Sorry for the lack of posts but Lexi has been busy with basic training. Basically learning the basics. We took the walking up a notch this week by getting her some time in on the treadmill. I knew we bought that for something.

Inspired by Ok Go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA

Sometimes it’s tough when Old Man Winter comes a calling, but we don’t let him get us down. I made a small video of some of the things we do for fun.

Big thanks to Bo and Gary for the great sled, she really does love it. The snow? Not so much.

Music Credit: “It’s All Good” - Zeroleen

Dear Goose,

In so many ways it feels like a lifetime ago that you arrived and in so many others, it feels like only yesterday. One week ago it was your first birthday. In the days leading up to your birthday you could find me balling my eyes out everytime I got in the car by myself, thinking about you being a one year old. Every second it seemed I was thinking back to what I was doing at this or that time last year and remembering the dramatic way that you made your entrance into this world! I spent the week before your first birthday thinking about the first few, foggy days of having you at home with us, pulling out your tiny little onesies and comparing them to the ones you are into now, looking at pictures and videos of your homecoming, your first visitors, my swollen feet!!! We also took you to visit Dr. Hilderman and were placing bets on how heavy you were going to be! You continue to be a little peanut, weighing in at just 18. 7 and 29.5 inches. That’s still almost exactly what mommy was when she was one!

Then we were into birthday planning mode! Turning one is a big deal and we wanted to make sure that your first birthday was a celebration of the one and only you! We decided that we were going to make cupcakes for your first and then Jennifer offered to help make some fancy ones. It would be kitty cats and puppy dogs for you and I just couldn’t resist the table cloth and napkins to match! We bought a foamy crown that would be your party hat and ordered balloons. We sent out invitations to our nearest and dearest and waited for the big day. The guest list was large including grandmas and grandpas, aunties and uncles, cousins, and many friends. Jennifer and I spent the better part of Saturday creating the cupcakes and I topped off the evening by making you a kitty cat “smash it” cake while Daddy rode you around in your wagon! While I put you to bed that night, I couldn’t help but think that when you woke up the next day, you would be changed! You would be one!

The big day was extra special. You woke up at your usual time and we had a nice breakfast. Once the guests started arriving you were all over the place, playing with the cousins and checking out your cool gifts. The little girls helped to open your gifts and then they would show you what you got. You received quite a few clothes, a tea set from granny and grandpa, some new books and grandpa made you a cradle for your dollies while Nana knitted you a blanket for your new cradle. (That made mommy cry because her grandpa had made her a cradle when she was a little girl too!). Finally came time to sing you happy birthday. You sat in your seat and everyone gathered around. Mommy lit the candle on your kitty cat lemon cake and daddy almost dropped it! Then mommy re-lit the candle and we all started singing. The cousins all crowded around you and when it was time, everyone helped you to blow our your one candle. Mommy held it together through the song; probably because she cried so much before! Tristan wasted no time digging into your cake and all the little girls got in there too to show you how to do it! You kind of poked your fingers into it and watched them eat all the candy off it, but otherwise you were very clean! We took off a few pieces and fed them to you and you seemed to like it! It was your first time having cake, what a treat! You were so good all afternoon even though we had to push your nap back for a couple of hours!

Over the last week I have found myself at work feeling shocked and amazed that we now have a ONE year old! A toddling, laughing, curious, loving, sneaky, independent, goofy one year old! I am surprised by how caught off guard I feel about this! I have a one year old I would say outloud to try it on for size. Our baby turned one. The same baby that we made, delivered, brought home, fed, changed, bathed. From one day to the next, everything seemed to change  “What do you do with a one year old?” I keep asking! What do you do with a one year old who laughs at you when you, in your most serious teacher voice, ask her to sit down in the bath? What do you do with a one year old who wants to ride in the wagon and knows how to ask for it (or demand it), and won’t give up until you take her for a ride?

What do you do? You laugh and enjoy and make memories, just as we are doing! BIG Happy 1 Lexi! The last 372 days of my life with you have been the best of all.

Lovey, love, love,

Mommy xoxoxoxoxoxoox

The other night Shan and I were sitting in Lexi’s room getting her dressed and she got up and literally ran out into the hall and just looked at us, daring us to chase her. Shan looked at me and said “can you believe we have a one year old?”

Believe it. This past weekend Lexi turned one and we had a few people over to celebrate.

Music Credits:
Great Big Mind by Josh Ritter

We are really starting to get excited for Lexi’s birthday. The other night after dinner we decided it was arts and crafts time. After some foiled attempts to get an imprint of Lexi’s little hand in some clay we decided we would try the paint again. With the help of some Apple Jacks it went quite well.

