We finally decided to move our blog to a site that we could control more.  We wanted to make sure that years from now we will still have the blog as it is Alex’s baby book!  The blog is now at www.thenelsonblog.com.  Please go there for the latest blogs!

Darren did a wonderful job of designing the site, transferring all of the old blogs, and doing the cute background picture.  He also put in a place for some of my pictures if you ever just can’t get enough.  These will include some of my other photography, not just photos of Alex!  The format is a bit different.  Just click on the title or the thumbnail picture and it will go to the full blog.  Thanks for following our adventures!!

We knew Alex needed something that he could climb and stand on. Most toddler gyms didn’t have that.  I was getting frustraded looking until I saw last Sunday’s ads.  We saw one that looked perfect.  Grandma came to the rescue with an early birthday present as she had seen firsthand his love of climbing the cat tree!  I have fought the idea that we are spoiling him (ok, we are), but then I realized that if he was in daycare, he would have these kind of toys to play on daily!  Plus from what my friend Amy says, a week of daycare costs about the same as the Fort/Castle did!  Yikes.

Alex & Liam in the Fort/Castle

Sunday afternoon, Darren put Alex’s new Fort/Castle together.  Alex immediately went to it and climbed up the stairs.  He smiled and smiled when he was at the top.  He loves that he is now almost eye level with me when he stands at the top.  He then spied the slide and went down immediately!  That was so cute.  He doesn’t go down the slide as much after that first time.  He gets a little nervous, but once he goes down, he loves it!

We have been anxious to have other kids over to try out Alex’s new toy.  It looks like a day care in here now, so might as well have more kids!  Poor Ethan has been sick again, so we missed that play date.  When I was at the store, I recognized one of the mothers that was at my breastfeeding class.  (That seems like another lifetime ago!)  I have seen her and her son Liam walking around our neighborhood, so I knew they lived close to us.  I saw them again at Story Time on Thursday and invited them to our house on Friday for a Play date.  They were happy to come over as she also stays home with Liam.

Alex & Liam

Liam took awhile to warm up, but once he did, he never wanted to leave!  Alex helped by walking to him and giving him a hug a couple of times!  So funny, he never gives kids hugs!  Liam loved the bouncy house and the Fort/Castle.  The boys played in the landing of the Fort for some time.  They had an obsession over little buckets and fought over them a bit. 

Liam is almost 2, so it is good for Alex to play with an older boy.  We plan on future play dates as the boys did very well together.  We need practice on playing with other kids as does Liam, so it could work very well.  The boys had a lot of similarities in growth and development, so that is good.  We were reminded once again at how outgoing Alex is compared to other kids!

Floyd stealing Alex's bologna

The cats have also been enjoying the new playhouse.  Patches likes to sit on top of it- he always likes to be in the highest place in the house!  Josie, Blackjack & Floyd like to sit underneath it on the “safety” pillows we have put all around the house like a moat.  We have not decided if we should call it a Fort or a Castle.  Votes?

Alex & Patches

Alex has been sitting and “reading” a lot lately.  He also comes up to me and wants me to read to him at least a couple of times a day.  I am so happy he loves books!!  When he was little he had the book upside down over half of the time.  Now the book is right side up all of the time, so he must be understanding a bit more!  He especially loves a little book on swimming that our friend Liz gave him.  The pictures are not very vibrant, so I think he actually likes the story!  He sits and “reads” it usually several times a day.

Alex reading "Goodnight World"

He is also mimicking more and more.  He did a great performance of “Happy and you know it” in Story time.  He stood behind the group leader and did many of the signs including clapping his hands, blowing a kiss and raising his hands.  Other mothers thought he was hilarious.   It was really cute.  A neighbor girl also taught him “what does a doggy say” and then sticks his tongue out and pants.  We can now get him to do that.  First when we ask him, he looks out the back windows to where he sees doggies.  Then he will pant for us.

Wednesday was a Snow Day here in Loveland.  It snowed for hours on Tuesday so they closed the schools for the next day.  It was like being in a snowglobe!  We got 9-12 inches here.  Ironically it got quite sunny and was a beautiful day, so the kids had a blast!  I have never seen so many snowmen in my life!  We dressed Alex up and took him outside to play.  He mostly enjoyed eating the snow!  He did like stomping in the snow some as well.  We tried him in the sled which he enjoyed although he doesn’t look like he likes it in the video!

