Cake Face.

Today, one of Aunt Lisa's co-workers left for a new job and they had cake for him. Soooo, she brought a piece home and, well, you can see what became of that! And I only had a few bites...imagine if I'd had the whole piece. It was good stuff, though.

Then, Aunt Tricia & Aunt Lisa went to the last regular-season night game at Busch Stadium, and I got to stay with my babysitter Eryn. We had fun and ate Chinese food, plus the Cardinals won and Albert Pujols hit a grand slam home run...go go go go go go go Cards!

Cozy in the fleece!

It's finally getting cool outside, so I got to wear the snazzy fleece jacket I borrowed from Eva...don't I look warm and sporty?

Bon Appetit

Just enjoying a little afternoon snack! My cold is getting better, just a little cough now, really. I went back to school today and I was excited.

I don't like being sick.

I have a cold. It's a bad, yucky head cold. I gave it to Aunt Tricia and to Aunt Lisa. Aunt Tricia and I have been home for 2 days, so today we went to see my doctor, just to make sure it was nothing more serious. She said no, just a bad head cold that has to run its course, no ear infections or throat problems or anything like that. But it's making me feel cruddy, and I don't much like it.

Finger lickin' good?

Aunt Lisa says I look like Colonel Sanders...what do you think?

Personally, I don't think old Harland and I have much of a resemblance, except we do both LOVE chicken! But maybe if I get a white suit and a little tie, I can con someone out of some of those Honey BBQ Wings....hmmm.

What am I supposed to do with this?

Here's a picture of me and Hannah at the Farmer's Market yesterday. We were playing on this big sculpture, which I examined carefully and then tried to eat. I had lots of fun yesterday and I talked to Mommy. She said then that it was "23 days and a wake-up" until she can come home, which is very exciting!

16 months and what do you get?

A sticky little hand and a diaper that's wet! Oh, wait, sorry...I think that's supposed to be "16 tons and what do you get?" Anyway, it's me, Aunt Tricia again. Alexis is 16 months old today! For a fun field trip, we went with Aunt Lisa's mom and Hannah to the Soulard Farmer's Market. Alexis ate about a million grapes (and said "grape" 3 or 4 times, too), and then shoved some danish in her mouth. Look at those cute, pudgy little fingers!

She had a lot of fun with Hannah today, and took two naps with me (which I especially enjoyed!). The first nap, this morning, was short, but she was so tired that we went up and laid down on the big bed and she didn't make a single sound, just rolled over and was sound asleep in about 30 seconds. She saw Daddy online today and talked to Mommy on the phone. She's also learning to ride on her Sit-n-Spin:














She loves to stand on it, too, and will probably keep doing it until she falls off eventually, because she is a daredevil and nothing we say will dissuade her. We have an ottoman with wheels that matches the living room chair. She was climbing up on it and laying on her belly, but Miss Adventurous is now standing on it and jumping off. Because it has wheels, of course, when she shifts her weight to jump, the stool starts moving backward as she begins moving forward. I'd love to catch it on film for you, but I have to catch her! Today she began the dramatic ascent when I was sitting on the floor a few feet away, and I leaned as far toward her as I could to grab her feet and ankles to keep her from jumping. She began her jump too soon, though, so I couldn't grab her feet and didn't have my hands ready to catch her. She has excellent aim, and landed right on me, holding on to me and laughing like a little maniac. We told Daddy and he said, "She is crazy." Daddy is right! Tonight, she was sitting on the big floor pillow, then stood up and yelled, "up, " and then sat down and yelled "down." We all clapped and yelled and were very proud of her--she was very proud of herself, too!--and did it over and over again.

Finally, she got a new nickname! Aunt Mandy and I are "seesters," and so when one of us refers to ourselves, it is "meester." That makes Lisa "Leester," so today, Alexis officially became "Niecester." Welcome to the club, Lex!

Sorry, no pictures...

Hey, guess what? I pooped in the tub tonight! And, Aunt Tricia was in there with me, ha ha ha!

She was in such a hurry to get out that we didn't get any photos of that, but she'll take a picture of everything else, won't she? She's a big ole baby...it was just a little TINY one anyway.

Also, I learned to stomp yesterday and I LOVE stomping. It makes a big noise and it's lots of fun.

Exciting news!

My Uncle Jon and Aunt Amanda are going to have a baby, which means I am the big cousin!!! Yay, I'm so excited! Grandma emailed me to let me know.

