Go Lady K's!

Grandpa is coaching the Norwell Knights volleyball team again this year!  We have had lots of fun going to watch some games already, including a hard-fought win against HNHS!  Lex likes the games WAY more this year than she did last year.:)

Our little fam watching the game

Grandpa's cutest little fans!

Grandma and Grandpa and their grandbabies in blue and gold!

These two must be the cutest cheerleaders EVER!:)

Catching Up

Time to play catch up on this little blog!:)

I tried my hand at making Grandma Drewes' cinnamon rolls!  They turned out pretty well, but I might need to try them a few hundred more times to get as good as her at making them!:)

Last weekend, we had Ladies' Day Out at the Vine.  It was a really fun day and Mom and I got to hang out with Brittany.  She got all kinds of pampering and beautification!:)

Lex and I with the ironwood dolphin from Grandpa and Grandma Drewes.  She loves to "pet" the dolphin!

Bryan and Lex with his ironwood eagle! 

One random side note: On vacation, Grandma Drewes told me that she has a motto that she lives by: "Use it up, wear it out, make do, live without!" 

Miss Lillian turned two!  She wore her sweet cupcake birthday bow on her special day!:)

We got to celebrate her birthday with a fun Dora the Explorer brunch party!

Alexis got her first "pony tail!"  It is super tiny, but awfully cute.:)

Our little punky pie learned how to plug her ears!  The only times I've seen her do it are in the car when both Bryan and me are in there...already figured out how to tune us out?!:)

Bryan had his annual fantasy football draft at Jon's house!

Bry also got to have a fun night away at Promise Keepers with some guys from church.  Here he is with Rob Roller and Tyler Ottinger watching Jeremy Camp perform!

Alexis, the Cookie Maker!

Last week, Alexis got to make cookies with Mommy for the first time!  We had so much fun!

She liked "helping" with the ingredients.  We made soft chip cookies with butterscotch chips...yummy!

She practiced stirring...

...with an empty bowl and spatula, of course!

We used our stand mixer and Lex loved to watch it!

I tried my best to get a decent selfie of the two of us, but somebody was very fascinated with what was going on with the mixer!  Ha!

She loved standing up in her high chair so she could see what was going on.

She had to taste test the butterscotch chips...

...and a little bite of the cookie dough!  She approved of both!

She also whole-heartedly approved of the final product!  I can't wait to bake with my girl again!:)

Baby #2: 25/26 Weeks!

My goodness, these weeks are flying by!  I completely missed week 25, but I'm back on track for week 26!:)

 

How Far Along: 26 Weeks

 

Size of baby: The baby weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and is about 14 inches long from head to heel, about the size of a scallion!

Gender: It's a GIRL!  Still working on a name for this sweet girl...

Maternity Clothes: Wearing maternity pants and any shirt that is long enough to cover me up!Getting ready to transition into fall clothes here before long, which will be a very welcome change from my rotation of about 5 summer outfits!:)

Weight gain: 28 pounds

Belly button: Still in.

Movement: All.the.time!

Sleep: This was not a great week for sleeping.  I just couldn't get very comfortable and was very restless most nights. 

Symptoms: Oh my, this was the week for symptoms!  I've been SO blessed with easy pregnancies so it is difficult to complain AT ALL, but I was ready to see this week go away!:)  I haven't been sleeping well, my belly is just uncomfortable (I think baby girl is doing some serious growing and my body just needs to stretch out!), and I've got some varicose veins in my left leg that have been bothering me a lot.  The veins start right at the top of my thigh and go down through my leg.  One day, the vein that bulges the most started stinging a lot, in addition to the throbbing that it has been doing for a while now.  I've just learned to sit down when I can!  It's really not that bad...anything for my sweet girl!:)

Cravings: Nothing in particular right now, just food and lots of it.:)

Best Moment This Week: Any moment that I had my feet up in my recliner watching my baby girl move around in my belly!

Alexis: 16 Months Old!

It's been a while since I've done an Alexis update and I thought it was time!  She is now 16 months old and busier than ever!  She changes so much all the time and we are just loving this age.  She is sweet, funny, and ornery to beat the band! 

Here are some things that she's up to these days:

