9 Months and Growing!

Lexie had her 9 month birthday last Friday and I almost let the day get past me.  She is so active these days that George and I are absolutely exhausted by mid-afternoon.  We just got back from our last family vacation of the summer.  We went to Scottsdale, AZ to spend a few days at one of the most beautiful and family friendly resorts that I have ever been to, The Westin Scottsdale Kierland Resort & Spa.  Very nice and the staff was so friendly and helpful.  Plus...there was great food and shopping just across the street.  So a plus anyway you look at it!

A View from the back patio of the hotel

http://www.kierlandresort.com/

Anyway, we had a great time while we were in AZ.  We got to see Grandma Mary and Grandpa Urs as well as Lexie's Aunt Ursula, Uncle Nathan, and cousins Triniti, Tristan, and Noah.  It was the perfect amount of time to be away and it was actually alot cooler there than it has been here in Lawrence.

The beautiful golf course

While we were in AZ Lexie worked very hard on trying to stand up by herself.  Practically every second that she was awake and not in the pool, she would continually crawl on top of us or perfect her standing skills and each day she was able to stand by herself for longer periods.  She also threw her first temper tantrum while we were there.  It was so funny because whenever she gets really upset, George is concerned as he should be, but I knew that this was indeed a tantrum so I couldn't help but laugh.  She gets frustrated so easily, much like her mommy.  She is becoming such a little person.  With her being so mobile these days, before we left for AZ George and I knew that we had to continue with the baby proofing.  This time...in the kitchen.  I left a basket on the ground with koozies, shaker bottles, and other little baby friendly gadgets.  I have shown Lexie where the tupperware drawer is and even took some of it out for her to play...but no....she wants to take my cookbooks off of the shelves and other things that she shouldn't play with so George and I decided to take everything out of the kitchen that has open shelves and we went to Target and got a cheap pantry to put in the kitchen so that everything would be locked up! So the never ending baby proofing continues...next project is to find a cabinet for the living room to go under the tv to cover the cords.  Fun Times!!

Practicing the art of standing!

Always has a smile on her face

Getting into trouble

Checking out her new walker

She still needs some help with using the walker

In the past month, Lexie has also popped out 2 more teeth, for a total of four (her front uppers and bottoms) and within the past two days I have noticed that another tooth is working its way out.  At this point, one would think that she might be ready to try some Stage 3 foods.  I continually work with her on her texture adversions and we have a long way to go.  At least she is eating, that is something that I really have never had to worry about and I am anticipating that what Dr. Riordan is going to say about Lexie.

After all of the hot days spent poolside this summer, I decided to get Lexie signed up for some swimming lessons.  She loves the pool and it is hard to keep her in her raft for long periods of time.  She prefers to go to the shallow end of the zero entry pool and bear crawl back and forth for about an hour.  This does not bother me, it's actually very cute and funny but I worry that she's a little too fearless in the water.  I know that four 15 minutes sessions in the pool will not do too much in teaching her swimming survival skills at this point but at least it will give us some fun things to work on in the pool together.

Stay tuned for our swimming lessons update and the results of her 9 month well check!  Exciting!!

A Weekend With Great Friends

Over the weekend we went up to Lake Okoboji, IA to visit some friends whom George has known since his days in Wyoming.  At first I was not too thrilled with the drive because the dread of Lexie having to sit in her car seat for 6 hours was either going to make our trip very long or now that she is getting older, she may just surprise us and be okay.  After all, she had me as her co-pilot the entire way.

Another obstacle that we were facing was getting to Okoboji itself.  Since portions of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa suffered from major flooding we had to find out how we were going to get there.  Once we started driving and getting towards the Missouri boarder, the reality of the devastation that farmers and residents had suffered.  It was almost unreal to see miles and miles of land that was once farmland now covered in water, and deep water for that fact.  Even parts of a major Interstate, I-29 to be exact, were under water and therefore cars, trucks, and even tractors were having to make some detours.

Flooding near Riverside, MO

I'll fastforward a bit.  George and I left on Thursday thinking that it may take us 2 days to get 6 hours since we were with Lexie.  She was such a trooper that we made it there in one day but unfortunately our hosts were not expecting us until Friday so George got on Yelp and began searching for a place to sleep for the night.  He came across The Inn, which was very pleasant.