Who cranked me up?

I don't know, but wow, I am super cranky tonight. I was playing quietly and sitting on the floor; I walked over to Aunt Lisa and asked her to pick me up, which she did. Then I just started yelling and crying. I cried when I was being held, I would yell "down" and as soon as I was put down, I'd scream again and ask someone to pick me up. I cried when Aunt Tricia held me, and when Aunt Lisa held me. I'd have someone read me a book, and cry as soon as it was over. It's probably just the teething--the second upper molar, the one on the right side, is just poking through a bit but there are still the two bottom molars to come in. I was happy in the bathtub, as usual, but otherwise, steer clear of me. I am a bad news bear!

Like my hat?

Ha ha, it's my shorts...I was wearing them on my head as I headed to the bath tonight! Invite me over....I'll be the life of your party, too!

On a more serious note, I can now point to my eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, belly and toes. I can say eye, ear, mouth, nose, toes, teeth and belly. I'm starting to expand my peek-a-boo skills into the game of hide-and-seek, and I'm still working on the finger-snapping. Even if it takes me a year to get it, I'm still WAY ahead of Aunt Tricia!

Surrounded by my toys!

Here I am, in a room that they call the "dining room." I don't know why, really. I mean, there is a table in there, but mostly it's just toys, toys, toys! See the Pack-n-Play in the corner there? I'm so big that I really don't like to play or nap in there anymore, so it's just filled up with...yep, you guessed it, toys! I don't know how I'm going to get all of these things home when I go, but I better not find out that Aunt Tricia or Aunt Lisa is trying to keep my Care Bears toy for themselves.

Not-so-lazy Sunday.

We had a busy day today! We went out for breakfast, then had to run some errands. We started at the Home Depot near our house to get shelves for Aunt Lisa's work, and a new lawn mower for the house. They didn't have what we needed, so we drove a little ways to Lowe's and WalMart and got everything. I fell asleep in the car twice! (Oh, and we were in Kohl's, like, FOREVER because Aunt Tricia needed work clothes.)

Then we hung out at home, I napped again while Aunt Tricia put the mower together and mowed the lawn. (It was getting so high, I was afraid I'd get lost if I went out back.) Then I was just cranky all evening until bedtime. Whew, good thing it's a school day tomorrow. These aunts are wearing me out.

Good news for Mommy, though; the Kansas City Chiefs won their game tonight without me wearing my lucky shirt, so Mom, you'll be relieve to know you won't have to remember to put it on me EVERY Sunday...just most of the time, Aunt Tricia says!

Hi!

Hi, it's me, Aunt Tricia! Today was a very busy day for Alexis and me. We ran some errands, did the recycling, had lunch, visited Aunt Lisa at work and then took a long walk around the campus where I work (and where Alexis got to kick her feet in the fountain and pose for me on the little bridge near the sculpture garden). Then, Aunt Lisa's co-worker, Casey, invited us to the roof of his building to watch the hot-air balloon race, so we didn't have to deal with traffic or walking all the way into the park to see it. There were all the same balloons we saw last night at Balloon Glow, but the Energizer Bunny balloon (which was supposed to be leading the chase) seemed to only hop over a grove of trees to another part of the park, so the other balloons didn't know what to do.

Alexis is now going to bed without a bottle, and with very little fussing these days. She said "bubble" and "boat" during her bath tonight and she seems to be trying to snap her fingers. If she learns that skill anytime soon, I'm going to feel mighty dumb....I must have been 8 or 9 before I figured it out!

Have a good week, everyone!

Giant glowing balloons!

Tonight we went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park with Mike and Jeff!

It's part of the Great Forest Park Balloon Race. The race will be on Saturday, when the Energizer Bunny balloon takes off, and then all the other balloons take off to chase it. Tonight, though, the balloons are all anchored in the park and they keep firing their burners to keep the balloons aloft. It's so pretty when they all light up in the dark! There must have been 25 or maybe even 30 balloons!

Then, I was hanging onto the side of one and it suddenly broke free of its tie-down ropes and we took off, straight up up up into the night sky, flying over the whole city. I was still hanging from the side and the balloon man was holding me by one ankle while he fired the balloon with his other hand. After a while he had to steer and land and stuff, so he tied a rope around my ankle and I hung off the edge. We landed about an hour away and I only bumped my head a little before he was able to grab me and pick me up.

