This Week...

This week seemed to fly. We spent the first few days at home working on potty training. I decided Alex HATES her frog potty. She knows when she needs to potty, but it's always a split second too late. She would wake up from naps dry so I'd sit her on the potty and she'd sit there and sit there reading books, painting her toenails or we'd sing songs. Within a minute of getting up, she'd pee. The only time she actually used the potty, she cried, but they got super excited because we started jumping around and cheering her. I ended up getting her a new potty that looks more like a regular toilet and doesn't have the "boy shield" that makes it almost impossible for Alex to easily sit on. I haven't put it out for her yet, I figured we'd take a few week break then I'll bring out the new potty.To celebrate ending our 2 days of staying inside in big girl undies, we went to Chickfila to play. When we arrived, there were 3 older kids in the play area screaming and roughhousing so we shared some ice cream hoping they would leave soon, but they never did, so we took our ice cream to the park!

Thursday, we met Erika and Axel for lunch. Since Alex ate so well, she got to pick out a cookie for dessert!

Friday we went to playgroup at Chuck E. Cheese. I've been to this playgroup before and had mixed feelings about it. There were not any kids Alex's age, they were all a few months to young for her to interact with or just old enough to be on a totally different speed. I decided to give it another try 2 weeks ago and it was a totally different experience. There was a new mom and her daughter, who is a little older than Alex. We all hit it off, have e-mailed a few times, and are setting up play dates. This week, the group went to Chuck E. Cheese. Alex has never been and I think she was overstimulated because she had several meltdowns. She wasn't crazy about playing the games, but she did like putting the tokens in the machines. She also LOVED the little carousel. She probably rode it 10 times.

After playgroup, we went to Houston. Babies R Us was having a sale so we made the drive. Alex got tons of diapers, a new potty and a new swim suit! When we got home, she made the bin her diapers came in her newest toy.

Saturday night, Josh and I went to Houston to meet some friends for dinner. We used a new sitter and Alex LOVED her. She didn't cry when we left, she blew us kisses and said bye-bye Mommy, bye-bye Daddy. We called to check on her after her bedtime and Meredith said she went down without a peep! I love that Alex now seems to be ok with me leaving. When she used to scream and cry it broke my heart and made it hard to enjoy our evening.

Beach Baby!

We went to the beach today! It has been FOREVER since we've gone to the beach. We went last year but didn't actually get near the water because the ramp to our favorite beach was damaged during Hurricane Ike and it was too cold. The last time we actually went on the beach and walked in the water was when I was 33 1/2 weeks pregnant (17 days before Alex decided to make her early arrival!) Alex went to the Malibu beach when we were in California last year, but it was way too cool to get in the water, so this was her first real beach experience. She hated the sand the second I put her down. She kept pointing to her sandy toes saying, eeewww Mommy! So I had to pick her up and carry her along with all of our bags while Josh carried the ice chest. As soon as we got there we had a picnic lunch I packed. As long as she was sitting on a towel on our blanket, she was ok.

After we ate, Josh took her to the water. She was torn between walking in the sand she hated and being carried. She HATES being carried when we are outside. She decided to bite the bullet and walk. She was a little timid with the water at first, but quickly warmed up to it!
She loved when the waves crashed around her ankles. She got pretty good at staying on her feet and would just laugh and laugh if she fell down.
She thought it was hilarious when I tried jumping over all the little waves.

There was a ton of seaweed type stuff that had washed up and quite a bit still in the water. Every time a tide would wash some away, she'd say bye bye! If a piece stayed on the beach, she would point it out to us so we could toss it further up the beach and out of our way. She got a little neurotic about it.




We took her pail and shovels and Josh made a little sand mound for her. She could have spent forever just shoveling sand and making a mess.
It was one of the best days ever. Josh and I have always loved making little day trips to the beach to, but seeing it through Alex's eyes made it so special. I know there will be many many more trips to the beach in our future!

What to do...

What do you do when your child is so tired she won't sleep? Give them a cupcake of course! (and seal your fate that there will be no nap today because your child is too hyped up on sugar!)

New Found Love

Alex decided on Tuesday she LOVES slides. We went to the mall and Nomi took her to the play area so I could take my time looking around. When I got there, she barely stopped to see me because she was too busy going down the slide! She threw a fit when it was time to go. Today, we went back and Josh met us for lunch. She had another HUGE fit when it was time to eat, then time to go. After Alex woke up from her nap we went to the park. Alex was the only kid there for a while and she just kinda walked around taking it all in. More kids started showing up and she started coming out of her shell and decided she LOVED the biggest spiral slide. She took a little water break and had fun trying to drink from a water bottle. Alex has always been kinda shy around people other than us, but she is slowly coming out and becoming a social butterfly. She loves when I take her to play and there are other kids there. She adores older kids. Now we just need to work on the tantrums that occur with it's time to go!

Sweet Snuggles

There is nothing better in this world than snuggling with my two favorite people. We all 3 curl up in Alex's glider before her bed time every so often. She is always super sweet and snuggly. We got lucky and Nomi was here for our last snuggle session and was able to snap a few pics!

Alex getting silly for the camera!

hamming it up!

kisses for Mommy

Daddy kisses from his two girls!

