Look who’s 32 years old!!

I had the privilege of celebrating 32 years of life with my precious daughter and hubby on Sunday, Nov. 21st. It was a low-key weekend with beautiful weather and time with my family . . . we enjoyed a walk, playing at a local playground, going to the Taste of the Holidays at Sam’s (yum), and watching a movie at home. Chris bought me my fave – a icing-loaded cookie cake from The American Cookie Company. Yep – it was gone within a few days. I’m so thankful for the 32 years of life the Lord has given me, for my amazing hubby, my precious daughter, and my sweet family & friends who love me without condition. I truly am blessed beyond measure!

Alexa’s already learning that cookie cakes are a GOOD thing!! My sis says I’ll have to share this with her one day . . . we’ll see :) Thanks Chris – you definitely know the way to my heart (mad money & empty calories)!! I love you!!

Nico’s Stepstool

It’s embarrassing to admit but I FINALLY finished a stepstool I promised to Nico Simonini (Carlos & Debra’s son). Yep . . . it’s been two years, but it is finished and I’m pleased with the final product. Once I started working for Shannon Ho Photography, my stepstool production slowed WAY down. Okay – so I stopped painting them :) I do hope to paint a few more for my dearest friends but I told them they would have to wait until my daughter gets one. It only seems fair as I’ve painted 30 stepstools for other children . . . now it’s Alexa’s turn :)

Alexa is my new assistant serving as Director of Quality Control. Here she is testing out the product’s durability.
Now she’s testing out the finish. Hope I sanded & sealed everything well!!

And finally, she considers stability. Yep . . . Mom, you’ve got my seal of approval :)

Our active little eight-month-old

Alexa’s holding on tight to her favorite man, Daddy. She loves to ride on his shoulders – a sure way to get a smile.She especially loves to tug on his thick locks.
On Nov. 13th, we celebrated Alexa’s eight month birthday. I suppose I’ll keep repeating this, but the time truly does fly by! Alexa is indeed our active “little” girl. (Hard to believe . . . we know)!! She weighs just over 15 pounds and mainly wears six-month-old clothing. She is quite active – even in her sleep. We have been addressing the sleep issue – and hopefully – we’ll be able to report at 9-mos-old she is our active (but sleeps when she’s supposed to) little girl. Regardless, our precious “hope fulfilled” continues to bring us immeasurable joy and blessings.

What’s happened over the last month . . .
--Waving “hi” and “goodbye”
--Giving sweet (and slobbery) kisses followed by a hug
--Responding to “No Ma’am” when she isn’t supposed to touch something  . . . we praise her obedience but we’ll see how long that lasts :)
--Sitting in her 1st shopping cart & restaurant highchair (hooray for highchair covers and antibacterial wipes)
--Pulling up on anything (fridge, trash can, coffee table, chairs, our legs, doors, the wall, sofa, TV trays, highchair . . . if she can reach it, she’s going up). She is so curious about everything – perhaps a bit too curious. 
--Playing peek-a-boo
--Dumping things out – she loves to “empty” containers & boxes
--Banging & shaking things to make noise
--Tearing up Kleenex (it keeps her occupied when Mommy’s getting ready)
--Trying out more foods (peaches, bananas, carrots, apples & green beans)
--Items that fascinate Alexa – toothbrushes, the alarm clock, cell phones, remote controls, Nalgene bottles, magnets and her own reflection

Here’s why you really check the blog . . .
Alexa showing off the adorable hat Kelly Westerman made for her.

Alexa helping Mommy cut & arrange the coupons. Don’t you love the clothes strewn everywhere  . . . now that’s real life!
Showing off her bubble blowing skills while pulling Daddy’s hair.
Evidence of Alexa’s 3 paci obsession. This is exactly what she looked like when I got her out of bed one morning. One in the mouth and one in each hand.

Tearing the petals off the vinca on a lovely fall evening.
BOOMER SOONER!!

Eating sweet potatoes at Hideaway Pizza. Mommy doing the ol’ airplane trick.
Is it time to go? I’m getting sleepy and this bow is heavy.
Showing off my leggings from Ama. Thank you for keeping me warm.
Who’s that pretty girl!?

Getting Daddy lovin’ :)
Checking out the pistachios I knocked on the floor. Can I have one?

Welcome Liberty Marie Westerman!!

On Friday, Nov. 5th, Liberty Marie Westerman made her first appearance. What an exciting day and what a beautiful baby girl (I’m partial . . . she is our goddaughter). She weighed a little over 9 lbs and was 22” long . . . not small by any means. Way to go Kelly!!

I was so sad I wasn’t able to be there for the birth. I was there for Liberty’s big sister’s arrival (Evangeline Lynn) back in June, 2008. I was sad to miss Baby #2. Regardless, I was able to get there an hour after Liberty was born and take some pics of Alexa’s newest friend. What a wonderful day!! Congrats Adam & Kelly!! We look forward to seeing how you guys transition from a family of three to four. We’re taking notes and thanking God for your sweet blessing from the Father :)
  Liberty Marie Westerman

I love this sweet pic.

All clean and sleeping peacefully. Look at those lovely locks!

Seeing what a family of four might look like. Isn’t Alexa big next to Liberty!? Can we take this little one home – she already looks like she could be a Kennedy :)

Go Buffs?

My sweet, yet slightly mischievous, Uncle Leon gave this cute lil’ tee to Alexa shortly after she was born. She is just beginning to fill it out (and just in time for football season – wink, wink). Of course, we think the saying on the shirt is adorable, “I still live with my parents.” The logo below the saying, however, is troublesome. It’s the University of Colorado logo bearing a buffalo and CU. Somehow, I don’t think my Uncle forgot the fact we lived in Norman and Chris works for OU.
I thought it’d be cute to adorn Alexa in her gold and black last Saturday when the Sooners played the Buffaloes. Chris questioned my sanity but I promised him we would change Alexa into crimson and cream before kick-off.

Uncle Leon, I have to admit it. She looks pretty darn cute in gold and black but we’ll have to reserve this outfit for non-game days from here on out. By the way, Chris said Alexa was holding up five fingers to predict the number of touchdowns by which OU would defeat CU (ironically, the final score was 43-10 . . . sorry Uncle Leon)!

Here are a few more pics of Alexa posing in gold . . .

I’m so proud of my CU logo!!

Daddy wanted to make sure Alexa remembered her roots . . . Go OU!!

Alexa does a post-game victory dance with Daddy. He flipped her OU onesie over her head and celebrated Sooner style before bath time.
We love you Uncle Leon and thanks for the T-shirt.

Roar!!

So . . . you have a 7-month-old, and although you know she isn’t going to care a bit about Halloween or costumes or candy, you feel compelled to have a costume for her on her 1st Halloween for fear you’ll be recorded in the “Journal of Bad Mommies.” Thus, you have “Miss Alexa the Roaring Lion.”
The funniest part about all of this is that this picture was taken seven days before Halloween simply as a test run for the costume (her hands & feet aren’t even covered with the little paws). Alexa never wore the outfit on the official holiday because we never made it to our church for its annual “Trunk or Treat” festivities which fell right around her feeding & bedtime. Oh well . . . I guess we’ll simply have the memory of her one costume photo op and the memory of the candy Mommy and Daddy never got to eat :) I suppose my hips will thank me later!

Here’s to Alexa’s first Halloween!! She sure makes that “roar” look pretty cute.