I wish we had made a snowman as well, but I didn’t think of it at the time!  We mostly made lots of snowballs to throw at daddy and snow angels.  We did a little snowball fight when I would throw one at Alex (at his thick jacket), then Darren would put one in his hand and help him hit me.  He thought this was hilarious!  True to Colorado weather, there is no snow on the ground outside now!

Julie & Alex making snow angels

Argh... Yes, I couldn't resist getting Alex a pirate hat

On Tuesday, Alex had his first swim lesson!  We went to Mountain View Aquatic Center which is also Mountain View high school’s pool.  It is very nice- a large lap pool, diving pool and separate kiddy pool with small slide.  They even have some elevated stands for crowds to watch.  There were only 3 kids in the class.  They learned a lot- we walked into the pool, floated on our backs, kicked our legs, put our heads under and even jumped off the edge (with help) into the pool.  I was amazed we did that much in the first class!

Alex talking to the statue at the Library

Alex held onto me quite a bit, but he also loved splashing in the pool.  He learned a lot from watching the other kids, especially a girl who is about 2 and who had done this before.  I am very glad Alex will learn to swim early- having come from Arizona, land of a million pools; we know how important that is to know!  Sorry, hard to get pictures at the pool- some day!

Alex enjoying his IKEA chair & Hoover Dam hat.

St. Patty’s day was beautiful, with temps in the mid-60’s.  The three of us went to a local park and had a picnic.  Well, picnic is not quite the word.  Darren and I ate sandwiches while Alex was on the swings.  I had wisely fed him before the park- there was no way he would eat once he saw all the fun stuff there was to do!  We couldn’t get him out of the swings for some time- he just loved them.  We finally got him out and he played in the sand some as well.  It was so nice for all of us to get out and enjoy the weather!  It was so cute to see all of the kids in green.

Alex & Darren playing in the sand

We have had a crazy weather week.  Tuesday was our first over 60 degree day in over 100 days!  It has been quite a cold stretch.  We are all quite sick of it, so there were tons of people outside.  It even got to 70 on Wed or Thurs.  And then true to Colorado weather, it snowed 6 inches on Friday!!  My aunt in Morrison (Denver foothills) said they got 26 inches that day!  Wow.  Much of the snow is melting and we should see 60 again on Monday, followed up by snow on Wednesday…

Almost tall enough to ride our big wheel!

I got in 3 hikes and a couple of walks with the boys this week, which makes it a good week in my book.  On one walk my friend Liz and I saw 15 deer.  The next day Darren spotted close to 50 elk near the golf course!!!

Close to 50 Elk near the golf course

Yesterday we Skyped with my mom who is currently in Istanbul, Turkey.  It is so cool that we can talk live with people all over the world!  I have been working with Alex on “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands..”  He is finally clapping, blowing kisses, and raising his arms sometimes.  When we skyped we demonstrated that to Grandma.  Alex blew her a kiss, clapped his hands and raised his hands for her.  He even leaned into the screen and put his hand over grandma’s mouth to help her blow a kiss!  Priceless.

Alex demonstrating Chair Surfing

The terrible twos started at my parents place.  When we would take something away like a pen or not want him to climb on the cat tree, he would fall to the ground on his back and cry and throw a fit.  He has done a couple in public and continued the trend since we have been back.  Oh joy.  He has been a little sick since we have been back with the never-ending runny nose, so I’ll cut him a little slack because of that.  I think when he is recovered from the trip, here at home and well again, we can truly see how bad the terrible two’s might be.  Cross fingers!

Alex loves his bouncy house!

Alex also learned that he can climb tables at my parent’s place and has continued doing so here with a vengeance.  We decided we needed a new, safer thing for him to play on/climb on so Grandma bought him a bouncy house.  It looked about 3-4’ in diameter in the picture.  When we blew it up, we found it was more like 6’ in diameter!  It is HUGE!!  We will keep it upstairs as long as we can stand it, but it will go in the basement someday.

Alex LOVES the bouncy house.  He barely climbs on the table anymore, so it is a success so far!  He especially loves that he can climb in and out by himself.  His BFF Ethan came over this week and learned that he could dive into the house!  Too funny.   He wouldn’t go in the house at first, so I went in to entice him.  I did check out the weight capacity which is 120 lbs, which I unfortunately exceed, but figured if I didn’t bounce it would be ok! 

