New Job Here I Come!

Most everyone knows at this point that I was offered a new position at another university here in town. I don't have any specifics like email, phone, or office number...you know, in the event anyone wants to send me dozens of flowers for congratulatory purposes BUT I will send out an email update with that information as soon as I find out. My last day here is April 17th and I will start my new job May 4th. Woo Hoo for 2 whole weeks off in between!!!

PE Revisited!

My office recently participated in a get fit challenge and as one of the weekly activities we played kickball. Well, the Bursar's Office thought it looked like so much fun that they challenged us to a game. The one game quickly turned into a tournament and the first game was last Friday. The Bursar's office took it over the edge and actually dressed up for the occassion. We had so much fun and can't wait to play again this week!

A chance encounter

Tonight Ricardo took his mom, Alexander, and I out to dinner to celebrate my new job that I was offered yesterday. Our friends Nicci and CJ came to enjoy dinner and celebrate with us. While we were there we had the opportunity to visit with my friend Amanda and her parents and see her son Cooper for the first time. Cooper was born a week before Alexander and Amanda and I had many pictures taken together while we were pregnant. It was so fun to see Alexander and Cooper together. Cooper is just total cutie and is SO happy and you just can't quit looking at his big blue eyes and that cute smile. Alexander had just woken up from the car ride over and was a little stunned. We just kept laughing because Cooper obviously wanted to play and Alexander wasn't sure what to think. Between the sounds, lights, smells and this person pawing at him, he was in shock I think. But, we got a good laugh out of it none the less.

Sandy, these are for you!

My friend Sandy at work gave me a hard time on Monday because as she said, I was slacking in the picture area over the weekend. I tried to explain that there wasn't anything going on but she wasn't buying it. Now, keep in mind she has grandkids of her own but always takes interest in Alexander's newest activities, especially his thick, dark Latin hair of which we've cut 3 times in the 5 1/2 months of his life. So, Sandy, these are for you!!! Enjoy!

Another Great Weekend!

It was beautiful again this weekend and we got outside and enjoyed the weather. I was finally able to get out in the yard and clean up some of the winter mess that's always left behind once all the snow melts and the mud starts drying up. And, I was able to get out the patio furniture which always makes it feel like it's really spring time. We took Alexander to Cheeseburger in Paradise this evening for dinner and sat outside. He just kept looking up at the pretty blue sky and watching the birds. We realized that was probably the first time he'd really been able to do that and really notice it. He just sat in his car seat and played with his toys while we ate. Such a nice treat when your kid behaves at dinner. We took a nice walk to the school down the street and Ricardo used the carrier and sat on the swing with him. He really seemed to enjoy the birds eye view from the carrier. I think most interesting though was the blog post I read today from my best friend Lori. Her daughter Madie turned 8 this weekend and like her, I can hardly believe it. She mentioned how becoming a mom really changed her life and how she just couldn't find it in herself to let Madie out of her site. I totally understand how she felt and still feels today. Once you have a baby you start seeing things differently and start to understand how other people with kids feel about being parents. Ricardo and I both love Alexander so much and just enjoy every single second of spending time with him...even if he's spitting the yucky green beans at you that he obviously cannot stand!

Can't get enough!

We spent the weekend enjoying more spring like weather. We did some shopping on Saturday...groceries and what not and then on Sunday we drove up to Clay Terrace and used a gift card I got for my birthday. It's an upscale shopping center in Carmel and it's all outside. We used to go there all the time when I was pregnant and this was the first time we took little man. We ate lunch at Red Robin and then walked around and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Alexander eventually fell asleep in his stroller. When we got home all 3 of us crawled into bed and just relaxed and spent time together. Little man was more excited about the fact that he had all of his clothes off and was allowed to lay around in his diaper. He eventually fell asleep again and before we knew it he was drooling all over our bed. I just had to snap a shot of that of course. We just get the biggest kick out of his sounds, his love of yellow vegetables, and all the new things he does every day. He's becoming quite the comedian!

Funny Story

So I started to clean and replace the ribons on all of Ricardo's many medals that he won in his Karate tournaments. Well as I watched Ricardo try to organize all of this stuff his mom decided to tell me this funny story. ***When Ricardo was in his first tournament at age 4 he was SO sad afterwards because he didn't win. She said he cried the whole rest of the day. She felt so bad for him that she left the tournament, ran home, and grabbed one of his dad's medals. She took it back to the tournament and presented it to him as if he had won. She said he was so excited that he'd won, he actually slept with it that night.*** I nearly fell over laughing and at the same time just imagined this little guy trying so hard and being heart broken that he didn't win. I thought it was the cutest story.

First taste of warm weather

We were so excited to find that it was going to be so warm this past weekend. When I got home Friday night I immediately took little man outside for a while. We just sat on the porch and enjoyed the fresh air. Saturday it was 75 degrees so we got out the shorts and gave Alexander his first taste of summer. He LOVED the warm weather...you can see that from his cool look with Aunt ChaChi's sunglasses on. On Sunday we headed to Kokomo to see the fam. My mom gave him more summer clothes thankfully, but of course the great temps ended today so there's no sporting any warm weather gear this week unfortunately. We figured out this weekend that Alexander is starting to attempt to stand with support. Ricardo had him stand on his legs a couple of times and he was leaning on him but stood there for a while on his own. He also started eating carrots and squash this weekend. Both of those veggies went over without a hitch.

Just a Monday evening...

First time eating in my new chair...

The High Chair Adventures...

This past weekend we decided to get Alexander's high chair out of storage and put it together. So, we left little manny with Aunt Mel and rant to get it. Well our trips are never easy. The storage place was super busy so we had to wait to get in and then while we were driving home there was a little dog in the road. I made Ricardo stop so I could get out and coax it off of the road. Thankfully we stopped in front of a cop's house and he called animal control. Well, after we got home we find Melanie standing there with Alexander...she had taken off her sweatshirt and he was half dressed. You know it's never good when the person watching your child is half frazzled when you return home. Well, she had a code brown situation while we were gone. She said she kept pleading for him to calm down because he was so mad. She said she kept saying, give me a break, it's been a long time since I've changed a diaper...it's been a long time please calm down. LOL. She even took pictures of his happy face after he got changed.

Like Mommy and Daddy

I scanned a few pics of both Ricardo and I to compare how much Alexander looks like both of us. Each set of pics ranges from 6 months to 7 years.

What if you walked up to your desk to find a giant Snickers from a work buddy or your best friend called out of the blue to say hello…what about unexpected flowers from your spouse? What would the smile on your face look like??? Well, that same smile is what I see every day when I get home from work. At 4 months, I’m sure Alexander still doesn’t understand that I’m gone most of the day (thank the Lord) but when I get home and he sees me for the first time, you’d never know it. He might be laying on the floor playing or watching his favorite cartoons and when I walk in and stand over him, he looks up at me and smiles the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. Probably just like the one you’d have if you found that Snickers on your desk, got that call or those flowers unexpectedly! Who knew a little person would make you want to get home so bad at the end of the day!!!!

Weekend with family

This past weekend my family came to visit for the afternoon on Sunday. Thankfully Ricardo had the camera out and ready to go because I was too busy chatting. My parents and my grandparents came for the day bearing gifts and cash for Alexander. We had a great time chatting, playing with Alexander, and eating some yummy pizza. On Monday Alexander had his 4 month doctor appointment. He's getting so big so fast!