So, let's see....Lexie is 28 months old (when do we stop counting in months?). She has moved up to the Toddler room at daycare, and her teachers, Bridgette and Lindsey, are amazing. So patient and excited to be with the kids all day long. Lexie loves going to school in the mornings, and talks about it all the way to school in the car. Somehow, something happens right about the time we hit the doorway, and then she suddenly changes! her! mind! and let's everyone know. Usually on Monday mornings, so you can't really blame her... Her vocabulary is growing every day. The other day, out of nowhere, she suprised me by starting to count in Spanish. We have some really entertaining conversations, and it's really a neat experience to watch her figure out exactly what she wants to say.
We have entered the potty training phase, in earnest. I had been avoiding it, and now I know why. This is HARD, y'all! I take comfort in the fact that she doesn't have to be successfully using the potty at school until she's 3 (the kids have to be completely trained during the day in order to move up to pre-school), so we've got time. We've tried cheering, bribing, everything....just not interested.
Lexie's birthday party was a huge success. All the credit goes to Doug, who really pushed for the petting zoo, even when I balked at it. He was right, I was wrong. There, I've said it in a public forum! The lady who brought the animals was awesome. The animals were great, well cared-for, and really seemed to enjoy being around the kids. Lexie woke up the next day wondering where all her animals had gone!
Trying to figure out how to manage this massive cupcake, courtesy of Auntie Cynthia.
Cake pops are definitely more her speed, also courtesy of Auntie Cynthia.
Miss Daisy hanging out with the kids.
Bunny love.
Halloween was a huge failure. No amount of ANYTHING would get that kid into a costume. She had talked about it for a month. "I'm gonna be a COW....MOOOOO!" We had the costume, we had prepped her for candy, and when it came time to get dressed, we had the biggest tantrum I have ever seen. Needless to say, we sat out the trick-or-treating. And we missed out on cute kid-in-costume pictures!
Lexie had her first weekend sleepover in October. She spent the weekend with Aunt Dre, Uncle Terry, and Aunt Mimi and her cousins while Doug and I went to a wedding. She had a great time, and still talks about that weekend. I love that she loves being with family so much!
We spend a lot of time using Skype to video conference with Lexie's grandparents in California. That has been a real blessing for us, so that Lexie can get to know them, even though they're so far away. I'm not really sure she understands yet that Gramma and Grampa can't reach out and touch her, but she definitely knows who they are. I'm grateful for that.
Christmas was tons of fun. This was the first year she really got into the whole present thing. A typical conversation went like this:
Parent: "Lexie, what's Santa going to bring you?"
Lexie: "PRESENTS!!"
Parent: "How many is he going to bring?"
Lexie: "ALL OF THEM!"
Lexie: "ALL OF THEM!"
Making a bee-line for the Christmas presents Santa left!
Unwrapping!
Sporting the cute jammies Santa left for her....
We spent New Years this year with our friends in North Carolina whose little girl is the same age as Lexie. We were all very pleased when they really seemed to get along and play very well together. I love seeing her interact with other kids her age.
Lexie really enjoyed celebrating Doug's birthday this year. She talked all day about singing Happy Birthday to him, but when time came, I ended up singing solo. But we baked cupcakes and dinner and she would say, "Happy Birthday, Dada!" at random points throughout the day. She knows her birthday is September 11th, but always thinks that it's "next week". I think she's just angling for more presents.
And 2011 has started off with a bang....she finally cut two of her 2-year molars; they are still not all the way in yet, but the worst is over with these, I think. Two more to go..... We're going to transition to a big girl bed soon. It's really me that's holding things up. I just don't want to take her out of the crib yet. She's growing up so fast, it seems like we give up something every day that takes her one step further away from being a baby and that much closer to being a "big kid". It really is bittersweet.
Some random shots for your enjoyment....
Doug's company was planting trees on a new stream bed; we stopped by to lend a hand.
Not sure how this came about. She emptied out the pots and pans and promptly got in the cabinet herself....
At the Pumpkin Patch on a school field trip.
Sidewalk chalk on the new driveway.
She didn't want to be too far away from her Christmas presents after we got home.
"Look at my helmet hat, Momma!"
And, finally, a few of my favorites from our most recent professional shoot. Thanks, as always, Nissa and Chris!
Much love to you all!
