Tons of Updates

Sorry it has been two weeks since my last post - we have been a B-U-S-Y family!!! Here are some new pictures/stories of what's been up with Alexa and us :-)

The week we got the minivan, we went and had a picnic lunch with Daddy (really so he could show off our new car to his boss)... I didn't mind though because, as you can see, it was sunny & beautiful which means I get to use the sunroof! It is by far my fave feature on the Odyssey ;-)










That weekend Noni & Papa got to be the first people to ride with us in the van. And they liked it so much that Noni jokes about getting rid of her Mazda 6 to get a minivan for herself! We had a great visit with my parents, which included First Communion, lunch at Olive Garden, and Coldstone ice cream. Alexa has really been into dipping lately... she'll dip anything (chicken, pickles, fries, broccoli, pork) into anything (ranch, mustard, ketchup). This is Alexa at Olive Garden.










A snapshot of Alexa playing kitchen while Noni & Papa were visiting.










Hanging out in the playroom.










Haha. Alexa has learned how to pretend she is sleeping (i.e. lay down & close her eyes really tight), and she obviously thought she should pretend to sleep next to Papa while he caught a nap on George the gorilla (maybe there is a reason that Alexa always says "Papa" when we read the book The Napping House by Audrey Wood, lol). And of course, feisty Alexa still is ALL ABOUT CLIMBING!! It makes me incredibly nervous (and I find myself yelling a lot), but besides the injury at the gym she has not hurt herself ***Knock on wood.














Alexa singing along to her music... "Sometimes I'm silly and wear my dad's shoes. He laughs and I laugh, as I try to move." The words in Italics are her contributions, and she laughs a ton during this song!










Alexa & Mommy counting the stickers on her potty chart -- she has so many!! There is no consistency to her using the bathroom still. Some days are great, and she'll pee/poop every time I set her on the toilet, and then she'll go 2-3 days without doing anything. It is a little frustrating when she isn't using it, but the excitement we all share when she actually does something is worth the wait!! Having the shoe fettish that she does, Alexa is Obsessed (yes, with a capital 'O') with flip flops. Just the concept of them though, as you can tell from her face she does not like to wear them. She just likes to say, "flip flop flip flop flip flop" anytime she sees them (on us or on strangers).














We had a really wonderful weekend with my parents! It was definitely nice to have them here for a change and to take a break from the drive. Gosh, by the time we went to Perry last weekend, it had literally been four weeks since we'd been there! I think that's the longest time we've gone not in Perry since Alexa was born!!

The last Monday of April was the last Babytime of winter/spring session at the library. It will resume again sometime in June.










Alexa really likes climbing/sitting on the red stool in the Story Garden. She also loves the stuffed duck ("Quack. Quack. Fly away.") that they have at the library. FYI, she has added another animal to her list of animals that "Fly away"... a butterfly. She spots them everywhere, in books, at the store, at the florist, etc.










The last week of April, Alexa had her 18-month well check appointment with Dr. Jacob. No shots this visit!!! Just a weight/height check, an autism screening, and general conversation with the amazing pediatrician :-) Alexa weighed in at 23 lbs 14 oz (45th percentile) and was 31 3/4" tall (50th percentile). She is clearly well-proportioned and getting plenty of good nutrition. The doctor was pleased with the types of foods she eats and her milk/water/juice consumption ratio. We were given the go-ahead to introduce peanut butter (A had a PB & banana sandwich the next day that she LOVED). Alexa did some showing off for Dr. Jacob ;-) She told her about ducks and baby brother, pointed to many of the body parts she knows, and followed simple directions I gave her. Dr. Jacob's exact words about her were, "Alexa is extremely advanced!" (Literally, that is what she exclaimed) And she told me to keep on doing everything I'm doing because we have such a brilliant daughter and are doing everything right :-) It is encouraging to hear that, at least from a medical standpoint, Daddy and I are great parents (which isn't hard considering we have such a wonderful child)!!










