Time to get back to celebrating the good in life. Alexa has hit a lot of big girl milestones since turning two. The biggest is certainly potty training. I will admit I felt a lot of pressure to have her potty trained by two. However it never became a priority, so we did not give it a good try. After turning two I felt like it was time. We experimented a bit for a week. This included taking her to the potty regularly but still putting her in diapers at school. After a week of the potty introduction we jumped right in. We went to 100% undies when she is awake and never looked back. It took 4 days of home training and a few days at school to get the hang of it. A month later she still has the occasional accident, but overall we are thrilled. I do not miss changing diapers on a 2 year old. Alexa takes great pride in using the potty and seems to enjoy the independence of her personal potty as well.
Alexa has also started singing her ABC's. She has struggled over the last 4-5 months with her verbal skills. Alexa said her first words at 7 months and was way ahead of the charts at a year. For some reason that changed over the last few months. She has been very self conscious about saying things and even frustrated when she does not have the right words to use. I have been working hard at teaching her new words and practicing them with her. I am hoping it is helping. Besides her ABC's she is also now singing, Bringing Home My Baby Bumble Bee, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
I believe Justin's proudest accomplishment of Alexa is her learning her alphabet. We have been reading B is for Bear for many months straight. She now recognized just about all of her letter, even when they are not in order. I LOVE watching her read different licence plates to us. So far she only recognized capital letters and a few lower case ones.
Alexa's third Halloween was also a success. She had a great time dressing up as Minnie Mouse and eating LOTS of candy. Alexa and I did about an hour of trick or treating. When we got back Justin too her around too. She did not say Trick or Treat but she did say please & thank you.
That's about it on Alexa. No new update on Baby#2. We are still waiting to catch our rainbow. I am doing my best to move forward and focus on the child we do have. It is very difficult to have sooo many pregnant friends. For me I have found the best solution is keeping a little distance from them. Emotionally it is healthier for me & my happiest has certainly increased. Although I really do miss all of these friendships I know there is a time and purpose for everything.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
A Mother of two, with only one baby
It has been 4 months since I found out I was pregnant and almost 3 months since we lost her. I am finally at a point where I am ready to move on. I am ready to fill the gap which is now a part of our family. We have the dynamic of a multiple child home, but we only have one. I am not sure if that makes any sense to anyone but me. We are praying to be pregnant sometime soon. Any positive baby dust is much appreciated.
-Ashley
-Ashley
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Guess who is two???
My baby, I mean my big girl is now two years old. Alexa weighs 23lbs 4oz and is 32.75inches tall (9% & 25% tile). It looks like she is going to be tiny like her Momma. Alexa had lots of birthday celebrations. We decided to have her family party over Labor Day weekend in Cincinnati like we did last year. The location is the most central we can get to all of our families. We were very fortunate to have all of Alexa's Grandparents and even 2 of her Great-Grandparents travel in town to celebrate. Alexa got to spend a little bit of one on one time with each of them. Although she was being a bit shy, I still think she had a good time. She was able to play with her two cousins on my side as well.
Justin took on the task of making Alexa's cake. He once again surprised me with this natural ability to make something look very professional on his very first try. His cake looked amazing! He made the fondant from scratch and everything was edible except for the yellow bow on top.
Alexa was excited when she saw the cake, but she still decided not to eat any of it. She has learned the Happy Birthday song & sang it while her cousins ate the cake.
The day of Alexa's actual 2nd birthday we had a quiet family day. Alexa and I ate a homemade breakfast which I prepared and then we all three went to Dave & Buster's. Of course I could not resist a morning photo shoot.
Alexa had a great time at Dave & Busters and even had her first taste of candy (thanks to Daddy). After her nap we had some neighbors over for a small celebration. Alexa really enjoyed being sung to. She prefers the smaller crowds as do I. She ate a little bit of her cake which made us both very happy and then played with Ariel & Angelina.
Since Alexa's birthday fell on a Sunday this year we her school celebration the next day. We were able to supply cupcakes, juice, plates, cups, napkins, table cloth & streamers. Most of it we recycled from her previous parties. Everything turned out great & Alexa had another good celebration. She even ate some of her cupcake but no icing. She was showing off a little bit and insisted on throwing away her cup, plate & washing her hands by herself a few times.
Alexa is a very happy toddler. She can play independently or with others. She can be shy around new people but loves all animals. She knows her numbers up to 10, all her primary colors including pink black & white, about 10 shapes and a few letters. Alexa's vocal skills are still a bit hard for some people to understand. Sometimes I have to interpret for her. We are working hard at getting her to enunciate some of her sounds better. Developmentally I believe she is right on track for success. Alexa also has a very sweet heart. She is very nurturing and enjoying showing affection. There is nothing I love more than cuddling with her. I could not be more in love with my little girl. I feel very blessed to have been chosen to her mother.
Happy Birthday Alexa June!
Alexa was excited when she saw the cake, but she still decided not to eat any of it. She has learned the Happy Birthday song & sang it while her cousins ate the cake.
The day of Alexa's actual 2nd birthday we had a quiet family day. Alexa and I ate a homemade breakfast which I prepared and then we all three went to Dave & Buster's. Of course I could not resist a morning photo shoot.
Alexa had a great time at Dave & Busters and even had her first taste of candy (thanks to Daddy). After her nap we had some neighbors over for a small celebration. Alexa really enjoyed being sung to. She prefers the smaller crowds as do I. She ate a little bit of her cake which made us both very happy and then played with Ariel & Angelina.
Since Alexa's birthday fell on a Sunday this year we her school celebration the next day. We were able to supply cupcakes, juice, plates, cups, napkins, table cloth & streamers. Most of it we recycled from her previous parties. Everything turned out great & Alexa had another good celebration. She even ate some of her cupcake but no icing. She was showing off a little bit and insisted on throwing away her cup, plate & washing her hands by herself a few times.
Alexa is a very happy toddler. She can play independently or with others. She can be shy around new people but loves all animals. She knows her numbers up to 10, all her primary colors including pink black & white, about 10 shapes and a few letters. Alexa's vocal skills are still a bit hard for some people to understand. Sometimes I have to interpret for her. We are working hard at getting her to enunciate some of her sounds better. Developmentally I believe she is right on track for success. Alexa also has a very sweet heart. She is very nurturing and enjoying showing affection. There is nothing I love more than cuddling with her. I could not be more in love with my little girl. I feel very blessed to have been chosen to her mother.
Happy Birthday Alexa June!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Last three weeks
The last three weeks have been strangely normal. Although its been good its also sad. When I grieve to appears to other people that I am doing it quickly. Typically while in the height of the storm I tend to stay strong and focus on the future. I never want sympathy and I rarely show feelings. Once life gets back to normal the reality of what happened starts to sink in. That is when my heart starts to hurt. I start realizing what I am leaving behind and I get a sense of emptiness. That is where I am at today. Although life is normal things are not the same. A part of me will always wonder why, what if and now what? But life moves on and I need to focus on the good... ALEXA!
The last month has been one of our busiest travel months in a long time. We took a quick trip to St Louis to see Jay, Susan and Caleb. Alexa had a great time swimming. We went to Grant's Farm, the Budweiser tour and the Science Museum. We had record hot 100+ days. Alexa loved playing with uncle Caleb. This was also Alexa's first time using her Puddle Jumper. She was cautiously hesitant at first. She did not want us to let go of her. She does NOT like water to get to her mouth level at all. She had a great time jumping in and even met her twin. There was another little girl who ended up having the same birthday as Alexa, her father is active duty Army & they both weighed 23lbs. They both had a good time playing in the water.
Fourth of July weekend was our next big adventure. We went to the post celebration. Alexa rode her first horse and loved it. We saw some friends, listened to music, looked at olde time cars, jumped in the bounce house and endured the heat. We spent the evening at one of Justin's soldiers house. They guys played spades and Alexa played with Heaven who is also a friend of hers from school. Alexa was cranky but survived the busy day. We ended the evening with the post fireworks. Alexa watched them with a bit of fear but decided she would rather sleep.
The next day was my 25th Birthday! I remember think on this day that life is pretty good. Little did I know it would be our last "normal" day for awhile. I had to work for most of my birthday. Justin however was home because it is a training holiday. Alexa ended up with a fever and sounded like she had some respiratory stuff going on. We took her to the local urgent care and they confirmed it was respiratory. We gave her antibiotics and a preventative for pneumonia and started her breathing treatments. She was better within a few days.
That weekend was one big blur. The next weekend was serious Disney packing. Alexa and I spent our evenings getting the house ready and getting everything ready to go. Looking back I do not believe I over packed. I could have gone without a few things but overall I would call it a success.
Disney was a great vacation. I think I will create a separate post about it so I can post a bunch of photos.
When we got back into town we were exhausted. We spent the entire day unpacking, cleaning up the house and getting ready for another week. Not much happened with Alexa during the weekend. But that weekend we packed up and headed to Iowa. We had the once traditional Watson Reunion. Alexa meet a lot of family and played with Matthew. She completely remembered him, Megan and Steve from the previous week. She took some time to warm up to everyone else. In the end we all had a great time. Alexa at chocolate cake for one of the first times and was able to show of her motorized bike to her cousins.
When the weekend ended we had to drive Justin to the airport to fly to Boston. This was the start of my 3 weeks as a single parent.. again! The first week was great. Alexa and I got into a great routine and really took advantage of the cuddle time. When it is just the two of us things are slower and quieter. We tend to do less getting out and more playing around the house. I really enjoyed the relaxed evenings but the mornings were another story. Since Justin returned from Iraq he has been taking Alexa to school. This means the mornings are mine. For these three weeks I am having to wake up 30 minutes earlier, get Alexa ready and leave the house 20 minutes earlier than normal. It makes for a busy start.
Our weekend alone was great. We washed the cars inside and out, clean the garage and basement and had LOTS of playing. The high light of the weekend was swimming with Alexa.
Developmentally Alexa has been making some changes. I can tell cognitively she is really picking things up. Verbally we are working on getting her to enunciate her words. She says a lot of words but most of them are only understood by Justin, myself and her teachers. She does recognize all of her colors and most of her shapes. I am impressed that she knows the difference between a circle & oval. Her brain is working. :) We are also working counting. She insists on starting at 2. She knows 2,3,5,9 & 10. Everything else gets skipped.
We are both really looking forward to Grammie coming in town next week.
