Later Gator!

As we are heading off to a warmer climate on Sunday, this will be our last post until late February. We hope you'll have as much fun over the next few weeks as we plan to. Later Gator!

Picture This

I don't have a picture of this because I didn't want to spoil the moment but it turns out that Alec is crazy for fiddle music. I found this out because we have been talking about his Great Grampie (who happened to drive a snowplow) a lot these last couple of days and thus we decided to delve into some boxes of rememberabilia, only to find one of Great Grampie's tapes of fiddle music. The Bill Mill's Breakdown is his hands-down fave. He considers a waltz a personal affront. So, if you thought Alec's run of the mill dancing was spectacular, hold on to your hat if you have the pleasure of seeing him do his thing to the sounds of the fiddle.

Bear Necessities

Here is Alec with his (thus far) greatest love, perhaps not including his Dad and me. Harry came all the way from the UK with Alec's Dad before he was even born and Alec has always loved him. He even uses his ears to rub under his nose or chin before a nap or when he needs a cuddle (such as when I make Alec extremely cross by breaking his cheese in half - who knew? )

Bus Takes a Backseat

I never would have believed it could happen but Alec's greatest love has changed from the bus to the snowplow. Would you believe that, even with all this snow, he saw one for the first time last night? We were poised at the window watching our neighbor using the snow-blower when the snowplow emerged out of a side street. We saw it several times, a few times in the distance. Alec kept watch at the window until bedtime, reminding me continuously (using sign language - highlighted words were signed) to watch for lights in the distance (he verbally used "dist" for this word) and keep listening. This photo was taken this morning while Alec took a break and the bunny kept watch - all this waiting is (apparently) rather tiring.

No Cold Weather Blues

Chez Alecgator we were thrilled to hear good news yesterday about the health of a (dearly) loved one. Besides that, we are finding no shortage of indoor activities to keep us busy. Here Alec is shown grooming a horse (after the horse received a bath, about which Alec was so excited he said "bath" for the first time). Today we are having his best friend over for lunch and a play date. Hence, we have no cold weather blues.

The Flashy Builder

I was surprised one day (early in November, if memory serves) to receive a package from Alec's Grampie containing two shirts and one pair of pants - all Bob the Builder themed. Alec was immediately enthralled with the pocket-tractor that accompanied on the outfits, and also showed interest in pointing to the characters on the shirts and asking their names. Then he asked to wear the shirt (highly unusual as he strongly prefers au natural).

Two weeks later (during which time he has been wearing the shirts in heavy rotation) I peeked my head in his closet as ask the question (rhetorical, or so I thought) "what will you wear today?", to which Alec replied "Bob". I was amazed (not even knowing that he could say it).

His his love affair with the flashy Builder and his handsome shirts continues to this day.

Always Thinking

Here are some photos of Alec at one of the xmas parties we enjoyed this year. As one picture shows, the first couple of times Alec saw white xmas lights, he merrily stuck them in his ears. My guess is they reminded him of the doctor's ear -light thing-a-ma-jig. In the other photo, he is inspecting a new toy from Santa. What fun!

Hop, Hop, Poop

Last Sunday, having just learned to say the word poop, Alec modified his bunny/kangaroo impression from "hop, hop" to "hop, hop, poop". Luckily, this seems to be a modification that lasted only one day - charming though it was.

Highly Satisfactory

Here is Alec at his fav lunch spot (it is his fav place at which to arrive, by bus). It is conveniently located (beside a toy store), offers no high chairs and sells pizza so soft he bites it whole. Bon Appetit!

In other news, there is a new video located in the same spot as always. I'm not even going to go on about how my equipment stinks, I don't even try to hold the camera still and what we did was way cuter before I brought out the camera - it just is what it is (i.e. a little song we like to sing about Grampie).

Bus Riders

Let me tell you that never has a boy loved riding the bus as Alec does. It is the first thing he asks to do the morning, and the last thing he asks to do at night. It involves a whole routine (which he can play out in sign language, whether or not a bus is present) including that he asks his Dad for the fare, deposits the fare into my pocket, waves to the driver (so the driver knows he must stop), then gives the driver the stop sign (in case he needs a little extra help), then indicates to me to pay the money, then enjoys the ride. Here are some photos of him loving it.

Happy Birthday Grampie!

Happy Birthday Grampie. You are loved.

Extreme Close Ups

Having recently delved into the world of photo editing, I am sharing a couple of first attempts. Enjoy!

Windsday

Check out the wind in Alec's hair. It was a blustery day yesterday, but there was no snow so we made the most of it. Windsday, you might ask or otherwise already be aware, is a reference to the Winnie the Pooh story The Blustery Day. We have been reading it regularly and Alec never fails to laugh uproariously when we read the line "I'm glad you asked Chum". (He'll also laugh if you use the expression outside of the story - what a hoot!)

Where the Heck ...

I considered not going over the top with the whole - "look there's Santa" and "over there, a reindeer" and "wow, a toy soldier" but I was bitten with the xmas bug and went full-on with the whole thing. Now, I rightly have to suffer the guilt that comes with Alec looking at the vacant Santa seat in our local shopping centre and turning to me to flash the "where?" sign. Still, I don't have to worry for too long. Alec spots Santa's picture on the mailbox and is more than satisfied that all is well with the world once again. Phew!

Speaking of the Weather

We are loving the huge melt that is going on right now - it enables us to hit the road by car, stroller or city bus (our choice), walk the streets freely and even play in the backyard. As to the photos, I shot them in November as potentials for our xmas card this year - I love how you can tell it's snowing.

Now Tell Us How You Really Feel

Enough said.

Halloween Revisited

I was revisiting some older pictures last week and realized that I did have enough material for a pretty cute Halloween post. You may recall that on Halloween afternoon of last year, Alec, who was just recovering from a cold, melted down with his worst "sickness" (i.e. bronchitus) yet. To top that off, Alec abhorred the adorable monkey costume that we got for him (so chosen because the monkey sound - complete with associated arm movements - was his first and he was already doing it in September when we chose the costume) and cried in sorrow every time he had it on. However, I see now that a couple of pictures do exist which document the costume and not his feelings about the costume. Also, I was very pleased to see a photo of him in his Halloween shirt looking rather scary. So, better late than never!

A Little Rain Must Fall

Here you see Alec in the bliss of believing that the cardboard Bob that accompanied his tractor was the actual gift. He started off softly trying to insert the gi-normous Bob into the tiny tractor cab while his face was saying - "silly Bob, why won't he get into the tractor?". Without warning, insering Bob in the tractor took on a violent urgency - "what's wrong with this silly tractor that it won't let the fabulous Bob in?". Finally, I folded Bob such that he would fit, told Alec Bob was in a yoga position, and inserted him in the cab. Violent crying and low moans of "Bob, Bob" was the result. Oh well, you can't win them all.

A Christmas Walk

Mid-xmas morning (and the gift mayhem that accompanies it) we decided a walk (and the fresh air that goes with it) was required. Here are some of the photos.

The Stockings Were Stuffed

The Alecgator gets two stockings. His take on these were - "why do you keep asking me to stick my hand in there and pull something out? I've already done that."

Merry Christmas to All

Here are a few shots taken over Christmas morning - more will follow. As you can see - the little bulldozer was a huge hit!