Last night when I picked her up from daycare, Jennifer informed me that Lexi and Trevor did some coloring. I have tried with her already but she was more interested in eating the crayons. At daycare they have these big FATTY crayons that are no fun to eat so they become much more productive.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. People were telling me that I was going to cry all the way home after dropping her off. I have to admit I was a little scared, after-all this was the first time I was ever going to leave Lexi at someone else’s house. Someone I had met personally once, for about an hour.

Yes, Shan and I had scoped her out on New Years Day. We decided that we were a pretty good judge of character and that we wouldn’t make any quick decisions about this coming Wednesday.

We arrived at Jennifer’s house and were greeted at the door by her youngest son Trevor who looks to be the happiest baby in the world. Like if there was a planet that dropped little happy babies down to earth him and Lexi would have the same Visa. Almost immediately Lexi is right at home playing with Trevor’s cool toys and naming the cat. Shan and I start talking to Jennifer and find out that we are already doing a lot of the same things. It could not have gone any better to be honest and on the way home we both agree that we think this is it!

Could it be this easy? Have we found someone we trust already who is flexible enough to care for our child once a week at our convenience? We decide to try it out this Wednesday and let Lexi decide.

On the way there I am already planning my exit. I spoke to Jennifer and asked if I could stay for an hour and see how she does with me there at first and of course she is fine with it. When we get there I get Lex out of her car seat and into the livingroom where she immediately starts to play with Trevor. I talk to Jennifer for a bit and realize how much I over packed. She has everything, so I need to bring a couple diapers and that is about it. After about 10 mins it’s clear to me that Lexi is having fun so I go over and kiss her goodbye on the cheek. She wipes it off like a fly landed on her face and continues to play and I sneak off into the kitchen and out the door.

On the way home I think about crying but soon realize that I am much more manly than that. I pulled into 7-11 and bought some cold medicine and a Crunchy instead. I thought about her a lot on the way home but it was all good. I knew she was fine and I was happy that she was in new surroundings, playing with other kids and experiencing new things. I also wondered if she was looking for me, or would she be able to sleep there?

About 20 mins later I get an e-mail from Jennifer with an update:

Hey Tom!
Lexi is doing great her and Trevor have been having fun playing. They just had their snacks yogurt and puffs and some pear juice. Thought I’d send you a few pics. Ok we’re off to do some reading.
- Jennifer

That totally eased my mind. She even sent over another update later to let me know that Lexi was napping like a champ and ate a great lunch. What more can you ask for?

When I picked her up later in the day she was scrambling around the living room showing me all the cool stuff she had played with throughout the day. I kept trying to put her sweater on and she kept pulling away to show me more cool stuff. I thanked Jennifer for a great day and on the drive home Lexi was still talking about all the fun she had.

I can’t even tell you how happy and proud I am for her.

We’ve decided that although I am “looking” for work, I will be doing it mostly from home. I will be working Tues-Thurs and hanging out with Lexi Monday and Friday. We have found a little home daycare not too far away that Lexi will be attending on Wednesdays. It’s a nice little family and when we went to scope it out we found her little boy to be super happy and she seemed to share a lot of our ideas. When it was time to leave Lexi was scrambling around trying to get in some more play time. This week will be our first visit so I am going to hang out a bit when I drop her off and see how she does.

It is hard to believe she will be ONE this month. We are still convincing ourselves, and her.

Last night was our first NYE with Lexi. We decided we were going to change as little as possible. Out to the Moose game and then a nice dinner with some close friends. That is exactly what we did.

Lexi was great at the game. She loved the lights and sounds and flirting with all the people around us. I think I would take her again but she is only good for a couple periods so I would have to make sure I had my own car there. We could “beat the rush” as my dad used to put it. Joel hates that.

We made it home just in time to see Canada comeback from a 4-2 deficit against the US to win in a shoot-out! It was a great family New Year and even though we were all in bed before 10pm we had a great night together to say goodbye to an amazing 2009.

Dear Lexi,

The biggest and best thing that has happened this last month is that you are now upright and mobile! About a week before you turned 11 months, you started walking! It happened on a Saturday night, just as mommy was running the bath. You were hanging onto the tub and walked a few steps towards me. Daddy and I were there and watched you in shock. We were so excited that we made you do it again and again! You were excited too and for the next couple of days after that you stepped gingerly between us and then off of the furniture that you used to stand yourself up. Now, only two short weeks later, you are walking more than crawling! You have no fear and your balance is growing stronger each day. I noticed today that you are walking faster already and I know that it won’t be long now and you will be RUNNING!!!

