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.

As the Summer weather makes its way to Vermont, we have made every effort to spend our time outdoors. Over the past few weekends, Alexa, Minna, Ptah and I worked hard in the yard, planting and watering in the garden, already enjoying the fruits (or vegetables!) of our labor! A few weekends back, we found two plant sales and both were supporting local charities so we purchased some unique additions for Minna's flower gardens. It was for a good cause after all! With all of the sunshine and warm weather, Minna's flowers are blooming beautifully!

We paid a visit to Eva, well all the Colquhons, upon our retrn home from Florida. Although it was difficult to see or old home for the first time since moving, it was wonderful to see great friends and catch up. Alexa and Eva played in this giant hole that Eva had dug! I especially love to see how these girls bring out one another's silliest sides!

In recent weeks, we practiced our baseball skills and Minna even filled the pool for the first time this season! Daddy treated Alexa to her very own Bounce House too!

On Saturday afternoon (May 22nd), Alexa and I went to Eva's house to share in her 7th birthday celebration. Alexa seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to play with the older girls. They played in the backyard, built a lean-to, ate pizza and watched "The Princess and the Frog! Alexa had a great time!

Later that weekend, Alexa picked out her first tent while we were shopping. She has been eagerly awaiting her frist night "camping" in the yard! She and Minna promptly set it up and Alexa collected all of the camping essentials, two sleeping bags, pillows, a flashlight, and a bug net. She must have been excited because she didn't even give me a hard time when it came to tooth brushing! Upon my first "check-in," I found lots of giggling, but as much fun as she was having, Alexa wasn't fully ready to spend the entire night otside just yet! I carried her back inside and before I knew it, she was fast asleep in my bed!

Alexa finished the music class she's been attending with Minna on Monday, the 24th. She participated in dancing and playing some of the instruments. She now has some new favorite songs to sing! She enjoyed dancing with some of the other children and she

Alexa continues to spend two mornings a week at her daycare, or school as we call it. She has made some wonderful friends there and often comes home with a special piece of artwork for me to display!

She also continues to love all things horse! She has made the Meadowsong Barn (Minna's neighbors) a home away from home, galloping around and feeding the horses their special treats! It is not uncommon to catch Alexa in her own horse play...She's Black Beauty and her sidekick, Penny, usually played by Minna, is always getting into trouble for something! "Penny, you go in your stall, Penny!" "Penny, quiet! I'm trying to sleep, Penny!" It's all in the expressions though...she keeps us laughing!

Alexa discovered a new favorite movie...about a horse, of course! Disney's "Spirit" has been all the rage here recently.

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 Saturday, December 5th, Alexa and I joined several of our friends to see the Holiday presentation of "The Toys Take Over Christmas" at the UVM Royall Tyler Theater. The set was beautifully decorated and we entered the theater to the sound of Christmas caroles. The kids, Charlotte, Anna, Alexa, Jailee, Magnus and Cameron, seemed quite taken by the story, and it was perfectly timed. Just long enough for the kids to stay involved and manage to stay in, or near, their seats! Santa was a big hit! I'm never sure how Alexa will respond to him. Her first two holiday seasons she has been terrified and our photos speak for themselves! This year, she really seems to understand the icons and symbols of the holiday. She is looking forward to decorating our Christmas tree and she has been dielighted by the lights on the homes in our neighborhood, even asking me when we will put lights on our house!

We have broken from our annual tradition for the past two seasons. For Alexa's first Christmas, we decided she was too little to traipse about on a tree farm in Waterbury. That year, we chose to donate to a local charity, COTS (a housing organization for homeless families in Chittenden County) and purchased a fairly sad looking tree! Bt it was for a good cause, right? On her second Christmas, we returned to a local Christmas tree farm to find a tree. On December 13th, 2008, we stayed closer to home, Williston, and despite the FREEZING temperatures(the weather almanac states a temp. of between 5 and 7 degrees at the time we went ot!!!), we found an ideal tree for the holiday! These are some photos from that day...

