Check out this BIG BOY!

This weekend Rex hit a huge milestone, and quite gracefully I might add.  We have been wanting to move him to a big bed for a while now, but I kept thinking of excuses.  The number one being that the crib was still working just fine.  Josh convinced me to go for it and we were pleasantly surprised at how well Rex did.  

Here he is helping daddy take down his "baby" crib.

After our normal bedtime routine I tucked him in and said goodnight.  Usually he'll talk to himself for a few minutes before falling asleep, but we didn't hear anything.  10 minutes later, nothing.  30 minutes later, still nothing.  I had to peek at him before we went to bed and he looked so sweet laying there in that big bed.  He didn't wake up once and tonight was excited to do it all again.  I'm so proud of him for embracing this change!  We love our big kid!

Some Recent Photography

The past few weeks I've been lucky enough to spend a little time with some of my favorite families, enjoying this beautiful North Carolina fall!  Here are some of my favorites from each shoot.

The Annison Family

The Alder Family

The Wright Family

And thus begins a new season of Duke basketball...

Basketball kicked off a couple weekends ago and we've already been able to go to two games.  Josh and I went alone to the first game and had a blast.  The second game was a "family game" where they reserve a section just for grad students with families.  We decided we would try to take Rex to a game and see how long he lasted.

   

Turns out, after waiting for 30 minutes for wristbands, then coming back to get our seats 45 minutes before the game started...he only lasted about 20 minutes into the game.  It was fun anyway and seriously...who could get mad at this little sweetheart? 

Halloween

So I'm only about a week late on this post, that's not too bad.  We've had a beautiful fall so far here in NC and here are some of October's festivities.

We had a Fuqua Families field trip to the pumpkin patch which was a blast.  Rex got to play in some corn, run through a hay maze, take a hay ride and pick out a pumpkin.  Here he is trying to learn how to smile on command (we're still working on it).

We were a skeleton family for Halloween - here are some pictures from the holiday weekend!

I really love Halloween (due mostly to the candy) but have completely lost my sweet tooth with this pregnancy :(  I'm hanging on to our leftover candy until I can eat it again.  

Hope you all had a fun Halloween!

My Solo Utah Trip

Josh had a short break from school a couple of weeks ago during which he graciously offered to stay home and watch Rex so I could take a trip to Utah to visit my parents.  It worked out that all 3 of my sisters were able to convince their husbands to watch the kids so we could all be together.

We took a little walk down memory lane with our walk around BYU campus.  The ride board is still up and functioning.  Where else could you trust getting a ride across the country from a total stranger?

We laughed at the dumb t-shirts in the BYU bookstore.  Seriously...who thought this was a good idea for a t-shirt?  My sister bought one to be her white elephant gift this Christmas.

And of course we ate at J-Dawgs.

3 of us have fall birthdays so we celebrated together!

And went to church with my missionary parents

And the other things we didn't take pictures of: shopping, massages at the spa and eating out at all of our favorite Utah places.  Why oh why can't we get a Cafe Rio out here...?

And thanks to my brother's tripod and my nephew for snapping the pics, we have a few nice family photos of just the original Alger family.

Me and my siblings

And my cute parents who are working diligently as family history missionaries.  I miss them and can't wait until they get home in February!

It was such a fun trip!  Big thanks to Josh for making it happen and not complaining.  And to top it all off, I came home to a spotless house!  I'm talking bathrooms, kitchen, living room...the place was cleaner than it's been for a while.  He's amazing!

The Big Announcement

So, we have been holding off on this announcement for quite a while and I'm dying to announce that we are expecting a baby GIRL due March 5th!!  She was definitely a long time coming and there were lots of tears shed and prayers offered in order to get her here.  We could not be more excited!

And check out this awesome yoga pose she was doing today...

I guess her form could use a little work, but she's got the right idea!

Rex-man turns 3!

A few days before his birthday, Rex came down with croup (and can I just tell you, this stuff is the devil) :(  I thought there was a chance he would be all better by his b-day so we just waited on pins and needles to see how he was feeling each morning.  The day before his b-day, his fever was gone and he seemed much better.  I thought we were totally in business and I spent the entire day cleaning, cooking, baking, wrapping and getting ready for a party!  Friday morning, the day of his birthday, he woke up with a fever and feeling crummy.  So, plans were cancelled and we had a fun day just the 3 of us.

Josh had a rather flexible schedule on Friday, so we took Rex to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and had a picnic in our backyard.

Then we played all afternoon, Josh took him to the park while I made his birthday cake.  We ordered pizza, got Grandma and Grandpa on Skype and had a party!

 Grandma and Grandpa Garner gave Rex a bike, which he is pumped about.

Aunt Kelsey sent a t-ball set which was also a huge hit.  Despite being a little sick he played with that thing endlessly until bedtime.

We gave him a remote control car, which only moves forward and backward.  He takes his driving duties very seriously.

Rex requested a dinosaur cake

And our main gift to Rex was a swing set (which my parents so generously contributed to) and Josh spent about 8 man hours assembling.  A lot of love went into this gift!  Here is the unveil...

Rex's reaction is priceless

He was a little freaked out to try the slide for the first time, but caught right on.

I cannot believe this little man is 3 years old.  He's getting funnier and easier in some ways, and then more complicated in others.  He's becoming more helpful and more sensitive, which we love.  He's almost always happy and just wants to have a good time (as long as he can be the boss).  He has endless amounts of energy and loves playing outside. One of my favorite characteristics of Rex's personality is that he is NOT shy at all.  He talks, waves, and tells our family's deep dark secrets to just about anyone and everyone.  I know he's going to totally embarrass me one of these days, but for now we'll just enjoy how people can't help but smile when they are around him.  We love you Rex!