HAH, gotcha! Just kidding! I just rode around in my stroller, ate Cheetos, looked at balloons and then came home for bed.

We did have an awesome time and took lots of pictures, though! (Something's up with Blogger.com and I can't post any right now...I'll try again Saturday!)

Art project.

Guess what we're doing at school? We're making life-size cutouts of ourselves. I don't know yet how we're going to decorate them but the ladies at daycare are brave, getting all us toddlers to lie still while they traced us. Better them than me!

I love the phone!

Here's me, pretending to talk on the phone! I love to say "Bo" (which means hello) and jabber away. Until, of course, someone really wants to talk to me on the phone. Then, I don't say a single word, hah!

It was a cool day today (high of 70 degrees) so I wore my new Princess shirt with jeans and my new pink suede slip-on shoes. Plus, I have a little track jacket that matches my shirt. It zips up and says "PRIN" on one side of the zipper, and "CESS" on the other. Put it all together, and you've got me: Princess Alexis!

Doctor visit!

Well, I had my 15-month checkup today and I'm very healthy, growing very well and advanced with my language and motor skills. They seemed to think I should be wanting to use a spoon more than I care to, (I CAN do it, Aunt Tricia told them. I just don't want to.), and said it's time to start giving up my evening bottle. Apparently, I need to really be good about brushing my teeth after my last bit of milk and/or food, and just having water after that. Spoilsports!

But, they were VERY nice and everyone said what a cute/sweet/smart/fun/happy baby I was, so that rocked. Last time I just got in my diaper and got examined, but this time I had a little tiny white gown with pink elephants and whales on it, and it matched my pink and white socks perfectly. Aunt Tricia wished so badly that she'd brought her camera and thought about bringing the gown home for a picture, but then realized she was out of control with her picture-taking. So, my vivid description will have to suffice!

I was a very good girl and only cried when I got my one shot, and then only for a few seconds! My next checkup is 18 months, when I'm home with Mommy!

For the stats, here you go....

12 month checkup, I was 22lbs, 6 oz, and 29 1/4 inches tall.
15 month checkup, I am 24.2 lbs, and 31.5 inches tall.

I've slimmed down a bit with my walking, and you can especially notice because my face is a bit thinner, but I have grown more than TWO inches in three months...WOW! I'm still at about the 50th percentile on height and weight, but that's the only average thing about me. (Aunt Tricia says I'm a genius...) Also, the milestones list at the doctor said I should say two or more words, in addition to Mama and Dada. Uh, hello...I say like 45 words or something!

I've been really getting good at the stairs. I can climb up the whole flight while Aunt Tricia or Aunt Lisa walks behind me, and I know that the only safe way to go down is to crawl backward, or to sit on my bum and scoot down. The Aunts walk right in front of me so I'm safe; the gates are up so I can never go on the steps without them, but I love to do it when they let me. I really liked the steps at Papaw's because they were so small, just like me!

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Our friend Jeff came over for dinner tonight--everyone had spaghetti, but I had to have some kind of penne pasta because I'm more likely to eat some of it. With spaghetti, I end up wearing it all!

Then we hung out for a while, and Jeff invited us to go to the Balloon Glow Friday night. They have a hot-air balloon race this Saturday in Forest Park, and on Friday night they light up all the balloons....cool, huh? We'll be sure to take pictures of that!

Monday, headed home!

Well, our weekend in Kentucky is over so we came home today! I was excited to see Joe and to be out of the car, but I had lots of fun this weekend. I got lots of practice on stairs at Papaw's...they have a little short staircase that is perfect for tiny people to practice on. I said the dog Gizmo's name--Gizzy!--and I'm getting even better at pointing to my nose, toes, hand, ears, hair, eyes, mouth and tongue. I said Mamaw, and Papaw, and I could say my cousin Wilma's name perfectly!

Get well, Uncle Johnny!

My Uncle Johnny got in a car accident. He is going to be ok but we were all very scared and we're glad he's alright. Get well soon, Uncle J!

Today we hung out with Papaw and Mamaw Princess a bit, then said goodbye to Nana and the G's before driving up to Lexington to Mammy's to see Mamaw, Aunt Jera & Uncle Chad, Mamaw Jeanette and Uncle Johnny.


Here's a picture of me last night at Mamaw Princess' house, looking at cows!

