When life gives you Mount Lemmon

The weekend before last (or a few days ago in Melanie Standard Blogging Time), we spent Saturday picnicking on Mount Lemmon with friends.





The site was beautiful, with a great view



and, to Alexander's delight, a little creek.



Some disembodied snowman parts were scattered about despite the sun. Ben, Alexander, and Darrick attempted artificial limb procedures with minimal success.



Alexander remembered his notebook, of course. He carries a notebook everywhere these days. He fills them with drawings (Daddy, puppy, eyes) and the letter O. The pages with scribbles are likely code for his plans and ideas regarding snacks; things to put on his head, in his mouth, or both; and world domination using an army of dogs.



We ate, drank, ran around, poked sticks in things, threw and kicked a ball around, and threw things at each other.



Alexander and Lauren experienced the customary game of pass the child.





But I was glad to get my little guy back.



The older girls climbed as far as possible from the rest of us freaks, no doubt talking about electrical engineering or whatever the kids are into these days.

Trees and nuts

We bought some fruit trees for our backyard. There's a little nursery next to our vet with very reasonable prices. An old German guy who got his degree in philosophy from Texas A&M runs it.

We bought a peach tree




And a pear tree




And an apple:



After helping his dad plant the trees, Alexander celebrated. He's got this weird thing with putting objects on his head: buckets, lampshades, various articles of clothing that have one thing in common: they aren't hats.





Then he spent some time using the sink for his workout. He's getting buff.



Yes, lamest blog ever. After the armpit entry, I figured I could phone this one in and it would still be an improvement.

Hair of the Blog Contest

Those of you with weak stomachs or simply a smidgen of class, please turn away. Read no further. Look no further.



















Seriously, stop scrolling unless you are truly prepared for the big hairy monster at the end of this blog. Do you need a warning from Grover?







Fine. It's your choice. But my lawyers insist on a disclaimer:

I cannot be held responsible for any nightmares, psychotic breaks, projectile vomiting, compulsive shaving of strangers, or complete loss of respect for me that may ensue after you see the following graphic images.


OK, let me begin with the backstory. Rachel decided to have a little contest. See the full description and rules here.

Participants chose a body part to enter, removed the hair completely from said body part, then proceeded to let hair grow unhampered, wild, and free for the next three weeks. We were to provide weekly updates on our blogs or send our photos to Rachel. I opted for the latter because I knew I wouldn't have time to blog on it as required. Actually, I realized that if I managed to blog about my hair growth every week, you all might expect me to blog about Alexander that frequently. I just couldn't risk setting the bar that high. I've got work to do (on Facebook).

Anyway, I did promise to blog at the end of the contest, which is tomorrow, so here, for your viewing disgust and dismay, is my entry in the Hair of the Blog contest, starting with week 1.

I call it Chia Pit.

My first photo:



After a week, I was a bit worried. How could I compete with the sasquatches that had entered this contest? No offense, ladies (and Rachel).



(Yes, he had a nose job during that first week. He's kind of sensitive about it, so please keep your comments to yourself.)

By week two, I realized I needed to do something to coax more hair out. I tried a drip irrigation system, fertilizer, Rogaine, a snake charmer, and I even considered applying a hairpiece:



And now, after three weeks, I can actually see enough to tie in a knot. If I had really small fingers.



Now I know what you're thinking (if you are not too stunned by this inanity to think): I don't stand a chance. My hair growth is paltry. Most of you probably had babies born with more hair than this. I am, in fact, eating a peach at this very moment that sports more growth than my poor, sparse pit. To win this contest, I would need to somehow convince everyone that they do indeed see, in my pit, something like this:




But here's the thing: The contest winner is the one who gets the most VOTES. There will be no official data collection, no measurement of hair, no shave-and-weigh. All I need to do to win is convince all of you (and by extension, everyone you know who has a strong stomach) to vote for me.

So, tomorrow or over the weekend, please go to Rachel's blog and vote for me and my Chia Pit.

A vote for me is a vote for the underdog. And the underarm. Really, you just can't go wrong. Except that I shouldn't win. Really. I mean, go look at the Cousin Its in this contest. Then vote for me anyway.

Partay

We finally had a party for Alexander's second birthday. First, we had to get the swingset built ("we" meaning Darrick):






Then on Saturday, everyone came over to celebrate with us. We played outside and then had Alexander's favorite food: spaghetti from Tony's deli!




Darrick and I made an Elmo cake. He ended up baking it while I fixed our Internet connection, then I tinted the icing and frosted the cake.





Then Alexander opened his awesome presents and the kids ran around like maniacs while the adults had beer, then espresso, then second dessert: cannoli from Tony's. If you don't leave bloated, it's not a good party, right?

Alexander rides into his second birthday

Alexander's birthday was Thursday. We spent the day making age jokes and reminiscing about his youth.

His birthday this year is really more of a collection of days related to his birthday. Darrick is building a swing set this week, so we're planning to celebrate once that's up, next Saturday. It's a little late, February and all, but we have to take advantage of Alexander being calendrically challenged while we still can. (He's still stuck on the switch from Julian to Gregorian. Phht. Babies.)

I'm even going to bake a cake.

Just thought I'd give you time to let that sink in.

And Alexander's birthday celebration began a couple of weeks before his birthday. He got a sweet Yo Gabba Gabba coloring book with crayons from the Bearse family. He LOVES it. And this was his expression when he first saw Nana and Papa's gift for him.



He approached it cautiously, as he should approach any horse. Especially one on skis.



But once he was on, he couldn't stop smiling:




And for those of you who were thinking our boy might be retarded because he hadn't talked yet (you know who you are--I found the online pool), well, he has started talking up a storm.

Witness his new favorite phrase:

December Shenanigans

A lot happened in December. We went to Minnesota, where Darrick's sister, Dawn, and her husband, Joe, took us in off the cold, cold streets. We were there for two storms, one that closed down 94 from Alexandria to Fargo, as well as some record-breaking cold days. On the way to Christine and Jim's wedding, we did a 180 in the rental car, actually ending up in the same lane, just facing the car behind us. (Yes, I was driving.)

Grandpa and Grandma Mallon came down to visit, and later in the week, we braved the trip up to Alexandria, where Alexander got his first pair of snowpants and went out to play in the snow. We forgot our camera on that trip, so we'll have to wait to post the photos they send us from one of those antique cameras that hold film.









We visited with all kinds of Bearses: Grandpa and Grandma, and Alexander's Uncle Eric and Aunt Jené, and his cousins Charlotte and Andrew. Plus, we saw Uncle Greg and Aunt Jeannie and cousin Randi among many others when we celebrated Christmas. Grandpa took the kids for a sleigh ride around the backyard. (Yes, that's a plastic storage lid with a rope tied to it.)





We met up with various friends throughout our stay, for pizza, beer, wild animal rides. The usual.







Near the end of our stay, after not napping for most of the trip, Alexander experienced the effects of sleep deprivation on his mood.



But he had a good time at the rehearsal dinner, entertaining folks with his beat boxing and general hamming.




He cried throughout Jim and Christine's wedding, which was beautiful, so I don't blame him. I got a little weepy myself. Look at my beautiful sister. Just look at her. Go on.



Too bad Darrick missed most of it. He spent the entire ceremony holding Alexander out in the foyer. But the boy got a second wind at the reception and danced the night away. Yes, that's a twenty-dollar bill he's holding. My brother Joe lent it to him to play with. Uncle Joe's sense of age-appropriate toys is uncanny.





After we got home to 70-degree Tucson, we had yet another Christmas. Alexander opened gifts from us (Jeep Big Wheel and Spiderman punching bag) and from Nana and Papa.