The Holidays are here...

It is finally that time of year again! The time when we celebrate family, friends and the reason we are on this earth. Alex has been enjoying seeing everyone and seeing all the Christmas decorations. We went to see Santa today (will post pictures once I get them) and he wasn't afraid of him, but he did not like sitting on a strange man's lap. Haha! He has gotten to play in the snow and we even went down our little hill on the sled today. He loved it! He is learning something new all the time and has new words everyday. Before we know it, he won't want to stop talking. (He gets that from his Dad of course.) We hope we will get to see all of you over the holidays and we wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas from Alexander!

Oh Christmas Tree...

Where are the gifts?

Look at those cute boys...

Look at the tree Bear-Bear...

Turkey Day is almost here!

I cannot believe we are heading back to Ohio for Thanksgiving so soon! We cannot wait to see everyone and even meet little Evan soon. It has been cold the last week or so up here, but we haven't had too much snow yet. Alex has enjoyed the snow we have had though. He loves to look at it and touch it. I cannot wait for the first big snow where he can go out and play in it! Alex got his first haircut last week and he did great. I have included some pictures of the finished product below. There is also a short video of Alex playing in his ball pit. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoys the beginning of the Christmas season!

Look at the handsome new haircut...

Dad and Alex Reading...

Playing with my car...

I love ketchup...

Alex playing in the ball pit...

Playtime Fun...

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I posted last. Alex got to experience snow for the first time today. He loved it. He kept trying to grab it as it fell from the sky. He had a great time yesterday playing with all of the other kids that came over last night for dinner. We let them all loose in the basement and they had a great time. Grandpa and Grandma Portteus brought down his horse (see video below) and Alex and friends have loved playing with it. He is getting so big and is starting to climb more. He tried to climb on the kitchen table tonight and Kevin caught him inside of the ottoman we use to store toys. He is clearly saying a few words like "Daddy", "uh-oh", and "kitty". No mama yet of course. :) With Thanksgiving coming quickly, we are excited to get to see family and friends very soon! Enjoy the pictures and video.

Hobbes

Chilling in Dad's Chair

Playing before bed

Hamming it up for mom

Aren't we cute?

Alex riding his horse...

Fall Time Fun...

Alex went Trick-or-Treating for the first time Friday. We had a blast hanging out with our friends the Krannawitters and the Morenos. We went on campus and the students were all super nice to Alex and thought he was cute in his bear costume. I unfortunately forgot my camera, so you will have to live with the pre-Halloween pics. Alex also had a great time playing in the leaves while Daddy was raking, although he did not like keeping his gloves on. He was tossing the leaves around and jumping in them like there was no tomorrow! I also got a few of him hamming it up for me today. Check out that smile. It has been unseasonably warm here lately and we are supposed to have a few more days of it, so keep looking for new pictures of Alex playing outside! Hopefully we will get to see many of you as we prepare for the holidays which will come way too fast!

Trying to look at himself on the camera...

Hamming it up for mom...

Jumping in the leaves...

Kicking the leaves...

Running outside...

Tons of Fun...

With visits from family, a trip home and Trick-or-treating quickly approaching, we have been having a lot of fun. I have included a couple of pictures of a "trial run" of Alex's Halloween costume and some of him playing. Hopefully we will get to see many of you as the Holiday season quickly approaches. Alex is growing quickly and learning new things everyday! Enjoy.

Riding the horsey at Grandma and Grandpa Portteus'

Reading with Grandma Portteus

Alex as a bear...

And Again

Playing with the popcorn popper

So much fun...

We have been really busy lately visiting family and friends. We went to visit Carrie Jo and John and had a great time! Alex loved the boats, got to play in the park and loved playing there. Rachel and the boys also visited and we went to the pumpkin patch. Alex loved having his cousins over and missed them when they left. We have also had a playdate at our house, gone to McDonalds to play with some of our friends and went to our coffee playdate each week! So much fun in such a short time. We are really enjoying living here and lover our house. Soon we will get to come home and visit with everyone in Ohio (which is a first since we got married). It will be great to see everyone. Alex will get to go Trick-or-treating for the first time this year (as a bear) and we got a pumpkin which we plan to decorate soon. You will not believe how big Alex is and how much he is learning! It amazes Kevin and I when he does new things. Check out the pictures and video of Alex with a balloon below.

