The Food Group That is Ketchup!

Ketchup has earned it's own category in the food pyramid here at our house. Alex LOVES it! You can put a glob of the stuff on his tray and he would be happy to just dip his finger in it and eat it all by itself. And I have found that on those days when he is being particularly "toddlerish" and won't eat something that I know he loves, a little bit of ketchup on whatever it may be makes the formerly detestable food into a culinary delight!! (P.S. I didn't pose this picture, he managed to get the ketchup all over himself all on his own!)

A smidge of this and that...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingThe boy who never cooperates on camera actually pulled through yesterday! This video shows just a smidge of many of the different things that happen during mealtime. After he figures out that the flash isn't going to blind him, we have a little bit of peek-a-boo & a failed attempt at using his fork, before the kid actually gets some pancake into his mouth! Of course then he must put down his fork to applaud himself and this big accomplishment, and upon hearing the clapping decides a little bit more banging would be fun. That makes him thirsty so he needs some milk, for which he actually does his signs on camera--miracles do happen! (Jenny Pittsley, you will enjoy how his sign for drink is a little off, and his sign for please has degressed from rubbing hand in circle on chest, to rubbing hand in circle on head, to just tapping head! Oh, well, it works for us!) We finish up with blowing some kisses, more blinking for the flash that never comes, and pointing at his eyes when I mention them! It's like his own video version of "If You Give a Pig a Pancake!"

The Search for the Perfect Hat

I don't know if other mommies out there have had this problem, but there seems to be a real shortage of decent winter hats in this world! At least for toddlers--and I do realize that my kid has a large head, he always has (full of brains I'm sure of it!) but one would assume that hats would come in a reasonable range of sizes and not skip from teeny tiny to elem. kid size! The only ones I did find were obnoxious, for example, the green/grey camo hat was looking pretty good until I turned it around to the front and found a skull and bones on it! Umm...NO. Well, necessity is the mother of invention right? And although I did not invent any new kind of hat, I did try my hand at making one that fits! So, this is one of Alex's new winter hats--I bought a few more scraps of fleece (the remnants are around $1.50 at Joanne's!) so I am going to try a few more---now if we can just come up with a way to keep the kid from pulling the thing off his head in the car!

Caught Red Handed!

Often when Alex hears the mixer going in the kitchen he runs in and wants to sit on the counter and watch it. I always keep his hands away from it, and he knows it's one of those "danger" things he's not supposed to touch when it's going. Well, over the weekend I made some cookies, and sure enough the boy came running to watch them mix. After I turned the mixer off I looked over to read my recipe and after a minute I heard "Mmmmmmm!" The boy discovered the joys eating cookie dough and was quite pleased with both himself and this new treat! I let him get a few licks before I put him down, which he was NOT happy with, but it was bedtime anyway--hence the pj's. Guess a love for cookie dough is just one of those things that comes naturally!

Snack Time

In the mornings I let Alex eat his snack while he watches Little Einsteins. He LOVES this! I found him the other day just chillin' in the chair (Daddy's chair--which Alex thinks is his now) with his foot up on the armrest! What a Goob!
Caught ya!

One Crazy Kid

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video HostingYou just never know what is going to tickle a toddler...one day something is funny, and the next day it's no big deal. Well lately most anything that includes Daddy & Toby gets a giggle!

Slowing Down

How do you know when your toddler isn't feeling 100%....when he slows down and sits still for more than 5 minutes all together! Alex is starting to feel better from this whole viral thing he's been fighting, but it has not been unusual over the last few days to find him curled up on the couch or chair, paci in mouth, cuddling with his blankie. Though I hate to see him not feeling well, I do enjoy the extra cuddles I get (until I look down at my jeans and see spots of dried snot! ew!).

And so it begins...

I found Alex like this in his crib after his nap yesterday. He managed to get one arm out of his shirt before he got so frustrated that the tears came and Mommy had to come rescue him. I guess he really is a toddler!

