Happy Holidays!

Like everyone else, we have had a busy week and half. :) Hope everyone's holidays were bright and full of joy. My parents were in town and we went to my aunts for Christmas dinner. Alex is head over heels in love with his train table and also got a Cars bike as well. He loves both. 

I wanted to share a few pictures, unfortunately my camera is still not working, but my mom took a few pictures. :) Also I wanted to share a few pictures of Alex from my cousin April's wedding, she got them back recently and I just love them. They came out so nice.

We will be back to our normal scheduling after the new year. Hope you all have a safe night and remember all the blessing we have in our lives. Tomorrow is a new year and a new day. Think about your resolutions, write them down, they don't become real unless you write them down. Some people think that resolutions are a waste of time, but I think it's good for people to try and better themselves and their families. I would love to hear a few. 


Nana and Alex- we have gotten a picture of Alex and Nana in front of the tree every Christmas, it's our little tradition. :)




Family photo


Pictures of Alex from April's wedding:

my cousin Jens playing with Alex






This one is my favorite. He smiles with his eyes, just like his daddy. :)

more blogs people NEED to check out:

Watch your waistline.. this blog is delicious:
http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/

Crafty moms and people, you need to see this:
http://mayamade.blogspot.com/

Also another great mom of preschoolers that has awesome ideas for crafts and learning:
http://www.artfulparent.typepad.com/


you will not be disappointed with these blogs. They are truly works of art!

Making snowmen today.. be back with some pictures. :)

Sunshine!

Today the sun is out and shining, yesterday it had stopped raining, but it was still very chilly and the clouds were still threatening to start again. ;-) This is my favorite kind of weather, sun out, nice breeze, and about 60-70 degrees. That is perfect! Could you stay like this in July too please? ;-)

Since we have been kind of locked up in the house the last few days, we took advantage of the sun and went for a walk and stopped at the park. We am blessed with two parks very close to our house. Alex loves the park and talks about wanting to go down the slides. He also loves the titter-totter.


I think we have a future athlete, he is always running! He was running around the park yelling, "Mama! I running!!"

For our next craft I am thinking about paper plate hanging snowmen, or a marshmellow snowman, Alex is a typical kid and will love the sweet aspect of that one. :)
I have been seeing some awesome gingerbread houses! I would like to get one of those going as well.
What kind of crafts are you doing? I love new ideas!

Some blogs I watch:

I love finding different blogs that will give me ideas of things to do with Alex, fun things to do as a family, or that are just interesting.

Wanted to share with a few with you! Check them out!

Since I am going to school for elementary education, I have really gravitated towards the Montessori method, I like that hands on part of it. This is a great blog for crafts and learning activities for preschool/school age children:
http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/

I love this blog! So many awesome craft ideas! Definitely bookmark this for a rainy day craft!
http://jennwa.blogspot.com/

I have an obsession with my crockpot, we use it probably 4 times a week. I love the fact that I can throw something in there and not think about it for the rest of the day. Since having AJ I have burned a lot of dishes, because I simply forget I am cooking, that crockpot is my remedy for this problem. ;-)
Here is a great blog, she even ended up writing a book. Check it out, wonderful recipes!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2007/12/alphabetical-listing-of-recipes.html

If you are a book lover like me, you need to check this blog out. She is a mom as well, and she is an inspiration to me that she can still read the amount of books she does! I strive to get there. She gives some great reviews:
http://debbiesworldofbooks.com/

Christmas wreath craft.

It's raining.. It's pouring!
So, in order to keep a 27 month old occupied in the house all day, you have to get creative! Today we decided to make a paper wreath. He loved it. I big success for such an easy, quickly put together craft.

All you need is construction paper, scissors, and glue stick (I am sure you could use different glue, but the glue stick was good because Alex was able to help me with that part, without making a total mess)

You could also make the wreath circle out of a paper plate (just cut the inside out of it) but we didnt have paper plates, so I used construction paper, and just glued two semi circles together.

Then get green and red (or some other colors if you like) and cut paper in strips, then cut in to varying sized squares. The big ones were about an 1 inch and then the smallest ones being a 1/4 of that size. Just to give it variety.

Take the glue stick and cover wreath circle with a thin layer of glue. Then stick the varying squares around the wreath and filling in the gaps.

I then got a piece of blue paper (a different color than the wreath) and folded it in half, and cut a paper bow out of it. Alex then glued that at the top of the wreath when we were done with the squares.




Then hang it up to admire! :) Alex loves that showing us his different creations, it makes him proud. :)


Have fun!

Painting Pinecones!

Last night we painted pine cones as a family. :) I think Joe was more excited than Alex. ha! Alex and I have been picking up "perfect" pine cones each time we go for a walk. So we have a little stockpile of 5 or so pine cones. So I cleaned them up, next time I will remember gloves, I had sap on my fingers for the rest of the day, maybe that is why people usually use store bought pine cones? Hey, why buy them when they are right outside your door?
Anyways, we got the paint and glitter out and it was fun for all! We did have to use acrylic paint for this, instead of Alex's normal paint, because his would not have shown up on the dark pine cone as well.

Here are a few pictures. I think we will be adding more to it later, I would like to make them into ornaments so Alex has some homemade ones for this year.



Joe concentrating :)


the final product, at least for now. :) (Alex's, Mine, and then Joe's)

I promise to be better at posting!

I have been a total slacker! :) With Alex, school, and the house it can be hard to remember to post when I have a minute. I will be better I promise!

