Happy 30th

This is my best friend in the entire world. We have been friends for over 15 years. We can go weeks or months without speaking and pick up like we just saw each other. I love her, I love her family, her family is like my family. She turned 30 on Saturday. Her husband planned a weekend in Wimberley for her birthday. Josh and I headed down Saturday morning. As soon as we got there, we were handed drinks and the relaxing started. I hung out in the pool with the girls, while Josh headed down to the river with the boys. We talked, drank, ate and relaxed while the boys hung out then played bocce ball.

Later in the afternoon we all got ready and headed into Wimberley for dinner, then went back to the house to play Celebrity and Catch Phrase. Later we sat around the fire pit on the porch and just talked. This morning everyone slowly rolled out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee then made their way to the porch. It was almost cold, but perfect!

We had the best weekend getting to know Shannon's new friends from Austin and catching up with old friends. Happy 30th Birthday Shannon!

Random Pics and Stuff

Alex had her last summer session gymnastics class last week. Her instructor, Miss Summer, is moving so Alex will have a new teacher for the fall. We LOVE Miss Summer. The Fall session actually started this week, but we missed the first class because we were out of town. In addition to gymnastics, Alex starts dance in 2 weeks. It's the only studio in town that has a 2 year old class and there is only one class day/time so we were super excited to get a space! It is a ballet/tap class. We have a welcome orientation tonight!

Helen, Miss Summer and Alex

Last Friday we had 2 couples over for dinner and games. Kate and her parents came so Alex and Kate kept each other entertained. They even got little bowls of ice cream!

Alex is on an apple kick. I usually cut them in slices so when she asked for one, I cut half of it into slices. She threw a fit, took me in the kitchen and pointed to the half that was on the counter. She wanted a whole piece. Since then, she will only eat big apple halves she can bite!

When Alex was sick a few weeks ago, she totally became a Mommy's girl. She wanted nothing to do with Josh. When she got better, she was still all about Mommy. She has finally come around to loving on Josh more and more!

Alex is also obsessed with stickers! We went to Target one day and bought lots of stickers from the $1 bins. She will go into the closet and pull out a sheet of stickers and put them all over her arms!


Last but not least, I **think** we finally have our sleep situation figured out! I started leaving Alex's door cracked when I put her down, so she could still see me as I passed her room. This went on for a few days while she slept on the floor. Then she started asking for me to leave it cracked when I told her it was nap or bed time. After a few days, I moved her blanket she slept on from the floor to her bed. At first she was a little hesitant to get in bed, but after a few times, she'd get in bed on her own. Now, she is sleeping in her bed with the door cracked. I let her take the Leapfrog laptop to bed with her so she can play with it until she falls asleep. This is more for us because she will pretty much play with it until she falls asleep. When we stop hearing the computer, we know she's asleep! Last night was our first little hiccup. She woke up around 1:30 screaming "crack, crack!" Her door was cracked, but since all the lights were off, she couldn't tell. I went in her room to talk to her for a few minutes, then turned on the bathroom light so she could see come light coming through the crack. She was happy and went right back to sleep. Now we just have to remember to leave a light on in case she wakes up at night she can see a little light coming through the crack.

Wild Oak Ranch

We left Monday for our first family vacation. We've been on trips before, but it was always to see family. This was our first, just the 3 of us, family vacation. We went to Wild Oak Ranch in San Antonio.

I love the drive. We go through Bastrop. I love all the tree lined roads!

Our first stop was for lunch. Without even asking, Josh pulled right into Pizza Hut. Alex LOVES pizza! She gave Daddy a huge pizza kiss to thank him!

We checked in to our room, unloaded the car then checked out our room! We loved it! It was a one bedroom condo with a living room, dining room, kitchen and washer and dryer! The kitchen was fully stocked with any cooking utensils we needed so we made a list and went to the grocery store! We went a little crazy and decided since we were on vacation we would get things we don't normally get at home like cookie dough, root beer, french onion dip and real potato chips (not baked lays!), Alex picked out juice and a meal of hot dogs! That evening we walked around the property then went back to our room and had dinner. After dinner we relaxed in our room and had warm chocolate chip cookies and milk!