Oh boy, you are such a ham. You love to make us laugh, especially at the dinner table. You have this little glint in your eyes that sparkles so brightly when you are entertaining us! You are also becoming quite assertive! You know exactly what you want and you are becoming really good at communicating that to us. It is really cool to see you signing so much and when you don’t have a sign for something you will point us in the right direction. You are signing “drink/milk”, “bath”, “eat”, “more”, and “all done”. It makes feeding you so much easier! The other day when you were inspecting Holly the Cat’s food and you made the sign for eat. It was really cool to get a glimpse of what is going on in your head! We have also taught you to extend the “more” sign to things beyond food now. If you want us to play the music again, you will sign it. If you want another book, you will sign it!

We are beginning to get that you are understanding about 90% of what we are saying to you! You are a GENIUS! You will respond appropriately if we ask you if you are talking on the phone, to roll the ball, to put something in a cup or bucket, to go give Vegas a kiss, to blow kisses, look out the window, dance, and where your nose, ears, hair, toes, and belly button are. If we ask you if you are happy, you will clap. If we ask you if you want a drink or to eat, you will sign back to us!

You continue to love music and dance to any tune that comes on. You just got a drum for Christmas and you will dance with that thing for almost 30 minutes or more! The newest development is that now you are “singing” along to the music. You cock your head and hum while you are dancing and it is so sweet!

Last week you went to your very first hockey game. Cousin Jordan was playing and we took you out to watch. You sat mesmerized in the arena for the first half and then I took you to the observation area to walk around a bit. There was this little girl sitting beside us and you walked right up to her, patted her arm, waved and said hi! She smiled at you and then sat down on the floor. You went back up to her and cuddled into her a couple of times! You are so friendly and love having other kids around to play with! When we were at Grandpa’s lake on Boxing Day you went toe to toe with all the cousins for the entire day without a nap! You had so much fun watching them, playing with them and playing with their toys!

In just over 3 weeks you will be turning one years old. The day that you were born was a day filled with many emotions. Relief, joy, awe, love, and curiosity about who you were. Daddy and I were watching your first born videos yesterday and it was amazing to see how tiny and new you were. Daddy said that he wished he had known you better then and it made me think about just how much you have taught us these last 11 months. Love you SO much!

Lovey, love, love,

Mommy

Dear Lexi,

You are passed out in your bed, dreaming of little peoples dancing to the beat of your new drum!

This morning you woke up just before 9 after partying it up last night, first at Granny and Grandpa’s and then at the Nolans. Daddy and I came into your room and you were happy as always and ready to start your day. Daddy carried you out to the living room where he showed you the cookies, carrots and milk that Santa had sampled last night when he was dropping off your gifts! You got to open your stocking before breakfast and you loved the reindeer stuffy and the Weebles that were in there. It took pretty much all day to open all the beautiful gifts that you received! You were interested in each thing for a while, but not really until they were unwrapped. You got into taking the bows off of each present for a while and had quite a collection going! Then Vegas unwrapped her stack of green Frisbees and you went after those like white on rice! She was lying on all 5 of them trying to keep you away from them and when you would get a hold of one she would take it away, turn around, and then you would snatch another right out from under her!

You received so many cool, new toys on your first Christmas. You got a school bus from Santa, a sweatsuit and a Team Canada Olympic jersey from mommy and daddy, books and puzzles from Grandma, a purse and pj’s from Granny and Grandpa, and a musical drum from Auntie Marcy that you spent the better part of last night dancing to! You got some legos from Jennifer and Mike, a mail truck and cute outfit from Auntie Nancy and Uncle Ralph and Tara and Paul and some money to go shopping from Auntie Lori and Uncle Kerry. Mer got you the sweetest sweater and jeans and you got an alligator xylophone from the Nolans.

It was incredibly awesome to have you with us this Christmas season! I kept reminiscing about last year at this time when Daddy and I were preparing to have our little baby. It was our last Christmas, just the two of us and I can remember sitting around commenting about how at this time the following year we would have an 11 month old with us! It seemed so far away and so hard to imagine at the time and here we are, just like that! The best gifts that we received this Christmas were definitely not the ones that we unwrapped. It was the memories that we were able to make with you and the immeasurable joy and happiness that we felt watching you experience your very first Christmas with our family, putting your first ornament on the tree, sitting on Santa’s lap for a picture, and opening your gifts (or tearing the bows off). Only three weeks from now we will be celebrating your first birthday, another huge milestone. Before that happens, I need to get my butt in gear and do your 11 month writeup! Stay tuned!