WOW... 20 months old!

Babe has added SO many more words this month including: juice, pizza, money, princess, Ariel, Ema, putzI honestly cannot think of anything she cannot say/repeat. It is amazing!

She also knows many of her colors, especially the basics... she loves pink and purple, of course!

She can identify and name most of her body parts as well as other people's. She is constantly pointing to my nose and eyes... and saying nose/eyes.

Alexis has continued to be a super eater... she will really try anything. She loves pizza, pasta, fruit, cheese, bars, and anything sweet! Our neighbors all joke that she is the little "Mikey" of the group... she loves food!

The WIGGLES & MOUSE are the hottest thing in this 20 month old baby girls life! She sings and dances around whenever she sees them on TV. Alexis loves her babies and is such a little mother hen, especially with her "Belda". She has also started to want to sleep with her little baby (although I say its a little hard and plastic like to sleep with, she just loves it!).

We are still having clothing issues... 12-18 month clothes fit perfectly. Everything else is still too big. Shoes are going at a 5 and hats are about a size 12-24 months. She is still our little peanut for sure... so skinny!

Babe loves her Daddy... Mommy turns into second fiddle when Daddy gets home... he has to do everything with her! She just loves to be carried around by her Daddy! What a little princess!

She is a super sleeper... she sleeps from 7:30 PM until 7:30-8 AM... sometimes even later! Then she proceeded to take a 3 hour afternoon nap. What a girl!

She is such a happy girl and has the most adorable expressions... however I will be the first to admit she can bit a bit sassy... hair pulling, NO, and hitting to get her way to name a few. She is definitely the BABY! :)

Alexis is 19 Months Old!

And to think at this age with Jacob I had a 2 month old I just simply can't get over! She is such my little baby girl yet she is getting so big and so independent I can't help but want to bottle her up!
Alexis is such a sweet yet very sassy girl. We have struggled with hitting and hair pulling this month BIG time! I think alot of it has to do with invasion of her personal space by her older sister. The only mechanism she has to fight back is to hit or pull Grace's long hair. Ouch. We just keep reminding her of what is right and wrong... hopefully she'll catch on!
Just when I thought Alexis couldn't say anymore she surprises me... I honestly couldn't even list all that she says now... BUT some of the things she says are: banana, apple, water, juice, milk, cracker, fish, buh, brother, Grace, Mama, Dada, Doe, Gigi, Tete, Bella, Brady, Rylie, Carter, more, shoe, bye, hi, yeah, no, baby, up, I Got It, Yowzers, Me, and well the list goes on....
Alexis loves Wiggles & Mickey Mouse! She sits and watches them so nice... she also loves to sleep with her little Minnie doll, can't wait to take her to Disney! In the car she often goes into a coma... while watching her movies, kinda cracks us up! She is also quiet the dancer... and boy can she shake those hips when her favorite wiggles song comes on!
She has her buh only at nap/nighttime and does so well with this. She sleeps from about 7:30 pm until 8 am... and then takes a 2-3 hour nap... very similiar to what Grace did at this same age. All three of my kids were awesome at going right in and falling asleep... which makes me very happy!
We love the little snuggles we get from our baby girl when she gets up from nap and when we watch movies as a family. Nothing like a snuggle from your last baby.... such a treasure.
And in addition to our illness last winter we have already started to get some winter type colds/chest issues. She has been on the nebulizer already once this winter... the one major downfall to these issues is that when she feels crappy she tends to not eat as much as she usually does. Although if we have one of her favorites... LOOK OUT! :)

18 Month Old Baby Girl...

Our baby is sure growing fast! Seems like just yesterday we had one infant and now we have three budding children! Time sure does fly as we cherish them and what they have brought into our lives!
Babe has begun to gain alot of physical strength... she can go up and down steps basically on her own. She also has started to run! As far as fine motor development goes she can drink from a cup and eat with utensils all on her own now! It's a new chapter in our lives as we have spent the last 5 years feeding people... its nice to have 3 independent children!
Alexis loves babies... dolls... the kitchen... and anything girly! HOWEVER... she will play for and fight for anything her siblings or Bella has! She loves taking a baby to bed with her and ALWAYS has to have her blanket a certain side up... satin side up! She is just like her Momma, who always grasped (while on her tummy) the satin side of a blanket. Can't put Alexis to bed without one under her face and another on her back... such a little princess!
Her vocabulary amazes me.... she is so vocal! She says almost anything... her favorite words are "baby", "buh" (her pacifier) and "NO!"... she can now combine words, mainly two word combos.
She loves to eat, yet still continues to be so small! She loves goldfish, cheerios, blueberries, oranges, apples (asks by name for those quiet often!), cheese (another request), pizza, soup, grilled cheese, spaghetti, milk and crackers.
Alexis is into shoes... she loves getting her coat and shoes in the morning as well as everyone elses! She is the official shoe closet checker... she is constantly in there and loves to "re-organize" all its contents! UGH...
She also loves Daddy and loves to take Abby outside... she can't get enough of either of these things... it's sweet.

Jacob's God Synopsis

The kids have been driving by a house damaged by fire on their way home from school... they have been very worried about the family and their belongings. One day Doe was explaining to them about how you just "Get Out" and that "God will take care of getting you the things you need... toys, clothes, food, etc.". She then said to Jacob... "You know who God is, right Jacob?" To which he replied with a huge grin... "Yup, Pops!"

