Hair Cut

You probably couldn't tell from Alyce's birthday pictures, but a few days before her birthday she got a haircut. We went to a kid friendly place this time and our experience was much better. The stylist put in a video of Finding Nemo and that kept Alyce's attention long enough to cut her bangs straight.


The picture is a bit blurry but shows how Alyce's hair was styled for us. I am a big fan of the up hair as it reminds me of Alyce when she was a little girl with short hair.

Dancing With The Stars

Our little girl likes to perform. Not just for Mom and I, but for anyone willing to watch.

One way Alyce likes to perform is to use a microphone from our Rock Band video game and sing with any performer on the t.v. It could be an artist on the Today Show, someone from American Idol, or even Hanna Montana. How does Alyce sing you ask? Well she can't say the words and she can't really carry a tune. What she can do is hold the microphone up to her mouth, say "wooo!" a lot, and shake her cute little behind. We have a video of her doing this somewhere. I just need to go find it.

The second way Alyce likes to perform has just recently appeared. Alyce likes to dance. Surprisingly she is very good at it too. The only show that I know her to dance to is Dancing With The Stars. If Alyce is in the right mood and the music is good she will join the dancers for the entire length of the song. What is most cute about her dancing is how well she can mimic what is on the t.v. Look below for a demonstration of the cuteness that is Alyce dancing with the stars!

Alyce doing a swing dance:



Alyce dancing to Funky Town:



Alyce dancing to Don't Be Cruel:

Our Girl Is Getting Big

Today Alyce had her two year checkup with the doctor. I am happy to say that Alyce is doing fine.

• Weight: 25 lbs. 10.2 oz.
  
• Height: 35 3/4"

The weight puts Alyce in the 50th percentile which is where she was at her last checkup. The height puts Alyce in the 90th percentile which is where she was at her last checkup as well.

Alyce had two shots today. She had a flu shot and a hepatitis shot. These should be the last ones until she goes into kindergarten. While I wasn't at the appointment (Mom took her) I was told that Alyce didn't cry when she got the shots, but was unhappy.

Alyce is 2!

Two years ago on this very day Alyce joined the world. Mom went into labor around 2:00 a.m. and Alyce was born just before noon on October 27 2006. Our lives from that point on have never been the same.

To celebrate this occasion we threw a party for our little girl. We invited all types of friends and family. Grandma, Grams & Grandpa, Gi Gi, Jeff & Liz, Trent Lisa & Shelby, Josh Tammy & Gideon, Aunt Jean, Aunt Sue, and Mommy's brother Scott were all in attendance. The party had already started when Alyce woke up from her nap and she was greeted by a room full of people. She handled the commotion well by snuggling next to Gi Gi until the cobwebs went away. Next Lisa got to hold Alyce on her hip while Shelby did some entertaining.

For dinner we had hot dogs and Grandma's Award Winning Chili. They must have been a big hit as there were only two hot dogs and half a bowl of chili left at the end of the night.

After dinner we opened presents and there were a lot of presents to be opened. Alyce received everything from wooden trains, clothes, push toys, crayons, kitchen supplies, and a new baby doll. The biggest present for Alyce was an appearance by her friend Gideon or Gid Gid as Alyce calls him. Alyce opened up a few presents but became frustrated when she couldn't get into any of the hermetically sealed packages.


The last major event of the night was the birthday cake. Looking at the video below it is obvious Alyce didn't really know what was going on other than the fact she new it was about her. Next year she won't need us to blow out her candle like we did this year. She was a big fan of the cake and ice cream. She ate almost all of it by herself; sharp contrast to last year where she didn't even take a bite.


Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Enjoy some of the pictures from the party.

Dinner at Steak n Shake

Last night the family went out to my hometown to take care of insurance stuff. More importantly got to see and have dinner with Grandma. We went had Steak n Shake for dinner. It was kind of late by the time we got there and we were worried that Alyce might be a handful. Our worries were unneeded as Alyce was about as perfect as could be expected. She sat or kneeled in the booth most of the time and didn't fuss when we eventually put her in her highchair.

