Our Little Adult

We have finally made it back to the world of blogging!! How time flies when you have VERY good talker on your hands and realize almost 2 months has passed by and then you realize that you have a 22 month old on your hands and its REALLY time to start thinking about a birthday party!! The last time we blogged, we talked about Blues Clues vs Dora but it seems our little "Baby Genius" (this is what her teachers and babysitters call her) can't get enough of Dora so DORA it is!! I have to say that me and her Auntie Meredith are pretty excited about planning a Dora themed birthday party since the sky is the limit on what you can do and what is available.

We have been having a really GREAT past few months with our princess!! If we thought her vocabulary exploded last time, she is now speaking in FULL sentences and really has a grasp of what things are. On the way to school she will tell me what she wants for breakfast and that mommy and daddy are going to work and she is going to school to play. These first three pictures were her most recent school pictures and Joe and I have to say, we were very pleased!! (Since the last school picture she ended up crying in). I asked her the other day if she had fun at school and she said yes Momma, I played a lot with my friends! I couldn't believe it!

Not only do we have a total HAM on our hands but we have reached that curious stage that all toddlers get to. And because she can talk and communicate A LOT, we are having to explain more things than we are used to.

We have a world traveler on our hands, with a too small of hat and she insisted that she wear her backpack!

All of Momma's shoes are now fair game since she knows how to put her shoes on and take them off. She even walks around in my slippers for when we have those very few and far between cold days.

She found Momma's gloves after I used them during the A&M vs OU game..that we won..WHOOP!!

Yep..we have quite the cleaner too! She is mopping PaPa and Gigi's floor with a swiffer but still she didn't forget the corners this time.

She loves to "drive" on her slide/wall climbing combo. Here she is at her friend Ashton's 1st birthday party and she had to get up there and drive!

Playing with her friend Kyler who turned ONE in June. Lexi is definitely a lot less shy around kids her age. She still is a little leary with dogs but does warm up after a bit and then has no problem.

HALLOWEEN was a great event for us this year. Lexi only managed to go to 4 houses but she loved walking around and looking at all the decorations and being socialable. She had her school party on Friday and then we trick or treated for about 20 minutes on Sunday. We originally were going to go with an Aggie Cheerleading outfit but then we changed our mind at the last minute.

Getting ready to go to school!

Bumming around on Halloween and drinking from her Halloween cup that Auntie gave her.

Our little monkey...literally!

Our little monster!! GRRR

Getting ready to go trick or treating

Her 2nd year molars are starting to come in so I apologize with all the pictures with the pacifier in them!

Her Kicks that Auntie just had to buy!

Eating some candy from her trick or treat adventure. I was SO glad she let me put her hair up without a fuss!! MIRACLE!

Watching some Dora before Bath and Bed

Halloween was definitley good!

Besides our olympic talker that we have on our hands, her motor skills are really starting to develop. She can now brush her teeth on her own!! She is definitely taking more interest in her potty and not being "wet" and she is also starting to help out more in the tub with the soap. More and more of the days we are shocked at what she understands that we tell her. We have tested the "help pick up" phrase and she actually does it..when she wants to that is but she knows what we are asking. She still does repeat a lot but she not only repeats, she understands what she is repeating!! So, we have our own little Alexis "Explorer" on our hands. I know the next phase is the "Why" phase!

She's been really into "jumping on the loveseat this days". I guess it's the perfect trampoline for somone her size.

Our goofy girl!

WE love how she will just sit and watch TV now. As soon as she gets home from school, she eats her dinner and then it's time for the TV to go on and she always wants Dora but will watch whatever is on Nick Junior. And she will just sit there contently and QUIETLY while she watches her shows before bed. She definitely knows her routine!

Let's see how far this Elmo chair bends back!! Not only good for sitting but for rocking back and forth! ha!
We still have been VERY FORTUNATE with Alexis's health. She will get the occasional runny nose due to teething and she did give us a scare when school called and said she had a minor fever. But a half day at home with Momma seemed to do the trick. But she can now blow her nose on her own..most of the time!

Since you stuck around to the end of the blog......

