Happy Birthday Alex!

We have been celebrating Alexander's birthday every since Thursday -- opening a few presents everyday and then ending with today and his train cake. He was really excited about the cake when he saw it (which made my day!) -- but quickly lost interest when he tasted it! He didn't like the frosting or the cake (which isn't too surprising -- he hasn't had too much sugar until now) and he kept trying to throw the frosting off his fingers. He did like the animal cookies on top of his cake though! :)What is this green stuff? Am I supposed to eat this?Maybe I'll like it better if I stick my whole face into it?!Nope, that didn't help! Are you sure people like eating this stuff? I may not like the taste, but it's pretty fun to smear everywhere! :)

Alex may not have liked the cake, but Emily loved it! :)

Here's Alex (after his post-cake bath) playing with all of his new toys!He LOVES the little train from GiGi (my Grandma Clouse)! Trains were definitely the theme this year -- not only with the cake but gifts too! :)

Alex had his first taste of coffee this weekend, too! ;) Only a drop left in Nelson's mug, but he was excited to "drink" from it! :)

All of Alex's birthday loot! :)

Legos from Aunt Christie -- can't wait to get big enough to play with these! :)

Rolling turtles from Mom & Dad -- these are great fun!

He's awfully excited about these new shoes from Grandma & Grandpa Cochrane! :)

And the red train that lights up and makes noise from Nana & Papa is the hit of the weekend -- thanks a lot you guys! (We can't wait for those batteries to die!) ;)

Alexander likes the popping noise this train makes from Uncle Dave & Aunt Judy . . . . . . and Emily loved the book from them too! I don't think Alex has had a chance to even look at it yet! Emily is having a hard time understanding that these new toys aren't hers and that she has to share with Alex. She told us this weekend, "I love Alex's birthday!" I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with Alex! :)

Charlie the cow from Mom and Dad -- finally, a stuffed animal for me!! :)

Cool clothes from Uncle Ben & Aunt Laura -- I'm going to wear them for my 1 yr pictures! I'll look so handsome! :)

Thank you Aunt Tracie, Uncle Curt & Ava for my new stacking train. I can push it really fast on the kitchen floor! :)

Alexander is One!

Can you believe that Alexander is one already? It has been an extremely quick year and we can't believe it's gone! He was such a little peanut when he was born and quickly acquired the love of food -- not quite a peanut anymore! He isn't too far behind his sister in weight and we keep warning Emily that one of these days very soon, Alex will fight back! ;)

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the last year. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have! :)


Large eyes from day one! :)
As soon as he learned to smile and laugh, he hasn't stopped. He is such a happy little guy and his giggles are contagious. You should hear him and Emily laughing together -- it's the sweetest thing in the world! :)


This is a picture one Sunday morning before church. He loves to go to the church nursery and obviously has a great time because, he falls sound asleep in the car on the way home every Sunday!
Alex is ALL boy! He is into everything! We were outside this week and he grabbed this stick and started chewing on it. Emily looks at him and says "Eew, gross. Don't eat that, Alex -- it's dirty!" I take it away from him and a few minutes later he's chewing on another one! He must have tried to eat half a dozen sticks, leaves and rubber chips (from the playground). All boy!
This is his 6 month picture -- what a big boy! :)

I was so hoping for a red-haired child, but you have to love Alex's blonde color coming through. And with his darker skin color, isn't he so handsome?!