Alex, Joseph and Daniel

Alex and me after my haircut

Alex learning from dad... :)

Baby in the basket at Aunt Jo's...

In the ballpit...

Look at that face...

Alex playing with a balloon...

Helping Out...

Alex got to do all kinds of fun things last week. He had his first trip to the fair where he got to see lots of animals and he enjoyed watching the lights and hearing the sounds from the rides. He got to go and see his friends Samuel and Daniel in Indiana and see their new house. Alex got to go to the Ashland/Hillsdale football game and he got to help his dad pick up stuff in the yard before Kevin mowed the yard. He also had his first bubble bath tonight. He was a little unsure of the bubbles at first, but eventually he dove right in! I have included a few pictures of Alex from the last week for all of you to enjoy.

Alex's first bubble bath...

Sticking out his tongue...

Dad and Alex goofing around...

Lining up his animals at bath time...

Helping Dad pick up the yard...

Excited about helping...

Playing Outside

Alex loves to play outside! I snapped some pictures the other day of him doing that. He was playing with his car, throwing grass, rocks and seed pods and playing with sticks. We have had beautiful weather for being outside the last few days, so we have tried to take advantage of it. Alex is learning the name of his body parts, including head, eyes, mouth, and many others! He is really trying to talk and we think he will get many more words over the next few months. We are going to go to the county fair this week, so I will try to snap some pictures, because I am sure he will enjoy the animals and rides. We have been very busy meeting more new people and playing with our new friends. Alex has really settled into his new house and Hobbes loves it too! Fall is just around the corner and I am excited for Alex's first Trick-or-Treat and visiting family and friends back home. I have included some pictures of Alex playing outside for you below!

Make a Free Flash Slideshow

It has been a while...

Sorry it has been a while since our last post. Things are going really well. We had a really fun trip to the Toledo Zoo with our friends Leah, Silas and Natalie (I have included some pictures below). We enjoyed a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa Fowler, even if it did rain the whole weekend. Alex is learning how to say more and more words, including kitty, and he understands pretty much everything we say now. He is enjoying meeting new friends and went inside his first McDonalds' Playplace. He had 3 little girls helping him get through the tunnel and to the little toys in there. It was too funny and so cute! He of course loved the attention. We are looking forward to more of our family visiting this fall and getting to travel some ourselves. We don't know what to do with such a short trip. Soon we will be going to get a pumpkin for our Halloween Jack-o-lantern and we still have to find our costume for trick-or-treat, but we will be doing those things soon. Hopefully posts will be more frequent over the next few months and I promise to take some more video soon. Here are some pictures from our recent visit to the Toledo Zoo:

Alex Touching the Bear Statues by the Entrance

Polar Bear Playing with a Ball

Alex excited about the ducks being so close

All of the kids excited about how close the ducks are (Silas kept chasing the poor things, LOL)

Busy, but fun week...

Kevin started back to work this week, but not before he had to travel 40 minutes for new tires and a suit alteration and then had to turn around and put in a new sump pump the next day (and be prepared for classes). The rest of the week was pretty normal, but we had a great visit with Great Grandma Olex, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Tomi Ann and Grandma and Grandpa Portteus stopped by too. Alex had a fun-filled weekend with his family and we got to try some great local restaurants in the area. We also found some budding pool sharks in our family (haha). I have posted some pictures from the past couple of days, including one of a frog that was hanging out on our back door, some with family from this weekend, and a really cute one of Alex in his bike helmet (He loves riding with us on the bike.). Enjoy, and I hope to post more soon!

Our froggy friend

Alex in his bike helmet

Alex playing with Aunt Tomi Ann

Alex playing with Aunt Kathy

Just one of Hobbes

Finally in Michigan!

We are finally moved in and pretty much unpacked. The house is great and we are meeting a lot of new people. We are having a busy week meeting other people from the university and other families in the area. Everyone has been very welcoming. There are a ton of pictures on the Picasa site of our new house and old apartment, as well as more pictures of Alex, but I have included a few pictures and a video of Alex here.

Alex and I with Leah, Silas and Natalie we met at the gym in Bowling Green

Emily who watched Alex at the gym

Alex playing in the tub

Alex eating

This is a video of Alex dancing to his Bugs CD