Friendship in Salem

Friendship on the water

 Salem, Massachusetts

Seven Gables

 First stop in Salem, MA

 Outside the House of Seven Gables property

 

BIG A & little a

{a favorite :: of my favorites}

2lb Lobster

First meal in New England (Salem, Mass to be exact)... have to go with the lobster!

Alekzander's hand slowly creeping in

After telling him 'No'

He sure is persistent

Alekzander cleaned his plate, now Dad's turn

Flying Survival Kit

Alekzander's Arsenal:

new :: Stuffed Elmo

{4} new :: Elmo flip up books

 new :: Travel MagnaDoodle

Paci

{1} cup of milk

{1} cup of water

Annie's Bunny Grahams

Savoritz Sharks

Mama's Special Arsenal:

{2} Back-up Pacis
Baby wipes
Anti-bacterial wipes
Diapers

Trader Joe's Organic Lollipops

Lion Lovey

Patience

Prayer

:: travel update :: 

Alekzander's first flight was an absolute success.  I traveled with an umbrella stroller, a backpack full of goodies, and a sweet, sweet, toddler.  {The only times Alekzander got upset was when the stroller had to go through the x-ray machine - without him - and when he spotted the stroller on the conveyor belt before it disappeared into the belly of the plane.}  We finagled our way to a window seat on a completely packed flight, and watched trucks on the ground, and clouds in the sky.  We read all 4 books, drew pictures of Elmo and our favorite letter {A}, fed Elmo Sharks and Bunnies {"hop, hop"}, made a million crumbs, and Alekzander enjoyed his first ever lollipop. He said "Hi!" a few dozen times to all of our neighbors including the medical researcher whose first language was not English.  Luckily, Alekzander's cuteness translates loud and clear. 

The two hour flight went faster than I expected, and Alekzander was pleasantly surprised to see Dada at the bottom of the escalator in Boston {after not seeing him for a week!}.

One-on-One

Love loving on this little one one-on-one.

Although his sass, silliness, and seriousness are best shared.

We are definitely missing Dada {and silly Mus}.

Photos by Allison Fowler Photography

June 11, 2011

Some Days

Most days look like sunshine and clear blue skies.

Most days sound like infectious toddler laughter.

Most days taste like {lots of} naturally sweet, fresh cut strawberries.

Most days smell like lavender lotion and spray-on sunscreen.

Most days feel like cozy blankets and wet kisses.

Some days are more like this.

 Rainy, whiny, sour, stinky...

...and sad.

Today was a "some day".  

Three {two-minute} time outs within one hour 

for hitting, throwing, and tearing {a favorite book}.

Bedtime came one hour early without a fuss.

Within five minutes, Alekzander was in a deep sleep.

Hugging his lion lovey and cuddling with Cyrus the Croc.

Such sweet, precious moments.

Even with the crocodile tears, testing limits, and apology hugs.

I wouldn't trade these days for anything else in the world.

MUS 'wit' Andrew in Philly

Mus making an appearance in a random city?! Must be ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) time again!

ITSE 2011 - Philadelphia

I've been to Philly before but being Mus' first time we had to start things out the right way ... CHEESESTEAKS!

We stopped at both Geno's & Pat's to sample the cuisine.  Because you can't just step up and order we familiarized ourselves with the vocab.  All we were concerned with was 'Wit' (with onions) and 'Wiz' (cheese wiz).  The nervous lady in front of us got it wrong and got sent to the back of the line but we got it on our first try and soon had some cheesy goodness to sample.

Pat claims to be the 'King' and had a historical marker out front

Geno had some awfully flashy signs and a GIANT cheesesteak on top

Pat's King of Steaks won our taste test and we went for 'Wit-out' & 'Wiz'.  The fries were great as well and we 'washed' it down w/ a frosty @ Rita's down the block.

Looking forward to more adventures in Philly this week and we will try not to miss our 19 month old buddy Alekzander too much.

UPDATE:  Cheesesteak counter --> 5 (In 2.5 days in Philly)

Nineteen Months

 

running.  testing. talking.

at 19 months.

Alekzander is a ball of energy.

He runs everywhere, and is quite fast.

He rarely sits unless he is eating or watching Elmo on youtube 

{Feist and Will.i.am are our favorites!}.

Elmo is a new friend and current obsession, however, 

I think Alekzander really likes the guest stars singing with his red furry friend 

more than Elmo himself.  Also, "Elmo" is a fun two-syllable word to say!

Alekzander is testing his limits.

I think he understands just about everything we say to him,

but likes to see how far he can push the boundaries.

His sweet, mischievious smile and coy eyes give him away 

as he tries to sneak up the stairs or climb up his high chair 

or run full speed toward the end of the driveway.

