A toothbrush a day keeps the dentist away!!

Among the many things that Alex is learning...toothbrushing is one of them. Too bad he is allergic to the infant toothpaste...at this point water does the job.

OUR LITTLE LION!

Hear Alex's roar right before bedtime!

Hugs and Kisses

Although he has never met them, Alex has become very fond of Clare and Kate Cronley. We think he has a crush on little Kate Cronley who is around a year old. So cute! Get a glimse at what I mean...

16 months already!

Our little man is really 16 months...can you believe it?? What a fun and very fast 16 months it is has been. Let's see what he is up to these days...

Skiiing?



Snow shoeing?



Snow boarding?



...Not so much, but he is weighing in at 21 pounds and 5 oz (only the 6th percentile for weight).
He must be long and lean for his age as he is in the 55 percentile for height (must get that from his daddy).
Here's a few more things Alex is up to:
-Dancing...anytime music is on.
-Playing with anything in sight especially with blocks, balls and books.
-He can point many parts of his body, yes including his bottom as he points to it and says "butt" when he goes #2 (TMI I know but cross your fingers this makes for very smooth potty training!)
-Mr. Independent doesn't need any assistance with the stairs or getting off the couch and beds. He has mastered the backward decline method like a champ even though mom and dad are close by.
-Our little trash man is very tidy. He won't allow any trash to be sitting around as he will glady pick it up and take it to the trash can himself to throw it away. Anyone see my cellphone lately?haha.
-Chatty Alex has a mini vocabulary with the most popular word being "NO." Mama, Dada, ball, bath, light, bubble, down, wow, hi and as mentioned before, butt, are among the others we can identify.
-Loves baths still!...and showers.

-Has 6 teeth.
-Runs, not walks, on a normal basis.

-Can roar like a lion. And thinks a cat, dog, horse, etc does the same.
-Loves to feed the cat and turn on and off any light possible.
-Inhales any kind of fruit and yogurt. Not kidding, he can eat a pear in record time! He also likes his milk but really could care less about the other food groups.
-Eats with a spoon since his favorite cereal is grape nuts...no joke and can eat it by himself.
-As the doctor says, he can understand a lot but is having a hard time conveying to us what he wants so it is causing some hard feelings AKA tantrums. Hopefully soon he can put his words together and teach us a thing or two about Alex's world.
-Finally as seen below, he is already driving at 16......................months!



Whew, he tires us out...we can't wait to see what he will do next!

Rupp Retreat

Not long after the holidays the Dampeers headed to the Rupps in Middlebury for fun get-together! The kiddos had fun together as well as their parents.



JD Rupp graciously shared his toys with Alex.



Wasn't long before they became fast friends.



No better time for a JD sandwich.



Little Ella-bean Rupp had a ball watching the boys play especially her big bro JD!



Thanks for a fun visit Rupps! We had a great time.

Guitar Hero

HaPpY nEw YeAr!!

...and another Happy Anniversary! The Dampeers hit their fourth year of marriage as the new year rolled in. We hope the next 4 years bring us as much joy and happiness!



The Weavers gave us a cheer to not only the new year...but making it another year together!



What will 2009 bring??

On the road again...

Mom and Alex took a road trip to good old Kalamazoo during her 2 week hiatus from work over the holidays. We visited old coworkers, old neighbors and old friends! We had super day!

The girls meet again, so good to see you all!!!



Kyle and Chris Weaver



Alex was telling Chris that his favorite word is NO right now...what is a mother to do????



Kevin Grand and Kayleen Cook



Alex showed Kay his six teeth!! Will the teething ever end?



Angie and Chris Reiter



Alex was telling Chris and Ang that he wants to go higher...afterall his name really should have been Danger Dampeer!

Don't try this at home...

Yep, that's a giraffe on Alex's head!



Mom and Dad went out to eat where they happened upon a clown who makes adorable balloon creations!



Sorry Alex, Barney is too heavy to sit up there.

The fun festivities continue.

On Christmas Day we took a journey to visit Great Grammy Logue along with her kitty Felix.



We visited with Nana's side of the fam while Alex was spoiled yet a little more!



Alex got to see lots of family but missed his Aunt Claire and Uncle Mike. Luckily he got to see her on Thanksgiving.



Back home, Alex found his Christmas stocking stuffed with more goodies...yikes!



Christmas is officially over and Alex has the belly to prove it!

Another Merry Christmas!

The Dampeer's had a fun-filled holiday season.

It all began at Grandma and Grandpa Arklie's house...



...where their grandson was spoiled rotten on Christmas!



Once he got the hang of it, he enjoyed diving into his presents!



However, the boxes...



...and tissue paper weren't all bad either!



Of course Aunt Aimee was able to spoil Alex as well.



For Christmas, she signed Alex up to adopt his very own polar bear family...and he got a stuffed polar bear to keep himself! Wasn't long before he was giving it kisses:



Then Santa brought Alex something he really really wanted...



...a dance floor...



...well, not exactly but he now has his very own table and chair set...which he picked out all on his own!

So much to do and so little time...

...Alex sure was busy getting ready for the holidays!

Alex shopped til' he dropped



He found a few gifts to donate to Toys for Tots...



...and as you can see, he loved them a bit before he gave them away. He gave a book and a stuffed Curious George animal to 2 lucky little kids.




Of course, no trip to the mall is complete without hitting the playland.






Then on to his second haircut! What a big boy...he was thrilled as you can see.



Another chore of Alex's was keeping the Christmas tree hydrated!



Whew, what a busy boy...time for a nap until Santa comes!