It’s been another busy summer for us! Alexa has continued to explore and engage in the world around her! We spent lots of time at the beach. We celebrated birthdays with friends and family. We went on vacations. We discovered new places to learn and play. It’s kept us so busy, I haven’t been able to update this site in weeks!
Way back in June, we hit the road for a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a long drive, but proved to be well worth it. We stayed in a beachfront resort that offered a small waterpark. We ate really good food, including a buffet with fresh crab legs (YUM!), frog legs and crawfish (YUCKY!) which I teased Alexa with!! We spent most of the time at the beach. Alexa learned how to ride the waves and we collected dozens of seashells. We visited the aquarium and took a special day trip to Charleston where it was hot, hot, HOT!!! We saw the city by horse and carriage and eventually the heat took its toll on Alexa. She fell asleep mid-ride and didn’t wake up until we were making our way back to the car. Mike and I had a chance to taste some local wine and we checked out some outdoor shopping. It was a great day, although our next visit will have to take place during the winter months!!
 In early July, Minna, Ptah, Alexa and I went to Six Flags Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom in Lake George, NY. We got an excellent deal, pay for one day and visit the park 6 times until the end of the season! It was a beautiful day and we spent most of it in the water! Toward the end of the day, Alexa rode some rides in the children's area. Minna accompanied Alexa on a roller coaster and learned quickly that she (Minna) DOES NOT like roller coasters!
Minna, Alexa and I made our second trip to the park on the 28th of July. It was another hot summer day and we spent most of the afternoon in the waterpark. Alexa had lots of fun on the lazy river. She especially liked it when I was sprayed unexpectedly by water spouts on either side of the river!
 Ptah!  Me!  Minna, Alexa and I joined some of our favorite friends for a very special event at the Fairfax library in early August. Max, star of one of Alexa’s favorite cartoons, “Max and Ruby” visited the library and the kids sang songs, played “Simon Says,” and listened to some “Max and Ruby” stories before doing some painting and having photos taken with Max.
 We helped celebrate Ashleigh’s 3rd birthday on August 7th. Despite some challenges during previous play dates, the kids seemed to enjoy themselves that day and took advantage of the sunshine that allowed them to bounce around in the bounce house! The goody bags were a very welcome surprise at the end of the party and Alexa was beat by the time we got in the car to go home!
 The garden that Minna and Alexa started even as there was still snow on the ground has produced an enormous amount of veggies this summer. Not only have we enjoyed eating such fresh food, Alexa has been happy to tend the garden and has discovered weeding to be quite a stress reliever!! Oh wait, I find it to be a stress reliever, she just mimics everything I do these days!!! I even found her weeding during one of our trips to the Great Escape!
We recently returned from a week away from home in Southern Rhode Island. We rented a small home nestled in the woods near horse farms and a wildlife management area. The house was a short drive to the beach and close to Mystic, CT. The week was full of excitement, especially the arrival of Uncle Brian! Alexa enjoyed Uncle Brian's guitar playing and she even learned a new song...it goes something like this..."Shake your booty!" It's become an instant hit!
We spent time in the historic seaside town of Watch Hill, home to one of the oldest flying horses carousels in the country. Alexa was reluctant to ride at first, but she eventually took a ride and seemed to really enjoy it.
On a very hot, very humid Tuesday afternoon, we drove to the Mystic Seaport museum where we met up with the Mahoney Family, Adam, Connie, Sofia and Joseph. Adam’s brother and his family were also there, on vacation from England. We spent the day exploring the historical village and despite the grueling heat, we enjoyed each other’s company and took some great photos. Afterwards, we sought out a place for dinner and Alexa ate a piece of Mystic Pizza! The rest of us suffered through poor service and mediocre food while catching up and watching the children play!  On Wednesday, we celebrated Minna’s birthday on Block Island. We took a ferry to the island and relaxed on a beach until the clouds rolled in and the rain came down. Alexa enjoyed the company of two girls who were visiting the island with their family. The three made “birthday cake” with the sand and even created a “bakery” where the served tea and cake to their patrons! We enjoyed a fancy dinner and yummy wine and, of course, sang “Happy Birthday” to Minna before heading back on the ferry.
