Hannah Montana

A few days ago Alyce found her Hannah Montana microphone. It was a gift from our neighbors and best friends Jeff and Liz. From all of the American Idol we watch and Rock Band we play Alyce knew exactly what to do and she gave mom and I an impromptu concert.


What is really funny is that Alyce wasn't even singing she was just pretending to.

Climbing a Ladder

Sitting on a bench eating lunch made me remember something Alyce did from a few weeks ago. We were out to dinner with Jeff and Liz. It was the first warm day in a long time and we thought KFC in the park would be great.

After dinner Alyce, Jeff, and I played on the playground equipment. Things went along as normal with Alyce taking laps on the slide. After a bit she walked up to one of the ladders and said "up". The playground was empty and we had the time so I decided to let her have a go; she did remarkably well. I was within an inch of her waist the whole time but didn't need to be except for the transition to the level surface. We tried the ladder a few more times before we left and Alyce never faltered.

Cross another physical milestone off the list. Pretty soon she will be on the monkey bars and climbing trees.

Alyce's First Play

Friday night Alyce saw her first play. Our neighbor Liz is a teacher at a local school and her students put on the play Aladdin. Liz thought Alyce would be interested in the performance and invited us to go.

We weren't really worried that Alyce would sit through the performance.  She can sit for two hours for a Disney movie without any problems.  We were kind of afraid of how she would react to a dark theater between scenes.  Mom did a very good job of explaining to Alyce what was going to happen and I think it sunk in.  When the lights dimed before the actors came out Alyce just sat there as if nothing had changed.  With about 5 minutes to go in the first act Alyce got a bit fidgety.  Mom was prepared; she pulled from her purse a box of animal crackers and we made it to intermission.

During intermission Liz showed us her classroom.  School has changed quite a bit since I attended.  Gone are the chalkboards and even the white boards with dry erase markers.  Now the teachers have digital projectors where they can write on the board with electronic ink.  Liz explained that this was brand new to her classroom and that she was going for training soon.  I wonder what will change between now and when Alyce attends classes in three years.

The second act flew by and the evening was a success.  Alyce behaved herself and seemed to enjoy the musical even if she didn't really understand the storyline.  At the very least she got some animal crackers.

Alyce's New Tricycle

The final present Luke gave to Alyce was a new tricycle. We used this and other gifts to get Alyce excited about her new brother. We gave Alyce the tricycle when we brought Luke home from the hospital. One problem was that we gave Alyce the tricycle on a rainy day. We couldn't keep her from her new toy so we let her ride it in the house (just this once). I was very impressed with her ability to pedal on both tile and carpet. I am assuming pedaling through carpet can't be easy.


A day later the skies cleared up and I finally got Alyce outside with her new "bike" as she likes to call it. Before we took her outside for her maiden ride she found a pair of sunglasses in the house. Naturally she had to have them on so she could see the road.

Alyce rode her bike down the street and made her first stop at our neighbors Jess and Steve. She got off her tricycle and pushed it up the hill to show it off to them. She even turned it around to show the little compartment on the back where you can store stuff. After a while of playing with their kids Alyce was ready to continue her three wheeled expedition. I would like to say that Alyce is a natural when it comes to pedaling and steering her bike. Not a single time did I have to adjust her path or steer for her. I'm not really sure where she got the coordination.


Going down the street in our neighborhood is the easy part. There is a slight grade down until you hit the cul-de-sac. Once Alyce rounded the corner her speed greatly reduced. Concrete seams and bumps started giving her some trouble. So much that she eventually got off her tricycle and started pushing it back towards the house. She must have been very proud of her new bike because I offered to carry it back for her and she declined with a "Doo Bit" and continued pushing and pulling.



We eventually got back to the house and all was good with the world. Alyce took a break from riding to at look and hold Jeff and Liz's tulips.

Big Girl Bed: Finality

Tonight Mom and I are making a final stand on getting Alyce into a big girl bed. For the last few weeks we have been updating our front bedroom to be her new room. This weekend we finally finished her room and it is now time to get her out of the nursery.



