Spring- Finally

It's here. It's finally here. And hopefully for good this time. I was going to take a picture of the 6 or so inches of snow we had last week but honestly, it was just too depressing and I want to pretend it never happened. So let's talk about happy things. Like sidewalk chalk! With pretty Easter colors it should be the symbol of kids in spring. I love using the living room rocks to draw on the slate and I use the rocks outside to draw on the big boulders. So chalk should be even better, right? Wrong. Its good for eating, throwing, and even putting in the rim of the Suburban wheels but I had no interest in using it as a drawing tool.

tastes delicious

and the perfect size for throwing

And the big news of the week is that I finally say a recognizable word in context. My first word is "OOOO- TAY"who knows why I picked this one as the milestone maker but it takes the bragging rights away from mom and dad for the moment. Mom has been trying to get these impressive verbal skills on video but her timing seems to be off. She did get video of me kissing my stuffed toy with the fake kiss sound. Excuse the bedhead. I had just gotten up. 

I have been very busy playing in boxes. 

Boxes turned into cars...

Cody even drew me a windshield bc it was raining that day

Boxes that act as drawers when I'm not in them

another great hair pic

and boxes that hold cookware

Would have been really funny if I closed the door and Diane couldn't find me

This weekend we were in Denver for Hayley's dance competition and Brandon's tennis tournament. Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Steve met us out there so they got to watch me spend the American Girl giftcard they got me. I love that store.

Then we made it over to Build a Bear to use Aunt Angie's gift card

mom lined them up so I could choose which one I wanted

I picked the dog, of course

helping stuff the dog

Perfect

 Quick trip to Dave and Busters

 Drew won a giant bear for me at "the claw"

and back to a spring day in GJ

We leave Thursday for Indianapolis. Can't wait to see my friends. I have some follow up doctor appointments as well. And we will have time to make my first trip to the best children's museum ever. 

Cheers!

alexa

13 months

Current stats

Weight- 19#
Height- 27 inches
Word count- 0. I still babble up a storm but the words mean whatever you would like them to mean
New Tricks- throwing a ball, giving kisses with a fake "kiss" sound, courtesy laughs at appropriate times, starting to run, better on skis
Favorite Foods- All of them. I eat lots of fruits and veggies. And I still wake mom up every 2-4 hours during the night for formula. What can I say, I'm a very hungry girl. And as I've said before, mom would miss me if she had to go 8 hours without seeing me.

I want to be held 24/7. This is how I let mom know

This is how I REALLY let her know. She caves every time

I even help her get the blue wrap ready which cheers me up quickly

My St. Patrick's Day dress

budding soccer star

Wearing my adorable dress made by Jenni Jackson. Which leaf should I eat?

We were travelling on my second Easter but the Easter bunny brought our baskets. Here I am in the same pose as last year. Wow

 2012

2013

Brandon is on the homeschool track team. I get to go to practice with him. I enjoy the warm up stretches and socializing with the team. I'm very helpful

The boys think I'm pretty cool too

We went to Telluride for closing weekend so I got one last run in. I was much more stable on the reg run so mom just had to push my legs to keep my small skis moving the through the wet snow. It was much easier on her back this time. Dad has the video on his phone. I will put a portion of it on the next entry. I got to ride the real chair lift for the first time. The ski stayed on, but my tiny foot slipped out of the boot as we were getting on. Luckily it was before the chair came so we just carried it up.

In other news, I have outgrown the baby bathtub and moved on to the laundry basket set up. Its a great transition to the big tub. Its safer because if I start to slip I can just grab onto the sides, and my toys stay within arms reach.

works standing up too

The temp finally made it back up to 65 to give us one nice day before it gets cold and rainy again. I took full advantage of it and started the day playing tennis with Brandon and Kim Black.

Then went to the park playground while Brandon was at track. Its been a while since mom has had a toddler at a playground. She dressed me in what were white sleeves until I started digging to find the best rocks to taste. Now they are more of a tan color.

first time on the swing. Good for about 2 minutes

Not much else to report. Hopefully this week will be the last of the cold weather and I can play outside a lot more. I'm ready to start camping too.

Cheers!

alexa

Home from Hawaii... a while ago

I think I have seasonal depression. The only thing worse than cold weather is freezing weather in April after being able to play outside for a couple weeks. Now suddenly I am expected to entertain myself inside again. Spring was here, and now it is not. That's all I have to say. 

Hawaii was amazing and I cannot wait to go back. It was definitely a test run for mom and dad to see how I would deal with two long overnight flights, jet lag, and sleeping in my portable crib set up in the alcove to the bathroom. I not only passed every test, I exceeded everyone's best case scenario. I am a seasoned traveller so I don't really know why they doubted my ability to rally in a place like Hawaii. Here are some views from our hotel room. Truly amazing

The biggest challenge for mom and dad was the fact that my head (and therefore my body) actually fit through the balcony railing. I'm no design engineer but it seems if they regulate the slat spacing on cribs, a balcony should have at least the same considerations. We had a little rain but overall it was nice warm weather. Here are a couple more pics of the trip

adjusting my bucket

my bedroom on the beach

frozen cotton candy- no one shared w me

Pearl harbor with the Clifford family

not sure about the water just yet

Much better way to be in the water

Hayley said she would teach me how to do this next year when my arms can reach above my head

Polynesian culture ctr in the rain

March madness was fun to watch. Up until IU lost in the sweet 16. I did my part to show my team spirit. Thank you Hensley family for making sure I was well prepared for the tournament

I passed the 13 month mark in the time it took to get this post up so another one will follow quickly.

Cheers

alexa

Happy Birthday to Me

And just like that, my first year is history.  Aside from getting a tiny bit taller, I am exactly the same as I was at 11 months. No new teeth, word count remains zero, I still love all food, and I still wake up every 3-4 hours at night to eat. 

We celebrated with a great party. Mom says not to get used to these kinds of birthday parties because I won't see another one like it. And anyone who knows my mom knows she isn't lying. So I savored every minute of it. As always, Miss Traci provided the birthday costume. If you look in my mouth in the pictures, I was also eating the hot pink tutu. No one noticed until the pictures busted me.

My new bike. I just need to grow about 6 more inches

My amazing jungle animal cake. The top was mine, and everyone else shared the bottom. We could even eat the animals

Kenra teaching me to use the blow toy

I think I got it

More decorations than this house has ever seen

My cake

Yum

My friends

My extended family couldn't make it out but they will get to celebrate with me soon. My grandparents in Indiana sent me money to use later

ripping open the card

And my grandparents in California obviously can't wait to take me to the American Girl store. Check out the fancy way AG sends gift cards

I got lots of other great gifts too.  Big kid toys are so much more fun than teethers and rattles. 

Thank you to everyone who made this such a memorable year. To say it was eventful for the Keller family is quite an understatement. Life is Good.

Up next...my first Spring Break trip. 

ALOHA!

alexa