It's Not Easy!

So I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with the blog updates lately, I apologize for that.  It's already that time of the year when training camp has started and this is my first training camp since Lexie was born.  She was born during the season last year and that was a little tough from time to time but her not seeing her Daddy very often is very hard for both of us.  The Kansas weather has been relentless this summer, I don't even think I have ever experienced a summer like we just had so that means that Lexie and I have been inside for hours on end.  Since we have gotten back from our summer vacations the whole routine that Lexie has grown accustomed to have completely thrown her for a loop.  No morning walks with Mom and Dad...too hot.  No going to the swings...too hot for that.  No trips outdoors in general in the afternoon...too hot.  So what is it that we have been doing?  Well for starters, Lexie is still continuing to work on her walking skills.  When she gets up in the morning it is the first thing that she tries to do.  She stands up and before she even gets a step in she is on the ground bottom first.  As the day goes on, her balance improves and sometimes she will get multiple steps (I believe that the most consecutive steps is 5) in before she falls.  Lately, she has been trying really hard to get the walk down in the evenings just before bed time.  I can't quite understand why working on this at the end of the day is so important to her but there is no stopping her.  Each day she is getting better and better and if it takes her longer to get walking down, I am completely fine with this.  Our next obstacle is getting her to wear shoes...she doesn't like them so hopefully we will have enough time to get her used to them.

Aww MOM...Do I really need shoes? These things slow me down.

I also signed her up for some swimming lessons.  Since we spent so much time in the pool over the summer Lexie has no fear of the water.  She is tolerant of her float (The Yacht) for only a short while before she is wanting to go to the zero entry end of the pool and bear-crawl and explore her new surroundings.  I have no problem with that but she tends to want to crawl towards the deep part of the water and if her head happens to go under, she just laughs.  For that reason, I knew it was time to get her some swimming lessons.  I asked a few of my fellow mom-friends to see if they had any suggestions on where I should take Lexie.  It was unanimous...Claudine, they all say!  She uses her home swimming pool and she does private lessons.  Lexie had started her lessons earlier last week.  I must say that it was a little hard watching her cry for an entire 15 minutes.  Pictures to come later.  I know that the lessons will teach her that water is not suppose to be fun at her age!  She was a pro at holding her breath when she was suppose to and she also picked up the underwater kicking very quickly.  We were suppose to go 4 days in a row last week but due to thunderstorms, we will have to finish the lessons this week.

When we are not in the pool or at Target, Lexie enjoys some of her new toys at home.  I recently decided to get rid of her rattles and baby toys and visit Target's End of Summer Sale on toys and got some great and not so great deals.  More importantly, she just needed some new things to pass our days.

Check out my new drums!

A new toy box for my toys!

Of course our day would not be complete without going to visit Daddy at the office.  Since we have been going there almost everyday since she was born, she is really associating the football stadium to Daddy and when we are at the intersection of Maine, right in front of the stadium, she giggles and squeals in excitement.  Once she gets inside, she can't wait to get down on the floor to crawl up and down the hall to see everyone.  It won't be long before she is taking over that place.  Everyone better watch out!

I'm getting too big to get in this basket...I am STUCK!

Before I close, Lexie's latest stats from her 9 month well check.
Weight: 22 lbs (91st percentile)
Height: 29 in (88th percentile)

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

Lexie's First Father's Day!

It has been nearly 8 months now since Lexie has blessed our lives. From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to have kids and I absolutely loved babies. When George and I got married over 2 years ago, I couldn't wait to start a family with him but I always wondered how he would be as a father. The reason that I say this is because we were lucky enough to have his brother Louie, Sister-in-law Cori, and Nephew, Michael Elias live a out a mile from us for a little over a year. I spent a lot of time with Michael even before George and I were married because I just love babies. George would come home from a long day at the office and want to go over to see Michael but once we got over to the house, he wouldn't really interact with Michael other than putting him in his lap while he and Louie watched football.

So when we found put that we were pregnant, I would sometimes lay awake thinking about what type of Father George would turn out to be. I just want to say that he is the most supportive and amazing husband that I could ever want and he is 100 times that as a Father! He truly cherishes each day with Lexie and is so in love with her. We often find ourselves laughing and reminiscing about our first couple of months after she was born. Lexie looks much like her Father but has so many of my bad traits, such as being upset and angry when she is really hungry and she is also a very big risk taker. Each day she is growing and changing, she is such an amazing little person!

We had a great Father's Day with George and even though it was suppose to be a day to celebrate and shower him, Lexie made sure that we knew that she was still in charge. We spent a short-lived afternoon at the pool with him and had a vey nice and relaxing rest of the day. George, we are so happy that you are in our lives and that each day you continue to love us and care for us! You are the most amazing Daddy to our little girl and the best husband that a woman could ask for.

As Busy As A Bee...And Then Some

Over the past weekend, Lexie has been hard at work perfecting her standing skills.  She started working on them while we were in Ohio last weekend and within two days, she was already pulling herself up.  Now she does it so fast that it was like she had been able to do it all along and just didn't want us to know.  She also was introduced to the stairs and I thought it would be fun to teach her how to crawl.  She of course picked that up quickly and by the time her daddy got home from work, she was an expert stair climber.  She still has no concept that if she lets go of whatever she is hanging on to for support, she is most definitely going to fall. So luckily I have been behind her on the stairs or else she would have had a hard tumble onto the wood floor below.

