September 9, 2015 (1 Year, 5 Months)

Alex is a climber! He can climb up just about anything- couches, chairs, coffee tables, the dining room table, stairs, jungle gyms. He also loves to go down slides.

Alex's has really been working his motor skills. He is fascinated by buckles, interlocking train track pieces, legos, blocks, and shape sorters.

Alex loves to go for walks especially in nature. He often stops to look at bugs, sticks, rocks, or anything else on the ground.

Alex thinks that all doors need to be shut at all times. He hold on to the side of the door to pull it most of the way shut then stands on his tippy toes to reach the handle and slowly back up to close it the rest of the way. When it is done he turns around with a big proud smile.

Alex had a blast picking apples at the orchard. He loves to eat apples and would eat the core if you let him. In fact, taking the core away from him usually leads to a tantrum.

Alex still only says a handful of words, his vocabulary now includes, "Mama," "Dadda," "Uh-oh," and "Go." He also waves regularly now, he twists his wrist around and waves from his elbow.

Alex LOVES to play in the sandbox. He will sit in the sandbox by himself and play happily for up to half an hour!

 

Alex has learned some bad habits from his brother including pushing and hitting.

August 8, 2015 (1 Year, 4 Months)

Alex is getting really good at walking, he still looks like a stumbling drunken sailor at times but his balance has greatly improved. He has even started trying to walk forward fast and has been testing his capabilities with walking backwards. 

 

Alex knows where his belly is and is will proudly show it to you if you ask, and sometimes even if you don't.

 

Alex is pretty good at eating with a fork, he still needs a little practice when it comes to eating with spoons.

 

Alex enjoyed our second campout of the summer. We camped at Stoney Creek RV Resort in Osseo with some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. On the way we stopped to take a closer look at the huge rock formations at a rest stop and ate at the famous Norske Nook. We had a great time camping, Alex even almost slept through the terrifying sever thunderstorm that his while we were sleeping and collapsed our tent. Luckily we were able to run to safety in Aunt Jen's nearby cabin! 

Alex is very interested in fine motor activities, he loves to push pipe cleaners through the colander and popsicle sticks through holes in a yogurt container. Who needs expensive toys?!? :)

 



Alex loves food of the summer! He happily eats corn off the cob and watermelon off the rind.

 

July 8, 2015 (1 Year, 3 Months)

Alex is a walker! He is still a little wobbly at times but he is walking the majority of the time and getting more confident every day.

Alex enjoyed our neighborhood Fourth of July Celebration which included watching Andrew run in the kid race, riding in the bike parade, playing in the toddler fun zone, and eating ice cream.

Alex is able to take either a morning nap and and afternoon nap or one long afternoon nap.

Alex's word of the month is more, pronounced "moh!"

Alex loves to take baths! He gets so excited when he sees the bathtub filling up and tries to climb in with his clothes on!

Alex loves to play at the beach in the sand. He happily scoops the sand into piles, buckets, trucks, and his mouth.

Alex enjoyed visiting the zoo, his favorite animals were the seals and prairie dogs.

Alex loves being outside! He tries to go outside when he sees the door open and when its time to come back inside he often is really sad and cries.

 

Alex loves to play with his big brother Andrew. Andrew still gets frustrated when Alex takes his toys, messes up his game, smashes his sand piles, or knocks over his tower, etc but they are playing together more and more as Alex gets bigger and are really becoming buddies.

 

 

 

June 8, 2015 (1 Year, 2 months)

Over the past couple week Alex started to show interest in walking, first by standing himself up in the middle of the room over and over then he started quickly taking a couple steps walking as fast as he can before he falls over. He is still working on his balance but he can now walk across a room. His persistence is adorable as is his huge proud smile.

Alex loves sensory play of any kind-playing in the mud, painting in the bathtub, the messier the better!

Alex learned a new word this month! He now can say Mama, Dadda, and Uh-Oh!

