Alexander learned this from the cats...

SNOW!!!

Alexander was too young to remember the snow from last year… so he was just thrilled when it started to fall this year. Here was his reaction:




If a few flakes registered the above level of excitement, I can’t image what he’ll do tonight when we are supposed to get up to a foot of snow. We’d better get the house nerfed so no one get injured.

Playdate with a Tiny Dancer

We had a lot of fun when Alexander’s little friend Riley came to visit. She is soooo cute, and very patient with Alexander’s exuberant ways. Here is the adorable Miss Riley:




Alexander thinks she is just the bee’s knees. He is especially impressed with her mad dancing skills (which are about the yarriest thing you'll ever see.) He tried to not come on too strong, so he started the playdate with a firm and hearty handshake:



He just thought everything she did was so funny! This shot sort of captures how he looked at her almost the entire playdate.



And, by the end, he had her cracking up a bit too:


I should have taken better video, but here is a little snippet of them looking out the window together:





Thanks for visiting, guys! We're looking forward to the next baby dance party - maybe Riley can teach Alexander a few of her signature moves.

Is it "Miss Bean" or "Mister Bean"?

We had our big ultrasound! The doctor even commented on how much more cooperative this baby was. With Alexander we had to go back three or four times to get all the needed measurements because he was always in crazy positions. This kiddo was in a perfect position for getting all the measurements, and even showed us “the goods” clear as day. So the big question was, is our April Baby going to be a "Miss Bean":


Or a "Mr Bean":




The technician said she was “absolutely certain” that…. IT’S A GIRL!!! That’s right, the ultrasound picked up evidence of sugar and spice and everything nice in my uterus. She looks healthy and is measuring right on target. Hooray!

So knowing that I am twice the girl I was before explains a lot of things… like way I actually watched a movie on the Lifetime Network the other day. I'm in an estrogen fog over here.

Word.

Alexander has a lot to say, and we are getting to understand more and more of it. Some words he says correctly, but some words like “Pah!” (meaning “up”) require translation. Here’s a little infographic of his most commonly uttered words:

Bad Day For Turkeys - Good Day for Us

Sorry for the pregnant pause between posts. Khee-hee-hee. OK, sorry for the bad pun. OK, English majors, sorry for misusing the word pun. Look, I didn’t log onto the blog to be apologizing to you all day… so let’s move on.

Since our last update, the day of giving thanks and eating a variety of dead animals has come and gone. We hosted Thanksgiving this year, and I made it really easy on myself by making crock pot ham (impossible to screw up) and I ordered a smoked turkey. Yes, it was a mail order turkey. What a crazy world we live in, eh? No one seemed to even notice the lack of tofukery being offered, but I figured there were plenty of side dishes available for my vegetarian gluttony.



So we all gained massive amounts of weight and had to undo the top buttons of our pants. Just like the pilgrims.

To keep everyone entertained, Grandma (Alexander’s Great Grandma or “G.G.” ) played a duet with Alexander. It sounded very modern. Grandma played an elegant melody while Alexander banged random notes intermittently. If they were hipsters, this would have been considered performance art.




My friend Amber stopped by for a visit. She hadn’t seen Alexander in a while, so she was impressed with the steep trajectory of his growth chart. Alexander, always the ladies man, was very glad to see her.



Just like young boys on a playground often hit or kick the girl they like, Alexander showed his affection in a rather rough way…. simulated strangulation.

And if being strangled wasn’t enough, Alexander also terrorizes our guest by “accidentally” groping her. Nice.


(Notice I didn't do anything to stop this unintentionally rude behavior. I just laughed and took a picture. Yep...that's what makes me both an outstanding friend AND mother.)

Amber was a good friend. Too bad she’ll never want to come back.

Bub's Favorite Joke

This is Alexander's all-time favorite joke. He came up with it about a month ago, and has been "telling" it ever since.




Of course, now he never runs up and gives his daddy a hug. He always runs past him for the punchline. He's already significantly funnier, with more sophisticated jokes, than ventriloquist Jeff Dunham...




... so where the heck is Bub's Comedy Central show?? Contract, please!

Enjoy a Few Slices of Yar Pie

Alexander is discovering there are so many fun things to do with dad. There are the more traditional father-son activities, like swimming:



Or going on Daddyback rides around the house:



And then there are those less-than-traditional father-son activities. You know, the ones that often send Alexander into fits of silent laughter.

Take for example, The Vomiting 3-D Shadow Puppet Show (tm) ...




If a Vomiting 3-D Shadow Puppet Show (tm) isn't an illustration of fatherly love, I don't know what is... Just imagine the kind of performance Tim is cooking up for his high school graduation - or wedding!

Finally… an “After"

You may remember our “before” from this blog entry. Well, if your index finger has had a hard day and can no longer fing, don't worry about clicking on the link. I can refresh your memory.

*doodle-la-do doodle la do*
(That’s a Wayne’s World style flashback… a style of flashback that requires a flashback to get the reference. *sigh* I'm old.)

Here is our "before": old lady shabby chic at it’s finest





*doodle-la-do doodle la do*
(That’s returning to the present…)

And here is the “after”:


As you can see, we had the contractor go ahead and remove the soda cans and made a few other upgrades as well.



Here Alexander ran into the shot. He's wide-eyed and checking out his new Bub Sanitation Station. Yar.




And, yep, that’s a drool of approval. He’s glad to see the lavender ceilings are gone. (The lavender is gone – the ceiling still exists.)

This was a totally drama-free remodel. We thought that was an oxymoron… but it turns out our previous contractor was just a moron. (Ok, that was lame – but TRUE. Go read the old basement remodel posts if you feel like another doodle-la-do.)

Despite all his rage, he’s still just an elephant in a cage.

Alexander had his first trip to the zoo this weekend. He waved excitedly and yelled out “hi!” to most the animals he saw (and to all the girls he saw).












Favorite animals included a lion (which he “roared” at), seals (or “seees’ in bubby language), and flamingos which he made this face at:


"They're pink and weird."

Admittedly, our zoo photography isn’t exactly National Geographic quality. Mostly, it’s just shots of Alexander looking at animals, and you’d never know the pictures were taken at the zoo. But trust me. We were totally at the zoo. For reals.

To instill a sense of empathy for caged animals, we placed Alexander in the laundry basket. (OK… actually he crawled in it himself because it is HILARIOUS when daddy gives him hamper rides. But I still think somehow the lesson was learned.)



Oh… and oddest overheard conversation the park…

Setting: In front of the Caribou Crazytown (or similar euphemistic and alliterative phrase for cage)

Players: Redneckish dad and his three boys

The Conversation:

Dad: Now if you were hunting, which one would you kill?

Boys: (talking at once) That one! That one’s the best to kill!

Youngest son: Where would you place the kill shot, daddy?

You can’t make this stuff up. I’d just hate to be lost and wandering around the woods in THEIR backyard. Especially if I was wearing my deer blouse (with matching full-cranial headpiece!)





Anyway. Zoo = fun.