This year, we returned to an old favorite, The Murray Hill Farm, in Waterbury, VT! Mike and I had been coming here for years before Alexa was born. It is a moderately sized farm set on the rolling hills of the Murray family's home with views of the Green Mountains, hot mulled cider and hot chocolate served for free on the porch overlooking the trees and a picturesque pond complete with a wooden bridge crossing it!

Weatherwise, it was a considerably different day this year. Not only were the temperatures, a balmy 32 degrees, there was no snow on the ground at all! Mike would soon discover that mud, rather than snow, makes dragging a six foot tree much more difficult! Despite the lackof snow, Alexa greatly enjoyed her ride in the sled throghot the tree farm. Yes, there were some muddy, wet knees when all was said and done, but it didn't put a damper on the experience for Alexa one bit!  

 

It was a nice surprise when the snow began to fall. It gave the day a real festive feeling! Alexa thought it was tons of fun to wipe the "now" off of my coat and hair! And she worked really hard to pull the sled back up the hill!

Oh, and I almost forgot to add...we had a weekend visitor that came along for the adventure...Chippy, or Dippy as Alexa calls him!!

These days Alexa is curios abot EVERYTHING! This means she will go to great measres to find out what she can about everything and anything. She's quite a dare devil! This week I found her here...

We continue to keep busy with lots of toys and the ocassional art project. We bought these plaster fish figurines several months ago. I found them in the closet and decided that it would make a great Sunday afternoon activity. Alexa had a terrific time coloring them all. I worked primarilly on one, the octopus.

Eva came over to visit one afternoon after school! It's so much fun to listen to them play. Today they spent some time playing hide n' seek. Alexa rode around on her bike yelling, "Eba, where are you?" while Eva found some really good hiding spots, including my shower!

On Thanksgiving morning, Alexa watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv before playing for the better part of the day. We made a small turkey and some potatoes and veggies for just the three of us.

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to Church Street to watch the Santa parade. There were reindeer as well, and a lot of kids eager to get their first glimpse of Santa. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and even our local weatherman, Tom Messner were on hand for the festivities. We didn't do much shopping on this Black Friday, bt it was fn to be out and about for a bit in the crowds! The weather was miserable so we did not stick around for the tree lighting that evening.

Lately, Alexa enjoys being a "puppy." She and Minna made a leash last week and Alexa was thrilled to be taken for a walk and receive a treat when she was a "good boy!" Her puppy name is Grommet! Here she is "sitting like a good boy" waiting patiently for her treat!

On Monday afternoon, we picked up Jailee from daycare while her mom went to some doctor appointments. The girls played with playdoh for a while. Alexa said she was making a tree and Jailee told me she was making a tree house! It's so fun to watch them play together! Unfortunately, as the playdate wore on, Alexa was slightly less happy to share her belongings. Perhaps she was tired, but nonethe less, she responded, "Yes" when I asked her if she needed a time out. Not an easy thing to do, but sometimes it's necessary.

For as many years I've known Mike, at each start to the winter season, I hear him utter a familiar sentence, "I'm going to look for snow." It's a long standing tradition that has captured Alexa's interest as well. Back in the day, Mike's snow hunting buddy was Scott MacNeill. It's hard to imagine that anything could break Mike away from Sim City, but as Fall grew to a close and the temperatures began to drop, the snow began to beckon him. As the stories go, Mike and Scott were all giddy about the prospect of discovering those first dustings of snow in Northern Jersey or along Rt. 80 toward Shawnee Ski Resort. Once we moved to Vermont, Mike would take night time rides to Stowe or Smuggler's Notch once the weather maps showed those first hues of blue. Today proved to be the right day to go "look for snow." After a rainy and windy Friday afternoon and evening in the Champlain Valley, we knew the mountains would be sure to please. So we set out for Bolton Valley Resort, Mike's former place of work and our most visited snowboarding spot.