The last month has been one of our busiest travel months in a long time. We took a quick trip to St Louis to see Jay, Susan and Caleb. Alexa had a great time swimming. We went to Grant's Farm, the Budweiser tour and the Science Museum. We had record hot 100+ days. Alexa loved playing with uncle Caleb. This was also Alexa's first time using her Puddle Jumper. She was cautiously hesitant at first. She did not want us to let go of her. She does NOT like water to get to her mouth level at all. She had a great time jumping in and even met her twin. There was another little girl who ended up having the same birthday as Alexa, her father is active duty Army & they both weighed 23lbs. They both had a good time playing in the water.
Fourth of July weekend was our next big adventure. We went to the post celebration. Alexa rode her first horse and loved it. We saw some friends, listened to music, looked at olde time cars, jumped in the bounce house and endured the heat. We spent the evening at one of Justin's soldiers house. They guys played spades and Alexa played with Heaven who is also a friend of hers from school. Alexa was cranky but survived the busy day. We ended the evening with the post fireworks. Alexa watched them with a bit of fear but decided she would rather sleep.
The next day was my 25th Birthday! I remember think on this day that life is pretty good. Little did I know it would be our last "normal" day for awhile. I had to work for most of my birthday. Justin however was home because it is a training holiday. Alexa ended up with a fever and sounded like she had some respiratory stuff going on. We took her to the local urgent care and they confirmed it was respiratory. We gave her antibiotics and a preventative for pneumonia and started her breathing treatments. She was better within a few days.
That weekend was one big blur. The next weekend was serious Disney packing. Alexa and I spent our evenings getting the house ready and getting everything ready to go. Looking back I do not believe I over packed. I could have gone without a few things but overall I would call it a success.
Disney was a great vacation. I think I will create a separate post about it so I can post a bunch of photos.
When we got back into town we were exhausted. We spent the entire day unpacking, cleaning up the house and getting ready for another week. Not much happened with Alexa during the weekend. But that weekend we packed up and headed to Iowa. We had the once traditional Watson Reunion. Alexa meet a lot of family and played with Matthew. She completely remembered him, Megan and Steve from the previous week. She took some time to warm up to everyone else. In the end we all had a great time. Alexa at chocolate cake for one of the first times and was able to show of her motorized bike to her cousins.
When the weekend ended we had to drive Justin to the airport to fly to Boston. This was the start of my 3 weeks as a single parent.. again! The first week was great. Alexa and I got into a great routine and really took advantage of the cuddle time. When it is just the two of us things are slower and quieter. We tend to do less getting out and more playing around the house. I really enjoyed the relaxed evenings but the mornings were another story. Since Justin returned from Iraq he has been taking Alexa to school. This means the mornings are mine. For these three weeks I am having to wake up 30 minutes earlier, get Alexa ready and leave the house 20 minutes earlier than normal. It makes for a busy start.
Our weekend alone was great. We washed the cars inside and out, clean the garage and basement and had LOTS of playing. The high light of the weekend was swimming with Alexa.
Developmentally Alexa has been making some changes. I can tell cognitively she is really picking things up. Verbally we are working on getting her to enunciate her words. She says a lot of words but most of them are only understood by Justin, myself and her teachers. She does recognize all of her colors and most of her shapes. I am impressed that she knows the difference between a circle & oval. Her brain is working. :) We are also working counting. She insists on starting at 2. She knows 2,3,5,9 & 10. Everything else gets skipped.
We are both really looking forward to Grammie coming in town next week.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” - C.S. Lewis
The last few days have been life changing. I feel like I have gone through grief process but in a different order. I know we are not going to get past this for awhile, but I feel like we are able to move forward.
On Monday I had to untell the few people at work that knew we were expecting. My friends have been fantastic. They have been the support I was needing. I think they know we well enough to not expect me to hug and cry but instead talk about it openly. Right now I am in the process of trying to understand my guilt and why things happened. It is completely normal from what I have read for all women to feel guilt. I am questioning everything thing I ate, everything I did and wondering if there is something I did not do. The doctors and the research say its nothing you did but they also don't know why it happened. So I don't believe they can say I did not cause it or prevent it. I think I have a healthy grip on my feelings but I do need to experience them all.
The other big emotion right now is fear. Fear of not being able to get pregnant again, fear of another miscarriage. Fear is a hard emotion to control. I don't think it is something I will get over. I imagine the next few months will be very nerve wrecking and when we do get pregnant again I will be terrified of another miscarriage until the day I deliver.
I went to the doctors yesterday and she confirmed the miscarriage that was diagnosed at the ER last Friday. The waiting game of actually passing the pregnancy can go on for weeks. The longer it goes on the higher the risk of infection or a complication. Since it has already been at least 2 weeks since the pregnancy stopped developing we decided to schedule a D&C for Friday. I will be put under annasticia and the doctor will surgically remove the remainder of the pregnancy. We felt this is the best option for us. We will no longer have the anxiety of wonder when things will happen or rather it will happen while we are on vacation.
I am at the point now where I am ready to move forward. I am ready for Friday to be my Day 1 of recovery.
On Monday I had to untell the few people at work that knew we were expecting. My friends have been fantastic. They have been the support I was needing. I think they know we well enough to not expect me to hug and cry but instead talk about it openly. Right now I am in the process of trying to understand my guilt and why things happened. It is completely normal from what I have read for all women to feel guilt. I am questioning everything thing I ate, everything I did and wondering if there is something I did not do. The doctors and the research say its nothing you did but they also don't know why it happened. So I don't believe they can say I did not cause it or prevent it. I think I have a healthy grip on my feelings but I do need to experience them all.
The other big emotion right now is fear. Fear of not being able to get pregnant again, fear of another miscarriage. Fear is a hard emotion to control. I don't think it is something I will get over. I imagine the next few months will be very nerve wrecking and when we do get pregnant again I will be terrified of another miscarriage until the day I deliver.
I went to the doctors yesterday and she confirmed the miscarriage that was diagnosed at the ER last Friday. The waiting game of actually passing the pregnancy can go on for weeks. The longer it goes on the higher the risk of infection or a complication. Since it has already been at least 2 weeks since the pregnancy stopped developing we decided to schedule a D&C for Friday. I will be put under annasticia and the doctor will surgically remove the remainder of the pregnancy. We felt this is the best option for us. We will no longer have the anxiety of wonder when things will happen or rather it will happen while we are on vacation.
I am at the point now where I am ready to move forward. I am ready for Friday to be my Day 1 of recovery.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Planted on Earth, To Bloom in Heaven
On Sunday, June 10th I woke up with some pain just below my right rib cage. Since it was going on for almost 24hours Justin suggested we go to the ER. I reluctantly said yes. We arrived at the local ER at 930am. They took me back immediately and had Justin go to registration to sign me in. The nurse did the usual blood pressure, temperature checks and all the basic questions. The doctor did some poking around and decided I should get an ultra sound of my gallbladder, kidney and; stomach. They also ran bloodwork. Everything from the gallbladder area came back fine. I was then asked to give a urine sample (I could not when I arrived). From that I was told I had a bladder infection and the shocker I am PREGNANT! You would not have seen 2 more shocked people than Justin and I. It was the furthest thing from my mind. For the next thirty minutes or so I was awkwardly laughing in shock. We had lots of thoughts going through our heads from how far along could I be? Is this what is causing my pain? The doctor ran the HCG levels to give us a better idea of the timing. It came back at 158. This meant I was very early in the pregnancy. (Around 4 weeks)
The next day I went to my normal health care provider to get a blood test done. They confirmed I was pregnant and set up my referral. Over the next week Justin and I both became very excited. We truly believe that God has control of our lives and we accept his will. This baby was meant to be apart of our lives and we are excited. Looking back this is a great way to get pregnant. Trying to get pregnant with Alexa was very stressful. We spent 5 1/2 months tracking ovulation and taking pregnancy tests. We also found out very early in the pregnancy. By the time Alexa was born 13 1/2 months after we started trying we were ready. It was a very long waiting time. So this time around we will not have quite the wait.
Justin told a few of his friends who already moved and I told my closest Kansas friend. We also each told a few people at work. Justin wanted his boss to know so he can explain all the doctor visits and in case I were to be hospitalized early again. I told a few coworkers just so they would know I was OK once the morning sickness kicks in.
We really want to tell our families in person. The first family member we will see is my sister, brother in law and nephew in July. I really hope I can make it that long without spilling the beans. We will then have to decide if we tell more family as we see them or wait until we are all together Labor Day weekend. (11 weeks from now)!!!!
The weekend after I found out I was pregnant I had some minor spotting and; sudden sharp pains that would come unprovoked. Spent the next week praying it was nothing more than pregnancy aches and pains.
June 22nd (5Weeks 6 Days) was my first OB appointment. Everyone at the new office is great. I had blood drown, standard weight check and pregnancy questions asked. The doctor suggested we get a sonogram down to check on the pain I have been experiencing. 5 more days until that appointment!
June 27th was our first ultra sound. We were able to rule out an ectopic pregnancy & we also saw the yolk sac. The nurse said I was too early to see baby (before 6 weeks). I knew right then that was not correct. I rationalized with myself that I may have ovulated later than I thought. The nurse marked it as a threatened miscarriage and wanted to see me back in 2 weeks. Everything went as normal for the next week.
On July 5th (my 25th birthday) I started spotting. This spotting was different than the first because it was red not brown. I tried not to worry too much. The next morning I had increased spotting. I called the doctors office and was advised to go to the emergency room.
Once in the ER I had a urine and blood test done. My HCG level was 23,800. This was a bit behind for 8weeks 4 days. It was more like 6 1/2 weeks. I knew however I should have been around 7 1/2 weeks. We were sent for an ultra sound. We knew as soon as it started that it was as we expected. There was no baby & no heart beat. There was little change from what we saw 9 days prior. The nurse tried several different ways to view the uterus. The sack was no the round shape it should have been.
Once we were taken back to our room we were given a miscarriage folder and they wrote me a prescription for pain medicine. I was REALLY hoping things would move quickly from that point. However in the last 24 hours, nothing has changed. The spotting has completely stopped and now we just wait. I will call my doctors office on Monday morning. My follow up ultra sound is scheduled for Wednesday, but I do not want to wait that long.
Today we went to the craft store and bought a shadow box. We filled it with Alexa's big sister shirt, our ultra sound picture, pregnancy tests, my hospital bracelet & a babies breathe flower. It is our way of honoring, recognizing and remembering this precious baby.
If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.