SO, what else is new with us?

Well, Joe and I have decided to expand our family to 4!! YEP!! YOU READ RIGHT!! We are expecting our second child May 13, 2011.

We are very excited about the upcoming addition!! We keep asking Alexis if she wants a brother or a sister...she gets that their is a baby but....

We are keeping our fingers crossed that we can find out what we are having BEFORE the holidays so I will definitely be asking the DR on my next visit about that!! Time to convert another room!

Now we have to blog about 2!!!

12 weeks 2 days of Baby Sheehan

It was hard to get a scan of the baby since it seemed to be moving around a lot!! But we heard the heartbeat and saw the flutter. :-)

So..what is different about this pregnancy you ask? WELL, definitely less morning sickness. This time I only had a few weeks of it unlike the 20 weeks I had with Alexis. My energy came back quicker even though for 3 weeks all I seemed to want to do is sleep and eat hamburgers. But no weird cravings this time around but I am having to eat every 2 hours or else I get a little light headed or a headache. So lots of crackers and fruit by my desk at work. This baby will NOT let me eat eggs for some reason! Milk I can do this time around but in small quantities. Lexi hated it! I haven't gained too much weight but am starting to show already! I have heard you start showing quicker with the second one. I definitely feel a lot of different with this one and a lot better!!

Happy Thanksgiving if I don't get to blogging before then!

Time Flies

CHEESE!!

Wow..I can't believe I am so bad at this posting thing!!! Time sure flies when you are having fun with your Toddler. Things are WAY better since I last blogged. We are all done with phases for the moment and our happy go lucky toddler has been with us for the last few months. Since the last blog, Alexis has grown in 2 more of her front teeth..the left top and bottom Eye teeth and is currently working on the right side. So this will leave us with just the 2 year molars in which we are keeping our fingers crossed will not give us any problems unlike the rumors we have heard. No fussiness with the teeth, she just gets tired since it seems she has been going through several growth spurts the last few months as well. We are noticing that she can reach some new places and will bring us items that we thought were "safe". We should know by now to never think this!! So...what's new?!! Lexi's vocabulary has decided to EXPLODE!!! She can not only speak in sentences but she can also use words in the right context. I don't even know where to begin with everything that she can say and do with hand motions! She was singing Farmer in the Dell to me this morning! The fact that I could recognize the tune just amazed me. Some of the latest and greatest are:

1. Momma Look!!
2. Come here Momma/Dadda
3. No Momma/Dadda no Nite nite
4. It's dark outside, nite nite?
5. Where did it go?
6. I don't know
7. When she sees something she doesn't like, she will say, Ew...Gross...it's really kind of cute!
8. When we are in the car going to school, Momma, the light is green, Go Go!! And when it's red, she will say time to stop!
9. Anytime we go anywhere and get back to our house, she will say, We're here!!!
10. And being the good parents that we are, sometimes Alexis has to remind us that we need to brush her teeth at night!!
11. And she loves to sing with songs on the radio...
12. This week she has figured out the concept of ouch and what it means. When she is being rough with her stuffed animals, I will say, Ouch...and then she will give the stuffed animal a hug. I will ask, all better, and she says, Yeah.
I am sure I am forgetting some!

We have been trying to play outside but it's SO hot on the weekends still right now but we know she does get to run around on some cool playground equipment at school and that wipes her out pretty good.

She started in 4 word sentences about a month ago and the fact that we can have a conversation with our 21 month old is just incredible. She can understand a lot of what we say and if she doesn't understand, she will ask. We love it now that we can communicate!!!

   Sticker Time!

Her Masterpiece from the morning of sticker play

We did decide to buy her a potty last month and just start introducing her to the concept since she is showing signs that she is ready and starting to understand what it is all about. Active training doesn't begin until October since Daddy has been traveling for business the majority of September. But he seems ready to start potty training her at 21  months! CRAZY!! That's definitely all him right now. However, Alexis will be moving to the 2 year old room at the end of this year and they really emphasize potty training in this classroom.

                                                            Checking her new potty out.

                                                                  Off to a good start!

