October 2009

We have still been enjoying our time as a family together as we move into the fall. At the end of September, we had photographs taken by a new photographer in town. Alexis was more interested in running around and exploring than posing, but we got some great photos. If you would like to see them or order any prints, check out http://lisagphoto.com/. Simply click on "Clients" and follow the links until you see our darling daughter!

Alexis has been talking more and more. Each day she says a new word that always surprises us. The other day she was playing with her toy phone and telling her bunny to "talk, bunny, talk"! It was quite amusing. Our adventures in the big girl bed is still going great, and we suspect that potty training is right around the corner. She is making more and more strides to being ready to tackle this last milestone of babydom.

While we have been enjoying the fun aspects of parenting, there have been some more negative things happening that have been trying our patience. First off, Alexis began coughing a few weeks ago. Since the cough wasn't occupied by a fever, the doctor simply called in a prescription. However, this didn't cure her cough, so she was put on a nebulizer for a week. Talk about a pain! Her cough finally subsided this past weekend, but during the two weeks or so that she was coughing, she turned into a royal pain in the behind! She did everything from screaming, hitting, pushing, and throwing tantrums. At school, she knocked over classmates and pinned them to the ground, she pushed her teacher when told "no" to something, and she spent the better part of each day in time out! The behavior, of course, didn't stay at school. Daddy got to see what a stinker she could be and even had to put her in time out. We are quite worried that the "terrible 2's" has arrived early. Since Saturday, her behavior has improved and she had a pretty decent day at daycare yesterday. However, we're not out of the woods yet. She is still quite assertive and demanding. I don't know how many times I can hear "no, Mommy" in a day without screaming :) What's really frustrating about the situation is that she is so darn smart; she knows exactly what she's doing and that it is wrong but does it anyway!

To balance the negative behavior, Alexis has been learning quite a bit. She can count to 4, say her letters up to D, and knows all of her colors. She's the only one in her class that knows colors and everyday her teacher Ms. Holly has her say them for the other kids. What a smart cookie!

We are excitedly looking forward to the holiday season. Alexis is going to be a flower garden gnome for Halloween and Mommy is looking forward to having a Christmas tree this year. Mommy has also decided to start a tradition of making monkey bread for breakfast on Christmas morning! We hope you are all enjoying your Fall!