It is really hitting me...

Miss Alexi will be a year in 14 days. More like 13 actually since today is 2 hours away from being over. I am happy and excited to see her grow up and learn new things, but I am also sad. I have tears in my eyes as I write. I can't explain the roller coaster of emotions hitting me right now. At this time last year I was dressed as a basketball for Halloween. This year I am a mom. Wow, I am a mom. That brings tears to my eyes as well. I can't thank Jason and Lexi enough for making me a mom. A happy tear filled mom.

Do we look alike?

Over the past few months people have said Lexi and I look alike, but I wasn't sure I agreed until I compared these two photos. I don't think we really look alike in the picture we have together, but I think we may look alike in the separate photos. I still think she looks mostly like her daddy though. Speaking of him, we are both SUPER excited to see him after this past week. Hurry home, Jason...we love you!

11:26 PM

That's the time when I decided if I wanted to get any sleep at all I would need to take the blankie out of Lexi's crib. I stared at the monitor like she was a newborn. Jason had a good idea to let her sleep with it during naps for awhile and then when I am comfortable, we can give it to her overnight. This seems like a much more reasonable and acceptable baby step for me.

Blankie

Lexi still sleeps with her sleep sack on, but she is now also sleeping with a small square blankie! Tonight when I changed her diaper and put her pj's on she held onto one sock in one hand and her shoe in her other hand. I fed her her bedtime bottle while she held the shoe and the sock. When I put her in her sleep sack I got her to let the shoe go, but she had a good grip on the sock so I let her keep it. I lasted about 5 minutes with letting her sleep with the sock. What if she got hungry in the night and tried to eat the sock? She would choke. So, I caved a half of a month early and let her sleep with a blankie. I went up there to check on her and everything is fine. She is sound asleep on her stomach with blankie in hand. It is absolutely adorable...I wish I would have given it to her sooner! I know, the next question is when will we let her sleep without the sleep sack? One thing at a time...baby steps.

Wednesday with Words

I wanted to post a "Wordless Wednesday," but surprisingly enough I did not snap any photos of Alexi today. So, my post will be with words today. Lexi always makes me laugh, but here are a few stories that tickled me today:

1. She still puts everything in her mouth. I say, "Eh" to get her attention and hope she will not pick up the random thing on the floor and put it in her mouth. Today, she looked at me, put it in her mouth, crawled over to me, opened her mouth, and stuck out her tongue so I could get it out. Better than nothing I guess...

2. While running errands today, the car next to us had birds on the roof. Her eyes lit up, her jaw dropped, and then she started bouncing, waving, and yelling, "Hi" to the birds. Priceless.

3. This morning Jason picked up his work bag and Lexi started waving and saying, "Bye." She loves saying "Bye." I know tears will be here soon when Jason leaves for work. I also know it will break my heart and Jason's heart to see Lexi heartbroken.

4. During bath time tonight I was singing, "If Your Happy and You Know it..." and Lexi was clapping and splashing the water. I sang it about 5 times in a row and then stopped. She stopped playing, turned and looked at me, babbled a bit and clapped her hands. Once I started singing again she continued clapping and splashing the water. The girl has me trained.

Lexi lights up my world. Every. Single. Day.

Dr. Kelly

Jason often refers to me as, "Dr. Kelly." Not because he is confused about my degree from TWU, but rather because I tend to diagnose myself with random illnesses or problems based on unreliable sources from the internet. However, this latest development needed no internet research at all. I clearly remember learning the symptoms and signs of OCD in Psych 1301. The following list is proof I clearly hold the label of being OCD:

1. Throughout the day I say the words, "bird, baby, tree, fan, light, dog, cow, guitar, duck, and ball" repeatedly so I can sit in awe watching Lexi point to the things over and over again.

2. I tell Lexi "I love you" a million times a day. I want her to hear those words again and again so she doesn't forget.

3. I kiss Lexi a million times a day. Whether it be her face or her foot, each time I kiss her it is like the first time I kissed her.

4. I am obsessed with seeing Lexi do, "Monkey Face." I ask her to make the face all day long.

5. I have never had a foot fetish, but now with Lexi in my life, I can't get my hands off her feet!

6. In 10 months, I myself have taken 4000 photos of Lexi.

The above reasons are just a few of my many obsessions with my daughter. I believe I meet the qualifications outlined for OCD in the DSM IV.

Dr. Kelly is now leaving the office for the night.