One thing that kept her entertained was a Steak n Shake hat. She modeled it for us in a multitude of different angles. Here are a few pictures of our Steak n Shake model.

Nigh Nigh Bloon

Last night the family went out to dinner with our neighbors Jeff and Liz. We went to a local eatery that gives balloons to the kids. Alyce like all other kids on the planet wanted a balloon or "bloon" in her case.

From the moment she had the balloon she was in love. The balloon was tied to her chair during dinner and kept her entertained while we ate. Alyce brought the balloon home from the restaurant and played with it the rest of the night by bouncing it around, pulling its string, and having one of us pull it back down off the ceiling.

When it was time for her to go to bed she gave everyone a goodnight hug and kiss. She also gave her balloon a hug as well. To top off the cuteness that is a child with a balloon; Alyce was going up the stairs to bed she waved bye and said "Nigh Nigh Bloon" to her red balloon floating on the ceiling.

Big Helper

One nice part about Alyce growing up is that she is more able to do things to help out around the house. Note, able to do things is not equal to willing to do things. Last night the family made a run to Target after dinner to pick up a few things. While the trip was not very interesting what happened when we got home was.

Alyce is old enough now that we don't have to carry her into the house anymore. We pull her out of her car seat and she walks into the house provided we hold the door for her. Last night we added to this by asking Alyce to help carry in some groceries. We handed her a shopping bag that had a box of Fruit Loops inside. The bag wasn't very heavy but it was very big. Alyce holding the bag by its handles had to hold it above her head so that the bag / box wouldn't drag. On top of that she had to walk with her legs out to the side so they wouldn't bump into the bag. Alyce did a very good job of bring the bag up the steps and into the house. We gave her lots of praise calling her Mom and Dad's big helper. I think she was very proud of herself as well.

A Morning Surprise

After my spinning class this morning I was changing into my work clothes. I look down into my bag and see a nice little surprise. The remote to the radio in our kitchen. Wasn't that nice of Alyce to give me a little surprise to brighten up my day?

Where's Alyce? Continued

To continue the Where's Alyce storyline we have Alyce in another hiding spot. This is new one and we thought it was too incredibly cute to pass on a picture.


How could a person not call that the cutest picture ever?

It's a Boy!

Alyce is going to be the big sister of a baby brother. Yesterday we had an ultrasound to check on some complications that Mom has been having with her pregnancy. You can read about that here on Twinkle's site.

Everything was fine with the ultrasound but while we were there the tech was able to determine the sex of the baby. She warned it was very early to be 100% sure and not to buy anything that we couldn't return.

Alyce didn't have an opinion about having a little brother. She hasn't really grasped the whole new baby concept. At some point she will probably notice mom's belly or that something inside of it is moving.

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday the whole family went to the pumpkin patch. This is Alyce's first experience with getting a pumpkin and I think she had a lot of fun. Mom, Alyce, and I were there and Grams, Grandpa, and Grandma also came along. The weather cooperated with us in that it wasn't raining however, it was unseasonably warm and we were a bit over dressed for the temperature.

The pumpkin farm was definitely geared towards kids. They had hay rides, kiddie train rides, and you could ride on a pony. There was a few different playgrounds with slides and swings and a long concrete tunnel. And tons of space for a little girl to explore the great big world.

Alyce had a very independent moment with the concrete tunnel. There wasn't any traffic control as to which side of the tunnel was the entrance and the exit so kids were going through both ways. The tunnel really only had room for single child going one way and would allow bidirectional traffic if the kids really squeezed. On Alyce's second trip through the tunnel she ended up in the middle of a kid traffic jam with probably 5 kids on either side of her in the tunnel. Alyce couldn't go any further but she couldn't back either. Normally I would pull her out of a stressful situation like that. This time however I couldn't get to her; she was on her own. She kept her cool moved around the kids the best she could and emerged on the other side none the worse for wear. I was very proud of my big girl.

