RIP Papa

Last Wednesday afternoon my Papa Maze passed away. He had been sick with a cold, but was otherwise in very good health. It was a complete shock to everyone. He was 66 years old.

The visitation was Friday evening in Tuscaloosa. SO many people came out to show their respects. It was very nice. Chip and I very much enjoyed hearing all the stories that Papa's friends had to tell. He was such a character! Never a dull moment!

The funeral service was Saturday morning, also in Tuscaloosa. Papa and Angela's pastor from First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa spoke. He did such a wonderful job. Everything he said was so uplifting and encouraging. It really was so beautiful.

We will all miss you very much Papa. You will remain in our hearts for all the years ahead. I know you will be looking down over all of us from Heaven. Love you. Roll tide.

Papa holding me when I was a baby

Haha! Me and Papa

Papa always dressed up as Santa for us kids

Park City, Utah January 2010

Papa and Lexi, July 2011

Papa, Angela, & Lexi, Thanksgiving 2010

Papa with newborn baby Lexi, October 2010

Losing sucks, but Family Makes it ALL Better

We are currently in the recovery phase from this past weekend. As Bama lost to LSU, we also lost- 5 years of our lives. That game could not have been more stressful. Gearing up we knew there was a chance that we could lose. I suppose we never actually prepared mentally for such, because that was brutal! I actually feel like I have been in a fight. It's awful. My face is broken out, and I have an ulcer on my mouth. Football should NOT be this mentally and physically draining. So not fun. Either way, ROLL TIDE! We are still clearly a top tier football team, and I am always proud to be a Bama fan! Oh, and the fact that we only dropped to number 3 in the BCS standings gives us a glimmer of hope for the title game. It's a small chance, but it's a chance. RTR!!!

I was super duper oober excited to get to watch the game with my beautiful, wonderful, amazing, hilarious very best friend Erin Garber!! I love it when she comes in town! We cheered lots and laughed more. Love love love her!

Sunday was so relaxing. Lexi had us up at 5:45am thanks to the time change. It wasn't so bad, though. Chip came over, and we had lots of fun doing absolutely nothing. We decided after sulking for a few hours over the game that we refused to have a bad day. We put the loss behind us and had a fabulous family fun day. Lexi cracked us up with her attempt to eat chocolate pudding with a spoon. We are really focusing on the use of silverware right now. She hasn't quite grasped it just yet. There was a second bath following that snack.

I suppose that is about all for now in Rhoton land. I will leave you with a cute video of Lexi laughing. I was taking a piece of Tupperware and putting it on my head like a hat. Little Lex thought this was SO hilarious. Her laugh is simply intoxicating. Happy Monday!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=10150518595908975&set=vb.771893974&type=2&theater

A Little Lexi News

Well, Halloween was lots of fun! The Perfect Puzzle Preschool carnival was amazing. All the little kiddies ate candy and bounced the night away. By 6:15 Lexi was done. She had given it everything she could and was ready for bed. By the time we got home (before 7) she was out like a light. She slept for a solid 12 hours that night. Poor thing. She just isn't as big as she wants to be quite yet.


Lexi has several new tricks and habits lately that I don't believe I have documented. I'll do a quick Lexi Lately...


1. Anything that even somewhat resembles a phone she will pick up, put to the very back of her head, and yell haaawhooo?? hawhoooo??. So funny. She hasn't grasped the whole concept of put the phone to your ear. It's super funny.


2. Bedtime comes with a very strict routine these days. At approximately 7:15 every night (it seems to be getting earlier and earlier) Lexi walks over to me and starts her whine/babble. I pick her up and take her over to Uncle Cookie. We say "Night, night Cookie. Night, night." Then she gives him a kiss. Then we walk over to Daddy and say, "Night, night Daddy. Night, night." Then she gives him a kiss. She drinks her bottle as we walk to the back repeating over and over, "Night, night. Night, night." We walk into her room and turn her heater on. Then we walk over to crib, start her music, and stand for about 5 seconds. At that point she always leans into her bed, and I put her in. I say, "Night, night Lexi. I love you baby. Night, night." And then I leave.


Each step is VERY important and simply cannot be skipped. If Cookie is not there to tell her "night night", for example, she does not sleep. It must all be done in that exact order. Oh, babies. So silly.


3. Our new favorite treat is Capri Sun. Lexi is absolutely OBSESSED with Capri Suns. You can get her to do just about anything by promising her a "juice". She is so good about drinking them too. She will sit down nicely and sip through that straw all by herself. Such a big girl.