Look Mom...I can climb!

She was so happy to be on the stairs

She also has the idea in her mind that she is ready to stand from the seated position.  I don't know where she got that from but it is too cute to see her get excited and flap her arms in the air like they are wings and they are miraculously going to help get up to her feet.

She loves to crawl over to the bench and stand up

Her fall left a smile on her face

We got a surprise on Saturday when Miss Stephanie, her first and only babysitter from birth until a few months ago, made a trip to Lawrence to help the family that she nannied for while she lived here in Lawrence. We spent almost all day on Sunday and half of today with her.  Lexie loves her and I can tell this because she gets so excited when she sees her and she whimpers a bit when she sees Stephanie leave.  I am glad that Lexie has that special person especially since our extended family lives so far away.

I have no idea what she is thinking in this picture

All smiles playing with Miss Stephanie!

Getting brave with the one-handed stance

Lexie also went to the LCC pool for the first time...it was her first time in the pool and I was curious to see how she would react to the cool water.  I went to Wal-Mart and got her a floatie that she can sit in and it also has these plastic rings attached to a bar that also inflates and so I thought that it would offer her some entertainment while we people watched.  She just chewed on the rings and put holes in them so there goes that idea.  She really liked being in the pool.  I am now thinking about getting her some swimming lessons.

One of the new expressions she has been doing lately...cute!

Stay tuned for our next adventure, which starts tomorrow.  I am traveling with Lexie all by myself to Arizona to see my older sister and her family as well as my parents.  It should be fun to get all of the cousins from my side of the family together to see how they interact.  I can only imagine what fun will be had by all.

Memorial Day Weekend and Nicholas's Christening

I can't think of any other way to spend Memorial Weekend, than having family around.  George, Lexie, and I went back to Ohio for our nephew and Lexie's cousin, Nicholas's Christening.  George's brothers, Louie and Jimmy, and their families all gathered at their Parent's house.  Lexie is getting pretty used to traveling by now, she currently has 12 flights under her belt at the age of 7 months.  What a lucky girl to be able to travel this much at such a young age.  She just loves to travel and George and I are lucky in that sense since we also love to travel.

Our trip didn't start out really on the right foot though.  Our flight to Ohio was scheduled to leave early in the morning so George decided to get us a hotel room at the airport so that we would not have to wake up as early to make the hour drive.  This means that not only do we have to share a room with our daughter and there fore go to bed when she does, but we also have to endure the painful process of her trying to fall asleep.  I really wish that Lexie loved to be cuddled and rocked to sleep but she would rather roll around in her crib.  We were also interested to find out how Lexie would adjust to sleeping in the pack-n-play since she wouldn't even go in one as a tiny baby.  So fast forward to the hotel... we check in around 8:30 since Lexie was late waking up from her nap that afternoon and we planned on setting up the pack-n-play and then feeding her and putting her down for the evening.  She had other plans, none of which consisted of sleeping, eating, or getting in the pack-n-play.  By the time we got her down, it was around 10pm and we had to be up and on our way to the airport by 4:45 since our flight took off at 6am.  She did alright her first night in the new sleeping contraption and she was wide-eyed and grinning cheek to cheek all morning.

Lexie ready to explore at the airport in KC while we waited to board our flight

Lexie loves the boys...she is a little aggressive with her new friend

Once we got to Ohio, she loved checking out her new environment and even tried some new things such as pulling herself up into standing position using the couch. Unfortunately she has not mastered to concept that if you let go, you will fall.

Lexie trying to stand with her YiaYia's help

Thanks for letting me crawl over your legs Dad!

She loved all of the attention that she got from her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Lexie and her cousin Michael James

Lexie with her Papou at Church

Lexie loves her Uncle Jimmy

Lexie with her cousin Maria

While we were in Ohio Lexie also decided that she really wanted to give table food a try.  At first I was a bit leary especially since her Pediatrician told us that we shouldn't push table food on her until she is at least 9 months old or until she starts to use her fingers like pincers.  She is just so curious about the food that we were eating so I decided to let her try some of it. She loved the macaroni and cheese and the pork that I gave her and she didn't seem to have trouble with the concept that she had to chew the food before swallowing.  She also decided in that time that she wasn't going to eat any of the baby food that we bought.  I didn't really know what to think other than it would be nice not to have to spend money on baby food and that would be one less expense for us.  I continued to let her eat a few things at a time throughout the course of the trip and then it all backfired on me.  When we were on the plane from Milwaukee to Kansas City, George and I decided to get some lunch and I thought that I would get Lexie a blueberry muffin.  She liked it but must've bitten off too big of a piece and it got stuck in her throat and she puked it up along with half of her bottle all over George and I.  Needless to say, I haven't given her table food since.

While it was great to be around family, it was also nice to get home and back to our daily routine.  I am now packing and trying to get Lexie and I ready for our next trip, which is to Arizona next week.  It should be interesting traveling with her by myself, but never fear, we will do just fine!

She was such a good lil' traveler

Smile for the camera!