Cowboy--Clint Eastwood Style

Ayden gave Alex this felt cowboy hat, now it is a permanent fixture on his little head!

Japanese Stroll Garden, Springfield, MO

We are realizing that the Joplin area and the 75 or so miles around it have a lot to offer. We are therefore trying to experience as much of it as possible. Today, we went to the Greene County Master Gardener Plant Sale in Springfield with our friends Tim and Kimberly. After the sale, we went to the Japanese Stroll Garden at the Nathanael Greene Park. The park was actually very beautiful and Alex loved talking to the geese.

For more information about the Japanese Garden, go to www.springfieldmogov.org/sistercities/m_stroll_garden.html.

Fayetteville Excursion

We spent the day in Fayetteville, exploring the Botanical Gardens and the Farmers' Market. At the market, Alex saw more wawas (dogs) than he has ever seen, he got to play with an old English sheep dog named Minnie Pearl, and he played with a bubble maker (he liked the bubbles, but he was really mesmerized by where the bubbles were coming from). At the gardens, Alex got to climb through a tunnel, watch a waterfall, and meet little chicks. It was a great day, but Alex was definitely exhausted by the end. For more information on the Fayetteville Botanical Gardens, go to http://www.bgozarks.org/.

Superman

Alex thinks he is a super hero. This could be because Aunt Stacey has been suggesting since he was in the womb that he would be capable of super powers. Over the last few weeks, Alex has developed a strange habit of finding discarded socks or bibs and putting them on his back, between his shoulder blades, as if the item is a cape. Once it is in place, he crawls off like a madman with a fiendish grin and glimmer in his eye. It is as if he believes he is getting away with something, pulling the wool over my eyes. Recently, our friend Annetta got Alex this very cool Superman shirt with attached cape. He wears it naturally!

Easter

Mama's Rocking Chair

This rocking chair was mine when I was a little girl and now it is Alex's. When you rock in it, it plays music. It only took Alex a few rocks to want to figure out where the music was coming from. He got off the chair and looked underneath it to find the music box. He then tried to figure out if he could open the box and when he realized he couldn't, he was satisfied and went back to rocking. He climbs in and out of this chair no less than 100 times a day. It keeps him very busy!

Just a Swingin'

Young Man

Over night, Alex doesn't look so much like a baby anymore--he looks more like a young man! Time goes by so fast.

Dada, Papa, Wawa . . . Alex's Favorite Things

Alex's favorite things are Dada, Papa and Wawas (doggies). He loves saying the words and looking around for whichever one he is talking about. While he can say about 12 words, these three are the ones that he says all the time!Hope you enjoy this video.

Toothy Grin

About a week ago, Alex went from having three teeth on the bottom of his mouth to having EIGHT teeth--4 on top and 4 on bottom! He was great, even in pain, and now can bite and chomp anything. Two of the teeth recessed and have since come back out and I can only imagine how much it hurt. But, he made it with only minimal fussiness. We are very lucky to have such an easy-going kid.

Mama's sweet boy