Lexie's One!

Where has the time gone!   I remember a year ago when  Lexie was 6 days late and it seemed as though she would never get here.  My sister, Ursula, had come in from Arizona so that she could be with me during the delivery and I had to take her to the airport to fly back home the day prior to checking into the hospital.  Thinking back to that time, I should have known then that Miss Lexie was drumming to her own beat.  She is such a free spirit and just loves life on her own terms.  She is a little "Heidi" for sure.

Proud Daddy!

Lexie was only a few hours old!

On Saturday, Lexie celebrated her first birthday. It is so hard having her birthday smack dab in the middle of college football season and even though she will not remember how big or small the celebration was, I wanted to do something.  My older sister, Ursula, and her newest baby, Noah came in from Arizona to help join in on the celebration.  I had ordered invitations about a month in advance but was hesitant on doing anything formal since I was not sure what time we would be able to have the party.  Just thinking about trying to get nap schedules to coordinate with a party and then waiting to hear about the game time was just too much.  I went ahead and made the invites and left out a time but I knew that we were going to have to celebrate her birthday on Saturday, her actual birthdate, because George had to spend the night at the hotel on Friday evening and he had a long day of work on Sunday.  After talking to my girlfriends one evening, I decided that we were going to have to have Lexie's party at the tailgate before the game.

I found this cute invite on Etsy

An interesting fact:  Lexie's actual due date was October 16, 2010, which just happened to be the day of the KU vs KSU game last year.  She did not come and instead was 6 days late.  This year her birthday again, fell on the date of the KU vs KSU game.  George and I laugh about that.

We got to the tailgate a little later than anticipated, which we should have expected since we were trying to get two little ones ready.  I knew that the most challenging part of having her birthday at the tailgate was going to be keeping her at her own party.  She just loves to explore so when I get her out of her wagon...she bolts.  She now only has one speed....it's FAST!  She doesn't look where she is going she just puts her head down and runs until she either falls or runs into something.  Once we got to her party, I quickly began shoving food in her mouth to keep her in one spot long enough for her to open her gifts.

Cupcakes I made and Ursula helped me decorate for the party
(Idea from Pinterest)

Lexie sharing her new toys with Carter

As it got closer to kick-off, both kids were starting to get tired so we started our journey back to the house.  After a much needed nap and once George got home we put a candle on a small cake for Lexie to dig into.  George and I didn't know what to expect from Lexie's cake adventure.  I know that she is very picky when it comes to trying new things so I knew that I would have to give her the first bite.  She really liked the frosting but once she put her fingers in it, it was just too messy for her to handle.  She took a few bites of the cake but sadly she only ate less than a fourth of the cake.

Lexie's cake

This better taste good

I like it

Do I have something on my face?

Not bad...at least she didn't get an upset tummy

We had a great weekend.  It was nice to have my sister, Ursula, and my nephew, Noah, here to share in the special day with us.

Lexie and her Cousin Noah

Playing with her new blocks from Aunt Ursula

It was definitely a day that we will cherish! Stay tuned for the ADVENTURES OF TODDLERHOOD!  We can't wait to share with you all of our fun!

I made this shirt at ACME and Lexie wore it on her birthday
(Idea from Pinterest)

A Visit From Grandma Mary and Grandpa Urs...And We Must Not Forget Cousin Triniti

Our house was busy with commotion most of last week and I am now just catching my breath.  We had the pleasure of having Grandma Mary, Grandpa Urs, and Cousin Triniti (my niece and parents) come in for a 5 day visit from Arizona.  My Mom and Niece Triniti had their "Fall Break" from school.  They wanted to celebrate Lexie's 1st birthday since they were not going to be able to come out for her official birthdate.

Cousins!

