A Day of Piercings

Me asking the lady questions while she cleaned Alexa's ear.

Alexa not happy that she had to be still to get her ears marked first.

So sad after the first one :(

Shooting in the second one.

We were both crying :(

But they really are so cute!

Danielle freaking out...

I couldn't watch...

Me checking out her nose piercing!

Up close.

As I alluded to yesterday, we had a big day today: we got Alexa's ears pierced! She was sleeping when we first got to the mall but woke up when we took her out of her car seat. She was not happy to be held still while the lady marked her ears (to make sure they would be even), she obviously didn't know that the worst was yet to come... She screamed like crazy during and immediately after they were pierced - it was really hard to know that she was in pain, especially when she had her first big, wet-her-whole face, teardrops :( I mean, she has had a few lone teardrops in the past few weeks, but nothing like today. It broke my heart to see my little girl in pain. But once she calmed down, and I got to check 'em out, they looked so pretty!! Now, no one will mistake her for a boy if she is wearing neutral colored clothes. We did it a few hours ago, and she has been totally fine all afternoon and evening. They don't appear to bother her at all :) Well, all of this inspired Danielle... so Mom, Danielle, and I went to get Danielle's nose pierced at the tattoo parlor (they don't them at the mall). She was soooo nervous before the guy, Joe, did it, but she was so brave and didn't even cry. I thought about doing it too but chickened out. And as I've been sitting at home, I've regretted it. I mean, if I could handle labor and delivery I'm sure I could handle a mere nose piercing. I'm thinking maybe we'll go tomorrow when Danielle gets off of work (because I have to squeeze the blood out of her hand like she did mine). We'll see.
A side note, we found the cutest dress for her 3 month pictures (that are this coming Tuesday) at Macy's. It was originally $32 + tax and I paid $4.80!!! I'm a good shopper :)
Well, better get back to the fam. It's family game night :) Have I mentioned how much I love my family?! Ciao.

0 Days

Such a doll.

Napping between feedings.

Reading before bedtime.

I love her expression.

Just wanted to share my joy - my countdown is over - we leave for Perry in like 3 hours! Even though we saw Mom and Dad last weekend, I've missed Gram, Paul, Danielle, and Kelly. Can't wait to have a fun-filled weekend with the fam :) Plus, Mom will get up with Alexa for the really early feeding which means I'll get SLEEP!!! Check back tomorrow... I'm going to be cryptic and not tell you why, but I'll have some pictures and a major update for y'all. Ciao.

Long Overdue...

Happy 29th Birthday, Dan!!!

The picture frame that Alexa got Daddy for his desk at work.

Me & Dan on his birthday.

Laughing because I told him that in the picture before this one he looked like the spawn of satan, lol.

Staring down the ice cream cake.

She still was interested, so maybe it was the plate, not the cake that caught her eye.

Our very happy family :)

Alexa with Noni & Papa - they came to visit for Dan's birthday.

Mom & Me in our matching coats - I must say I wanted the coat first!

Our pooch.

Kisses!

So playful.

Flying Alexa.

I love this picture :)

I love my little girl :)

I could (and do) stare at her for hours.

Dan stole a picture of us napping.

Later on, I stole a picture of them sleeping too.

[On MLK Day] exhausted from playing rattle with Daddy.

Our 2nd Babytime at the library.

Paying attention to the story.

Her new favorite toy - her hands!

