Alex Is 8 Years Old

My first born and only boy, is 8 years old now. I can't believe it.

I think Alex enjoyed his birthday, since we celebrated more than once. We ate Japanese after church Sunday, with our close friends & family. Celebration #1. He was excited about his gifts and couldn't wait to get home to play. Tuesday, after school, we met Alex's friends Mack & Charlie at the movie. Celebration #2. Then on Friday, his birthday, Jody took him to breakfast at McDonald's. I made cookies for the class, grabbed a Happy Meal for Alex & Ella, and met Alex for lunch in the lunch room. So he had McDonald's again. Celebration #3 & #4. Friday night we ate Mexican with the Carswells, My parents & Lindsey & Hope. He opened his gifts from us there, and was excited to see that we found a new Buzz Lightyear. Then we headed over to the bowling alley, for a few games. After 2 or 3 hours of bowling we needed a snack and went over to DQ. So we had a full night of celebration.

Anyone that knows Alex, knows that he is cracking us up all the time. You never have to guess what he is thinking, he tells you, good or bad. He surprises us from time to time. Which could be good or bad, depending on the situation. He has a very good memory. He loves, loves, loves his sisters. He is ready, at all times to defend them when needed. Of course, at Emily & Ella's age they don't need much defending.

Alex has lost 2 teeth on the bottom, and one on the top is loose. He is my little/big boy. Little, because he is small for his age & is in the 1% in weight, 42#. Big, because he is 8 and doesn't want to be called little. His jeans are always baggy, and those are slims. I just bought 3 pairs of jeans for him this week. They had to have the double tough knee, and those may not last the whole season. He is hard on his shoes and pants, but aren't boys supposed to be? He is happiest playing outside. He loves to run, climb, dig, swing, ride bikes & scooters etc etc. I could go on and on.

In school, Alex is awesome in math. He enjoys PE & recess too. All the other school stuff is boring to him right now. He has really improved in reading and spelling in the last few weeks. We are so proud of him, and how hard he tries at school.

I'll try to wrap this up, with a poem I found recently, that made me think of Alex.

Sticky fingers, dirty face

Rugs and pillows, out of place.

Cars and trucks, here and there

Blocks and balls, everywhere.

Gold and silver, have I none

But worth a million, is my son.

Alex, you are worth more than a million. You mean more everyday, and we couldn't be more proud of you. I love you, to infinity and beyond!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Ella

Ella turned 2 today. I can't believe how time flies. She has been such a blessing to the family, and we are so thankful for her. Ella is talking more & more each day, and she makes us laugh everyday. Some of the funny things she says are:

1. Mine.




2. No Mann= No maam. Don't take, touch or look at my toy.



3. Mommy mooomie= mommy can I watch a movie.



4. I do it!



5. Emny=Emily, Al lah=Alex, Lanny=Landon, Nanny=Nana or Nena



6. Daddy Fffing peas= I want to swing please



7. Whera baby bobble?= Where is the baby dolls bottle?



8. Whera pappy?= Where is my pacifier?



9. Gimme pive, don yo= give me five, down low



10. Noneys= Noseys (rubbing noses together)

I could go on & on with more cute things, but I know you'd get bored. Ella brings so much joy to our family. Alex & Emily love her so much. When we prayed for our lunch today, I thanked God for her being in our family. Then Alex had to say a prayer too. He said, "Thanks for letting Ella be my sister, I love her because, when she had that juice box & I asked for a sip, she gave me the whole thing." Then Emily said, "I'm thankful for Ella because she's my sister & my friend and I love her." I know she can't tell us yet, but I know she is thankful for her big brother & big sister.

Well, Ella, I hope you've had a fun day. Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl. I'll love you forever, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

Thursday 13

Here are 13 things I have going on or that are on my mind today:

1. I'm having lunch at Kani House with my parents today.
2. I need to get groceries.
3. Ella has school today, and she is really enjoying her time there.
4. Jody will be off early today & he's off tomorrow.
5. Emily has become a very good reader. She really likes school too.
6. I'm anxious about Alex's IEP meeting we have next Friday. But I'm also looking forward to it. Jody and I will be in a room with 7 other teachers, therapists or administrators. SCARY.
7. I got to go to dinner with "the girls" for my birthday this week. We missed you Stacy & Heather.
8. I love my husband! He took me to PCB for4 days last weekend. My parents kept the kids. We had a nice relaxing time together. Thanks Jody! And thanks Mom & Dad.
9. Alex has started putting on concerts. He sings on stage(the hearth) and sings pretty good. He sings the songs from Toy Story & Toy Story 2.
10. Ella will be 2 years old in 2 weeks. Alex will be 8 years old in a month.
11. Emily is enjoying her Hip Hop class and dances every chance she gets. She usually takes turns with Alex. She has a recital, then he has a concert. Ella just runs around in circles.
12. This weekend, I get to see my sister-in-law, that I haven't seen since Christmas.
13. I'm ready for our family time tonight and tomorrow. We're going to Burt's for a hayride.

I've Been Tagged

I was tagged by Jessica Smith. Here is how it works.
1. List the rules of the game
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 more people
4. If you're tagged just go ahead & do it.

My 6 random things:
1. I met Jody at a Confederate Railroad Concert at Cowboys (it was called Crystal Chandelier then).
2. I was engaged 2 months to the day, after the concert meeting. And the engagement only lasted 5 and 1/2 months.
3. I celebrated 13 years of wedded bliss June 10, 2008.
4. Besides babysitting, my first job was Little Caesars. Pizza Pizza. I did everything except make pizzas. I made salads & sandwiches. Cut & boxed pizzas. Took orders.Did dishes and ran the register.
5. I like to sing to the radio. If I'm at a restaurant eating and hear a song I know, I have to sing along. Or I'm trying really hard to keep myself from singing.
6. I was working as a Medical Assistant when I met Jody. That only lasted 8 months, since I quit to get married & move to NC. I loved the job, but loved Jody more.

