Alex started his new daycare. It is awesome. The teachers are great – they have a lot of experience and really like kids. They have a routine down that works for kids this age and are very positive. They also make our lives as easy as possible. Alex has a new girlfriend there – a cutie with hair as white as his that follows him around – and a new guyfriend – Max – they apparently go adventuring together.

New words: duck, cold (sort of), grape (hard to understand). It’s been very hot here – we’ve started visiting the pool late in the day and the children’s museum (it’s at least indoors).

Believe it or not fall is here. I have a week before the semester begins (and all the kids are already flooding back) and am trying to do some of the things I don’t normally have time to do. So Alex now has a registry at the land of nod (www.landofnod.com – search for our names!). If you want to get Alex something for his newly evolving room for the holidays, that’s a great place to go (yes, it’s several months off, but they’re already playing christmas tunes in the stores).

I’m officially calling it – the terrible 2s have begun – he cried and thrashed for 20 minutes the other day because I wouldn’t let him in a cabinet with cleaning supplies. Oi!

On the great side… We went to San Diego last week for a conference – so great to be outside all day and enjoy it. Alex enjoyed the elephants and fed a goat hay at the petting zoo (believing it was a great idea, he then tried to feed a nearby 6-yr old girl – she was quite offended). Pics soon. We stayed by little italy, explored the cabrillo area tidepools and visited coronado beach (he did not brave the chilly water, but enjoyed the sand and flirting with girls). Alex’s favorite current word is ball and he pointed at every circle in san diego (buoys, gaslamps, signs, etc) and screamed “ball!” Alex is starting a new daycare next week – we visited twice this week. Their menu is awesome and he’ll be eating better than we do (broccoli quiches and grilled fishes). His teacher has been working with kids for over 20 years and seems very good. They have 5!! playgrounds and a craft room bigger than my office.

We’re also doing a night transition – cutting out all night feedings and putting him in his room. It was pretty rough at first, but we figured out a few tricks that seem to help, including a projector spinning thing that also makes soothing sounds. Dad has taken charge of this adventure and is a bit sleep deprived (so any computer requests – please wait a week).

Alex has been dancing for a while, but now EVERY time he hears something like music he’ll stop and do a little jig. New words: cheese, hot (with hand motion)

Food Fights

Just Being Cute

The last few weeks Alex has learned to snuggle. He now gives excellent hugs (and sloppy kisses – we’re still working on that) and will come and sit in your lap. He has now been sick three times without an ear infection – life is good. New words: ball, mama (only when very distressed), key, and broom (oom). New fav book: the very lonely firefly (if you’ve seen this book, the final page has fireflies that light up – alex tried to eat them the first time we read it).

So H finally finished her big project and life is almost back to normal. Alex hasn’t had any ear infections for over two months and is mostly healthy (yay summer). He’s talking more (most of which we still can’t understand), but words include: daddy, juice (ju), down, kitty, dog, truck, light, tree (a favorite), and cup (we haven’t heard this one but he says it at daycare). Oh – and tick tock (H was talking about the clock one day). His receptive vocabulary is larger and he can follow instructions. He’s pretty skilled with a spoon. His fav toy right now is a creativity table with shapes that you can stick together and make them spin. He’ll sit for a half hour or so and play with it (yay). Fav book right now is the very hungry caterpillar. It’s amazing what a little boy he’s become.

Yesterday we went to the Dino Park and met some friends. Alex liked the giant dinosaurs hiding in the trees and often was the first one to spot them. He rode the back of a large tortoise and splashed in a dino foot print. Pics soon.

three months late. these are the teasers from the photographer. he’s changed so much since this. i just cant wait any longer to post these.

So we went on our first family vacation to sunny Sarasota, FL (no oil yet). We saw all the grandparents and they loved on the babe and spent some time babysitting. Alex enjoyed playing in the ocean (although it made him very, very sleepy) and grammy’s blueberry muffins. Trip highlights: Alex’s first rush into the tiny waves, Alex falling asleep in the middle of the gulf, parents’ nite out at roy’s while grandpa watched, dinner in siesta village with grandparents and great-aunts (Alex enjoyed standing on the table), diving with the sharks, and Alex taking a layer of Dad’s cornea (40%) with a plastic rake (yay, er).

take me to your blueberry muffin!

from Dr Greene:

Ear tube surgery is the most common operation performed on children. The most common reason for the surgery is to treat prolonged fluid in the ear (otitis media with effusion, or OME). An article in the August 2001 issue of Laryngoscope evaluated an interesting alternative. Half of the children in the study received nasal aerosols containing glutathione, a naturally occurring major antioxidant in humans. The other half received placebo nasal aerosols. Those that got the glutathione were far more likely to be fluid-free at the end of the study (66% of those who used glutathione, 8% of those who used placebo). Further research is needed, but this looks like a welcome, gentle, yet effective, new option for this very common problem.

His locks were finally so long they were getting in his eyes and we had to take him to see Arlinda for his first haircut. It went pretty well, although he kept trying to turn around to see what was happening – as a result, it’s a little uneven in some parts. The haircut makes him look like trouble – sort of Dennis-the-Menace-ish.

Alex had his first night in the toddler bed tonite – it lasted about 40 minutes – not bad for a first time!

We had 1-yr old pictures taken for mommy’s day – the photographer was great – she used up a lot of energy getting Alex to smile and laugh! We got a few preliminary pictures (not edited yet, so can’t post) and they are beautiful. What a cutie! We also visited a local alpaca farm. Alex was a little shy with them, but he touched a few noses. He was more fascinated by the dogs!

What else has he been up to? He can get down from our bed, reach counter tops, open drawers and cabinets, flush toilets, and generally get into all sorts of things. You’ll notice we haven’t posted in a few weeks…

This was great fun!!