Lexi Anne: 11 Months

January 16, 2018:

Happy New Year Lexi Anne! It is now 2018 which marks a couple of big things for our family. First you will turn one next month :( aunt Emily will graduate this May and your Dad will have just one more year of Pharmacy school! I am pretty excited about the last one haha. January was a pretty slow month for us, which was good and bad. It was nice to not feel like we were always going but it made the month drag on, winter is rough because there isn't much to do but we've made it work.

We started out the month down in Utah on New Years day, we didn't get to stay too long since your dad had school the following day but we were able to have lunch with my family before we headed home. Sundays have gotten a little harder now that we have 9 am church and your nap is at 10 am. But your dad and I have found ways to make it work out. This month our church got a new Prophet because President Monson passed away. We were lucky enough to be able to listen to a special broadcast announcing the new Prophet this month, I am excited for President Nelson and know that he will be a wonderful prophet.

You were able to come with me to my friend Sammi's baby shower, it was so fun to spend some time with friends that I haven't seen very much since leaving my last job. Life gets pretty crazy around here but it's always a fun time when we are able to get together and catch up. You did such a great job, you loved playing on the gym floor with the other little kids and all the yummy food!

No Dr. appointments again this month thankfully you haven't caught any of the yucky colds or flu bug! But on one of our many visits to Costco this month I had your dad weigh you and you are 19 lbs. 4 oz.  You have tried some new foods this month, some of your favorites include quesadillas, marshmallows, cucumber and sometimes cottage cheese. You really aren't too picky of an eater but occasionally you won't want to eat what we are having. Your two front teeth came in this month, luckily they were one right after another so you didn't have to wait too long or have too much pain. There are two more that look like they are trying to come in but we probably won't see them until February. You have mastered blowing kisses, whenever you see Daddy put on his coat you automatically start to blow him kisses because you know that he is about to leave, its cute but also a little sad.

You have really started jabbering more this month and finally started to say dad more often! That made your dad so happy, he says you can have anything you want as long as you keep saying dadda or daddy! Haha! You still really like to dance, and you will usually start dancing right away when we play music, sometimes you will be shy if people are around but mostly we are guaranteed dance moves from you. :) I have started to do your hair occasionally in either pigtails or a little side or top ponytail. You look so cute and grown up! Your little personality is showing more and more each day, you do the cutest little faces sometimes it just cracks us up! My favorite is when you are excited about something and you will scrunch up your little nose and do a cheesy grin that shows your teeth. Its so funny! You have started to not like certain noises, lately the blender, vacuum and blow dryer have really bothered you. One day I was vacuuming before your dad had to go to work and you pulled the funniest face, luckily I was able to get it on camera! :) YOU HAVE STARTED TAKING STEPS! You aren't full on walking just yet but you get braver and braver everyday. Mostly I can get you to walk to me if I have food or something you want. On January 29 I was able to catch you walking towards the recliner! You even stopped and crouched down and then stood back up and kept going! Lexi you are getting so so big! It's hard to imagine that on February 16th you will be One years old! It makes me sad but I am also excited to see you continue to grow and learn, we sure love you and are so happy to have you in our family! You bring your dad and I so much joy daily!

*update: you started walking January 31st, you are still cautious about it but you do a fair amount of walking and crawling now.

little pigtails

the face you made while I vacuumed

Lexi Anne: 10 Months

December 16, 2017:

Merry Christmas Lexi girl! I can't believe that the holidays have come and gone already! We sure enjoyed celebrating them with you, and cant wait for the many more to follow.

Well as usual we had another busy month due to the holidays. This month we decorated the house in Christmas decorations. After Thanksgiving you watched Grandma Almond and aunt Dorothy put up Dorothy's tree and you were mesmerized by it. Once we finally put up our tree you weren't as fascinated by it (granted we did block you from being able to reach it) but you did like the pretty lights. Every time we were out and about this month and saw any kind of lights or decorations for Christmas I made sure to point them out to you, I am pretty sure the lights are your favorite.

This month you gained a new cousin, Remmington Jaeger Almond was born on December 21st. Your dad and I were fortunate enough to be able to drive to Utah with you and Grandma and Grandpa Almond to meet him that week. I thought it was pretty neat that he also came 3 weeks early like you, but he weighed 6 lbs and was a little bit taller than you. He is such a precious miracle and we are so glad that he and aunt Hillary are all doing well! I can't wait for you two to start playing together. This month we also found out that aunt Melissa will be having a baby girl in May! Yay! Another cousin for you to grow up with! We are so excited about all the babies in the family!

