I really can't complain about much right now. Even though I miss my family and friends back home in Texas (and New Jersey, New York and Florida), God has blessed us with a beautiful life here in Arizona. I love my job, I love my kids, I especially love my husband, we all love my mom and we all love our home. Even though it is still ridiculously hot outside most days, our backyard is the kids favorite place to hang out. Once the weather cools down, I'm pretty sure it will shoot to the top of my list too.
Alec loves to play kickball, play with his trucks and mow the lawn in our backyard. When our lawn service people come every other Tuesday, it is quite possibly the highlight of his week. He wakes up out of a dead sleep if he hears the lawnmower going in our backyard and dashes outside to watch them work their magic.
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Hard at work.   |
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| My pretty princess. |
Jolie loves to play with Alec, try to steal his lawnmower and throw rocks in the yard. Our baby girl isn't scared to sweat or get dirty.
Blowing bubbles with grandma in the backyard...
For the most part they get along and play well together. We sometimes find them in either of their rooms laughing and playing with toys, singing songs they find on the iPad, or we walk in on Alec "reading" books to Jolie (her FAVORITE thing to do). We have some sort of sibling argument at least once a day but everyone gets out of it unharmed and still loving each other. Alec occasionally and without being asked to, kisses and hugs his baby sister and tells her "I love you, Jolie." He even "protects" her from things like bugs in the house, the vacuum and his imaginary monsters and dinosaurs.
Alec has fallen back in love with dinosaurs, which is all good since we already have a bunch of dinosaur toys, bed spread/sheets and about 10 episodes of "Dino Dan" on DVR from his last stint with the prehistoric creatures. He is also really into toy cars, trucks, tractors, and emergency vehicles. His imagination is at an all time high and it is the cutest thing ever.
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| Dinosaur eating a pink bunny. |
He has an incredible sense of humor and he brings laughter into our lives with his crazy antics daily. You never know what to expect with this kid.
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| Wearing all of the hats he could find. |
He has also picked up the tendency of lining things up in an orderly fashion and being overly organized. NO COMPLAINTS HERE. Refer to following pictures for examples of Alec's new behaviors:
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| He lined them all up nice and pretty just to throw an angry bird at them. |
The Angry Bird bedspread seen here has recently been replaced by his dinosaur one and has been tucked away for when he decides to re-obsess over it.
August 12th was Aleczander's 1st day of his 1st full year of "school." The only reason I put school in parenthesis is because he only goes to school as a peer model in pre-k for 2.5 hours a day, 4 days a week. So it's not a full blown school schedule yet. He will actually begin full school days when he starts kindergarten next year. None the less, he is still in a school and he is still a student. I was out of town for work on his first day (which made me very sad), but Alfred did a great job at making sure our son looked handsome (just like daddy) and made it to school on time. And of course, he made sure a lot of pictures were taken...
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| Hugs for little sister. |
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| Look at that smile on his face!! Son, you are at school to learn, not flirt!! |
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| My absolute favorite picture of the day! |
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| Showing his teacher, Ms. Vanessa his new backpack. |
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| Off to play without even looking back. He loves school. |
His teacher, Ms. Vanessa, said he had a great 1st and 2nd week. Let's keep that up, son!! Our "baby boy" has been eating like a boss lately. Although he is still picky about what he eats, he is always hungry and wanting something to munch on. I guess that's just a sign of our growing boy. He expresses himself so clearly and easily now and his vocabulary is incredible, especially his ability to recognize and properly name a whole host of dinosaurs. He asks "what do you call that" often so he can learn new words and loves to tell stories. I can't wait to see what he learns this year. My handsome baby boy is growing so fast. Although it makes me a little sad, I am excited to watch him grown and learn.
While work unfortunately took me out of town for Alec's 1st day of school, I had the extreme pleasure of going back to Texas for a couple of very brief day and spend some time in Houston. I was able to work face to face with my boss lady for the first time in 8 months, catch up with some old office friends, see some of my favorite managers at a meeting and visit with my daddy. I was also able to finally have that dinner that I had to cancel from the last time I was in Houston (because Alec had strep throat) with one of my best friends, Jennifer. We spent a good couple of hours laughing, catching up and comparing notes.
I miss times like this with my best friends. It's one of the hardest parts of being away from Texas. You truly don't appreciate how close you live to those you love until you up and move away. But thank God for text messages, face time and all other technology.
Now, on to Jolie. Baby girl hasn't had much of an appetite lately, but I am blaming that on her getting her 4 canine teeth in around the same time. She usually will eat almost anything and everything but lately all she seems to want is rice, banana, graham crackers, goldfish, milk, water and juice. I don't worry about it too much since she is still happy and growing and I know she will get over it soon. Jolie has such a sunny personality and can genuinely brighten up anyone's day. She is so super smart and thirsty for knowledge. She is affectionate and loving but can also put you in check if you try to mess with her toys or get in her way while watching "Blues Clues." She is my beautiful princess diva and I love her to pieces.
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| Blues Clues requires some serious concentration. |
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| <3 <3 <3 |
A couple of weeks ago, Alfred and I drove to Bullhead City and Kingman, Arizona for work for a couple of days. Bullhead City and Kingman are small towns but what's exciting is that Kingman is only about an 1.5 hour drive from Las Vegas. So...NO COMPLAINTS HERE!! Needless to say, we headed out there for a fun night with some friends. We kept it simple with dinner, a hilarious show (Absinthe at Caesar's Palace), and some gelato. It may be because we've been there before or because we live within driving distance (or maybe a combination of the two) but we weren't too upset when we had to leave that night and head back to our hotel in Kingman.
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| Ali and Christian. |
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| Skunk just hangin' out on the Colorado River. |
The drive there and the drive home are absolutely beautiful and peaceful.
But of course, Alfred had to ruin it by breaking the gas pump by using his hidden super strength. Geez... can't take that guy nowhere...
For a recent date night, my handsome man and I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then went to do do some late night bowling. I love this man beyond words and I am so glad we have each other. He makes me laugh all the time and my days are boring without him. I am so glad that he loves me unconditionally and that he makes me feel like I am the most beautiful and important person in the room at all times. He is my heart and I thank God for him everyday.
Now, I must say that none of this (living in Arizona, middle of the day pre-k for Alec, date nights with my handsome husband, going out of town for work, sanity, etc.) would be possible without the incredible support and encouragement of my mother. I am so glad to have her here with us and she makes such a priceless and immeasurable impact on our lives. She provides us with peace of mind, love, and at times, comedic relief. She is my rock (our rock) and we are so grateful for all that she does for us. Thanks, mommy. We love you!!
Well that should capture it all for now. In parting, I will leave you with a couple of pictures of my babies on their best behavior...