If the Shoe Fits...

Alex looks much better in Daddy's dress shoes than in Mommy's red ballet flats!
What? Too big you say?
This is Ryan's favorite! The boy was anticipating the flash on the camera and kept doing this squinting blinking thing. We hope this doesn't become his new camera face!

Have a Spooktackular Halloween!!

Though we weren't planning on taking our 1yr old trick-or-treating (didn't seem to be much of a point in it this year!) we were hoping to get a cute pic in this homemade ghost costume---and you know how that goes sometimes....He hated the costume! He loves to drape things over his head and walk around in the dark--why in the world did he hate this costume? I have one answer for that...he's a toddler. Oh, well, we did get a good pic of Toby in the ghost costume. We in the Coon household will be spending our Halloween under quarrantine as the boy woke up with a 101 degree fever and other sickly symptoms I won't describe to you this soon after lunch!! Let's just say he's already in his 3rd outfit of the day. So, if you come by our house and find that there is no light on and nobody passing out candy, I just want you to know that we are not humbugs...we just don't want to be passing out candy with a side of GERMS!!!

Playing with Coasters, Who Needs Fancy Toys?

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Family Fun

Grams is here!

Hangin' Out with Crazy Uncle Matt

The Sun was so bright we could barely keep our eyes open.
Alex couldn't make himself keep his eyes open, so Ryan shaded them for him with his hat!

Oddly enough there was a pet Halloween costume contest in town!

It looks like this lady is carrying a baby, but it's not, it's a hound puppy!

Does he have these two wrapped around his little finger or what?

Mmmm, a sea of chocolate heaven!

Making friends with Aunt Amy!

Vacationing with Grandparents means there are always extra hands to push the stroller.

This is Alex's new game, and he could play it for hours....long after Grandpa or Daddy's arms get tired!


Sharing Grandpa's love for art...
And goofiness!!!

On the way to the airport we stopped to say hi to the ducks and get a little fresh air!
We've had a lot of family visitors over the past 2 weeks: Mom came for a week, Dad joined her for the weekend at the end of the trip, and Matt & Amy came up for the Saturday that both the folks were here! We were crazy busy the whole time! Mom & I canned somewhere around 50 quarts of applesauce, painted my kitchen, went to the pumpkin patch, and generally never sat still for 5 min. all together! When Dad, Matt, & Amy were here we spent the day in Frankenmuth, and really enjoyed the fall weather and family fun! Here are a few pics of the family visit, I think I may have more to post later. Sorry this is so long, but I am having issues with the Slideshow now!!

The Return of the Video

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So, we have finally figured out our video problem and hopefully will be able to post video clips again more consistantly. You may, therefore, be seeing a whole bunch of video over the next few days, as there are some cute ones from the last few months!! This one is a little peek at my big talker!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Ryan's 28th birthday!! So I pulled out some of my favorite Daddy photos and put them together so you can all see what a great Daddy/Hubby Alex and I are blessed with. Wish you could see the "happy dance" Alex does when Daddy comes home from work--that little dance perfectly explains how we feel about our Daddy!! Happy Birthday, Sweetie...looking forward to spending many, many more birthdays together with you!

Pumpkin Time Playgroup

Today was the perfect fall day to go to the pumpkin patch!! Crisp and chilly but with beautiful sunshine. Our playgroup went to Massab Acres today, a little tiny seasonal greenhouse/nursery that has the biggest pumpkins in the fall. Seriously--they sell them by the pound, and the chart on the wall had prices up through 189lbs!! Anyway, a few of us went there last year and I got a great picture of Alex sleeping in between the pumpkins--he was only 3.5 months old--so I was hoping to get another great pic of him this year...yeah right!! Each time I would get him in a good spot he would move away just before the camera clicked. Oh, well, he's a toddler. The pics in the slide are the only ones I got of him where he is even looking remotely in the general direction of the camera!! We had a great time, even though my boy went with a fat lip. He fell this morning before we went and hit his lip on the corner of the dresser, so it was all red and swollen. He obviously had a great time, despite the injury, as he ran up and down the rows of pumpkins, talking very loudly to nobody in particular. I tried to get him to bounce in the inflatable pumpkin, and he did for a minute, but then he hurt his finger and cried and wanted out. Oh, well, flexibility is our #1 friend at this stage of life. The girls and the kiddies all piled into my place after the pumpkin patch and we had lunch, cider, coffee, and desserts. The kids played very well together which was a triumph, and the moms had some fun mom-talk!! We really do praise the Lord for good friends!!

