Alex Turned ONE!

I'm a BIG boy now!

As cute as it can be to have little curls at the base of little boys' necks, I was thinking that without much curl to it, Alex was starting to have a true mullet. I didn't want people thinking he was girl either. So, on his first birthday, I gave him his first haircut. Here it was before:

Here it is after:


We kept his party small - just us. He got a shirt with bugs on it from Andrew, and a shirt with a spaceship on it from Ethan. Then he opened his BIG present from Grandma and Grandpa Larsen, and Mom and Dad.

This Radio Flyer turtle scooter has wheels that turn 360*, for super gliding fun! Alex likes it, even though he has a couple inches to grow before he can ride it well himself. He mostly likes to open and close the storage compartment, or let me push him around on it. (Andrew loves it the most - too bad he's one pound too heavy for it! We let him ride it for a little while, though.)

Then it was time for cake! It's become a tradition to have an Elmo cake on your first birthday.

Rather than letting him have the whole thing to himself, Mike cut off just the eyes and nose, and let him go at it.

As you can see, he had lots of fun tearing it to pieces - and dropping those pieces on the floor!


Here are some other fun shots from today:

Naptime! He can be tough to get down, but he's soo adorable when he's asleep! He likes to have something soft right against his head &/or face.

Alex LOVES to "help" with unloading the dishwasher! He likes the tinkling sound the silverware makes when it gets thrown on the marble tiles.

Alex has adored having Daddy home these past few days! He has been a Daddy's Boy all the way! Grabbing Daddy's tongue is a favorite game. I'm afraid he's going to have a very tough time once he realizes Daddy's gone again tomorrow!

Andrew's Cool Co-Pilot

Two sets of Grandparents went together to buy this cool gift for Andrew's birthday. It was a little late in coming, but it was worth the wait. Andrew has heard about some of his friends not needing training wheels any more. Since we live on a busy street and don't have sidewalks nearby (at least, not any flat ones), we didn't think he was ready for a "real" bike, yet. But this Wee Ride Co-Pilot allows Andrew to pedal, or not, and start to learn how to balance.

After Mike took Andrew on a quick ride around the neighborhood, we all got to go on a family bike ride! We put Ethan and Alex in the Bike Trailer, on my bike, and Andrew on the Co-Pilot, on Mike's bike. We took "the bumpy road" (Swetland Ave.) down to the dike, rode all the way to the swings, then came back home on Dennison Ave. It was about 5 miles round trip! It was so great! Alex and Ethan both fell asleep on the way home.

Mother's Day

Last night was one of the most difficult nights! I was woken up every single hour - Andrew's leg aches, Alex wanting to nurse (I'm such a pushover when it comes to that!), Ethan needing to use the bathroom, hearing sounds, etc.

When Andrew woke up, he brought the gifts in that he had hidden in his room. Mike had bought me a gift before he left for Utah, and told the boys not to let me see it until Mother's Day. About a week ago, Ethan excitedly told me, "Mom, it haves a neck'ace in it, but I'n not gonnun tell you!" I replied, "Okay, don't tell me. Keep it a secret!" "O.K.," he said. It was so cute!

Andrew had given me the card he made at school on Friday, shortly after he came home. Though he hadn't written the poem inside, it easily made me cry! He wanted to give me the paper flowers he'd made on Saturday, but I made him wait 'til today. So, as he tried to give them to me, I said he had to wake Ethan up first. The first words out of Ethan's mouth were, "It's NOT Mother's Day today!" I tried to gently explain that today was indeed, Sunday, Mother's Day, but he yelled, "NO IT ISN'T!" We chose to wait until he was a little more pleasant before moving on with the gift giving.

The flowers Andrew gave me were Lilies made from tracings of his hands, rolled, with the fingers curled back for the petals. The tag says, "Mother, I made these flowers with my own two hands. With care and love these hands will grow. So, hold on tight and don't let go." How sweet! Kindergarten teachers really know how to tug at mom's heart strings!