P.S. Wore my Chiefs tee shirt today and they beat the Jets 27-7. Aunt Tricia says that as long as I'm their lucky charm, Mommy will have to make me wear my shirt every Sunday!

Kissing G-Love!

It's me, Aunt Tricia! Well, we finally got to Kentucky. On Friday night, we stopped at Mandy's and spent the night because it was late and Alexis's drivers were tired. We woke up this morning and drove straight to GG's and G-Love's. Lexi's Nana was there and she stayed with her and Grandmom while the Aunts golfed with G-Love. Then he came home and kissed on her a little bit...yay! He didn't even make his teeth come out like I warned Lex he might do.

Tonight we're going to see Papaw & Mamaw and Mamaw Princess! Alexis was a good traveler and slept most of the way to Kentucky, but was wide awake to see her Aunt Mammy last night!

Talked to my mommy!

I got to talk to Mommy on the phone last night, and I kissed her a bunch of times and said "love you" and then even threw a mini-tantrum for her when Aunt Tricia wouldn't let me eat cat food. Don't want you to be left out of the screams, Mom! It's like ALEXIS: The IMAX Experience.

Headed to Kentucky tonight so we may not get to post for a couple of days but we'll have some fun pictures when we get back.

Another day, another dollar.

Hey, wait, I didn't get a dollar...what's up with that? Anyway, guess what we're working on at school? It's an "All About Me" booklet, so Aunt Tricia has to bring a picture of me tomorrow to add to my book. But no one--no nosy aunts or hardworking moms and dads--get to see this book until it's done. And, this weekend

We interrupt this Alexis Update to bring you breaking news from Alexis Central: Today was a big day for developmental milestones in the World of Alexis. We finally felt the first molar today. It's on the upper left side and brings the current tooth total to 9, for those keeping score at home. After only about a month of crankiness, mild fevers and 9,382 gallons of drool, the little sharp points are poking through! Now, if we can just get three more of them, we'll be all set for a while. Also, today Alexis said her own name: "Lexi," which sounded like "Detty", but we knew what she meant, because she kept repeating it every time we'd call her Lexi. In honor of this occasion, we've decided to share what we think is the complete list of all of her words. It's a long list, so settle in with snacks:

• Mommy
• Daddy
• baby
• hi
• hello
• bye-bye
• Tricia
• Lisa
• Joe
• go
• school
• bottle (ba-ba)
• bath
• up (uppie)
• belly
• nose
• ear
• toe
• eat
• down
• me
• poopy
• pee-pee
  
• no
• yeah
• night-night
• book
  
• all done
• button
• diaper
• dirty
• stinky
  
• Elmo (or Melmo, or Bobo, or Bebbo)
• Mandy (Mammy)
• please (said only two times, but we're working on it)
  
• ball
• drink
• milk
  
• juice
• Nana
• Grandpa
• doggie
• peek-a-boo
• light
• tattoo (she can point to 'em when she says it, too!)
  
• good girl
• big bite
• love you
  

She can also bark like a dog and meow like a cat. There are probably more that we're forgetting, but that list is pretty impressive already, isn't it? She uses some a lot more frequently than others, but she's said them all and said them at the right time, or to refer to the right object or person, so we're counting it as a vocabulary word.

She can arm wrestle and gives a little grunt when she hugs people. She's such a big girl that today, she held my hand and walked down the front steps on the way to school this morning, instead of being carried. She was very proud of herself. We're all very proud of you too, Alexis!

This has been an AUNT TRICIA NEWS BULLETIN. We return you to your regularly scheduled Alexis Update, already in progress...

....wow, what was I saying? It was like I lost my train of thought for a second. Oh, yeah, now I remember. We're going to Kentucky to see my Mamaw and Papaw and lots of my other family! Yay!

Walking and climbing.

The other day, we went to the park for a few minutes to swing, play and just generally have some fun. There's a pavilion there, right by the playground, that looks out over this very pretty green lawn. We walked over there to look at it, and walked through the little wading pool (drained right now, darn it). There are small little curbs and steps all along the walk, but I did the WHOLE walk all by myself, with no help from the Aunts. They tried to help me, but I pushed their hands away. I am such a big girl!

Surveying my vast kingdom.

Ok, it's just the backyard, but when the weather is really nice, Aunt Tricia or Aunt Lisa will open the back door and put the gate up so I can stand there and look out at the world, yell at Joe, and watch birds. I love it.