That evening we set Alex up on the pull out couch. She went to sleep just fine but woke up crying at 1:30 so I put her in bed with us. She woke up a little before 7 so we let her watch cartoons in bed. I got up and put some delicious Grands cinnamon rolls in the oven. Alex sat at the table without a high chair for every meal!

After breakfast, we put on our swimsuits so we could head to the Rattlesnake River! Alex hammed it up for the camera!

Alex loved pushing the elevator button every time we left the room.

Since it was still early, there wasn't anyone there so we had the place to ourselves. We picked a table and I grabbed the sunscreen to put on Alex. I took my rings off like I always do and set them on the table. Somehow they took a bounce and my wedding band fell on the ground...on the deck...and fell right through the boards.

My sweet husband trying to get my ring.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it so the WONDERFUL staff at the resort helped out. The maintenance guy actually removed all the screws from a board in the deck so I could get my ring back!

While I was waiting for all of that to happen, Josh and Alex headed for the water! Alex had so much fun floating the river. She started walking, then just picked up her feet and floated along! Her favorite part was getting near the jets on the river to gain speed. She'd laugh her head off and say More Fast!!!

After we left the beach/river area, we went to the outdoor/indoor pool. Alex didn't like it as much because there was a huge slide she was too short to go down. Josh and I each went down and Alex would start screaming AGAIN AGAIN because she wanted us to keep going down.

After a little more swimming we headed back to our room for lunch and naps. Alex napped in our bed while Josh and I fell asleep on the couch. As soon as she got up we put on dry swimsuits and headed back for round 2. We hung out at the beach for a while, got a yummy margarita and a cherry slush for Alex then we decided to move to a cabana. There were several great cabanas right off the river. We sat around for a bit then Josh decided to take a few laps around the river. Alex and I waved and blew him kisses every time we went by. I painted Alex's toes and fingernail then she hopped down and danced around the cabana! When Josh got back, I took a few laps, then we all got back in.

When we were all worn out, we went back to our room, showered and got ready for dinner. We went to our favorite place, La Fonda on Main. Alex was super excited to eat chips and sauce. When we got back we put Alex down in our bed and watched a little TV. We actually bought a bottle of wine to enjoy on our balcony but we were too tired so we saved it. I made the rest of our cookies, we ate them then crawled into bed with Alex. She never sleeps with us because she usually tosses and turns but this time she was great. We were both actually looking forward to going to bed so we could snuggle Alex!

Josh and I kept talking about how much fun we had. Alex is at such a FUN age! She cracked us up the entire time. When we got up Saturday morning we asked her if she knew where we were, she answered, Vacation! She kept talking about vacation the entire time. We can not wait to plan another family vacation. We will definitely be going back to Wild Oak Ranch sometime!

Who Needs a Bed?

We have been having more sleep issues with Alex. She has been getting hysterical when we put her in bed. We have resorted to leaving the room and letting her cry herself to sleep. She gets soo upset but never gets out of her bed. I finally decided to put a blanket on her floor in front of her crib with her pillow, blanket, glow worm and kitty. I decided it may be easier if we give her a little more freedom at bedtime. We sat her down, gave her a few books and her Leap Frog computer. We told her she could stay up looking at books and playing with her computer all she wanted, but she needed to stay in her room. 5 minutes later, she was out, on the blanket. She slept on the blanket again last night.

Naps have been horrible. She slowly started pushing them back later and later to the point where we had to wake her at 5 so she wouldn't sleep too late. I kinda thought the late naps were causing the bedtime problems so I decided to cut out her naps for a few days. If we were in the car for a while, she'd nap, but naps at home were hit or miss. I've gone back to putting her in her room around 1:30 or 2 and telling her she could play all she wanted, but it was quiet time. I keep her door cracked so I can keep an eye on her. Yesterday, after an hour of playing, she finally took a little nap in her bed. Today, I knew she was sooo tired, but wouldn't sleep. I went in and held her for a bit, then put her on the floor on her blanket and she crashed. At one point, when I checked on her, she was sitting in a pail. (the above pic!)

So, I've basically given up on naps, if they happen, great, if they don't oh well. I'm fine with her sleeping on the floor for now, if it means she will go to sleep without crying.