4. Lexi has refined her "I love you". I suppose she is getting a little lazy, because "I love you" has now turned into either "I yuv" or "Yuv ya". It cracks us up that she is too lazy to put all three words together. Bless her.


5. Toy of the century in the Rhoton household- the ball pit! For Lexi's birthday, Brandon and I got her a small little ball pit to play in. She LOVES it! We find something new in the ball pit every day. Just last night we found her "Cuppie", Elmo, and a peanut butter cracker all buried somewhere in the balls. It's like her little safe haven for all her favorite friends. Haha!


Sidenote: Daddy can't seem to get enough balls for the ball pit. It came with 20. We have almost 250. Every couple of days he convinces himself that the ballpit would be soooo much better if it just had a few more balls. He has added to that thing so many times now. Balls are taking over my house!!


I cannot wait for Friday to get here!!! Lexi's school is taking a field trip to Disney on Ice, and of course I am tagging along. I am really excited though, because Nana is coming too! I know Lexi is going to really enjoy the show, and we are all going to have a blast! Pictures to come for sure.


I also cannot wait for Saturday to get here! OMG, BAMA vs LSU aka the National Championship of this season!!!! I am so incredibly nervous! Bama just HAS to win!


ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I absolutely LOVE Halloween. For adults, it's a time to dress up super cute and party. For kids, it's a time to dress up super cute, get candy, and party. Such a win-win. Love it!

Lexi poo has dressed up this year as a little cupcake. I found the costume a while back at Old Navy and couldn't resist. It just seemed so fitting. She looks so incredibly adorable!!! I have no words. I just want to squeeze her all day long. Precious.

On Saturday night we went over to Nana's to "trick-or-treat" her house. Lexi was much more amused by Jack (Chip's dog) than the act of trick or treating. Once Nana whipped out the Dip N Dot candy, though, it was on.

Lexi found her way into many candy and cookie baskets this past weekend. She has been sleeping AWFUL, and as a result is now in a terrible mood on this Halloween day. I refuse to give in to her bad mood, though. By the end of the day, she will be her usual chipper self. She has to be. It's Halloween.

Sunday night we went to Lexi's Grandma's house for another Halloween celebration. Lucy and Lexi were dressed alike in their Halloween tutus, and it was very cute to see! Lexi was cracking us up imitating everything that Lucy did. If Lucy ate chicken, Lexi ate chicken. If Lucy colored in the Dora coloring book, Lexi colored in the Dora coloring book. They are really sweet together.

Tonight is the big school party. All the kids are dressed up in their costumes. There is more cuteness in that school than words can describe! Starting as soon as school gets out is the Trunk or Treat party. After everyone has trunk-or-treated, the teachers, parents, and kids are walking over to the Homewood Police Station where they are having a Halloween carnival. Should be lots of fun!!!

I have to say I am MUCH more excited about the kiddie Halloween festivities rather than the adult festivities of our past. My love for Halloween has grown exponentially. Boo!

1. Not so Lonely of a Number When You're Loved by SOOOO Many.

So my baby is 1. That is all. She's 1. Now I will crawl into a hole somewhere and cry. Guess it's time for another kiddo............ JUST KIDDING! Not any time soon! Lexi poo fills our hearts completely, and I'm still in that stage where I don't want anything to take away from my time with her. Mommy doesn't want to share her attention. One day, though. One day.

The much anticipated (by me) birthday party finally arrived! Sunday was so fun!!! Everything from the cake, to the bouncys, to the decorations came together perfect. I was so pleased with the way everything turned out. We had a big crowd, and from what I've been hearing everyone had a good time. The weather was a little warm, but I suppose if that's the worst thing we have to complain about then we did pretty good! I will be getting the pictures from the photographer/my neighbor friend, Andrea, soon. I will post them for all to see as soon as I get them. Here are a few to hold you over until then...

A little side note many of you may not have known- One year before, at exactly 3pm on the 16th (half way through the party), Brandon and I were taking our baby home from the hospital for the very first time. In 2010 at that very moment we were beginning such an incredible journey. One year later in 2011 we stood at our angel's birthday party and reflected. So so blessed.

I want to thank everyone that came and celebrated with us! We love and appreciate you all so very much!!!! It really does mean the world to us for you all to be there. Lexi is one lucky girl to be so loved!