Lexi is still a reading machine at night once the TV goes off and we have watched her Blue's Clues. We will read a book and then she will read the same book and we do this for about 5-6 books!

                                                              Reading on Daddy's Lap

Daddy has this BIG book with all sorts of short stories(from when he was little) in it that of course she doesn't know what they are but because the book is BIG, she loves it!

Lexi's own library!! Thanks Aunt Julia for the Dr. Seuss book club membership!!

Lately, Alexis has been noticing that Mommy has a lot of Elmos(since I like to collect them) and she is also figuring out how to turn them on!!

The Pizza Elmo..she keeps turning it on until she knows what they are saying and can sing the song back. She also does this with her Alphabet table as well. She will keep pressing the button and sing her ABC's until she knows the whole thing!! Of course a dance is also accompanied with her singing and  maybe some tumbling. She loves to somersault! Joe and I couldn't stop laughing on Sunday when she was singing her ABC's and dancing with hand motions and little kicks and everything!

Time to press it again!

She actually likes her sunglasses

And so we had to keep them on in the house. Had to get a pic since she let me put her hair up and then she took it down right after I took these pictures.

Watching TV

We have been VERY fortunate with Alexis's health. The last time we went to the DR was in June and that was for precaution since we were traveling to Michigan(and her ears were an issue the first year) but she has had NO problems whatsoever!! (Knock Knock). She will get the occasional runny nose while she is teething and then it's gone the next day. Right now, we go back to the DR in January for her 2 year check up!! And I have to "start" thinking of a 2 year birthday party one of these days...Blue's Clues or Dora..hmmmm....With all of her growth spurts, Alexis has been eating like a bottomless pit!!! And she LOVES fruit!! She will eat anything with a utensil when she feels like it that is..but she can eat with a fork and will eat pudding or applesauce(her favorite) with a spoon with no help. She will scoop and eat! She's a great eater and a great sleeper. Getting her to bed is a challenge sometimes but she eventually gives in. We have having a blast right since her personality is really starting to show! I will try to take more pictures next time but she won't sit still very long for us but I guess I will just have to chase her. Until next time!

For some reason she likes to sit in her stroller and then tells me GO GO Momma!

Halfway to 2 years

Wow!! I didn't realize how long it had been since I last "blogged"!! But we have been busy to say the least!! Mommy and Daddy both had some really great but BIG changes at work in which they are now in different positions and loving it!! But of course their is always the transition phase in which they are both still trying to wade through. As for our princess, everyone that has ever had a toddler knows that things change quickly! Shortly after I "blogged" last time, the crying phase when we dropped her off at school stopped. It seems Alexis is cutting her 2nd Molars and was definitely "feeling it" since she was always irriatated, clingy, needy and seemed overly sensitive. But, the day after she ran a slight fever, she seemed to snap out of her little "phase" and our happy go lucky little lady is back. We had a little spoof of it when we got back from our Oregon trip since she was around our family and is always spoiled but it really didn't last long.

Still a messy eater!

Our Oregon Trip was WONDERFUL!! Not only did we miss the torrential downpour of rain that came down in Houston(all time record in the few days that it took place), the weather was a nice change(even though it was a bit chilly the first day we got there and we experienced a light shower) from the heat. It was definitely a fast, jam-packed with visiting family, vacation but nice all the same. Alexis was able to meet some of her cousins, some aunt and uncles and most importantly, her Great Granny. It took Lexi a few days to warm up to her but eventually she gave Great GiGi(as she ended up calling her) a smile and would "play" with her. We were very lucky that Auntie Meredith and Uncle Paul were able to come with us as well as PaPa and GiGi. So we had LOTS of help while we were there. Daddy, Uncle Paul and PaPa got a chance to play a few rounds of golf since the courses are so scenic in Oregon while Mommy, Auntie and GiGi went to the park and chased around our 18 month old. We also were able to take a tour of local and well know winery while in Oregon which had been a first for all of us! We got to taste several different wines as well. Needless to say, we were feeling good after this tour! Miss Alexis did WONDERFUL on the plane with take off and landing and she started to get antsy towards the end of the 4 hour flight(but who wouldn't!). She did great with her nighttime sleeping habits...napping was a bit of challenge but we got at least a small one in each day.