• Not sure about her weight/height stats, but she's definitely growing!  She currently wears 12-18 month clothes, size 4/5 shoes, and size 4 diapers.
• She eats 3 meals a day, with an occasional snack if we are out and about.  She eats oatmeal with baby food mixed in for breakfast and a variety of things for lunch and supper.  Her favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, applesauce, chips, pizza, potato casserole, goldfish, oyster crackers, grapes, bananas, peaches, and pasta w/ red sauce.  She eats those things almost without fail.  Other things are pretty much hit and miss!  She has started to like milk much better and drinks it at most meals.  She loves to drink water in between!
• She sleeps through the night from usually about 8:30pm-7:30am.  She usually takes a ~1 hour nap in the morning and ~2 hour nap in the afternoon, but that has not been the case for the past couple of weeks.  I think she's trying to give up her morning nap...waaaahhhhh!!!;)
• She still wears her sleep sack when she sleeps.  She sleeps with her two minky blankets, a binky in her mouth, and a binky in each hand.:)
• She has several nicknames: Lex, Lexi, 'Lexis, Stinkus-Minkus (Daddy's), Alexis Cam-diddly-ampbell (also Daddy's), Schnooker Sweets (yep, Daddy's), Punky/Punky Pie (Mommy's), Baby Girl, Little One (Grampy's)
• She jabbers all the time, but doesn't have a very extensive understandable vocabulary yet.:)  She can say mama, daddy, and uh-oh regularly and consistently.  She has also said doggy, ball, bye, and go.  Lately, she has started saying "here you go" that sounds like all one word.:)  She can understand a LOT of what we say to her...she doesn't always listen, but we're working on that!  Ha!
• She loves to read!  Her favorite books are Pat the Bunny, I Love You Goodnight, Brown Bear Brown Bear, I Love You, Play-Time Noah, Puppy, Little Quack Loves Colors, and many others.  She brings a book to one of us and then promptly proceeds to sit down on our lap.:)  She loves to help turn the pages!
• She still LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  It is by far her favorite thing to watch on TV.  In fact, it's about the only thing that will capture her undivided attention.  She can be somewhat entertained by Doc McStuffins, Dora the Explorer, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins, and VeggieTales.
• She loves to be outside and has really started to pick up on us saying "go outside" or "go bye-bye."  She runs to the door and just waits for us to open it!
• She loooooooves to throw anything and everything she can get her hands on!  She might be the "ball bully" in the church nursery.:)  She loves balls!!!
• She likes playing with her friends and is always so happy to see her cousins.  She likes to pull Lill's hair and pet Brody on the head.
• She knows where "the baby" is and likes to try to pull Mommy's shirt up to see the belly...even in the middle of the grocery store.:)
• She can point to her belly, head, nose, ears, eyes, and mouth.  She has to be in the mood to do it though!
• She loves to hang out with her favorite babysitters...her family!  She is happy to be left with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Michele and Uncle Shane, Aunt Kate and Ty, or Grammy and Grampy.  She is not a fan of the church nursery, currently.:/
• She loves music and loves to dance. 
• She still isn't much of a snuggler, but will do it more often now than she used to.  She loves to give out kisses and hugs!

Our sweet Alexis,

 

We love you more now than ever before and that is just so hard to believe!  You make us laugh and smile every single day.  We love to watch you continue to grow, even though it makes us kind of sad that you are doing it so fast.  We are so proud of you, baby girl!  You are our best first baby! 

 

We love you!

 

Mama and Daddy:)

A Great Monday?!

You know, Monday gets a pretty bad rap as far as days of the week go.  But this particular Monday has been so wonderful!  Not for any reason in particular, but just because Alexis was sweet and happy all day and we had tons of fun together!

 

I have been wanting to let her paint for a while now and we finally did it today!  We used plain greek yogurt (edible, but not too tasty) with just a drop or two of food coloring in it as the paint.  It worked great!  

 

We started out with a paintbrush, but she also used her fingers quite a bit.:)

She loved it!!!

We see this silly, toothy grin a lot these days!

She only tried to eat the "paint" once or twice, which I thought was pretty darn good. 

Her very first masterpiece!  After it dries, it's definitely going on the fridge.;)

This evening, we decided to take a picnic supper to the park and have some fun!

Alexis went down a slide completely by herself for the first time!  I think she liked it!

We had a yummy supper after we played for a while.  It was the perfect night for a picnic!

Alexis also had her very first Squeeze-It tonight.  She very, very rarely drinks anything but milk or water so this was a pretty big treat!:)

She had fun swinging with her daddy.

Me and my girl(s)!:)

 

Daddy was hitting some golf balls and Lex thought she'd like to try...until she threw a big fit!  Ha!

 

We had a fabulous Monday!!!

Siesta Scripture Memory Team: Verse 16

Here's my verse for this time around:

"Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."  Revelation 3:20

Lynne Ford read this verse at our women's retreat in February and accompanied it with the most distinct knocking sound.  She repeated it several times and it has stuck with me since then.  I just love that this verse reminds us that God WANTS to be a part of our lives and He will gladly join ANYONE who answers His call!

Weekend O' Fun!

Last weekend was one of the most fun weekends I've had in a loooooooong time!  I had been looking forward to it for months and I was more excited about it on Friday than I get about Christmas these days!:)

We started out on Friday night by going to the Hillsong Live concert in FW with some of our best friends!  We ate at Casa's before we went.  Thus began a theme of good friends and good food throughout the entire weekend.:)

Lucas and Anna and me and my hubs!

Jon & Nicole

Shane & Michele

Heather & Nick

Our whole group after the concert was over.  It was my first concert and I liked it a lot!  It was awesome to get to worship with so many other people.

After a late night Friday night, Saturday dawned bright and early for a GIRLS' DAY!!!  We had very few plans, but we knew we just wanted a day away with no worries.  We met at my house at 8am.  We had one stipulation...we had to have Cecelia home by 3am on Sunday.  It started out as a joke at the beginning, but as the day wore on it was obvious that we were going to enjoy every minute we had!  We started out at Starbucks for breakfast and drinks.

Then, we went to Clay Terrace Mall in Carmel and enjoyed the gorgeous day while we shopped around.  We ate at Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza for lunch and it was delicious! 

Cecelia, Nicole, Chanda, Heather, Anna, me, and Michele

We went to Keystone and did some more shopping.  We also got various late afternoon snacks in the form of frozen yogurt, French fries, sushi, and milkshakes...not all consumed by one person, of course.:)  Anna and I had tons of fun, but our pregnant selves did a lot of sitting down towards the end of our shopping day!  Ha!

After a quick stop at TJ Maxx/Homegoods, we went to PF Chang's for a late dinner.  It was delicious, as always!

After dinner, we stopped by The Cheesecake Factory and got dessert to take home to our hubbies.  I think we made it back home around 2am!  It was the most awesome day.  We were so thankful that our kiddos were being well taken care of by their daddies so that we could have a day away to recharge.  It was exactly what we all needed!  Hopefully there will be more days like this in our future!:)