Ice Skating!

I had a week off from work, and while it filled up quickly with plans, I wanted to set some time aside to take Lincoln ice skating for the first time. We headed downtown on Wednesday afternoon to hit the ice!

I have fond memories of ice skating down at Riverfront Park's Ice Palace and could not wait for Lincoln to try it out. I knew it was likely that we wouldn't last long (and I was right), but it was so much fun getting him out on the ice for a few times around the rink.

We started out by renting our skates. Toddler size ice skates are seriously the cutest! And made our way outside to the rink. I took Lincoln around the rink a few times and was a bit wobbly having not been on skates in over 10 years, but we made it without falling!

After just a few laps, Lincoln looked at me and definitively said, "All done." I asked a few times if he wanted to try with daddy or with both mommy and daddy and he said, "No. All done." After that Kevin took a few turns on his own and I did a few more laps of my own and we headed out. We were only down there for about 45 minutes, but it was fun while it lasted!

I think next year will likely be even better to get him up and on skates...here's hoping!

Christmas 2016!

I'm not sure about you, but I am definitely not ready for Christmas to be over! Holidays are just too much fun with a little one around and I'm holding on tight to all the Christmas feels over here.

Since we're currently buried under about 2 feet of snow, it's easy to do! We're enjoying holiday eats, playing with all the toys Santa brought us and sipping on hot cocoa and eating peppermint sticks like it's our job. You can bet we will continue to do so until we ring in the New Year too!

I wanted to share some of the (very few) photos I took on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I was too busy enjoying all the holiday feels to take too many photos. We started out Christmas Eve with a fun brunch downtown at Madeline's. My sister Sara was spending Christmas with her in-laws so we wanted to spend some time with her before she headed up to the mountains. Brunch was delicious and kept us full throughout the afternoon as we headed off to Christmas Eve mass and then my parent's Christmas Eve party.

We opened presents with the family on Christmas eve and headed home to wait for Santa! Little man put out Christmas cookies and carrot sticks for the reindeer and was out in about 2 minutes flat.

The next morning, we woke up to Santa's arrival! Little man was stoked to see all of the toys Santa brought and we spent the morning playing with them before the family showed up for cinnamon rolls and quiche! After a Christmas breakfast with the family, we all settled down for some quality naps before heading back down to my parents house for more food! (We do a whole lotta eating over the holidays and we more than pay for it by the time January rolls around).

The day after Christmas, we've started a new tradition where all the adult kids (aka my siblings and I) head out wine tasting to avoid the post-holiday return frenzy. Last year it was my little brother and I. This year, Kevin joined us as well, which meant somehow post holiday wine tasting also turned into post holiday beer tasting (no one was complaining).

I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas! See you next year!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas filled with Peace, Joy and Love, from the Alexander's! 

Card design via Minted

Little Man Says

As Lincoln is talking more and more these days, I want to write down and remember each and every adorable moment. Especially when he's in this stage where his "words" aren't necessarily the right "word." Below is a collection of some of my favorites at the moment!

December 2016/ Lincoln Age 2 and half. 

When asked what he wants Santa to bring him for Christmas:

"Stinky Ho! Ho!" (Garbage Truck Santa) 

When asked something and he doesn't quite understand:

(Raising his hands to his sides) "I dunno mama I dunno" 

At the end of the night, as we get ready for bed:

Me/Kevin: What book do you want to read? 
Lincoln: "Baby book. Paw Patrol"

He LOVES looking at the photo album from the first year he was born and always asks to see the "Ho Ho" (santa photo) of him.

At all times during the day:

"mama lay (play). daddy lay (play)" 

"No popor (porter) No!" (Poor dog can't catch a break).

When asking to put on a TV show and as we scroll through the options on Netflix:

"Wait Wait wait wait wait wait. No no no no no no. Uhhhhh!!! "(when we finally land on what he wants)


While watching his favorite show (Little Einsteins):

"Pat Pat Pat." (On TV: Raise your hands into the air) Ast off!!!!! (Blast off!!)

And finally at the end of the day as we lay down to go to bed:

Me: I love you Lincoln
Lincoln: "Lub You Mama" *Kiss* 

Little Man + Rockefeller Center!

Lincoln and Kevin did a full on East Coast tour and after spending a few days in Delaware with Grandma Chong, they all headed off to Brooklyn, NY to visit Kevin's grandma, Lincoln's great grandma. They only got to spend a short time there, but they made sure to take Lincoln to see the BIG Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

Pictures are a bit blurry because, well that's what you get when trying to reign in a toddler, two grandmas's and some iffy lighting ;0), but these are photos I know Lincoln will look back on fondly for years to come and truly appreciate as he gets older!