I love this perspective shot of Ethan, Alex and me

The house is definitely a major success!  (It is supposed to be for kids up to age 6 and we got it at Wal-mart for other Mothers and Grandmothers out there!)  For the record, you should use a pump, not do it the way Darren did- he was light headed for awhile after this!

Alex "helping" daddy blow up the bouncy house

Alex slipped and fell flat on his face on the hardwood yesterday, so is still sporting a fat lip, although it is not too bad.  He is also cutting two new teeth- a couple of back ones, so that has not been fun for the little guy.  He is also eating a ton!  He had his 18 month checkup this week and he had grown 2 inches – is now 32 ½” tall.  Unfortunately he is still 21 lb, so had not gained any weight in the last 3 months.  I blame all the stupid illnesses he has had lately, especially the flu he had for a week and a half where he didn’t eat much at all.  The doctor also wasn’t excited that he doesn’t say “mama” or “dada” much either, so we have to go back in two months for another check-up. My mom also had an interesting thought about Alex’s not gaining weight- he eats TONS of fruits and veggies. He is not a big fan of breads and pasta. Because of this, he poops a ton! So I am going to try to feed him more pasta and Darren and I more fruits & veggies! Maybe this kid knows something! I might be the only mother in the world who’s doctor may advise her to stop letting her kid eat so much healthy stuff! Go figure!

Having fun

Yesterday Darren set out some cat food and forgot to pick it back up before Alex got near it.  When he turned around Alex had eaten a tiny bit of the wet food.  Darren took the can away and Alex pointed to it asking for more!  Yikes, is my cooking that bad?

Ethan & Alex enjoying bananas

It has been nice enough lately that the three of us have gotten to take a couple of walks.  One day we walked some of the golf course which was fun.  We let Alex run and as long as he had a golf ball to chase, he walked almost 3 holes by himself!  Sadly, the course is now open, so there goes my fun walk.  The golfers will be happy though!

Alex & Daddy walking up #18 at Mariana

I got to take a hike with the hiking club yesterday in Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was so beautiful up there in the snow!  The snow is still quite deep.  It was a great hike to Mills Lake which I have now been to in the Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer all in the last year!  I like it every season!  It was fun to climb down and stand on top of the river that comes down from Alberta Falls.  I also liked walking ON Mills Lake.  We saw a guy slide on his belly on the ice!!

L-Me on Alberta Falls in winter, R- the falls in summer

We saw 3 coyotes and 3 deer in the park and at least 10 big horn sheep on the way home.  The day before we saw 3 elk on the golf course so I guess spring is close!!!  On Tuesday we are supposed to get our first 60+ day in over 100 days!!!  Finally.

Julie ON Mills Lake

What a cutie!!!

We got a lot better weather this time rather than the cold stuff we got over the holidays.  Yeah!!!!  I so needed to thaw out.  We haven’t seen even the 50’s in MONTHS!  It was in the 70’s for all but one day of our trip.  It felt so good to wear shorts & short sleeves and feel WARM!

Grandma got Alex some St. Patty's day stuff!

Darren bowled with Duane, but they were both out of bowling shape and hurt their arms!  Darren so much that he had to bowl 2 games left handed- and still scored close to 200!  Alex and I visited with Dodie.  It rained that day so we had a fun time at the mall with a kid’s area that was perfect for Alex’s age.  Finally!  Everything is always for older kids!  I wish they had that here.  Dodie and I had a fun visit including a walk in the drizzle with Lily pup.

Dodie, Lily and Shannon

Mom’s birthday was March 1^st (the next day) so I had commissioned Dodie to make mom a cake.  Dodie has been taking cake decorating classes, so I suggested that mom likes chocolate, birds, flowers & frogs.  Here is the amazing design she came up with! Mom loved it and we all gained about a pound each.  

Mom's beautiful cake!

That afternoon I got to hit IKEA.  Yeah!  Unfortunately Alex and Darren were so tired that they both slept in the car while I found some treasures.  I was disappointed as they had a great looking kid’s play area.  Oh well- next time.

We visited with friends Mitch, Angela and 21 month old son Gavin.  It was so fun to visit friends with a kid!  We could relax and talk while the boys played.  They were so cute together.  Alex is rarely with a kid just older than him, so it was good to see them interacting with each other.  Normally he just parallel plays with younger kids, but he actually played with Gavin.  They ran round and round in circles giggling.  Too cute. 