Bathtime

I don't think we have ever had a bedtime routine we have followed to a T. Baths happen once a day, but it's always at different times. For awhile, Alex loved showering with me. Now she is back on a bath kick so I usually let her play in our tub while I get ready. Today, I took about a million pics of her playing in the tub because there was some great light coming in our window!

I posted a ton of pics because I just love them! I'm thinking about framing a few for her bathroom.

This is Alex's "please" face.

3 Years

Last Tuesday Josh and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. He sent me 2 dozen of the most beautiful pink long stem roses. That night, we stayed home, made a nice dinner and relaxed. Friday we drove to Grapevine and dropped Alex and Cooper off with his parents and we went to the Gaylord. We spent Friday and Saturday there. We timed it perfect. They do a fireworks show over the lake every Friday so we were able to open our curtains, lay on the bed and watch the fireworks. I may have dozed off, but what I saw was great! We decided instead of doing one big fancy dinner, we wanted to go to places that were special to us for different reasons. We went to Macaroni Grill for lunch and our favorite Thai place (Jasmine) for dinner. We spent Saturday at the Galleria and Northpark, then we just drove around. We drove by to see our old house in Wylie and were amazed by all the new stuff in Murphy. We had a great time just spending time together. I think sometimes we get soo wrapped up in Alex that we forget to take time for ourselves!

Mickey

Alex has been loving on some Mickey Mouse lately. I've never hid the fact I am not a huge fan of character stuff. Alex LOVES character stuff so we limit what we get her. Example...she has a Mickey Mouse plate she eats every single meal on, she has some Toy Story sippy cups. Just little things here and there.

Last fall when we were in California my sister and Izzy took Alex to Disneyland. She got her first pair of Mickey ears. They have been displayed in her room since. Lately since she is on a Mickey kick, she wants to wear them more and more. Today, she decided she had to wear her ears while watching Mickey!

Stinks

So, I woke up this morning to 19 new email in my in box. That's a lot for me. I proceed to check them and they are all delivery failures from an email I sent. If anyone knows me, I rarely send emails, I don't send forwards. I like to text or call. Somehow spam messages are being sent from my email account. The "help" section on AOL is really no help at all. I ended up setting up a new email address and deleting all of my contacts from my address book, with the hopes that if there are no addresses, there will be no one to send emails to!

It is sooo annoying because I have all of my different accounts tied to my current email address. I use it for EVERYTHING! I know in the days, weeks and months to come, I'm going to find myself changing my email info more than I care to think about.

So, if you received an email from me with a link for pills, enhancements or anything else, please ignore it, delete it, don't open it!

Nap Issues

So, the first few days in her toddler bed, Alex napped like a champ! The last 2 days, not so much. She spends about an hour (or longer) playing in her room before she finally falls asleep. If I pop my head in she runs back to her bed. She usually whispers,"hi mommy" because she knows she is supposed to be quiet. Once she finally does fall asleep, it's not in her bed.

Last night was our first bedtime issue. We made the mistake of letting her watch Ratatouille before bed. For some reason at the end of the movie she always starts crying, bye bye mouse and is just sad from then on out. She was crying off and on while we were getting her ready for bed. We went through our normal routine and she was just not happy about it. We left her to fuss a little. After about 10 minutes, I went back in, she was still in bed crying. I sat and had a little talk with her, she calmed down, I left and she went to sleep. She was up at midnight screaming so I went in to check on her. I didn't want to get her out of bed, I wanted her to go back to sleep. I snuggled her for a few minutes then I sat beside her bed. After a few minutes, I grabbed a blanket and crashed on her floor. She sat up a few times and I reassured her I was still there and she seemed ok. I ended up falling asleep. At some point, I woke up and was about to leave her room. My hip popped when I stood up (because I am old and old people shouldn't sleep on the hard floor!) and she cried, Mommy no! So I stayed. At 3, I woke up again and snuck out and went back to my bed. She was ok after that. I am hoping this is a one time thing!