The next day I went to my normal health care provider to get a blood test done. They confirmed I was pregnant and set up my referral. Over the next week Justin and I both became very excited. We truly believe that God has control of our lives and we accept his will. This baby was meant to be apart of our lives and we are excited. Looking back this is a great way to get pregnant. Trying to get pregnant with Alexa was very stressful. We spent 5 1/2 months tracking ovulation and taking pregnancy tests. We also found out very early in the pregnancy. By the time Alexa was born 13 1/2 months after we started trying we were ready. It was a very long waiting time. So this time around we will not have quite the wait.
Justin told a few of his friends who already moved and I told my closest Kansas friend. We also each told a few people at work. Justin wanted his boss to know so he can explain all the doctor visits and in case I were to be hospitalized early again. I told a few coworkers just so they would know I was OK once the morning sickness kicks in.
We really want to tell our families in person. The first family member we will see is my sister, brother in law and nephew in July. I really hope I can make it that long without spilling the beans. We will then have to decide if we tell more family as we see them or wait until we are all together Labor Day weekend. (11 weeks from now)!!!!
The weekend after I found out I was pregnant I had some minor spotting and; sudden sharp pains that would come unprovoked. Spent the next week praying it was nothing more than pregnancy aches and pains.
June 22nd (5Weeks 6 Days) was my first OB appointment. Everyone at the new office is great. I had blood drown, standard weight check and pregnancy questions asked. The doctor suggested we get a sonogram down to check on the pain I have been experiencing. 5 more days until that appointment!
June 27th was our first ultra sound. We were able to rule out an ectopic pregnancy & we also saw the yolk sac. The nurse said I was too early to see baby (before 6 weeks). I knew right then that was not correct. I rationalized with myself that I may have ovulated later than I thought. The nurse marked it as a threatened miscarriage and wanted to see me back in 2 weeks. Everything went as normal for the next week.
On July 5th (my 25th birthday) I started spotting. This spotting was different than the first because it was red not brown. I tried not to worry too much. The next morning I had increased spotting. I called the doctors office and was advised to go to the emergency room.
Once in the ER I had a urine and blood test done. My HCG level was 23,800. This was a bit behind for 8weeks 4 days. It was more like 6 1/2 weeks. I knew however I should have been around 7 1/2 weeks. We were sent for an ultra sound. We knew as soon as it started that it was as we expected. There was no baby & no heart beat. There was little change from what we saw 9 days prior. The nurse tried several different ways to view the uterus. The sack was no the round shape it should have been.
Once we were taken back to our room we were given a miscarriage folder and they wrote me a prescription for pain medicine. I was REALLY hoping things would move quickly from that point. However in the last 24 hours, nothing has changed. The spotting has completely stopped and now we just wait. I will call my doctors office on Monday morning. My follow up ultra sound is scheduled for Wednesday, but I do not want to wait that long.
Today we went to the craft store and bought a shadow box. We filled it with Alexa's big sister shirt, our ultra sound picture, pregnancy tests, my hospital bracelet & a babies breathe flower. It is our way of honoring, recognizing and remembering this precious baby.
If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
21 Months!
While I was in South Carolina for two weeks Justin and Alexa flew to visit me. I was sooo excited to see them. This was only the second time I have been away from Alexa over night. When I picked them up, Alexa saw me and got really excited. She was not expecting to see me. We went to Greenville to see some of Justin's family. Alexa was really shy & even a bit crabby during dinner. However we survived and it was a nice visit. Saturday afternoon we meet up with Margaret Ann, Jeremy & Jackson. I cannot believe it was my first time meeting him (outside of the womb). I feel like I know him from going through the pregnancy with MA & keeping up with them on Facebook. Alexa and Jackson instantly clicked. Alexa even started showing off & ate lots of food for him. We spent the afternoon at the zoo where both kids cried on the carousel but enjoy everything else. They both especially enjoyed the aquarium. After very long naps we went over to their house for dinner. Ms. JoAnn & Mr. Bill joined us. The kids had a great time playing inside & out. Alexa played baseball for the first time. Jackson is very good with the bat & almost took Alexa out a few times. At one point Ms. JoAnn asked if Alexa could have a blueberry. I said sure but she probably wont eat it. To my surprise Alexa took one at a time and ate them right up. She must of had two dozen blue berries & even ate a good dinner. Justin and I were in shock. I am not sure if she felt inspired by Jackson eating or if the medicine is making that much of a difference. Either way we are happy & proud.
Sunday morning we went to church at St. Andrew's. It felt great to be bringing Alexa back to a place that means so much to us. St. Andrew's was the place were our marriage was started, were Alexa was dedicated & our adult friendships all started. We ended up talking with our friends all the way through bible study. We did attend the service & Alexa had a good time. She got a bit loud, so Justin and Alexa took a walk. That afternoon was the churches picnic. Ms. JoAnn held Alexa and did not want to put her down. We all enjoyed the day.
I was very sad to take Justin and Alexa back to the airport. I had to spend 3 more days away from them.
Memorial Day weekend we were together as a family. We went to the zoo & saw a really big snake (not in the snake house). We rode the hang cart ride as a family. Alexa & I also rode a camel. It was a great day. We ended the evening with dinner at Stix. It is a hibachi style Japanese restaurant. Every time we go there it is as though it's Alexa's first time. She is amazed by the fire & claps by the end of the show.
On Sunday planted our summer flowers. We were behind because of all the traveling. Alexa helped me arrange them & we both got very dirty. The flowers are doing surprisingly well for being such a late plant. Alexa enjoys watering the flowers & now Justin and I. Justin taught Alexa how to aim the hose at us & she thinks it is hilarious. So we now have to water the flowers after work instead of before.
On Memorial Day we went to a Children's Farmstead. It was amazing! They had an endless number of things to do. Alexa was able to see lots of animals from cows to chickens, buffalo & horses. She was able to feed the baby goats a bottle & even do some fishing. Alexa fell asleep during the hayride so we ended up leaving before we saw everything. It is a great place that I am certain we will be going back to in the future.
The next weekend Justin headed back to South Carolina for his brothers high school graduation. Alexa and I were sad to see him go but enjoyed our time alone. We spent the weekend cuddling & playing outside. We even went for our very first run together (just the two of us). I noticed 2 miles in that Alexa was sound asleep and her blanket was no longer with us. Instead of retracing the 2 miles I decided to run home and get the car. I am glad I did because we found the blanket almost half way through our run. I am glad it went unharmed.
The last weekend this month we had an adventurous one. We did a family 5K for the Army's Birthday. It was surprisingly very hilly. Justin and I both struggled. However I finished 2nd & Justin finished 1st for our age/gender categories. I really look forward to doing more of these in the future together. Alexa was very proud of "her" medals & wore them around her neck all afternoon.
This month Alexa transitioned from her baby room (Butterflies) to her toddler room (Kaleidoscope). In March I was not ready for Alexa to transition, but by May we all were. Alexa was getting a bit bored in the baby room. Her new class room is much larger and has lots of stimulating toddler toys. She now has water play twice a week where she gets to wear her swimsuit & play with all her friends. She did really well the first few days transitioning. She ended up staying in there sooner than they originally though. However when I had to bring her in early she was not happy about it. The first day was very hard on both of us. They told me within a few minutes she was fine. The second day she was not wanting to go in. They suggested I help her wash her hands. She did that and then was fine. So glad it got better.
This month we worked on Alexa's colors & getting her to use words instead of sounds to ask for things. I think she grew a bit in height but I can not say for certain.
Sunday morning we went to church at St. Andrew's. It felt great to be bringing Alexa back to a place that means so much to us. St. Andrew's was the place were our marriage was started, were Alexa was dedicated & our adult friendships all started. We ended up talking with our friends all the way through bible study. We did attend the service & Alexa had a good time. She got a bit loud, so Justin and Alexa took a walk. That afternoon was the churches picnic. Ms. JoAnn held Alexa and did not want to put her down. We all enjoyed the day.
I was very sad to take Justin and Alexa back to the airport. I had to spend 3 more days away from them.
Memorial Day weekend we were together as a family. We went to the zoo & saw a really big snake (not in the snake house). We rode the hang cart ride as a family. Alexa & I also rode a camel. It was a great day. We ended the evening with dinner at Stix. It is a hibachi style Japanese restaurant. Every time we go there it is as though it's Alexa's first time. She is amazed by the fire & claps by the end of the show.
On Sunday planted our summer flowers. We were behind because of all the traveling. Alexa helped me arrange them & we both got very dirty. The flowers are doing surprisingly well for being such a late plant. Alexa enjoys watering the flowers & now Justin and I. Justin taught Alexa how to aim the hose at us & she thinks it is hilarious. So we now have to water the flowers after work instead of before.
On Memorial Day we went to a Children's Farmstead. It was amazing! They had an endless number of things to do. Alexa was able to see lots of animals from cows to chickens, buffalo & horses. She was able to feed the baby goats a bottle & even do some fishing. Alexa fell asleep during the hayride so we ended up leaving before we saw everything. It is a great place that I am certain we will be going back to in the future.
The next weekend Justin headed back to South Carolina for his brothers high school graduation. Alexa and I were sad to see him go but enjoyed our time alone. We spent the weekend cuddling & playing outside. We even went for our very first run together (just the two of us). I noticed 2 miles in that Alexa was sound asleep and her blanket was no longer with us. Instead of retracing the 2 miles I decided to run home and get the car. I am glad I did because we found the blanket almost half way through our run. I am glad it went unharmed.
The last weekend this month we had an adventurous one. We did a family 5K for the Army's Birthday. It was surprisingly very hilly. Justin and I both struggled. However I finished 2nd & Justin finished 1st for our age/gender categories. I really look forward to doing more of these in the future together. Alexa was very proud of "her" medals & wore them around her neck all afternoon.
This month Alexa transitioned from her baby room (Butterflies) to her toddler room (Kaleidoscope). In March I was not ready for Alexa to transition, but by May we all were. Alexa was getting a bit bored in the baby room. Her new class room is much larger and has lots of stimulating toddler toys. She now has water play twice a week where she gets to wear her swimsuit & play with all her friends. She did really well the first few days transitioning. She ended up staying in there sooner than they originally though. However when I had to bring her in early she was not happy about it. The first day was very hard on both of us. They told me within a few minutes she was fine. The second day she was not wanting to go in. They suggested I help her wash her hands. She did that and then was fine. So glad it got better.
This month we worked on Alexa's colors & getting her to use words instead of sounds to ask for things. I think she grew a bit in height but I can not say for certain.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
20 Months Old
So life happened and I got really far behind on blogging... more than usual.
We had A LOT of traveling happen this month. First Grammie came in town. Alexa was able to spend the day with her & we then spent the weekend as a family. That Saturday was the post garage sales. Grammie, Alexa and I set out VERY early. We were looking for a stroller but ended up finding an Alexa size 4 wheeler, toy kitchen (with lots of food) & a new humidifier for Alexa's room.