One more thing. I have fallen in love with a website by the name of catchmyparty.com. It is website that is all things party! They have ideas for decor, cakes, invitations, etc. for every type of party you can dream of. There are really some cute cute parties on there! Since I haven't received the pictures yet for the 1st birthday party, I thought I would play around and upload Lexi's Baby Shower pictures onto their website. I was SO ECSTATIC when I woke up this morning to see that the baby shower was the featured party on their website and facebook page! I know this isn't a huge deal, but to me is super duper exciting. The thought of all of their 11,000 facebook fans waking up to see my party on their News Feed makes me smile! Thank you, catchmyparty.com for making my day!

Memories

We survived Lexi's first haircut. That one will definitely go down in the record books as a success. We had no screams and no tears. I am already missing her little rat tail though.

Today is crazy in the Allstate/Perfect Puzzle building. The hustle and bustle of picture day is in full effect. All the kids are looking extra precious in their picture outfits. Lexi hasn't had her sitting with the photographer yet. An update will come later on how that goes...

I was almost to work today when Brandon called and reminded me that exactly one year ago at that exact moment we were waking up with so much excitement and anticipation, as today was the day we would start the process of delivering our baby girl. We were like kids on Christmas times a million. At 4 o'clock we were checking in at Brookwood Hospital to start the induction process. It seemed like 4 o'clock would never come. Neither one of us can remember anything we did or ate that day. All we can remember is how incredibly happy and anxious we were to finally meet our precious angel. We knew that she would be open our hearts to a whole new world. And she has. What an incredible blessing we were about to receive. Still blows my mind.

Everyone have a great day.

Our Pumpkin Goes to the Pumpkin Patch

Wow. Who knew a baby's birthday party could ever be so stressful?? Ha! I have been working on this party for weeks, and now that it's almost here I feel completely unprepared. Let's hope it all comes together by Sunday.

Last weekend was very fun for me, as I got to do something I have been dying to do- take a family trip to the pumpkin patch. I absolutely adore the sight of precious little babies waddling around in the hay and picking out pumpkins. I couldn't wait to take Lexi! We loaded up on Sunday and drove out to Hayden, AL to the Great Pumpkin Patch. They had bouncys, a petting zoo, wagon rides, pumpkins, caramel apples, and much more. I was in love. Lexi wore her cute little Halloween outfit, and my life was complete. I know Brandon secretly laughs at me, but he's such a trooper at all my outings. Bless him. The Rhoton family trip to the pumpkin patch lived up to everything I thought it would.

Today is Lexi's friend Sadia's 2nd birthday. Mrs. Demita (of course) threw a wonderful birthday bash for sweet Sadia, and we all just got done celebrating. Lexi was very excited to see she would be able to devour another cupcake. That girl loves her some sugar!

We are crossing another big milestone today- Lexi's first haircut. I'll probably cry, and Brandon will probably be totally mortified. Our baby girl is now a big girl. :) :(

Friday is Lexi's actual birthday, and we will be celebrating in full fashion. Brandon and I both took off work, and we have a full day of activities planned. My gameplan is to stay busy having a blast so that I don't spend the entire day boohooing. In the morning we are taking Lexi to get pictures done. After pictures we are going to get Lexi's favorite meal for lunch--- Chick-fil-A nuggets and french fries. For the afternoon, we are going to take a family trip to the zoo. Lexi has been once with school, but we've never had a chance to go as a family. We are really looking forward to it! :)

Guess that's all for now. Everyone have a nice evening. Peaceeeeeeeee.

Favorites

Our Favorites (A Comparison of Daddy, Mommy, and Lexi)

FAVORITE FOOD-
DADDY- Mike Anderson Shrimp
MOMMY- Bacon wrapped Filet and yellow rice casserole
LEXI- goldfish, grapes, and chicken nuggets at the moment

FAVORITE ACTIVITY-
DADDY- Playing with my daughter
MOMMY- Playing with Lexi poo
LEXI- playing chase, being tickled, and dancing
 
FAVORITE TV SHOW-
DADDY- Sons of Anarchy
MOMMY- Sons of Anarchy and Teen Mom
LEXI- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Dora and Sesame Street are not far behind)

FAVORITE MOVIE-
DADDY- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
MOMMY- Lost in Translation
LEXI- Sesame Street's Kids Favorite Songs 2

FAVORITE SONG-
DADDY- Rivers of Babylon by Sublime
MOMMY- Someone Like you by Adele
LEXI- Hot Dog by Mickey Mouse and friends

THING THAT MAKES ME SMILE EVERY TIME-
DADDY- Lexi laughing
MOMMY- Lexi
LEXI- being tickled

PERSON I'D LIKE TO MEET-
DADDY- any president
MOMMY- Eminem
LEXI- Mickey Mouse

HIGHLIGHT OF MY DAY-
DADDY- after work with my girls and Chip
MOMMY- coming home to my family
LEXI- eating and playing

After reading back our answers, I see we're definitely not the exact same, but we sure love each other. FAMIWEE. <3

T-13 days!

