Moto-Moto: Halloween 2013

Lil' Slugger

Flying High

 {love}

Andrew's kite flying {and videoing} skills!

High Five Again

 Soaking this up :: Medicine for the soul

Love this little guy's infectious laughter.

Over the Moon

 

Alekzander love, love, loves being outside.  

I love letting him run around and play in the dirt.

{Playing may equal eating but God made dirt and dirt don't hurt ... right?!}

While swinging up to the moon and back again, 

he was smiling so wide, I could see his upper left molar ... 

with a black piece of mulch in the groove of his tiny tooth.  {Yum?!}

He laughed and laughed.  And walked and walked.  And chatted up a storm.

An independent little explorer who just happens to be love, love, loved.

Over the moon loved.

Skills ... I Have Some

Our little man impresses us daily.  He is so fun to watch as he explores and conquers his little world.  Here are 11 things he does consistently during his 11th month...

1.  Waves "Hi" and "Bye" to mommy and daddy [and all strangers who  may have admired him in public].

2.  Purposely "unlocks" Daddy's touch screen phone.

3.  Presents us with "gifts" after each nap and in the morning.  [Daddy gets the best gifts like stuffed animals!]

4.  Signs a modified sign for "cup."

5. Understands and responds to my playful request of "Take that paci out of your mouth!" He then regally presents it to me.

6.  Cruises like crazy.  He has shuffle-stepped 1-2 steps a few times for Daddy.  Walking is right around the corner!

7.  Crawls up the steps (quickly) to the tune of "Wild Blue Yonder."  He can make it all the way up before the song ends.

8.  Seriously gives THE BEST HUGS.  They are 100% intentional and so incredibly sweet.

9.  Roars and growls appropriately when he sees a lion or tiger.  Also says his version of "cat" and "dog" whenever he sees Rye-lee, Kaila, or Syra.

10.  Still shares so well.  He gets frustrated if you don't take and keep the toy/stuffed animal that he has chosen.

11.  Dances by bobbing his head, bending his knees and dropping his little booty.  Any type of music gets him moving!  He dances to country, Christian, or rap on the radio, jingles and background music on commercials, and to the music from his toys.

He is so much fun, quite talented ... and oh so cute!

Baby in a Box

You can't get much simpler {{or cuter}} than playing with a box!

This box has many uses though ...

aside from holding diapers {{and a baby}}, it can also be:

a car

a drum

a tunnel for the train

a hiding spot.

The sky is the limit!

JCB

This song is actually a popular one in our house.

Though silly, it is extremely poignant.

It captures the amazing love between a father and a son.
(And consequently speaks to Andrew because his dad used to do construction.)

If you listen closely, the little boy, Luke, is bullied at school.

His dad would routinely rescue him from the bullying
by picking him up early from school.

Escaping reality in the JCB gave the little five year old great joy.

What will you do for your little one to make them as happy as happy can be?

I Love You Baby, You've Got To Go (To Sleep)

If you faithfully read this blog, then you'd know that Ashley (and sometimes I) call Alekzander "Alek-zoo."  If you didn't know that, now you know ... and you won't think Ash is that crazy when she calls Alekzander "Zoo" or some variation of that.  Alek-zoo makes me think of Kalamazoo by Glenn Miller.  My parents raised me on Glenn Miller and big band music and I picked tonight to introduce Ashley and Alekzander to a little Glenn Miller before bedtime.

What ensued was an impromptu dance party throughout the kitchen and living room as we sung and danced to Kal-a-ma-zoo, or our version Alek-a-zoo, three times.  Goofy singing and dancing kept Alekzander laughing ...which kept us going!

After a random swing style song, I searched for a lullaby to help Zoo wind down a little before bed.  I clicked on the first one I found, and although it wasn't exactly the slow wind-down song I was hoping for, it definitely was catchy and seemed worth sharing.

I Love You Baby, You've Got To Go... To Sleep

Air Force Crawl

In honor of his Grandpa Swistak and Uncle Jeremy, Alekzander decided that this weekend was THE weekend to learn to do an "air force" crawl (also known as military or army crawl).

Grandpa Swistak served in Vietnam and Uncle Jeremy is serving in the Middle East and we love them and thank them for the sacrifices they made & make to serve our country.  They are an inspiration to live a life of discipline and honor.  

We love you Grandpa Swistak (gps) & Uncle Jeremy.

PS -  Alekzander may not know about discipline yet, but he sure knows about determination!!

Priceless Prunes

Note added by Andrew 5.21.10:

So far Alekzander has had avacado, sweet potatoes, green beans, butternut squash, mango & pears and has loved every one of them.  Ashley (with some help from me at times) has made all of his baby food so far with a processor or hand blender and the prunes were the first try at some store bought food.

All this being said, I think Alekzander somehow knew the prunes weren't made with the love that Mommy puts into making all of his other food.  Its his way of saying (at such a young age) that Mommy is a good cook.

Water Baby

{{Hi, Fish.  Aren't my rolls delicious?}}

{{Splash, splash}}

Sweet Boy discovered that water is fun!  

It looks like he is quite the little fish in the water.

Alekzander Loves His 'Ma'

Playing with Alekzander earlier, I was mimicking his 'Mmmmm' sounds and wanted to see if I could get him to say 'Ma'.  He seemed to get a kick out of this so I tried 'Mama' but that extra syllable didn't get the smiles and giggles that 'Ma' did.  I experimented with other words ending in 'ah' sounds and they just didn't do the trick either.

Here's a video of him loving his 'Ma'... Note the pouty lip when I say 'Da'!

Alekzander's playtime

Ashley caught a little bit of Alekzander's playtime... he obviously loves the little dog that Nate & Noelle gave him!! :)

Season Finales; Seasons Beginning

Thus far, thankfully, my pregnancy has been pretty uneventful. I didn't even know I was pregnant until I went to my primary care physician to get an x-ray of my thumb... I had taken a spill (off the couch) almost 5 weeks prior and still had a pain in my thumb.

As a teacher, I couldn't even help my students sharpen their pencils or use scissors so I knew something was wrong. I went to the doctor to get an x-ray, and reluctantly shared that I was about 2 days late… and had a strange metallic taste in my mouth. Surely not universal symptoms of pregnancy, right?! He told me the x-ray would have to wait and a pregnancy test would have to be taken.

I waited the obligatory 20-30 minutes for the doctor to return and strained to hear talking in the hall… I heard snippets of “Definitely pregnant” and “No x-ray" certain they weren’t talking about me. Metal mouth could be attributed to any number of hormones or imbalances and I was NEVER regular when it came to my cycle. I thought it must be someone else they were talking about…

But the doctor came in and told me the news. “You’re pregnant and can’t get an x-ray today.” He then asked if it was good news or not. For those of you who know me, it was incredible news! I’ve wanted a baby for years, but had finally surrendered my desire for a baby and trusted in God’s timing – not mine. As God would have it, my time was now. My thumb would heal on its own and my body would undergo some of the hardest and most important functions it ever experienced.

Spring season finales rolled around and I sat watching The Office finale slightly underwhelmed until the last few minutes when Pam was wheeled in to get an x-ray of her ankle… The moment was so subtle yet utterly exciting as I laid on my couch in baggy sweatpants and one of Andrew’s comfy t-shirts… See it here if the clip doesn't load below



As a season of my life was coming to an end, a new season was just beginning!