You Light Up My Life

Every morning this is our routine. Lexi runs around the house and gets so excited for us to turn on our Christmas lights. She even says "Peassseee" (translation: please) and "oooohhhhh" when the 'pretties' get turned on.

Cha- Cha Slide

. . . and by Cha-Cha we mean the cardboard box slide. On Christmas Eve, Alexis found this cardboard box to be delightfully entertaining when she turned it into a slide. I guess we should have gotten her boxes for Christmas!

Moping and Monkeying Around

We have been horrible about updating lately! There really is no excuse for us . . . well, except, Lexi IS getting a full mouth of teeth right now (she has about 6 newly acquired ones in the last 3 weeks and 2 more on their way in as I type) and is really the least delightful 18 month old person you've ever encountered.

When she is taking time off from tormenting Mommy and Daddy and telling Roxy to "go-way" (translation: "go away") we've had a few photo ops:



Mommy and Lexi did get to have an adventure last weekend! Lexi met her new friend, Jack, for "Curious George Live" on Saturday afternoon. This was a 90 minute musical stage show with a 15 minute intermission and a meet-and-greet an hour before showtime with the star, "Curious George"

We skipped the meet-and-greet and left at intermission. She was really enjoying the show (and Jack's popcorn) but I didn't want to push my luck since I spent most of the show trying to keep her from rushing the stage to hug the "mu-key" (monkey).

What a Turkey!

It was another year for multiple feasts and lots of family for the Holdings! We started the holiday off in Columbus with Daddy's side of the family and we all got a glimpse of what will be in a few years between Lexi and her cousin, Ethan. Alexis was 'relieving' Ethan of his toys and trying to shake him while he was in his bouncer. Oh, dear, we have much to fear!

After a few days in Columbus, it was back to Wichita and on to Nana and Papa Dunaway's to celebrate Thanksgiving again with Momma's family. Lexi wasn't big on sharing her spotlight with cousin "Co-Co" (this is how Lexi says Chloe) but was able to find solace in pie (she is DEFINITELY her mother's daughter!).


This little girl ate a piece of cherry pie and a piece of french silk pie, AFTER consuming her weight in green bean casserole, corn, bread, and turkey. And then she slept a looooonnnnnggg time that night. :)

Daddy's Girl

When it's time to play, Daddy is the BEST!
Here are a few pictures of Daddy and Lexi's latest shenanigans!


Lexi wanted to wear Daddy's sweatshirt- it might be a little big for her!

Standing with one foot in the basketball goal, doing what Lexi does best - being a goofy girl!

This is how Lexi was watching her favorite movie "The AristoCats" with her Daddy the other night. Talk about a footstool!

Brownie Bites

"And above all... Think Chocolate!"

- Betty Crocker

Yummy! We made brownies on Sunday afternoon - Lexi LOVED them!

Let's Say Thanks

So this is non-Lexi related, but this was too awesome not to pass on! By clicking on the link below you can help send a Thank-You postcard to military personnel stationed overseas. "Let's Say Thanks" is a program sponsored by Xerox that allows you to pick out a postcard and a message and they will send a postcard to a soldier!

http://www.letssaythanks.com

I said a BOOM chick-a-BOOM

Alexis is learning how to jump up and she was entertaining us tonight with her jumps and saying "BOOM" every time she attempted (she has actually yet to leave the ground, but it's the thought that counts, right?).

You may also notice she is sporting a risky-business-chic look. This is her idea of classy styling. She's not loving wearing clothes the last few days, but was adamant about keeping her socks on. Whatever.

It's Unbe-LEAF-able!

Where's Lexi?

So we are blog-awful. We have neglected to update for almost a month now, but not for lack of trying! Lexi went through a bout of boring where she did nothing new or funny whenever we were near a camera. Also, she had ear infections in early October, followed by general cranky-teething behavior the last week or so. We can't subject you, our 7 viewers, to that.

FINALLY, this Sunday we managed to capture her leaf-scapades! Lexi and Daddy went outside to rake up the leaves, and Lexi had SSSOOOO much funny "helping" her Daddy and playing in the leaf piles with Ra-Ra (Roxy).

Fancy Schmancy

Really? Who needs fancy toys when there are bags of frozen stir fry and paper towels at hand? Despite and ENTIRE PLAY ROOM of toys (aka the room that used to be our family room) Lexi found sheer delight in these two items tonight. So I guess for her next birthday we just need to remember to shop in the frozen foods and paper goods sections of the store! What a goofy girl!

I Got a Pickle, Hey, Hey, Hey, HEY!

and, because we are totally awesome parents - we gave Lexi a dill pickle thinking it would be funny to watch her face when she tasted it. She seemed to actually like it - that or she just continued to eat it because Mommy and Daddy were laughing at her, and you know how our baby girl loves an audience!

Lexi Reading

Lexi loves sitting in the middle of her mess of toys and flipping through her picture books.

Let's Clean Up!

Awesome! Alexis can clean herself up now!!!

(yeah, OK, not REALLY but it is sure is cute watching her try!)

Lexi Says . . .

Just as Paul has long feared, once Lexi started talking, she's never stopped! She is 14 months old now and is learning so much! She loves to run, climb, and play chase, tag, and hide-and-go-seek (an extremely simple version were one of us hides quite obviously and she finds us and yells "BOO").

Here is a list of words she knows, but there are lots of others she can repeat (without knowing the meaning):

1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Nana
4. Papa
5. Ba-Ba
6. Bye / Bu-Bye
7. Hi
8. Cracker (this girl should be the spokesperson for Ritz!)
9. Thank You (most of the time)
10. Please (not always, but sometimes)
11. Night-Night (pronounced "na-nigh")
12. Puppy
13. (one) Two, three
14. Julie (our babysitter, she says this over and over when we get to her house)
15. Bear
16. Nose(although it's prnounced "no-e-nose")
17. Shoes
18. Toes
19. Eww
20. Ow
21. Poo-Poo
22. Pretty (her personal favorite)
23. No
24. Boo
25. Duck
26. Book
27. Tickle-tickle
28. Wow
29. Oh Yeah
30. Boom
31. Go
32. Go away (aren't children delightful?)
33. Zoo
34. Good Girl (another favorite)

We had to prompt her to say the words in the video, but she CAN say them on her own (just never with the camera rolling . . . ).

Look What I Can Do!

Lexi is so funny! This morning she was "bear walking" (if you're not in the know, that is like crawling, but on your hands and feet instead of knees) and doing headstands. She's been trying to do somersaults, too, but that makes Mommy very nervous, so for right now she is getting some major assists with her gymnastic endeavors.

Waking Up Is Hard to Do

Mommy's first day of school, Lexi's first day of waking up REALLY early.

Sugar High

We have created a monster. Alexis LOVES ice cream, but doesn't get it very often, so when she does it's a pretty big deal to her. This afternoon we stopped by Braum's for a little Sunday afternoon ice cream treat.

Once we got home, she was giving her Daddy kisses so he would give her some ice cream.

Mamma Mia, Here I Go Again . . .

So it's important to preface this video clip with a little background info. First, you should know that Lexi is getting her two top teeth - at the same time - and has been OUTRAGEOUSLY cranky. Poor thing has been chomping on anything (or anyone) she can get her hands on.

The next thing you should know about Lexi is that she LOVES LOVES LOVES the movie 'Mamma Mia.' Yeah, as in Meryl Streep, singing, dancing, ABBA, and completely inappropriate material to present to a one year old. We have watched this movie at LEAST once a week since the beginning of summer. Lexi dances along with all the songs and is mesmerized by the pretty colors. Mostly, though, she really goes for the soundtrack.

Fast forward to this afternoon: Lexi wakes up from her nap (cranky) and won't eat, drink, sit, stand, or be held by Mommy. She wants nothing to do with her toys or books. My baby was inconsolable - until I put on "Dancing Queen." She was literally crying her eyes out - tears streaming down her face and wailing - 30 seconds before this was taken.

Mamma Mia, here I go again! My My! How can I resist ya!

My Fair Lady

Our little family spent the weekend at the Cherokee County Fair in Columbus, Kansas with Grandma and Grandpa Holding. Lexi liked all the animals, especially the rabbits (BUNNY!). We also saw goats, sheep, ducks, cows, chickens, geese, and a turken (a turkey crossed with a chicken for those of you not in the know). Lexi met lots of people and managed to charm most of them with her smiley face and "HI" and "Bu-Bu-Bye."

shortly after this, Lexi stepped in poo and got it on Mommy's legs and Daddy's shirt

the poultry barn

this sheep jumped out of it's pen and Daddy and Grandma helped wrangle it back in - Mommy watched of course.

YES!!! FUNNEL CAKES ARE AWESOME!!!

Lexi makes friends everywhere she goes!

Babe!

These are Grandpa's cows!

Sunday morning in Grandma's garden

It's The Climb

Lexi spent her morning at the park climbing all over the fun equipment (and going down slides head first - I think we have a daredevil on our hands). This afternoon instead of playing with her fun toys, she only had eyes for the laundry basket. She flipped it over all by herself, too (impressive)!

Walk This Way

While Mommy makes dinner, this is what Lexi does to keep herself entertained. She circles from our kitchen, to the office, through the living room, past the front door, rounds through the entryway, and the dining room before an occasional quick 'hi' to Mommy and then she's off again. She can get moving pretty fast now that she's been walking for a whole month!

It's So Fun to Be One!

What a difference a year makes!

Can you believe it's already been a year? Alexis turned one on June 22nd, but we had her party the Saturday before. She had a great time -playing with the other babies and swimming in the pool. At her one year checkup, she weighed 21 pounds (52nd percentile) and was 29 inches tall (50th percentile).

Here's a video of Lexi with her cake - Mommy has her trained so well, she had to be coaxed into getting messy!

Here are a few pictures from the festivities:

sharing Papa's dinner

I'm ready for my cake!

BEFORE

AFTER

That's my girl!

The big cake

Cake, at home, with Mommy and Daddy on her actual birthday:

Play Date With Kate!

As if there was ever any doubt that Lexi was my daughter - the girl loves Kate Spade purses! I gave her a small handbag of mine and she carried it around with her last night - it was so cute!!!

And this was too cute not to share - this was how Lexi and her daddy were watching Finding Nemo last night - so precious!