a visit from Baby Jesus

I told you she's perfected this pose.  She sat like this for the entirety of "Baby Einstein, Sahara Animals".

The big event of the day was the biggest poop debacle ever.  (I decided not to include a picture of said debacle, because I still want her to talk to me when she's old enough to review this blog.)  I'll spare you the details of what happened, but you should know, that in the end, there was a poo shmear on the floor with an image of the Baby Jesus himself.  Watch for it on e-Bay. 

Alex is hard at work

Our poor little chicken had a rough night, and today wasn't so great either.  She's getting 4 new teeth up top, and she's been working real hard getting that job done.  

Between Motrin sessions last night, I turned the light on, and I swear, her face looked like a glazed doughnut from all the snot leaking out of her nose.  

That thought, at 4 in the morning, made me laugh out loud.  

She's saying something real important

Have you met my pointer finger?

Alex constantly has this finger out pointing at animals and people.

How big is Alex?

We say, "How big is Alex?", and she puts her arms in the air like such.  Clearly she is waaaaay advanced.  By the way, today marks Alex's 9 month birthday!

Yoga pose

Does anyone know what this Yoga move is called?

Alex has perfected this particular move.

we shared some good times MJ

Michael Jackson - New Music - More Music Videos

New toys came today!

Alex now has a laptop, a car, and a farm with a duck, a pig, a cow and a horsey.

Oh yeah, Alex can totally say "oooooooooom", like a cow (duh!).  

super traveller

Party girl pulled an all-dayer on our way home from Michigan.  She was such a super traveller though.  I tried to capture an image of her eyeballs after a long day, and this is how she posed.

Seriously, her eyes looked as though she spent several hours in a wind tunnel.

crack the egg

Looks like Mama needs a geography lesson before she can begin home-schooling Alex.  What I meant to say was...

We got to play on a trampoline right on Lake St. Clair.  After I played "crack the egg" with Alex, we practiced our crawling.

Toddlers and Tiaras

We took the chicken swimming today.  There were several kids at the pool who could have been stars on that show titled, "Toddlers and Tiaras".  Seriously, I thought this whole group of 4 year olds were "flirting with the melanoma".

(And no, this is not a topless baby pool.  BFF is wearing a bikini top.)

Give and Take

Alex is all about giving and taking now.  She gives you her cracker, then she takes it back, again and again and again and again....................

Aunt Jeffrey

Alex got to meet her Aunt Jeffrey today.  He's an animal police officer and he owns a farm.

Alex was fascinated with his stories.

ball stepper

She stepped on his balls.

NUFF SAID

Grandpa Franco smokin' the cool-aid flavored hooka in his Turkish sombrero.

NUFF SAID.

Mary and Dee Dee

Meet cousin Mary and Aunt Dee Dee.  They were chillaxin with the chicken while she was splashing around in this bucket.  

Don't tell anyone in the Motor City, but cousin Mary has a Honda vehicle, AND a Honda lawn mower.  That's basically just below a puppy killer if you live in Detroit.

I happen to think you're just real sensible cuz.

Do you like me now?

Remember cousin Kelly?  Yeah, she still doesn't like babies.  That doesn't bother Alex though.

Listen kids, don't smoke

Alex, just so you know, this is what you'll look like if you choose to defy your mothers and smoke.

"Yes please."

MM to the 6th and her kids made the trip to come see the Keelaones.  (Thanks y'all).  Those kids were so super polite.  They didn't say a peep, until the ice cream pie came out.  Then they both whispered, "Yes please".

Puh-leeeze

"Puh-leeze stop bothering me while I'm getting my hair done."

Here is Alex at her cousin Kelly's beauty shop in Michigan.  She sat under that hair dryer and ate the InStyle magazine while BFF and I were getting waxed.  

Debbie Downer

I've watched this about a dozen times and I absolutely come undone every time.
Be patient and sit through the first 30 seconds, then sit back and enjoy.

She's a roller

It's official folks, she's on the move.  Today Alex figured out that she could roll all over the floor and chase the cat.  She is so darn proud of herself today she can hardly stand it.

she's walking, sorda...

Since Alex hasn't mastered walking yet, she uses her circle of neglect to maneuver her walker. 