Here is where Alex napped the last 2 afternoons. (grainy because I used my iphone)

Breakfast in Bed

Today Alex was running back and forth from her kitchen to her bedroom. I peeked in to see what she was doing and I found her in bed with piggy. She had a plate with a cookie on it and was feeding piggy with a spoon! She was carrying on a full conversation with her piggy!

I love that little girl!

here is a not so great pic of her new bed setup...

Beach Baby

We headed to Galveston Saturday morning. We had sooo much fun! We stayed much longer than we normally do because we bought a canopy so we'd have a little shade. Alex is such a water baby! The tide was high so we had a great shallow area to play in. We had a picnic lunch, played in the water, relaxed in the water while the waves came over us, then flew a kite! We can't wait to go back.

When we left Galveston we headed to our friends house to clean up. Alex adores Steve and Tricia and they adore her! We went out for burgers before we headed to an event in their neighborhood. While we were at dinner silly Alex made onion ring glasses! Alex got to stay up way past her bedtime while we walked around. We had a great time catching up, eating yummy burgers and drinking even yummier drinks!

Today the James crew came over for dinner. Alex has been so excited about seeing Abby. We've been counting down the days. All the kiddos played so well together! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures.

On another note, Alex has continued to amaze us with her ability to transition to a toddler bed without any issues! We are keeping our fingers crossed that it keeps going good. Next challenge...potty training!

Transition to a Toddler Bed

Night #1 (Wednesday)
Wednesday evening we traded out the front of Alex's crib for a toddler rail. She was soo excited watching us take the front of her crib off and even more excited when we brought in the box that held the toddler rail. We told her it was a present so she was even more excited! She climbed in and out of her bed a million times. When it was time to put her down, we went through our normal bedtime routine and walked out of the room. She actually stayed...ALL NIGHT LONG!!! In the morning when we heard her talking, Josh went in there and she was still in bed. She pointed to her new rail and told me it was a present from Daddy! Soo cute!

Nap #1 (Thursday)
I was a little concerned with her naps since she was used to sleeping in our bed while she was sick. Today at nap time we snuggled while she drank some milk then I let her pick out jammies to wear. I put her down and covered her with a blanket she picked. She was very quiet for about 10 minutes, then I heard her playing. After another 10 minutes or so, I went in told her we needed to put all of her babies back in bed (she sleeps with a whole posse of stuffed animals) and the puzzle she took out of her closet needed to be put away. She helped me with everything then I put her back down and she napped for about 2.5 hours!

Night #2 (Thursday)

Alex was super wound up most of the evening so I was worried bed time would be a nightmare. To our surprise it wasn't! We did all of our bedtime stuff and put her down like normal. I popped my head in and she lifted her head, looked at me then went back down. She ended up sleeping the entire night.

So far, when she wakes up, she has been staying in her bed until we go in there. We'll see how tomorrow morning goes since Josh doesn't have to get up for work. I'm a little scared to say it because I know it can all change in an instant, but transitioning her to a bed she can get in and out of has been super easy so far!

Scary Sick

From earlier in the week...

Alex woke up this morning with a 104.3 temp. This was less than 24 hours from her first fever of 103.2. We immediately gave her Motrin and within 45 minutes, it was down to 102.4. We called our doctor back because he wanted to see her if she still had a fever today. Her temp was back in a normal range by the time we got there. He checked her throat and swabbed it to check for strep. It came back negative. So they took blood. He came back a a few minutes later and said her counts were low, so they wanted to test again. The nurse came back and took blood again. My big girl didn't make a sound. She intently watched them prick her finger and squeeze it so they could fill the little vial. He came back and said the counts were still low. Normal white blood count is 9, she was at a 6. Her platelets and red blood count was down as well. He said it wasn't dangerously low, but it was low. He said he gets about 4-5 similar issues a year and 99.9% of the time, it's just a viral infection. He said since she was acting completely normal and the only symptom we have is a fever, he is pretty sure that's what it is. Unless she wakes up with a super high fever or starts acting abnormal, we will go back Thursday for another round of blood work to check her counts

