Alex Pollock

That was Tim’s name for Alex after I sent him a ton of pictures of Alex painting with his new easel from Grandma and Grandpa Murff … or since I’m renaming people today … GaPa and BaBa.

GaPa and BaBa gave Alex an easel with chalk, markers, finger paint, and all the necessary supplies for Christmas. Since we were starting to pack the Wilmington house at that point, we decided to leave the easel in Spartanburg and have them bring it to Charlotte once we were ready. Between boxes all over the house and BaBa’s surgery, we just got the easel to Charlotte. Since our Easter Egg Hunt was cancelled due to the cold weather, I decided it was time to be brave and break out the paint.

An hour and 4 paintings later, I’d say it was a success!

We started with just finger painting, but Alex kept asking me to clean his fingers …

… so I grabbed some corks to use as stamps. Alex LOVED that idea.

Once he was bored of the corks, we used Q-Tips. I love his look of concentration here.

I asked him to let me paint his hand so we could make handprints. Obviously, I don’t have pictures, since I was painting my hand … but that’s ok since he decided to spend the next 15 minutes painting his own hand and making more prints!

Back to more finger painting! Now maybe he’ll let me start doing some cute foot and hand print art!

He’s asking me to FaceTime BaBa again so he can show her his hand prints.

Waiting for BaBa to answer – he can’t wait for her to watch him paint!

Romp N’ Roll

Today was our 2nd visit to a little gym called Romp N’ Roll. We attended a class that mixes music/dancing with a little bit of gym instruction. The first class we attended was a few weeks ago, and Alex did a great job! He loved the music session of the class and just generally explored the gym during the 2nd part of class.

Today was a Terrible Twos version of the same class. While he was excited and interested in the class, once we were in the gym, Alex had no desire to participate with the other students. I think the class is a little confusing to him, since they switch back and forth between music and gym several times, and apparently, Alex was most excited about gym today. Instead of returning to the front for a few songs, Alex stayed here and screamed for me to stay with him!

He did finally get excited once the musical instruments came out. Check out his perch during one of the last songs. At least he’s making progress back towards the front of the room!

The teachers encourage free play and exploration, which is good – otherwise I would have had to carry a tantrum throwing two-year-old back into the lobby. Next week, we’ll be trying the gym only class, and I think it will be a success:

Wish me luck!

Just Because

I wish I could be inside Alex’s head for a day. I just have no idea where he gets his ideas from sometimes. Before bed last night, he got on the floor and “crashed” his truck on top of him. Of course, the ice cream he had 30 minutes before that could be to blame for that one.

Then today, I opened up the back door so we could play in the yard, and he disappeared into the playroom. Next thing I know, he’s standing in the back yard like this:

My days are always interesting, that’s for sure!

St. Patty’s & a Birthday

On Saturday the 16th, all of Charlotte celebrated my birthday! Well, that’s what I tell myself when St. Patty’s Day celebrations fall on the same day as my birthday. Since it was sunny and in the 70’s, we skipped the parade and ventured off to the National Whitewater Center's Green River Revival. Aunt Beth and Uncle Eric came up to join in the fun, and Miss Katherine and Mr. Harper met us there. We enjoyed some yummy tacos, live music, and lots of sunshine. Obviously, I didn’t get to partake in any beer, but there was an amazing draft selection! I was jealous! Alex had tons of fun climbing the rocks, checking out the Subarus on display, and playing with new friends. The NWC is beautiful, and we can’t wait to go back on a less crowded day to hike some of their trails.

After settling in a spot, one of the first things Alex did was steal my shoes and walk around in them.

You can see the river after it was dyed green, Alex’s dinosaur skull and crossbones hat, and his drool. We were surprised he wore his hat for so long.

Alex was obsessed with the Subarus!

Alex tackling his new friend. Too bad she isn’t old enough to baby-sit! The played frisbee with him, let him knock her over with a hula hoop, then let him tackle her. That was a nice break!

Katherine and I take a quick photo break.

Awesome shot of the river taken by Katherine’s soon-to-be-hubby, Harper.

Patient Kovu?

Anyone who knows Kovu knows he hasn’t always been impressed by Alex. While he’s always been careful not to hurt him, he generally tries to stay away from him … unless Alex is giving him food. From one of the first times Kovu had the chance to inspect Alex, we could almost see him wondering what in the world had come into his life and moved him to the bottom of the Totem Pole.

Is this a puppy or a human?

That’s why these next two pictures are so amazing. I almost wonder if he knows another Strunck boy is on the way and that he might as well give up? Either way, this was a big moment!

We don’t know what possessed him to walk over there and sit on Kovu …

… but he sure was excited that his plan finally worked out!

Tractor Heaven!

My parents are in the process of building a stone patio, bar, and fire pit overlooking the river by their house. This is going to be quite an undertaking! Lucky for Alex, phase 1 of the plan involved Grandpa renting a tractor. Lucky for Alex again, we only live an hour and a half away from my parents, so we were able to visit for the day and watch all the fun.

The tractor arrived while Alex was napping, so his first look was through a window. He was so excited to find out Grandpa was driving a tractor! He was much more subdued once we were on the porch … I think the noise was a little intimidating at first.

Alex had tons of fun playing with his tractor and dump truck while enjoying the show.

While scooping up more dirt, Grandpa jumped out of the tractor to do some measuring. Alex took the opportunity to start inspecting the tractor up close.

I think he’s ready to take a shift.

The dirt piles seemed to be almost as exciting as the tractor.

Another Big Boy Hair Cut

I think this is the shortest I’ve had my big boy’s hair cut. Thankfully, you can still see lots of curls, but the bleached blonde from last summer is all gone. Of course, considering how much Alex loves playing in our yard, I don’t think it’ll take too long for his locks to lighten up. Here are pictures from yesterday’s trip to the salon, Snip-Its, and today’s adventure at a play place called Kidz Play Here.

Tim was so amazed at how willingly Alex sat in the chair for his hair cut. Of course, there was a tv for him to watch, which always turns him into a zombie.

Proud of his hard work setting up “lunch” for his Mommy. Check out his darker, shorter curls.

At least his curls still look lighter with the sun shining on them.

What a fun train table!