cousin emma goes to kindergarten

Alden's cousin Emma had her much anticipated first day of kindergarten this week. She looks like she'll be the hippest little girl in school with a little help from her 0h-so-stylish mamma! Is that glitter I see on your cheeks, Emma? Too cute!! We're looking forward to hearing all about the big day.

nintendo

Alden and his Daddy pulled out the old 8-bit Nintendo recently. Alden insisted on having his own controller so that he could help by pushing the buttons. I think he was fascinated by the whole thing. Thankfully, our ancient system freezes up after about 30 minutes of playing, so the two of them have to stop playing and find something else to do. One can only take so much of the Super Mario Bros. song!

first parade experience

Last weekend we went to the "Celebrate Shoreline" parade. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Alden's favorite things were the marching bands–he did a lot of dancing–and the cars.Alden waited very patiently for the parade to start, and he kept himself busy by trying to entertain the people sitting next to us, and by naming as many objects around him as he could.
We all liked this clown that had super long arms and walked on stilts. We were hoping he would come over to our side of the street, but he passed us by... maybe next year.

future fireman

Alden loves his new fireman's coat—especially the buckles. It's still a little big, but he doesn't seem to mind.

it's OFF!!

The cast came off on Wednesday!! He's having some difficulties walking, but we're sure it is just because his muscles are stiff and sore. The doctor told us it would probably take a few days before he feels better. He's really excited to have some independence back. Yesterday he stood in the driveway and practiced squatting up and down and then did a little bouncing. He's taking some steps, but not too many with out hanging on to something. We're all looking forward to getting back to the playground!

note: for those of you who don't live in Seattle... check out our dead grass. Everyone here pretty much lets their lawn die during July and August, because they are green the rest of the year :) It's totally opposite of Montana!

the last few days of the cast

Here are a few pictures of the last few days of Alden's cast. We were so ready to get it off... it was getting really dirty! Alden got pretty used to it, though. He realized how much noise he could make when he'd whack things with it. His favorite was his highchair. He would swing it up and down as hard as he could and try to get his cup to fly off the tray by kicking the underneath side.

















Here's Alden putting on all the bibs he could find. What can we say... he loves to eat!
















We took Alden to the zoo since he really wanted to be outside, but couldn't run and play. As much as he liked all of the exotic animals, his favorite part was the petting zoo at the end where he got to touch and pet a bunny.
















Here's Alden showing off his cast at Kayak Point Beach.




















Alden at the doctors office, playing while waiting for the nurses to come and saw off his cast. They showed him his leg as the cut it off and Alden said, "cool!"

baby picture of mommy

I just found this baby picture and I was surprised at the resemblance between me and Alden. Actually, he really looks like both me and Patrick when we were babies. For those of you who don't know... being born with a full head of hair comes from both of us. Alden and I share a milestone—we both had our first haircut at the age of two months.