Into the Second Year
Being one year old means that you no longer have to face backwards in the car. That must have been pretty boring for him all that time. Sister Ava must like it, too, since now we don't have to keep asking her if he's awake or asleep.
Wrecking the joint waiting for Dr. Lawrence during Alec's one year checkup, which actually came about three weeks after the real birthday due to some scheduling problems . He's now 27 pounds, by the way.
Later the same day. He rallied from all the shots that he got and was able to have fun shopping at Target. Here, he and Ava find me hiding between the shelves on the next aisle.
Hanging out with his friend Nate at the end of the day at daycare. Nate's about six months older and has walking for some time. Alec is still a non-walker here (one or two steps at best), and so we haven't dressed him up in shoes regularly. We do put socks on him, but, by the end of the day they're often M.I.A. as is the case here.
This needs a caption, but I don't have one....
As of this day--December 22nd--Alec was still only taking a step or two and then dropping to his hands and knees. Once on the floor he likes to crawl rather briskly, as he does here with Cousin Morgan when we visited her family's nice new house for the first time.
Grampa John, Uncle Mark and Mommy all give him some encouragement to walk a greater distance on his own. Then we all left him to figure things out on is own....and we noticed this (12 mb avi file). Those big open spaces in the house seemed to have given him the room he needed.
Enjoying a bonus gift-opening session at Aunt Sessie's a few days after Christmas.
Back at Uncle Mark's house ten days later for New Year's Day, getting special treatment from Cousins Valerie and Morgan.
Mommy's Aunt Shirley gave Alec several books, and here she reads one of them to him...
...and Great Uncle Ed has some fun with him.
Grampa John reads him one of his other new books...
...and Alec listens closely.
Fourteen months and no haricut yet....Soon, probably.
Back at Uncle Mark's house a few weeks later....Grampa John and Cousin Morgan (the birthday girl) try to get Alec to knock over the tower of boxes.
Leaning on my leg as we watch some of Toy Story 2 on the computer one evening. His attention span is growing each week.
Then he went to Mommy on the couch and watched some of a Wiggles show. He's definitely aware of who they are and reacts to them when they're on, which includes dancing along at times.
February 6th, 7:30pm...The time for the first haircut has arrived! We booked this time because it was the last appointment of the day, when the place was almost empty.
Waiting for Nancy to finish with her last customer before it is his turn.
One last look at the hair that will soon be gone. Or maybe he's practicing how to hold in his gut.
Sister Ava taunts him with the golden tresses that she gets to keep...for now.
At last...the moment of truth. Nancy said that he did a nice job....
...well, most of the time. Without Mommy there to talk to him and read him his favorite books, it would've been way worse.
A kiss from Great-Grandma Stella at her 95th birthday party in February.
