The same day we baptised Alex, we also threw him his first birthday party.  We figured go big or go home - haha!  Seriously though, we just wanted to celebrate with everyone while we were in Regina and figured it was easier to have one BIG day than two separate events. Not sure if it was the right move, but in the end, the day was a success (even if Mom, Dad and Alex were spent!)

The "Birthday" portion of the day involved a BBQ at the Maciag homestead.  The morning had been so nice but as the afternoon began, the skies turned ominious.  Not what you want when you are banking on seating people outside!  In the end, it only poured and hailed through the cooking portion of the party.  Poor Tim. He had volunteered to BBQ and then he had to deal with us mean party-goers taking pictures of him BBQing burgers in a hail storm.  Thanks Tim, you get a double thumbs up from me!!

After this brief moment or two of torrential rain, the sun reappeared and everyone was able to head back outside and the festivities resumed as planned.  We had some kids fun... like a bubbles station set up under a tent on the back lawn.  

When it came time for cake, the kids were in for a real treat!  My sister had made Alex a "Bird" cake.  Bird is the main character in Grumpy Bird and Boo Hoo Bird - books by Jeremy Tankard that are favourites of Alex.

Alex really didn't know what to make of his cake.  He did touch it, but he made no move to eat it.  He was so tired by this point in the day that he looked on the verge of a breakdown.  In stepped Dad to the rescue with an impromptu reading of "Boo Hoo Bird".  

(Neil, saved the day here... all the kids gathered around and listened keenly to the story)

After cake, we opened presents.  Alex got so much loot... a Rider jersey and hat, a Cars Ball Pit, Little People Sets, Megabloks, Clothes, Books, etc.  Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled!

More pictures from the birthday party can be found here.

We decided to have Alex baptised while we were home in Regina at Bread of Life Lutheran Church.  Pastor Carla performed the sacrament and Alex was well behaved and only cried a little ;)  We asked Kathy and Joey to act as sponsors for Alex.

After the service, we hosted a Baptism brunch at Grandma Knecht's condo.  Her building has a party room on the main level and it made for a nice place to sit, visit and have something to eat.  

More pictures from the Baptism can be seen here.

If you would like, the Baptism portion of the service was filmed. It is approx. 7 minutes long.

Our second month with Alex flew by so fast. We spent half of it in Regina visiting family. This meant we took our first flight with a baby. I was nervous about this as I still felt uncomfortable nursing in public and was concerned that I did not yet possess the ability to keep my baby calm and quiet on a flight. I kept envisioning Alex having a complete mental breakdown and thus N and I being loathed by all the other passengers. I am happy to say that everything went smoothly. Upon take-off he pooped (he’s my little pooper and puker) and then screamed for about 10 minutes. At that point, the seatbelt sign went out and we were able to change him. After that he slept for the rest of the flight. I could not have asked for more. I was very pleased with his first flight. I was also happy that Air Canada allowed us to gate check our stroller and car seat. I had called them prior to our flight and had been told we would not be able to do this. So I was pleasantly surprised as this made for a much smoother airport adventure than I had prepared for.

Once in Regina, we were busy for the first few days with N’s sister’s wedding festivities. First, there was the rehearsal dinner and the next day there was the wedding. Ashley and Alex got along smashingly and Auntie Kathy was a beautiful bride.

Alex and Ashley: best buds already.

Kathy & John Lamont ~ August 27, 2010 

It was nice to see all the Knecht aunts and uncles at Kathy's wedding.  The timing couldn’t have been better as we don’t get to see them often and they all got to meet little Alexander. Alex was a very well behaved baby at the wedding, but just like his dad he was not really inclined to dance... so we just hung out and visited with everyone.

Mom and Alex hanging out at the wedding reception. 

Alex also got to meet and hang out with his Maciag cousins, including his new best bud, Ellamae. Alex and Ella are only 1 month apart and they got along really well.

Grandma Maciag really enjoyed surrounding herself with all her grandchildren.

We also got together with the other 2010 baby in our family, Ms. Gracie Skolney. We lined up all three babies and took a kazillion pictures. We are all sure they will grow up the best of friends.

Gracie, Alex, Ella

My cousin Samantha kindly and generously agreed to bring over her fancy DSLR camera and take pictures of N, Alex and I. The results were fabulous. You can see the pictures here.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back home to Toronto. N had flown home a week earlier and so it was just Alex and I on this flight. I managed ok though I do think flying without N was challenging and did not enjoy it much at all.

A few days after being home, it was time for Alex’s two month check-up. He is a big baby!! He weighed 15lbs and was 25.1 inches long which put him in the 90-95% range for his age. He also got his first round of immunizations... he cried only a little - what a trooper! I cannot believe how fast he is growing and learning. The time really does fly by.

Here’s a link to pictures from month 2.

Last week was Spring Break here in Ontario. For us teachers that meant a week away from work!! Naturally, I needed to make plans to get out of town. My sister proposed I fly to Regina so she could throw me a baby shower. I am nearing the end of my second trimester (was at 25 weeks last week) -- perhaps a touch early for a baby shower but I didn't think I'd have a better time to head home for a visit so we made some arrangements and I spent the week in Regina.

Click here for pictures.

Thanks to everyone that came out and thank-you, thank-you, thank-you for all the awesome baby gifts. Everything was much appreciated!

Christmas was the usual insanity.

This year N and I were in Regina from Dec. 21st-28th.

Christmas with the Knecht's was early -- December 21st this year.  We had dinner and gift exchange at Kathy's.  Food was good.  Canasta was good -- the ladies did well and the gents managed to make it interesting in the end.  Ashley was super cute opening her gifts.  

We didn't actually meet with any of the extended family this year as everyone had their own travel plans, including us - Cuba!  All six of us Knecht's were spending the New Year in Varadero so the bulk of N's and my time was spent with my family over Christmas.

Knecht Xmas pictures: here!

Maciag family Christmas was busy! Tess, with a bit of help from my mom and I, managed to crank out two big meals: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I think this may have broken her spirit a wee bit -- it is just too much work to do that kind of cooking two days in a row.   Spending two days in the kitchen while others around you are watching movies and playing games is, I'm pretty sure, disheartening.   My guess, is that this is the first and last year of it.  

Christmas Eve we had supper and then some extended family came over for the rest of the evening.  The ladies enjoyed pleasant conversation and the gents played hour after hour of Madden 10 on the Xbox (definitely a theme of this xmas).

Christmas Day I needed to be a grown up and suck it up and not arrive at my mom's at 6:30AM to open presents like all people who LOVE presents.  This year the plan was to meet at noon for Xmas brunch.  This is a funny tale as Tess and Geoff were delayed due to a vehicle malfunction and by the time they got to Mom and Dad's, Harry was ready to open presents... so we did.  Thus we had brunch at 4PM setting back Christmas turkey supper to almost 9PM that night.  Insane, I know -- but hey, that is how we roll.  After supper, we played some Catan: Traders and Barbarians... it was a lot of fun... Catan rules!

Maciag Xmas pictures: here!