Alex & Gavin playing together

Monday was mom’s birthday so we asked her what she would like to do.  She wanted to visit Mission San Xavier Del Bac in Tucson.  It has been under renovation for years and for a short time will be visible without the ugly scaffolding, so I was happy to visit as well for the photo ops!  Thanks to a well positioned puddle from the recent rains, I did get some cool shots. 

Alex, Grandpa & Grandma at the Mission

We lunched in an older part of Tucson- we wanted to in Old Tucson, but am not sure we found it!  After that, we went to the Desert Museum.  It is a combination zoo, museum and botanical garden.  It is quite impressive.  They interwove the exhibits very well and it was a beautiful day. 

Taking a walk at the Desert Museum

Their cats were great- we were quite close to the Bobcats and got good views of Mountain Lions.  The raccoon was quite a ham.  Alex and he each went up to the windows and acted silly and had fun.  The racoon was almost turning summersaults at one point!

Mom had tons of well wishes and said it was a great B-day!

Alex & Grandma hanging out at the snake display

The boys got in a couple of golf games.  I don’t think they did so well, but had a good time.  While they were there, I left Alex with Grandma (Alex slept the whole time I was gone!!) so I could go hiking with Peggy.  We hiked Camelback Mountain.  Yikes, I forgot what a tough climb it is!  It is more of a climb at times than a hike.  The trail is only 1.2 miles to the top, but you gain 1,264 ft.!!!

Peggy & me at the top of Camelback Mountain

On Wednesday, Darren, Alex and I went to Volleyball at Tempe Town Lake.  I love these courts- I wish they were there when we lived there!  They have 4 sand courts next to the lake with ASU across the lake.  It is beautiful.  I remembered this time to bring a shovel and pail for Alex to play in the sand.  Great Grandma Frieda had left some cute board shorts for Alex that he wore- ok, more like pants for now!  Athena was kind enough to watch Alex a lot, so we both got in quite a bit of Volleyball which was fun- and exausting!  We are not in volleyball shape anymore.  

Fun at the beach

Alex had a blast in the sand.  He learned to use the shovel to put the sand in the bucket.  He also learned that if you turn the bucked on your head, you get a lot of sand in your hair!  He climbed a steep embankment many times to get to a park bench he enjoyed.  He was quite active that day!  Dad joined us and Duane & Kayrene afterwards for the traditional delicious meal at Oreganos.

Fun at the beach

On Thursday, Darren played another game of golf while my parents and Alex and I chilled out at home.  Dad and I finally got to hike the mountain he hikes daily.  It was so beautiful and green from all the recent rains.  I lamented that I will be missing the best wildflower year in a long time!  They should start blooming soon.  Oh well.  At least we stayed dry.  

The mountain is so green!

Dad and I also took Alex to the park.  We thought he would want to play in the sand, but he ran over to the swings and pointed.  We put him in the swing and he didn’t want to get out!  After wuite some time we finally had to convince him that we had to leave! 

Grandma & Alex playing

A not so fun thing that Alex learned during the trip was that he can climb onto a chair and from there he can get onto the table!  Even though our table is higher at home, he managed to figure out how to do that here also!  Aghhhh!!  He also thought it was great fun to STAND on the cat tree once he got to the top.  Oh boy, here come the gray hairs… 

Climbing time! The chairs & cat tree.

Friday was our last full day.  Dad and I played 9 holes at Cave Creek, his home course.  I had not played in 6 months!  I didn’t do too bad considering and that I was playing with Darren’s clubs.  It was fun to get out and play.  Everett & Dorothy, my great Uncle & Aunt were still in Mesa, so they came over and visited us.  We enjoyed their visit and had a good card game as always.  That night my cousin Christina visited us.  It had been awhile, so it was good to catch up.

Grandpa & Alex playing

We left on Saturday morning for the long trip home.  We usually drive through Albuquerque, but our Garmin suggested going up to the I70.  We thought, what the heck?  It knocked an hour off the trip, which we decided to spend in Arches National Park.  Darren & Alex had never been and we drive right by there on our way to Vegas, so we have wanted to stop for some time.  We didn’t stay much, but hiked about a mile to Left and Right Window.  It was very pretty, but I expected a little more snow in the area.

Darren & Alex having fun at Arches

In a stroke of good luck (for us), the following night a bunch of boulders came down on the I-70 right where we had been the night before near Glenwood Springs.  We missed it by a day!  The road is still closed.  Kind of scary.

