Puzzle Fun

Lexi got this puzzle for Christmas. I helped her with it a few times and then put it away for a while. We pulled it out again and she loves doing it. She is getting better and better, but I still have to hand her the pieces in the right direction. She also gets frustrated when she can't fit them just right.

Hair Picture Tradition

When I was about 3 years old, my mom took a picture of me with my back to her. I am guessing it was to show how long my hair was. I thought it would be fun to do the same with Lexi. It would be even better if I could find the picture of me, but I wasn't able to. Other than our backs to the camera, we wouldn't be that similar. She has light blonde curly hair and I had orangish blonde straight hair.

Party at Cara's House

On Saturday, I took Lexi and Jordan to a birthday party for Cara. They had a great time. Jordan tried to eat everything in sight and Lexi was either playing or being over protective of Jordan. Apparently, only she is allowed to take things away from him and be rough with him (yes, she takes after me). We had a great time though.

With the Birthday Girl

Camden & Lexi Showing off their Icing Faces

Playhouse

Writing her Name on the Valentines

Yesterday, when I went to pick Lexi up from school, her teachers were very excited to tell me that she wrote her name and it was actually recognizable. She has been doing that at home for about 2 months, so I wasn't surprised. They were amazed and mentioned that some of the kids in the class still don't know their colors, which I found strange.

Basically, she is doing VERY well. The teachers just adore her. The only "issues" they have with her is that she wants to answer all the questions and she thinks she is a teacher too. She likes to remind everyone else of the rules. Obviously, I am not worried.

Here is the paper that the teachers saved to show me:

Bye Cousins

We were all glad the cousins came. Lexi really enjoyed spending time with them and was quite disappointed when they left this morning. The next time we see them will probably be in December at my mom's house. That is the plan for now anyway. Here are a few photos. I would have taken more, but my memory card was full:

Lexi, Kaylie & Zak

Aunt Katie & Baby Rachel

Day with Cousins

Lexi rarely gets to see her cousins, so it was a special treat when my brother stopped by to see us on their way back to Montana from Florida. They spent all day Tuesday with us. We took them to the park in the morning and then to the mall for more fun. At the mall, his kids climbed the rockwall. Lexi begged me to let her go. According to their policy, it is for four year olds & up. The guy let Ammon, who is only 4 months older than Lexi, try. He got up a little less than half way. I decided to hold off for now.

Swinging at the Park

Lexi & Jordan

Cousin Ammon & Lexi

Feeding Ducks

Watching the Kids Climb the Rockwall

With Kaylie by the Rockwall (Lexi was mad that she couldn't go)

Rainforest Cafe

Aquarium at Bass Pro-Shop with Miriam

With Ammon

Hiking with Friends

Yesterday, we went hiking at Bastrop State Park with some friends. It was a two hour drive. We packed a lunch and ate when we got there. We hiked around and saw a lake (looked like a tiny fishing hole), cabins, other people, trees, and a frog. Also, Lexi and Steve fell on a rather steep hill that was covered in slippery pine needles. She got a little scrape on her belly & he hurt his wrist. He hasn't complained this morning, so it is probably just a little sore. I had just hiked up the hill with Jordan on my shoulders and was happy that didn't happen to us. Even with that experience, we all had a great time.


Waiting for Others to Catch Up

Hey

Not all fun & games?

Three Year Doctor Appointment

Lexi had her annual check-up yesterday. In all honesty, it was a waste of money since we have seen them a lot in the last few months. I thought they might be giving her shots. Oh well...we know that she is healthy and that her blood pressure is good. We also know that she is 37" tall (50th percentile) and 33 lbs (47th percentile).

As I am typing this, I suddenly remembered something I was told over a month ago about Lexi. When I took her to the family clinic, the doctor told me that Lexi has THE SMALLEST tonsils that she has ever seen. She even had me look at them. When I took her back to her doctor, I mentioned it & she laughed and said that they are very small. So...there is a funny little tid-bit about Lexi. She has micro tonsils.

Lexi's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Lexi's Birthday Party on Saturday. Lots of our wonderful friends showed up to celebrate with us. Actually, it wasn't easy inviting people this year because our house and yard are small and we had to keep the numbers fairly reasonable, which meant school friends were out. We all had a great time though. The only bad thing was the weather. Thursday & Friday the high temperatures had peaked in the upper 70s & low 80s. Saturday, the high was 52 degrees. We all spent a lot of time going in and out of the house to keep warm.

Most of the Kids

Game

Pizza Time

Older Girls

Cake

Opening Gifts

Jokester

Playing with a Present

Presents from Aunt Carol

Thank you for the wonderful birthday gifts, Aunt Carol!


Jordan Gets in on the Act

Out To Get Me

I am convinced that my family is out to get me. I just can't seem to get a good night’s sleep. Steve or Jordan or Lexi take turns wrecking my slumber. Last night, it was Lexi's turn. She started crying at 3am, because she had an accident and was all wet (legitimate reason). I cleaned her up, changed her sheets, changed her pajamas, and threw everything in the hamper. I put her back in bed and headed back to my bed. Twenty minutes later, she started screaming again.