Mother Nature made sure to end the night on this special note… Thursday was a perfect day for the beach. We spent the afternoon at the local, Misquamicut Beach. Uncle Brian surfed some waves on the raft. We enjoyed a Rhode Island favorite, Del’s Frozen Lemonade. We built some sand castles and did (just a little) swimming. The jellyfish kept me from getting in the water, but the others didn’t seem to be bothered. Later in the afternoon, our friends Kathy, Lil and Brady-Lyn joined us and stayed for the remainder of our trip. That evening, unfortunately, Alexa became feverish and this persisted for the next 24 hours! I guess the week was finally catching up with her!
 Although Alexa was feverish all night, it appeared that she was feeling better on Friday morning and we had made the decision to go to the Mystic Aquarium. Ptah drove Uncle Brian to Boston to catch a plane back to CA. We said good-bye to him and then headed to the aquarium. To my surprise, several of the attractions were outdoors…it was HOT outdoors. Alexa fed the stingrays and saw the beluga whales before heading inside to see the jellyfish, sea horses and other sea life. We caught a show in the auditorium about sea lions and then walked around the remaining outdoor attractions. Unfortunately, by midday, Alexa’s fever was returning and so we headed home early while the other’s had dinner in Watch Hill.
 Brady-Lyn & Alexa  I had found out about the NJ Children’s Museum while looking for venues for Alexa’s 2nd birthday party. A year and a half later, on Aug. 28th, Alexa and I finally went to check it out. Located in Paramus, NJ the museum consists of many rooms with themed activities. Everything from a Medieval Castle to a doctor’s office. There is a fire truck and an ambulance, a news room, the Wild West and a Construction room. Alexa was in Heaven! It was hard for her to spend more than a few minutes in one place! Along with Gramma and Aunt Eileen, we spent several hours in the museum and we can’t wait to go back again!
 With summer coming to a close, Alexa, Daddy and I decided to embrace to brutally hot, NJ weather and take a ride to Keansburg for a day of rides and water park fun. The Keansburg amusement park is the oldest in NJ. Over 100 years ago it opened and today it has an old-fashioned feel that is unlike any other “boardwalk” in Jersey. We started the afternoon on some of the park’s older rides and before long it was too hot to handle! We walked across the street to the Runaway Rapids water park and Alexa and Daddy hit the waterslides before I could even get my suit on! For the next two hours we kept cool and after some lunch and a quick stop by the local beach (where we viewed Staten Island and Brooklyn), we drove back home.
 Alexa shares a joy of city planning along with her Dad. A recent visit to Horseshoe Lake in Roxbury allowed for the creation of a seaside resort (of sorts!). Like father,like daughter!
Labor Day weekend, we took a (windy) ferry ride on Lake Champlain and then went to NJ, where Alexa spent an entire day with Minna playing at Brady-Lyn’s house in Fair Lawn. On Labor Day, Alexa, Minna, Mike and I drove to Stirling Forest to attend the NY State Renaissance Faire! It was a great day to eat good food Steak on a Stake and Turkey legs!), watch a jousting competition and simply people watch!
Alexa has been so proud of her growing independence, which now includes brushing her teeth and getting dressed all by herself! These days, Alexa insists on doing most things by herself!
 Showing off her pearly whites! Alexa’s writing skills have been growing as well. She can write her entire name, Mom, Dad, Chip and Minna. She recognizes most letters in the alphabet and she runs her finger along words when we read together. She continues to enjoy coloring and painting. Spirit is still her favorite movie. We even have the soundtrack for the car now. Alexa sings every song, she knows most of the lyrics and she sings confidently and beautifully! Max and Ruby is the current favorite television show. Alexa loves to mimic Max, using single words to get her point across. For example, she might say “hungry!” rather than using a full sentence or suggesting what she might want to eat!  With her buddy, Ri! Another busy summer full of fun brings us to another Fall. We are looking forward to some big changes this Fall! Hopefully, they will bring with them fun and wonderful memories!