Alexander, although only a year old today, is a strong little tike! He stands in his crib and pulls back and forth on the front gate. You can hear it all the way down in the basement and it sounds like he's coming through the floor! He is always moving and wiggling and he loves to play in his crib! (This is usually how he reacts when we get him up in the morning or from a nap. Always smiling!)And we've recently had to install babygates. It's a strange concept for us, as we never used them with Emily (she was too afraid of the stairs to even go close to them)! Alex, however, is the exact opposite in every way possible. Emily and I were emptying the dishwasher last week and I realized that Alex wasn't near me anymore. I went looking for him and when I called out to him, he laughed from upstairs. I went running to the stairs and sure enough, there he was all the way at the top. Talk about giving me a heart attack! I immediately went out and installed the gate! :)

Alex is an absolute joy to have around and we can't imagine life without him now! Emily adores her brother and Alex just lights up when he sees her! Alex is cruising around furniture, but not yet walking on his own. I imagine it will only be a matter of weeks before he takes off. He is such a sweet-natured boy and we can't wait to see what the next year brings! :)

Tacos

Here is part of a conversation between Emily and myself on the way home from church today:

Emily: "My tongue tastes yucky."
Mom: "Why does it taste yucky? What did you put in your mouth?"
Emily: "I put my fingers in my mouth."
Mom: "Maybe your hands are dirty and you shouldn't put your fingers in your mouth anymore."
Emily: (after a short pause of thinking & reflection) "A taco would make my mouth taste better, Mommy."

We got a great laugh out of this and thought you might too! :)

More Pictures from Colorado

We got home safe and sound last week from Colorado and were sad to leave the mountains -- but happy to be home and see Nelson. The flight (again) was awful with Alex screaming and wiggling all 3 hours, just falling asleep on the landing. The kid has crazy timing, I tell 'ya! But despite the bad flights, we had a wonderful vacation and loved being with Nana & Papa and seeing their new home. We can't wait to go back! :)

Here are a few more pictures from the trip -- enjoy! :)

Nana & Emily walking to the park -- aren't they cute in their matching outfits!

The boys had to get away for a while -- looks like they were having fun together! :)

The girls made vanilla pudding with bananas one day -- they loved helping Nana!

Forever Sisters!

Just relaxing in the back yard -- don't you love that view?! :)

We love Aunt Tracie! :)

We went out for Vietnamese for my birthday and had some of the best Pad Thai -- the kids didn't like it too much, but they had fun with their chicken nuggets and chopsticks!

Pretty little Ava -- what a doll! :)

Sunday morning before church -- this is the closest we could get to all of them smiling and sitting still together! :)

Alex & Ava playing together on the couch -- aren't they cute?!

Loveland has a beautiful scuplture park not too far from Mom & Dad's house. Emily loved seeing all of them and she really loved this "Ring around the Rosie" one -- isn't it adorable?! :)

Outside a Mexican restaurant in Estes Park.

Taking another walk -- we loved that nearby park! :)

Trip to Colorado

So, as many of you know, my parents bought a house in Loveland, CO and are planning to retire there. YEAH!!! :) They moved out at the beginning of this past week and we flew out to help them break-in the house (and boy are the kids breaking it in!). It's just me and the kids along with Tracie & Ava, and we're having a blast -- although we miss our husbands!! :}

We drove up to Estes Park yesterday to visit my Aunt Char & Uncle Mike and had a wonderful day! Mom stayed home with the two younger kids and Dad, Tracie, Emily & I went up for the day. It was absolutely beautiful!! :) (This is Long's Peak.)

Alex is just loving the outside -- and who can blame him?!

Emily found this sheep skin at Char's house and loved it! Isn't she cute?!

This is Dad enjoying his view from the backyard. You can see the foothills in this picture but you'll have to take my word for it that Mt. Hughes is behind that -- it is absolutely gorgeous!

And this is the view from their front yard. It's the Twin Sisters, and then Long's Peak is in the background. Breath-taking, right?!

We flew in on Tuesday and will be here until next week, assuming they can get us to leave this beautiful house with an amazing view! :)

And here is Aunt Char with me and the kids. It was a nice evening! :)

Emily just woke up from her nap when Char & Mike got there. Here she is warming up to Aunt Char and reading her new book. :)

"I love my Papa!"

And "we love snuggling with Nana"!

And here is sweet little Ava -- she is just a barrel of laughs!! She can be so serious and then instantly start laughing or crying and then change to serious again -- it's like a light switch! She's funny and absolutely adorable!! :)