The necklace and earrings from Mike were some I had seen on sale at a stand at Wilkes University when Ethan, Alex, and I went to have lunch with him a few weeks earlier. I loved the blue and brown beads together. I had a thought to have Andrew take a picture of me wearing them before church, but we were running late, so I thought I'd have him take it after church. Now I wish I had taken the time before, since Alex yanked on it while I was being serenaded by the Primary children, and the whole thing broke. (I think I have all the beads, so I'm going to try to fix it.)

The Primary Chorister invited several of the kids' moms to come into Primary to share their two favorite Primary songs, something special about being a mom, and a funny story that wouldn't embarrass their kids too much. I chose "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," which, besides being beautiful, I knew was Andrew's current favorite; and, "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission," hoping to send a subtle message to the boys. I said that I loved being a mom because I loved getting big hugs and knowing that I'm loved by my kids, as well as loving them the way I do. I had a hard time thinking of a funny story off the top of my head, so I just said how special it was when I was pregnant with Ethan, and too sick to play with Andrew, who was only 2 years old. He took my face in his hands and said, "That's okay. I love you, Mom. You're my best friend." It was a tender moment.

When I got Ethan from Nursery, he beamed as he handed me the paper flower he'd gotten for me, and he gave me the biggest, best hug I've gotten in a long time! He's such a good hugger!

After church, we went to Brother and Sister Badilla's house for a nice lunch, (which my kids wouldn't eat.) Then, to my surprise, when we got home, Andrew and Ethan played nicely together on their own for about two hours. I was able to get Alex to sleep and then write in my journal for a little while, completely uninterrupted! What a Mother's Day gift!

I had planned on calling all my grandmas, and webcamming with all my moms, but I got lazy. Before I knew it, it was time for baths and bedtime. I was really wishing I had followed through on my idea earlier this week, to have the kids make and send cards to each of them. (Ethan has had croupe, so I've been pretty worn out this week. We've spent lots of hours in the bathroom with the shower running hot!) I hope they all know how special they are to me! I feel very blessed to be a mother, especially in the company of all the mothers who have influenced my life! Happy Mother's Day!

Andrew's Birthday

This year, Andrew finally got his wish for a Millenium Falcon birthday cake! (It really helped that Santa had brought him the Millenium Falcon Transformer toy I could copy. And, that McCormick started making black food coloring, to make gray frosting.)

Because the house is on the market and we weren't sure if we'd have a showing that day (which we did, but earlier), we had made arrangements to have his party at Grotto Pizza in Edwardsville. We'd invited only Andrew's best friends (Adam W., Kip M., Cael H., Ethan C., Sammy S., Matthew F., Emily C., Lydia P., Ethan Slade, and Grandpa Slade), and only a few of them could make it- which made it a nice, easily controlled party. There was pizza, soda, arcade games, presents, and cake with melty ice cream (next time, remind me to bring the ice cream in a cooler). Andrew impressed some parents as he read each one of his cards outloud, without help. He got lots of fun toys - mostly Star Wars themed, which fit the party theme (thanks all!)

On his birthday, a few days later, I made him his favorite breakfast, crepes, and he got to wear the Birthday Boy pin that I forgot to have him wear at his party. That afternoon, we had the Costanzos over for fun and food. The kids ran through the sprinklers (It was like 80*!), ate hot dogs, and made pictures with markers. It was lots of fun.

I can't believe Andrew is 6 years old now! He's getting so much bigger - I think his legs just grew two inches or more recently, which is a good thing, 'cause he's small for his age. He's so much more independent lately, almost to a fault - I have to remind him to ask permission for things still, so I know what's going on. He's still so obedient and has a strong desire to Choose the Right, for which I am so grateful! I'm proud of the ways in which he tries to be a good example and a missionary to many around him! He's a good big brother to both Ethan and Alex, and he still gives me hugs and lets me kiss and hug him back! I'm so excited to keep watching him grow up! I hope and pray he will continue on the path he's on, to become an intelligent, kind, righteous young man!