At the Park

Get Out of Jail Free Card

Bikini Babe

Even though the weather didn't cooperate, we wanted to go the beach on Sunday. I got Lexi dressed in her cute little bikini (thanks Jenn). Steve thought she looked so adorable riding her Charlie, that he taped it.

Spanglish Skills

Lexi is babbling more than ever and her compression and vocabulary in Spanish and English has really increased. Of course, I can never think of many when I want to blog about it, but here are a few that come to mind.

Her English Words:
Banana ~ nana
Hello ~ ewo
Bye
Dog ~ dug
Arf (high pitched - she does this over & over whenever she sees a dog like last night at the restaurant)

Her Spanish Words:
Agua (water)
Gato (cat) ~ gaddo
Beso (kiss)
Leche (milk)

It isn't easy for me to report on her Spanish skills, because it takes me quite a while to figure out what she is saying. It was over 2 weeks for me to figure out gaddo wasn't just babbling it was gato. She could be saying even more, but I am not recognizing it. Poor little Lexi.

Wild Super Bowl Weekend

Since the biggest Super Bowl parties surrounded us this weekend, we took many walks and participated in a few of the activities. Here are some photos:



Attending a TV Concert:

We actually were caught on camera. Indigo Girls Concert

Passed Out After the Concert:



Afternoon walk on Ocean Drive:



Lexi's enjoying the Super Bowl by digging through her diaper bag:



On top of all the fun, Lexi cut 2 molars (one on each side of the top of her mouth).

12 Month Dr Appt

Lexi had her 12 month check-up and shots yesterday. She is now 31.5" and 22 lbs 4 oz. I really noticed a big change in Lexi during this doctor's appointment. It is the first one that she wanted to walk around and play with everything. She entertained herself and wanted to show me everything. All of the previous visits, she was content being held and looking around.

The bad thing about this one was that she watched the nurse do the first shot and was well aware what was going to happen with the next 3. She howled and let the big alligator tears roll down her face. I think it was better when she was crying because of the pain rather than the anticipation of the pain. She is also a lot stronger, so holding her down was tough.

Animal Kingdom

The idea of going to Disney for Lexi's birthday actually came from a co-worker. Lots of people in Florida take their kids to the parks for their birthdays, but she specifically told me how much her babies enjoyed going on their first birthdays. She said they were in complete amazement. It is magical. I thought about it for a while and wondered just how much Lexi would enjoy it.

I wanted to do something special for her birthday, but the only kids she knows are at her daycare. None of our friends have kids. No matter what, our apartment is way to small for a party. I talked to Steve about going to Orlando a few months ago. We thought it would be fun to go to Animal Kingdom since that is the one park we had not been to.

All I have to say is that we all thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Lexi. She was mezmerized by everything and didn't even stop to take a nap the whole day. The only complaint I have is that the park was only open from 9am to 5pm and it wasn't nearly enough time. We didn't even get to see one section of the park. I guess we must go back (good thing we live in Florida - there are a few perks).

Birthday Celebrations

Lexi's birthday on Friday was full of fun, starting with her party at the daycare. I picked up a big cake for the event. As you can see, Lexi loved all the attention as well as the icing on her cake. After the party, we headed home for our trip, but first she opened up her gifts. Then, it was on to Granddad's house with a small cake for more celebrations. Thanks to all that sugar, she did not exactly sleep well that night.

A Whole Year

Can you believe my little Lexi is 1 years old today? Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. It is all so amazing to me. In fact, I can hardly believe that we have spent a year together. Then when I look back over the pictures, I realize how much she has changed.

The last few months, she has started to mimic me and it is hilarious. She loves my purse (more than I do). She pulls it over her shoulder and tries to drag it around. Every time I pick her up while holding the purse, she leans to the side and tries to grab it or get stuff out of it. She is also thrilled about cell phones. It is no secret that I like to chat on the phone on my way home from work. Lexi sits in the back seat with her fist to her ear and babbles starting off with "eeehwoh." She wants to be a part of everything I am doing including cooking, cleaning, getting ready, and anything else you can think of.