Keeping Alex off the kitchen table is becoming a full time job, every time he sees the chance to climb up he goes for it and he is quick!

Alex still loves to eat but his appetite has started to slow down a little bit. When Alex is all done eating he likes to throw his food on the floor.

Alex loves to play in the woodchips at the park. The swing and slides are ok too.

Alex is now up to 9 teeth. Teething is still a battle, poor thing!

Alex had a blast at his first Brewer's game. He even made an appearance on the Jumbotron!

Alex is still our little snuggler and loves to be held especially during naps when he is teething. Daddy doesn't mind.

 

May 8, 2015 (1 Year, 1 Month)

Alex had lots of family and friends over to help celebrate his birthday. Sadly he wasn't feeling the best between teething, recovering from 1 year shots, and having a diaper rash because it turns out he is sensitive to pears. Still he enjoyed saying hi to everyone and having some birthday cake before going down for a nap.

Alex is finding his voice! While the only words he says are "ma ma" and "da da" he tries to say "buh bye" and has become very vocal especially during stroller rides for some reason.

Alex has figured out how to clap and wave although he usually won't do his tricks on demand.

Alex had his one year photos taken by the River Walk in Baraboo. He did a great job and we got some super cute ones! He loved the pine cones that were scattered all over the ground.

 

Alex has developed a very serious scowl that he uses it mainly when he is told "no" or when someone he doesn't know talks to or holds him. He still doesn't cry or fuss much but if looks could kill...

Alex loves to eat and we still haven't found anything he doesn't like. Lately he has been a bottomless pit and keeps eating until we finally have to cut him off. Must be a growth spurt!

Alex will now stand on his own for a few seconds but still has no interest in walking. Instead he continues to hone his climbing skills which are getting quite impressive. The other day I turned around to find him sitting on top of the dining room table.

Alex loves our chickens, he likes to watch them and try to catch them. Once in a while they actually let him pet them for a second before rushing off to safety.

April 8, 2015 (1 Year!!!)

Alex is one year old today!!!  I'm torn between thinking the past year flew by and also not being able to remember life without Alex. His favorite part of his birthday so far has been playing with balloons but then again he hasn't had his cake yet!

For Easter, Alex tagged along to a couple egg hunts and had his picture taken somewhat reluctantly with the Easter bunny. He napped through Sunday morning Easter service then enjoyed spending the day with family. The day wrapped up with finding a surprise basket filled with goodies, his favorite of which was his stuffed frog and first words book.

Alex is a master climber and creatively uses laundry baskets and boxes as stools to get up on dining room chairs and the couch.

Alex loves being outside, he crawls around in the yard exploring and especially likes playing with sticks, swinging, climbing in the sand box, and eating mud.

Alex loves to be bounced, twirled, and tossed in the air. He is able to climb onto his bouncing zebra by himself and hold on now, he can really get bouncing!

 

Some of Alex's favorite things to do include going down slides, brushing his teeth, climbing, pulling books off the book shelf, emptying the clothes in his dresser drawers, taking the dvds out of their drawer, and getting into the kitchen cabinets.

 

Alex is a very happy and easy going baby. He loves to smile and giggle and is very quiet and observant when we are out and about.

 Alex is a big eater. Some of his favorite foods are any fruit, cheerios, bread, broccoli, yogurt, and tator tot casserole.

Alex has zero interest in standing or walking on his own but is a very speedy crawler and can walk well when holding on to furniture or your hand.

Alex has 5 teeth (3 on top, 2 on bottom) Teething has been rough for him with many long nights and lots of drool, swollen gums, and fussiness.

Alex has only slept all the way through the night once. On good nights he only wakes one time to eat and sleeps in until 6am, on rough nights he wakes 3+times for his nuk, once for a feeding, and gets up at 5am.

Alex has a really cute scowl that he uses whenever he gets told no or talked to in a stern voice, he nods his head down and then looks up at you through furrowed eye brows.