Photo Op

He hated touching the grass

Alec's Best Friend

Uncle Mike bought Alec an ET doll last summer. I hid it. It's a really ugly doll (sorry Mike) and I honestly thought it would frighten Alec. I saw the movie as a kid and quite frankly, it scared me. Anyway, the doll was tucked away in our guest room closet for months. Months, that is, until Alec recently discovered ET. Since then, ET has been by Alec's side. Alec shares his blankie, snacks and toys with ET. He loves playing chasing games with ET (this involves Mommy or Daddy moving ET so it appears like ET is chasing Alec). And I swear, this ugly doll has become Alec's new best friend. Thanks Mike ;)



I don't know if it's the head, creepy large blue eyes, or the robe that scares ME,
but apparently, this is a doll only a boy could adore.



Giving ET *hugs*



More hugs



Playing peek-a-boo

Sharing a snack

Alec signing "more" to tell me that ET would like more snacks :) I missed the shot
but before this was taken, Alec picked up ET and used ET's hands to sign "more"!!

Sunny Day, Sweeping the Clouds Away....

Some of these photos made their debut on facebook already but I can't help and repost them here because they are too cute :) I'm biased, I know. While I'm normally a winter lover, it was nice to get a sunny day so we could get  a break from being indoors. We got to take out a few new toys and Alec LOVED them. He cried when we had to go back inside. I'm not sure if he loved being outside simply because it was something different, or if he's going to be an outdoors-type-of-kid. Either way, I have a feeling that we're going to be spending A LOT of time outside this spring and summer. Better start stocking up on sunscreen and bug spray....



Silly Face



A serious driver :)



Love his hat. I bought it from Etsy.com and finally got a picture of him wearing it!
He reminds me of a teddy bear.



Looking at the ducks in our 'pond'

Photo Op

It's freezing here today. But that didn't stop Alec and I from a quick Shop Rite trip this morning to pick up some breakfast goodies for Grandma Dee & Papa Joe who are coming over tonight to babysit so Daddy & I can have a date night and go out to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday. On our way out, I opted to not put Alec in his puffy jacket, mittens and shoes and instead, I put him into a hand-me down snowsuit that we got when he was born. It was never used by the previous little boy and we got it with the tags still on (love those kinds of freebies!!). The soft chocolate brown and pale blue colors make this snowsuit so boy and I just love it. It doesn't hurt that it's super soft to the touch too--Alec appreciated that.

Our snow bunny

Sew, what's new?

Considering that the last time I operated, much less touched a sewing machine was in a Home Economics class in middle school (woot woot 7th grade!), I would say my homemade playroom valance isn't too shabby!
The window in the playroom was in desperate need of something and I finally got around to giving it a treatment. It isn't fancy or perfect by any means, but I can't help and feel that the room is a little more cheerful with the added touch of more primary colors :)

All boy theme & Alec's favorite: cars, trucks and choo choos!

Finished product

A Yummy Discovery

As Alec tackles more and more table food, I find myself worrying if he's getting enough fruits and veggies. I didn't always wonder this as I fed him jars of baby food and I felt those were his 'servings.' I made sure he had 2-3 a day and it all worked out. But now, he's pickier. He'll try almost anything. But swallowing food is another story. I often wonder what other Mamas out there are doing with their soon-to-be 15 month olds with respect to ensuring a daily, healthy dose of fruits and veggies?? About 2 weeks ago, I happened to be in the baby food aisle at Target when I discovered Plum Tots and Ella's Kitchen--organic baby food that came in a squeezable package. The combinations pear/broccoli/peas and strawberry/apple for instance, made me think for a sec, but I decided to give them a try. WELL! Did I hit gold! Alec inhales these in no joke, less than 2 minutes! And they're about 4oz worth of fruits and veggies per package. In fact, he signs 'more' when he's done. To my surprise, these same foods were featured in a recent Parents Magazine in an article which discussed how to sneak in healthy foods for busy toddlers and preschoolers. THANK GOODNESS Target had these on sale today ($0.89 to $1.16/package depening on size). We'll be going back for more. VERY soon.

Mommy stocked up :)

A full bin which I'm certain will empty quickly!!

Project 52

So one of my resolutions this year was to learn something new. Because I got a new camera for Christmas, I decided to learn how to use it and how to take 'good' pictures. That said, in doing photography research online on how to take pictures, I stumbled across a photography contest called Project 52. Basically, participants pick a theme, and for a year, they and take 1 photo a week to capture their theme. Given that I'm such an amature, I chose to not actually enroll in the contest (especially after seeing all the submissions!!) but I decided to do the project on my own instead. I'm curious to see how my creativity, style, composition and overall photography skills evolve over this year. What a great way to see evolution of a skill! I hesitated posting these but then I thought, "Oh, what the heck! Why not!" My theme is seasons. I want to capture moments in our lives during each of the 4 seasons we experience where we currently live. Drum roll please....

Winter:

Winter ice

What better way to enjoy winter than with a cup of hot cocoa!

Valentine's Day

Hibernation

Hibernation #2

Holiday decor

Winter afternoon

Mommy's Birthday bouquet

Mommy Birthday Bouquet #2

Finally Emerging!

Our house {ahem} I, fell victim to the stomach flu last week. Needless to say the laundry piled up, the dust bunnies are visiting again, and the bathrooms (all 2 1/2 of them) are begging to shine. {sigh} Eventually...at some point...possibly, this week.... I'll get to all of that. I'm just enjoying food again :)

Despite the stomach flu, and all the snow/sleet/freezing rain/ice that was upon us and the rest of the Northeastern part of the country, we managed to have a few moments of sunshine this week! Alec has taken off with his walking and he walks and falls and walks and falls and walks and falls ALL DAY LONG.  He doesn't seem to mind the falling part even though I cringe everytime. He just gets back up again. His determination is impressive for such a young child! 

In addition to this, I celebrated my 30th birthday with my closest friends and family members. It was a surprise that my fabulous husband pulled off after MONTHS of planning (so I heard) and it was really a wonderful time. Just what I needed!

Have a look below at what we've been up to the past few days....

Hangin' out

He loves this basket so much. So much that it's now broken!

Teething. Again.

Nothing like a frozen teething ring while reading.

One of those moments I want to remember forever.
I'm elated that he loves to read!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Just to clarify, it's smoky not due to the amount of candles,
but due to the fact that they were the re-lighting kind! They were blown
out several times and dunked into water--and a few STILL remained lit!
In water!!! Crazy candles.

We both couldn't wait to tear into the cake :D

First slice



My stunning birthday bouquet from Joe



30 roses from Mom & Dad

A few of many cards

Birthday balloons and surprise party decorations!