Airplanes

Alex spotted an airplane after church today. Since we live close to Logan Airport we always see lots of airplanes close to the ground. Alex doesn't miss a one and always wants to make sure Adam or I see them too.

Towing

My brothers have a tow truck that Alex played with a lot while we were in Idaho. Whenever anyone else played with it he got mad and claimed it as his. Now that we are home Alex has been hooking up anything that has some kind of a bumper to tow or push it.

Happy Father's Day

Focusing

We started teaching Alex a few words in sign language last May 2010, about when he turned 1, out of pure necessity. He got to the point where he was screaming about everything. It was so loud, frustrating, and exhausting. We started with "more" so he would stop screaming for food. We taught him "milk" so he would stop screaming for milk in his high chair. Then we taught him "all done" so he would stop screaming when he was done eating. We also taught him "please" so he would stop screaming when he needed help with something while playing. He was honestly screaming about everything.

Then last fall one of my good friends told me about "Baby Sign Time". I started checking it out at the library for Alex. He didn't show much interest at first but started to watch little clips here and there in between his playing. He picked up on a lot of signs. I turned on "Baby Sign Time" today for the first time since February. Alex was completely captivated. He looks mad in this picture but really he is just focusing on the tv . . . and he may be glaring at the children on the Baby Sign Time video a little bit. Sign language for Alex has been so wonderful.

Before and After

Alex started to look a little mangey due to his hair getting on the long side. His side burns were below his earlobes and the back of his hair was past the collar of his shirts, which means he would not pass as a BYU student.

We prefer the buzz cuts around here.

Idaho Highlight

One of the main highlights for Alex from our trip to Idaho is when Paige got stuck in the mud while driving the Rhino. I say "highlight" because Alex cannot stop thinking and talking about it. However I do not think it is the kind of highlight Alex remembers with fondness. It was pure and utter torture for him.

Paige, Alex, and I were riding in the Rhino together to go check on the cows. It had been raining a lot the last few days so there was mud and puddles of water every where. Behind and to the right of the barn was a huge puddle and the road was thick mud. Paige thought she could squeeze between the two tractors parked right in the middle of the road out to the field but she couldn't so she thought she would try backing up a bit and get turned around. Well my side of the Rhino started to slide and sink closer to the water puddle. I decided to hop out with Alex, who was helping Paige drive, so that Paige would have less weight in the Rhino. Then there was a wire fence hindering her progress so I had to hold it out of the way while Paige continued to turn around. All the while, Alex was trying to smile and laugh to keep the pressure low but really he was about to cry out of fear for Mammie's safety.

By the time it was all over there were tire marks all through the mud, a huge mess on the side walk, our shoes were caked with mud, and Alex was a ball of emotions and completely worked up. He just kept repeating "guck" for stuck, over and over again. As we finished our stay in Idaho whenever Alex saw Paige he would say "i-thoo" for water, in a worried voice and whenever he saw even the smallest puddle he would say "Ang-ee" for Mammie. Now that we are back in Boston he still looks at any water outside (raindrops, puddles, lakes, streams, etc.) with a worried glance and cannot help but mention "Ang-ee," "guck," and "i-thoo."

Love you.

While we were in Idaho Paige kept prompting Alex to say "love you" whenever he was leaving, going to bed, or getting off the phone from talking to Adam. He says it more like "uv u."

I also have to prompt Alex to say hi and bye to people at the grocery store so that he doesn't grunt at them. Today when we were at Market Basket the man bagging out groceries was talking to Alex and as we left I told Alex to say bye. He turned to the man and said "bye bye, uv u." It was great.

On our way home

On our way back to Boston we had a layover in Chicago. I kept reminding Alex that when we got on the plane it was going to be bedtime hoping to prepare his mind. By the time we flew out of Chicago it was 10pm. We seated ourselves on the plane and after take off I said to Alex "Okay, time for bed." Well that hit a "routine" button for him and he immediately stood up on his seat, tightly folded his arms arond his upper, upper body, tucked his chin and looked at me like he always does when it is time for prayer.

Now I would like to say that after this he fell immediately to sleep but this was not the case. After a couple more trips to the airplane's disgusting bathroom, a book, a number of seat up and downs between mine and his, and an hour later, he finally curled up into a ball on his seat, asked for his blanket, and fell asleep.

Pudding with a fork

We visited my Grandpa and Grandma Sims for lunch. My grandma gave Alex a pudding fun pack to eat in the car on the way home but did not have a plastic spoon to send with it so she gave him a plastic fork. Alex was doing pretty well eating the thick pudding with the fork. But by the time we got home Alex could no longer get the last little drippings of pudding with the fork tongs so he had turned the fork around and was using the top of the handle as a spoon. It was great to see how resourceful he can be. . . when dessert is on the line.

Tractors

Alex really took to the "acko," better known as tractors, this time around in Idaho.



First he loved lining up the play tractors in the backyard and pushing them around in the dirt. Some of these are my dad's from when he was little.



Then he took over Randall's position in the Rhino's driver seat.



Next he realized Greg and Jacob needed help backing up the lawn mower and trailer.



Finally by the end of our stay he had moved up to one of the big dogs. On this versatile, the tires are atleast twice as tall as Alex.