Happy Birthday DaDa!

I love you and think that you are the best daddy.  

You are silly, too.

Love,

Your biggest fan,

Alekzander

Big Boy :: Eating

Alekzander had his first taste of solid (rice cereal) food yesterday!  According to the Internet and the Gerber Rice Cereal box, babies are developmentally ready to start eating solid food when they can sit with support and lean forward and open their mouths to accept the spoon.  

Testing out the spoon...

Leaning forward to get food faster!

We suspected Alekzander was ready for food a while ago since he mimics our eating motions when he sits in his Bumbo and watches us eat dinner each night.  The doctor suggested we start solids last week at Alekzander's four month appointment.  Luckily the Easter Bunny brought Alekzander some spoons and bowls in his Easter basket, so we took the plunge yesterday on April 5.  It was quite a success.

Cereal in the morning...

Cereal in the evening... 

{{Notice that Mama and Daddy got smarter and fed him in just his diaper and bib this time!}}

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'!

Easter Traditions

  
Easter morning in the Markovitch family hasn't changed in nearly 25 years.  Tessa and I hunt for Easter eggs and search for Easter baskets...  we inevitably fight over the number of eggs we find (everything has to be "even Steven") and someone probably comes close to shedding tears as a result of a very tricky Easter Bunny who never runs out of hiding spots.  

Now though, we have two big boys (Andrew and Ryan) fighting us for Easter eggs filled with candy and money, and one little boy who will one day join in the fight!  Maybe we'll grow up by that time, but maybe not!  Traditions are traditions no matter how old you get!

The number one rule of Easter morning is that you cannot help anyone find their basket... The Easter Bunny works hard to trick people and he wouldn't want anyone's fun ruined by a helpful sibling or significant other! This Easter, I, not so secretly, followed Tessa around while she searched high and low for her basket.  Well, my sweet sister can't lie and her poker face is poorly developed... by tailing her, I was able to discern that she found two baskets that were not her own.  (I cheated, but only because I didn't want my baby boy to see my cry!)  

Alekzander's basket was hidden in a cupboard in the pool room, and Andrew's and my (homemade by Mia) basket was under the bathroom sink behind a pile of fluffy towels.  Tess finally found her and Ryan's loot in the pantry in a bag even though we both looked there several times.  By the way, she didn't cry, but I was getting a little nervous for her!  

After the Easter morning festivities, we took a walk down to the river where Alekzander got to put his toes in the sand and the water for the first time!  He had such a great time at the 'Hoe and especially loved playing with Gruffalo and singing with Mia.  Its crazy to think that last year he was just a little 'jelly bean' in my belly... and this year he was the center of attention.  Sweet baby of mine.  

MBCC and Smiles for me...

In Arapahoe and neighboring Minnesott Beach, there aren't many people and there are even fewer businesses.  There is, however, a country club with a golf course (as well as a dozen Christian summer camps). At Minnesott Beach Country Club, it costs a member $2 to play a round of golf and walk the course or $12 to use a cart.  Pretty impressive and affordable especially when compared to Charlotte's prices.  

Gruffalo has been a casual golfer all of his life, and in his retirement he has continued to play the game and has acquired some new golfing buddies.  {{For Christmas a few years ago, Andrew and I each got golf clubs... which have been used about 3 times up until this weekend.}}  On Saturday morning, Gruffalo took me, Andrew, and Ryan golfing.  The boys ate breakfast at the club and then I met up with them for our 10:32 tee time to play 9 holes.  I know that I was not the most talented beginning golfer, but at least I looked the part.  Luckily patience ran strong in our little group... I think I swung my clubs 10 times more than the guys, but after a few holes, I did improve.  Even though I didn't keep score because I kept losing track of how many times it took me to get my ball on the green and then in the hole, I walked away from the experience willing and ready to try again.  

The guys stayed to play the back 9 while I exchanged my golf skirt and polo shirt for a sundress.  Tessa and I relaxed and chatted on the dock and got our first sunburn of the year; we loved every minute of it!

The rest of the day was spent snuggling with a baby, eating wonderful food, playing cards, and just being surrounded by people we love.  It makes my heart smile when I see my little boy receive so much love...  we are so blessed... this weekend and always.

Detour

On our way to the 'Hoe (Arapahoe, NC) for Easter, we took a detour to stop at Hinnant Family Vineyards.  It had been a few years since we first discovered this winery, so we took the little one we love to a place from our past.  We had a few tastes of wine and explored the barrel room and delivered some Easter cheer by dropping off some Easter eggs in the store and beneath the grape vines.  Alekzander even "tasted" the wine ... glass!

  

Our cute boy was a trooper on his second road trip.  I think he must have known we were going to a fun place... over the (Neuse) river and through the (Hundred Acre) woods to Mia and Gruffalo's house.

Crocodile Hunting

During his nap today, Alekzander decided to go hunting for crocodiles...

This is how he looked when I laid him down to nap.

 And this is how he looked when I got him up from his nap!

I can't figure out how he shifted his head and body 80 degrees counterclockwise 

and also dropkicked Cyrus the Crocodile.

{{Hopefully Cyrus the Crocodile wasn't hunting Alekzanders today!!}}