COMMUNICATION

Right now it seems as if Alexander is really ripe for learning. He is really picking up sign language and using more signs every day. Here are all the signs he now knows and uses: milk, more, airplane, bath, banana, cracker, nap, and eat. It seems like he's using a new sign every couple of days. We started signing with him at 6 months old and I was really ready to stop by 12 months when he hadn't picked it up at all. And then he started with milk and it hasn't stopped. The last couple of weeks he has been really adding to his signing vocabulary. I can also tell that he is understanding what we say to him a lot more. This is all really amazing and helpful with communication, but we are really hitting a difficult time with him. He has started to throw temper tantrums and his mood can switch to really upset pretty quickly. I feel like at 13 1/2 months he is hitting the "terrible twos". I only hope they don't last too long.

Riding on his tractor.

Being silly with his Mommy!!!

Future QB???

SWIMMING WITH DADDY

Here's a short video of Alexander and Chris swimming yesterday.

HOTTER THAN HELL HUNDRED

This past Saturday, Chris rode in the Hotter Than Hell Hundred and did great! He finished in just over 6 hours. Yes, he rode his bike for 6 hours!!! I am so proud of him. The high for Saturday was about 95, which is hot, but definitely better than 105. He did run into a bit of wind though. I am so impressed that he really has not been all that sore. He was pretty tired, but he said his body didn't feel too bad. Amazing! The race had over 13000 participants and is the biggest one day bike race in the world. Alexander and I were his personal cheering section. He's our hero!!!

Just before the race!

Ringing the cowbell!!!

Alexander has been doing a ton of walking and is getting better and better each day. Yesterday we went to a friend's house and they have a 5 year old boy. Alexander had such a good time chasing Nico around and really showed improvement walking while we were there.

Playing at the park this morning.

Swimming at a friend's house yesterday.

WALKING

Here is a video of Alexander walking this morning. He is getting better and better and braver and braver everyday. While I was in the shower this morning, apparently he followed Chris into the kitchen from the family room. He is amazing!!!

ALMOST WALKING

This week Alexander is making huge strides (literally). He has been testing the waters walking and is really making some progress. The most he has walked on his own is 8 steps, but he frequently will do 5 steps at a time. He's getting steadier too with each day. Sometimes he'll walk back and forth from Chris and I while we're sitting on the floor. He gets tickled with himself sometimes and just smiles and giggles. It's really cute!

Here in Texas it seems that we have the world's largest grasshoppers. They are huge! And anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of any type of outdoor creature, including grasshoppers. But it would appear that Alexander does not take after his mother in this area. So he and I have been going "grasshopper hunting" outside. He likes to chase after them and try to catch them. Thank goodness he hasn't yet, because I'm not quite sure what we'll do then. But he really enjoys getting close to them and touching them. Then they always go sailing away and he laughs. It's pretty fun and I guess I should be glad that we aren't "tarantula hunting" or "scorpion hunting"!!

He's also been learning some new tricks. He knows where his head and belly are and will touch them when you ask him too. He knows what sound a duck makes and his interpretation of a "quack" is super cute! He also makes "vroom" sounds when pushing around his toy trucks. Everyday he makes me smile from ear to ear. He is just so wonderful and Chris and I are so lucky!!!

This coming Saturday is Chris's big bike race. We're all really excited! I think he's going to do really well. His goal is 100 miles in 6 hours! He did a 75 mile ride this past Sunday and it went great. Also, right now the forecast for Saturday is a high of 95 which would be a lot better than 105. So keep him in your thoughts this weekend.

Eating a fruit pop!

Practicing walking around the ottoman

Looking outside for grasshoppers