Now I'm tagging Heather, Deanna, Miranda, Krista, Jennifer Wright and Katie Deese.

FALL BREAK AT DISNEY

Last week was Fall Break for the kids, so we headed to Disney. My parents were able to go too. We were in Orlando Sunday through Thursday. When we got to the hotel Sunday it was about 7pm, we already had dinner, so we settled in and went to the pool.

Monday we ate breakfast at the hotel and hung at the pool for about 3hours. Once everyone got cleaned up we headed out to get our tickets and to eat an early dinner. I had been planning this trip for 5 or 6 months, and made reservations for our favorite restaurants. Usually you can call the hard to get in places up to 90 days before. So I counted it out on the calendar and called around 85-90 days early. The 2 main meals we wanted were 1 character meal & to eat at O'hana. O'hana is a restauant at the Polynesian that is ssssoooooo good. It is family style & one price for unlimited amounts. We try to go every time. Well they had nothing for our dates. I couldn't take no for an answer, so I called every week at least once, sometimes more to try to get in. No luck. By the way, they have changed the time to call for reservations to 180 days ahead of time. That is 6 months early. This is why we couldn't get in. We did get a reservation for Rainforest Cafe, San Angel Inn in Mexico at Epcot and the Playhouse Disney Character Breakfast at Hollywood Studios. These are the Little Einstein Characters & JoJo's Circus. So, I was happy with what we got, but still wanted O'hana.

When we came in from the pool on Monday, Jody called to try to get in, nope couldn't do it. But we did find out they open at 4. We were going to be right by there at Shades of Green getting our military discount tickets (no tax) . So Jody decided we would just go show up as walk ins. So we dropped Jody at the curb, drove around and parked, and waited for him to come walking out, with the look of disappointment. But 5 minutes after going in he called & said we'll have a table in 5 minutes, come on in. Yay!! I was so excited. Even more excited when I started to eat the food that is so good. And the dessert. YUM we got 3 of them just for the 4 adults. The kids all had their own.

Tuesday we started off at Epcot, ate lunch there and then headed to Animal Kingdom. We got a lot accomplished at AK considering we only had 2 hours before they closed. They close at 5, so we headed to Hollywood Studios for a couple hours, before they closed at 8. Then we headed back to the hotel, got the kids bathed & in bed. Then Jody & I went on a date. Fun.

Wednesday we started back at Hollywood Studios for our Character Breakfast. Then we headed over to Magic Kingdom about 1pm. We stayed there till about 7:30. We were all exhausted. This was the first time Alex & Emily walked the whole time. We have always rented the double stroller for them, but this time we got it for Ella.

Thursday we checked out & headed to Downtown Disney. We went to the toy store & to the Ghirardelli chocolate shop. Yum Yum. My trip is not complete till I get a chocolate milkshake at Ghirardelli. Can you believe that for 3 shakes & 1 sundae it was $29.59. But it was so worth it. I already want to go back.

Of course, the day after we got home I started planning our next getaway. Next year we are planning to go back with the rest of the family. We sure did miss them while we were there, but we had enough fun for everybody. I guess I better go ahead and make our dinner reservations.

Update on my camera: It has been found, but is broken. It has been sent off to get fixed.

Thanks to my dad (aka:the family photographer) for taking all these pictures. This is why I'm a little late updating the blog. I had to get the disk of pictures from Dad. Thanks Dad.

ALEX'S FAVORITES

Alex has no trouble having fun, especially when there is anything Toy Story related. Or any Disney movie characters. This was Alex's 8th trip to Disney, but this is the first time he has been 48". This means you get to ride everything, well except the little race cars, you have to be taller to ride those alone. I guess they're afraid a shorter person might jump the tracks & speed off.

Seeing the characters was his favorite, but he also loved all the rides. His favorites were Rockin Roller Coaster (pictured below), Expedition Everest & Space Mountain. He rode RockinRC 4 times, the last time he was in the very front. Everest he rode 2 times in a row and only had time for one time on Space Mountain.

To the right is Jody, my dad & Alex on Rockin Roller Coaster.

He really enjoyed O'hana too. He liked the games but really loved the food. He ate a ton. But he had just played hard at the pool for 3 hours before our meal, so I guess he worked up an appetite. Below you see Emily trying to get ahead of Alex in the race.

He really loves everything about Disney and has a blast while we are there.

EMILY'S FAVORITES

Emily had fun riding some milder rides. She also likes posing & looking cute. She still really likes Soarin at Epcot a lot, but will plug her ears because of the fireworks at the end. This was when we were waiting in line. This was one of our longest waits. They told us it should take 10-15 minutes from start to finish. So Mom kept Ella, while everyone else rode. We took the backpack/diaperbag with us, since it was so short. Well, we ended up waiting 40 minutes before even getting on the ride. I was worried the whole time, but when we got off, I was happy to find that there had been no diaper explosions.

Emily rode Expedition Everest 2 times. She did not want to the 2nd time, but we made her. This picture was the first time she rode. After this she didn't want to ride any other roller coasters. I think it scared her, since it goes backwards.

At O'hana Emily enjoyed the coconut race & the limbo the best. She didn't care about the food that much. Just the fun every 15 minutes. Emily's hangin out in front of the toy store, before heading home.