Smiling Belly

Lexi: "Mom, do you know why my belly is smiling?"
Me: "No, why?"
Lexi: "Because it thinks you and me are so cute."

Fresh Beat!

One of Lexi's friends in dance class loves the Fresh Beat Band as well.  This little girl's mom told me about the Fresh Beat Band tour coming to Dallas in May and she had the secret code to buy tickets early!  So, Jason and I talked about it and decided to buy 3 tickets.  We haven't told her yet because she won't realize how far away May is.  But, tonight as we watched the Fresh Beat Band play, I asked if she wanted to be one of those people in the audience.  Her reply, "No, I want to still be Lexi."  She doesn't understand it now, but on May 6th Lexi will be one of those people and we know she will LOVE it!!

Our Family Photo

Our first 'real' family photo.  I love everything about it.  Our looks towards Lexi, the lighting, our color combinations, our love for each other.  Love.  It. 

Christmas Program

Lexi's school Christmas program was this morning.  I was tearing up before it even started.  I loved watching her on stage.  She is precious.  Just precious.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsf3TgiJffE&context=C2e43fADOEgsToPDskJvuZ5iAkBqBRpcFaLTeeez

Chocolate Chicken

Alright, this could be my favorite Lexi question/statement thus far...

She was eating some of my leftover fajitas.  Usually I get chicken, but this particular time I opted for combo.  She picked up a beef fajita piece and asked, "Is this chocolate chicken?" And then put it down while saying, "I don't like chocolate."

Dance party

It has been a tough few days.  Jason has been out of town, Lexi was sick, and well, I am just tired.  Lexi has also been throwing fits lately.  She gets so frustrated and screams and points (wanting me to read her mind and then give her what she wants).  Needless to say, I do not do as she wishes and I hear a ton of screaming before my wish is granted... hearing her sweet voice.  Today, we had another rough battle, but right after it ended her favorite song came on and she asked, "Mom, will you dance with me please?"  I was still disappointed with her previous behavior, but since she asked with her sweet voice and with manners, I agreed.  We danced to about 7 songs.  We laughed.  We twirled.  We loved it.

Early Christmas Present

I had an urge to take pictures of Lexi (shocking, I know).  I wanted to buy her a new outfit for the photo shoot, but I opted to save the money and have her open an early Christmas present instead.  She loves purple so I had already purchased and wrapped purple boots, tights, shirt, skirt, and pants.  She loves all of it!  We went to Tom Thumb to pick up balloons and headed to a nearby park for the shoot.
  
The boots inspired this vintage looking shoot.  Lexi was rather unwilling to participate. It was cold & she refused to wear the vest I brought for her, she had balloons...so naturally she thought it was her birthday and wanted ice cream. Shortly after the shoot started, it ended...the balloons flew to the trees. Tears, a lot of tears followed. I captured some, but sadly they are somewhat out of focus.  I do love my model though regardless of her mood!

Sick

Lexi has been feeling a little under the weather the past couple of days.  She has a cough and the beginning of an ear infection.  Last night when we were all three piled on the couch watching a Christmas show, Lexi said to me, "You don't get sick because you're mommy."  She's right, moms and dads can't get sick (or at least we don't get the day off when we are sick) because we are always taking care of her no matter how we feel.  It is such a blessing to never "be sick!"  

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Ok, I just love Christmas.  Love.  Love.  Love.  I love it more and more each year as Lexi learns more about it and is excited about every single detail.  She loves the lights, Santa and Mickey in the yard, the Christmas tree, wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music, playing with her toy manger...I mean, she loves everything.  It brings so much joy into my heart to watch her eyes light up with excitement.

This past Saturday she had her Christmas program with her dance class.  They did a routine to Jingle Bells.  Lexi did great!  I had tears in my eyes as I watched her preform.  She didn't miss a beat!  (I hope another parent got video/good pictures because we didn't).

Today we started a new tradition.  The advent calender.  Lexi and I made it together and starting tomorrow (just a few days late) she will find a little surprise in the bag for the day.  Thanks, Kim for giving me the idea!  I know Lexi will love doing something "Christmas-y" all the days of December.

Our gift.

Our homemade advent calender garland.

Our tree.  Lexi decorated it and was so proud of herself.  We decided to leave the ornaments (or instruments as Lexi likes to call them) on the bottom because she did such a great job!

It is actually really cold in Dallas.  We have enjoyed the fireplace multiple times already this season!

The window with the wreath on the wall is my new display for Christmas cards.  We bought it at my favorite store, "Patina Green" in downtown McKinney.  We bought it for our house year round, but I'm excited about displaying our Christmas cards in it.  I absolutely LOVE it!  

Our family Christmas card.

Jason did such a good job with the house.  Normally Santa is not falling over, but we had a ton of rain the past couple of days.  We want to add more and more outdoor decorations each year.  Watch out Griswalds!

Our miracle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Mimi, PawPaw, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Kristi, Uncle Chip, Aunt Sarah H., and Donna this year!  Everyone came to our house this year and it was fabulous.  It was very laid back, but still so much fun.  We had a ton to eat of course, watched football, told stories, and laughed together.  Lexi entertained everyone as usual. We missed our Houston family and Aunt Sarah W.

I made homemade apple butter this year and used the jars as place settings.

The table before dinner.

Jason's plate!!  He almost ate every single bite.

Aunt Sarah's fabulous dessert tray.  PawPaw is probably still talking about how delicious all 4 desserts were!