So in celebration of Alexa's great doctor's appointment, the two of us had a lunch date at Applebees ♥










We ended the month of April with two of Alexa's favorite things... SWINGING and ice cream :-)




















The month of May was kick-started with my friend's daughter's 1st Birthday. In Alexa's words, "Happy ... Avery!" She skips the "birthday" part, lol :-)~ That entire week, as Avery's presents sat on the dining room table Alexa would say, "Happy ... Avery" whenever she walked by. And even today she was saying it (although I'm trying to change it to "Happy ... Uncle" since Uncle's birthday is Saturday and she positively adores him).










Here is Her Highness with Mommy & Daddy at Homestead Park in Hilliard, where Avery's birthday party was. The park itself is really nice and the playground, which included this metal car, was awesome! Daddy and I have agreed to make the 20 minute drive once a month for some special playtime with Alexa ♥










Here is Alexa at the Columbus Zoo last August and last week... my oh my has she grown!










We had a FANTASTIC time at the Zoo with my friend, Sarah, and her two sons, Daniel & Joseph, last Tuesday. I had not purchased a membership yet because I was unsure if Alexa would be too young to actually enjoy it... my "unsureness" was shot down the moment we arrived! We are most definitely buying a membership this week!!










Of course there are ducks everywhere, which made Alexa's month. But she also enjoyed seeing the tigers, elephants, fish (which is another one of her growing obsessions - fyi, Dr. Jacob said it is normal for 2 yr+ children to fixate on things like Alexa has been doing, and that since she is so advanced that is why she is doing it at a much younger age), turtles, penguins, and flamingos. Don't believe her if she tells you we saw giraffes though, which she will if you ask her what animals she saw at the zoo, because the Columbus Zoo does not have giraffes. We'll have to see them this summer in Cleveland! But for now we're looking forward to seeing the new $20 million polar bear exhibit the C-bus Zoo opened last Thursday the next time we go!










This past weekend we made our first road trip with the minivan. Alexa was a little surprised to see The Backyardigans and Barney in the car! We've made a rule that the DVD player will not be turned on unless we are going to be in the car for an hour or more, so this was her first time seeing a movie inside the van. Would you believe it that Alexa wanted to get in another car as soon as we arrived at Noni & Papa's house?! LOL










Here is Alexa with Auntie, who is half-ready for Prom. Can I express two things to you, readers? One, I am in AWE of how grown up my little sister is! I literally remember holding her on the day she was born. Two, I am so thankful that we were able to be there to see her on Prom. It seems like I always miss her dances so I'm so glad that Prom, Mother's Day, and our long-overdue trip home all coincided in the same weekend :-)










Alexa with Auntie & her date, Danny. Food for thought... I attended a high school dance with Nick (Babic), Paul attended several dances with Paula (Beardslee), and now Danielle has attended two proms with Danny (Bean). How funny is that? And here's a picture of Papa, Auntie, & Noni.










Obviously, Mommy & Daddy were NOT dressed for Prom ;-)














Again with her shoe fettish, Alexa was enchanted with Danny's shiny, smooth, white, dress shoes :-) Once Auntie headed off to Prom, the rest of us went out to dinner. Here are Noni & Alexa coloring while we waited for our food to arrive.










I enjoyed a wonderful 2nd Mother's Day. Alexa got me a fancy new chaise lounge so that I can layout in the yard while she naps (not being able to fake & bake while prego so stinks). In the afternoon, we had a cookout with our immediate family, plus some of my aunts, my uncle, and two of my cousins and their children. It was great to see everyone! I really loved watching everyone interact with Alexa. Here is Her Highness stuffing strawberries (her favorite food to request besides salami & pepperoni -- yes, she says all three foods) in her mouth.










Alexa sharing with Jaden and playing with Nancy. Everyone was so wonderful with her, and she seemed to really enjoy her time with everyone!










Here is Alexa with Noni & with Mommy... how did we get such great expressions, you ask? Nancy, the picture whisperer ;-) Daddy and I discussed on our drive back to Columbus that we may hire her to attend Alexa's professional picture sessions since she did an amazing job at getting her to laugh & smile!!