SAVE THE TOMATO!!!

HELP SAVE THE HOT TOMATO!!!

reading time

I signed Alex up for the Summer Reading Program at the Library.  She needs to read 8 hours in the next 2 months in order to earn a free book.  According to my calculations, that's 15 minutes a night for 2 months.  

We're starting now, cuz I don't want to have to pull an all-nighter come August 1st.  I have some mad procrastinating skills that I mastered in college, and I don't want to pass that recessive gene down to our little chicken.

"Don't worry Mama, I'm not crawling yet."

So my little pocket pal has quite the selection of barrettes these days.  She has pink ones, blue ones, and green ones.

Speaking of green barrettes, Alex can't crawl yet, but she does this super secret slithering on her belly.  The kind where you don't think she's getting anywhere, but the next thing you know, she's worked her way across the room.  Here are just a few examples of some items that really motivate her to slither:

• the cat
• remote controls
• laptop
• documents that need to remain in pristine condition
• mama's beer
• anything sharp
• a piping hot cup of coffee
• expensive sunglasses

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but Alex is sure to jog my memory the next time I put her down and leave the room for a nanosecond.

I'm so exhausted...

The chicken decided half way through her rice and lentil dinner that it made her gag.  She was also really tired.  She would grab the spoon, then rub her eyes, grab the spoon, then rub her nose.  She cracks me up.

swing time

We stopped off at that park today for some swing time.  We just beat that storm that you can see in the background.  

2 Dollar Tuesdays

2 dollar Tuesdays used to mean something totally different to me.  

2 bucks to get into this sweet pool on Tuesdays!  It was cold today, but the chicken started flapping her arms when she caught a glimpse of all this water.  

We both got in, she splashed, shivered, then cried.  Then we got out and she was cold and hungry.

Funny...but this is totally how I remember swimming as a kid.

Wagon

The neighbor kids pulled Alex in this wagon for one solid hour yesterday.  When they would stop and take a break, Alex would scream until they started up again.  

beauty queen

I'm not sure why, but the chicken looks at least 2 months older when she wears a barrette in her hair.  

Make your own caption...

lunch with sistras

We went out to lunch with Alex's Aunts today.  

They're going on a church choir trip next week where they're not allowed to talk to boys or they could risk being sent home...uh oh.  

Good luck sistras.  

Thanks for nothing Ritter

I took the chicken to her first firefighter rally today.  The chicken really spoke her mind.  She wanted to know why the governor lied to her mommy.   

It seems as though our Gov. pulled a fast one on us and made all sorts of empty promises...the Collective Bargaining bill he promised us has been Vetoed. 

Don't worry Virtual Friends, we stayed clear of the tear gas. 

biggest guy ever

This is not an optical illusions folks, he's just a really large man.

hob nobbin

The chicken is rubbing elbows with the politicians.  She's lobbying to get a safer work environment for her mama.  Check out that guys shirt...

Pimpin her ride

We spent the evening playing with the neighbor kids.  Alex goes nutso when she hears them playing in the yard.

They decided to clean up the Lincoln Navigator tonight.  Yeah, this ride has 24" spinner rims with MP3 capabilities.  

Butterfly Sauna

Alex and I headed to the Butterfly Pavilion today.  (Actually it was more like a butterfly sauna with loads of sweaty summer camp kids.) 

If any of my Virtual Friends are thinking of going, I would recommend wearing a white shirt.

Those butterflies were on me like white on rice.

butterflies and a tortoise

It was really cool to see so many butterflies among so many sweaty kids.  The tortoise was an unexpected bonus.

shifting gears

I love your crooked smile kid!

8 months!

Holy 8 months!

Are you freaking kidding me?  Has it really been 8 months already?

I put the Hulk in the chair for Alex's monthly photo shoot, and she got all excited to see her friend again.  

She's cutting teeth folks, and it's not pretty.  She's getting her bottom two teeth and she's real private about it.  She won't let us in to see or feel her mouth.  She actually doesn't even like me to talk about it. 

She's not crawling yet, but she sure likes standing.  She could stand and play her bilingual piano for 20 minutes..."Ro-jo...Amarilllllllllllllloooooo...Ciiiiiiirrrrculoooooo."