While they were here, I put my Dad to work refinishing our kitchen cabinets.  For a job that was suppose to be so simple according to Pinterest (my new favorite addiction),  the Rustoleum Cabinet Finishing Kit that George and I purchased a few weeks back was going to be a no-brainer.  I had a few different tasks in mind for Dad to do...well, never count your chickens before they hatch because this cabinet situation took a turn for the worst and let's just say that my parents had to extend their trip a few days just so my Dad could at least finish the cabinet doors.  By the way, the doors look great.  We now have to find a handyman to finish the frame and the drawers.

Anyway, back to the visit.  While my Dad was slaving away in the garage, my Mom and I were slaving away at keeping Triniti and Lexie both entertained and out of trouble.  At first Lexie didn't know what to think about all of the people around.  She is just used to the quiet house that rarely has visitors during the week. Lexie quickly took a liking to her Cousin Triniti and before you know it they were chasing each other around the house and through Lexie's princess tunnel.  Triniti has just about as much energy as Lexie has so I felt like I was running around non-stop all day long.  When I am just with Lexie all day, I secretly look forward to her nap time, like most moms do.  I was in for a rude-awakening last week because when Lexie went down for her naps, that was my time to spend with Triniti.

We ventured out a few days with the girls.  We made a trip into Kansas City to go to Deanna Rose Farmstead.  For anyone in the area with little ones, it is an absolute MUST.  This place is great for the kids to feed animals, go fishing, play on the playground, mine for gold and they even have a pumpkin patch.  The girls fed the baby goats.  Lexie didn't know what to think at first but when she saw her cousin feeding the baby goats, she had to join in.  After that, I spent the remainder of the afternoon just running after Lexie.  There is just so much to see and better yet, if you go between Monday and Thursday, there is no charge for admission.

Triniti was so excited to feed the baby goats

Lexie didn't know what to think, she just wanted to chase them.

Trin doing some pony rides

A goat we saw in the zoo 

The kids were ready to go home!

Another afternoon we took the girls to South Park playground.  I personally like this playground the best because I feel like they have equipment that is easy enough for Lexie to climb on.  She is now going down the small slides on her own and she is continuing to push her limits with climbing.  She doesn't like climbing on her knees anymore, she wants to hang onto the railing and pull herself up while standing, like a "Big Kid" would do.  I had my Mom watch Lexie for a bit so that I could play with Triniti for awhile.  All week Triniti has been fascinated with the monkey bars.  She so badly wanted to be able to go across them.  So earlier in the week she decided that it looked easy enough.  She jumped up and latched onto the first bar but then got stuck.  She was so mad and after she jumped down she told my Mom that she wanted muscles so that she could get across to the other side.  She was so determined that when we went to South Park, she would just climb up the stairs to the monkey bars and try to talk herself into giving it a try again.  I loved her determination but these monkey bars were much taller than the previous ones that she had attempted.  I instead tried to get her to go down this luge-looking apparatus...I actually bribed her with $1.00 but in the end she just wasn't ready to try it.  She came up to me afterwards and said that she really wanted the dollar.  I couldn't help but laugh and encourage her to give it a try before we left.  The bribe didn't work, she is also stubborn.

The highlight of the visit was the small celebration that we had with my parents and niece for Lexie's birthday.  Triniti worked all day on a banner and some signs.  She did such a great job.  We celebrated with some cupcakes after dinner.  I did not give Lexie a cupcake because selfishly I didn't want her to get a sugar high and then not go to bed.  I will give in and let her have some cake on her real birthday.  Triniti didn't seem to mind that Lexie didn't have any cupcakes because that meant that there were more for her.

Trin worked so hard on Lexie's Birthday Banner

Lexie opening her gifts from Grandma Mary and Grandpa Urs

We had a great time with our guests.  When they left I think Lexie was sad.  She really enjoyed all of the noise and craziness.

Lexie loves her Cousin Triniti

Grandma Mary and her Girls

This week my older sister, Ursula, and her little one, baby Noah come in for the weekend to help celebrate Lexie's actual birthday.  We are excited to have them.