4 Things

Food......where do I begin?  Alex is 9.5 months old and still doesn't really enjoy food.  I've tried rice cereal, beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, bananas, strawberries, potatoes and really everything else you can think of.   I would like to wean him by the time he's one, but I have no idea how that is going to happen.  The last couple months I would have him try food here and there, but I've decided that maybe he needs a really consistent eating schedule like his nap and bed times.  Soooo I'm on day 1 of feeding him food before I feed him breast milk....he was not happy when I made him eat oatmeal when he woke up first thing this morning.  If he could he would live off puffs, yogurt melts, and breast milk.  Maybe he's just really picky or maybe baby food is too bland for him?  In the picture below he's eating Spaghettios, gross I know, but I'm willing to try anything to get this kid to start eating food.  Don't get me wrong I'm glad I've been able to breast feed him this long and plan on doing it until he's one....I'm just a little worried about how I'm going to stop. Another thing I'm worried about is all those teeth, yikes :)

Alex is very curious these days.  He loves to empty drawers and cabinets.  I kept asking Al if he would childproof the cabinets and he would always say I will later.  One day I was gone for a few hours so he had to deal with Alex emptying everything.  When I returned home the cabinets were magically childproofed.  

Alex can stand when he lets go of things for about 10 seconds and he claps, it's so cute. When we try to get him to take steps he sits down, so I'm buying him a walker in hopes to teach him to walk.

Dinner with Jenny and Haydee at Granville Cafe.  I haven't seen Haydee since I lived in Utah and Jenny and Haydee used to be roommates in Provo.  5 years later we all live in LA, Jenny is in my ward and we figured out we both knew Haydee from Facebook.  It's a very small world. 

It was a great dinner full of laughter!!  Hopefully we make this a regular thing:)

Rose Bowl Madness

The night before the Rose Bowl Parade you can walk around and see all the floats. Since we live down the street we decided to take a sneak peek.  We just happened to run into Kenny G.  I didn't even recognize him until Al said something.

This year the Rose Parade was on January 2nd since the 1st fell on a Sunday.  I immediately thought of everyone in Utah who always complains about holidays being celebrated on different days when they fall on a Sunday. It's not just the Mormons :)  

Some friends in our ward let us sit with them where the parade begins.  They had been camping out for 2 days for these seats so it was so nice of them to let us crash.  Alex and his new corny smile....I laugh everytime he does it.

This next picture is great because Al said "look it's Seal"....hahahah  No Al he's on Dancing With The Stars.

It was so great to sit at the beginning of the parade.  Everyone on the floats is happy and full of energy. Last year we sat towards the end and it goes so much slower and the bands and everyone else is over walking  the 4 mile parade route....lol

Oregon's float

There were jets that kept writing messages in the sky during the parade.

Our friend Lacie's mom is in the black riding the horse.

This float is the best....it includes a pool with a surfing dog, wooo woooo

The Lubbock Marching Band?  Lubbock is a teeny tiny town where Al went to college at Texas Tech.

The guy behind Al was cracking me up.  He was seriously standing on Al and Alex and he recorded the entire parade.  I wonder if he knows you can buy it on DVD?  

The final float!!

Our group.  Thanks so much Laura for letting us sit with your family!!

Oh and then there was the Occupy LA people that thought they were part of the parade.

So many bizarre signs.

People were burning incense, yelling, and acting like weirdos.  

Occupy Condoms?  

After we recovered from the parade we walked down to the Rose Bowl.  Coby and Al ended up going to the game while I stayed home and played mom, such a nice wife.

It was 85 degrees, so hot, and Alex was so sleepy.  My cue to go home.

This was an old Ambulance turned into the Manbulance...lol   You should have seen the inside of it, complete with a flat screen tv, radio, grill, mini fridge, chairs and everything else.

It was a great start to a new year!

A New Year With New Resolutions

On New Years Eve we hiked Runyon Canyon with Adam and Victoria.  

Every time we've been to Runyon it's so smoggy you can never see the ocean.  One of these days I need to hike it after a rain storm.  We couldn't have asked for better weather....80 degrees on December 31st, amazing.

Alex was still off his schedule from Hawaii, so he fell asleep in the Bjorn with his dads hand as a pillow.

That night we hung out with some friends until Alex got too sleepy.  Adam broke out his old school Nintendo and we all got to reminisce our childhood.

Victoria ordered the world's largest pizza.  I tried to compare the size of the pizza to Alex.

Victoria could barely hold it.

Alex enjoyed the crust and he was not letting go of it for anything.  

The best family photo of the night....I should have worn something sparkly.

Al winning at Mario

Al beating Mario

We played Imaginiff and watched Rockin New Years Eve, pretty crazy.

I'm not a big board game girl, but as I get older I find myself liking them more and more.  I may need to   add some games to my Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders collection.

  In 2012 I'm going to be more organized, more productive, more giving, more thankful, kinder, more patient and appreciate the little things.  Oh and Al I'm going to try to be less bossy, but that might get in the way of me being productive which I believe trumps the less bossy goal.  Happy New Year!!

Hawaiian Dreams

Our last morning in Hawaii we hiked to Diamond Head with Kaj and Nikki. This is a view of Diamond Head from our hotel room....it's the peak to the left.

This is the volcanic crater of Diamond Head

The entire hike had amazing views.

Lots of stairs to hike

We made it to the top!! The reviews on the website said it was a strenuous hike, but we made it up in about 20 minutes, we are that good.

My Boys

Soaking up those last rays before real life starts again.

This guy was so entertaining to watch.  He was wearing a speedo with a face mask and then he was putting his socks on in the sand.  There are some weirdos out there.

After we checked out of our rooms we went to the flea market at Aloha Stadium.  It was cool to see the stadium, but I could have lived without the flea market.  As Al says all flea markets are the same and all they have is junk.  I'm beginning to believe him.

Alex has a new obsession.  He likes to be in the cockpit driving and now he knows how to control the music....uh oh

We had to return our car at 5pm and our flight didn't leave until 10, so we got to hang out at the airport for 4 hours.  It was pretty painful, but at least Alex slept the whole way home on the plane.  Maybe red eyes are the way to travel with babies.

I don't think Al's parents read this blog, but if you are thank you for everything.  It was a great Christmas.  We love you!!