Grambo Diane, Alex & Grandpa Ed having fun in a park

We decided awhile back that my frustration with the long Colorado winters would do much better if we took a trip to break up the cold weather.  So we decided to go back to Arizona for a week in March to take advantage of the nice weather.  But we didn’t want to visit my parents without swinging by Las Vegas to visit Darren’s mom for a bit as well!  We spent two days in Vegas and had a very fun time. 

Cool tiger at the Palazzo Casino

We didn’t have an outfit that could top Baby Claus, so we brought Alex’s red cowboy hat.  The hat was a huge hit!  We toured the Palazzo and Belagio’s wonderful Chinese New Year’s displays.  This is the year of the Tiger, so both had huge tigers and many flowers and lanterns.  Alex ran like a crazy man all around the first one we visited and many tourists requested to take his picture!  He was quite the hit!  I tried to get a video of him running around the casino, but he was too fast!!

Darren, Alex & Grandpa Ed throwing coins into the fountain

After touring the Palazzo we went to the Bellagio.  Alex was running so much Darren nearly lost him in the crowd!  He is super fast!  He ran around one corner and a lady said, “Hey, its Alex!”  We stopped in shock as we didn’t know her.  She noted our confusion and said she had been hearing about “Alex in the red hat” – from the other casino!  So he was famous!  Too funny.  A waiter of ours called Alex “Little John Wayne” so that is why we were calling him that!

Alex is famous!

We had fun with Grambo Diane & Grandpa Ed.  Alex loved the Thomas the Train engine that they borrowed for him to play with.  So many buttons!  They also told me about a nature preserve that is nearby, so I enjoyed it so much I went back the next morning.  I got lots of nice bird pictures.  It was fun to get to do some bird photography including one Great Blue Heron that let me get 10 feet away!  He kind of intimidated me being that close- his beak was huge! 

Grandpa Ed & Alex checking out the wild cats

There was also a room with a life-sized T-rex and Triceratops and many other dinosaurs.  Alex got scared of the T-rex when he came on and roared.  He wouldn’t come into the room at first.  He finally warmed up to it when he found out he could make the T-rex roar himself by pushing a button!

Triceratops & King Tut

Next to the museum was a place they call the “Neon Boneyard.”  It is a photogapher’s dream!  It is a dumping ground for many of the old lighted signs from the old casinos that have been torn down.  They are broken or taken apart and have tons of character.  I think they are making an actual park to host the signs as they are very cool.  For now they are just dumped in a parking lot behind a chain linked fence.  I would never have heard about it, but there was a CSI episode where the boneyard was featured this year. 

Neon boneyard

We left early Saturday to go to Phoenix.  On the way we decided to stop at the Hoover Dam.  I was shocked to find that Darren had NEVER stopped or walked across the dam!  I have many times- (usually to use the restrooms of course.)  We are hoping that the next time we go that way that the new bypass will be finished!  So this might be our last chance to tour without making a special trip.  Darren was glad to finally see a bit of how it works and the amazing spillway that is a giant drain for overflow near the edge.  It is scary how steep that part is!  My knees were weak walking across the dam.  The new bridge is supposed to be finished in November- good luck.  It looks like it had quite a ways to go.  I certainly don’t want to be one of the first to go over it- it looks frighteningly high! 

Alex & Darren checking out the Bypass bridge

We had a good drive to Phoenix fortunately after the scary icy/snowy drive on the way through Utah to Vegas.

Hoover Dam

Getting ready to go snowboarding!

The boys had a great time snowboarding.  It was the best boarding Dave had experienced.  They had a foot of snow on Monarch Mountain the night before we got there and 8 inches while they boarded!  I wish I could have watched them as at some points Dave said he was knee deep in the powder.  Darren also enjoyed the deep fluffy snow- more because it was soft to fall onto!  It has been at least three years since he last snowboarded.  He relearned quickly, his biggest problem still being how to get off the lift!

It's cold on the mountain!

On Saturday, Sarah, Alex and I stayed in Salida to explore the town.  First we went to their nice aquatic center where they had a kid’s only time in the pool with balls and tubes for them to play with.  For two hours only kids and their parents can go into the pool.  This was Alex’s first time in a public pool- I didn’t know how he would do, but he LOVED it!  There is a shallow angled walkway into the pool that we led Alex into.  He stopped and looked around for a couple of minutes, then kept going.  He finally remembered about “splash, splash, splash” and then he was off!  At one point he saw a beach ball and started saying “ball, ball, ball…” and a couple of parents helped him get a ball.  He really was on a roll!!