Today after school, we went shopping. We went to Payless, but I didn't get anything; Aunt Tricia had to get some shoes. (Well, she didn't have to, really, they were only tennis shoes, but she said she needed them.) But after that, we went to Big Lots and I got a baby that can actually go in the tub with me. He has a little robe and a removable diaper. (I know it's a boy baby because he's got a blue robe, of course.) I like to take my other babies in the tub but their bodies are cloth and after they get wet, they have to sit on the edge of the tub and dry out for hours, and I get so mad if I can't play with them. This little guy can go swimming any old time!I also got two baby bottles to feed my babies, so that's good. During dinner, I insisted my new baby sit on the tray of my high chair, and I'd stop my own eating to feed him his bottle every so often. Aren't I nice?

Happy Labor Day!

It's a lot of work to smile this big (and make this much drool)! Happy Labor Day, everyone!

Look, I saw Daddy at Grant's Farm!

Hah, just kidding Daddy, it's a camel at Grant's Farm. We went today for a while and saw the camels, llamas, elephants, bald eagles and lots of other animals. I kissed more goats, of course, but this time I even got to feed some baby goats with a bottle-- check out the photos! We even saw the Clydesdale horses, and I know my sissy Jameson would have really enjoyed that.

We had lots of fun....I made two friends. There was a nice little baby girl next to us on the tram ride, and then another little girl just randomly hugged me while we waited in the sno-cone line. How sweet is that?

Weekend Update.

It's me, Aunt Tricia, with my weekly update. Alexis is doing well and is learning new words all the time. She is walking so well it's amazing, and she rarely loses her balance or falls down anymore. She's not quite running yet, but I'm sure that will happen soon. Today we went to the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park; Alexis really enjoyed walking through the park to get to the museum (and all the walking makes her really tired, too!).

This picture is not that remarkable:



It's just a picture of Alexis playing in the dry tub. (She sometimes likes to play in the downstairs tub while I brush my teeth and stuff in the morning.) What is remarkable is that we have NO idea how she got INTO the tub. I was standing a few feet away, watching her standing in the bathroom; she was leaning over into the tub, trying to pick up her cup, and she leaned over so far her little toes started to come off the ground. I reminded her to be careful, and was wishing my camera was nearby. It would have been a very cute picture, with just her little legs stretched, trying to keep those toes on the ground. She straightened up, with both feet on the ground, and I turned around to pick up laundry off the floor. But when I turned back around, she was sitting in the tub, happily playing. Less than five seconds, I kid you not, and she had to have climbed in because there was no noise at all. Amazing, she is. Yet, she has not figured out how to open the lid of the toilet. Good thing, too!

She's VERY smart, as well. Friday morning, while we were getting ready to go to work and school, I told her that she could wear her cute blue sandals from Grandma. Then I could only find one sandal, and I looked all over. I finally sat down to put on my own shoes and she stood there looking at me, and at the one sandal I'd found. I told her, "I wanted you to wear these little shoes, but I can't find the other one. If you can find the other shoe, we'll put 'em on. Otherwise, you'll have to wear tennis shoes today."

She turned around, carrying her baby under her arm, and disappeared from the living room, through the dining room and around the kitchen wall, either into the kitchen or bathroom. She came back a second later holding a shoe. It wasn't THE shoe, but it was A shoe, and I think that's pretty awesome work for such a tiny person!

Otherwise, not much to tell. Alexis' Mommy may be delayed coming home because the people who were going to replace her in Cuba, are supposed to be coming from Gulfport, Mississippi, so we don't know yet if the tragedy in the Gulf Coast will affect that plan. We hope not, because Alexis misses her Mommy and I know Mommy misses her, but we know those people need help so we'll be understanding if it means we wait a few extra days.

My first NFL game!

Here's me, getting ready to go to my first NFL game! It was only a preseason game, and the Chiefs DID lose, but hey...they were ahead when WE left, so that's all that matters. I wore my new jeans, my Chiefs t-shirt and jersey, and some red-toed socks, along with my Elmo shoes. I was stylin'.


I had a hot dog and popcorn and it was fun! We left at halftime when I got sleepy.

Here's a picture of me at the game, but my official photographer (who shall remain nameless, but her initials are Aunt Tricia) screwed up the shot so the field is in focus and I look like a big blur. Oh, well...you get the picture. (Get it? "the picture?" Hah, I'm so funny, I can't stop laughing!)