Alyce also had her first ever pony ride. In her case she probably considered it a Moo ride as she calls both cows and horses the same thing. When Alyce first saw the ponies she was enamored. She walked right up to the fence and watched intently as the kids rode by. She started walking around the fence to find the entrance so she too could ride the ponies er Moos. Mom and I decided that she could probably handle riding an animal and me being able to hold onto her while walking next to the ponies sealed the deal. The ride was kind of expensive and short, but to see the look on her face as she got onto her black Moo made it all worth it.


After all of the events focusing on Alyce's pumpkin patch experience we finally got down to finding a pumpkin. Well Mom, Grams, and Grandma got down to finding a pumpkin. I was chasing Alyce all over creation making sure she didn't get run over by a tractor.


By noon we had seen it all and were ready to go. The temperature was taking its toll on everyone especially pregnant mommy. I think everyone had a great time. I know Alyce did and I know that I did. Next up I get to introduce Alyce to pumpkin carving.

Where's Alyce?

One game that we love to play with Alyce is "Where's Alyce?". The game starts off with us pretending that we can't see her and we say "Where's Alyce?". She then picks up on the game and covers her eyes but peeks through spread open fingers. Alyce then takes her hands away from her eyes, we look at her, and say "There she is!". At that point she then covers her eyes again and we pretend look for her again. We look under the table, behind doors, and all over. Alyce is giggling and laughing the entire time.

We have been playing this game a long time and she never seems to get bored of it; neither do mom and I. It is also a good way to get her out of a bad mood as this is always guaranteed to make her laugh.

To continue this story Alyce did something rather cute last night. She has done it before, but now seems like a good time to write about it. Alyce climbed into a kitchen cabinet and closed the door. It was the cabinet where we keep our mixing bowls (her favorite cabinet). The cabinet has lots of room. While Mom and I were making dinner Alyce pushed some things out of the way, climbed in, and closed the door. At first we were wondering if she was ok in there and after a few checks on her she seemed to be ok and enjoying herself. She liked the spot so much she even went back after dinner.


Who can fathom why kids do the things they do?

A Little Cuteness To Brighten Your Day

Here is a cute picture of Alyce all snug under a blanket this morning. She has a giraffe, dog, and baby doll to keep her company.

Here Come The Twos

This past weekend Alyce hit 23 months old. And the terrible twos have come early. At times Alyce just loses control. Let me state that a bad day for Alyce is better than most kids good days. 95% of the time she is a little angel and if we give her an outlet for her energy we don't have any problems.

The majority of our terrible two experiences come from us needing Alyce to do something she doesn't want to do. From laying down to changing her diaper to getting her to stay in her high chair it seems like things that she used to do fine are now a struggle. What is worse is how she expresses her displeasure. Examples of some of the things she is doing to resist are not listening to instructions, kicking and screaming (big one with the high chair), outbursts of noise and shaking of her head (big one with the car set), and your basic temper tantrum stuff like laying on the ground and crying.

I know it is just Alyce trying to assert her independence or being frustrated at not be able to vocalize what she wants. I figure this is just a stage and once her vocabulary improves and she is better able to control her emotions things will return to normal. I just hope returns to normal happens before the new baby shows up.

One area that I am wondering about is if I should try to distract her when she is in a tantrum which usually ends it early or if I should let her cry it out. In public I think the former is preferable for my sanity. But with the later I wonder if it would do any good to let her put herself back together after tantrum. Perhaps it is based on her level of development and I should read a few books to find out where Alyce is along the path.

At Her Class

Today Alyce had her first day of her new class. The class is at the early childhood center. Alyce is looking like she is having some fun and Mom is enjoying some time out of the house where Alyce can burn up some child energy. If only we could find a way to harness that energy and power the world.

Joint Play

Alyce is approaching another milestone. She is starting to play with other children. Up until now she has been playing in parallel with other kids meaning she plays next to them and not with them.

On Monday we were down the street talking with some neighbors. Usually when we are there Alyce will play with thier slide by herself. But this time she and the neighbor's kid Zack played together on a tri cycle. He would pedal it the best he could while Alyce rode on the foot plates in back. They also switched roles after a while. There was no verbal communication but it was obvious they were working together.