We had a few of Christmas parties this month but you only attended two of them, we went to our ward Christmas party on the 16th and you visited Santa for the first time. You definitely surprised your dad and I because we thought you were going to cry when you saw him. But instead you just stared at him for a second and then back us. We took that as our sign to quickly snap your picture and then we moved onto the dinner portion of that party.

The second party you went to was our family Christmas Eve party with Dad's side of the family. Every year we trade off with either mommies family or daddies and this year we were in Pocatello. Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday so we all dressed up in our Christmas Sunday best and attended a musical sacrament meeting, then we spent the rest of the day at great Grandma Ruth's house. That evening we went to the church for our Christmas Eve dinner, nativity and a few games with the family. Grandma Almond made a Grinch pinata for all the kids, you didn't mind it until they kids yelled with joy as all the candy fell to the ground. That was a little too much noise for you, once we got you settled down we went back to great Grandma Ruth's and found that one of Santa's elves had left a special gift for all the Almond grand-kids. Inside was some warm Christmas jammies for all the kids! You and cousin Claire matched and Dillon, Caleb and Cohen matched it was so cute! Once we got a few pictures of all the kids your dad and I decided to get you home and off to bed.

Christmas morning you woke up at 6:30 am and we turned on the Christmas tree and found that Santa had visited you! He left you a cute push toy that has all kinds of fun sounds and music, it had a telephone and much more to play with. I was excited because it will help you gain more balance and eventually you'll start to walk! Not that I am super eager for you to walk but I know it is in our near future! You were so excited when you first sat on the ground next to it you kept leaning over to the side and smiling and then you would kick your feet. After you played with your new toy for a minute we had you open Grandma and Grandpa Pope's present. They bought you some adorable outfits, but you won't fit into them probably until the Fall. After that we got a call from aunt Kristin and packed up the car and headed over to great Grandmas to open more presents and eat breakfast. You were definitely spoiled this year, Grandpa and Grandma got you some fun new toys! They bought you a puppy named Violet that sings, teaches you colors and more. A cute picnic basket that talks to you ( grandma accidentally bought the Spanish version, so we had to exchange it haha), and some new books. Santa must have known you were coming to great grandma's because he left you a stocking with some candy, new hair bows and another little rattle toy. After breakfast you took your morning nap and the older kids went out to play in the snow, they built an awesome snow fort! Cousin Claire got a play kitchen and you loved it! You would crawl over to play with it whenever she or anyone else wasn't looking. :) Later that afternoon we had a big family dinner, ate some yummy pies and played some games. What a wonderful first Christmas it was for you and for your dad and I as a family of 3!

A few days after Christmas my cousin Jonny was getting married in Utah and my aunt Karen graciously let us drive down with her to attend the luncheon! It was so fun catching up with her during the drive and listening to her sing you some cute songs! We then decided to spend the rest of the week with Grandpa and Grandma Pope and aunt Emily. We went to the luncheon and you got to see some of my cousins, your aunts and uncles and grandparents. Later that evening we went to see "The Greatest Showman" luckily uncle Brady was able to join us, and one of aunt Emily's friends babysat you for us. We went shopping just us girls, we drove to Salt Lake and saw the Christmas lights at Temple square, went to the park (it was 50 degrees and sunny) ate tons of junk food and celebrated New Years Eve! Your dad joined us on New Years Eve since he had to work most of that week. We went to my cousins mission homecoming talk on the 31st and then attended a family luncheon with my dads side of the family. After that we came home and played with you, once you went to bed for the night the grownups played some fun games and rang in the New Year at 10 pm instead of Midnight. Your grandpa had to work at 6 am the next day and your dad and I were exhausted, plus you tend to wake up at 6 am now. :) It was so much fun to be able to spend time with both sides of the family before the New Year!

We didn't have any doctor appointments this month and you luckily made it through the holidays without catching any sicknesses! I would say that is a win for sure! I did weigh you at Grandma Popes and you are 17 lbs. 7 oz. You are one independent little girl, the only time you want your dad or I is when you are really tired or if you haven't seen your dad all day. Other than that you like to play with your toys, tear the books out of the bookshelf and push them around on your hands and knees. You are starting to get more and more brave and will let go of things and stand all by yourself. Your balance is definitely improving and I know your new Christmas toy will help with that. You are getting better at feeding yourself, we haven't let you use a spoon or fork on your own yet, but you love finger foods. We introduced graham crackers, squeeze and go applesauce pouches, apple chunks (very small pieces), and gold fish crackers. You really love the baby puffs you will pound a whole can in a week. :) We have been teaching you how to high five us, and you are starting to blow kisses! You are wearing 9 month clothing still and size 3 diapers. You take 2 naps a day and have now started to SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! I am really excited about that. :) We sure love you baby girl and can't wait to see what 2018 has in store for us!