Only, funniest joke...

Alex thinks she's funny. I'm sure many of you think that I "think" that I'm funny... but that's neither here nor there. Alexandra thinks she's funny and likes to let you know about it. She'll smile. Hard. A smile with teeth bared and tongue protruding and head cocked that says, "seriously? Are you seeing this?"

She has one favorite "joke". She calls it her "only, funniest joke". It started a while back, but has gained momentum. Now, every time she puts her coat on (every. time. she. puts. her. coat. on!), she has to do the joke first. When you hold the coat up for her to place her arms inside she makes a move to put it on backwards. Then the head cocks. Then the smile. And the look. The only, funniest joke...
She does this every time and it never loses any steam... to her. I wish I could be so pleased with myself several times every day.

I think Alex is feeling better...

...because this is happening in the basement right now.

Getaway...

Michele is clearly never going to tell you all about her trip last weekend to Arizona. So I have decided to just post some of her pics and make up my own synopsis (ruthlessly plagiarized)... please feel free to invent your own story as well.

Michele and Jen play Thelma and Louise, two working-class (riiight) friends who together have planned a weekend getaway from the men in their lives. Thelma's husband, Darryl (Wes), is an overbearing oaf swell fella, and Louise's boyfriend, Jimmy (Adam), simply will not commit stop being great. Though the road trip starts out as a good time, the pair eventually wind up at a spa. A tipsy Thelma ends up in the parking lot of the spa with a would-be masseuse. Louise shoots tips the man dead. The two decide that they have no choice but to go on the run. They eventually meet up with a young criminal named J.D. (Brad Pitt), whose cowboy spirit rubs off on the timid Thelma. The pair is pursued by a police officer (Harvey Keitel) sympathetic toward their plight. He chases them to the resort bar, where the women make a fateful decision about their lives. They hold hands, close their eyes… and order another drink.

Here we go again...

After a weekend of Alex being sick (while Michele was away in Arizona of course) I finally had enough and took her to the doctor yesterday. She had a fever for the fourth straight day and her breathing was off. Diagnosis: RSV. Again.

So we are the proud new owners of a nebulizer (to give her breathing treatments). We rented one last year, but the doc seems to think that this will keep happening.

The treatments help, and make her a little more comfortable. She (we) haven't had much rest the last four days, beginning with her throwing up on my bare chest at three in the morning on Saturday, Hopefully better breathing leads to better sleep which leads to quicker recovery and heightened sanity. We'll see.

Too long for bullets, too short for posts...

A short list of items that probably should get their own post, but won't:

Alex, if you pretend that the number five does not exist, can count to thirteen.

Alex knows many nursery rhymes (including Humpty Dumpty, Little Miss Muffet, Bah Bah Black Sheep, etc) by heart.

Alex will not perform either of the previous bullet items on camera. Instead she starts them and then yells, "Mama!!!". She thinks she is funny.

Michele leaves tomorrow to spend a much deserved weekend of pampering in Arizona with her friend Jen.

Alex got her hair cut.

Michele and I have each lost 10+ pounds since the new year began. Is this more a testament to our revisited resolve and healthy living, or the gluttony of the previous five weeks? Toss up.

Alex. Can. Sing.

2yr data...

Today was Alexandra's two year well visit with the pediatrician. This morning I was talking to her about going to the doctor. I asked her what she would say to the the doctor and she said, "Hello doctor!". Then I asked her what she thought the doctor would say to her... "No, no monkeys jumpin' on da bed!", she grumbled in a stern, low voice. Hee. Hee.

First we had to dig ourselves out...

After that work was done (good thing she was there to do the heavy lifting), we headed to the appointment. The doc was super pleased. Measurements tracking perfectly (35", 28lbs). Motor skills top rate. Vocabulary impressive. "Be patient with potty training, she's young." "Picky eating is the norm, lighten up." She said that Alex is advanced and brilliant and beautiful. Yay!

Then there were a couple shots. Boo! but, she took it like a champ. A few seconds of freaked out crying, but then she was quickly more interested in the band-aids (she loves band-aids, go figure) and the animal crackers offered up as a sacrifice.

She was asking for music to dance to before we got out of the parking lot, and sleeping before we hit the highway. Bring on the terrible twos.

Emergency shopping...

One of our many New Year's resolutions is to be a little bit more calculating with our cash. We are trying to pay more attention and budget a little better... watch the pennies and hope the dollars take care of themselves. Until yesterday when we ran out on zero notice to shop for a "big girl bed". Why the hurry?

We have been talking about it for a while... but keep saying, "so long as she is happy and not climbing out of the crib, so be it". Then yesterday it was nap time. That is, Michele and I thought it was nap time. Alex thought it was sing-play-talk-dance-in-the-crib time. We were in the basement watching football (snogging) while she happily fought slumber. Then came the loudest, most horrific crash followed by a scream...

That's right, she climbed up and out of her crib. From what we can tell she dangled over the edge and attempted to traverse the precipitous divide to get to her dresser. Instead she rocked her eye on the corner of said furniture and tumbled the four feet to the floor. She was scared beyond belief, as were we, but seems to have only recieved a knot on her eye from the incident.

So we went shopping for a bed, in a rush. She got lots of hugs from us, and then we went to Adrian and she got even more from her cousins. Hopefully she learned her lesson... but she's fearless and I doubt it.

Time flies...

Alex was born by C-section. Michele had labored for a couple days and progress stopped, so the plan had to change. Since she was strapped down, and they had snatched away the baby to work on her, Michele's first good look at Alexandra (though we weren't sure at the moment that was her name) was this pic on the tiny screen of our tiny camera...And then somehow, two years have passed and she looks like this...She is a person, and a princess, and a big girl. She sings songs and dances to the radio and is fascinated with her elbows. She had cake on her birthday, but prefers ice cream. She had balloons and was in wonderment. She is growing up before our eyes and there is nothing we can do about it.

Happy New Year everybody. Take your time and enjoy life this year.