We invited the Kelepouris' over since we hadn't seen them in awhile. It's nice that Alex can walk now so he and Jake can play on a whole new level.
Since Alex loves kitchen utensils so much, it only makes sense for him to give a tour of the kitchen first.
They found some wooden spoons.
Alex suddenly interested in his toys now that someone else is trying to play with them. Kids!
Double trouble. They decided it would be a good idea to start pulling all the CDs off the shelves and taking them out of their sleeves.
A few months ago Alex couldn't walk, and barely seemed on the same planet as Jake, who is a few months older. Now they're on a level(ish) playing field, and able to enjoy each others company properly. Progress is good!
We wanted to make the most out of our Memorial Day weekend and since I had Monday off, Grandma and I decided to visit the Discovery Museum in San Jose, as we tend to do on Bank Holidays. Alex used to be free but now that he's over 1 he pays a $10 fee to enter. He gets his money's worth.
Like our previous visits, I thought the place would be packed. We were there 30 mins after their doors opened and surprisingly there was no line. In fact the place seemed less busy than usual. I guess people were using the long weekend for travel.
It took Alex a few minutes to absorb everything around him at first. So many things to look at.
Fascinated by balls floating in the air.
We took him to the infant-toddler room where he explored some more.
Outside the infant-toddler room there were huge Alex sized blocks.
Making some lunch for mom. Chinese food--yum!
Three generations
And Alex's most favorite part, of course, was the water play area. The smocks were way too large for him and unfortunately I forgot to bring his Thomas the Tank Engine smock we got from England. The photos pretty much speak for themselves.
After being soaked from head to toe it was time for a change of everything. He was also completely exhausted. All that play is hard, hard work.
One more stroll downstairs
Within 5 minutes of getting in to the car, Alex fell asleep. He slept for 4 hours solid which is a record breaking nap for him!
"Daddy, why does your t-shirt have curves that resemble Mummy's? And that bit around the middle makes you look like you're wearing an inflatable rubber ring. Please lose some weight so you don't die aged 36 of a massive heart attack".
Alex can be a little too on-the-nose at times.
One of Alex's many impressions of old men.
In this one it looks like his house just floated away on a million balloons.
British Rail cutbacks are starting to bite.
"Why does this train have a wheel? They didn't think this over at all!"
"Union spies have stolen my General! Let's get 'em boys!"
Thierry Henry ain't got nothing on Alex.
His defensive positioning is outstanding, forcing Mummy to boot it up and over rather than threading a pass through.
He knocked it past me and ran around the other side. Here am I trying to catch him up without success.
This is a crazily good-looking kid. We're so lucky.
Alex's impression of Frodo Baggins walk to Mordor is eerily spot-on.
A child's imagination can sometimes get out of control. Just after this video the garbage can close by us had it's bag thrashing around in the wind. It terrified him beyond belief, and I had to throw a log in it. He must have thought it was a ghost, or a dragon or something.
This is pretty amazing stuff. Kids aren't supposed to be able to kick balls till they're about 18 months old, but Alex not only keeps it going for 30 seconds, but he uses both feet, keep his eye on the ball at all times, and totally loves it to boot. He's got Arsenal written all over him!
It's so nice to have a place of our own. We can now have people over comfortably and not feel restricted by too many people or too small of a space. We had been meaning to call our friends Colleen, Louisa and their daughter Jane over for ages. We always felt like terrible friends not being able to host them the same way they do when we go over.
Jane is 2 years old. Alex went to her 1st birthday party when he was only one month old. Since Colleen is currently working on her EMT course it's really challenging to find a day that works for all of us to connect. We were finally able to play to get together in late May for an evening of fun with the kids and watching the Sharks game.
Alex gives Jane the tour in case she forgot what the place looked like.
Jane throwing Alex a ball
What?
Hug time! Poor Alex and his snotty nose. He was teething again!
After 90 minutes of running around they were pooped. Winding down.
What a difference a year makes. We enjoyed watching the various characteristics between a one year old and a two year old. Matt took notes, maybe they'll come in handy next year.