Alexa, Minna and I drove to NJ to spend the long weekend with Daddy. Here is the rundown of our visit. Minna, Alexa, Mike and I took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty on Friday afternoon. It was overcast and blustery on the water, but something different and new for Alexa. We took a drive to Pt. Pleasant on Saturday, where it was chilly as well. Alexa rode some rides, including a few new ones this time (airplanes, helicopter, and motorcycles)! On Sunday, we spent the morning at Van San Park, took in a pony ride and played at the playground with Brady-Lyn before an afternoon visit with Unity, Scott and Jess at Imagination Station in Roxbury. We spent Monday morning at the zoo at Van Saun Park with Brady-Lyn and Minna.  on the ferry  on the ferry
To say April was a busy month would be an understatement. To catch you up, we packed up and moved out of 348 Juniper Ridge. It took a physical and emotional toll on me and I was more than looking forward to our trip to Florida to visit Aunt Carrie and hopefully get in some R & R! Who was I kidding...I have a 3 year old to entertain! We boarded a flight out of Newark on April 12th. By boarded, I mean, nearly missed our flight. I could not locate the long term parking lot in Elizabeth because the printed directions named a hotel that no longer existed (so much for technology) and the TomTom just sent me in circles. When I finally arrived, the van driver looked at me as though I had six heads because I mentioned the need for a car seat to transport Alexa to the airport. It became clear to me that we were going to need to use ours, so as I was already out of breathe and sweating, I fought with the carseat to put it into the van and we were off. But, seriously, things couldn't have been that easy. As I searched for my cash to tip the driver, I realized that during my 20 odd minutes of sightseeing in Elizabeth, NJ, I had managed to hit the brakes rather abruptly and all of the belongs on my passenger seat had made their way to the floor, including my wallet, cash, credit cards and ID! The driver, who was just pulling up to the departures deck, quickly made his way back to the lot and right back to the airport, using his finely honed Jersey driving skills, that at one point sent Alexa and her car seat sideways! Once we arrived in sunny Florida the fun continued. As it turned out Carrie had left home without a car seat and she called to tell me that she was at Sam's Club buying one and would be at the airport to get us shortly! After putting together and installing the seat, we were on our way. We made it about 5 miles when I was suddenly surprised to see Alexa climbing into my lap, grinning and saying, "I did it!" She had successfully escaped from the new car seat and was rather pleased with herself. Coincidentally, as we quickly got out of the roadway, we pulled into a Toys 'R Us parking lot. In we went to purchase ANOTHER seat. This one with 5 point harness straps! It seemed only natural that we would also have to stop on the side of a major interstate to let Alexa go potty before we could call it a night! That was day 1 in Florida!
As for the rest of the trip, we hit up many of the big tourist attractions, Bok Tower Sanctuary... Busch Gardens... Sea World... Aquatica... We took our first airboat ride in the Everglades... And we even took a mini vacation-within-a-vacation to Miami's South Beach!  One of the highlights of the trip was getting to visit with Joseph, Aunt Carrie's nephew. Alexa has always enjoyed the company of children just a bit older than she is. She was fascinated with Joseph's story telling abilities. They often consisted of "poop, diarrhea and barfing" tales, each of which would receive high praise from Alexa in the form of "Tell it again!" The two kept Carrie and I laughing in the front seatof the car, and I will admit we even participated in some of the silly (and gross) stories! Joseph's new baby sister, Jillian, also garnered some attention from Alexa, though Joseph is the clear favorite!