The next week we had Alexa's first allergist appointment. We weThis re relieved to find out that Alexa does not have any allergist. She was diagnosed with severe reflux. The reflux has caused her to not be able to eat solids, so in turn she drinks lots of milk & then throws up. Its a bad cycle that we are hoping to correct. Alexa was given Nexium. Justin gives it to her every morning in her yogurt. Two weeks later she was doing a little better & started eating A LOT of new foods and is drinking less milk (less throwing up). She will go back to the doctor in the middle of June for another follow up. So far we are happy with her progress.
Alexa and I took a trip to Cincinnati to watch Maggie graduate college. The flight was good but the traveling took a toll on Alexa. She was very overwhelmed with all the new people and had a rough weekend. She wanted me to be next to her the entire time and came across very shy. It is tough traveling with Alexa alone. I am glad we were able to be there. Alexa was able to see a lot of family & even my Grandparents. We were however relieved to be home and be in our routine.
In May we had our latest gymnastics session. There were 5 total. We did the first two as a family & it was wonderful. I love having memories of the three of us doing something we all enjoy. The third class we were all out of town. The fourth one Justin & Alexa did alone while I was out of town & the last one was just Buggy & I (Justin out of town). It was a hectic time but I am glad we make things Alexa love a priority. She really gets excited when we get to the gym & she is really doing well with it. She can almost do her roll, she is very good a climbing & even watches her feet as she walks on the beam. I am certain we will be in the class again in the fall.
Mothers Day 2011 I moved Alexa to her nursery. It was our first night in separate rooms. This year I had to travel out of town on Mothers Day. The day is not a big deal to me, but it was still sad. I only had to spend 3 days away from Alexa & Justin on the front end & 3 days on the back end.
This month Alexa has learned lots of animal sounds. She signs please whenever she wants something. She shakes her head no when she means yes. When she really means no then she shakes really hard & cries. I feel like she really started getting an attitude. I am not sure if its the "twos" starting or if she was just having a hard time with the crazy schedules. Alexa is still just over 22lbs and 31 inches. She is a peanut but still much bigger than I was at that age.
We had A LOT of traveling happen this month. First Grammie came in town. Alexa was able to spend the day with her & we then spent the weekend as a family. That Saturday was the post garage sales. Grammie, Alexa and I set out VERY early. We were looking for a stroller but ended up finding an Alexa size 4 wheeler, toy kitchen (with lots of food) & a new humidifier for Alexa's room.
The next week we had Alexa's first allergist appointment. We weThis re relieved to find out that Alexa does not have any allergist. She was diagnosed with severe reflux. The reflux has caused her to not be able to eat solids, so in turn she drinks lots of milk & then throws up. Its a bad cycle that we are hoping to correct. Alexa was given Nexium. Justin gives it to her every morning in her yogurt. Two weeks later she was doing a little better & started eating A LOT of new foods and is drinking less milk (less throwing up). She will go back to the doctor in the middle of June for another follow up. So far we are happy with her progress.
Alexa and I took a trip to Cincinnati to watch Maggie graduate college. The flight was good but the traveling took a toll on Alexa. She was very overwhelmed with all the new people and had a rough weekend. She wanted me to be next to her the entire time and came across very shy. It is tough traveling with Alexa alone. I am glad we were able to be there. Alexa was able to see a lot of family & even my Grandparents. We were however relieved to be home and be in our routine.
In May we had our latest gymnastics session. There were 5 total. We did the first two as a family & it was wonderful. I love having memories of the three of us doing something we all enjoy. The third class we were all out of town. The fourth one Justin & Alexa did alone while I was out of town & the last one was just Buggy & I (Justin out of town). It was a hectic time but I am glad we make things Alexa love a priority. She really gets excited when we get to the gym & she is really doing well with it. She can almost do her roll, she is very good a climbing & even watches her feet as she walks on the beam. I am certain we will be in the class again in the fall.
Mothers Day 2011 I moved Alexa to her nursery. It was our first night in separate rooms. This year I had to travel out of town on Mothers Day. The day is not a big deal to me, but it was still sad. I only had to spend 3 days away from Alexa & Justin on the front end & 3 days on the back end.
This month Alexa has learned lots of animal sounds. She signs please whenever she wants something. She shakes her head no when she means yes. When she really means no then she shakes really hard & cries. I feel like she really started getting an attitude. I am not sure if its the "twos" starting or if she was just having a hard time with the crazy schedules. Alexa is still just over 22lbs and 31 inches. She is a peanut but still much bigger than I was at that age.
Monday, April 16, 2012
19 Months
The month started off with a parade. Justin's unit was invited to walk in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Leavenworth. Justin was one of the 30 service members who chose to walk. About 20 of the soldiers had their families walk with them. Alexa wore her shamrock dress, adorable bow & a big smile. We had to wait about 2 hours from the time we got there before the parade actually started. The beginning of the wait was not bad. We were all in a playful mood. As time went on it got a lot warmer out and eventually we had to walk to our start location. Once we got there we were waiting in the sun. Alexa played with other children, dogs and other floats. She even got a balloon but it ended up breaking before the parade started. During the parade Alexa rotated between my arms & Justin's. She waved, blew kisses and had a few moments of shyness. Overall it was a great event. Alexa even tried her first corned beef and cabbage meal. Later in the afternoon we had Ariel's 2ND birthday party. Alexa wore one of her new Mickey dresses to match the theme. The girls had a great time. They both especially enjoyed the very large bubbles. We ended the evening with a bonfire in our driveway. We officially kicked out the spring season with a bang.
The next week we were fortunate enough to find out that Alexa does not have any allergies. At least not any of the ones they tested her for the week prior. Alexa got her last shot until she is 4. This will make the doctors visit a little less scary. The biggest thing that happened this week was Alexa transitioning to her big girl bed. I did not plan for it to happen but something told me it was time. I took the side rail off of her bed myself and put on the new toddler rail. It only goes down half of the bed. It is a slow transition but its a step in the right direction. The first night Alexa woke up on the floor. She did great for two nights after that but then went back to laying on the floor. I am fairly certain she is falling off the bed and not walking off. Either way we are working on it and I am sure she will stay on the bed soon enough.
The middle of March we also had some visitors. My Dad & Beth came out to see us. It is sooo nice to get visitors. We love seeing our family but traveling as frequently as we did last year is very exhausting. Ideally I would love to only travel 4 times a year. Anything more just makes us worn out. So Dad and Beth came in town on Friday. They were able to stay at the on post lodging. This was very convenient for all of us. They were only 5 minutes away at night. Alexa took a few minutes to warm up to them but then did great. Friday evening we went out to dinner and Alexa showed them how little she actually eats. On Saturday we drove down to the Kansas City Zoo. We all had a great, warm time. Alexa even rode her first African Sky Safari. I was nervous about her being up there but she did great with her Dad and Grandpa.
Saturday evening we went down to Legends for dinner and some shopping. Alexa had a major throw up incident in the car on the way there. Beth and I had to get her completely undressed. Justin though this was a great opportunity to buy Alexa a new Polo dress. Alexa did look adorable. On Sunday we went out to lunch before saying good bye to our visitors. It was sad to see them go but Alexa and I will be in Cincinnati in just over a month (from when this was written). Sunday afternoon we took the opportunity to clean out our cars. We vacuumed, shampooed and detailed the insides. Hopefully I can get Justin to clean the outsides next weekend.
This next week we went back to swim lessons. Monday's lesson was just Alexa and I. On Wednesday Justin joined us. Alexa is really starting to understand the instructions. She is even blowing bubbles more then drinking the water. This is our last week of swim lessons until June. We are taking April off from sports so we can enjoy the outdoor weather and in May we are taking gymnastics. This week we also had a play date with Olive and Bennett. Alexa immediate wanted to play with Bennett. She would wave hi and bring her toys. After about 5 minutes Alexa ended up sitting in Bennett's car seat. Wherever we would put Bennett, Alexa would go there too. She wanted to act like the baby. It was cute but I hope its not new habit when babies come around. Alexa really wanted to do bubbles so we did them inside. Alexa was able to blow the bubbles by herself and was very proud.
The last weekend in March we had nothing major planned. We took Alexa bowling for the first, well second time. The first time was the day before Justin deployed. Alexa was 3 months old and basically watched us with no understanding of what was going on. This time we used the dinosaur & let Alexa bowl by herself. She was actually the most consistent bowler of the three of us. She did not eat the pizza & spent the rest of the time blowing bubbles in her juice cup.
As April came the warm weather left. It also brought in another sickness scare. When I picked Alexa up from school on the first Monday of the month Alexa felt warm to me. When we got home I had her read some books and relax. After drinking some milk and being inside for awhile I took Alexa's temperature and it was over 100*. I knew this was not a good sign. With Alexa fever = sickness. We gave her Tylenol and sent her to bed early. Alexa did not improve over the night. In fact she was up coughing and crying off and on for a few hours. I spent Wednesday home with her and took her to the doctor. Of course when we got to the doctor Alexa had no fever and was acting fine. They did a strep test but it came back negative. We went home with nothing. The next day Alexa seemed to be back to her normal self so we took her to school. I called and checked on her twice, both times I was told she was doing fine. Then I got a call at 315 (I normally pick Alexa up at 330) saying Alexa needed to be picked up. They said kids in her room had Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease & Alexa was showing signs. I picked Alexa up at the normal time and found out her "signs" were actually bumps on her bottom, AKA diaper rash. I signed the sick note anyways but knew it was not HFMD. We brought Alexa back to school the next day without a doctors note and they did not argue with me. I do understand they have to do their job, however maybe they need to do more research before trying to diagnose my child. They are daycare workers, not health professionals!! OK, off my soapbox.
The next weekend we decided to go car shopping. Alexa did awesome spending 3 hours at the Mazda dealership. I am certain the salesman did not appreciate Alexa put her hands all over the showroom cars. However if I am spending X amount of money at their dealership they can handle my daughters adorable little hand prints. :) We ended up not getting the Mazda and headed to the Nissan dealership for a quick look. I think the long day was wearing more on Justin then Alexa. We had a bad experience there and ended up leaving with a salesman chasing behind us. So not a fun experience. We did however attend an Easter Bunny Brunch. Alexa wore her super adorable yellow dress. She cried & wanted nothing to do with the bunny. She did enjoy her food & the crafts. It was a really great event.
