Fall/Winter Fun

I finally found some time to update the blog. It's been a while, so there were lots of pictures to post. I am trying to figure out how to post pictures from my new phone, so bear with me while I try to figure out a new way to post pictures here. And NOW, here's what we've been up to for the last several months:

Grandma and Grandpa got Alexander a microphone for Christmas. He loves to perform for us! It has an applause button and a laughter button- he's also working on perfecting his stand-up comedy routine.

He will bow and say "Clap for me!"

His first acoustic guitar- Cars version

Merry Christmas (in February) from the Gladdens!

The Gladden family Christmas picture

Gladden cousin Christmas fun

Alexander's preschool had a super-fun Thanksgiving feast- they go ALL OUT!

Look at the little man chomping that corn-0n-the-cob!

We enjoyed visiting with Steven's aunts and uncles at the Gladden Thanksgiving.

The Locy Thanksgiving included a family round of cards- Erin's cousin Morgan was down South and joined us... Alexander thought Morgan was TOO COOL.

Fall fun in the leaves with the cousins

Steven loves all the fun he can have as Alexander gets older.

Ailee Fern Locy joined the Locy family in September. She is such a cutie pie!

Alexander is going to be such a good daddy one day-

he is so sweet with Baby Ailee.

My friend Jane had a GORGEOUS fall wedding at the end of October. We were very thankful the Grandparents could watch AO while we were celebrating with Jane.

Alexander's first fall camping trip.

We are already planning a spring camping weekend this March. So much fun!

Happy Halloween from the Man with the Yellow Hat!

Curious George is Alexander's current FAVORITE.

Trick-or-treating with the cousins

Preschool Halloween cookie decorating

Costume parade

Alexander's first day of preschool

August-October were extremely busy for us. We drove to the Marcus Center in Atlanta daily for Alexander to go through the intensive feeding therapy program. He made so much progress during our time at the Marcus Center- he went from getting 95% of his calories from the special amino-acid-based formula to only getting 8oz of the formula/day. While we still have a ways to go, we are so proud of how far he has come! Alexander also had a clean scope in December. We were so thankful to know that our current food/medication combo seems to be keeping him healthy.

Little Man Sings the ABCs: Password is orion

The password is orion.

Little Man Sings the ABCs from Erin Gladden on Vimeo.

Spring/Summer Update

Yikes- I realize that it has been a WHILE since I posted pics on the blog. Where has the time gone? Well, here is just a sampling of the last several months...

Steven has such a gift with a camera! We are lucky to have a photographer in the family. I have been wanting family portraits, and Steven worked hard to capture these for us... very affordable, quality photography I might add.

Alexander loves to go outside... anytime... all the time. Here he is "lawnin'" with Dad.

Our journey with Alexander's EoE continues to challenge our family. Alexander has been doing okay, but his battle with food is an almost daily struggle. We go to feeding therapy weekly and have been waiting, waiting, waiting to get into a top-notch Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta. We are hopeful that our insurance will approve the program as "medically necessary" for Alexander so we can help our little guy continue to grow and thrive.

We had a laid-back, fun-filled 4th of July. Steven introduced Alexander to "fireworks" with these poppy thingees. Oh boy!

Between Uncle John heckling the Tea-Party float and the people beside us squirting the float participants with water guns, the PTC 4th of July parade was quite entertaining. A good time was had by all!

Coloring time with cousin Liam during a recent visit.

Alexander still talks about his ride with Grandpa on the tractor at the farm in Ohio.

We made the trip to Ohio/Indiana to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed time with extended family, and Alexander had fun hanging out with his cousins.

My Aunt Pat and Uncle Wilmer were totally surprised by the anniversary party their children planned. It was a fancy affair with great food, a slide show, and even a replica wedding cake.

We also made a trip to Auburn to celebrate CG's 60th birthday with a roast/toast party in June. Of course Steven did lots of Comedy Central "research" before writing his hilarious roast for CG. Good times!

Play date at the pool... thanks Ami!

Finding the fishies in Grandma and Grandpa's pond--- Alexander loves feeding the fish.

It's summer!

We celebrated Alexander's 2nd birthday with a music class birthday party in May. AO seemed to be a little overwhelmed with everyone he knew in the world in the same room at the same time making music together.

Happy Easter!

At the Georgia Aquarium this spring

Fun with Grandpa

Our good friends Bobby and Emily had a beautiful wedding in Tallahassee, FL. We were thankful for the excuse to hang out with our favorite people and the "date weekend"-- both sets of Grandparents helped out with the babysitting for us.

Our big project this spring was re-seeding the backyard with grass. It involved a long weekend of rotatilling and raking- thankfully my parents were able to help out.

There's nothing like sitting back and watching my boys clean!