The countdown has officially begun for the party. T minus 13 days! I am SO SUPER DUPER excited!! I am hoping every has a chance to come and celebrate. How awful would it be if no one showed up?? Haha! Please come??? :)

Roll tide (again)!!!! HUGE win against a great Florida team on Saturday night. This season is really shaping up into something we won't soon forget. It's got the makings of something awesome for sure!

Other than the usual fall football Saturday, we pretty much relaxed this weekend. Lunch with Brandon's grandmother on Saturday, shopping with Nana (twice), and visits from Uncle Cookie pretty much sums up our weekend. Ahh. I love fall.

Every now and then you have days where you really appreciate the wonderful people you have in your life. Today is one of those days. I am so incredibly fortunate! You all know who you are. I love you so very very much!

Now I'm off to kiss my Lexi poo a few times. Have a great week peeps!

Life is Good.

Kinda hard to follow up a LEXI IS WALKING post. I've been waiting to write that one for months!!! It's ok though. There are plenty of other Lexi moments worth mentioning.

Leading up to Lexi being able to walk, we would stand her up and then say, "walky, walky, walky" a zillion times trying to get her to move her tiny feet. I suppose she was listening, because now all she says is "waka waka waka". It is so stinkin hilarious!!! She occasionally branches away from "waka" to "locka locka" or "yaka yaka". Her conversations now go like this... "waka locka locka yaka waka waka oooy". She expects you to understand every word of it. It's just too funny!!!

So Lexi is still on pace to becoming the biggest daredevil ever! Brandon and her play a game where he throws her into the air. She can never get high enough. I caught it on video last weekend. Cute cute. When she realized she was on camera she got shy for a minute. Then she jumps right back into her laughing fit.

Just 2 weeks shy of her FIRST BIRTHDAY and Lexi has graduated to the Big Kid table at school for lunch. All the babies sit in their high chairs, while the big kids (2 year olds) sit around their miniature table. Lexi has always been in the highchair for two reasons. 1. She wasn't ready to sit at the table without falling out of the chair or getting out to run around. 2. She would try and steal all the other kids foods. Not anymore. Lexi now can sit like a big girl in her chair and eat her very own plate of exactly what the other kids are having. No need to steal their pizza and juice when you have your own pizza and juice. Here's Miss Lexi Poo enjoying her lunch at the big table today.

We do have a prayer request as of today. Brandon's grandmother Mamaw has been having some health issues. After a series of tests, she received some bad news today. If you all could just say a quick prayer for her health it would be greatly appreciated.

ROLL TIDE!!!!! 4-0!!!!!! BIG win against a good Arkansas team last weekend! Can't wait to get down to the Swamp this weekend and whoop some Gator behind! GOOOOOO BAMA!!!!

Everyone have a safe and happy weekend!! Mom, Lexi poo, and I are off to do some birthday shopping this afternoon. :):):)

Lexi is WALKING!!!!!!!!

I would like to start by retracting a former claim. A couple of weeks ago I announced, "Lexi is WALKING!" This was (kinda) incorrect. I should have announced that Lexi was taking her first steps. It was very random and inconsistent, but she was taking a few steps here and there. Hardly "walking" by all the critics standards.

As of today I would like to announce, "LEXI IS WALKING!!!!!!" She is consistently walking across rooms and actually using walking as a mode of transportation. On Saturday afternoon during a marathon of football, she suddenly stood up and took a few steps toward Brandon. We got on the floor with her immediately, called Chip into the room, and proceeded to watch her walk like it was something she'd been doing for years. I am one proud mama. Here's the proof for all you nonbelievers...

Party planning is in FULL swing again. I have ordered the 2 tier cake, reserved the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bouncy, planned for another small bouncy and ball pit, bought the supplies and food, designed the custom invitations, organized the game and activity schedule, lined up a photographer, and ordered Lexi's one-of-a-kind birthday girl outfit. I am totally out of control. I came to realize this the other night when I woke up at 3 am and could not stop thinking about the party long enough to fall back asleep. Thank goodness my email and etsy accounts come to my phone, or I would be in trouble. I figure my first baby girl only has her first birthday one time, so why not go big?? I would give that sweet girl the world if I could. One side note, Mickey Mouse will not be making an appearance at the party as prior planned. Turns out Mickey is copyrighted, and "Mr. Party Mouse" is something of your nightmares. I definitely don't want to poor kids going home with awful thoughts of Mr. Party Mouse.