Sunday was our first family Easter. We did a small egg hunt in the front yard for Alexa. She refused to touch the eggs but wanted Justin to pick them up for her. She would then put them in her basket and walk to the next one. I am really glad we were able to get it on video.
The next week we ended up deciding on getting the Mazda. Justin went back and did all the dirty work. Alexa and I did the grocery shopping and then spent the evening hanging out. It was a great few hours of Mommy & me time.
The last weekend was a busy one for us. Friday night we did another fire pit driveway night. We had a few of the neighbors/ friends over. Alexa and Ariel played with bubbles & glow sticks. They both stayed up until 830pm. Alexa slept until 8am the next morning. It was nice to be able to sleep in a little bit on a Saturday.
Saturday morning we took Alexa, Ariel & Angelina to the posts children's festival. We say rescue dogs, characters & lots of our friends. The girls got their hands painted, got puppy balloon animals and did some dancing. We all had a great time. Afterwards we went out to lunch. Alexa was exhausted and fell asleep in her high chair. The afternoon was spent with 2 very sleep girls who took 3 hour naps. Saturday night Justin and I went out to listen to Adam's band play. Alexa stayed next door with the Acred's niece. I was told she did great.
Sunday was spent with just family time. We had our first ever family run. Justin was very encouraging and Alexa even clapped for me. We did 20 minutes sandwiched by 10 minutes of walking.
Alexa this month has started saying more words. She knows all of her body parts names, 5-6 animals sounds & lots of small words. We are working on colors, shapes & numbers.
The next week we were fortunate enough to find out that Alexa does not have any allergies. At least not any of the ones they tested her for the week prior. Alexa got her last shot until she is 4. This will make the doctors visit a little less scary. The biggest thing that happened this week was Alexa transitioning to her big girl bed. I did not plan for it to happen but something told me it was time. I took the side rail off of her bed myself and put on the new toddler rail. It only goes down half of the bed. It is a slow transition but its a step in the right direction. The first night Alexa woke up on the floor. She did great for two nights after that but then went back to laying on the floor. I am fairly certain she is falling off the bed and not walking off. Either way we are working on it and I am sure she will stay on the bed soon enough.
The middle of March we also had some visitors. My Dad & Beth came out to see us. It is sooo nice to get visitors. We love seeing our family but traveling as frequently as we did last year is very exhausting. Ideally I would love to only travel 4 times a year. Anything more just makes us worn out. So Dad and Beth came in town on Friday. They were able to stay at the on post lodging. This was very convenient for all of us. They were only 5 minutes away at night. Alexa took a few minutes to warm up to them but then did great. Friday evening we went out to dinner and Alexa showed them how little she actually eats. On Saturday we drove down to the Kansas City Zoo. We all had a great, warm time. Alexa even rode her first African Sky Safari. I was nervous about her being up there but she did great with her Dad and Grandpa.
Saturday evening we went down to Legends for dinner and some shopping. Alexa had a major throw up incident in the car on the way there. Beth and I had to get her completely undressed. Justin though this was a great opportunity to buy Alexa a new Polo dress. Alexa did look adorable. On Sunday we went out to lunch before saying good bye to our visitors. It was sad to see them go but Alexa and I will be in Cincinnati in just over a month (from when this was written). Sunday afternoon we took the opportunity to clean out our cars. We vacuumed, shampooed and detailed the insides. Hopefully I can get Justin to clean the outsides next weekend.
This next week we went back to swim lessons. Monday's lesson was just Alexa and I. On Wednesday Justin joined us. Alexa is really starting to understand the instructions. She is even blowing bubbles more then drinking the water. This is our last week of swim lessons until June. We are taking April off from sports so we can enjoy the outdoor weather and in May we are taking gymnastics. This week we also had a play date with Olive and Bennett. Alexa immediate wanted to play with Bennett. She would wave hi and bring her toys. After about 5 minutes Alexa ended up sitting in Bennett's car seat. Wherever we would put Bennett, Alexa would go there too. She wanted to act like the baby. It was cute but I hope its not new habit when babies come around. Alexa really wanted to do bubbles so we did them inside. Alexa was able to blow the bubbles by herself and was very proud.
The last weekend in March we had nothing major planned. We took Alexa bowling for the first, well second time. The first time was the day before Justin deployed. Alexa was 3 months old and basically watched us with no understanding of what was going on. This time we used the dinosaur & let Alexa bowl by herself. She was actually the most consistent bowler of the three of us. She did not eat the pizza & spent the rest of the time blowing bubbles in her juice cup.
As April came the warm weather left. It also brought in another sickness scare. When I picked Alexa up from school on the first Monday of the month Alexa felt warm to me. When we got home I had her read some books and relax. After drinking some milk and being inside for awhile I took Alexa's temperature and it was over 100*. I knew this was not a good sign. With Alexa fever = sickness. We gave her Tylenol and sent her to bed early. Alexa did not improve over the night. In fact she was up coughing and crying off and on for a few hours. I spent Wednesday home with her and took her to the doctor. Of course when we got to the doctor Alexa had no fever and was acting fine. They did a strep test but it came back negative. We went home with nothing. The next day Alexa seemed to be back to her normal self so we took her to school. I called and checked on her twice, both times I was told she was doing fine. Then I got a call at 315 (I normally pick Alexa up at 330) saying Alexa needed to be picked up. They said kids in her room had Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease & Alexa was showing signs. I picked Alexa up at the normal time and found out her "signs" were actually bumps on her bottom, AKA diaper rash. I signed the sick note anyways but knew it was not HFMD. We brought Alexa back to school the next day without a doctors note and they did not argue with me. I do understand they have to do their job, however maybe they need to do more research before trying to diagnose my child. They are daycare workers, not health professionals!! OK, off my soapbox.
The next weekend we decided to go car shopping. Alexa did awesome spending 3 hours at the Mazda dealership. I am certain the salesman did not appreciate Alexa put her hands all over the showroom cars. However if I am spending X amount of money at their dealership they can handle my daughters adorable little hand prints. :) We ended up not getting the Mazda and headed to the Nissan dealership for a quick look. I think the long day was wearing more on Justin then Alexa. We had a bad experience there and ended up leaving with a salesman chasing behind us. So not a fun experience. We did however attend an Easter Bunny Brunch. Alexa wore her super adorable yellow dress. She cried & wanted nothing to do with the bunny. She did enjoy her food & the crafts. It was a really great event.
Sunday was our first family Easter. We did a small egg hunt in the front yard for Alexa. She refused to touch the eggs but wanted Justin to pick them up for her. She would then put them in her basket and walk to the next one. I am really glad we were able to get it on video.
The next week we ended up deciding on getting the Mazda. Justin went back and did all the dirty work. Alexa and I did the grocery shopping and then spent the evening hanging out. It was a great few hours of Mommy & me time.
The last weekend was a busy one for us. Friday night we did another fire pit driveway night. We had a few of the neighbors/ friends over. Alexa and Ariel played with bubbles & glow sticks. They both stayed up until 830pm. Alexa slept until 8am the next morning. It was nice to be able to sleep in a little bit on a Saturday.
Saturday morning we took Alexa, Ariel & Angelina to the posts children's festival. We say rescue dogs, characters & lots of our friends. The girls got their hands painted, got puppy balloon animals and did some dancing. We all had a great time. Afterwards we went out to lunch. Alexa was exhausted and fell asleep in her high chair. The afternoon was spent with 2 very sleep girls who took 3 hour naps. Saturday night Justin and I went out to listen to Adam's band play. Alexa stayed next door with the Acred's niece. I was told she did great.
Sunday was spent with just family time. We had our first ever family run. Justin was very encouraging and Alexa even clapped for me. We did 20 minutes sandwiched by 10 minutes of walking.
Alexa this month has started saying more words. She knows all of her body parts names, 5-6 animals sounds & lots of small words. We are working on colors, shapes & numbers.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Introducing Laney
For the last three years Justin has talked about getting a dog. He knew deep down that it was not practical for us to get a dog due to our traveling, having a baby & then the deployment. I however did not want a dog. I knew it was not only not practically but also that we are busy enough with 2 cats, Alexa & 2 full time jobs. Something in me changed towards the end of the deployment. I wanted to get something for Justin that would really be his and give him something to look forward to. I started talking to him about getting a dog when he returned. He seemed excited about this. Fast forward 2 months. We looked at few different options and decided to go with a breeder. We wanted to make sure we were getting a full breed boxer. We did not want to risk getting some sort of pit or other aggressive dog. We decided a puppy would be best to help Alexa and the cats with the transition. After a few weeks of looking I found a breeder that had 2 brindles, 2 fawns & 1 white puppy. I knew we only wanted a brindle. I emailed her and found out she had one brindle few left. I was excited.
We picked up Laney Bug the day before Justin's 26th birthday. The first two weeks Laney peed on the carpets every few minutes and cried all night long. After a month we had both of those under control. We are still perfecting the potty training but she has come a long way. Laney was 5lbs when we got here. She was VERY tiny for her age. At 3 1/2 months old she started catching up in size. She is now 19.3lbs. She knows her name a several commands. Look at our girl!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Reflecting on the last few years...
Being pregnant was one of the most confusing and exciting times of my life. I became overly aware of my body and the precious life growing inside of me. I tried to anticipate what life would be like as a family of three, what kind of mother I would be and what kind of parents Justin and I would be together. We bought everything we thought we would need. I did lots of reading in hopes of being prepared. Parenting is not something you can fully prepare for. Although the reading does help a bit. Even the uninvited advice is irrelevant until you are holding your baby in your arms. I really believe Justin either had an odd sense of confidence or really knew ahead of time parenthood was not something you can understand before hand. He did not worry about which brand of diapers, rather Alexa had a bumper in her crib or if they hospital bag was packed two months ahead of time.
The first few months of parenting are full of giving your new delicate baby everything she needs. Every little sound means you jump to your feet and try to resolve whatever discomfort she may have. As time goes on your eagerness to cater to your growing baby slows a bit. Now that I have a self feeding, independent playing toddler things have really changed. Instead of feeling like Alexa was the strange, new exciting thing in our lives it feels more like she is one of the family. We do not make decisions and then factor in Alexa. We make decisions with Alexa in the back of our mind without effort. She is now a permanent part of our lives and it feels good.
At this time two years ago I was confident that I was having a son. In fact his name was going to be Lucas. I referred to him by his name in posts and was really excited about all the boy things head of us. On April 15Th, 2010 we found out the son we never really had was actually our future daughter. I wish I could say we were filled with nothing but excitement. However we were both in shock. I remember standing outside the room asking Justin if he was excited. He said he was but it felt odd. Those confused feeling went away rather quickly. The next day we saw "Alexa" on a 4D ultrasound. From that day forward the idea of having a daughter was a dream come true for a dream I never knew I had.
