Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving Day...no family but the three of us. Nice & quiet except for our coughs and sniffling noses. Yes, Alex has graced us with his terrible cold this week and it has finally found Shawn & I. The poor kid can't stop coughing and sniffling. We're still trying to teach him how to cover his mouth when he coughs. It must have been a weak attempt since we ended up with the cold anyway.

Shawn made our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, broccoli, and biscuits). It was so delicious! One of my favorite meals all year, including Christmas dinner (which I better be able to enjoy this year & not be stuck in the hospital). And of course, Alex & I made a wonderful pumpkin pie last night! Can't wait to snack on all the delicious food again later! Here are a few pictures of us with Alex today. His last Thanksgiving by himself with only mommy and daddy.
(As you can see, my belly is about as big as the turkey we had today.)










Alex had a special Thanksgiving Feast at preschool on Monday. Alex was so surprised and excited to have his dad come to the Feast. It was so cute to hear the little ones say their "Johnny Appleseed Blessing" that we have been practicing every night for a week. And of course, it was adorable to see all of them eating their special Thanksgiving lunch (deli turkey, grapes, cheese cubes, apples, cookies, cornbread they made in their classroom, and juice). Just a little tidbit from the day: his Native American name was Brave Beaver. Here are a few pictures from his Thanksgiving Feast:We hope this message finds all of you enjoying a day of family and friends. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

November...A Busy Month

November has been a busy month for us so far. We went to the NC Zoo, visited with friends in Baltimore, cleaned and organized many parts of the house, and went to Alex's Thanksgiving Feast at school. To say the least, we've all been busy and lucky to be quite healthy this month. Of course, Alex now has a cold but will hopefully be getting over it soon.
Our trip to the NC Zoo was quite nice. The weather was great for the
day...in the low 60's and it was beginning to look like fall with the leaves changing colors. Alex loved the zoo since he REALLY loves animals! We saw alligators, snakes, seals, puffins, elephants, giraffes, and many more animals. And if you can't ride an animal for real, you might as well pretend that you can. Here's Alex on top of an elephant statue.

As for the rest of the trip, Alex spent his time with his friend, Trinity. Here are a few priceless pictures of the two having a great day together. Don't you wish we could be so carefree?
Our trip to Baltimore was alot of fun! We got to visit with friends that we haven't seen in a long time. Now you're probably thinking "why would they go so far away when Alicia was about 33 weeks pregnant?" Well, Johns Hopkins' Biochemistry department was having an 100 year celebration & Shawn's old boss had a lab reunion for all past graduate & post-graduate students. While Shawn attended some lectures & a fancy dinner in Baltimore, Alex & I got to spend the day with our friends Susan, Will, and their 2-year old, Christopher. The boys had alot of fun playing together and the moms had fun catching up. The next day was spent at the Baltimore Aquarium, another one of Alex's favorite places to visit. He would have stared at the fish all day if allowed. The last time we went to the Baltimore Aquarium was right before we moved to NC & Alex was only 9 months old. Take a look at the difference in Alex. He loved to look at the fish then, but can stay awake longer these days.Here's some quick pics at Shawn's old lab reunion:
Alex playing with Davis. Paul (Shawn's old boss), Shawn & Alex. Alex playing camera shy.

Well, that's about all I can post for now. Alex's Thanksgiving Feast at school & stories from our Thanksgiving are to come. Until then, we're sending all of you "Happy Thanksgiving" wishes. Have a great holiday and enjoy all of the blessings you have this Thanksgiving season!

Happy Halloween

The day started with Alex marching in his Halloween Parade at preschool. Then, his class sang Halloween songs in the gym. A pleasant surprise was Daddy coming to watch his parade. Alex was so excited that he was jumping around & running over to give Shawn hugs whenever he could. Since I was the Parent of the Month for Alex's class, I helped all morning in his classroom. We had crafts, a Halloween Party, and I got the chance to read some Halloween books to Alex's class again. I go in every other week to read to his class (at least until our little girl joins us).

As the day wore on, I was lucky Alex actually took a short nap so he would have plenty of energy for trick or treating. Alex was supposed to be a monkey for Halloween, but refused to wear the costume a week before Halloween. Luckily, I found this Lightning McQueen Pit Crew outfit at the Disney Store on clearance (only $10.54). Otherwise, Alex wouldn't have gone trick or treating this year. Good thing he loved the Lightning McQueen costume! He was so excited to dress up this year and go trick or treating. Very surprising when only a few days before he was screaming & crying over the neighbor's decorations which scared him every time he saw them. Thank goodness Halloween is over with!
Alex loved walking or should I say running from house to house to get CANDY. We don't usually give him much candy, but he's recently gotten used to having an occasional lollipop when he has to go with me to the doctor's office. What a lucky boy! Here's a picture with some of the kids on our street. Alex is sitting next to his friend, Logan. They are too cute! Every time they see each other, they say, "Hi, Alex. Hi, Logan. You're my buddy!" It just melts your heart how precious kids can be at this age. The other picture is of Alex & his friend, Mason. We're so lucky to live in such a kid friendly neighborhood!
Well, Halloween is now over with...decorations are down (thank goodness), candy is still being eaten (mostly by mom & dad), and his costume is hanging in the closet. Another Halloween passed by and we're still shocked at how grown up Alex gets each year! Until next year...