So my genius child is also forming phrases now. The other day I was feeding her dinner, while Brandon was doing the dishes. She looked directly at him and said, "Hey, Dada." We both teared up a little at the small gesture. Why oh why do they grow up sooooo quickly??? *tear*

I do this blog for me to remember all the little things that Lexi does. I have mentioned that. One thing I never want to forget is how precious it was last night when she feel asleep in my arms on the couch. I am really proud of the fact that we lay Lexi down each night with her bottle and music, and within 10 minutes she is out like a light. However, every now and then I put aside my strict nighttime rules and just enjoy holding that precious girl as she dozes off. I did that last night. For some reason, she did not want to be in her bed by herself. I went and got her, and layed down on the couch with her. It may seem like nothing, but laying with her while she rubbed my hair in the quiet, dark room was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. It's so incredible to me how a mother's (and father's) love is unlike anything else imaginable. It is truly the essence of unconditional love. So so amazing.

<3

Parties and Prisses

Do you ever wish you could freeze time? The moment just seems so perfect that you don't want it to pass. I do. Constantly. With every day that passes I really really wish I could stop time and keep my precious little sunshine Lexi poo the exact age that she is at that moment. It's crazy, though. Because when the next day comes she does something even cuter than the day before, and all of the sudden I want to freeze that moment instead of the day before's moment. It's a crazy mom thing I suppose.

So this past weekend was super busy and super fun. Saturday we celebrated Perfect Puzzle Preschool's 1 year anniversary with the rest of the school gang at Homewood Park. The weather was perfect, and we all had lots of fun. Mommy and Lexi were very proud when Daddy took home the gold in the wing eating contest. He won by a landslide for the record. Mrs. Demita surprised all the parents by announcing she will be open on the night of the 23rd for us to drop off the kids and have a date night. So sweet in itself, but she also gave out restaurant gift cards to each of us. So thoughtful! A free night out on the town. Woo Hoo!

As soon as that party ended we drove directly to Nana's house for a birthday/Bama party. Bama whooped up on Penn St. as usual. Roll Tide! Everyone munched on delicious food and celebrated Nana and Granddaddy's birthdays. Love visiting with the fam. It always rejuvenates me in some sort of way.

Sunday was the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedies. I watched about 10 minutes of a TV special and allowed myself to cry. Brandon and I hugged, announced how much we love each other and how fortunate we are to have each other, then moved on to happier thoughts. We watched football and DVR recordings for the rest of the day. No need to sit around and be sad. I prayed for the victims and for America's safety. As one person, that's all I can really do. I will never forget that horrible day, but I also will not allow those awful people to steal my inner peace. God bless America.

On a happier note, Lexi has become one heck of a climber. We have such a little monkey on our hands!!! About a week ago we gated off the kitchen so that she would no longer chase the poor cats in there. It wasn't long at all before she was climbing the gate and attempting to flip over it. You would think not even being able to walk yet, that she wouldn't be such an avid climber. Not the case at all. She can climb anything it seems like. Just last night we were watching football on the couch. Brandon was on one side, and me on the other. Lexi was getting a little tired, so she was wallowing in between us. All of the sudden we realized that she had scaled the back of the couch and was about to flip off! We almost died! She is such a little nut!

Possibly my favorite picture ever. I love these 3 people so much. I also love how Lexi is chillin with the guys like she's one of them. This is the epitome of my household's daily life.



Some pics I took of Lex yesterday at school. Lexi = Miss Priss.

God bless America. Roll Tide.

Another Friday. Another smile. Happy Friday!!!

I am currently on the hunt for me some Bama clothes. Baby seems to be slowly but surely stocking up, and anyone that knows B knows his complete obsession with all things Alabama. Needless to say, he has quite the Bama wardrobe to choose from. Not so much me. I am in search of the perfect gameday dress. Jeans and shorts are much too uncomfortable. I prefer dresses. Now if I could just find the perfect houndstooth, red, and white dress....

On a very similar note, ROLL TIDE!!!! 1-0 to start the season. We looked great in our season opener, and I am really looking forward to our big game against Penn St. this weekend. I don't want to jinx us, but I am pretty sure it'll be another win for the Tide! We are watching the game at Mom's house and also celebrating her's and Granddaddy's birthdays. I know it will be lots of fun! <> RTR <>

As my honey and I seem to always do, we gave another gift before the actual holiday. Mom's birthday is on the 11th, and as I mentioned earlier, her party is on Saturday. None of that seemed to matter when we decided to go over to her house last night and give her our gift. She absolutely loved it!!!! I couldn't have been happier.