To help ease the transition we threw Alyce a bye bye crib party. The point of this party was to get Alyce excited about her new room and provide an opportunity to say goodbye to her old room. Grams, Pa Pa, Jeff, and Liz all came over to celebrate plus they gave presents. We ordered pizza and cake and ice cream. Between dinner and desert we brought everyone upstairs for the symbolic moment where Alyce changed rooms. Mom had Alyce take her favorite stuffed animals from her crib and put them in her new room (extremely cute and sad). After that I disassembled her crib and it was moved downstairs. At first Alyce didn't seem to realize what was going on. She thought us taking down the bars off the crib was kind of cool. Once all of the pieces were gone she looked around and began to understand that gravity of the situation.


When bedtime approached things started to get interesting. I took Alyce upstairs to get ready for bed. She walked into her room, stood where her crib was, and burst into tears. She was wanting her crib and crying for me to "fix it". Let me tell you it tore me up to see her sad from something I did.

Coming soon the aftermath of Alyce's first night in a new room and bed.

A Nice Day Out

Last week we were graced with some unseasonably warm weather. We took advantage of the situation by getting Alyce out of the house for some fun with the neighbors down the street. Alyce took her Little Einstein ride toy down the street and we followed with Jake. Like most of our trips down the street we stood around talking while the kids were doing their play thing. Alyce isn't old enough that we can take our eyes off of her, but we can let our guard down a bit as there is an adult looking in every direction at any given point in time.

One interesting thing about all the kids playing is that they all want to play with the other kids toys. For instance Alyce brought down her Little Einstein ride toy. This toy is pretty cool; it makes noises, plays music, and lights up. Alyce loves this toy but that is until we get down the street. At that point she gets off her toy and grabs some other toy like a tricycle and begins to ride that. In the mean time some other kid has gone and taken her toy and started riding it up and down the sidewalk. Surprisingly enough none of the kids are possessive of their toys so no fights over toys ensue.



After playtime was over and the kids and parents all went inside for dinner we walked back up the street towards our house. About this time our neighbor Liz got home from work. Alyce saw Liz getting the mail out of her mail box and she was off like a shot. Alyce from four houses away ran all the way to Liz's house and gave Liz a great big hug.

Sometimes They Don't Listen

Alyce like all kids has her bad days. Yesterday was one of those days. Mom, Alyce, and I went over to our neighbor's (Jeff and Liz) house for dinner last night. Jeff and Liz prepared a great dinner consisting of pork chops, corn, mashed potatoes, and strawberries. Alyce was in a great mood the entire time bordering ecstatic. She was running around the house, playing with toys, and trying to pet their kitty Pumpkin.

When it was time to eat is where the bad stuff started to happen. Alyce, bless her heart just couldn't stay seated. She would eat a few bites and then want to get out of her chair to explore the house again. We don't really mind if she eats a lot. She isn't losing weight and doesn't ask for food later in the night, but we want to keep her in her chair until we are done eating. Last night she was just all over the place. I put her in the naughty corner after a warning and that seemed to adjust her attitude for a few minutes. Her naughty behaviour returned and I threatened to and eventually took away her baby doll. The loss of baby doll resulted in some tears and her return to her seat. However, even after a few minutes even the loss of baby doll didn't seem to have an affect. By that time dinner was over and the point became moot.

This was one of those situations where you wonder what you can do when your child really starts to disobey. We could of removed her from the situation by taking her back home or possibly a longer time in the naughty corner. I guess I need to read a few books on how to discipline a child. Throwing up our hands and letting her have her way is not the way we want to start things.

Christmas

So Christmas begins at our household. Tonight we had Mom's family and extended family over for Christmas. Before that our neighbors Jeff and Liz stopped by to give Alyce some Christmas gifts.

Jeff and Liz gave Alyce a cute butterfly pillow, some toy cars, and a picture frame. The butterfly pillow was very funny because when it was opened Alyce went to the bottom of the stairs and wanted to go up and put it on her bed. The picture frame had a picture of Alyce and a kid, Rachel, down the street. Alyce keeps pointing at the picture and saying me. I think she likes the fact that it is in her room on her nightstand. She kept looking at it while I was getting her ready for bed. Alyce and I both had fun with the cars. We started driving them all over the house. I had to teach Alyce how to go off-roading by driving our cars on the walls, doors, couch, chair, and everything else that makes for a cool race track. Thanks Jeff and Liz for some fun toys.

