Graduating

Yesterday when I dropped Lexi off at daycare, they informed me that she is ready to graduate to the next class (they start slowly of course). Her best friend, Chrissi Ana, had already been moved up and Lexi has been missing her. She is surrounded by little ones. Plus, Lexi is getting bored of baby activities. She is ready for bigger and better challenges. I think I am ready for her to take the next step too. It will be a good time to nix that daytime bottle (that she doesn't get on the weekends) and she can start playing outside with the toddlers.

Dancing Heat Fan

Saturday was full of crazy fun starting with a trip to the park in the morning. Lexi befriended a 3 year old boy, who happily showed her how fun it can be to be a little wilder. She tried to copy him by climbing up the slides and going down on her belly (not face forward thank goodness).

That afternoon, we headed to a bbq that Steve's boss was throwing. He is from Texas, so you know he did it right. He even had a blue grass band there. Lexi was dancing like she was right at home.

From there, we rushed right over to the Heat game. We were all tired, but Lexi still had energy to get into the game. Several people around us said that she seemed like she knew what was going on. I think that she just likes excitement.

Sassy Girl

This evening as soon as we got home, Ms. Sassy demanded a cookie. Her impatient self could not stand to wait while I put her down along with the diaper bag, purse, phone, etc. Within seconds, her frustration was mounting. I finally sat her in her chair. She looked up at me, wagged her finger, and said, "No, no, no."

I would just like to take a moment to formally thank the daycare for teaching her that. There is nothing quite as fun as a sassy little girl. At least at this point, she is still looking cute while she does it. I'll make a complaint when she hits the teenage years & it just isn't funny.

New Chair

I have been wanting to get Lexi a new chair. We found this cute little one today. I let her sit on it in the store & when I picked her up she screamed bloody murder. That is her new way of letting us know exactly what she wants. Yippee for us. We bought it inspite of the tantrum.

Unwinding in the Park

With the new evening brightness (daylight savings) & because of all the (EXTREME) stress I have been under at work, Lexi and I have started going to the park every evening. We take a walk and stop by the playground. She loves it so much that taking her home involves a lot of screaming. Yes, she is acting like a terrible two. BTW, she is in the same outfit as the previous post because those were taken in the morning. Here are the evening park photos & video.

Just Photos

I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging. There are so many things about Lexi that I have failed to report, like her 4 molars, jealousy streak, terrible 2 eating habits, and many other things that my mind is blanking out on. I guess you’ll just have to settle for photos today.

Tropical Girl

When we got back from the beach this afternoon, I dressed Lexi in this cute Hawaiian dress (thanks Grandma Margie) and turned her over to her Dadda to feed her lunch. I took a shower, while he made the following video. By the way, the cushion for her highchair was in the washing machine.

A Break for Mom

This morning, I desperately wanted to set up the new computer I bought. Week nights are way to hectic for that sort of thing. Unfortunately, entertaining a baby, while doing any task is not exactly easy. Lexi became fascinated by an empty tall laundry basket I have. She was sticking her fingers in the holes and I thought she might enjoy getting in it. So, I put her in there. She stood, sat, rocked, and thoroghly enjoyed playing in there for about half an hour.

Sticking her in there sounds like a mean thing, but it isn’t child abuse if she likes it. Thankfully, it was just enough time for me to get a few things done.

Arf, Arf, Arf

Lexi's new way of showing excitement is to bark and point at things. She started off with dogs and then added cats in, which is really funny. Today, it was big screen tvs at Best Buy. There is nothing like high pitched arfs in a store to make us laugh.

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