Of somersaults and balance beams

Alec began a toddler gymnastics course this week with his friend Patrick. 45 minutes of non-stop motion! I was worn out. The instructor does some stretches with them (which Alec studiously ignored), then led them once through a huge obstacle course he'd set up (parents assist their children throughout). As we'd go through it, he ran around changing parts of it, so there was always something new to try. Alec enjoyed swinging on the rings, jumping & hanging on the uneven bars, but his favorite was probably the hula hoop!Afterward, Alec & Patrick enjoyed a final climb on the salamander statue (which Alec called a bug):

The Little Man...

I can't believe how fast Alec's growing up.

He loves shaving with his Uncle Kevie now:He cleans up so smartly for work in the morning:He's even begun prepping for his future career as a chef:

Valentines' Days

This year for Valentine's Day...we spread the fun out. Starting with Catherine's Valentine's Party the week before (I couldn't resist getting a funny Valentine shirt for him).

Alec enjoying the crafts:

The Thursday before Valentine's Day we celebrated with a family dinner and gifts. Alec loved his new 'choo choo'. Friday Paul and I did our own gifts and private celebration. Alec and I had snuck off to the British Food Store to get some chocolates that Paul misses.

Saturday we did a quadruple date with two of my siblings and my cousin, Derek (and their spouses). Since Valentine's Day was a Saturday we didn't dare attempt the crowds to go out, so we barbecued at my Derek's, played some Wii and even made the guys sit through a chick-flick! It was really fun and the food was yummy!Paul orders me different flowers each year, which I love! He did such a great job this year making it romantic and fun! I really enjoyed my Valentine Days this year...

Bug? Bug?

A few weeks ago, whilst sitting in the grass a little ladybug crawled on Alec's leg.

Since then, he loves having 'bug's as he calls them (apparently 'ladybug' is just too long a word), crawl on him.

So, now on our morning walks we stop and sit in the grass in an attempt to find bugs. I'm so grateful it was a ladybug-something I can handle.

He does say 'bug' very well though:

It's not just me...

Alec is definitely cute!

He got officially 'scouted' by a talent agent. Actually this happened over a month ago. They want to pay my son to play with Fisher-Price toys and take pictures of him.

Here's a cute scrapbook-like video my incredibly talented husband made of Alec in January. It is 6 minutes long, but worth it!

Alec's favorite phrase is currently 'Uh-oh!' He loves walking around and knocking things to the floor, then shouting, 'Uh-oh!'. Nice that he can alert me to the next area I need to clean.

Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary

Last Friday Alec and I were able to meet up with Hilary and Catherine at the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary. Thanks to the drizzle and grey skies, we had the place to ourselves!!Alec and Cat enjoyed playing together in two different messy mediums.

1. Dirt: Picking up clumps and dropping it on the ground (or, in dropping it in Cat's pigtails, as Alec so obviously preferred)

2. Rain Puddles: Running and splashing in them, then trying to splatter them with their hands. It was so fun to watch the two of them running around and giggling.

Lastly, we entered the 'petting zoo' area and let them run around with some goats. Thank goodness it was at the end, since it certainly was a stinky experience.

Spiders & Snails & Puppy Dogs' Tails...

Boys!!! Let's illustrate a couple incidents from last week that make me laugh even now.

We commence with the 'oatmeal sprinkling'. Two pounds of Quaker Oats strewn on the floor, then joyfully put in the dogs' thick fur.Secondly, the diaper-less nap. Just because mommy puts the diaper on, is no reason for it to stay on...clearly.Maybe he's just more clever than I give him credit for, as he loves baths & these cases end in baths.

Aww...who couldn't love all the adventure?? I love being Alec's mommy!

Another Day, Another Stray...

Once again my 'stray dog magnet' was working and I found a little terrier/dachsund on the road. I could feel each of her vertebrae when I picked her up through her matted fur! My family didn't want any strays around, but quickly gave in (she's sweet, cuddly and great with Alec and the other dogs). So, after blowing the money we'd set aside for Alec's new clothes on vet bills; she's shaved, healthy & bathed.

Here's a picture after I trimmed her face a bit:Here she is after a shave (the vet had to give her a sedative to shave her, as the fur was matted to her skin-poor little dear):Here she is by the other dogs for scale. She weighs 8 pounds, 9 ounces, should weigh about 15 pounds.So, if you know anyone looking for a dog, let me know! :)

Beautiful Christmas Bride

My cousin Derek got sealed to his sweetheart on December 26th. It was an evening sealing and the Spirit was very strong there, we really enjoyed attending & are certain Derek made the best choice!
Kristen is a sweet girl, a gorgeous bride and a lot of fun, we're so excited to welcome her into our family!
The reception was held the next night. Here's a photo of all the cousins, siblings and spouses/fiancees, aka 'the important people' (except Joleen, Sawyer, Ashley & Carly):
Alec was his usual wriggly self and enjoyed being chased by his daddy down the hallways most of the reception...
except when they asked all single men to try and catch the garter. I love this shot, Alec ran right out with the other guys!

...12 Days of...7 days of...morning of...Christmas!

This year Paul & I decided to do the '12 Days of Christmas' to a family of 8, with the aid of my sister Kelsey. We used some of our Christmas budgets on that instead of each other. It was SO fun!! The children were trying to catch us, so it made drop-offs very exciting. I got a picture of Kelsey on Christmas Eve, preparing for the trip:
This year Alec found some gifts from Paul's family and tore into one before I could stop him, but we really liked the idea of spreading out the fun, so we started the '7 Nights of Christmas', letting him open a gift each night. Here he is Christmas Eve enjoying his latest 'choo choo' and his Christmas Eve PJ's from Nana:My Uncle takes great pleasure in finding the noisiest things possible for Alec, so this Christmas (Eve) he got a loud book:The highlight of Christmas morning was Alec's 'ride on' Thomas from his Granny and Grandad who bought it for him when they were over visiting back in October:

It was so fun this year. Christmas is definitely better with children!
In the evening we went to my brother, Christopher's for dinner and some games.Afterwards, Paul and I got to go see a movie. I'd been pretty excited for Marley & Me and was not disappointed. I cried through a lot of the movie, but it was great! I highly recommend it, but bring a tissue. Paul's very picky about movies and he liked it too (this is the 4th film I saw at the cinema this year, we only go if we really want to see it these days).