ONE year older!!

On Saturday we celebrated Lexi's FIRST birthday.
Our baby girl is ONE!!!

Was it really just one year ago that she looked like this?
I'm still trying to get over it.

The kids could not wait for Lexi's birthday to arrive.
Madeline couldn't even wait to give Lexi her present later that night.  As soon as she woke up she wanted her to open it.

Despite my intentions to throw Lexi a huge birthday bash it just didn't happen.
Her day was very low key.


A few presents, a little BBQ, a happy birthday song, and one huge cupcake.

The best part of the day?
Watching the Birthday Girl DEVOUR her Birthday Cupcake.

 

 

I'm pretty sure Lexi thought that was the best part of the day too.

The past year has been so much sweeter because of that little face!!

Happy Birthday little lady!

Our little lady at 8 months old.

EIGHT months!  (FYI to myself: She'll be nine months in a week!)

Oh!  We can't get enough of our sweet, but serious girl.

A little 8 month update:

• She is SPEAKING!   Three words to be exact: dada, mama, & nana.   In full disclosure I will admit that dada was spoken before mama. 
• CRAWLING!??  umm.... I'm going to go with YES, but this baby has her own unique style:                               crawl, crawl, bum in the air, collapse and repeat.  crawl, crawl, bum in the air, collapse and repeat until you get to your desired destination.
• She has discovered DVD's!  And yes, I am a mother that doesn't feel bad about having my baby watch a half hour of something.  She likes our Dancing Bear video, but she'll sit through ALL 25 minutes of Mickey Mouse Beach Sing-a- Long.  It's heaven-I'm not gonna lie.
• She STANDS!  All the kids (especially Megan) were obsessed with trying to have her stand alone and not holding on to anything.  Poor little thing had no choice, but  learn how to do it.  Her personal best:  about 55 seconds (give or take a few).
• She has a love affair with food.  She LOVES to eat.  I've never had a baby who liked eating so much.  She growls when her food comes and it still cracks me up.
• She is now the proud owner of 4 teeth.  The top 2 just came in.  
• Which means she's starting to look older and more grown up and why can't they just stay little forever?

Twenty12

I'm still trying to figure out how 2011 went by SO QUICKLY!

It was another year of ups and downs and another year to improve and make mistakes, 

but the absolute BEST thing about 2011 was having this sweet girl.

Our year of 2011 was brightened considerably by our new baby girl.
And while I can say with almost absolute certainty that 2012 will not bring us a new baby,
I will say that I'm optimistic for a very bright new year.

What are Lexi's Goals for the New Year?

1. Learn to Crawl
2. Learn to Walk
3. Learn to Say Mama 
4. Sleep in (a girl can dream can't she)

I think she's well on her way to accomplishing Goal Number One.
Don't you think so too?

If You Give A Baby Some Newspaper. . .

The Mom might find a few minutes to vacuum her living room floor.

And while the mom is vacuuming the floor, the baby's older sister finds her purple sunglasses.

And if you find purple sunglasses on the floor, well you have to have your swimming suit on too.

And if you have your swimming suit on, well you just HAVE to run around the living room.

And if you're running around the living room floor, the mom has to stop vacuuming to take pictures. 

(Because- what's cuter than a little girl running around in a swimming suit at Christmas time)!

And while the mom is taking pictures of the little girl running around, she doesn't see that her baby has taken out her binki and has started eating the newspaper.

And if the baby starts eating the newspaper, the older sister has to stop running around.

And if the older sister stops running around, she can help take the newspaper away from the baby.

But when you take away the newspaper away from the baby, you find little pieces all over the ground

So the mom will need to vacuum.

And if the mom HAS to vacuum, then the baby will need something to entertain her.

And if the baby needs some entertainment, then you might just have to give her some newspaper. 

And if you give a baby some newspaper . . .