The water was like warm bath water, so it felt great.  They had a floaty donut with straps that Alex could sit in and we pushed him around the pool.  I wish I had a picture of this- he was soooo cute!  He loved watching all the other kids.  We also held him and let him float and he looked so calm and relaxed!  He even walked until the water got up to his armpits and didn’t seemed intimidated at all.  At one point he fell and went under the water.  I quickly got him up and he seemed startled, but not scared.  I was amazed at how well he did.  I am going to have to look up pools here.  It was nice for me as well.  Sarah was really good with him in the pool.

We then explored the town.  Salida is a cute little art town with lots of great restaurants and neat little stores.  We didn’t go into any art stores as Alex was VERY active this weekend.  We couldn’t afford what he might break!  We did find a neat toy store, a dog store, and a fun place to eat.  We let Alex take a little nap after lunch, but he woke up soon, so we tried driving to the mountain to see if we could get in some snowshoeing, but it was a wall of snow half way up, so we turned around.

Some cool kayaks in Salida

On Sunday we packed the car and all went to the mountain.  We had hoped for a break in the weather so Sarah and I could snowshoe a bit.  I have only snowshoed once (I think) since we have lived here.  I love snowshoeing, but somehow it never works out.  Turns out they don’t even allow snowshoeing on the mountain, so we didn’t get to do any this time either.  The boys had another great day as the snow kept on coming.  This was a nice place as it wasn’t too busy compared to other ski resorts.

Trying on hats at the lodge. Sarah, Julie & Alex.

Sarah and I watched Alex in the lodge while the boys were on the mountain.  Alex had LOTS of energy unfortunately, so it was quite tiring trying to keep him from getting hit by someone with big snow boots and away from the stairs.  I should have taken him out to play in the snow- I don’t know why I forgot to do that!   We appreciate our friends coming out to visit us in the winter.  We had fun playing Trivial Pursuit them, especially since we played girls vs. guys.  Always good for some laughs!

Alex is very happy to be home so he can run freely!  I don’t think he has stopped since we got home!

Glad to be home!

So happy to be feeling better!

We also got to go to Storytime, then aftwerwards had haircut #2. The first haircut was a lot easier! Alex was all over the place this time. I don’t know if he was tired, or that last time Grandma & Daddy were also there to distract. Daddy is coming with us next time!!! He wouldn’t even stay on my lap on the chair, so I finally resorted to holding him while we looked out the window and the hairdresser cut while he was temporarily distracted!!! Besides all that is looks pretty good. We got it a little shorter in the front finally so he won’t have it in his eyes again immediately!  We sure did have a lot of hair on both of us.

Hey, I can wear TWO hats at once!

We also tried a mom’s group that afternoon. (Boy was I tired at the end of that day!) There were about 30 kids and mom’s. They get together so the kids can play and the mom’s can talk. Is kind of a mommy sanity time. They do little play dates, go places etc. It would be good to have other mother’s knowledge with kids the same age. For instance, what do you do with them in the winter when you are stir crazy! It was nice to know that was happening to everyone, not just us. I don’t know if I’ll join or not as I am getting myself quite busy lately! Plus they meet the same time as Storytime!

Rasberry time!

Alex is getting better at recognizing and pointing to things. He now can point to Count Von Count from Sesame Street and also imitate his “ah, ah, ah”. I finally got a video of this but only got 2 “ah, ah”s. It is still cute.

Valentines Day is a big deal in Loveland. We are the “Sweetheart City”. If you get a Valentine’s letter specially stamped, that happened here! There are valentines everywhere and we have a yearly “Hunt for the Heart.” They print rhyming clues in the newspaper each day hinting to where they hid a small heart somewhere around town.  The hunt starts a week before Vday. We started looking three days ago and thought we had the place, but no luck.

Alex with his Valentines card from Grandma

While I drove to Denver on Friday to represent the Loveland golf courses at the Golf Expo, Darren and Alex walked around in the almost 50 degree day looking for the heart. No luck, but they had a good time. Alex even got to eat some more snow and daddy got in a good walk! Apparently the heart was found yesterday. Oh well- it is fun looking!

Alex & Daddy relaxing.

