On the 12 th day of Christmas..

So I think Christmas is finally over here. It has been a full week of non-stop presents for Alex. Last Sunday we went to a party where we played Dirty Santa. I brought along a present that a friend had sent for Alex so she would have something to open. Then on Monday we came home to a box of presents from Dan's sister and her family. Thanks so much guys, Alex loved everything including the picture of her cousins.

On Tuesday we packed up and drove to Mississippi to be with my family on Christmas. Our family usually has our get together on Christmas Eve. Alex was inundated with presents from everyone in the family. The big hit of the night was the Dora doll that you can take in the bath tub.

Last night, we went to the Zoo Light Safari. Alex got to ride the carousel, and the train. She even touched a snake.

We didn't actually get the snake touching on film, mainly because we would have needed one of those photo finish cameras to see it, but we did get the reaction after touching it.

Alex begged to go on the train, unfortunately, it took almost 30 minutes of waiting in line to get on the train. The ride was exactly 6 minutes and 20 secs. Alex wanted to get off the train almost as soon as it started and announced when we got off that she didn't like the ride.

Dan's mom came into town last night, so there was yet another round of presents from everyone. Alex of course, loves everything and woke up bright an early to play with the toys today.

She also found the bag of hair bows that were given to her. She never wears them, but today she had me put 3 in her hair. They lasted about 5 minutes.

Finally, her is Alex playing with the much asked for gift from Santa. Her Choo Choo train. I'm not sure what she likes best, playing with the train or setting up the tracks.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I for one, and ready for 2009.

Some random Alex quotes

Almost daily I come in to work and have a cute story to tell about Alex. Usually it is something she says because she is 100 lbs of attitude in a 23 lb body. I thought some of you might enjoy a laugh as well so here goes:

Several weeks ago Dan thought it might be nice to surprise me by taking Alex to see Santa while I was at work and have pictures taken. That night when I came home, Alex was really excited. I knew they had gone to the mall that day, but I wasn't sure why. She jumped out of Dan's lap and immediately ran up to me shouting " I not suppose to tell you we took pictures!" I laughed so hard I cried. One because Dan really thought a 3 year old could keep a secret and two because when Dan asked her did she tell Mama their secret she kept saying "No, I not suppose to tell her we took pictures"

The night before Dan left for Korea, we decided to go out to dinner. Steak is a rare and expensive thing over there, so Dan wanted a good steak. When I came home from work, Alex was excited to see me as usual. I picked her up and started asking her about her day. Dan then asked her if she was ready to go. She looked her Baba and in the same tone of voice I use to talk to her she said "I need to get my purse and my wawa (baby doll)".

Yesterday, Alex was apparently feeling rather contrary. At some point during the day, just minutes prior to her nap, she decided to fire our friend, Leslie, who watches her everyday.
She started by telling her "You're driving me crazy" She then proceeded to tell her "You can't be in my house anymore" and "I'm going to drive you home". At which point Leslie laugh and told her they would just discuss this with Mama. Alex immediately laid down and took a nap.

I think Dan and I may be in trouble as Alex gets older if she has this much attitude at 3 years old.

Long over due update

I know it has been a while since I've blogged, but in all fairness, it has been very busy around here. I can hardly believe it has been 5 months since our forever family day. Most days it seems like Alex has always been with us. She is doing great and really has latched on to the idea of Christmas. She even got pictures taken with Santa, although I need to scan those in order to post them here. Here are just a few pictures I've taken over the past 2 weeks.








We put up the Christmas tree, the Monday after Thanksgiving. Alex really enjoyed helping hang the ornaments. I even showed her all the special ones we have acquired during the wait for her.








Since Dan will not be home for Christmas, we gave Alex our present to her early. Don't worry, Santa is still scheduled to visit Alex at Grandma's house on Christmas. As you can see, it is a cute little kitchen. Ever since then, she has been cooking her little heart out. I don't know how many pretend meals of bacon and eggs, grits and pasta we have eaten.

Today, we baked sugar cookies and the decorated them. Other than a premature opening of the sprinkles, which resulted in a sprinkle shower, Alex was a big help. After we finished the cookies, we took some to neighbors next door.

Finally, this is one of about 25 different pictures I tried to take today for our Christmas card. As you can see, I still haven't got a decent shot. Alex doesn't sit still for long, so half the pictures were blurs or the "odd" face after the actual smile.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hopefully I'll have some decent pictures to post of Alex's first Christmas.