Alexis' First Christmas

Our first Christmas as a family was great! Timothy and his mother had to work during the day, so we had dinner at 5 and then began opening presents. Alexis enjoyed the dinner that Mommy made for her and the cheesecake she had a few bites of for dessert.

Alexis was very blessed in the present department. Timothy and I purchased gifts that Alexis would use long; so she got a swing for outside, a big lego dump truck (in pink of course), a mini Dora sofa, band instruments, ABC blocks, a huge coloring book and crayons, tub crayons, and books, of course. From Tim's parents, Alexis received a shape sorter cookie jar, a new learning phone, a doll and stroller, Wonder Pets DVDs, and a book. Alexis also received seven books from Aunt Nicole, Uncle Daniel, Hailey, and Alistair. Alexis loves all of her new toys, but her favorite gifts were the books. She opened books first and we literally had to hide them from her to get her to open other gifts.

In addition to receiving gifts, Alexis also "gave" some gifts to Daddy, Maw Maw, and Paw Paw. Daddy received a beer mug that had a picture of Alexis crying on it with the quote "Daddy drinks because I cry." Maw Maw and Paw Paw got books that they fill out about their lives and give to Alexis when she's older to learn about them. Also, Maw Maw received a beautiful Grandma quilt with pictures of all three grandchildren; Paw Paw got a coffee mug with pictures of the three grandchildren with the title "World's Best Paw Paw".

Now that Christmas is done, it's on to Alexis' first birthday. It's about 36 days away. We can't believe that she will be a year old in just over a month! She is growing before our eyes and she seems to get smarter every day! Her walking is going great; she's a pro now. She still falls down from time to time, but that's to be excepted. We are also trying to wean her off of bottles, but that is not going too well! Mommy is ready to give up on this endeavor and just get rid of the bottles when we switch to cow's milk!

We hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and will enjoy the new year! We love you all!

Where did the time go?

Alexis is 10 1/2 months old and she's growing like a weed. Her walking is coming along great. She walks all over the house now and hasn't fallen quite as much. She still hasn't taken to walking around outside of the house. She's also becoming more and more able to entertain herself, and is learning where her boundries are. It doesn't feel like I say, "No, Alexis" as much anymore. We are definately looking forward to Christmas next week. All of Alexis' presents are wrapped and under the tree. There are new photos on Alexis' site, so check them out! We love you all and hope that you're having a great holiday season!

Does she have to do something cute every day???

Tim's mom and I have been practicing identifying body parts with Alexis. Last night, after bath time, Alexis was lying on her changing table, naked of course, chewing on something. While I was rubbing her lotion on her legs, I asked "Where's your belly?" She immediately placed a hand on her tummy. It was surprising and cute. I tried again after cheering for her and she again resonded in the same way. So, I called Timothy in and had her show off a few more times. It was so neat and adorable!

Hurricane Alexis!

This is usually the aftermath of a day at home with Alexis. We have affectionately nicknamed this situation Hurricane Alexis. Well, tonight we made a breakthrough. Since Alexis learned to put objects into containers last week, I decided to enlist her help in cleaning up before bedtime. I handed her toy after toy which she put into her toy box while I sang an impromptu song about cleaning up to her. After most of the toys were stowed away, she grew tired of the exercise and just watched. But for the most part, she did an awesome job helping clean up her mess! Daddy will be so proud when hears about this!

Walking

I just had to upload a video of Alexis walking. She wasn't as cooperative as I would have liked; she can usually walk longer, but she was entralled with my keys. You can still she her at work though! Enjoy the video! Oh, and ignore the Blue's Clues going on in the background :)