One year pictures

We finally got around to taking Alex's one year pictures. In the past month Alex has become a lot more vocal, imitating sounds and "talking" quite a bit. It'll be fun when those babbles turn into words! He also took his first independent steps (Feb 12th) and now takes 3 or 4 steps at a time (but only with lots of encouragement!). He moves all the time and is constantly bouncing from one toy to the next. He also likes to explore...especially any bathroom. Flushing the toilet is a favorite activity!
We had Alex's one year appointment yesterday and he is developing normally. He is in the 75th percentile in height and 50th percentile in weight. Long and lean, which is tough to believe with those chubby cheeks!

Alex's One Year Birthday!

Today was Alex's one year birthday!!! It was a very special, fun-filled day for all of us. God blessed us abundently by allowing us to be Alex's parents.

Alex had day-care today so I left work early, picked up treats and had a little party with Alex's day care friends.


and then, at home, Alex opened gifts....

and then we went to McDonalds and Alex had his first Happy Meal!

We concluded the night by going to our church small group and having cake and ice-cream. Alex was timid at first...

...but he caught on very quickly!

Boulder cousins

Alex and I are in Boulder, CO this weekend visiting Jenni (my sister), Chad (her husband) and Samuel and Lucas (Alex's cousins). A highlight was going to a community center and playing in the really cool kid pool. We even went down the waterslide! Alex enjoyed crawling around the zero entry area. And last night we went on a carousel at the mall...another first.

Alex seemed overwhelmed with silliness when he and Samuel were splashing in the tub and when they were jumping in Samuel's crib. They'll have lots more opportunites to play when the Hoyt family moves to Minnesota this summer!!!

Grammy Cheri and Alex

Grammy Cheri (Grant's mom) has been here this week with Alex. They've had a great time together and it's been a nice break for us too! When we went out for Valentine's Day, Alex was waving goodbye even before we were ready to leave!

Here's some pictures from their time together:

Squishy Face

Alex now intentionally tries to make us laugh... and it works! His latest trick is "squishy face." It'll be fun to see his silly personality develop even more in the coming years.

Go Seahawks!
Anna