Motorcycle Mama

A few weeks ago we went to Toys R Us and let Alex loose. She found a little ride on pink motorcycle she LOVED. She squealed when she saw it. When we got it off the shelf, she immediately hopped on, put her hands on the handle bars and bent over like she was actually riding it. We didn't buy it for her, but Josh said it may be a little surprise present he'd pick up for her one day. While we were at Toys R Us yesterday, I noticed they were on clearance so I called Josh and he told me to pick it up for her. It stayed in my car until he got home. We put it together really quick while Nomi kept Alex entertained. As soon as Alex came out and saw it, she hopped right on. She LOVES it! It's so cute and she looks adorable on it. We aren't crazy, it has four wheels for stability and only goes as fast as her little legs can move it. She even tried taking it with us today when we told her it was time to go bye bye!

That's My Girl

People always say Alex looks just like me. I can see it, but I also see a lot of Josh's features in her. I think she is a great blend of the two of us. She may look like both of us, but she acts like a little mini version of me...

The Many Faces of Alex

Alex is such a goof ball! She acts so silly when she sees the camera. She makes the most hilarious faces all the time! I love how her nose scrunches up when she smiles really big and she shows off all her pearly whites!

22 Months!

Alex was actually 22 months old Sunday, but I'm just getting around to posting this...

Alex's vocabulary from month 21 to 22 has just exploded! She is a little chatterbox. She is still shy around new people and doesn't say much until she warms up. She also learned "no" this month, but it's the sweetest little no I've ever heard. There is no anger, frustration or defiance behind it, just a sweet little "no" that she draws out.

She only has one speed, fast! She can't just walk from one room to the other, she has to run and make crazy baby sounds as she runs. Josh and I just crack up all day long watching her. She LOVES her books. She is getting better at sitting still to actually listen to us read a book to her. Her favorite is still birthday/Mother's Day/Easter/any holiday cards. She will get one and climb into my lap when it's milk time and wants me to read it over and over and over to her. She actually took a card to her crib with her while she napped today. She had a fit so I let her have it. When I went to get her up, she was snuggling with her blankie (kankie, as she calls it) and the card.

She is slowly eating more types of food. I've noticed when we travel she eats much better than she does at home. She is actually eating some meat now too! In the last week or so, she has decided it's ok to eat meatballs, ham and hamburgers. She will not let us feed her at all, everything has to be placed on her own plate or napkin before she will eat it. If we are at a restaurant and she has a spoon or fork, no ones plate is safe. She will reach as far as she can to try to get food off of peoples plates.

She is such a happy, sweet, loving child. She is in a phase where she LOVES to give hugs and kisses to Josh and me. She makes the sweetest little kissy sound. When she wakes up, she has to point out Mommy, Daddy and baby (a pic of her) that are hanging near her crib. She is very much a creature of habit. She knows when it's bed time, we close the bathroom door and her blinds. If we miss one, she points it out until it is closed.

She is an absolute blast to be around. Josh and I look at each other at least 20 times a day and ask each other if she could be any cuter!

Birthday and Mother's Day

Saturday was Josh's 32nd birthday! We spent the day in Dallas. Our niece, Sabrina turned 10 the day before, so we went to her house for her party. Tina was so sweet to get Josh a cake too! Alex got to practice blowing out candles!
Then she got to chow down on a cupcake!
Alex LOVED Sabrina! Sabrina was sweet enough to let Alex help her open presents. Alex got sooo excited with every gift and would just squeal every time they opened a gift.
Alex led Sabrina all around to play with her. After a while one of Sabrina's friends showed up and Alex just sat there with the big girls like she was one of them!
That evening, Josh and I went to dinner to celebrate his birthday then went back to his parents and played Farkle!

Sunday we had a light breakfast with Terri and Ray then went to Mimi's to meet my parents and grandparents for lunch. That place was CRAZY! I called at 10am to put our names on the waiting list. It was an hour and a half wait. We got there at 11:15 and still had to wait another 30 minutes! Alex was so busy at lunch. She sat in the booth by her Nomi and proceeded to snack off of every one's plate! After lunch we picked up Cooper and headed home. It was nice to be home earlier that normal. We lounged around the rest of the evening. My super sweet husband offered to make dinner but I decided I'd rather order a pizza so he didn't have to be in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up all evening! My Mother's Day is extending to Tuesday! Josh is taking the day off so we can take Alex to Moody Gardens, lunch at Gaido's (in Galveston) my FAVORITE, then maybe a little stop by our favorite beach.

The mom's and their babies!

Me, Ita, Nomi and Alex

Outdoor Alex

This picture kinda describes our weekend. Alex was all about Josh and we pretty much did what ever she wanted all weekend. It started Saturday morning when we decided to have a special breakfast. We took Alex to the doughnut shop! She was still in her jammies, adorable green satin shoes she found in her closet and a hot pink baseball cap she decided she had to wear when she saw Josh put on a ball cap. We brought our breakfast home and Alex had some doughnut holes she dipped in applesauce. After breakfast we went on a family walk then played in the front yard. After we changed clothes, we went to Toys R Us and walked around for a bit. Alex had so much fun looking at everything and trying to play with anything she could get her hands on. After lunch and her nap, we went back outside and blew bubbles. Alex LOVES bubbles! After dinner, Alex curled up with Josh on the couch and smothered him with kisses. She snuggled with him as she drank her milk, which she usually only does with me!

This morning we went out to breakfast (again) then walked around Target. It's kinda turned into our Sunday morning thing, breakfast out then Target, Home Depot or Lowes. When we got back Alex wanted Josh to play the piano for her and she danced around the living room. I headed to the grocery store so Josh and Alex could enjoy some quality time. They played outside most of the time. He pushed her up and down the street in her cozy coup. We basically spent a ton of time outside all weekend because it's what Alex loves!

playing peek a boo around the tree

wearing my camera case like a purse