San Diego and other pics!

This past week we hosted Daniel's sister Lindsey and her family who were visiting from Virginia! We had lots of fun and went to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park! Alexis had a blast playing with her two cousins (Payson, 16 months, and Beckett 5 months). Here is a link to our San Diego pictures:

SAN DIEGO PICTURES

While they were here, we went to Target and Alexis took her one year pictures a little early. Isn't she beautiful!

Alexis will turn ONE on October 6th! I cant believe how fast the first year has gone! Alexis is now walking like a pro, reading lots of words and learning something new every day! We are so blessed to have her! Thank God for our precious Alexis! Hope to see you all at her first birthday party on October 9th! Please RSVP to the evite so I know how many people and dogs are coming! Here are some other videos and a picture from my birthday.

*Proof she can read*

*Smarty Pants*

*Our Family on my 25th Birthday*

Reading and Cruising!

This weekend was very exciting for us. Saturday, we discovered that the Your Baby Can Read program actually works and that Alexis is starting to read! I was going through some of the words with her and asked her to find the word "dog." She immediately pointed to dog and slid the card to reveal the picture of the dog. I was stunned and thought it was a fluke. I did it with different words and asked Daniel to come watch. She picked the right word every time. We tested this several times during the day and changed the words, but she kept picking them! We are fully convinced that she can read several words and are so so so proud of her progress. She really enjoys learning. I am so happy we decided to invest in the program. Then on Sunday, while working in the church nursery, Alexis pulled herself onto a little cart and started cruising! She did it so well! Pretty soon, she'll be walking on her own. Every day I'm absolutely amazed at how smart she is. It's a little sad that she's growing up so fast! We're just trying to enjoy every minute, knowing it will soon be a distant memory. Enjoy the videos!

*Reading!*

*She's so smart!*

*Look at her go!*

My baby is 9 months old!!!

Alexis turned 9 months on Tuesday, 7/6/10, and I just cant believe how fast she's growing up! I took her to the doctor's office yesterday for her 9 month checkup. She weighs 18 lbs, 13 oz and is 29 inches tall. She is learning something new almost everyday. She crawls around extremely fast, can pull herself up to stand, and even lets go for a few seconds! She learned how to say the word "baby"over the weekend and loves to say it, along with "da-da." She hasn't said mama in a really long time. She's doing very well with her Your Baby Can Read videos. She recognizes the word "wave" and "clap" pretty well and loves to wave hello and goodbye to everyone. She also loves clapping and cheering, especially for herself. She's so smart and fun! Now we just need to get her to sleep in her own crib. :) We love her so much. Thank God for an amazing daughter and that I can stay home and raise her!

*Monkeying around*

*Saying "Baby!"*

*Being Silly*

Fun Weekend

We had a great time over the weekend hanging out with out of town friends! We hosted my best friend Carrie and her fiance Patrick from South Carolina and crammed a lot of activities in a short visit including: Belmont Shores, Griffiths Observatory, Universal Citywalk, and Venice Beach (AKA Freak show). Next time we see them, they'll be getting married!!! I hate being so far away from my best friend. We also got to have brunch in Newport Beach with Dale and April, who were visiting from San Francisco. Alexis had a great time playing with their two dogs, Teddy and Chief.

*At brunch in Newport Beach*

*Uncle Dale*

*With April, Chief, and Teddy*

*With Daddy at the Griffiths Observatory*

*Group Picture*

*Me and my girls*

*I love her hat*

*They're engaged!*

*We both love Twilight!*

*She loves them and they love her*

*Aunt Carrie!*

*We took them to see the freaks at Venice Beach, lol*

4th of July!

We had a great time celebrating our first 4th of July with Alexis! My best friend Carrie and her fiance Patrick were visiting us from South Carolina and we spent most of the 4-day weekend with them, and had a great time. On Sunday, we had a fun lunch at Soup Plantation, mall with my bestie Carrie, took some pictures of Alexis and the dogs, and then watched fireworks. We decided to watch them from the rooftop of the Krikorian Theater's parking garage. From there we could see several fireworks in the distance and the main show put on by Downey High. This was a great option and close to home in case Alexis got scared. Surprisingly, Alexis loved the fireworks. She smiled and didn't flinch or cry at all. Then she got sleepy and fell asleep in my arms during the show finale. Great way to spend her first 4th of July! God bless America!

*Alexis grabbing Ace's face (Thank God we have big dogs because she can't hurt them, lol)*

*He loves her*

*She has a blast with the dogs*

*Red, White, and Blue*

*Daddy and Alexis*

*Silly girl*

*Pals*

*Our family on 4th of July*

*Fireworks*

Greetings From Idaho

On Sunday, May 16th, we left for Coeur D'Alene, Idaho to accompany Daniel on his business trip. By chance, our timeshare exchange has a location that is located directly across the street from the building Daniel has to work in, which is why we came along. I was a little nervous about how Alexis would handle traveling, but she did great. To get to Idaho, we had to fly first to Las Vegas, take a second flight to Spokane, WA, and then rent a car and drive about 45 min to get to our destination. On the first flight, Alexis slept the whole flight. On the second flight, she was awake but tired. It took a little less than two hours to get from Vegas to Spokane and she only got fussy towards the end, when she got really tired. She fell asleep as we were descending. We had no issues with ear pain. I nursed her during take off and landing, but to be extra cautious, I bought these earplugs called Ear Planes that are supposed to regulate the pressure and prevent ear pain. Surprisingly, she let us put them in her ears and didn't try to take them out. Alexis caught the attention of lots of people. She kept waving at everyone and everyone commented on how adorable she is. A drunk woman in Vegas came over and gave Alexis a string of beads, which I thoroughly washed in the bathroom. Alexis really liked them. Since the timeshare has a full kitchen, we stopped by Costco (our favorite store) to get food for the whole week. It has been such a relaxing trip for me. The lake is beautiful, the timeshare is gorgeous and spacious. The three of us enjoyed sleeping on a king sized bed. The best part of the trip is that we got to take Alexis to the pool for the first time. She LOVED it and had so much fun that she didn't want to get out. Unfortunately, Daniel had to work during the days, but since we were across the street, we got to see him for lunch every day. It was much better than being away from him for a whole week. After a long day of traveling, we came back home on Saturday, May 22nd. We were all so happy to be home. Alexis missed her toys and her doggies, Abby and Ace. Daniel had to go to Idaho again yesterday, but he'll be back on Saturday.

*First plane ride!*

*Special ear plugs for plane*

*We're here!*

*View from our patio*

*Alexis being silly*

*On one of our walks*

*Enjoying the king-sized bed*

*Ready for the pool*

*First time going to the pool*

*Cool Float*

*Family Pool Pic*

*Splashing Daddy*

*It got chilly one day*

*I love her hat*

*Splashing in the pool*

*More Splashing*

*Playing with the water bottle*

*Tearing tissues*