Burdick's

Amy and I went to Harvard square and got some famous L.A. Burdick hot chocolate. I tried the white chocolate hot chocolate and Amy got the milk chocolate hot chocolate. They also have dark chocolate.

Chalky

Chacarero is Adam's most favorite place to eat lunch/dinner on the days he doesn't take his own. It is a Chilean place. It is in the financial district close to where he works. I am always jealous when I hear that he got a "chalky" for lunch.

They really only sell one main item besides a few sides. The main item is this delicious sandwich. The bread is a big, round, thin bun. Then they put an avocado paste on it, thin sliced beef or chicken, cheese, and they top it off with fresh green beans. You can also add some more spicy sauce as well, which is a must. They are so fantastic! I made sure to take Amy there. This place should be on Boston's top 10.

Vacuuming

Alex loves the vacuum. He has a few friends that have little vacuums and that is what he wants to play with when we visit them. We decided to get him one for Christmas. He is just practicing in this picture on Christmas day in the new robe that Amy gave him.

Aunt Amy

Amy came to visit us for Christmas. This was one of Alex's favorite things on Christmas day. He got all wrapped up in the scarves Amy and I received from our grandma and grabbed his new teddy bear and just wanted to sit on Amy's lap. He got to the point where Adam would say, "Alex look here is another present for you." Alex would just look over at him and stretch out his arm and hand and wait for Adam to bring it to him. He was acting like a king and was unwilling to relinquish his favorite seat.

Alex has had so much fun with Amy. He even shared some cracker.

Boots

Alex loves to play with Adam and my shoes. He just couldn't keep his feet out of some of our visitor's boots either. It was hilarious!

Jammin' out!

Hot Ticket Items

We had a really good Christmas. These are a few of Alex's gifts he received. He also received some new clothes, books, treats, and a few other things.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve we had our neighbors from Nepal over for a little party to show them some popular American traditions. They invited us to their Christmas celebration back in October.
(Ankit, Carolyn, Adam, Aakrit, Kiran, Anu)




We gave them a stocking full of little gifts. We watched "The Light of Christ" dvd from the church. We had good food and made gingerbread houses. It was fun.

Our Little Tree

This year due to limited space we got a little tree. I decided to make a popcorn train to string on it. This reminds me of my Grandma McNabb. When I was still living at home we used to make popcorn trains for our trees and my Grandma would sit for hours working on it.

Pedicures

Paige taught Alex the luxury of a pedicure when she was here in November. When Adam or I are not available to give him one he has no problem taking care of it himself.

Children's Museum

We went to the Children's Museum in Boston today with some of Adam's coworkers and their children. This car was by far Alex's favorite thing. He sat in it for probably 45 minutes without getting out and just switched back and forth between steering the steering wheel and pushing one of the three buttons it had. It was one of the most basic toys/activities there and it was what Alex loved the most.



This was in the construction room at the museum. We are still trying to give Alex some farm background. Keith would be proud.

I remember when I was still in high school I was helping my dad build a decorative wall outside of a care center. Carl, Keith, and I did most of the work with my dad. Keith was only 11 years old and he first learned how to drive a little skid steer similar to the one in this picture while we were building the wall. He became the official driver on the job.

The Real First Word

About 6 months ago Adam and I were fed up with Alex screaming at us whenever he wanted/needed something. Since he wasn't talking yet we finally started to teach him sign language. He has quite a few signs under his belt now, most of which have to do with him needing something. For example - thirsty, food, milk, more, all done, etc. One that we have taught him in the last month is "please", which is signed by making a small circle motion with your hand on your chest. He signs please for everything; when he wants help opening a container, unzipping a bag, or wants a bite of something you are eating.

Tonight Adam was eating a cookie and Alex's eyes got all big and he started whining for some and Adam said, "can you say please?", which means "can you sign it?" Alex all of a sudden rubbed his chest and said out loud "beez." Adam and I just looked at each other thinking, "did he really just say that?" So we tried it again and by the time the peppermint oreo cookie was gone, he had said it four times. We cheered and clapped for him. He got a kick out of the applause. After he had ended his spell of politeness, he signaled for more applause, by maintaining a steady clap to keep us going. We are happy with his first word.

Girls

I am pretty sure that almost all of Alex's friends here in Boston are girls. Just to name a few: Clara, Kaija, Maia, Gabriella, and Abigail. This is Clara.