Just a little side note to make all you hard workers out there a little jealous. My boss installed a 42" flat screen TV yesterday and then proceeded to hook up the cable to it. Yes, that's right. A flat screen with cable in my office. I will never miss an episode of Real Housewives again. Or Jersey Shore. Or Teen Mom. Or anything for that matter. :)

I have seriously been trying to avoid the TV and radio this week due to all the coverage of 9/11. It's not that I don't think it's important to hear, or that it doesn't affect me. It's quite the opposite, actually. I get TOO affected by it. I watched all the specials and documentaries from last year, and I just now feel like I have recovered emotionally from them. It may have been the pregnancy hormones, but I was seriously depressed about it for a longggg time. I didn't want to go there mentally again. Anyway, I have decided to suck it up and let myself go there. I won't get depressed this time, maybe just sad. I don't ever want to be one of the people who sweeps it under the rug and slowly forgets, so I will watch. I will also pray for the families that continue to be affected by this awful tragedy. It truly breaks my heart. God bless them all, and God bless America!!!

My Bama Girl is WALKING!!!!!!

My little tiny itty-bitty precious pie Lexi poo is now a WALKER!!!!! That's right. She's walking. All by herself. No help. Across a room. CRAZY!!! It isn't an all-the-time type thing yet. You definitely have to catch her when she's in the mood. She is actually very lazy and walking is hard, so it's rare. Last Saturday was the first time she walked from one end of a room to the other. Brandon and I almost died. We had her do it several times to be sure we weren't dreaming. By the time we calmed down enough to think, we grabbed our phones and videoed. She was already really tired at the point, so what we got on camera wasn't her best attempt. Either way, she's walking! :)

Bama football this weekend!!!! OMG will it ever get here??? I am actually super excited to play Kent State in our game opener. They have been in Alabama the past few days helping some of our team rebuild the homes of the tornado victims. To me it doesn't get any cooler than that. Hats off to Kent St. They are a true class act, and Bama is lucky to have the privilege of playing them.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!

<> 10 months old ~ 11 Days til Football <>

Originally I started this blog as a way for me to look back over the year(s) and remember every single memory we share with Lexi and others. Obviously not every single memory has made it into the blog, but I have really tried to document a lot of it. I have slacked along the way, but all in all I am very pleased with what has made it onto "paper". I have never been more thankful than I am now. Friday night my iPhone broke! Along with it went ALL my pictures and videos of my Lexi poo. I was DEVASTATED. I could care less about the phone, but the memories were all washed away with it. As soon as the panic started to strike me, I realized that I have uploaded so many pictures and videos to my blog and to facebook that there is no reason to panic at all. SO THANKFUL for the blog. With that said, I will continue the blog for a good while longer. My new iPhone should be arriving via UPS sometime today, so more pictures and videos will be coming soon. :)

I never said it officially, so HAPPY 10 MONTH BIRTHDAY LEXI!!! She actually turned 10 months on the 14th, but I wanted to make it blog official. As with all the other months, 10 months seems to be a great age. She has really gone from baby to big girl right before our eyes.

Just yesterday Mrs. Mita and I were working with Lexi on walking. This was not by any choice of Lexi's. She hates walking! I think if we left it up to Lexi she wouldn't walk until she was 35. She cannot understand why she would attempt walking when crawling seems to be working just fine. I can't blame her for her logic. If she only knew how much faster she could make it to Annie by running rather than crawling. Then she would surely put forth 110 percent!

This past weekend I dragged Brandon and Lex to Portrait Innovations for an updated family portrait. Unfortunately we were not able to capture a good one of all 3 of us. We did get an updated one of Lex, though. You can never have too many of a pretty baby girl. If anyone would like one just let me know. As usual, we have a bazillion.

We also took pictures with our neighbor AKA awesome photographer, Andrea Castleberry. She tells me all the time how she is dying to get Lexi in front of her camera. I (of course) was super excited too!! We went over to Mom's backyard and took lots of pictures of Lexi by the lake. She was dressed in Bama gear in some of them, and in a girly dress with lots of jewelry and feathered headbands in the others. Andrea let me see a few on her camera as she was shooting. From what I could see on the camera, they are going to be amazing!!! I am dying to see them. As soon as I get my hands on them, I will post for you all to see.