Waiting to board our plane in Houston to Portland

Hamming it up!

On a Winery Tour in Oregon..Willamette Valley Vineyard, where the bottles are corked and packaged

Wine cellar where the wine ages

Getting ready to start our wine tasting

wow..that is a lot of empty glasses

It was a little chilly

Out on the deck at the Vineyard

Love their Chardonnay

Of course she had to find something to play with

Auntie and Lexi snuggling

Time to leave the Winery and meet some family for dinner! PaPa and GiGi have it covered.

PaPa and his Girl on the 4th

Uncle Paul letting her get away with hanging on Great Grammy's clothesline

Playing Kick with Uncle Paul

Getting ready to go on a walk to the Park

4 Generations with Grandma, Mom, Me and Alexis...Auntie was holding her up since she didn't want to sit in our lap in the front.

Joe and I honestly can't believe how much she has grown over the last few months. She knows almost all body parts, all her colors, her teachers at school tell us she knows everyone's name, and she is starting to connect words into sentences, short sentences of 3 or 4 words but we were still shocked. School tells us she gets concerned when other kids are playing with other kids things. We were told she told a little girl to get off another girls cot when it was naptime! She is also able to recognize some action words and use them correctly, like swim in the "wawa", put shoe on or read a book. The not wanting to be diapered or undressed/dressed phase has calmed down a bit but it still shows up every now and then.

Singing in the pool

We were so pleased with the results of her swimming lessons, that we decided to sign her up for another 6 weeks that takes her through the middle of August. She's SO close to being able to lay on her back while her instructor holds her....we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. She definitely attempts it in the tub and when she is on her belly, she kicks and moves her arms in "swimming" motion that her instructors have been working with her on. We were in the pool last weekend and again, the difference between the first of the summer and now is ridiculous! She definitely feels more comfortable in the water and is more willing to take chances in the water, which is of course stressful for mommy and daddy but she doesn't whine anymore when trying something new in the water. She's really not into her float since she can walk on the 2nd step in our pool that goes around a good part of the shallow end and through our waterfall(that she now loves).

Playing on the steps in the shallow end

Giving Daddy a "Kissy"

We had our 18 month check up on July 8th...yes, I am definitely behind in posting!!! And Alexis REALLY doesn't like the DR office AT ALL! As soon as we got into the examining room, it was game over for my eardrums! She cried when the nurse weighed her, measured her height and her head. Which, by the way, Miss Alexis weighs in at 23 pounds(50%) and stand 32 inches tall(75%). Her head is still in the 95%! Go figure! So, the nurse leaves and she settles down and goes back to playing with her toys that we brought and then her pediatrician comes in and now I have an attachment on my hip while screaming. So, trying to take a look at her ears was a chore since I had to hold Alexis in my lap while holding her head in between my  hands so the DR could look in her ears!! Got to get a thorough look since she has had so many double ear infections! So, once again the DR and I are screaming at each other and discussing developmental things for Alexis and they also tested for Autism and she was telling me that Alexis is fine. But they also test for it at 2 years. SOOOOOOOOOO....the DR leaves and Alexis settles down and we get her dressed but we still have to get a shot....YAY for mommy's ears!!! So, once we are dressed, her favorite nurse from before comes in and gives her a quick shot. Now, Alexis's recovery time from a shot was so quick, that I didn't even realize she got a shot...or maybe I was just used to the over an hour crying session that I just didn't notice! We are definitely in the terrible 2's! Alexis is right on track with her height, weight and head circumference as well as all her developmental skills....and even ahead of her time in some areas(like the talking...yep..she is definitely mine!). She is all over the place with walking, running, jumping, climbing, kicking and throwing a ball....it doesn't stop until nite nite!!

We are keeping our fingers crossed that we do not have to go back to the DR until January for her 2 year appointment and one more shot but with the seasons changing in the fall...we get into trouble! I am hoping to not let as much time pass between postings! We sure have been busy!

Until next time!