Memorial Day Weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend was a busy one for Alstan. Grandma and Grandpa Van along with Aunt Amie came to visit, he went swimming in his new pool for the first time, and his Cousin Brittany graduated from high school. Here's a video of the weekend events.

Outside

Here are Alstan and Dad running around outside in the freshly mowed grass. We have to enjoy the days when the grass is actually short enough to run in as Dad doesn't get to it quite as often as he should. When it gets too long he just has to run down the hill on Bill and Louise, the neighbors, side. They always have shorter grass than us.

NBA Playoffs

Here are Alstan and Dad are enjoying the NBA playoffs together. Alstan likes to find the ball on tv and say "ba, ba, ba", chill out with a freezy, or flip the remote like Dad does. Of course, next year I'll work on teaching him that college hoops are better, but he may still just be interested in the bouncing ball.

Toy Box

One Year Old

Here is a REALLY late picture and some information from when Alstan was one year old. First is the picture of Alstan at one year old side by side with his Mom at the same age. The big, brown eyes definitely come from Mom.

This is also his measurements from a year old, which I forgot to put in after our doctor's appointment.
Height: 28.5" and in the bottom 11% (at the doctor's office, but he was really closer to 27.75" when we measured at home).
Weight: 19 lbs. and in the bottom 4%.
They no longer measure his head size.

The Chase

Here is Alstan and Dad's favorite game. Chase Me! Once in a while I can get Alstan to chase me first, but that only lasts a few seconds and then he wants me to chase him again.

The Chase - Slideshow

Yummy, Yummy

Mom and dad have found that by giving Alstan a snack at about 7:00 at night he can sleep through the night. Here Alstan is having quite a meal of his pear. (And he did sleep through until 6:00 that next morning!)

Sign Language

Here is Alstan showing off his signing ability. He now knows "all done" and "more". He is also really increasing his vocabulary, but several words sound the same. For example, "ba" can mean ball or book. There are several other words he's working on too like "ca" (car), "cha" (truck), "sie" (outside), "jsue" (juice), "die-die" (bye bye), "I-sa" (Lisa - the sitter), hi, uh-oh, and dad-dy. He says ma ma too, but only when Jessie isn't around. In the all done video you can also here him trying to say all done. I'm not sure, but in the more video I think he's starting to say thank you, but that's probably just my kid is smarter than yours syndrome.

Talking on the Phone

Alstan doesn't usually talk on the phone when someone else is on the other end, but he loves to talk into it when there is nobody else to talk to. I think in this clip he may be imitating his Mom when she's laughing with one of her sisters on the phone.

A Time to Work and a Time to Play

Alstan loves helping mom and dad out with chores. Now that he has his own rake, he can give dad a hand with the yard work. He loves being outside, so this is the perfect opportunity to work and play.