Despite the ominous looking sky, it wasn't too cold. We certainly could have put more thought into our choice of clothing, but we knew we wouldn't be staying long. There were a few local kids testing out their boards and skis, and some dogs running on the trails, jumping to eat the snow as it fell off trees. It was quiet. I must admit I was feeling nostalgic. It has been 3 seasons since I last rode these trails. I was no expert, but I did have fun up here.

Needless to say, Alexa was thrilled. She insisted that she get out to build a snowman. "I want carrot for carrot nose," she said over and over. I really wish we could have all built that snowman, but without gloves, and apparently a carrot, it just couldn't be done. As we were leaving Alexa said, "Let's get out of this cold place." I assured her the cold would be coming to our house in no time! I also reminded her that when it arrives, along with the snow, we would be outdoors, building that snowman. Carrot nose and all!

Alexa doesn't have cousins, at least not in the traditional sense. Mike and I have some extraordinary, close friends whose children we consider like family. So, in that case, Alexa has cousins. But among her family tree...none...yet! Last weekend (Nov. 7-8th), Alexa, Ptah and I made a trip to Connecticut to visit Ptah's cousin Adam and his wife and children, Connie, Sofia and Joseph. Adam is Michael's second cousin. We were looking forward to the opportunity the children would have to play with one another. Something we hope to do more of as the kids grow up. We are lucky to call them Alexa's cousins!

Sofia is 5 years old and Joseph is 2. Together, the three enjoyed playing on the swingset in the back yard on a mild November morning before getting on the road to the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. Despite an incredibly long ride (gotta love NYC traffic!), we finally arrived and had enough time to check out the butterflies and some dinosaur bones!

From the moment we entered the butterfly exhibit, Alexa had her arms outstretched determined to lure a butterfly to her. She even called out to them, "Here butterfly, come a me." Although no butterflies landed on her, Connie and Mike were lucky enough to be chosen by some. This was very exciting for the kids. As it turns out, Alexa was much happier that the butterfly chose her Daddy instead of her!

This was Alexa's second visit to the AMNH Butterfly exhibit. Well, actually her third if you count my visit in Feb. 2007, just about 8 months pregnant! It seems her curiousity for these beautiful creatures has remained a constant!

After the butterflies, we went on to see the Mammals of Africa, some old dinosaur bones and the Under the Sea exhibit.

Although it was a brief visit (both at the museum and with the Mahoney's) we found enjoyment in the day. We are looking forward to many more trips to the wonderful museums in NYC, allowing Alexa to explore and gain knowledge of our history, art and culture while having lots of fun at the same time! It will be great to do those things with her cousins too!

Minna, Alexa and I carved out pumpkin masterpieces on Halloween afternoon. Minna grew her own pumpkin from a tiny seed planted back in the Spring. Strangely, it never turned orange, but that made for a great canvas for a spooky skeleton design. I carved a monster design and Alexa refreed to each cut out piece as cheese! We placed candles inside and they adorned the front porch fro trick-or-treaters to enjoy! Despite the rain earlier in the evening, we did get out for a bit of trick-or-treating ourselves, along with Eva.

We got together on Friday night for a pumpkin carving party at our friend Sara's house. Alexa, Anna and Charlotte, along with a friend of Anna's, colored pumpkins before the mom's carved them! We enjoyed seeing the girls in their costumes, although Alexa was not keen on the idea of dressing up!

Just as we finished carving our pumpkins, the skies opened up and it didn't look like we wold be trick-or-treating this year. We waited it out and at about 6 pm we put our costumes on and ventured out into the windy night. We met Eva at her house and headed up the road to Jane's house and then back down to Kathy's and a few more neighbors before heading back home to have pizza and check out the treats that Alexa had gotten! Despite lots of rehearsing, Alexa was a little reluctant to say "Trick or Treat" at the doors of our neighbors. Eva did a great job of taking Alexa by the hand and helping her up to each doorway! 

Paragraph.