A Handful of Firsts

First of all, Happy Birthday to my sweet Lexi! It's her First Birthday today! I can't believe how fast it's gone. I'm sure I'll do a birthday post once we have pictures from tonight's party and such. But, until then...it's been a busy summer, and Lexi has had a lot of OTHER firsts. (Beware...lots of pictures to follow):

Lexi's first Fireworks! On the 4th of July, we got together with some neighbor friends for dinner and fireworks. We had a ball! We didn't get any pictures of the fireworks, but Lexi definitely liked them. She wasn't scared of the noise at all. She actually really likes loud noises. But, even though the fireworks were awesome, she seemed to be most interested in her glow-stick bracelet and necklace she was given that night. Whatever works, right?

First time swimming - for Jacob's Squire work party, we got to go to the Scera pool. We brought Alexia's floaty-thing, of course. Got her all dressed up, and took her in the shallow water. She LOVED it! She wasn't scared of the water at all. She kept trying to drink it, and seemed to be perfectly relaxed with us! It was so fun to take her swimming for the first time!

She was pointing at one of the water-squirter things. Someday when she's bigger, I'm sure she'll have a ball getting water dumped on her head.

Water is starting to get cold...

I love this shot. Such a mischevious little grin...

In mid-July, we had our Partridge side family campout, and we went up to Mantua Reservoir - up by Brigham City. Lexi got to go walking in the edge of the reservoir, and loved it. She got in her floaty again. But, mostly, she loved playing in the sand. She only ate a handful of sand once - then she learned she didn't like it so much. She played and played in the sand forever!!! So fun!

She only ate sand once. She realized it's not all it's cracked up to be, and she didn't eat any more!!!

We've gotten to take Alexia camping twice so far this summer. It's hard to take a little one camping. Nap schedules get off. The nights were colder than we expected. Bugs eat us alive. But, Lexi seemed to have fun. She loves being outdoors, especially with her daddy.

No! Don't take the tent down with me inside!!!

Walking practice. (Now, she's walking one-handed, and occasionally a step or two falling into the couch. I bet she'll walk any day now!)

One more first we got to do this summer was Lexi's first bikeride. We bought a bike trailer, so we can go on rides with Jacob towing her, and me riding beside. We took her around the block a couple of times, and rode to the church and back another time. She loves this thing!

Well, that's all (for now) folks!!!

Don't Get Mad. Get a Camera!

(Two posts today, since I'm so behind...)

Someone once told me this fabulous advice. When your kid makes a mess. Don't get mad. Get a Camera and take a picture! So, I'm trying to learn that lesson early, before the messes get worse, as I'm sure they will. Here are a few messes Lexi has made, and continues to make:

She can't leave her books alone. Every day or two, I try to put all of her books in a nice neat row next to her nightstand. She must not like them looking straight, because she bee-lines it to them every time she sees them put away, and she throws them all over the floor (gently). So, I finally took a picture of her playing with her books. So far, we've only had one ripped cover. Not too bad for an entire year!!!

Lexi's favorite place to play is my bathroom cupboard. She loves getting out my hairsprays, lotions, nail polishes, make-up, etc. I actually use this to my advantage. If I am not lucky enough to get a shower in while she's napping, I can set her in the bathroom while I shower, and she just plays with my cupboard and takes everything out of my drawers. (This was at the beginning of her play, so she hasn't gotten everything out yet). Gotta love it!

Lexi had a good nap, and had woken up happy. Started playing by herself in her crib, which is a good thing. Tells me she has napped long enough. I was on the computer for some reason, so I let her keep playing for a few minutes. I realized it was a little too quiet. (Any time Lexi is playing silently, I know she's into something she shouldn't be. Or has eaten something she shouldn't.) So, I walked into her room, and lo and behold, there she is, quietly pulling all of the diaper disposal bags out of the box! So, I grabbed a camera!

(I know what you're thinking. Plastic is dangerous for children. Suffocating hazard. So, although this was cute and funny to laugh about now, I did make sure and put the bags somewhere other than the top of her changing table, so she can't reach them. Just so nobody thinks I'm a terrible mother...)

We've Arrived! Sort of...

Well, after being in our house for almost two years, we have finally arrived...We finally have green on our yard! It's been a full two-year project. Jacob dug all of the trenches all by himself. Just him and a pick axe and a shovel. Since he'd just work on it here and there after work or for a bit on Saturdays, it took a while to do it. We had our yard trenched early on. Then went through several months with hills and trenches all over the yard.

Then, last fall, Jacob got all of the sprinkler parts, and laid all of the pipe himself. I helped a tiny bit. I mean TINY. Then, Jacob covered all the trenches up - I helped another tiny bit. Then, this spring, we pulled a KAZILLION weeds, and raked TWO KAZILLION rocks. Jacob got the sprinkler heads on, and the system programmed.

Then, some awesome neighbors, and one awesome sibling came over and helped us spread our top soil. And we seeded in May. Here are some pictures of the top soil party.

Since May, we've just been waiting patiently for our grass seed to grow. Right now, the lawn is green! Wahoo! Unfortunately, it's probably more weeds than grass. We've heard conflicting advice on when to do the weed and feed stuff. Some people say not to do the weed and feed yet, but to do some weed-be-gone stuff. However, we also hear that in the heat of the summer, it can burn the grass. So, we don't know what to do yet. Eventually, the winter cold will kill the weeds and the grass will flourish. Hopefully.