Here is the pic of Alex at this time last year!! I LOVE this photo!

Fall Fest at Heritage Park

On Saturday we took a family outing to Heritage Park for their annual Fall Fest. It was quite the event with hayrides, pumpkin decorating, hot dogs, and a visit to the Petting Farm. We had a good time, meeting our friends the Hermans and the Andrews there for lunch. Of course, life with a toddler means that nothing can be quite so simple as having lunch, participating in the events, and going home...oh, no, not that simple!!

Right after lunch as we were on our way to the pumpkin decorating I looked down at Alex and saw what appeared to be a cluster of hives on his arm. When we checked him over he had some on the other arm as well. By the time we got our pumpkin and sat down to decorate it, the hives were on his arms, legs, face and tummy!! Good grief!! So, we called the pediatrician's after hours number and per her instructions Ryan had to run to CVS to grab some Children's Benadryl. (This was our first call to the doc in his whole 15mo. life!!) I was very thankful for an easy-going husband at that point because he jumped up and ran off to get the goods without getting annoyed or anything. So, we gave the boy some Benadryl, saw some of the animals, and called it a day!! We're still not entirely sure what caused the hives, but we now keep Benadryl in the diaper bag!! In the end it was a fun day: we got some sun (it was soooo hot out), had fun with friends, saw some animals, had our first allergic reaction scenario and didn't freak out, and took home a rather disturbing looking pumpkin--Alex ripped most of the stickers they gave us to decorate it with, so our pumpkin has some messed up facial features!! Ah, life with a toddler!!

Big Brother, Little Brother

Here's a picture of Big Brother brushing his teeth. One of his new favorite things to do! When I tell him to go brush his teeth he runs off to the bathroom and waits for me to get his little step stool so he can reach the sink. And it's taken us several weeks to get to the point where he doesn't cry when it's time to put the toothbrush away!! I usually help him brush first, and then let him brush on his own...he does more sucking on the bristles than brushing...ewww!

Little Brother news is that we have a name..........Samuel Ryan Coon. We are already calling him Sam, and we love it!! He is quite the active little guy. I felt him move a full 4 weeks earlier than I felt Alex, and Ryan has already been able to feel him move as well! He has already woke me up in the night with a strong kick several times....I think we are in for it with this one!!

Bedtime Blues

Though Alex still LOVES, yes loves, his naps, he has started being a little fussy when it is time for bed. At naptime my little guy will literally run off to his crib, put his hands on the rungs of his crib, and wait for me to get there to put him in!! I know, I am a lucky, lucky girl!! (praying for the next one to be just like that!!) But at bedtime he has started to cry and fuss as soon as he's done brushing his teeth, and if he can get away he runs off to his toys and starts pulling them out in one last effort to play again and avoid bed!! I saw this video on my friend Jen Larson's blog, and laughed so hard that I had to post it here to share it. Thankfully our bedtimes aren't this bad, and Lord-willing they never will be!!

Touchdown!

This is Alex's newest trick that Daddy taught him while watching the Lions' game on Sunday afternoon--yes, they were actually getting touchdowns and winning!!! Of course Alex has yet to perform his newest trick in front of anyone other than us, but here we actually caught it on camera, so we don't have to look like crazy parents yet again!!

Dimples!