Jacob's 5th Birthday Party!

Jacob had a haunted birthday party at the Macomb Rec Center... we enjoyed Pizza, Cake, Cupcakes, Spider Cookies, & lots of other goodies. The kids got to play, break a pinata, eat and SWIM! :) It was a busy... crazy... party, but tons of fun! Jacob got so many nice things... our family and friends are always so very generous. AND most importantly, he was surrounded by so many friends and family that love and care for him. It was a great day... and he was so appreciative.
The day after his party... he said to me... "Mom, when will I be 5?"... I said "On Tuesday." To which he replied... "Does it take God that long to change your number?" ... what a funny kid!

Alexis... 17 Months Old!

Alexis talking so much... she says so many words. New ones daily! I'm so proud of this smart little cookie we have! Some of her favorite words are: Gigi, Mama, NO, Dada, Bellllda (Bella!),Doe, Hi, Bye-ya, Bus, Brady, Carter, Rylie, Brother, Grace, kids, VRROOM, belly, woah, book, uh-oh, this, that, eyes, nose, wa-dat (what's that), side (outside), Mine-a (Mine), shoes, good girl, my brush (my toothbrush), water... and I'm sure I'm forgetting more!! She can also combine two words... like "good girl", "what's that" and/or "my brush". That is at least an 18 month milestone... so she hit that very early and it makes me proud!
We have been practicing body parts... she loves her belly button and points to it all the time. She loves to look at pictures/herself and talk about body parts as well. She loves to play that game!
Alexis loves being outside. She keeps herself busy no matter where she goes. She is so easy going.. UNLESS she has other plans.. then look out. She is our little diva.
Alexis, unlike her sibs, isn't totally fond of other babies.. well lets face it... she is the BABE... so in her eyes... she is the ONE & ONLY! :) However she loves to play with babies, purses, cars, crayons, kitchens, and anything musical. She also really enjoys dental hygiene... she could/would brush her teeth all day if we'd let her!
She has all the teeth she is suppose to have and weighs a little over 20 lbs... our tiny, tiny peanut! Clothing she has is still 6-12 months. As far as shoes go, she is in a 5.
Babe is so special to all of us... we love her so very much. Jacob and Grace are constantly looking out for and wanting to help her. It is so sweet how much they care for and love her.
Post tubes we have now had an additional 3 ear infections... poor girl. Luckily she is such a trooper.
Sleep has been a little irratic lately. She goes down between 7:30 and 8 and sleeps till 7:00-7:30. She also still takes at least a 2 hour nap... sometimes more, during the day. She loves to eat and will eat anything you give her. In the last month she has discovered how much she really enjoys dips (ketchup, ranch, etc). And you can't get the bottle out, without sharing some with her. She loves her milk... but is also really enjoying drinking water from a big girl cup. She is also getting really good at spoon feeding herself things like applesauce, macaroni, etc. She definitely has big sisters eating habits/style.

I love...

kids Halloween jammies... I dread the day I can't get them a new pair of holiday jammies! I love dressing them alike in them and seeing them snuggle all warm and toasty as they fall asleep. Every year my 3 kiddo's have had matching jammies...and I.LOVE.IT. :)

Kick the bucket...

Today Doe was fixing one of Alexis' toys and she said "Who is going to take care of all this stuff when I kick the bucket?" To which Jacob replied "What bucket?". It was so stinkin' cute!

Keeping it warm...

Tonight up north we had a movie/popcorn party. After the kids were finished we had a pretty large bowl still sitting there. Our little busy body Grace jumped up took her napkin and covered up the remaining popcorn with her napkin. I asked her what she was doing and she told me "Keeping it warm, Mom!".

Alexis... at 16 Months

Each and every time I look at my 16 month old baby girl, I can't help but think how far we have come in 5 years... 3 kids later I'm loving motherhood to it's fullest and consider each of my three beautiful children a huge blessing!! I still can't believe our "baby" is now 16 months old! Time is flying by.
Alexis is growing into such a little ham. She is our baby doll and has quite the attitude... a cute one at that! She is always "talking" and laughing, especially with the "kids" as she likes to call them. She says so many words now, it's amazing how much she can say. Some of her favorites are NO, kids, Jacob, Grace, Mama, Rylie, Brady, Dog, Water, Mine-A (said with some real attitude), Belda, and more I know I'm forgetting. I think she is going to be a people person... she loves attention, people and saying people's names.
Babe loves being outside... she loves playing in the clubhouse or riding in the corvette. She thinks she is such a big shot riding around with the "kids" in there. She also loves bubbles, pushing outdoor toys, and sand.
She is doing so well climbing up the stairs... almost too well. We really need to work on going down safely. Some other things she enjoys inside are: books, purses, strollers, babies, and any toy that she can carry around. She also loves being sung too... some of her fav's are: itsy bitsy spider, ABC song, Ba, Ba, Blacksheep.
Alexis is a champ eater... she loves pizza, spaghetti, milk, cheese, waffles, fruit, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and well... anything!
She is still our little peanut... and is not fitting into the 12-18 month stuff I've purchased for her OR the 18-24 month stuff her sister used at this age. So... back into the 6-12 month stuff from last year! She wears a size 5 shoe... and of course her first pair of shoes were Lelli Kelly's! Was there ever any doubt???