When he knows he needs wants something, but doesn't have the words for it,

he pulls us by our hands, fingers, pant leg, or skirt to exactly where he needs us to be.

He keeps us on our toes!

Alekzander is a chatterbox.

{Unless he is with someone he doesn't know, 

then he is more reserved and doesn't like to show off.}

He is becoming a parrot, too.

Today, we were outside an old general store, 

and an older gentleman literally said, "Ho hum" in his conversation as we passed by. 

Alekzander said it too as we were walking down the stairs.

{Insert breathy, baby, "Ho hummm."}

His growing vocabulary now includes {quite frequently}:

strawberry, blueberry, Elmo, hun-nee, yah, yay {always appropriately}, wow!, 

cheeeeese, up, Olla-yer {for best bud Olliver}, wa-wa, fire/dump/garbage truck

Just this week he started saying the ending sounds -p and -ck.

Every day, several times a day, he runs to the upstairs window in the hallway,

and points and calls out for a {garbled} type of truck.

Precious, precious boy.

You make our lives so full and amaze us with your 

cleverness, cuteness, and craziness 

every.single.day.

Up and Down

 The climb up.

The slide down.

{Freedom Park {{6.22.11}} with Auntie "Enn-ie"}

The Essentials

 Noah's ark

 Books and a swim diaper

Noisy toys

Alekzander's packing motto :: always be prepared.

For wet times and dry times,  

for quiet times and loud times,

for fun times!

To the Moon and Back

LOVE this little guy to the moon and back.

Together

I love having pictures of our sweet family of three.

 Allison Fowler Photography

Veteran's Park

 June 11, 2011

Father's Day Fun

Charlotte Nature Museum :: Nature Trails

And an impromptu excursion to 

Summer Pops in the Park

 

 

It was a fly by the seat of your pants kind of day

as we celebrated Dada's Day.

We stretched naptime, broke bedtime, and played hard.

We explored high & low and round & round at Belle Johnston Park in Pineville.

We got tickled by butterflies and held fake snakes in Dilworth.

We ate dessert first followed by dinner in the MOFO district.

We soaked up culture at the symphony and watched firelies in South Park.

We love our Daddy {and our Grandpa and Gruffalo}

for rough & tumble love, for quiet wisdom, and serious silliness.

Steelers Booty

Birthday Love

Tonight we celebrated another summer birthday with some of our favorite friends.  

It was Alekzander's and Andrew's first visit ever to Chuck E. Cheese.  

Helping Dada score more points.

Andrew enjoyed himself thoroughly, 

but Alekzander was not so sure about the craziness.  

Games were loud, lights were bright 

... it was all a little overwhelming. 

{Mama felt the same way!}

 Even in the toddler area, he didn't know what to think!

 He does love this little {birthday} girl though.

A baby obsession may be a more accurate description of

Alekzander's relationship with Hali Lu.

Fortunately, the feeling is reciprocated.

Embrace

 In the past two days, 

we've hosted one planned play date and two impromptu play dates.

Ten kids total.

We're embracing...

Summer.

Water.

Sunscreen.

Sunshine.

Shade trees.

Chalk drawings.

New friends and best buddies. 

And more water!

 Toddlers hanging out in the {empty!} pool...

Alekzander is inviting Ashley to hop in!

Big boys talking about cars

 Kyrie, Brooks' big sister, is such a sweet friend!

 Sweet girls playing with babies on a tractor

{Favorite picture of the day!}

Silly boy :: Obsessed with water!

Three Boys

One of two times these three boys were in the same place.

This moment may have lasted 30 seconds!

CCDS Play Date Stats:

One friendly hug.

Two hours of play.

Three cute little boys.  

Handfuls of snacks to fill hungry bellies.

Hundreds of climbs in and out of the pool.

{And a few sharing struggles displayed by Alekzander 

playing zone defense on all three of his push toys at once!}

Oh Boys!

 Oh Boys ...

You exhaust your Mama's with your endless activity,

and you delight your Dada's with your curiosity and your tenacity.

Oh Boys...

You are best buddies ...

hugging, pushing, tumbling,

exploring, following, playing.

Oh Boys...

You are so much fun.

You are as cute as cute can be.

You are loved!  So loved.

 A friendly little nudge :: the beginnings of peer pressure?!

This scene repeated itself several times and always had the same giggly results.

 Sweet boy offering wet hugs

"Ollayer" has the best smiles

myGym

Brixx Pizza

Little boy hugs

Splashgrounds

Memory making

Busted bedtimes

Summer fun with D, B, & OZ

Free Play!

MyGym Free Play