There were many firsts on out trip as well. Alexa picked her first orange off an orange tree. She took a dog, Kota, for a walk...this really is a first, as she held the leash all by herself! She made her first visit to Sea World and was in awe of the killer whales! We took an airboat ride in the Everglades, a first for me as well! We even saw a gator, or a "crackalator" as Alexa became fond of calling them! As an added bonus, we saw our first Alligator Wrestler in action! It was creepy and weird...just as we had expected it would be! We spent a morning at the local antique car show in Lake Wales and Alexa was allowed through the bouncy maze, something she has been too little to do until now! She was all smiles and laughter. She was so proud of herself! Along with Joseph and Leanna, she saw her first 3D movie, "How to Train Your Dragon," which I highly recommend to all ages! The 3D glasses were not a complete success, and although she never covered her eyes or asked to leave, she told me afterward, "That was not a movie for girls," and added, "That movie was all smoke and fire." And since we are not natives of Florida, we put the kids in the Hurricane Wind simulator booth at the local mall! They laughed hysterically for the full 2 minutes as the winds reached 70-something MPH! And on our last night in Miami, Alexa had her first celebrity sighting when we stumbled upon a fundraising event for Olivia Newton-John's charity!  We spent some quality time in and by the water, both beaches and pools! Alexa had an opportunity to spend some time with Kaytie and Lily, twin daughter's of an old friend from high school, Angie. She and the girls, as well as her son Nic and her mom, joined us in Miami for a day at the beach and had us over to their house for an afternoon, allowing the girls some down time to play kitchen, watch cartoons and swim in the pool. Angie, Carrie and I had fun catching up on old times and things we've missed out on in one another's lives as the years have gone by.
One might think Florida was exciting enough...one would be wrong! Alexa decided to make one night exceptionally exciting, or maybe frightening would be a better word to describe it! After a quiet day in town, Alexa, Carrie and I were sitting down to watch "Glee," when in a split second, Alexa has inhaled a bead that she was playing with. Stuck entirely too far up her nose, Carrie and I had no choice but to bring her to the Lake Wales Medical Center ER to have it removed by a professional! Turns out the doctor didn't do much. Alexa was scared after his initial exam and, after he had left the room to presumably find an alternative way to remove the bead, she began to cry. Carrie noticed that the bead had become dislodged and I was able to push it out of her nostril! I was so excited that I placed Alexa on the bed and ran out to tell the doctor that it was out. Carrie remained with Alexa and tells me that she began to laugh as soon as I left the room and said, "I'm the silliest!" Since then , when the incident has been mentioned, Alexa insists that it "tickled." I hoping she understands from our repeated warnings, that it would not be wise to do such a thing again!  We spent one of our last day in Florida at Busch Gardens. We tried to see more of the animals on this trip. But we made sure to find a few rides just as the park was closing! A favorite for Alexa was the rollercoaster, which she rode 2 times in a row! This child is fearless! And if a rollercoaster that lasts half a minute and doesn't even go upside down can still manage to make my stomache do flips, who is going to ride the big ones with Alexa in 10 years?!? I am such a wimp!
We were gone for a long time! Although we made the most of our time in Florida, Alexa often asked about those things that are familiar to her, family members, friends, our house, daycare. I reminded her that we would return to Vermont a.k.a. "mont" and that we would see everyone again. I explained that some new people live in our old house. I explained that we would get a new house. These were emotional moments for me. The days and weeks leading up to our trip to Florida were stressful to say the least. I'm grateful to have had a few weeks to spend with Alexa just trying to have fun and do new things. I'm grateful for an amazing friend, who through the ups and downs of life, has been here for me unconditionally!
Here are a few more random photos from or trip. I took far too many to post them all here. For those of you who may not have figured it out, just click on one of the photos below and it will open larger. You will then be able to scroll through the pics in larger format. Oh, and I think we have finally reached a point in Alexa's development where it is important to document her quotes, so I've added another page for this.
 On Wednesday, October 14, 2009, we boarded a plane for Tampa. This would be flight # 5 for Alexa. Coincidentally, Jamie had a flight to Rochester at the same time as ours and so we had a quick get together in the Continental terminal before leaving Newark. Alexa was so well behaved on the airplane. She sat with Daddy to check out the sights below and put a smile on several faces! We arrived on time, Carrie and Tim greeting us with iced coffees from Starbucks! The heat was overwhelming. Little did we know it would not last long.
 now this is the way to travel!  Our first stop…Baby Jillian’s house! Jillian is 3 weeks old and I knew Alexa would be so excited to get her hands on her. Jillian is beautiful and so peaceful. We just loved her! We visited with Jenny and Jillian for a bit, went out to lunch at Hooters (yup, Hooters!) and then set out for Carrie’s house in Lake Wales.
