Ready Set Go!

This video of Alexander is pretty self explanatory. From what I remember he seems to be talking earlier than Benjamin. Alexander does some signs, but if he thinks he can say the word well enough to be understood, he won't do the sign for it.

Shrine Circus 2010

Ryan took Benjamin to the Shrine Circus (and now that Ryan's a Freemason I'm sure the Shriner's is next... but I digress...)
It took a while for Benjamin to warm up to this clown, but once he acknowledged the truck Benjamin was holding, Benjamin liked him.
Ryan was confused when he saw Benjamin shaking this clown's hand twice. He then realized there were two identical clowns.
This is Benjamin's first experience with cotton candy. As you can guess, he was a mess afterward. He "whined to get a [flashing/clashing sword], but it didn't work because Daddy said I could ony get one thing and I picked cotton candy"... "So your daddy is consistent? That's good".
Benjamin really wanted to go inside this random van and was sad it wasn't part of the exhibits.

Kendall and Stacy's Rehersal Dinner

My mom moved Alexander's car seat and didn't realize he was supposed to still be backwards facing. By the time I got there, it was too late. As you can see, Alexander is as happy as a clam to be a "big boy"... there was no going back.
Give me all your lunch money!
I would say, "I look great in this picture"... but I'm trying not to be too narcissistic.
The happy couple. This has been a long time in the making, but we (unlike a lot of people) knew it was inevitable.
How is it that Ryan and Kendall unknowingly both have their tongues hanging out? They must be brothers.

Alexander's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Alexander's birthday two days early with Ryan's family.
This is Alexander's birthday cake. It was a carrot cake with strongly flavored orange frosting... not a recipe I'll repeat. Benjamin decorated it very liberally with the sprinkles, which didn't help the texture because the sprinkles made it rather crunchy.
It doesn't look like Alexander knows quite what to do with the cake in front of him... Is it animal, mineral, or vegetable?
Xander smash!!!! It looked like he was making meatloaf. I don't think he fed any of it to himself, but he did enjoy playing with the cake.
I took Alexander to get his photos taken on his birthday as the tradition goes. I dropped Benjamin off at Merrick and Malachi's before hand which I'm thinking was a mistake. Maybe Benjamin could have made Alexander smile. It didn't help that he fell asleep on the way to the photo studio. Alexander has such sensitive skin. He has a red mark on his forehead from when I changed his shirt.