Alexi loves to say, "No." A lot of times when we ask her something her reply is, well, "No." Tonight during dinner I said, "Lexi I must say that was a good dinner!" Her reply, "No." Thank you my dear, thank you.

Poor Baby

Lexi has been congested for a few days and she developed a cough yesterday so we took her to the doctor yesterday evening. She hasn't had a fever thank goodness, but she does have one ear infection and the other ear was on it's way to being infected. She is now on amoxicillin and ear drops. She slept so well last night and is feeling much better already! It is hard to see your child sick. I wanted to take it away and give it to myself instead. It makes me question what I could have done differently so she wouldn't have developed an ear infection. "Mommy guilt" or rather, "Mommy perfectionism" is hard to deal with. What I need to focus on now is that she is getting better. It is true, a mom is only as happy as her saddest child. So, in our case, when Lexi is blue I am blue(r).

Wordless Wednesday

An Award!

Ok, I am supposed to tell 7 things about myself (that you might not already know!) and then share the award with 7 other bloggers! Just like Michelle, I read so many amazing blogs! I seriously don't know how I will choose just 7!So, here are 7 random things about me that you may not know:

1. I LOVE new socks and new toothbrushes. They make me happy.

2. I still wear my retainer at night. I had braces as an adult so I seem to take the retainer thing a bit more serious than the average teenager.

3. I had a horse and a pony for pets as a child. My parents gave us the world even though some of it was beyond their means.

4. I always overestimate how long it will take to do things. For example, in my mind I would estimate it would take an hour to clean the living room. In reality, it only takes 15 minutes...ok, maybe only 10.

5. I sleep with the bed half made when Jason is gone. Pillows and blankets on his side make it seem like he is next to me...

6. Fall is my favorite season. The leaves are beautiful, the weather is crisp, and November 11th (Alexi's birthday) is the best day of the year.

7. I worry too much. I am working on this, but it is hard. I constantly have to remind myself to just have faith and we will all be taken care of.

Bonus info: I started working part time. Good friends of ours, The Buesing's offered me a position working with Brandon. Brandon is a realtor for Keller Williams and he has started his own group...BCB Properties. I will do a lot of behind the scenes work trying to help find his clients their dream home. I am really excited about this opportunity and I am very fortunate to be able to work from home.

I am passing this award to the next 7 awesome bloggers:

Megan

Deanna

Andrea

Natalie

Patricia

Kelly

Allison

Friday Photos!

Alexi is teething, but that did not stop us from having a blast today! Our poor baby is getting at least 4 teeth in right now. She is getting her first set of molars...not fun. She is in so much pain it makes my heart ache. In order to relieve some of her pain I fed her some of my yogurt this morning...cheesecake with graham cracker crumbles mixed in. She loved it! She ate the entire serving. Over the past couple of days it has been a challenge to get her to eat. Surprisingly, my yogurt only had a couple more grams of sugar than her typical carrot and strawberry or banana and sweet potato yogurt (not kidding those are the flavors). After Lexi's 3 o'clock nap we piled in the car and went to Tom Thumb to buy her very first popsicle (sugar free of course). I couldn't wait to get home to see her eat it! I got the camera out, put an old shirt on her, grabbed a bib, a burp cloth and headed outside for the big event. I believe she put the popsicle in her mouth a total of 3 times. She held it, fed it to Andie, let it drop on the ground, and handed it to me. The only reason I needed the burp cloth was to wipe of my pants after sitting in it!

Note the picture in the bath tub...Alexi will not wear a bow in her hair, but tonight during the entire bath she wore the foam A on her head!

Morning Joe

Mom, could you give me a minute to wake up?

Owl Always Love YOU!

We are one month from one of my new favorite holidays...Valentine's Day! Jason and I never really celebrated V Day when it was just the two of us because, well, we are cheesy and try to treat everyday like Valentine's Day. Now that we have Alexi, Valentine's Day grants us permission to give her extra kisses, hugs, presents, and sweets. At the grocery store today I found and bought the perfect card to put with Lexi's Valentine's gift. It says, "Owl Always Love YOU!" The card allows us to record a message for Alexi. I am already thinking about what we should say and honestly, my eyes tear up each time I think of a message. I'm pretty sure there will be a time limit to the recording. How in the world will we be able to express our love for our little girl in a matter of seconds? I know it's just a card, but I want her to keep it close to her heart forever. I love you is so easy to say, but so difficult to understand its depth. My prayer is Alexi will grow up and learn exactly how much and to what degree our love is for her. We (and all your owls) LOVE YOU Alexi!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Photos of the day

One of Lexi's new favorite games is to put her blankies on her head and walk around. It is a bit challenging for her when she covers her face. She really does know how to keep us on our toes!
Just a little bit of light reading before an afternoon nap. She truly is the Happiest Toddler on the Block. Not only is she is the happiest, but she is the only toddler on the block!
Where are the rolls? She is losing her baby fat and is developing calf muscles! Watch out Nastia Liukin...
No explanation needed...
It's all about offering options. No matter which one she chooses...it will be a good choice!

Bath time beauty

Leaps and Bounds

Today is day three of Lexi not having 2 out of her normal 4 bottles of the day. Little Lexi LOVES her bottle. On Monday I started only giving her the morning and evening bottles. Throughout the day she is offered a sippy cup of water and a sippy cup of milk. She does not mind the sippy cup of water, but watch out if you dare try to get her to drink milk from a sippy cup! It has been a challenge, but we are getting through it. I am offering snacks twice a day as well so she can keep her tummy full and content.

Today we ran errands with both sippy cups. She held on to the water cup, but she continuously threw the milk cup out of the basket. Thank goodness she did not throw a fit in the store. In the car she was playing with my water bottle with the lid on it and lifting it up as if she were going to drink from it. So, once we got home I put milk in a water bottle with a screw on top with a slit in it and BINGO! I have purchased every single sippy cup in the store ranging from $3 to $12 each. A plastic water bottle, hum.

So, as she was drinking from the water bottle and eating her snack I was cheering her on and then it really hit me. She is growing up. Sure, I am excited for all the new things we will encounter, but my baby is leaving. She is drinking from water bottles and eating whole cereal bars for a snack. She doesn't need me to snuggle with her on the couch as I feed her a bottle. Alexi is growing up. I am absolutely amazed at how fast time travels once you have a child. Everyone warned me, but I of course didn't fully understand. In a blink of an eye an entire day is over. Each day introduces a new thing and some things you never see or hear again. Each day she develops leaps and bounds and I have learned to treasure each moment.

Dog VS Duck

*Just a reminder...don't forget to pause the music on the right.

10 things we are looking forward to in 2010!

In no particular order:

1. Jason and I will celebrate 5 years of marriage. We still feel like newlyweds so it is hard to believe on August 13, 2010 we will have spent 1,826 days being husband and wife.

2. Alexi will celebrate her 2nd birthday. I will tell her the birth story, look at all of her pictures, and shed more tears.

3. Alexi will understand how to hunt for Easter eggs this year!

4. In February not only will we be able to watch the Winter Olympics, Jason will be home with us for 2 weeks!

5. We will spend a whole calender year in our new home making improvements and memories that we will always cherish.

6. Every year summertime is fun because Jason doesn't travel for a couple of months...and we ALL love that!

7. Lexi will begin gymnastics next week along with open gym and story time at the new McKinney library.

8. Alexi will drop down to one nap a day. This means we get to spend more time playing with and loving on our sweet little girl!

9. We will continue to spend time with those we love.

10. We look forward to new opportunities and pray for yet another blessed year!

Happy New Year dear friends and family. We wish you a wonderful 2010!