru another episode of Special Agent Oso was a big treat.)

I got these in before he told me "Mommy, I donn wanna say cheese anymore." haha