Switching gears here, only 11 more days until football season!!! ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait to start the season and watch Bama kick some booty!!! Preseason #2- I like it. I'm predicting Bama to go 11-1 with an SEC title, and a chance at the National title. I don't wanna predict who our loss may be to, because we all know that in the SEC every Saturday is a chance to lose. I do know it won't be to Auburn. Ha! A mother at daycare makes tutus and outfits for little girls, so I currently have her making Lexi a red/white/houndstooth tutu, matching shirt, and hairbow. I'm almost as excited about Lexi's outfit as I am about the games beginning.

Guess that's about it for now. Much love.
-L

Wow! BIG month so far!!!

Lexi is basically repeating everything these days!!! She has mastered several words, and continues to add to her repetoire daily. Her latest accomplishment is "Nana". We have been working on this for several weeks now, and she finally started saying it last night. I'm pretty sure my mom's life is now complete. Here's a video Brandon caught of her saying it. She says it clearly about 15 or so seconds into the video. She then proceeds to look for her Nana and get very teased thinking about her. Too precious!!

For the record she has also added "eat, eat", "hot", "Ellie", and "Meeeee" (translates to Mita aka Demita). I love her tiny little voice.

I had a birthday this past weekend for those of you who don't already know. I realize that most of you that read this had a part in celebrating with me, but I will still recap my awesomely fun weekend!! Friday afternoon I was surprised by Demita and the kids of Perfect Puzzle Preschool! They came into my office with hand made beautiful birthday cards and cupcakes! Demita also surprised me with 2 new dresses that I am totally in love with! So incredibly thoughtful!! I allowed Lexi to indulge in her first big sugar rush. She ate an entire cupcake, and was obssessed. It was very cute until she crashed about an hour later. Haha!

Brandon, Dad, and Beth had decorated the house with flowers and balloons when I arrived home from work. What a sweet way to walk in from work! Then (with Chip and Izabelle also) we ate a delicious dinner from Leonardo's and relaxed. I also very much appreciated the gorgeous Pottery Barn frames the got me to help with my "wall". (I have started a "wall of everyone" in our hall. The pictures are the east part. The frames are the hard part. It is very much coming together now thanks to their sweet gift.) Pooh and I also had a photo shoot...

Saturday morning Grandmother came to the house and hung out a little bit. We had coffee and played with the kiddos. For lunch we all headed over to the greatest Chinese place ever, Mr. Chens. It was a great birthday lunch! We then said goodbye to Dad, Beth, and Izabelle who had to drive back to Ohio. We spent most of the afternoon relaxing and watching TV. I guess Pooh Bear wore Lexi out because she took a 3 1/2 hour nap!! LOL! Around 4 we headed over to Nana's house for a special birthday dinner. Granny and Granddaddy joined us, and we had a blast! We dined on the best steak and chicken until we were all stuffed to the max! Oh so good! I was showered with more amazing stuff. I am way too spoiled by the sweet people in my life! That's for sure! We even finished off the evening with Granny's famous Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Oh. My. Word. That is the best dessert ever in the history of desserts!!! Be jealous!

Sunday was spent relaxing only. Uncle Cookie came over, and we did nothing! It was so great! I have to say this was the best birthday I have had in a long time. I had a blast visiting with lots of family and eating delicious food! Everything was super perfect, and it reminds me how incredibly blessed I am to have such loving, thoughtful people in my life! A special thank you to each one of you. I love you more than y'all will ever know!

Well, it's Monday. Back to the grind. Lexi did make our morning super special by giving us about a million hugs and kisses. She is such a ray of sunshine, and I love her more and more with every day that passes. Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Birthday Party Planning and Our Love for a Dancing Flapper Girl Monkey

Something is so wrong with me. I have officially started planning Lexi's 1st Birthday Party. I am determined to make it the party of the century. I want to somehow achieve the perfect balance of great kids party and great adult party. I have created a party folder which is currently tabbed and sub tabbed. It's a problem that I will soon need help for. Her birthday isn't until October for goodness sake. Oh well. I've dived in and there's no coming back.

Originally I had a brilliant idea to host the party at the Pumpkin Patch. We could do all sorts of fun things like paint pumpkins, pet the farm animals, and take wagon rides. This would have been perfect except that the pumpkin patch is 40 minutes north of Birmingham. It would have been hard enough for the Bham people, but virtually impossible for the Tuscaloosa people. I really want everyone to be able to come to the party, so that plan was exed out pretty quickly.

My new idea is going to remain a secret for now. Until I can work out all the fantastic details, I will keep this one to myself. All I can say is that is sounds really really really fun! :)

So only 31 days until football season is back!!!!!! WOOHOO!!! I am so extremely excited to dress Lexi up in head to toe Bama gear and take her to her very first Bama game! This is such a right of passage in our world. I can't wait to see her all dressed up. I found her a precious UA onesie and a red and white tutu skirt. I cannot imagine how incredibly adorable she is gonna look in this outfit. Hurry up Bama football!!! Get here already!