Noni & Alexa smelling the flowers. This is another thing that Alexa loves to do. In fact, she was in heaven on Saturday when we went to Gilson Gardens to pick up Auntie's flowers and to introduce Alexa to Chris Gilson (the owner whom I have known since I was a child, I went to school with her two sons, and she did the flowers for our wedding). While at Gilson's, Alexa got a purple balloon with a smiley face on it... which, no surprise here, she obsessed over lol. Although we were sad to leave Perry, our trip back to Columbus was the best one we've had in a LONG time! I don't know if Alexa just does not like traveling in the early evening or what, but as you can see she could have cared less thanks to our friends The Backyardigans ;-)










Why is Alexa wearing pants on her head? This is how Daddy punishes her for pooping in her diaper just minutes after he had taken her off of the potty :-)~ The "book" she really enjoys looking at lately, our Engagement picture album. Glad someone likes to stare at my pretty face as much as I do ;-) Haha. As a side note, Daddy said he was studying my 1st grade picture this weekend at Noni & Papa's house and could not get over how much of a mini-mommy Alexa is.










Welp, another month has come & gone so here is the growing baby bump. Still no name for Baby Boy - although I've checked out several books from the library and am making it our mission to pick a name on our drive to/from North Carolina next week! Yesterday marks the start of Week 20 in this pregnancy, which means we are already HALFWAY there!










I'm happy to tell y'all that Alexa has gotten to a point where she is excited to go to the gym with me! Our conversations are proof....
Alexa: Friends
Mommy: Who are your friends?
Alexa: Chloe, Kyla, Abby (Chloe is Ms. Christi's daughter, Kyla is Ms. Bobbi's daughter, and Abby is another child whose mommy is working out)
Mommy: Who else do you see at the gym?
Alexa: Chr-chr (Ms. Christi)
Mommy: Anyone else?
Alexa: Bobbi.... Mlllll (Ms. Melissa)

Isn't that too precious for words? Everyday I cite references to Daddy of how big our baby is and say that she really isn't a baby any longer... Besides the fact that she has "friends," Alexa has a wonderful memory (e.g. she remembers the singing fish plaque that we saw at Bed Bath & Beyond 4 weeks ago - "Funny Fish" she says), can identify TONS of things anywhere we are at, can follow simple directions, and the list/proof of her intelligence and independence goes on and on... I cannot believe how many words she knows (it's easily over 100 now), how she can communicate, and even how she can be comedic (Noni taught her something this weekend, and I'm not telling what it is because I want to get a video to share with you instead). Alexa has cut a few more teeth lately. Not sure how many teeth that totals, maybe 10?! She really will not let me look in her mouth!

As you can see in the photo above, I am continuing to pop out and gain weight (something I know I need to do, but still hate seeing the numbers on the scale). I've really stuck to my 2-3 days/week workouts. Actually I've been going 3 days most weeks! I am really proud that I have continued to do this, as I've never fully committed myself to a workout routine before. Besides my 15-20 minutes of cardio (on the elliptical), I am doing some weight training for arms and legs that Paul gave me (that yes my OB approved). Last week, with the guilty encouragement of Bobbi and Christi, I attended my first ZUMBA class... I LOVE IT!!! It was a ton of fun and extremely intense. I felt good sore Wednesday evening and cannot wait to go again today! Side note, Bobbi is instructing the class, and she is about 3-4 weeks behind me in her second pregnancy - so before any of you worry-wort's say anything, the routines she has created our safe for me to do while pregnant. Besides Bobbi and Christi, two women that I see every time I'm at the gym were in ZUMBA too... after the 45 minute workout was over, we stood and chatted. Looks like Alexa is not the only one making friends at the gym! If you don't know anything about ZUMBA, check out this link. It is my new obsession!!

Well, I have to get ready for my OB appointment with Dr. Davy and then head off to ZUMBA. The rest of the day is filled with housework, preparing for Tiffanie's wedding (which is this Saturday) and my parents' arrival (on Friday), contacting various people to do work inside & outside our house, and beginning to make a list of stuff to pack for our trip to North Carolina next Wed - Sun. The month of May is SUPER busy for us, and I kind of can't wait for it to be over! It's not that I'm not looking forward to the wedding this weekend or our trip south next week, but I am ready to relax and start nesting ♥ I'll end with the chant (that I've been trying to teach Alexa): Rain rain go away, We want to open the sunroof today :-)~ Until next time... Ciao.