Alex's First Haircut

Alex's hair is still quite wispy and thin but it's arguably too long since he has funny little curls around his ears and the back of his neck. With a wedding around the corner, it was the perfect excuse to finally get his first haircut. It's sad but it's such a momentous occasion for us parents.

I looked on Yelp for the most kid friendly places but every place I looked at got a mediocre review. With him being in daycare, my hours were also a bit limited. I decided that a lot parents complain about the silliest things and took a gamble with KinderCuts in San Jose.

I was already preparing for a melt down. What kid likes a loud razor noise right next to their ear?



They put Alex in a cute car shaped chair.

Here we go.

Starting on the left



Moving on to the right



And some finishing touches



Luckily not having much hair meant it was no longer than 5 minutes.

We took him to the play area in the front lobby and he started to get over being sad quite quickly.



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Even though they hardly took anything off he looked so much older after the cut.

We left with some locks of hair, an ugly certificate (seriously, it looks like it was made with a windows 95 program that utilized all the ugly baby jpegs) and $20 less in our wallets. Hopefully next time it'll be a better experience. At the rate we're going, it won't be until after his 2nd birthday.

Alex at Coyote Park

Grandpa and Grandma were going to an annual picnic this weekend. Since Alex loves parks they asked if we wanted to join them. So we gave Daddy the afternoon off to catch up on Xbox, TV and rest while I took Alex to the park to meet his Grandparents. Since I wasn't sure about his nap schedule for the day (it varies on the weekends) I decided to go separately.

The picnic was a Coyote Park in Morgan Hill, a city not too far from our house. I hadn't been there for years and unfortunately missed the entrance to the park and found myself driving up a really scary, winding mountain for a good three miles. It was almost impossible to find a place to turn around.

Fearing that Alex would fall asleep in the journey I kept asking him if he was awake. But as I was getting lost, he was drifting off. When I finally reached our destination he was fast asleep. Good job Mom!

I decided that we were already there so I'd at least go find my parents and say hi. I put Alex in his stroller and made my way to them. After saying hi to a few people I took a short walk around and then decided there wasn't much point in staying since Alex was my main reason for going.

I headed back to the car and as I was unbuckling Alex from his stroller he woke up. He had finished his nap and was ready to play! So I strapped him back in and made my way back to the park.

Out of the stroller. Mom looking for shoes.



Let's get some shoes on so you can run around




Ready for fun



Exploring



Couldn't leave home without his favorite ball.



It's kinda hot here



Checking out the petting zoo



We know this guy. He's a goat just like Gregory the Terrible Eater!



Snack time



Taking Grandma and Grandpa for a walk

Ending the afternoon with a bit of ice cream. The perfect remedy for a hot day.





I'm glad he woke up in time and was able to enjoy a few hours at the park. And furthermore, Matt was happy that he got some time to relax instead of us returning home within 10 minutes!

Adventures of Alex and Grandpa

Grandpa has come a long way since he had his stroke in late February. After what can be considered both a short and long month he started forcing himself to get back into somewhat of a routine and started coming with me to drop Alex off at daycare.

There were mornings when my dad was just so exhausted he could barely get out of bed. But he's a determined man and decided the only way to speed up his recovery was to push himself.

Since we had Alex, he has been a new inspiration and hope for my dad. They have their own special bond and you can see each of them beam when they are around one another. Words can't describe the happy feeling I get when I see the two of them together.

After 2 months my dad had made a lot of progress. He had a horrible nagging cough that finally went away which was just a side effect of the stoke. After many sessions of physical, occupational and speech therapy he was slowly getting back to normal.

And after 10 weeks he was cleared to drive short distances, able to walk and get through his normal routines and even had 90% of his speech came back. Incredible considering he couldn't even utter my name for those first few weeks.

Here are some moments I captured over the past couple of months.

A hug for Grandpa. Mom and Dad don't get these usually. Looks like they're reserved.




Excited!



Alex teaching Grandpa how a stereo works.



Grandpa teaching Alex all about bananas.

Alex thanking Grandpa for the fish tank he received when he was just a tiny baby. It's his most favorite thing in his room.



Taking politics at the mall while Mom shops





It's nice that we've been able to capture some of these great moments!