A Queen Among Kings: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Evil Knievel, Jr.

As you may remember, last year (for Alex's 3rd birthday), we bought him his very own Power Wheel ATV. He started out a little slow at first, but since his birthday one short year ago. he's been a riding, zooming, exploring fool.

He's practically ridden a path across the majority of our 5 acres riding that thing around as often as he's allowed.

Well, with all that practice he's definitely become quite, er, comfortable on his ATV.

And by comfortable, I, of course, mean adventurous.

A smidge wild, perhaps.

Maybe more accurately, CRAZY.

Ok, so there's been talk of him joining the circus.

You know...to be one of those daredevils that ride their motorcycles around a tiny metal cage within mere inches of 6 other motorcyclists going 60+ mph.

Yep, that's our Alex. Crazy boy. Our wild child. Our daredevil.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure he's a descendant of Evil Knieval's.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

A Snapshot in Time

Dear Alex,

Today is your 4th birthday. I can hardly believe the amazing little man you have blossomed into in 4 short years. You started pre-kindergarten a few weeks ago and today you will get on the bus to go to school for the very first time! Your excitement to ride the bus with your big brother is infectious!

Time goes way too fast, of course, so I want to make sure to capture all the little things about you that change and disappear so quickly!

I love the little "flaws" in your speech. You speak very clearly and maturely for your age, but it's the little things like how you say your "l" as a "y" (for example, the other day we were walking up the stairs behind Nate and you yelled, "Move it or USE it, Nate!") that I love!! It's especially adorable to hear you say "upsy-side down" or how you call McDonald's "Old McDonald's".

You are truly my "shadow"...my little "velcro-boy". It gets frustrating when I have stuff to get done or I'm trying to get out of the house to go to work, but truth be told, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Bedtime is still a struggle in that you have to be attached to me in order to settle down and go to sleep. The snuggle time is priceless though! When I'm heading out the door in the morning, you request hug after hug after hug and will follow me out the door yelling "I love you, Mommy!", "Have a good day!", "Watch out for wart hogs!"...all while blowing me a hundred kisses and telling me how much you'll miss me. Truly heart melting.

I love how you tell me "I love you, Mommy...and I never, NEVER hate you!" at least once a day.

You love to build things, create things, and take things apart. You brought me a toy the other day that had been broken for as long as I can remember. At some point it had lost a screw and you had found one (somewhere!) and used the screwdriver you got in your toolbox at Christmas to fix it. Daddy came in one day to find you taking the door latch off your bedroom door.

On one hand you are very independent, wanting to get your own breakfast, help out with dinner or fold your own laundry. On the other hand you know just where to "play me" and will insist you need help getting dressed, putting on your shoes, or brushing your teeth.

You truly are my sunshine. You are insanely adorable, charming, and a bit manipulative. You know exactly how to get your way and how to use your charms for good (AND evil!) :)

You LOVE to get dirty. You are always playing ball, digging in dirt, or getting wet any way you can.

You still pick fuzz from your blanket when you're tired.

You are so funny, silly and goofy and have such a fun-loving, crazy, fearless, monkey side.

For a kid your age, you are very patriotic. You are often overheard singing the Star Spangled Banner. You can recite the Pledge of Allegiance in your sleep. And one of your favorite lullabies at bedtime is God Bless the USA, which you know all the words to.

You are a special little boy, Boo. I love your spirit and the sheer joy you radiate! I know we've had our fair share of power struggles this past third year of your life. I look forward to your 4th year to see how you grow, learn, and (*gulp) change even more. Remember that you will ALWAYS be my little boy. Your snuggles will never get old, your smile will never fail to make me warm inside and out, and you'll always be my favorite Alex! I love you to the ends of the earth!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesday...Big Boots to Fill

Alex - August 2012
FHM Fire Training
He wanted so badly to be with the big guys.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Another First...Gymnastics!

I found a gymnastics program through SUNY Brockport for 3 & 4-year-olds. I was so excited to have found it, I emailed the college on Friday and asked if it was too late to sign Alex up for the class that started that following Monday.

I'm so glad I didn't wait until the Winter session (January) because Alex loves it!

It's so good for Alex to have something of his own. Nate had a hard time coming to terms with the realization that he couldn't participate, but he's much better at just watching now. He brings his homework and something to play with or do (that he earns once his homework is done) and hangs while his brother plays.

Alex listens very well and follows the instructor's instructions better than a lot of the kids in his class!

And I love that he has an outlet to burn off some energy after school!

He's a natural at a lot of things - balance beam, monkey (parallel) bars, and flipping and jumping.

The "worst" part is that the big kids practice in the gym at the same time as he does and Alex gets mesmerized watching them flip and twirl and back flip. He could sit and watch the girls on the uneven bars for HOURS!

Alex watching the girl on the bars above...not paying attention in class :)

Each class is an hour long and after warm ups they break the group into three smaller groups and they rotate around (each group with two instructor girls) to different stations.

Alex's favorite part by far is the foam pit! But who can blame him?!?! Look at this awesome thing!

For about 20 minutes each day he gets to jump in the pit, throw the foam squares around, and flip till his heart's content.

This week he started learning cart wheels, walking backwards on the balance beams and doing somersaults on (a pad on) the balance beam.

My little monkey is in his glory! I'm sad that it's only a 10-week course but it's a start and there's other classes to explore after this. 2024 Olympics, here Alex comes

Monday, September 24, 2012

Nearly Four

Alex's birthday is rounding the corner.

Quickly, he is closing in on FOUR. I can hardly believe it!

Yesterday we celebrated his birthday together with my nephew, Ian (who turned 2 last Friday). It was a small gathering but I rather enjoyed it. MUCH less stress than the larger scale get-togethers. Of course, I'd love to be able to host ALL my friends and both sides of the family but it just gets to be too much. This year, Dave had to work so I knew I'd be going it alone. So, instead, I opted to go in with my sister-in-law and make it a joint party with my nephew since we generally have the same crowd at both celebrations, one week apart.

Since both boys love WHEELS and all things WITH wheels, we went with a tractor theme.

Some of our most favorite people were there!

Alex was spoiled with goodies (a soccer ball/net, basketball, football, art/craft stuff, and a "Cuddle Cuddleuppet", among other fabulous treasures)!

It's nice that (most of) the kids are finally to an age where they can play together, roam free, and the adults have a minute to talk between the noise.

In attendance were my sister and my nieces, my sister-in-law and my nephew (obviously!), my parents, and my two best friends, Pam & Tiff and their kiddos. Together we have a 1-year-old (my niece, Coraleigh will be one in a couple weeks anyway), a 2-year-old (my nephew, Ian), a 3-year-old (Pam's Brianna), two 4-year-olds (my Alex - on Thursday, anyway - and my niece, Kensington), a 5-year-old (Pam's Shawn), and two 6-year-olds (my Nate and Tiff's Brielle). It makes for crazy chaos but I love every minute of it. Such fun!