Then he hit me...IF she starts acting different, her fever stays high or her blood work comes back with lower counts later in the week, then we will discuss what to do next. Next would be admitting her to Children's in Houston for further more in depth testing. He said with her counts barely low he isn't concerned with a more serious blood problem. (Then he went into more about the more serious blood problems and I don't even want to discuss.) I understand, he was just talking possibilities, but still. My heart dropped, a huge lump started in my throat and I just held my baby. I called Josh when we got in the car and tried to explain what the doctor told me without getting to emotional but I lost it and started crying as I was talking to him. I knew immediately he was worried about Alex and me. I finally calmed down because Alex was looking at me like I was crazy. Then Alex started asking for a hotdog. Yesterday, she ate about 10 bites of food all day so I was excited she was asking for something. We went straight to the store and picked up everything she was asking for...hotdogs, blueberries, strawberries and lemonade. We came home and she ate 2 huge strawberries, a handful of blueberries, a few pickle chips, a hotdog, a slice of ham then asked for another hotdog! My child's appetite is back!

Josh and I were both sick with worry about our baby. We barely got any sleep that night because we were just waiting for morning to come so we could take her temp. It was 98 the next morning and she was her usual bubbly self! We were sooooo excited!

Today...we went back to the doc for follow up blood work. He just wanted to error on the side of caution and check her numbers again. Her red and platelet counts were back within a normal range, but her white is still at a 6. He said this is completely normal and is no cause for concern. Since she has had a low grade fever the last few days it is taking a while for her white blood count to come back up. We go back in a week for a 4th test to see if they are increasing and we will continue to do som weekly until they are back in a normal range.

My angel baby was so strong and tough this week. She had blood taken 3 times (twice in 20 minutes) and never shed a tear. I tried distracting her with my phone or books and she was only interested in watching them take blood. Josh and I have so many friends that have been soo sweet calling or texting every day to check on Alex. I am so glad to be through with this. Josh and I have been so stressed and worried all week.

Cute Words

Alex is pretty good at pronouncing her words. There are a few that she doesn't pronounce right and it is just so cute! I wanted to remember...

remote: meemote
coffee: caasee
Nomi: omee
Cooper: coocoo
silly: siieee
balloon: baanoon
lemonade: memade
stickers: stickewws

AND...tonight is Alex's first night in her toddler bed. We have the toddler rail that replaces the front of her crib. She didn't nap today so we knew she was super tired and she hopefully wouldn't be up too much!

Weekend

Friday afternoon I loaded up the car with Alex's stuff and met my Mom in Buffalo to switch cars. She was taking Alex for the weekend and Josh and I were going to just hang out and relax!

Alex and her supplies!

Balloon? Check!

Stickers? Check!

Computer? Check!

She was out within 20 minutes still holding on to her stuff!

We had dinner plans in Houston that evening but since I was without my munchkin I decided to make a detour on the way home. I went to the mall. It is soo hard to shop when Alex is with me because she gets so antsy in her stroller. I took my time and picked up a few new things! It was soooo relaxing!

Saturday we woke up at 7:30!!! I was mad! Really, kid free and I was up. I called my mom and we talked for a bit, played Words With Friends, then went back to sleep...until 10:30!!!! Woo hoo!!! It was great to sleep in with Josh and Cooper! We we pretty much bummed around the entire day. I'm pretty sure anytime Josh was looking for me, he always found me in bed snuggling with Cooper! Poor Cooper and Alex needed a break from each other. Alex is not very nice to him sometimes and Cooper has been really bad about snatching food away from her which causes her to get hysterical. We stayed up late and decided to be spontaneous so at 1:30 am we went to IHOP!

Sunday we went to The Woodlands for brunch and walked around the mall and outdoor shopping areas. From there we met my parents and got Alex back! We were both soooo ready to see our baby girl. My mom sent me pics and videos throughout the weekend and I talked to her several times, but I still missed her sooo much!

I'm soo glad we ended up picking her up Sunday instead of Monday because she woke up this morning with a 103.2 temp! She was burning up and only wanted to snuggle with me. Motrin brought her fever down, but it ended up going right back up before she went to bed tonight. She was soo sweet and lovey today because she wasn't feeling well. She refused to nap in her room so we snuggled in our bed and she finally fell asleep on me. I hate that she wasn't feeling well, but I sure did love my little bunny snuggles!

my little tinks asleep in our bed