Mr. ONE HUNDRED!
12.29.05

Sometimes he's "Mr. Boogs" or "Mr. Bucs" or "Mr. Bounce" or "Mr. Banana" ... but today he sat in the back seat of the car and (without any cheating from Mom & Dad) COUNTED TO ONE HUNDRED!   Way to go, little man!
 

Doing the big Animal Puzzle
11.20.05

He's had the animal puzzle for about a month, and he's finally learned how to do it by himself.

This is no easy puzzle -- check out the picture.

Counting in JAPANESE!   (plus L/R)
10.06.05

While I was gone on a trip to Japan this week, Alexander learned how to count to ten in Japanese!  This is the first thing he's known that Dad doesn't know!  :)

(he's routinely picking out left and right hands/feet, too)

Counting to TEN
8.06.05

Alexander came into our bedroom this morning, and for the first time counted to TEN all by himself.  He'd been getting close for the last couple of weeks, but couldn't say "seven".  Today he got it.  Video here.
 

Alexander gets tubes in his ears!
4/26/05

Finally, and end to all these ear infections!

Photo:  Alexander ready for the OR

Alphabet
4/23/05

No, he's not saying it yet... but he's learning the letters by sight!

Video:  Alexander is (slowly) learning the alphabet (WMV, 4.5 MB)

Feeding himself
3/20/05

Going to restaurants is actually getting a little easier... because Alexander can now feed himself with a spoon! 

Video: Alexander feeds himself  (WMV, 4.5 MB)

Climber
2/10/05

Now he's climbing up on a cardboard box we had setup as a barricade (oops) in order to reach up and turn the light switch on and off. 
   We also caught him climbing up on the stairs to stretch over and unlock the front door so he can open it...

Fed himself a jar of food
1/24/05

Fed himself a jar of baby food (sweet potatoes) with a spoon while Uncle Jeff held the jar. Afterwards, Uncle handed him a wet paper towel and he wiped his hands and face.
   His 7th tooth is coming in...

First word in Japanese
1/20/05

The teachers at school told us that Alexander said his first Japanese word...  "dozo".  (which one would say in handing an object to someone.. 'please'). 
   He can put all 6 shapes in the shape sorter without help... including turning it over.

No crying , no binky!
1/15/05

Right after New Years, we stopped giving Alexander a binky for bedtime.. we thought he'd protest hugely, but he was fine after just 2 days. 
One day in mid-January, Joe dropped him off at day care and... he didn't cry!  He was happy to go to school!

Jabberwocky
January, 2005

Lots of "words".  When asked "where's the giraffe", "where's your head", etc. Alexander will point and say "da da"  ("Right there".)   He will also see Joe and say "da da" ("Daddy"), and for Kristina "da da" ("Mommy").  Occasionally, we also hear "tcl, tcl" ("tickle, tickle"!)

FIRST WORD!
12/23/05

When Daddy asked "what's my name", Alexander said  "Da Da"!  Woo hoo!

School
11/2/04

Alexander started school (day care) 2 days a week at a local Japanese school.  He cries every day when we drop him off, but (finally) is happy shortly after we leave.  He *loves* music class...

First Steps!
8/22/04

Alexander made his first few wobbly steps at Grandma's today... moving from her couch to the window.  He's learning to walk!!
 

First Night Away from Mom & Dad
8/21/04

Today was Mom & Dad's 5-year anniversary, so they stayed overnight at a resort on Hood Canal.  Alexander spent a fun-filled night with Grandma!

Eating Solid Food
6/30/04

Now regularly pops cheerios and star-cereal into his mouth... part of every meal.  Sometimes he shakes his head when we try to feed him baby food, as if to say "I want to feed MYSELF!"

Walking around with grip on the furniture
6/15/04

As long as he has something to hold onto, our boy is seriously mobile.  We've installed 3 gates at the house to protect him from the stairs...

Climbing the stairs
5/23/04

Dragged himself up four stairs at the Shields' house.  This keeps getting scarier!

You can see some pics here.

Standing?
5/18/04

It took 3 check-in visits (every 5 minutes) to get our crying boy to go to sleep in his crib... and the second time I walked in to check on him as he cried, I was shocked to see him standing up in the crib, holding the railing. All on his own.

Crawling: now a form of transportation!
5/16/04

Tonight Alexander crawled all the way from the family room (near the TV) around the big chair, past the kitchen table, and into the kitchen.

Crawling -- a new way of life?
5/14/04

OK, now we really have to watch him.  He leaves carpeted areas and then has to work hard on the slippery wooden or tile floors... but he can do it!

He Crawls! The Very First Time!
5/10/04

Alexander drags himself across the floor of our condo in Hawaii. 

Click here to watch the video.  :)