I have been seeing Eagles everywhere lately.  I have seen them twice on walks lately.  I also saw one on the drive to the Golf Expo and one on the way back.  Strangely I also saw one AT the Expo!  One of the booths had brought three birds including a Bald Eagle.  I don’t know what this is telling me, but I have decided to start taking my camera on my walks.  So far just this Red-Tailed Hawk.  He was enjoying gliding in the strong winds!

Red-Tailed Hawk

Chillin' watching Sesame Street

Alex did manage to throw up 3 times- every time right after I picked him up so he mostly threw up on me!  I remember long ago before I had a child that would have grossed me out.  Now I just wipe it off and don’t even change clothes!  (That may be an overshare!) The things motherhood teaches you!  My back was pretty sore this week as Alex wanted to be held a lot.  To top off things, I finally took him for a walkabout and he fell and bit his lip really bad!  On the bright side, it wasn’t a very good week for pictures, so there is no record of his big fat lip! It looked awful. 

Alex is finally feeling better, yeah!

 Another thing motherhood has taught me?  That blowing your nose is learned, not something you are born knowing how to do!  That is something I have always taken for granted.  Boy, I will be glad when he learns to blow his nose!  I have wiped it so much this week he now runs from me when he sees a kleenex!  

Amazingly Darren and I didn’t get sick this week.  I am very grateful.  It was a busy week despite that, so being sick wouldn’t have been too helpful.  We of course had to skip the weekly play date with Ethan and Story time.    

I had to share this video- Alex isn’t the only one hooked on Sesame Street.  This is Jason Mraz on the show.  He re-did his song “I’m Yours” to “Outdoors”.  It is such a wonderful message and I love when Elmo joins in.  This song brings a smile to my face every time.  

Alex is understanding what we say to him more and more.  If I ask him if he would like milk or turkey he runs and points to the fridge.  If I ask him if he would like a waffle, he points to where we keep the toaster.  My favorite is when I ask if he would like to watch Sesame Street.  He runs to the TV and bangs his hands on it.  If I am a little slow he will then run to where the remote is and point to it, then go and point to the TV!  One time this week he brought me a book with a picture of Elmo on it, dropped it in my lap with Elmo facing up, looked at me knowingly, then ran to the TV room and pointed to the TV.  Pretty good “sign language”!  

I love this picture of Alex!

Alex turned 17 months old yesterday.  Hard to believe.  Time sure seems to fly when you have a little one!  Maybe it is the small changes month to month are so much more important than they used to be!  

Alex charming Santa!

It was finally nice enough one day to take a walk with Alex in the stroller (high 40′s and sunny).  I was so happy- it has been ages since we have done that.  We started our walk and Alex was asleep within two blocks!  Bummer. So I turned around and we came back and put him to bed.    I did get to do a couple of walks myself on the golf course.  On hole 16 a bald eagle flew over me!  He was beautiful.  He circled me a couple of times I think sizing me up.  Fortunately I was apparently too much trouble and he circled other places in the area looking for an easier lunch.  

Baby Claus

Alex has learned that if you push on Elmo’s foot, he will sing and dance.  He loves that and pushes the button over and over! 

Darren also taught him that it is fun to close the cabinet when he is in there and play peek-a-boo!  He loves having the cabinet closed so Darren put in a little light for him!  I’m sure we will regret that when he decides to hid in there from us some day!

He has also learned to run and take a leap in to the beanbag chair when we say “fall into your chair!”  I have tried to get it on video with no luck, but have gotten this one photo of it.  Ethan looks like he is wondering what the heck Alex is doing!

Fall into your chair!

Darren and I have been keeping busy with the boards we are on.  I went to my first Golf board meeting.  It seemed to go ok.  I will be curious if I can enact any change at all or if I am wasting my time!  I also went on a Photo club field trip yesterday.  It was at a local green house and was on macro photography.  It was a really good one and I learned some good techniques- and more photo stuff I want to buy!   We were focusing on flower pictures, but this black cat liked to pose a lot. 

Here kitty, kitty!A beautiful flower

Alex is fighting another cold.  I am really sick of this winter!  No pun intended.  I think this is cold number 4?  I have lost track.  He is coughing like a smoker and his nose won’t stop running!  Guess I better wear my soft pants for the next couple of days since that is Alex’s idea of kleenex!

Ethan & Alex playing in the drawer

I almost forgot to put in one of the many, many photos I tried to take of Alex and his bubbles!  They are finally selling bubble stuff in the stores again, yeah!  We got a great little bubble maker and as you can see Alex LOVES it!

Bubbles!!!