Now that Alexa is well into the toddler years I have an endless craving for our mother/daughter relationship. Every time she wants her toe nails painted, bows put in her hair or just the cute like cues my heart melts. I instantly go back to the moment when I found out I was having a daughter and it makes everything worth it. I do not want to sound naive about the future. I do know we will have our ups and downs. However I know there will be lots of great memories and lots of love to go around. Having a daughter is one of my greatest prides.
The fear of raising my daughter to be everything I want her to be is also scary. There is no single manual that says if you do x,y & z you will raise a confident, successful, loving girl inside and out. Every interaction I have with her is shaping who she will be for the rest of her life. The daycare I put her in, the meals I cook her, the shows she watches on TV all have an impact on who Alexa Cox will be. The daunting task of raising a daughter is not something I take lightly. Wanting the best life for my daughter also requires me to put myself in the backseat. Although I would love to keep Alexa all to myself I know that is not what is best for her. I know spending time at school, time with family without me and time with other adults will help prepare her for her life outside of nursery rhymes and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I know I have to take her to get shots, teach her boundaries and even how to use the potty. But how do we know that we are doing enough? There is no parenting report card and self reflection is not something I am an expert in.
So far now I will continue to love my daughter with all my heart. I will pray about every aspect of parenting. I will read the enormous amount of parenting books and even wish on 11:11. And yes Alexa, it is all worth it.
The first few months of parenting are full of giving your new delicate baby everything she needs. Every little sound means you jump to your feet and try to resolve whatever discomfort she may have. As time goes on your eagerness to cater to your growing baby slows a bit. Now that I have a self feeding, independent playing toddler things have really changed. Instead of feeling like Alexa was the strange, new exciting thing in our lives it feels more like she is one of the family. We do not make decisions and then factor in Alexa. We make decisions with Alexa in the back of our mind without effort. She is now a permanent part of our lives and it feels good.
At this time two years ago I was confident that I was having a son. In fact his name was going to be Lucas. I referred to him by his name in posts and was really excited about all the boy things head of us. On April 15Th, 2010 we found out the son we never really had was actually our future daughter. I wish I could say we were filled with nothing but excitement. However we were both in shock. I remember standing outside the room asking Justin if he was excited. He said he was but it felt odd. Those confused feeling went away rather quickly. The next day we saw "Alexa" on a 4D ultrasound. From that day forward the idea of having a daughter was a dream come true for a dream I never knew I had.
Now that Alexa is well into the toddler years I have an endless craving for our mother/daughter relationship. Every time she wants her toe nails painted, bows put in her hair or just the cute like cues my heart melts. I instantly go back to the moment when I found out I was having a daughter and it makes everything worth it. I do not want to sound naive about the future. I do know we will have our ups and downs. However I know there will be lots of great memories and lots of love to go around. Having a daughter is one of my greatest prides.
The fear of raising my daughter to be everything I want her to be is also scary. There is no single manual that says if you do x,y & z you will raise a confident, successful, loving girl inside and out. Every interaction I have with her is shaping who she will be for the rest of her life. The daycare I put her in, the meals I cook her, the shows she watches on TV all have an impact on who Alexa Cox will be. The daunting task of raising a daughter is not something I take lightly. Wanting the best life for my daughter also requires me to put myself in the backseat. Although I would love to keep Alexa all to myself I know that is not what is best for her. I know spending time at school, time with family without me and time with other adults will help prepare her for her life outside of nursery rhymes and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I know I have to take her to get shots, teach her boundaries and even how to use the potty. But how do we know that we are doing enough? There is no parenting report card and self reflection is not something I am an expert in.
So far now I will continue to love my daughter with all my heart. I will pray about every aspect of parenting. I will read the enormous amount of parenting books and even wish on 11:11. And yes Alexa, it is all worth it.
Friday, March 16, 2012
18 Months Old (1.5 years)
The month started off with a visit from Justin's Mom (Nana) and her husband David (Pepere). Alexa did not take long to warm up to them. She enjoyed showing them her toys, Mickey Mouse & even went outside to play with Nana. It was a relatively uneventful weekend. Alexa did have one big fall off of the slide which led to a little panic from all of us. She ended up OK but threw up a few times that evening.
This month Alexa also attended her first promotion ceremony. She learned how to fist bump & wanted to practice it during the ceremony. Instead we went outside and played in the mud. We did our best to listen to Daddy as best we could. Alexa enjoyed some strawberries and running around with the other children afterwards. The next day we attended a party for Ford's promotion. Alexa was the only toddler there & she did awesome. She sat on their couch and watched Mickey Mouse for almost 2 hours. I am glad she allowed us to go out for a few hours and have some grown up time. This same weekend we also had baby Bennett over for a play date. Bennett is almost 1 year younger than Alexa. She is a very happy baby and Alexa enjoyed making her laugh. Alexa was a little jealous of Bennett sitting in her old kick and play. Alexa ended up getting a pacifier and sat in the kick in play. I think it was really her first time being around a baby outside of daycare. The cutest moment was when I was making Bennett smile, Alexa was laughing uncontrollably. She thought Mommy was being hilarious! Sunday afternoon we had our family photos taken. The pictures were Alexa's Easter & 18 month photos. She was having a rough time in the beginning but did awesome after a little milk and quiet time break.
This last week was another week of swim lessons. Alexa enjoyed the first 20 minutes but then got cold and wanted to get out. Of course we kept her in for the entire lesson anyways. Wednesdays lesson was more enjoyable for Alexa. I am not sure what the difference was but she was happier then Monday.
This month was also a big one for Alexa. We decided to buy Alexa a potty just so she could meet it and be comfortable around it. The first time I put her on it she thought it was funny. She put her toys in it, tried to stand in it and eventually got bored and walked away. The second time I put her on it she seemed to know what was expected of her. Within a few minutes she went #1 & then laughed. I made a HUGE deal out of it and she clapped. Within the first week she used the potty three times. I think we only put her on it 4-5 times total. We are going to work on the potty training on the weekends but not really stress about it during the week. Until she is fully transitioned into her room she cannot potty train at school. The last time I put Alexa on the toilet I went upstairs to drop off some laundry. When I came back down I found Alexa ~5ft away with her pants around her ankles and a small urine pile. I guess she got confused.
Alexa had her last well baby appointment. She was 30.5 inches & 21lbs 10oz. For some reason I am thinking he weigh was a little more but I do not remember for certain. Either way she is growing right on her little curve. She is 15% for weight & 30% for height. No complaints from this Momma. The doctor did decide to test Alexa for allergies. Since we have not been able to pin point the congestion she felt this was the next step. We have to wait an entire week to get the test results back.
Alexa really started enjoying fruit this weekend. She had several pieces of strawberries, pineapple & of course her grapes. Daddy can get her to eat kiwi & even slices of apples.
Alexa is starting to make small sentences. She says things like "My... (Mickey for example)." She now responds more to us when we ask questions. If we ask her if she wants her breakfast she will nod her head yes & walk to the high chair. He started to get into the habit of saying "night night" to all the babies in the stairway on our way to bed. Of course Alexa does not realize they are all pictures of her. She now waves to them & even gives some of the kisses. Its super cute but kind of strange.
The last weekend in February was yet another warm one. This winter has been crazy warm. I am a little sad that we were not able to experience a snow day or Alexa playing in the snow for the first time. On a positive note it may have helped us eliminate any extra sicknesses and dangers the winter can cause. Any who.. we spent the weekend making the most of the weather. We had Ariel with us for most of the weekend. This made it a bit more challenging but still a lot of fun. We took both girls to our friends birthday party for her 7 year old daughter. The party was at Play, Bounce & Jump. The girls enjoyed the toddler area but insisted on visiting the big kid area too. Alexa especially enjoyed the VERY large slide rides with Daddy & Ariel enjoyed seeing us through the nets on the smaller bounce houses. Both girls ate some birthday cake and ended the afternoon with a really long nap. That evening we took them out for some Chinese food. The girls mostly at fruit, veggies & some noodles.
On Sunday we took Alexa to do the zoo. I was trying to get Alexa to repeat the animal names and sounds to me. Recently she has gotten really shy with using her words. We did get her to make a rather awesome ROAR for the lions. She enjoyed the Meercats & the Squirrel Monkeys the best. We were able to ride the carousel & tram out to Africa. We were not able to make the train this time but I am certain we will be going back soon.
Alexa is finishing up her last month in the nursery. This is really sad for me. I prefer for Alexa to get the nurturing and loving environment of a nursery over a more structured toddler room. I think the transition will be just as hard on me. Alexa's class room (Butterfly) has recently started having 2 different male teachers rotate in to cover breaks. Alexa is not having it. The are both very nice people and love the children. Alexa has not had a lot of male interaction in the last year and a half. Sometimes she will take to males and other times she will cry her little heart out. Hopefully this will get easier as time progresses. Daddy of course does not find this a problem at all. ;)
The first weekend in March was VERY low key for us. We spent most of Saturday in our PJ's just time as a family. We did however go out for some more Chinese food. Alexa had her first fortune cookie. The phrase was super lame.
This month we started another round of swim lessons. Our first lesson was just Buggy I & but Daddy joined us on the second one. Alexa is starting to take direction from her teacher & LOVES to splash. When we practice jumping in the pool Alexa lights up. This is certainly her favorite part of the class. We are still working on getting her to be patient and wait until we count to three. I am not sure if she gets cold or just wants to jump. Either way its adorable & will improve with practice.This month Alexa also attended her first promotion ceremony. She learned how to fist bump & wanted to practice it during the ceremony. Instead we went outside and played in the mud. We did our best to listen to Daddy as best we could. Alexa enjoyed some strawberries and running around with the other children afterwards. The next day we attended a party for Ford's promotion. Alexa was the only toddler there & she did awesome. She sat on their couch and watched Mickey Mouse for almost 2 hours. I am glad she allowed us to go out for a few hours and have some grown up time. This same weekend we also had baby Bennett over for a play date. Bennett is almost 1 year younger than Alexa. She is a very happy baby and Alexa enjoyed making her laugh. Alexa was a little jealous of Bennett sitting in her old kick and play. Alexa ended up getting a pacifier and sat in the kick in play. I think it was really her first time being around a baby outside of daycare. The cutest moment was when I was making Bennett smile, Alexa was laughing uncontrollably. She thought Mommy was being hilarious! Sunday afternoon we had our family photos taken. The pictures were Alexa's Easter & 18 month photos. She was having a rough time in the beginning but did awesome after a little milk and quiet time break.
