Tanner Max Hunter

My nephew Tanner was born this morning & Alec was so thrilled to go meet him! On the walk in the hospital (after I reassured him no shots were involved), he kept exclaiming, 'Oh! I know he will be such a cute baby!'

Summer is for swimming...soon

The pool wasn't quite warm enough, so Alec stayed in for a little & James refused.

Catherine's 4th

Catherine's 4th birthday party included an exotic petting zoo. Alec chose to pet the python.

Button pusher

James likes to push buttons.

I put a child gate in front of the TV stand.

He pushed a toy over, climbed onto it and reached over it to push the buttons.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

From Thomas the Train & Buzz Lightyear to...

Pirates & lightsabers

Alec's fourth birthday was a last-minute theme shift.

He'd been asking for a Buzz Lightyear cake for months & I had a plan & all necessary parts. With less than a week before his trampoline party, he suddenly begged for a 'Jake & the Neverland Pirates' cake. I caved in & decided to do a simple treasure chest cake & a few simple cupcakes (the morning of the party, he begged for a 'Jake' on the cake & I complied with a half hour to create a fondant/super-lame Jake).

The trampoline party worked great. The kids had an hour to jump, climb the walls, tackle each other for balls, etc.

After which we herded them back to the 'party room' where they got to eat pizza & each child got an eye patch, fake hoop earring & a compass. Nobody liked the fake earrings.


Then, they got to play a 'treasure hunt' game we'd planned (I knew Alec would love this). Using a treasure map Paul had created for them, they collected gold dubloons from 4 locations & traded them in for treasure from the treasure box.

Afterwards, we had cupcakes!

Alec & Catherine, another early engagement photo. :) Really we had to force them to touch, as (apparently) members of the opposite gender are not worth our time.

Sand Angels

We signed Alec up for his first season of Little League this year. Bad idea.

It requires WAY too much concentration for a 3 year old boy.

He got so bored, he laid down in the sand & made 'sand angels'. This occurred AFTER he'd been kicking sand at a few other boys & putting handfuls of sand in his glove, then putting his glove on his head.

Running the bases is apparently no fun either. He hit the ball, then turned and ran straight back into the dugout!!

He's not tan-that's dirt.

Safe to say Alec will not be gracing a diamond for several years once this season ends. :)

Cheatin' the Vertical

Last December Alec threw a tantrum when he was about 3 inches too short to ride the 'coasters at Disneyland. We knew he'd hit 39 inches a few week back & we were hoping he could just squeak in the 40 inch mark (his head has to hit the bottom of the marker).

On Thursday, in his soccer shoes, he was just too short. Friday morning was raining and with his boots on-he made it!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!

James turned one on Thursday, March 24th. We were at Disneyland:

James's birthday churro:

James is so much like his daddy. From his quiet determination to his curly brown hair.

Wiped out at the end of the day:

Crazy to think he's only been with us a year now. Now he can walk now & say a few short words. My favorite is 'Wooow'! He loves to eat whatever we're eating & he only wants to do whatever his older brother or parents are doing-he even enjoyed the rides with us. I think Small World was his favorite, he danced and clapped a lot on it!

Even at such a young age, he's able to clearly make his wishes known. I have caught him a few times purposely getting Alec in trouble so he could get a toy-classic little brother! He loves to push buttons, so when I put a child gate in front of the DVD player, he moved a ride-on toy in front of the gate so he could stand on that to reach over & push the buttons.

James has such a sweet smile and loves to laugh! He's ticklish everywhere and his grandpa dubbed him, 'James the happy'. We love our smiley little man!

Luck o' the Irish to ya

The leprachaun left treats in Alec's soccer shoes (yes, Alec chose the shoes). She forgot to make sure we had potatoes, so he got an onion in one. Not like he cared either way when he saw the candy in the other:

We made green scrambled eggs. For dinner in the end since we woke up late & had to rush to work. Then Paul drove off with the keys to the Odyssey & his phone on silent. On a day I was giving a quiz. My students were SO understanding about postponing their quiz until after Spring Break-they're swell. :)

Alec 'helped' me decorate some cupcakes.

James helped rid us of a cupcake:

I arranged a few themed games, like tossing gold coins into the leprachaun's pot, a shamrock relay, a gold coin hunt (turned pretty competitive) and a variation of the Scottish "Heave Ho". Clearly no real hay bales, we tossed a grocery bag with odds and ends over the dowel. Yes, I realize the Scots & Irish are two different ethnic groups...but Alec doesn't. :) My mom, my sister, Kari & her family came over to play with us.

Alec told the history of St. Patrick's Day & explained that the 3 leaves of the shamrock were to represent the Trinity. He did a great job!

Finally, Auntie Kari read Alec, 'The Luckiest Leprechaun'

Alec was holding onto the spatula from the 'Heave Ho' game in case the book was boring...