Last night we went over to Nana's house to visit and swim. Nana had Lexi a sweet little surprise waiting. It is a dancing flapper girl monkey that sings and dances. This flapper monkey was an instant hit! Here's Lexi reaction to the monkey...

Butter and Pancakes are Making Us Fatter :)

I am back!! Ok, so I needed a few days to recover from being sick, but now I'm back!! Let's see... what has happened this past week??

Well, I should definitely go ahead and thank Brandon for doing absolutely everything for me and Lexi this past week. I was completely useless, and he really saved the day by taking care of both his girls. I have no clue what we would have done without him. He was our hero!

Lexi has really come into her own lately. Her little personality is developing even more than before. She loves to make herself and others laugh. Just this morning I went to get her out of the car at school. She had her legs propped up on the sides of the bar of her carseat in a V shape. She was holding on with her hands to the middle of the bar and attempting to pull herself over it. When she realized I was watching her, she burst out laughing. She knew she was totally busted!

Her legs are getting stronger by the day. Demita makes her walk everywhere at school (with help of course). I imagine it really shouldn't be long now before she is walking everywhere! (I can't even believe I am writing these words! WOW!)

Lexi also has picked up a new nickname- Butterball! She is FINALLY starting to fatten up some!! She is still a little tiny thing, but slowly she has gained some weight! This most likely has a lot to do with the fact that she is completely and totally obsessed with buttered pancakes and eats them at least twice a day! Being her mom, I always try to slip a few blueberries or strawberries in with the pancakes. I can't imagine butter and pancakes will fill all of her nutritional needs. I guess I should just be thankful that she is finally getting fatter! :)

Hope everyone has a great day! LOL- the wrong way. (a joke for Mom...)

Lexi Lately (She's a Yogurt Eating Cruiser)

Well, we love Nana's pool. What do we not love about Nana's pool? The fact that our laundry gets backed up and refuses to clean itself. I really think our clothes should understand that we do not want to be at home washing them, but rather at the pool splashing and tanning. Oh well. Maybe one day. Seeing as how we have been at the pool pretty much every weekend day so far this summer, we had some laundry to be done. I started washing clothes Saturday morning and didn't stop until Sunday night. We are still not finished. If I ever complain about having nothing to wear, please refer me back to this post.

Daddy was sick all weekend long. Just the pesky summer cold, but it has definitely slowed him down. It's always so annoying to be sick on the weekend. At least if you're going to get sick let it be during the week, so you can call into work guilt-free. Get well soon Dada.

We did manage to leave the house once for dinner at Ragtime with Brandon's family on Saturday night. His great uncle Donald, great aunt Debbie, and their kids Leslie and Kevin were in town. They are so super sweet, and it is always nice to see them!

We're still working on the table food regiment with Lexi poo. I had a chance to finally sit down and plan out some meals for her. Even though she is eating "real" food, I still want to be sure she is on a somewhat balanced diet. I dragged she and Brandon to Walmart with me for a major baby meal shopping spree. She is now munching on bananas, cottage cheese, strawberries, blueberries (an instant favorite), pancakes, yogurt, organic turkey dogs, ham, eggs, green beans, peas, shredded cheeses, grits, oatmeal, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. She seems to be adjusting really well. She is also obsessed with anything cinnamon flavored. This has become my new trick. "Oh you don't like that banana, Lexi? How about a banana with cinnamon on it???" Works every time. She is very good about feeding herself, too. We break up her food into small little peices, and one by one she gets them down.

Mrs. Demita introduced Lexi to one of her new favorites- yogurt! After looking at the pictures Demita took I just can't imagine why Lexi enjoyed it so much! :)

Lexi has a new favorite show- the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!!! She has really liked it for a while now, but it has just recently crossed over into the very favorite category. She is totally in love with Mickey! Every time he comes on the screen, she will reach for the TV and open her mouth trying to kiss him. We love it!

Also got a good few days worth of visits with Uncle Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Some more BIG NEWS...... Lexi is officially a cruiser!!!!! As long as she has something to hold onto, she can walk around like it's nobody's business. It's only a matter of time before she is walking all by herself, I suppose. She will get her eyes fixed on something (usually something she isn't supposed to have) and find a way to it! We videoed her yesterday making her way to a Mountain Dew bottle. Enjoy.

Love you all... :)