It has been forever since my last post! Okay, so maybe only a week, but it feels like forever. I have tons of pictures posted above which means I also have loads to update you all on too - I don't even know where to begin. Well, we had a really wonderful weekend - Dan's birthday weekend! We laid low on Friday night, and then on Saturday morning my mom and dad got here. Alexa decided to take a short half-hour nap so that she could have plenty of time to entertain her grandparents :)
I guess I should backtrack... I mentioned in my last post that Alexa is kind of starting to put herself on a schedule. It goes something like this: Bed 930 pm - Wake to eat around 5 am - Back to sleep at 6 am - Wake to eat around 930 am - Awake until sometime in the afternoon - 2 or 3 hour afternoon nap - Awake (with some dozing off) until bedtime. There are a few feedings during her awake hours, but the rest of her awake time is spent reading books, playing with her rattle, having tummy time, watching Baby Monet, cuddling, playing with her hands (she has recently discovered them), etc. The schedule (of sorts) is great because it allows me to focus on her when she is awake and on housework when she is asleep. I know I've said it before, but I feel truly blessed to be home with her. I love knowing that I will be with her for most (if not all) of her developmental milestones! The thing that makes me the most happy right now is not Alexa's smile, but the way her eyes twinkle when she smiles :) She is simply amazing.
Anyways, back to my update. On Saturday, we hung out with my parents, mom and I had manicures, I wiped out in the parking lot and cracked my head (I'm alright though), went to church, and Dan made us an amazing rib dinner! In the evening, my dad and Dan went out for drinks with Tim to celebrate Dan's birthday while Mom, Alexa, and I hung out at home. On Sunday morning we lounged around before my parents treated us to breakfast at Rise & Dine for Dan's birthday. We did some shopping at The Anderson's, and then came home to have ice cream cake. Dan was so surprised, I was sneaky and went and bought it while he had been out on Saturday night :)- After my parents left, Dan, Alexa and I just hung out at home and enjoyed quality time together. We also enjoyed a nice day together on Monday since Dan had the day off of work in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day. Alexa and I had Babytime at the library again on Tuesday, and then I plopped myself on the couch to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama!!! I am so thankful that Bush is no longer president. The inauguration was so touching, and Obama is such an eloquent and inspirational speaker. I cannot wait to see all the amazing things I know he will do for our country.
Countdown: 2 days until Perry!!!
Well, I better get back to Dan, my glass of wine, and LOST... love to all *muah*

SNOW!

Dan & Alexa in our backyard.

Alexa & Me - don't you love my new North Face? It was a Christmas gift from Dan :)

Pretty Alexa-sized pine trees.

Close-up of me and the darling in her huge snow outfit.

This picture would have been perfect had the stupid snowflake not taken out Alexa's face.

Sitting in the snow.

Even Chloe had some snow time!

Well, the much anticipated snow finally arrived. I say "much anticipated" in regards to Dan. He has just been waiting and waiting for it to snow enough to take Alexa outside to get a few pictures. For all of you worriers, it took me longer to get her layered in all of the clothes and snow suit then we were actually outside.
So yesterday and today Alexa was awake for about 4-5 hours during the day! Then she took a nice 2.5-3 hour nap. She seems to be starting to put herself on a schedule of sorts. I love that - it'll give us time together to read, play, and go places (like to the library), but then I will also have some time to do stuff around the house. As I'm starting to get the hang of this "mom" thing, I'm really beginning to enjoy it. I'm so thankful that I am going to be able to stay home with her (and any other future kiddos)! Just so y'all know I'm hoping that one of these days I'll convince Dan to write a post so you can hear his thoughts on this whole parenting thing too.
We have begun to make plans for our first big road trip with Alexa... we are going to NC in February for our niece's baptism. The trip is first going to take us to the Charlotte area to see my aunt, uncle, cousin and her family. I'm really excited to see all of them because it has been soooo long! Then, we are going to head to Greensboro where we will stay with Maureen and Dan, and then drive to Durham to visit with Andy and Cathy. It should be a fun trip! I also received good news tonight... my countdown to Perry is still on (9 days), but my count to see my parents has been reduced to 2.5 days! As long as the weather isn't awful, Mom and Dad are going to come down on Saturday :) I cannot even begin to describe how this brightened my day! So a fun-filled weekend of seeing them and celebrating Dan's 29th birthday is looming... yea!!!

Story [half] Hour

As planned, Alexa and I went to the library for Babytime this morning. We had so much fun! Alexa was wide awake and in great spirits. We sang songs, listened to a couple of stories, and did some finger rhymes :) The children's favorite part was when the librarian came around blowing bubbles. They were all so mesmerized, it was cute. I was shocked by how many people were there. There were about 15-20 children, including Alexa, and then of course the adults. Alexa was the youngest child in the room - she was the only one who couldn't sit on her own. Everyone kept saying how pretty, precious, etc. she was, and all of the other children (mostly around 1 yr old) were saying, "baby, baby, baby," and pointing at her. After story hour we picked out a few books and came home. I remember going to the library as a little girl, and I am so excited to be taking my baby girl to the library now! This is definitely going to be a part of our weekly schedule!! And who knows, maybe I will eventually make friends with a mom or two :)

Mommy v. Baby Monet

I know that I've posted about Alexa's recent fascination with the television. So here is a video clip of her watching the Baby Monet DVD. She can't decide what is more entertaining me (with the camera) or the movie... so cute!