Crystal Coast Vacation 2011

This year we spent a week on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina in Salter's Path and we had an amazing time. The beach was beautiful, the ocean was warm and the condo complex that we stayed in had so many extras like indoor & outdoor pools, a gameroom, a fitness center, and raquetball, basketball and tennis courts.

Alex really did great at the beach. I am thrilled that he is a beach baby and he looks super cute in his beach attire too...

We had a great set up on the beach with a pop-up sunshade for Alex to play in the sand under. He figured out that he could slip under the back door so we had to make sure he didn't sneak away with some cute little beach baby girl : )

He loved playing in the sand and collecting shells in his bucket. Daddy found a really nice Great White shark's tooth in the edge of the water that really was the best item in our shell collection. Alex was a bit cautious around the water but it didn't take long before he was out enjoying it with dad (while mom was a nervous wreck watching).

We also brought one of Travis' friends with us so he would have someone to hang out with all week and wouldn't be tied down to little brother's nap schedule. Meet Travis and Travis also known as The Travi, Noob 1 and Noob 2, Travis the Original and Travis Squared and I'm sure we called them many more names during the week together...

We all enjoyed the ocean quite a bit. We spent a few hours every morning down on the beach before lunch.

The Travi were in the ocean every chance they had either swimming or boogie boarding.

We came up from the beach at lunch time and Alex fell asleep every day in the middle of his lunch he would be so tired from playing on the beach. In the afternoons while Alex slept the Travi would hang out at the pool.

In the afternoons we also did some fun things away from the condo. We went to a fabulous aquarium at Pine Knolls. Alex loved watching all the fish and turtles swimming around.

We also found some really cute hermit crabs....

We also went bowling one day, we went to surf shops another day and we dropped the Travi off at a go-cart and putt-putt place for an afternoon of fun one of the days. In the evenings we would take a walk down the beach after dinner if it wasn't too close to Alex's bedtime. Alex loved watching the waves crash on the beach.

We really had an amazing vacation and can't wait to return to this wonderful, relaxing place.

Career Path

Alex is already thinking about his future and testing out possible employment opportunities. You are never too early to start building your career path, right...

Mechanic....

Grocery Stocker or Architect (not sure if he was stocking shelves or constructing buildings)



Model, Actor, Racecar Driver, ...this could go in so many directions...

Sailor...following in Daddy's footsteps

Lifeguard...

Chef (mudpies)...

Philosopher...

International Traveler....

Tour Guide or Historian...

Rodeo Cowboy...

I'm sure he will change his mind a thousand times before he decides but I'm glad he is checking out all of his options.

Alex is doing great. He continues to say new things and uses the sign language we have taught him pretty regularly. He is learning to be gentle with our dog Bubba and loves to get in the floor and rough house with Travis. He is starting to point to his eyes, ears and nose when asked and he loves to climb the stairs when it is time to go to bed. He absolutely loves taking a bath. He signs for "bath" several times a day every day and is always happy when he is in the tub....

And look at those adorable curls ; )

April Update and Happy Easter

Alex and Travis play together all the time. I don't know who laughs more or has more fun.



Travis loves taking Alex to the playground and sliding him down the slides.



Alex is always happy to see Travis even if it is just at the end of the playground tunnel!

Alex has finally grown into his blue rim...Go Navy!

Alex can be a little stinker when he wants to be. He knows when he is doing something that he shouldn't be and when you tell him "No" he laughs and thinks that is the funniest word ever. We will continue to work on the real meaning of that word : )

On Easter Alex was such a good boy all day while I cleaned up the house and cooked Easter dinner and his daddy slept because of his work schedule. I gave Alex the bunny out of his Easter basket to keep him happy and then we gave both boys their Easter baskets when Jim woke up and Travis came home.

Alex really likes the Weebles that were in his basket...they wobble but they don't fall down...

Daddy showed Alex how to make bubbles with his new bubble blower.

Alex loved the bubbles....

Travis got a fishing pole for Easter and was out on the deck rigging it up. Alex was watching him through the window and waving to him. It was so cute!

We hosted Easter dinner at our house and celebrated Uncle Brian's birthday. It was such a wonderful evening. Our new living room furniture was a big hit. All the kids loved the swivel chair, even the grownup kids.

Hope everyone's Easter was as blessed as ours! Alex is working on cutting more teeth and his food choices are expanding. He still isn't fond of cut up veggies yet but we keep introducing them with hope that one day he will like them. He waves, claps, blows kisses and gives high fives now. He loves music and dances even in restaurants that have background music playing. He actually danced to a baby crying the other day...it was so funny! He says hi when he puts his toy phone up to his ear and he is starting to use sign language more. "Milk" is the one he knows the best but he is now also doing the signs for "more","all done", "eat" and I think tonight he did "bath" but that was the first time I've seen that one so we'll see if he uses it again anytime soon. It is so cool when he tries to communicate his needs to us even though he can't tell us with words yet.

First Hair Cut

Alex got his first haircut today. Daddy, Travis and Alex all went and had haircuts done. Alex was so good. He never fussed or cried. He just kept looking at the lady with a bewildered look like he was trying to figure out what she was doing.

He sat really still in Daddy's lap the whole time. He was soooo good!

Mommy misses his curls already : (

But doesn't he look so handsome. Why do haircuts always make kids look older? I feel like he grew up overnight.

Another milestone accomplished. Then to top off the evening when we got home Jim was carrying him into the house and he leaned over and gave Jim a kiss just out of the blue. He is such a sweetie!

13 months and ever changing....

Alex is 13 months old now. He is turning into quite the independent toddler. He has 6 teeth (2 on bottom, 4 on top) and is a PICKY eater already. One day he loves something and the next he won't touch it. Then try again in a day or two and he devours it again. Some of his favorites include meat sticks (basically baby hotdogs), turkey lunch meat, bananas, scrambled eggs (which he used to spit out and now loves), graham crackers, veggie puffs, gold fish crackers and of course cheerios. Note there are no real veggies in that list. He still LOVES baby food green beans and yellow veggies but does not like chunks of the real thing. We just keep trying and one day we will succeed! He pretty much runs everywhere. I think he only walked for about a week and it has been full speed ahead ever since. His balance is getting better and even when he is running he isn't falling down as much. He likes to "help" me put away groceries by pulling all of the bags back out after I fold them to put them away. Paper bags and boxes are more fun than expensive toys! Travis hasn't become too cool yet to hang with his little brother. Alex lights up when Travis walks in a room. They have so much fun playing together. Alex has 2 four wheelers and can now climb on and off of them without falling over. He can roll backwards pretty easily but is still trying to figure out how to roll forward without running over his feet. We are teaching him to put his feet up when we push him on them. He is quite the multi-tasker too...riding four wheelers and playing at the zoo should go hand in hand, right?! We have been teaching Alex some baby sign language and have been working on a couple of things for months..."milk", "all done" and "eat". He has signed all three but not really in the right context and never in a way like he was trying to communicate his needs to us until tonight. He walked over to the fridge and signed "milk", so I got his bottle of milk out and he got really excited and drank the whole thing. It was so exciting that he was actually trying to tell me what he wanted! He had been signing "milk" over the weekend when he was drinking his bottle but this time he was asking for it without seeing it first...so cool!!!! I am going to have to look at our book again and see what other sign language we want to teach him.