 Alexa & Jillian  Mike & Jillian  At Hooters! Don't ask!!!  Carrie & Tim's house in Lake Wales  coincidental Hang Ten pose! On Thursday, we picked up Joseph after school. Excited doesn't begin to describe how Alexa felt when she saw Joseph! Joseph was equally excited but less willing to demonstrate it on camera! We all went to Wet ‘n Wild in Orlando, minus, of course, Jenny and Jillian.
Paragraph. After watching Joseph on the waterslides, Alexa grew curious and decided she would give it a try. I was apprehensive, but I knew Joseph would hang on to Alexa tight so, we watched as the two came sliding down with grins from ear to ear!  On the kiddie water slide!  in the wave pool  Joseph took a break to meditate  We even took Joseph on a BIG waterslide and he seemed to really enjoy it! We took a float around the lazy river which was more work than it should have been considering it was a “lazy” river! Unfortunately, thunderstorms rolled in and our day came to an end.
On Friday, we visited Tina at work and she made this for Alexa…  Joseph embellished it and Alexa was kind enough to wear it briefly to oblige Joseph!
 Leanna, Joseph & Alexa Friday evening, we packed into the car and drove to Tampa for Zoo Boo at the Lowry Park Zoo. Carrie’s stepsister, Amber, and her daughter, Leanna joined us. We went last year to this annual Halloween event. The kids rode the rollercoaster and Joseph and Leanna jumped around in a big house filled with foam. As usual, Alexa loved the pony ride and this time she was unaccompanied as we were not permitted to walk with her. Wow…she really is a big girl now!
 Leanna & Joseph in the Foam House  Saturday, the weather turned chilly for Florida standards. We went to a local historical site, Bok Tower, for the first annual “Boktoberfest.” Bok Tower Sanctuary is comprised of beautiful gardens, a butterfly house, live Oak trees covered in Spanish moss and views of Lake Wales and surrounding areas. It was a gorgeous day! Joseph picked out a pumpkin to carve, the kids “caught” butterflies and had their faces painted! Alexa fell asleep and the afternoon was growing colder so we headed back to Carrie’s house for the evening.
 Bok Tower  Jenny and Jillian came to Lake Wales on Sunday morning and we stopped by some flea markets. While Tina watched all four kids (and baked sugar and peanut butter cookies), the adults drove to find the pieces necessary for Joseph’s Halloween costume. Tina helped put together a tail and crown to complete Max from “Where the Wild Things Are.” I can’t wait to see pictures. Later that afternoon, we said goodbye to Joseph, Jillian, and Jenny. We are going to miss seeing them so much!
 Alexa with Gary a.k.a. Paw-Paw It was a really cold night and when we woke up on Monday, everybody was feeling a little under the weather. We couldn’t decide whether to go to Disney or not, but we finally made the decision to go. Carrie stayed behind to rest.
This was Alexa’s second visit to the Magic Kingdom. She was just over 1 year old the first time we came back in April 2008.  April 2008  We headed for Fantasyland to ride It’s a Small World, Cinderella’s Golden Carousel and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Then it was on to see Mickey and Minnie’s houses and a ride along the Walt Disney World Railroad. Alexa drove a race car at Tomorrowland Speedway and we visited Monstropolis. Or final ride was the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
Here is Alexa on “It’s A Small World” in April 2008 and on October 19, 2009…  First pair of Minnie ears!  they are even personalized!  future race car driver! So here we are, on our plane home. As I type, we can see NJ below…  NYC  Giants Stadium (new and old) Alexa did great on the plane. She kept busy with her blocks and occasionally tickled the young man (an NYU film student) sitting next to her. He didn’t seem to mind!! Some random updates: Alexa pronounces “l” as “h” and I think it’s the cutest thing. For example, “like” is “hike” and “lollipop” is “hollipop.” Another one of those things that will soon be just a memory. She also adds the letter y to many words lately, for example, “blocky” or “coldy.” So many quirky little Alexa-isms!!
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