Kings Mountain

Last week, while Tim was in Mexico for work, my parents came to spend time and help out with Alex. We started by meeting them on the NC/SC border at Kings Mountain National Military Park. Alex loved walking the trail and climbing the monuments. After our hike, we brought Baba back home with us. Alex thought it was the best thing ever to have Baba in his car!

Big Boy in a Toddler Bed!

Although our good boy still hasn’t tried getting out of his crib, he is several inches taller than the general guidelines that say it’s definitely possible for him to find a way out. We’ve been talking about putting the toddler rail on the crib since we moved and finally bit the bullet yesterday after Daddy came home. To make the occasion extra exciting, I let Alex eat his snack and juice in the crib while Daddy converted it. Alex was immediately in love and put his trucks to sleep.

Tim and I were both very curious how bed time would work out, as we’ve heard several horror stories. Since we decided to start with the toddler rail, as opposed to a different bed, and left his bedtime routine exactly the same, we had no problems! Tim read Alex his stories, then asked if he was ready for bed. Alex jumped out of the chair, climbed into the bed, laid his head on his pillow, and asked for Tim to pull up his blanket! He was sooo good about it! I watched from the camera and cried like a baby!

I checked him several times during the night and left a soft blanket folded up under the opening in case he fell out. We had no problems! Alex fell right asleep and didn’t wake up in the middle of the night (not that I’m aware of anyway)! In the morning, he called me as usual and waited for me to come get him. I don’t think he even remembered he could get out on his own until I opened the curtain. Now the big question is … how will he do when we move the crib to the baby’s room and give him a “big boy bed”? I think we’ll try that towards the end of May.

Here’s a picture from today’s nap:

Brie, Jared, and the Raptors

Aunt Brie and Uncle Jared paid us a visit over the weekend. Since the weather was beautiful, we looked for something fun to do outdoors, and found the Carolina Raptor Center. We had a lot of fun walking the trails and viewing all the large birds. Alex’s favorite (just like his Daddy and Aunt Brie) seemed to be the vultures. I didn’t take many pictures, but I do have a few to share:

“Whoa … birdies!”

Searching our clover field for 4-leaf-clovers.

On Sunday, we were rather lazy and hung around the house with Aunt Brie and Uncle Jared. We had so much fun with them!

Alex and Daddy showing off their stunts!

I love how he looks like he’s about to turn a cartwheel!

Alex Driving Kovu Crazy

Last Friday, Alex drove Kovu crazy ... literally! We pulled out his PowerWheel and Kovu, who has never liked anything on wheels, must have found it to be quite a threat. Watch this:

We had so much fun encouraging Alex to drive and watching Kovu make a fool of himself. We all slept very well Friday night! Here are a few more pictures of the fun:

Checking under the hood.

We added a cushion to soften the blow - every time Alex hits the gas, he’s jerked backwards.

The Jeep also serves as a jungle gym …

We played “tow truck” for quite a while!

Click here to read the post I wrote back in August when we first brought the Jeep home.

Playing With Food

Sometimes, we get pretty creative when it comes to convincing Alex to eat. It’s not even that he won’t eat – he just prefers a pretty limited diet. Daddy started this trick the other morning with waffles and Alex insisted we continue the tradition with his strawberries and bagel.

Another “let’s play with our food” moment came earlier this week when I finally succumbed to the terrible cold Daddy and Alex had last week/weekend. As beautiful as it was outside earlier this week, I couldn’t bring myself to face the pollen, or even to spend much time off the couch. So … we turned the Mega Bloks table into a construction zone…complete with a big box of stale Cheerios!

I’m so glad my mom suggested this table over my original idea of a cookie sheet on a towel!

Almost every vehicle had a turn with the Cheerios – as did Alex.

At some point, Alex decided Kovu must want Cheerios.

The entire downstairs was covered in Cheerios! Thank goodness for our furry vacuum cleaner!

Diaper Cake

Last weekend, I co-hosted a small baby shower, or “sprinkle” for my friend, Amanda. Since we were eating brunch at a restaurant, we had to keep the decorations to a minimum, but I was insistent on making a diaper cake. Luckily, I had a great helper!

A cool trick I learned from a friend in Wilmington – use a bottle of wine for the center. Barefoot brand is especially cute because you end up with a foot print on the wine label.

My helper, carefully positioning a rubber band.

The finished product!

Amanda’s baby boy will be here in a month!! I can’t wait to meet him!

Papa Art Comes to Visit

Alex woke up from his nap to a great surprise yesterday – Papa Art had come up to visit for the night! Alex had lots of fun running around showing off his toys.