She has also managed to wrap her dad around her finger (like that was a surprise). She loves kissing him. Whenever she first sees him, is going to bed, or he is leaving, she puckers up and leans over for her kisses. At dinner time, she always wants to share his food, even though I am eating the same thing. She likes to feed him her food as well.

A whole year has passed and she has managed to become the center of our little family (ok take over). We will never be the same THANKS to the Birthday Girl.

Lexi HEARTS Rocking Charlie

Coaxing the Sick Girl to Perform

Despite the fact that Lexi has bronchitis and an ear infection (again), I decided to try to capture her walking on video. I took these on Saturday and by yesterday she was walking much farther and steadier.

6 Steps

Yesterday, Steve and I watched as Lexi picked up a roll of wrapping paper and walked over to her table. Of course, we have witnessed a lot of steps here and there, some while rushing not to fall. This time it was six very steady steps while carrying a huge item. One of these days, we hope the camera is nearby.

Daycare Dilemma Dos

Lexi has been in daycare almost 6 months and I am faced with the possibility of needing to find a different one. The company I work for has been talking about moving our main office out of the building we are currently in for years. Two years ago, they got a realtor and seriously started looking around. They did not find anything that they were thrilled with, so they finally renewed their contract and just remodeled/expanded our office. The contract was up for renewal again and I decided to not worry about it until final decisions were made. Well, the contract has been signed & our office is moving. While it is not that far away from the current one, it is a bit of a stretch for commuting out of my way to the daycare.

At first, I thought about how happy Lexi is and that I should just force the situation to work somehow or at least try it for a while. That was my mindset until the New Year brought a new daycare policy (we finally got the memo yesterday). I do not know what brought this on, but they have decided to keep records and report every bump, scratch, bruise and diaper rash to Child Services. They should only be doing that when they are suspicious of neglect and/or abuse. Can you imagine the number of ridiculous reports they are writing?

So far, I have been silently infuriated by the fact that they have ignored the scratch on her thigh (2”) and have chosen to focus on every little pin point sized diaper rash dot. She had ONE on Friday and TWO on Monday that I was asked to sign off on. Plus, they only count them in the morning during the first diaper change so that it looks like the parents’ fault.

I have decided that this is definitely not a battle I am willing to fight. In a sappy nice way, I tried to explain to them that Lexi (like me & other very pale people) has sensitive skin and that keeping these reports will become tedious. I was so angry about this Monday night that I couldn't even explain the situation to Steve without snapping at him. The next morning, I just decided to tell the daycare ladies that my office would probably be moving and I would let them know whether or not I would change daycares. Of course, I said this very politely. Since then, there have been no reports written about Lexi. **IMPORTANT NOTE: On Wednesday, she came home with at least 15 of those little diaper rash dots. She did not have them that morning.

In fairness to the daycare, I need to say that this whole thing has been orchestrated by one person, the Office Manager. She is one of those emotional mood swing ladies that often bullies parents on her bad days. I have always been leery of her and have stood up to her the 2 times she tried to bully me. Fortunately, she does paperwork and does not take care of the kids. Lexi's care taker as well as the owner is completely different and wonderful, which was the important thing in my eyes.

Anyway, my point is that I am back to searching for a good daycare. I have heard of one in a church very close to the new office, so I will start there.

BIG TGIF TODAY!

More Beach Photos

Guess what we did this weekend? Not much, but we did manage to walk (4 blocks) to the beach on Sunday. For all of you living in colder climates, I could lie and say the weather was horrible, but the pictures give it away. Also, Lexi has turned into a real daddy's girl over Christmas.

Thrilling Toy

Lexi got this gift for Christmas. As you can see, it thrills her to no end. After several rounds of shrieks and scrambling to put the balls back in, we turn it off. There is only so much fun parents can handle. I highly recommend this toy to anyone who wants to make a baby happy and a set of parents insane.

Week In Pictures