I took this picture a couple days before Thanksgiving.  So sweet!

We are so incredibly thankful for our home, health, family, and friends.  We are certainly blessed beyond belief.  Life can't get much better than this. 

Love

Lexi often says, "I love you the best most, mom."  I. Love. It.

Wonderful weekend!!

We started off the weekend on Friday with Lexi's actual birthday and Chip and Sarah's wedding day.  Mom, Great Grandma, Kim, Jeff, and the boys drove from Houston.  We all hung out together and then the boys went and spent the night with Chip and Sarah.  On Saturday, we worked on the details of Lexi's birthday party on Sunday, took some pictures of the kids, and that night we went to III Forks to celebrate the marriage of Chip and Sarah. We met Sarah's family and had a wonderful time.  They are so happy and in love...it is wonderful to witness.  After the celebration, we headed back to our house while Kim worked on a fabulous guitar cake just for Lexi!  We had a blast staying up late and drinking a little vino.  On Sunday, we had Lexi's birthday party.  We decided to do a family party this year and get her a big gift (a car) which she absolutely loves.  Lexi received clothes, money, drums, guitars, a microphone, a lawn mower, makeup, dolls, and art supplies.  She LOVES all her gifts and we are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.  A big thank you to all the people who helped Lexi had a very special birthday.  We love you all!  Also, happy wedding to my little brother and new sister, and happy birthday to my precious daughter!

The night before...

Lexi's birthday and all through the house there's a precious toddler sleeping...dreaming of cake, ice cream, and presents while her mom is reminiscing with eyes tearing.  All day today I have thought about the day before meeting Alexi and kissing her sweet face for the first time.  I can remember every. single. detail. perfectly.  It seems like it happened yesterday.  I can't believe how fast these first three years have flown by.  She has learned so much and she astonishes us everyday with her knowledge, wit, and personality.  Lexi has made our lives complete.  I can't believe it.  I just can't believe she is one day away from being a three year old.  My heart feels like it is going to explode this very moment with the amount of love pumping through it that I have for her.  Sweet dreams my little Lex Star.  I love you and can't wait to kiss your sweet face all day tomorrow!

Family Pics

We finally had our family pictures made!  I am using one for our holiday card this year so I won't post that one now, but here are a few of Lexi that turned out adorable.

FB to Blog

I have been in a horrible habit of just writing funny Lexi stories on Facebook.  Let's be honest, FB is the king of social media now, but who knows where it will be in 10 or 20 years.  With that being said, I am challenging myself to update on the blog rather than FB.

Some of my recent FB status' were:

10.08.11: I just tried to get Lexi to wear her Texas Tech shirt.  She said, "Not the Texas Tech boy shirt.  How about a dress?"

10.05.11: Lexi's favorite way to tell a story for the past few weeks: "When I was a little girl, I did...(fill in with random event).  Is that crazy?"

10.02.11: Lexi was pouring water onto some rocks.  She said, "Now they will grow and be bigger rocks. If we pour it on money it will grow and be bigger money."

09.30.11: Lexi "wrote" a list of things to do today: 1) go on a walk 2) say hi to daddy 3) play 4) listen to music 5) watch a show.  Looks like she will be a type A list person!

09.29.11: My mom always said the angels are bowling when we heard thunder. I've started telling Lexi the same thing.  She just said she thinks the angels should only bowl for ten more minutes and wants to know if Santa is bowling with them.

09.28.11: I had goose bumps and Lexi said, "Wow mom, you have polka dots on your arms!"

And yesterday, I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner.  Lexi walked in and asked, "Who is coming over?" Me: "No one." Lexi, "Why are you cleaning?" Me: "I always clean the kitchen after dinner." Lexi walked away and said, "No you don't."

During the day yesterday Lexi was twirling on the living room rug. She sat on the couch and asked, "Why is the house turning?"

This little girl cracks me up!!

Our normal

As I have stated several times, Lexi L O V E S to sing!  She is so passionate about it.  We often wonder if we will see one of her video clips at the beginning of a singing reality show one day.  Gosh, I love her.

Funny stuff

Grandma Mike and Gigi came for a visit this past weekend.  One night while we were having dinner at the dinner table, Lexi said she needed to go poop.  I excused her and when she came back to the table she said, "I went like this (grunted and squeezed her fists) and the poop came out!"

Yesterday, Jason and I took Lexi to the park to play some softball.  While we were playing, Lexi noticed the playground equipment.  She asked if she could slide down the slide.  We told her no because the slide was too hot.  She replied, "I have a good idea.  We could go home and put some pants on and then come back and slide down the slide."  It was a good idea (and very cleaver) since she was wearing a skirt.  Jason and I just looked at each other and nodded applauding her 'good idea.'  We explained it was still too hot even with long pants on.

This morning we walked Jason out to his car for work.  As we were walking in Lexi said, "The cold is freezing me!"  I believe it was around 70 this morning.  True Texan girl.

Here are some photos from our softball outing:

Dance

Lexi loves to dance.  She especially loves The Fresh Beat Band.  It is a Nickelodeon show that has about 5 teenagers.  It is very similar to High School Musical.  She absolutely loves to watch this show!  She knows all the words to all the songs and is working on memorizing all the dance routines too.  She also started ballet and tap class three weeks ago.  She is warming up to it, but seems a little bit shy with a lot of people watching.  She listens very well to the teacher and follows all the directions!  I am so proud of her and I just love her in a leotard and tights!