Visit with Grammy and Grandpa

We had a really nice visit with Grammy and Grandpa. Alex was in fine form, and she LOVED it when Grandpa took videos of her and played them back on his camera.

Unless she just wasn't in the mood...

Alex also did some of her best walking to date while Grammy and Grandpa were here. Very fun!

Silly songs

Alex likes to put her own twist into everything she does. Here is her singing "Old MacDonald."

Alex also has many original songs, which are very stream of conscienceness oriented. I like the first one which ends "I am the Alex". :)

More walking videos

In the last 2 weeks, Alex's walking seems to be making some nice progress. She doesn't have to rush to the chair, her steps seem more controlled and she is maintaining her balance (much of the time) between taking steps. She is very aware that she is "learning to walk." Very fun! Here are some of her best runs to the chair (so far, the TV is the only "carrot" worth walking for).

This one isn't her best run, but we thought her candy comment was rather amusing. :)

Playing with independent steps!

Alex has gotten interested in playing around with taking independent steps on days when she feels particularly strong (well-rested, not sick, etc.). Usually, she is getting 2 or 3 step runs in right now, but we did manage to catch a really nice 6-step run on camera last night. We are definitely at the beginning of a long road, but we are pretty excited to be starting it!!! (And Alex was seeming pretty proud of herself, too.) :)

Elizabeth and her Mommy and Daddy came to our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating. Jim and I hadn't planned on dressing up, but Joanie and Jim twisted our arms by bringing over a Pooh costume for Jim, so I found one of Jim's old karate uniforms (from a long, long time ago) and threw that on last minute. I don't know that Alex was super excited about wearing her costume and going door-to-door, but she was excited about getting candy and finding all the jack-o-lanterns and "scarecrow guys."

Carving our first Jack-o-Lantern

Fall Pictures

The Birthday Party

We had four toddlers over for Alex's first real birthday party. Alex was so excited and all morning told us that it was her birthday and now she was 3 years old!

During the actual party, Alex needed a few check-ins with Mom and Dad, but that aside, she and all the other little kids seemed to have a great time. Her face absolutely shone when we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. All in all, very fun!

One-handed walking

Alex is getting better at walking holding onto just one of our hands. It is hard enough that we have to go someplace pretty motivating. We have rediscovered the pet store and have found several new ones to explore. Very fun!

Chimney birds

Every September thousands of swifts roost in the chimney of a local elementary school. It is a pretty cool event with birds swirling around in the sky and swooping into the chimney, so it attracts a crowd of picnickers and families who come around twilight to watch it. We took Grammy and Grandpa on a picnic while they were here and we all had a really fun time. The crowd loves it when the hawks come to pick off an unwary swift. :)http://www.audubonportland.org/local-birding/swiftwatch/swifts_landing

Pics from Grammy and Grandpa's visit

Alex and Elizabeth

Fun at PT

Some of the funner stuff we do at PT... :)

Independent Standing!!!

Something "clicked" for Alex last night (that, and we were watching a Toot and Puddle TV *SHOW* from the library that she was seeing for the first time and they are currently her most requested books) and she started standing unsupported. Her form was not perfect--definitely some crouching, with her knees a little close together, especially toward the end when I got the camera out. But she made lots of adjustments, and occassionally those adjustments included straightening her legs to where she had great form. Anyway, previously, Jim had seen one 20sec independent standing stretch, but couldn't reproduce it--this was a couple of days ago. Whereas last night, we had several 30+ sec, several 1-min stretches, and several 1min+ stretches, including a dangerously close to 2 minute stretch (yes, we had a timer!)!!! We were shocked and thrilled and there were a few happy tears. Very exciting!

The Word Game

8/21: Alex loves to play "The Word Game" and requests it as soon as Daddy comes home from work. She is getting really good at reading, with about 20-30 words that she knows well, and she is starting to try to sound out words she doesn't know. She is obviously quite pleased with herself, and it is really fun to watch. Here are a couple of snippets from tonight: