Christmas was INCREDIBLE! Christmas 2011 has to go down as one of the absolute best Christmas' I have ever had. I knew it would be amazing. I just had that feeling. We did the usual routine- Christmas Eve lunch with the Jones family, Christmas Eve dinner with the Kolniak family, Christmas morning Santa with just us Rhotons, Christmas day lunch with Nana, and Christmas night with the Rainey family. All the parties were really great this year, and I cherished every second of them all. My very favorite moment had to be at home on Christmas morning with Lexi. We had wrapped all of her Santa gifts besides her big, new kitchen. Of course it was the very first thing she saw, and she flipped out. I will never forget her excited little trot as she ran over to it and began to play. She was so into it that Brandon and I had to open the rest of her gifts for her. She wouldn't turn away from that kitchen for even a second. She also loved her Dora microphone. Unfortunately the Dora microphone has already seen its final resting place. Apparently it was not prepared for the volume of saliva that Lexi would shove into it. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. The whole saying about it being better to give than receive never made to much sense to me until Lexi came around. There is nothing in the world that I could ever want that would compare to the feeling of giving her something that she loves. It's priceless. Since having her I have heard several times that you don't learn the true meaning of love until you have a child. This could not be more true. I love Brandon with all my heart, and there is absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for him. However, that love for my precious Lexi is so much more. It's different. It's so beautiful. God really does give us our children as a gift. I am eternally grateful.
For all of our Christmas pictures, go here-
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150423754212854.337948.504407853&type=1&l=51c955346e
It was back to work as usual following Christmas. That is until Brandon developed 2 kidney stones. He was in so much pain for so many days! Saturday we woke up and the pain had increased a million times over. We called his doctor who sent us immediately to the emergency room. After a series of tests (and LOTS of pain meds) they determined that B had developed a kidney infection. It was so hard to see B in so much pain. I tease him all the time about being a "weenie", but really he is super tough. His reactions were showing me he was in really bad pain. After a few hours they were able to take the majority of the pain away, and then it was just a waiting game. We spent New Years Eve in the hospital. Brandon joked that it was the most messed up he had ever been on New Years. Haha! He's crazy. Everyone kept saying how sorry they were for him, and how they hated that we were having to spend New Years Eve in a hospital. Honestly, once I knew they had B taken care of I was just fine being there. His pain was gone, and we were together. Spending NYE in that hospital room wasn't so bad afterall. I do wish Lexi poo could have been there with us. She was out long before midnight though, so I guess it wasn't such a big deal. They were able to cure Brandon's infection with strong IV antibiotics by the next day, and we were discharged. A day or two more of pain and B finally passed the original stone. Yay!! He is still feeling very sore in his kidneys, but is really moving in the right direction now. So glad!
I have to mention my new favorite Lexi thing. Every time my phone rings, she will completely drop what she is doing and run over to it. She will race with it back over to me as fast as she can, and wait for me to answer. After I answer, she will clap and smile and laugh for a solid minute. She gets so proud of herself. It is so precious. I love it!
She has also started to really understand what we are saying to her. Just the other night I said, "Lexi, can Mommy change your diaper? Go get me a diaper, Lex, so that I can change your diaper." She shimmied herself right on down the hall and with both hands carried the box of wipes all the way back into the den. She turned right back around and went back to her room. She picked a diaper out of the diaper bag, and walked it right back to me. Then she proceeded to lay down in front of me. Genius. I swear she is genius!
I think Lexi may have missed us a little bit while Brandon was in the hospital. She has been super clingy to me, and gets upset now if I leave the room. This is fading a little with every day that goes by, so I know she will be back to normal soon. I have enjoyed one little part of her clingyness, though. Every night instead of just putting her in her bed and leaving, she has actually wanted me to rock her to sleep. My child has never wanted to sit still long enough for me to rock her to sleep. Never. Her rocking chair has always been somewhere for us to relax in her room or somewhere for her to play on. Never a resource for bedtime. The past few nights, though, she has really been enjoying the special mommy and me time. Mommy is really enjoying it, too! I know soon enough she will be right back to her big girl self going to bed all on her own. So for now, I am sitting back and savoring every moment of this new nighttime ritual.
I would now like to take this opportunity to pat myself on the back. I have officially celebrated my one year anniversary of this blog! I so wanted to document all of our Rhoton happenings, but was a little doubtful that I would stick with it. I have missed a week here or there, but all in all I am very happy to have kept this little diary of mine. :)
Something new that I thought I would start this year is a reflection at the end of each year. Here's my first...
REFLECTIONS 2011
2011 was a fantastic year!!! When I think back to 2011 as a whole I think of exactly one thing- Lexi. She ruled my heart for every moment of 2011.
Starting in January I think back to celebrating B's 29th birthday at my mom's house. Lexi was so tiny, and I just remember her staring at our steak and potatoes! She wanted so badly to figure out how to eat that delicious food! Bless her heart. She still had a few more months before steak and potatoes was in her diet.
February makes me think of Valentine's day, of course. This Valentine's was special, though. It was all about love as usual, but it was a different, bigger love. It was the love for Brandon AND the love for Lexi. I think of Lexi sitting in her chair at school dressed from head to toe in pink, red, x's and o's. She was so precious with her big red bow on her head. Demita and I took pictures of her for hours that day. It was so sweet.
March makes me think of St. Patrick's day and the insanely precious 4 leaf clover dress that Lexi wore. She was such a big girl with her big green bow and matching white shoes. Every time I think of her in that outfit I smile. I told Brandon just the other day that I thought that green dress just might be my favorite outfit of all time.
April brought Easter and the Tuscaloosa tornado. Lexi loved meeting the Easter bunny, and this was around the age that we really started to see her quirky, funny personality develop. She was just starting to show us what a little comedian she was going to become. The end of April was horrific. The Tuscaloosa tornado will be something that we will not soon forget. I am grateful every day that my family was protected. I pray that the families that lost people are starting their journey to healing. I know it will be a long road for them.
May was great because we took a super long trip to the beach! It was so nice for us to get away for an extended period of time and do nothing but relax and spend time with Lexi poo. I also especially think of that moment on our last night that B and I took a walk down to the ocean. We sat in the sand just the two of us. We talked and listed to ocean waves come in. It was so beautiful. It's moments like those that make life worth living.
June, July, and August all make me think of one thing- the pool! Our summer was consumed with trips to Nana's house to go swimming. I remember so many times that B, Chip, and I would order delivery Quiznos and not even get out of the pool to eat it. Ha. Makes me laugh now. Lexi would tire so quickly, and we would have to set her up in the shade for her to nap. Can''t wait for summer to come again, so that we can resume our weekend ritual. My August birthday stands out for me this year, too. I don't always get to see my Grandmother Jones on my birthday. This year she came up to Birmingham just to have lunch with me on the actual day. That's super special, and it really made my 27th (no Mom, I'm not 26. LOL) birthday one to remember.
September brought football. Roll tide!!! This is Alabama. We love football. No one says September without thinking of football. That's all.
October was full of memories of Lexi turning one year old. My word. My precious baby turned one. It's still so unreal for me. All the planning for her stupendous birthday party was worth it. Everyone had a great time. I only wish I could do it over a hundred times. I think my memory that stands out the most is taking her to get her picture taken on her actual birthday. She laughed and then cried. She absolutely hated wearing that birthday hat that Granddaddy Ron got her. We wanted so badly to get a picture with her wearing it. Oh well. There's always next year. :)
Saying November makes me think of my Papa Maze. This will forever be the month that he passed away. He was so young, and it was such a shock. He is missed by so many people. Love you Papa. I know you're keeping an eye our for our family. You always protected all your girls, and I know you will continue to do that from above. Now, you're our guardian angel.
December makes me think of Christmas and what a big girl Lexi has become. She's walking, talking, expressing herself, doing sign language, eating real food, and much much more. Christmas was somewhat of a milestone in my mind. I don't know if it's because it's at the end of the year or what. But, for some reason I have looked at it as a sort of check point in the Lexi timeline. I remember Christmas of 2010. She was so incredibly tiny and helpless. Wow, what a difference a year makes. She's our big girl now. She's so smart. So tremendously beautiful on the inside and out. I'm in constant awe of her and what a wonderful blessing she is.
So here we are starting 2012. I can only hope that 2012 is half as fabulous as 2011 was. I have a feeling our lives will continue to see awesome blessings and our hearts will continue to overflow with love and happiness. Cheers to 2012. Love you all!
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