A lot has happened in the last few months! We are in the holiday season and that is always so much fun. This year Alex has been so much fun! He is finally at an age where he can really enjoy the holiday activities and help. When we put up the Christmas tree he helped put up the ornaments and he was so excited! He calls it the "kiss-miss" tree. He currently is in love with the Elmo "Happy Holiday" DVD, and has been singing "Jingle Bells" and the "Dradle Song" over and over. :)

For Thanksgiving we went to my Dad's house in the desert, my Uncle John and Aunt Kristen came out from Arizona as well. It was a very nice few days, it is easy to relax there, so quiet and peaceful. When my Uncle and my Dad get together, there is a lot of good food and jokes involved. Always a good time.

Alex and I have been doing lots of crafts. He loves to color, so we have been making christmas trees and snowmen. It is great way to keep him occupied when its cold outside. Though, I shouldn't complain, we are still able to go to the park on most days over here in SoCal. :)

Here are some pictures from the last few months. I will update with some pictures soon, maybe from one of our next crafts. My camera is currently out of commission, so I have been using my phone recently... not the best quality pictures, but they will have to do.

I have taught myself how to knit recently! I love it! I tried learning before, but got frustrated and stopped, but this time it seemed a lot easier. Maybe if I get better at knitting, I will try to learn to sew again.. that is another thing I tried and stopped because it was too hard at the time. ;-) I have always admired people that can create something beautiful and practical out of simple fabric or yarn. I will post my first project. Though, it is definitely a first project, there are mistakes, but I am just trying to get the hang of it. I probably will keep it myself, because someone else would laugh! ha.

ok. here are some pictures!


kissmiss tree :)


watching the football game, the three amigos: Alex, Joe, and Libby. :)


painting


peekaboo!


Buzz Lightyear! Halloween


Alexander and Alexander (yes they have the same name..) two Best friends, Buzz and Woody on Halloween!


Snowman!

Houston!

We had a great time seeing everyone. We were there for 6 days.. it was definitely not enough because there was so many people to see and so many we wish we had that we didnt have time to. :( But it was a great trip, we got to be there for Josh and Jessica's wedding. Alexander and I had a blast meeting so many family and friends.
I have a lot of pictures, I will post more, but here are some!

Joey, Josh, and Jacob:


Meeting his cousins: JJ, JR, and Dylan (I think they have some better pictures, I will have to get them from them and post more later.)




Joe and Me:


Playing with Dominick


Playing with Tila's giant checkers:


Houston Zoo:






Keyma:


Veronica and John


Pam and Joe Sr


Jess and Josh


Me and my little man


Cousins- Janis, Joey, Kim, and Rosie




Abel (Rosie's grandson) and Alexander- they had a lot of fun.


I will post more when I have time to edit them (I need to flip some pictures) and if I get more from people. :)

Alexander's first haircut!

After finally talking Joe into getting Alex's haircut, we went last night. He hated it at first, but then I gave him a lollypop and that distracted him enough for the woman to finish. I thought it turned out great, he looks so grown up now! :( My baby is getting big!

I got a new phone because mine kept freezing and turning off, and the camera is great on this new one. Its nice to know I will have a back up camera when I forget my digital (which happens often).

Here are a few pictures from it.



Dada and Alexander

Eddy... Set.. GO!

Alex's new favorite phrase is "Eddy- Set- Go!" (Ready Set Go!). He races his cars and says this all the time. I love it. I also enjoy his version of Elephant.. which he says "Epy-tent" (its hard to spell it the way he says it! ha) Today we are working on numbers, he seems to love the numbers 7 and 9. When we see a number he says one of those. So this week we are focusing on 1-2-3, and recognizing them visually. He is starting to get it. We always say 1-2-3 before sliding, so now its just getting him to understand it while seeing it.

Alex will be getting his first hair cut this week. I finally talked Joe into it. He is getting quite a mullet. So it definitely time! Here are a few pictures of Alex from the last couple of days:


we constructed monuments today. haha




When I am cleaning or doing something, Alex often disappears and I find him in his room, in "his" chair reading his books. :) His favorite thing to do.


Oh what joy a box will bring to a toddler. This was his "race track" for his "Eddy-Set-Go! cars

"Gra-Pa" is visiting

When "Gra-Pa" (Grandpa) is here nothing else matters. I swear this kid asks where Gra-Pa is every two minutes. We will walk into my bedroom and Alex will look around and scream "GRA-PA!!! ARE YOU!???" which is Alex's version of "where are you?" My Dad can't seem to go to the restroom without Alexander on his heels. hehe.

My dad gets a kick out of him though. He "translates" Alex's words, which I think sounds like complete gibberish to the average person, but to Joe and I, we know exactly what he is saying. But my Dad cracks me up, whenever we are about to go somewhere, Alex asks about the keys, he says "Oh, Keys!" (which I think is his signal for we are finally going somewhere, so its a very exciting situation), my dad says "Honkey!? Who are you calling a Honkey!?" There are many of these Gra-Pa translations, each and every one pretty hilarious.

new hair!

Finally got my hair cut this last weekend and took off 6 inches.

:)

July happenings

We had a quiet 4th, just Joe, Alex, and myself, BBQed in the backyard and watched the fireworks from there as well. Alex played in hid little pool. It was a good weekend. :)

our 4th of July pup


pool:




We didn't do much for my birthday, Alex was sick so we stayed in most of the weekend. I got some pie, which is what I wanted that day, and sushi. :)

my Dad got me a new Marilyn picture, its above our bed. :)


Alex playing with his trains