Alex, Alex, Alex

What has Alex been up to in the last month......well lets take a look (in no particular order because loading these pictures still wears me out...lol).

Reading Hayden's books is lots of fun!!

This is him trying to make a get away when I told him we had to clean them up.

Brushing his teeth with "bubba"

Playing in the oven of Hayley's kitchen.

This is a new favorite activity.

He thinks this is lots of fun.

Cute, huh?

Trying to entertain himself at Hayden's soccer game.

Jumping on the trampoline (in his pajamas and a coat....with no shoes).

Someone should really get all the leaves out of there for him.....

Playing in the cabinet in the entertainment center.

This is almost as much fun as the oven.

Getting out seems to be a little more difficult that he expected....but he did it!

Trying to climb in a chair so he can watch a movie on the laptop (like bubba and sissy do).

So, as you can see.....Alex has been a busy little boy this month. And these picture don't include all the food he throws on the floor when I walk out the room or the various things he has chosen to "put up" in the toilet. Whew.....he is a handful these days.....but we love it!!

Big Boy Bed

Alex is officially in a big boy bed! Well, if you consider a toddler bed a big boy bed….and we do!

Hayden and Hayley both went to a regular bed when they turned two. We have had several reasons why we weren’t able to do that with Alex. First reason being that he couldn’t climb into a regular bed by himself and then there is the risk of him falling out (although he is getting good at climbing down from our bed). The next reason is that we really don’t have the room for a regular bed in the boy’s room. We opted for a toddler bed because it fit the space we needed and because Nana already had it!!

I really think Alex likes it. It took him a little bit to figure out how to climb into it (climbing with one arm tends to present problems sometimes). He slept his first night with absolutely no issues at all. He never got up one time and didn’t even fall out. The next morning he thought he was big stuff when he came walking down the hallway looking for me. That day for his nap I could not find a pacifier….and he still stayed in the bed and did not get out.

He has gotten up a few times when we put him down for a nap and he isn’t quite ready to go to sleep. It is funny because we are not used to the fact that he can get out of bed by himself so when he comes walking in the room it takes a minute for us to realize he is supposed to be in bed. Another thing that makes me laugh is every time he gets up from napping he opens his door, walks out of the room and closes the door behind him. Not sure why he does it but it makes me laugh!!

It's time for bed

He likes it!!

Look's pretty comfortable!

He liked it so much that he climbed in it himself just for fun

Alex is getting so big so fast!!!

Jay and Cassie

Some of you know that we have had a dog named Jay (or better known as “Jay Dog”) since before Hayden was born. He is a big chocolate lab. I am not a crazy dog person but Jay really is a member of our family. The kids love him. If we talk about the whole family going somewhere, Hayley will say, “and Jay Dog too”. I honestly think that Hayley considers him a sibling!!

Jay at our house in Plano

Jay when we first got him

Hayden and Jay at our house in Plano

Hayden, Hayley and Jay playing with bubbles in the backyard.

Hayley watching Jay (not sure why he is in the house!!)

Alex watching Jay

Well, we have some sad new about Jay. He ran away (or something….we are not sure what happened). He has been gone for about two months. The kids handled it better than I would have expected. Hayley still wants to drive around and look for him and they both get sad every now and then when they talk about him. We miss Jay Dog!!

Now if you know my husband, you know that he doesn’t just jump into things. Well, he surprised me when he called and said that he heard about some labs on The Trading Post (if you are not from around here….let me explain what The Trading Post is…..it is a show on the local radio station where people call in if they are trying to get rid of stuff….anything, including dogs). So Cory decides to go check it out. He goes to a house where there are 4 labs (about 3 years old) and the lady that owns them needs someone to take them because she can’t take care of them anymore.

Well, Cory came home with a new dog. Cassie! Like Jay, she is a chocolate lab but she is much smaller than Jay was. Hayley LOVES Cassie and says that Cassie is her “sponsibility”. Hayley walks her around on the leash all the time (she couldn’t do that with Jay because he would just pull her down). Cassie loves to play with play fetch with the tennis ball. Hayden likes this because she lets him throw the ball for her (Jay would only let Cory throw it for him).

Cassie

Cassie and Hayley

While we do miss Jay and even hold on to hope that he might come back some day……we have a new member of our family now. We have really enjoyed getting to know her (well except for all the digging but we won’t talk about all that!!).

Catching Up.....

Well…..it’s been awhile….where to start. Would you believe that I had to look at my schedule to remember what all we have done in the last month!! Whew…..we have been busy. But as I said in my last Caring Bridge update….I am trying to figure out how to keep up and maintain my sanity in the midst everything right now. It is our life and it is not going to slow down (not too much anyway). I tend to get overwhelmed when we get busy. This is not a good thing considering how busy we seem to be staying! I am trying to focus on God’s plan for me and trust in him. Some days that it easier said than done. I just pray that I can rest in his peace all the time.

So, I have a few things to catch up on!! Since I posted last we have had a few changes. Nothing major…but just a few new things!

The kids are participating in Awanas again this year. Hayden is a Spark and Hayley is a Cubbie. The new thing here is that Alex is old enough now to be an Awana Puggle. Another new thing is that I am teaching Puggle’s this year. I was a helper last year but this year I am the leader. It is so fun watching the two year olds. We have a good group and I think it is good for Alex to be in the type of environment. It helps with all the training we are working on! Hayden and Hayley always amaze me at how well they can remember and recite their scriptures. It encourages me to want to learn more myself!!

Next, we started Upward Soccer. This is the first year that our church has done soccer (we have had basketball for the last 3 or 4 year). I am helping coach and we are having a blast with the kids!! Hayden really loves playing!! He was so excited after his first game!

What kid wouldn't think this was fun!?!?!

There are a few other things to tell you about but I am going to save them for separate posts!

This time of the year is always busier for us anyway!! Hayden and Hayley have birthdays in November and December plus the holidays!! We have a lot to get in before the end of the year! I plan to do a better job of keeping up with the blog in the next couple of months…….hopefully I can keep you up to date on all our excitement!