This last week was another week of swim lessons. Alexa enjoyed the first 20 minutes but then got cold and wanted to get out. Of course we kept her in for the entire lesson anyways. Wednesdays lesson was more enjoyable for Alexa. I am not sure what the difference was but she was happier then Monday.
This month was also a big one for Alexa. We decided to buy Alexa a potty just so she could meet it and be comfortable around it. The first time I put her on it she thought it was funny. She put her toys in it, tried to stand in it and eventually got bored and walked away. The second time I put her on it she seemed to know what was expected of her. Within a few minutes she went #1 & then laughed. I made a HUGE deal out of it and she clapped. Within the first week she used the potty three times. I think we only put her on it 4-5 times total. We are going to work on the potty training on the weekends but not really stress about it during the week. Until she is fully transitioned into her room she cannot potty train at school. The last time I put Alexa on the toilet I went upstairs to drop off some laundry. When I came back down I found Alexa ~5ft away with her pants around her ankles and a small urine pile. I guess she got confused.
Alexa had her last well baby appointment. She was 30.5 inches & 21lbs 10oz. For some reason I am thinking he weigh was a little more but I do not remember for certain. Either way she is growing right on her little curve. She is 15% for weight & 30% for height. No complaints from this Momma. The doctor did decide to test Alexa for allergies. Since we have not been able to pin point the congestion she felt this was the next step. We have to wait an entire week to get the test results back.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
17 Months Old
The month started off with Alexa getting sick. This is her first real sickness since her ear infections ended back in August. Alexa started getting crabby and eventually did not even want to be held. We were assuming it was teeth coming in. We gave her Tylenol as well as Orajel on her teeth. Her school called me on a Wednesday telling me to bring her something around 10am. I went in and did the Tylenol and Orajel and hoped for the best. Around 2pm they called again to say I needed to pick her up. She was on the floor screaming and they could not console her. I took her home and she was acting fine. She was a bit congested but nothing I was overly concerned with. Later that evening she started having trouble breathing. When Justin got home we took her to the ER. The diagnosed her with RSV. Fortunately this is not very serious for a 16 month old. The information I have read about RSV is that nearly 100% of children get it by the age of 2. Only children in high risk categories (preemies, previous RSV before 3 months) raise a red flag. Of kids like Alexa is just means two days out of school with fluids. Since its a virus you cannot treat it with anything by Tylenol for discomfort and some TLC.
With in two days Alexa was doing a lot better. Justin and I had to rotate staying home with her. Neither one of us had the time to miss a full day. We would work a few hours at a time and then rotate. It made for an exhausting week. Justin was not getting home until as late as 6:45pm. Over the weekend we did some furniture shopping. Alexa did surprising well for the 4 hours we spent in the furniture store.
On Sunday afternoon we went to a restaurant called T-Rex Cafe. This is the same company as Rain Forest Cafe. The decorations and sound effects really make the restaurant. Alexa likes the dinosaur's and plants. However when the stuffed character was walking around she cried inconsolable. She was terrified! I am not sure why she is afraid of a 6ft stuffed dino but enjoyed the 20ft moving & talking one. There is no explanation for this.
Alexa returned to school on Monday. She also returned to swim lessons. Like always she enjoyed the jumping in & Mr. Square. Alexa's after school activities have turned into something she really enjoys. Justin and I both enjoy the bonding time and taking a break from the more serious things in life. This week was one of the busiest for our family. Wednesday was another swim lesson for Alexa. This is the first time I got into the water with her during this session of classes. Normally I am the parent who takes pictures and watches for the viewing room. Alexa was really excited when I got in the water with her. It was our first time swimming together in a long time. We had to leave class ten minutes early. Alexa was not happy about being the first one out of the pool. We had to rush and change and get home quickly. My friend and coworker Tanya graciously agreed to watch Alexa for us. Alexa took to Tanya quickly. They spent an hour watching Mickey and playing with some toys. She went to bed for Tanya with out making a single noise. I think Alexa makes parenting look easy. Justin and I had a farewell party to attend. Justin was MC'ing the event and I even had a small role in handing out a gift to the Colonel's husband. It was great to have some adult time.
Thursday was our busiest day yet. We had our new living room furniture delivered, a luncheon with my work and then gymnastics in the afternoon. Justin and I both decided to do gymnastics class. It is very exhausting to assist Alexa with all the maneuvers and keep up with her when she runs around. Her skill level has improved to a toddler level. She can follow the instructions on rather to walk or run, dance or skate. She can jump over the obstacles & walk on the balance beams. We are still working on front rolls and holding onto the bars.
On Friday we got home, packed quickly and headed to Great Wolf Lodge. This was our second marriage retreat since being apart of the Army. We were very excited about the location. The retreat itself was not as beneficial as the first time. We did enjoy the fellowship and the free time. Alexa spent an hour on Friday, four hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday in child care. They kept telling me she was doing great. She played with the other children, watched Mickey on her Kindle, had lots of snacks & even took a nap each day. When we got her back she was very refreshed.
Saturday afternoon we were able to go swimming. Alexa had a great time on the baby slides. Most of the time she would turn over onto her stomach to slide down. It really made me nervous but she was having a great time. We spent some time in the pools, the lazy river and even the kid friendly "warm pool." While in the warm pool Justin and I would send Alexa back and forth between us. We were counting 1, 2, 3 just like we do in swim lessons. Alexa started countng and holding up her pointer finger. She made it all the way to three and then would push off of us. She is totally getting it. So I guess we will need to start teaching her how to count items. On Sunday afternoon we were able to get in a little bit of swim time before we went home. Camille watched Alexa so Justin and I could do the slides together. We then spent some time with Alexa in the water before calling it a weekend. When we got home we all three were exhausted. We managed to get the house cleaned up so we could have a fresh start to another busy week.
With in two days Alexa was doing a lot better. Justin and I had to rotate staying home with her. Neither one of us had the time to miss a full day. We would work a few hours at a time and then rotate. It made for an exhausting week. Justin was not getting home until as late as 6:45pm. Over the weekend we did some furniture shopping. Alexa did surprising well for the 4 hours we spent in the furniture store.
On Sunday afternoon we went to a restaurant called T-Rex Cafe. This is the same company as Rain Forest Cafe. The decorations and sound effects really make the restaurant. Alexa likes the dinosaur's and plants. However when the stuffed character was walking around she cried inconsolable. She was terrified! I am not sure why she is afraid of a 6ft stuffed dino but enjoyed the 20ft moving & talking one. There is no explanation for this.
Alexa returned to school on Monday. She also returned to swim lessons. Like always she enjoyed the jumping in & Mr. Square. Alexa's after school activities have turned into something she really enjoys. Justin and I both enjoy the bonding time and taking a break from the more serious things in life. This week was one of the busiest for our family. Wednesday was another swim lesson for Alexa. This is the first time I got into the water with her during this session of classes. Normally I am the parent who takes pictures and watches for the viewing room. Alexa was really excited when I got in the water with her. It was our first time swimming together in a long time. We had to leave class ten minutes early. Alexa was not happy about being the first one out of the pool. We had to rush and change and get home quickly. My friend and coworker Tanya graciously agreed to watch Alexa for us. Alexa took to Tanya quickly. They spent an hour watching Mickey and playing with some toys. She went to bed for Tanya with out making a single noise. I think Alexa makes parenting look easy. Justin and I had a farewell party to attend. Justin was MC'ing the event and I even had a small role in handing out a gift to the Colonel's husband. It was great to have some adult time.
Thursday was our busiest day yet. We had our new living room furniture delivered, a luncheon with my work and then gymnastics in the afternoon. Justin and I both decided to do gymnastics class. It is very exhausting to assist Alexa with all the maneuvers and keep up with her when she runs around. Her skill level has improved to a toddler level. She can follow the instructions on rather to walk or run, dance or skate. She can jump over the obstacles & walk on the balance beams. We are still working on front rolls and holding onto the bars.
On Friday we got home, packed quickly and headed to Great Wolf Lodge. This was our second marriage retreat since being apart of the Army. We were very excited about the location. The retreat itself was not as beneficial as the first time. We did enjoy the fellowship and the free time. Alexa spent an hour on Friday, four hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday in child care. They kept telling me she was doing great. She played with the other children, watched Mickey on her Kindle, had lots of snacks & even took a nap each day. When we got her back she was very refreshed.
Saturday afternoon we were able to go swimming. Alexa had a great time on the baby slides. Most of the time she would turn over onto her stomach to slide down. It really made me nervous but she was having a great time. We spent some time in the pools, the lazy river and even the kid friendly "warm pool." While in the warm pool Justin and I would send Alexa back and forth between us. We were counting 1, 2, 3 just like we do in swim lessons. Alexa started countng and holding up her pointer finger. She made it all the way to three and then would push off of us. She is totally getting it. So I guess we will need to start teaching her how to count items. On Sunday afternoon we were able to get in a little bit of swim time before we went home. Camille watched Alexa so Justin and I could do the slides together. We then spent some time with Alexa in the water before calling it a weekend. When we got home we all three were exhausted. We managed to get the house cleaned up so we could have a fresh start to another busy week.
I thought it would be fun to do a Valentine's Day craft with Alexa. We ended up wreaths for the Grandparents. They were outlines in pink foam hearts with the phrase, "Roses are red, violets are blue, someone loves you, here is a clue. Hanging on the inside is a heart with Alexa's handprints on it. The heart is having from a piece of string so you can flip the heart over. On the other side of the handprints is a picture of Alexa with her name in glitter. I have not say I was impressed with my idea, but a little disappointment on how they turned out. I have always set a standard for profection for myself. Dealing with a toddler makes that goal very challenging. We did have fun & I look forward to our next holiday project.
Alexa has been going to therapy with me right after work. I could leave her at school and pick her up on our way home, however I do not. I really do not like Alexa having to spend a lot of time away from Justin and I. So I suck it up and bring her with me to therapy. The first few times she was terrified of my therapist. It was actually funny to see her freak out when he came near but was cool with everyone else. By our last visit Alexa was jumping off the therapy bed into Brian's (my scary therapist) arms.