The Inn

We ended up getting a kitchenette/bedroom type of suite.  It was really nice we thought especially since we were told that there were two different sleeping areas.  When we got to our room it was so hot because the air had been off and no windows were open.  That made things a little uncomfortable for awhile but it was a nice excuse to get Lexie out for an evening walk along the lake.

Lexie was more comfortable in just her diapers

A beautiful sunset on the lake

The lake was just outside our door.

Friday morning we went over to our friends, The Adams', and got our weekend started.  While we were in Okoboji, we got a very fun tour of the lake, well Lexie didn't think it was fun.  Maybe it was the lifejacket that she had to wear that was a downer for her.

She was actually calm in this picture...not very calm 2 minutes before the picture

She manages a smile

We also got to eat at some really great places and experience the nightlife, which was much like the nightlife in Lake Havasu, where I grew up.  We also took Lexie to the local Amusement Park in Arnolds Park but unfortunately she was just a tad too small to go on any of the kiddie rides.  There is always next year.

It was so great to see our dear friends and the time went by way too fast.  It's so easy to distance yourselves unintentionally once a child comes into our lives.  We must not forget our friends, our lives would not be the same without them.  Thank you John, Michelle, Shaelyn, and Tyler....we had a great time!

Celebrating Lexie's Life...WOW, 8 Months Has Flown By!

Usually I dedicate a seperate blog post to Lexie's monthly stats and accomplishments but life has been so crazy lately that if I don't combine everything...I will just have to skip it and I know how everyone looks forward to these so I won't punish you.

Okay, getting to the point.  I can't believe that Lexie is starting her 8th month!  She is approximately 21 pounds but I am not sure of her height stats at this time.  She is super busy right now.  I never realized how active and curious she was until you put her in a house that is not baby proofed.  She is pulling herself up to crawl on everything.  Last month, she starting this new skill and now I can definitely say that she has perfected it.  She pops up so fast and has absolutely no fear at all.  I also got her a tunnel that she loves to go through and play peek-a-boo with whomever will play with her.

Lexie in her princess tunnel

Even though I am absolutely exhausted by 5 o'clock every afternoon, I am thankful for the 2-3 hours naps in the morning and afternoon so that I can tend to work, chores around the house, or maybe even a quick bite.  Although, if Lexie is up when I sit down for lunch, you better believe that I am sharing whatever it is that I am eating (usually a turkey sandwich) with her.  She has become a great eater.  I have tried to start her on Stage 3 foods but she does not like the texture too much, so I will stick with the Stage 2 foods and some table food for the time being.  Her top two teeth are starting to pop through and she is being a champ about it so far.  She does like to bite George and I when her teeth are hurting really bad, for this reason, I am not overly excited for her to get more teeth.

Lexie's little personality is actually quite big.  She just loves the attention as I have been telling those of you who never get to see her and for those of you who do see her, you already know this.  She is in this stage of imitation.  She loves to scrunch up her nose and breath through it, it is hard to explain but too cute when she does it.  She also is starting to learn how to make the popping sound with her lips.  She also loves to fake cough and to laugh obnoxiously.

Now for our most recent trip to Ohio which took place last weekend and ended this past Tuesday.  It was such a busy time but we had a great time with a few celebrations and lots of family time.  On Saturday (June 25th) we baptized Lexie at the same church that George was baptized and by the same priest.

Greek Orthodox Church in Martins Ferry, Ohio

GodParents Elias and Cori with Father Papageorgiou

Lexie was a pro during the majority of the service...until...she was dunked in the water.  From that point on, things went down hill.  She got so upset that she puked two times all over her Godmother, Cori.  I felt so bad for the both of them.  During the ceremony, you are not suppose to touch your child until the ceremony is over...that was absolutely horrible not being able to comfort your baby when she is so upset.

Lexie is excited when she sees the water

She just doesn't know that it's not warm water like her baths

Not very happy here!

Getting her in her christening gown

She's still not happy

Papou reading a bible verse

Lexie puked all over her dress and her Godmother

The next day, we celebrated George's Parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary.  I think that they are one of the few people that I know that have made it 50 years!  George wanted to throw them a surprise party and were they surprised!  I could not believe that he and his brothers were able to pull it off.  It was a great time with great people and great food!

All of George's brothers, and their family, came from all over to share in both celebrations.  It was an amazing time, Lexie won't remember any of this but I will make sure that she hears about it and all of the people who came to her baptism to celebrate her life!

George with his parents and brothers