I think the later party with the family might have been a bit much for Alyce. Talking to mom she said that Alyce was kind of shy and not herself the whole night. I tend to agree. Alyce wasn't running around the the house dancing and singing like the usually does. Having 23 extra people in the house can cause some consternation. However, she was in her toy area playing with cousins Anna and Tess. So obviously she got past some of her initial shyness. Alyce liked all of her gifts and we are very grateful to those that gave them. The gift that Mom and I thought was especially cool was an embroidered lunch bag. The bag has a butterfly design with her name embroidered on the flap. Alyce won't be using it for its intended purpose for a while, but I am positive it will become a purse or other carry all bag. Maybe Mom can now get her purses back.

Little Angel

Last night the family went out to dinner with our neighbors Jeff and Liz. We went to the St. Louis Bread Company for some soup to escape the winter cold. While we were eating Alyce was a little angel.

About a third of the time when we go out to eat Alyce is an angel, another third she is pretty good but has her moments, and the last she can be a devil incarnate. Last night was one of those good times. Alyce was very well behaved during dinner. She ate most of her grilled cheese sandwich. She is now big enough and has enough dexterity that she can spoon feed herself the yogurt that comes with the kids sandwiches. Because she was so good I gave her some of my cinnamon crunch bagel. Alyce didn't make much noise or incessantly ask to get down out of her high chair.

Thanks big girl for giving us an easy night.

Alyce Is A Jumper

Mark off another physical milestone for Alyce. She is now a jumper! For the longest time we have been trying to get Alyce to jump. She has seen us do and she has tried to emulate us but with poor results. This week however she must have put all of the pieces together. After dinner with neighbors Jeff and Liz earlier this week Alyce started jumping on the way back to the car. She even said jump when she did it.

Later this week Mom calls me to tell me that Alyce was jumping again but this time instead of saying jump she was saying TADA!

So now that Alyce has mastered jumping I'm not sure what is left. She can crawl, walk, run, climb slide, and now jump. She still needs to learn how to swing and pedal a bike so she hasn't mastered everything.

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.

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 Fun at the Pool

Thursday the family along with our neighbors Jeff and Liz went to the local pool for some fun in the sun. At first Alyce was a little skittish of the water. She enjoyed walking around the baby pool and getting in and out of the pool, but wasn't interested in getting more than her legs wet. After a while we decided it was time for her to get really wet. We took her to the big pool and after a few minutes of being held she finally relaxed and began to enjoy herself. We sat on the seat in the big pool for awhile and then Jeff and Liz wanted to try out the lazy river. So, we did that for a little bit. Once we were finished with that, Alyce noticed the slide and she wanted to do that. Well, she's too small for the slide in the big pool, but they do have a smaller one in the baby pool area, so Daddy asked if she was big enough to slide on that one. She said yes, so up Alyce and Daddy went. I stood at the bottom of the slide waiting for her to come down. It didn't take her long and she was ready to keep doing it over and over. And over and over. We eventually made our way back into the big pool and Alyce had a floating toy with her this time. It's shaped like a ring and Alyce gets in the middle of it. It didn't take her long to figure out what it did, so she floated around a little bit. Then it was time to go home and gets some pizza!

Alyce's First Fireworks Display

Last Thursday July 3rd Alyce had her first fireworks display. After dinner with our neighbors Jeff and Liz we packed up Alyce into the family Ford Freestyle and picked a spot to view the local fireworks display. We held onto our location for an hour and a half until the show started. Alyce and I played in the back of the car which folds down into a nice play area while mom relaxed and bought some snacks from the local supermarket. While waiting we decided to invite our neighbors Jeff and Liz plus Grams and Grandpa to the extravaganza as well. When it was all set to we had seven people in our little group. The fireworks display was top notch and it lasted around 20 minutes. Alyce wasn't scared of the fireworks and at times was more interested in the kids next to us than the show. The whole evening was a success and it was a great start to an Independence Day weekend.

Roller Hockey

Tonight we all went to our neighbor Jeff's hockey game. As you can tell Alyce is really interested in the game. She did say the word hockey so that's a plus.

Jeff and his wife Liz are our next door neighbors. We hang out with them quite a bit and they are our babysitters of choice when Grams and Grandpa aren't available. Liz is Alyce's favorite adult on the block. Every time Alyce sees Liz outside she walks over and gives Liz a big hug. If they are at our house when Alyce is going to bed she also blesses them with another hug. If they really rate they even get a kiss.

Liz always has to keep her cellphone hidden because Alyce loves to play with it. Alyce will rummage through Liz's purse looking for it unless we stop her.