Alex's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday to everybody!

Everybody has birthdays this month. Daniel on the 9th, me on the 11th and Alex on the 19th. We had fun celebrating mine and Dany's already...although Alex thought we should be celebrating his, since we've been talking about it for so long. I told him, say "Happy Birthday Papa!" And he said...no, Alex birthday. He also helped Dany blow out his candles. He is really getting excited about his party..I hope it doesn't rain! We have already rented an inflatable castle for the kids to jump in. We'll see what happens.

Beach Baby

at the park

Happy

I always know when Alex is really really content. I can hear him playing or in his room jumping in his crib and he is saying "happy" and then squealing. I love that he just knows and says that he's happy. I remember the first time he said that spontaneously. . . he wanted me to let him put water in a cup to water the plants. I gave him the cup and walked over with him to fill it up and on the way over he said, "happy". Sweet.

I have to say that Alex loves frogs...but this...um, obsession(?) didn't start at the fair. He loved the huge singing and dancing frog he saw there at a kids program but before that he got a book from his tios Mike and Sarah and that's where it started. Frenchy the Frog. He practically has that book memorized. He also got a frog bowl from them that he has to eat his cheerios out of EVERY morning. If it's not washed, it has to be washed because that's how we have to do breakfast. He sleeps with the Frenchy the Frog puppet that came with the book. I have to ask him every night if Frenchy can sleep in his bed, then he has to tell me no and laugh....then I have to make Frenchy cry and finally Alex consents to sleeping next to his frog. It has become a ritual. So, we've decided that for his birthday, we're going to have a frog piñata, and a frog cake and froggy things. We talk about his birthday on a regular basis. He tells me who he would like to invite...Asher, Linda, Uzzie, etc. and then he tells me he would like both toys and candy in his piñata. He gets very excited when I tell him it'll be a frog piñata. He says Party, oh BOY!

Little Man

Alex loves playing in his "houshes" that we build him with cushions from the couch or anything else. He also loves playing with one of his two best friends Uzziel. Here they were watching Ice Age together.

Helping Papà

Alex has been wanting to help out a lot more around the house and especially with Daniel. If we are doing anything that looks interesting, he wants to help. Here he is helping wash the car. He also wants to do dishes anytime I'm doing them...the problem is that he takes the clean dishes I've washed and gets them soapy and returns them to the rack to dry. It kind of makes things take a lot longer, but it keeps him happy.

Adventures at the fair...

All this month we have had a stand <------ at the Puebla May Fair, and almost daily I hear a little voice petitioning me with "fay-oh, mamà, go fay-oh?" So, we have been up the hill to the fair almost every day this month. Alex has ridden on a pony and done the euro-bungee jump at least three times each. The guy who runs the euro-bungee doesn't realize Alex literally has no fear of heights, so we have to keep telling him he wants to go higher. Alex says "up high!", but since the guy doesn't understand English...we have to translate. We have also ridden a few pregnant woman/child friendly rides. Alex wants us to take him on the roller coaster, or spinning type rides...I wonder what he'd do once he was on them! I know one thing, when he is older, we are going to be rollercoaster riders together (since his papi doesn't enjoy them). While we are at the fair, especially on busy days, we have to put a sort of kid-leash on Alex, so he won't get lost in the crowd. Lots of people stare at him pulling us along...but it's really the only way to keep track of him!

May pictures

Here's Alex an me at a coffehouse...and Alex helping me "wash" the dishes.

Dia del Niño

Alex enjoyed the Dia del Niño festivities at the fair last Sunday. He especially liked the giant dancing frog he saw and has not stopped talking about it since! He really likes frogs. Here is a picture of him imitating the frog as he dances around. We also had fun watching Alex and Uzziel chase after their balloons and dance.

fun in the sun

big boy

Does it count?

I'm wondering if being able to climb all the way to the tip top of the play area of Burger King is a milestone... I'm thinking that even if it's not, it is a huge deal. Today Alex did it. He made it all the way to the top of both sides. On one side there is a huge twisty slide, and on the other a train or as he calls it: Choo choos. He went everywhere. I was really proud of him. So I guess I need to note down in his baby book that at 21 months, he made it to the top. That way his brother or sister will have something to strive towards..haha.

Looking back, and forward!

I was just looking at some of our first pictures with Alex last night and thinking about how fast it feels like time goes by. He is almost two now and will soon be an older brother. I think back to the first few days with a newborn and those days felt eternal. We were so exhausted and I felt like he would never sleep long enough for me to sleep at all....and now here he is sleeping almost 12 hours every night! Sometimes I really want to get him out of bed and just rock him, like I used to do. I just go in his room and touch his head and watch him sleep. I know there must be enough love in my heart for two babies, but right now there is just so much for him, I don't know what it will be like to share my heart with both.

Remembering....

April Pictures