A few snapshots from their big trip into the city!

Little Man + Air Force One

Kevin and Lincoln made a trip back east to visit family. They stopped in Dover, DE to visit Kevin's mom, Lincoln's grandma, and then made their way over to Brooklyn, NY to visit Kevin's grandma, and Lincoln's great grandma. I didn't get to tag along this year (stupid work!), but Kevin has done such a great job of taking photos of all the fun they've had and sharing them with me.

One of the many exciting things they got to do is visit the Air Mobility Command Museum on the Dover Air Force Base. Lincoln is into all things trains, planes and automobiles so it was a pretty cool experience for him.

The museum houses over 30 different kinds of air craft, from cargo planes, helicopters and bombers and even one of the older Air Force One planes! Little man was in heaven.

Below are photos from their day.

Snow!!

This past weekend, we got our first official snow of the season. We've had a few light dustings here and there, but nothing that has stuck around and nothing that would allow for snow man building or sledding.

We started out the weekend by moving up opening up our Christmas Eve Box. I wanted to be able to enjoy the jammies, holiday movie and book as well as hot cocoa and popcorn all season long, so we decided this would now be a box we open on the Feast of St. Nick. It set the tone for a very holiday themed weekend!

Since we finally had enough snow, we took full advantage! We took little man out sledding at the best snow hill in town and he loved it! We had taken him last year, but I don't think he has any real memory of it, so it was kind of like the first time all over again. Getting to experience all these fun holiday memories with him is seriously the best!

After sledding, because I was still feeling festive, we set about making our first official batch of Christmas cookies! I'm hoping these will last in the freezer till Santa comes, but they are already disappearing fast.

The festive fun continued into Sunday, when we convinced Nana and Papa into heading downtown to the Gingerbread competition (I failed to take any photos, but here's a link to last year's big event!). After making a gingerbread house in less than 10 minutes, we grabbed a quick photo with the Gingerbread Man and his Gingerbread wife and then headed over to the carousel. Lincoln has been asking for nana and papa to take him on the carousel for WEEKS now and it was finally time!

We rounded out our morning with brunch and then headed back for naps. It was a great weekend!

Journey to the North Pole!

This past weekend, we took little man on the Coeur d' Alene Holiday Cruise/Journey to the North Pole! I have been waiting two years for him to be old enough to really grasp the concept of Santa so we could enjoy the cruise. This year was the year and it did not disappoint.

We found a great two-for-one deal on Groupon and booked our cruise for Sunday evening. Kiddos under the age of 6 are free, so the whole family got to go for $20. It was a steal! We bundled up and headed out to Coeur d'Alene so we could catch the 5:30 boat.

Kevin and I hadn't been in several years, and they changed a few things this year for the better. The most obvious improvement was moving the line indoors! Instead of waiting outside in the freezing cold, we were sent to line up inside The Plaza Shoppes. This made for a much more enjoyable (and let's be honest WARM!!!) waiting period.

While we waited in line, a snowman greeted the little ones and you could grab a photo with him. Elves stood by to pass out candy canes and collect little ones names to be sure they were included on the "nice" list and before long we made our way to the boat to journey out to the North Pole.

Once we were onboard and found our seats, we headed up to the bar to grab hot cocoa for little man and an adult beverage for the the adults. The cruise is relatively short (40 minutes round trip) and takes you by the AMAZING holiday lights set up on the water. Then you arrive at the North Pole and you're greeted by Santa himself! Everyone sang Jingle Bells, Santa read the names of the kiddos on the nice list (Lincoln made the nice list if anyone was wondering ;0p) and it ended with the largest water tree lighting in the US and a fire works show before we headed back to land.

After the cruise, we headed over to The Dockside for dinner and little man's first introduction to a Gooey's Sundae! I'm not sure if he was more excited over Santa or an ice cream Sundae larger than his face, but he was definitely a happy boy as we headed back to the car.

The best part of the night was when he started singing "ingle elle's (jingle bells)" on the car ride home! I'll never forget: " Mama, ingle elles, ingle ells, ingle all way!"

I can't wait for more holiday festivities. The countdown to Christmas is officially on!

Have a great week.

Apologies for the grainy blurry iPhone photos! We did the best we could in the dark!