This time, the "black lady" was hiding behind her dresser. All I can say is that she must be REALLY skinny because there is only a 2" gap between the dresser & the wall. I told Lexi that we don't let any scary people in our house and had her look back there to make sure that there wasn't anyone hiding. She laughed and said it is only pretend. I headed back to bed. Another 30 minutes passed before I heard her calling my name.

This time, she claimed she had to go potty. I took her to the bathroom & was surprised that she actually did have to go. I figured that she had released it all around 3am. I put her back in bed & headed back to mine.

At 4:30am, she started again. This time, Steve got up. Sounds good, right? WRONG! Guess who got the brilliant idea to bring Lexi to our bed? The girl who can't hold still or STOP TALKING? I don't think he even lasted another 5 minutes before he decided he'd just get ready and go to work early. I gave up on sleep and decided to start my day. I had a long to do list anyway.

Now that we are half way through the day, Lexi is taking a sweet little nap on the couch. Looks nice doesn't it? What about me? I guess the torture will continue. I’ll just pray for a break tonight since Lexi’s party is tomorrow and I need to be buzzing around here.

Lexi's Perspective on Today

This morning, I had the Today show on while we ate breakfast and cleaned the house. I took a few minutes to explain to Lexi that we are getting a new President today and that his name is Barack Obama. Here are some of her funny comments:

“Yeah, Rock Obamie!”

I pointed out the huge crowds and she said, “That is a lot of cheerleaders!” Then later, “Those aren’t cheerleaders, mommy. They have flags.”

She constantly asked me who different people were. When I pointed out George Bush, Sr. She said, “Just like George the monkey.” (a.k.a. Curious George)

PJ Day

Lexi has PJ week at school. Unfortunately, I forgot about it on Monday and dressed her in regular clothes. She talked about my mistake over & over & over again for the next few days. I definitely remembered about it on Thursday. I let her pick which pair she wanted to wear and was not surprised when she picked the "kisses" set. I think she had an especially good week. They ate waffles for snacks and she was covered in maple syrup. It was like a strong perfume - very tasty.

Kid Fears

A few nights ago, I heard Lexi crying. I went into her room to see what was wrong. She was half awake and complaining that the “black lady” was going to get her. Since she doesn’t know any terms for racial differences, I knew she didn’t mean African American. I’ve heard her describe them as brown before. So, I asked her which black lady. She told me the one in Sleeping Beauty. Since then, she is scared of her dark room and it is my fault.


As a teenager, I babysat a lot of kids so I know that the Disney Princess movies can be scary. That is why I planned to wait until Lexi was at least 5 to let her watch them. Last week, I broke my own rule. Lexi wanted to watch a movie, Jordan was taking a nap, and I had a LOT of work to do. I rationalized that she is advanced for her young age and that she really likes the princesses. Besides, she doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything. …blah, blah, blah. Of course at the end of the movie, she talked about Aurora and the fairies and everything nice. I didn’t think much of it until I heard about the “black lady.”Back to the rule about waiting until she is FIVE.

Lexi's Tea Party

For about 6 months, Lexi has been interested in tea parties. Santa must have heard her because he brought a big princess tea set. It has quickly become one of Lexi and Jordan's favorite things to play with. Jordan likes it mainly because he loves food even pretend food.

Last night, a neighbor called and asked me to watch her son for an hour. Lexi decided it was time to introduce him to the fine art of tea parties too. Good thing he is a good sport.

Backyard Fire

Last Sunday, it was quite chilly for Houston. Steve watched his poor little Dolphins lose their first playoff game since before we met. He wanted to at least enjoy the weather, so he lit a fire in the backyard. What kid can resist a mesmerizing fire? We roasted a few marshmallows to make it even more interesting.

By the way, the dolls pictured below are named Little Lexi & Little Jordan. Big Lexi is their momma. Isn't that funny?

Primary Kid

The church we go to rotates the classes the beginning of January (instead of August like school does). That is also when the kids move up to the next class. The babies can start attending the nursery when they are 18 months old. They stay in there until the January after their 3rd birthday. A few weeks ago, the lady in charge of the Primary (which means the kids) called and asked me if I would mind having Lexi move up to the next level early (I don't think she knows that the NEVER do that). The nursery teachers have told her that Lexi is very advanced for her age and would be quite sad and bored if left with the babies. I thought it would be best too.

Throughout December, the kids that would be transitioning from Nursery to Primary came into the Primary for ten to twenty mintutes to get use to it. Their first full time in there was Sunday. Lexi was definitely ready. She sang the songs and raised her hand to answer questions. When they sang a family song, she even shouted out that her dad didn't come to church today because he stayed home. She probably should have mentioned that the Dolphins FINALLY made it to the playoffs. I got to watch half of her time in there because I've been asked to teach the 6 year olds. There are 2 hours of primary. The first hour the classes from 3 - 8 years old meet together to sing and play games. After that, we break down into classes by age. Lexi's teachers are good friends of ours, so I knew she'd love it.

New Years Eve Party

Party, party, party...that is all Lexi had been talking about all day. She couldn't wait to go to Erik's house for his party. We had lots of delicious food and then headed to the back yard for smores. It was lots of fun.

Smores with Joshua

Getting Help from Dad

Eating Smores is Tough

Roasting Marshmallows with Ms Nicky