Here's a peek. Pretend it's all grass...

Not too shabby, eh?

Lexi Update

Well, since Alexia is almost a year old now, I figure I better update things from her 9th, 10th and 11th months before she turns a year old! Shame on me for being such a slacker. And sorry this post is SO LONG!!!

Here she is at nine months. Notice the slobber all over her onesie.

At her 9 month appointment, Lexi was under the 3rd percentile for weight AND height. I promised the doctor that I WAS feeding her, and he wasn't worried. She's just a tiny one, which I love. It's so cute how tiny she is, but how chubby her cheeks are! (I'll be interested to see how her 12 month appointment goes, because it seems like she's grown a lot lately).

She's lost her fascination with the camera, so it's harder to get her to smile at the camera like she used to. But, sometimes the candid shots are cuter anyway. At nine months, Lexi had officially said her first word (dada - she said it on Mother's Day). She began rocking back and forth while on her bum, and she'd scoot herself in a circle on the floor. She loved practicing her sounds like "tuh tuh," or "th th th" or "yuh yuh."

Then, she hit 10 months in June. Here she is with daddy:

In June, she learned to crawl. It started out as a tummy/army crawl. She'd get down on her belly, and use her feet to scoot forward a few inches at a time. Then, she learned to crawl using one knee and one foot, which is how she still does it.

Even knowing how to crawl, her favorite thing was walking around using daddy's hands. He'd go really quick around the room, and she'd pump her legs as fast as they could go, round and round the room.

Now, Lexi is 11 months. I can't believe we have just less than three weeks until she hits her 1st birthday!

Lexi is an expert at cruising furniture. She pulls herself up really well now, and can almost go anywhere. She's also amazing at staircases now. Wherever we go, she looks for the stairs. She goes up, and then claps for herself when she gets to the top. I thought it'd take her a while to learn, because for two days straight, she only crawled up one step. But, then, one day, she just decided to go up the whole flight!!! So, we now have to take the gate with us when we're downstairs, so we can keep her down there, and not go up and down all day long. (she doesn't know how to go down yet, so I still need to follow her up).

She cut her top two teeth a couple of weeks ago, so now she has 4 teeth. Two top and two bottom. If I can get her to smile really big, I'll post a picture of that.

She loves adult food. Now we feed her anything we can. (Still minimal milk, and no citrus, PB or honey or eggs). But, she loves mommy and daddy food. She begs every time we're eating. So, for dinner every night, she tries whatever we're eating, and if she doesn't like it, then I just give her homemade veggie or fruit baby food, or finger foods. But, we're slowly transitioning to the table food thing, and it's so fun!!!

Update Coming!

Thanks everyone for all your stellar advice and help with the nap-standing issue. It's still a problem, but it seems to be getting better. I'm doing better at not going into her room. And I KNOW she's not stuck anymore. She can get down on her own. It also helps if I make sure she's well fed before she naps. That way, I don't sit and wonder if she's crying 'cause she's hungry. As long as I know she's not hungry or messy, then I let her just cry, cause I know she's tired.

So, thanks for the help.

It's been way too long since I posted pictures and updates. We have had a busy summer, and I have several things to write about. So, I'll get on that pronto!!!

Happy Daddy's Day!

In honor of Father's Day yesterday, I just have to give a shout out to my sweet Jacob, and the WONDERFUL husband and father he is. I am SO LUCKY to have him! He's a very hard worker, and I'm so grateful that I don't have to work outside the home because of the job he has, and how dedicated he is to providing for Alexia and me. And then, even after a long day's work, I appreciate how much he helps me with "Lexi chores" (diaper changes, baths, naptime routines, feeding, etc.) when he gets home.

But one of my favorite things about Jacob is how good he is with Alexia, and kids in general. He's basically a kid himself. I love watching him PLAY with her. He is the best at making animal noises, so when we sing Lexi's favorite song "Old McDonald,"she loves it when he makes up the animal sounds. He reads to her, and he makes up all the different voices in the story, and she's seemed to like his voice ever since he'd read to her or talk to her in the womb. He gets down on the floor with her, and teases her, and chases her, and tickles her, and invents games for her, and sings made-up songs to her, and tosses her in the air, and bounces her around the room on his shoulders. Alexia LOVES her daddy, and who wouldn't, with a daddy like that?

Thank you, Bear for all you do for us. Thanks for being such a good Daddy to Alexia. She couldn't ask for a better one! We love you!

Conundrum

Alright, all you moms out there...I need help. Alexia is getting more and more mobile, and while it's way cute, it's also making nap time so much harder. She can pull herself on anything now, and when I put her down for a nap, she cries for a minute, then figures out how to pull herself up to standing and holding onto the bars. I don't think she can fall asleep standing up, so I usually go in there, and put her back down. I don't pick her up, or sing another song, or anything. Just set her down.

The problem is, she keeps doing it over and over. No matter how tired she is. Just now, she did it four times before she just barely finally fell asleep! So, we try to go down for a nap at 10, and here it is, 50 minutes later, and she's just now sleeping. The first time she stood up, I went in soon. Then, I waited longer and longer each time until I went in. I don't want her to get used to the idea of me coming in, and that all she has to do to get my attention is stand up. But, I don't want to leave her screaming standing up in there, because she'll never go to sleep that way!

Need advice!!!