Thursday the 2nd was certainly the most eventful day for us all month. We had our usual gymnastics class. Alexa and Jackson were having a great time jumping on the trampoline when things took a scare turn. Jackson's Dad, Kyle started having a seizure. At first being only 2 feet from him I did not realize what was happening. I immediate yelled to Justin & then grabbed Jackson. Justin, Alexa, Jackson and I hung out while the ambulance arrived. Jackson did surprsing well for the 20 minutes we were all waiting. I tried to explain to him that Daddy's belly was hurting. What else do you say to a 17 month old who sees his Daddy on floor? I have to say that I was VERY shaken up by the entire experience. This was an otherwise healthy young adult who just started having a seizure. Once things started getting under control I had Justin leave with Alexa and I stayed back with Jackson. Unfortunately Justin took my phone with him leaving me with no form of communication. After rushing to get Jackson home to him Momma I then had to hurry to get to Applebee's.
Justin had prior to the chaos of gymnastics arranged to take his staff and their families out to dinner. When I arrived I met 7 of his soldiers, 2 spouses & 4 children. Its a surreal thing for me to see people who work for Justin. I guess we are really growing up now. Alexa watched Dora & Mickey (of course) with a 2 year old named Heaven. She is a very sweet girl. They will actually be in class together starting in March.
Friday evening we flew to Chicago. We had a relatively bumpy flight but arrived in Chicago on time. We were very fortunate that the weather was cooperating with us. Although it was cold it was not snowing. Alexa took a little while to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa. By Saturday afternoon she was sitting with them on the couch, giving out high fives and blowing kisses. I really treasure those type of weekends. I have to say that Justin and I have really mastered flying with Alexa. SouthWest has open seating. This means you pick your seat in the order you board. We always go to the far back row on the right. We then separate between the aisle and the window and have Alexa stand in the middle. Most people do not want to deal with the three of us so they pick another row. Our last few flights have only had a half dozen or so empty seats. We have been fortunate enough to get one between us each time. The extra space is really helpful when dealing with Alexa. We can stretch her out if she is sleeping or give her a place to sit when she is reading a book, coloring or watching Mickey.
Once we got back in Kansas we were back in our routine of therapy twice a week, gymnastics on Thursdays & Justin working late nights. My goal that was to find Justin his birthday gift. He has been wanting a dog for many years. We finally agreed this was our best time to do it. I was determined to find the perfect dog for us. I found one that met all of his criteria, female, puppy, brindle & AKC parents. We spent most of that week anxiously preparing for "Laney's" arrival. Saturday morning we drove the hour and fifteen minute to meet our new girl. She is TINY! Her birthday is December 23 & she is the runt of the litter. She was very quiet for most of the first day. But at night time she made up for it. We are not sure if she was afraid of the crate or just did not want to be away from us. Either was she was not having it. The next four nights we tried different combinations of the large crate, the small crate, different rooms, lights on & lights off. On the fifth night we found something that at least let us sleep. Justin made her a little home in the basement with the light on. She did not bark all night so we got some sleep. Puppies are a lot of work.
Monday, January 16, 2012
16 Months Old
Alexa had her first real babysitter this month. My friend Olive volunteered to watch Alexa when Justin came home so we could have an evening to ourselves. We took her up on her offer and ended up watching our neighbors band play and hung out with all of the friends Justin made while he was in Iraq. We really had a good time but came home very tired. Alexa was ready for bed the minute she arrived at Olive's house. She was a little crabby but ended up asleep in no time.
We decided to make our Christmas trip out east like we usually do. Having a toddler was certainly this most challenging part of our trip. We left the Thursday before Christmas and drove more than 8 hours. It was EXHAUSTING! Alexa had a hard time sleeping in the car. Justin kept the car cold & loud so he would not get tired. In turn it kept us all awake. We stopped in Indiana for a few hours of sleep. Alexa woke up the minute we got there. I ended up driving her around town and then played with her in the lobby. At 3:30am she finally went to bed. We got about 4 hours of sleep and then were on our way. We arrived in Cincinnati before lunch. We spent part of the day with my Mom & part with my Dad, Beth, Maggie & Jeff.
We really enjoyed staying at Megan, Steve & Matthew's house. Alexa had everything she needed right in one place. She had endless toys to keep her busy & Matthew to play with. Alexa did have a rough time sleeping. Christmas Eve was spent at my Dad's house. Alexa had a lot of fun with just our immediate family. One the large family arrived she became very shy. She took an early evening nap and then spent the rest of the night sitting with Aunt Megan. Alexa sat very surprisingly well watching and taking everything in. She is going to be a thinker like her Daddy. Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Santa left Matthew & Alexa a note & Matthew got amazing gifts. He is one lucky kid. He really enjoyed his drum set and looked good driving Alexa around on his 4-wheeler (from Grammy). Matthew and Alexa got matching Mickey & Minnie shirts with their names on them. Aunt Megan is very good at finding adorable outfits. They are all ready for our Disney trip. We spent most of Christmas day at my Mom's house. Alexa was having a difficult time with her sleep schedule but seemed to enjoy the day.
That night Alexa slept really well in Megan & Steve's walk-in closet. We were relieved to actually get a decent night sleep. Monday morning we packed up once again and started our drive to West Virginia. Alexa's patience in the car were wearing thin. Once we arrived she was in a great mood. We celebrated Christmas with Jay, Susan & Caleb. Alexa absolutely loved having so much space to run around. We did have to keep a close eye on the front staircase. Although they are gorgeous they can be very slippery. Alexa did manage to make it all the way up the stairs without Daddy noticing once and part of the the way up a few times later. Justin then decided to tie a blanket across the stairs to make it appear as though she could not get passed. By the third day, Alexa realized she could go right through it.
We also spent some time Terry, Jill, Olivia, Maddie & Emma. Maddie and Emma were Alexa's favorite. She just loves having people "her size." I think the feelings were mutual. The girls loved showing Alexa all over their toys and even their dog. Alexa enjoyed chasing the dog. She kept referring to him as "kitty." At one point she went into his crate and closed the door. She really thought she was being funny.
After three days in West Virginia we left to make the 12 hour drive home. I knew this was going to be very challenging from the start. Alexa made it 2 hours watching just Mickey Mouse before she decided she had enough. She through a fit & then went to bed. We were both able to sleep a few hours before we arrived in St. Louis for the night. At this stop we took a different approach. I carried Alexa in covered in Justin's jacket. I put her right to bed and she slept the entire night. When we woke up we discovered we had a gorgeous room (could not see it in the dark). We stayed at the Marriott in downtown St. Louis. We were upgraded to a historical room. The history in the hotel is unbelievable. The architecture was very detailed and even Alexa noticed how beautiful it was. We spent part of the morning at the Children's Museum. We had lunch there and then started the 4.5 hour drive home. Justin sat in the back with Alexa and made it a more enjoyable trip for her. Once we did make it home we were all three very glad to be there. We spent the next day unpacking, cleaning & repacking.
We picked up my Mom at 3pm on the 30th. We went to dinner at Ma'ma Mia's Itialian Cafe (or favorite restaurant) before calling it an early evening. Saturday morning we got up at 4am to head to the airport. My Mom was nice enough to drop us off so we did not have to leave two cars there. It was very hard for me to say by to Alexa. She was still half asleep and did not have any understanding as to what was going on. I knew Alexa was in good hands, but I was still sad to leave her.
To sum up our time in Vegas. We did New Years Eve at New York, New York at their "Bridge Bash" we went to two different shows on the other nights. We did some light gambling & had a great time. We talked to Alexa on the phone a few times but were never able to get video chat to work. We left with great memories (most of which I prefer not to blog about) and a Vegas T-shirt for Alexa.
When we arrived home in the 2nd I was VERY excited to see Alexa. She was fast asleep on the Acred's couch. Justin picked her up and she gave him a big hug before he handed her over to me. I had never received such a tight hug from her. I did not want to put her in her crib but knew I had an early morning. I spent the next three days working 9 hour days and trying to make the most out of the evenings. Justin stayed home with Alexa on Wednesday & Thursday but took her to school for a few hours on Friday.
Our first weekend home Alexa and I took the Camry to get its 20K service and then spent the day playing. Justin was studying for his Human Resources Certification Test which he took on the 10th. We did our best to be as quiet as we could. But Alexa being almost 16 months old did not understand.
Alexa and Justin also started their winter activities. They are taking swim lessons for 4 weeks and gymnastics for 8 (once a week). Monday was their first swim lesson. Alexa is in a class with 3 boys. Jarod who was her "boyfriend" at daycare, Jackson who she takes gymnastics with and a tiny 12 month old who was 11 weeks premature. The boys did ok in the cold water but Alexa screamed. This class was very different from the one we took this summer. Justin said they had a great time but they seemed to do more standing than we did. I kept telling Justin to walk with Alexa to warm her up and it seemed to help. Once she got more comfortable in the water she had a good time & even jumped in the water a few times.
Wednesday's swim lesson was much more enjoyable for Alexa and Justin. Alexa wore a body suite that the pool provided. She really enjoyed swimming to toys and riding on Mr. Floaty (square floatation devise that holds 4 toddlers). She is also getting very brave with jumping in the pool. Justin holds his arms out and counts to three and she jumps right to him. At first she was only taking a step, which did make her fall into the water. However jumping is safer & guarantees Justin can catch her. Later in the week Alexa was on the stairs reading a book (her favorite place to sit) and Justin came home. He held out his arms and said hi to her. She then held our her arms and jumped towards him. Unfortunately our staircase is not a pool & she barrel rolled down 3 stairs. It was not a big deal, but it scared me. I am not normally the dramatic parent. However I was witnessing this from the otherside of the room & there was nothing I could do. Alexa was nice and did not even cry.
We started Alexa on lactose free cow milk. Her coughing went way down and her nose is not running constantly. We are still giving her all of her normal dairy. I am hoping this is only a temporary change, but we will see. Alexa is eating just about anything these days. Her favorite food is Cherios. She can get them out of the cabinet herself and either helps herself to a few or brings the box to us. She has only emptied the entire box twice. The most recent time she emptied it and then clapped as though she did something good. Oh well!
During MLK weekend we traveled to Greenville. Alexa did alright on the planes but not fantastic. Alexa had a rough time sleeping when we in Greenville. This is very normal for her when we are traveling. The first two nights were tough but nothing like the last night. She cried inconsolably until she finally fell asleep 45 minutes later. On Sunday we drove to Columbia to go to our old church. It was soooo great to see some of our friends. Alexa went into the 1 year old nursery. This was the same class that Justin and I used to work in before Alexa was born. It is really neat to see things going full circle. Alexa really liked the praise band music and even feel asleep at the end of the service. We went to lunch with the Moore's & then heading back to Greenville. We did our traditional Melting Pot happy hour that evening as well. Alexa did not get to enjoy any of the cheese or chocolate but she did eat some apples and bread.
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