Lexi Visits Mommy's Work...Again

Last week when Nana was watching Lexi the two of them were downtown....and Nana was nice enough to think about bringing Lexi to my work for a visit. As you might imagine my coworkers are always begging me to bring her in, but it's really not all that convenient to do so, so when Nana offered I was really excited.

Lexi is going through this weird shy stage right now. She's never been a shy child, but at my work she wanted me to hold her and whenever anyone can to say hi to her she would bury her head in my neck. I had never seen her do that before. I guess we've entered yet another stage. After about 10 minutes and my coworker Patrick giving her a ball to play with, she opened up and returned to her affable self.

She loves sitting in my work chair and looking around my office. This time she looked at all the photos and pointed out who was in each picture. She even remembered Jaya and Dee from her former babysitter's house. I was shocked!

Cheeky monkey!!!

I had a box of Crispix cereal in my office which she devoured during her visit.

Lexi's 2nd Haircut!!!

Lexi was beginning to look like Cousin It once again and it was becoming more and more difficult to comb her hair. So yesterday while the turkey was cooking we all decided to take a trip down to little clippers to have Lexi's hair cut for the second time. She had a true cheering section....Nana, Bop, Daddy, Mommy and Auntie Rachel. It was her nap time and I wasn't sure how she was going to do, but we got through it. At first she was pretty upset but after much coaxing and a Barney video we managed to get the job done.

Here she is with Auntie Rachel in the car on the way there....both wearing their hats "hahts". Lexi is obsessed with hats right now.

She's not too sure what to think about this hair cutting experience but she has her balloon which is appeasing her....at least for the time being.

Although I would like her hair to grow long someday....right now it's just too hard. And I have to admit....I love the cut bop angled cut on little girls....especially curly haired little girls. So I decided to cut it short again. I'll maybe let her hair grow long when she gets a little older.

So right after her haircut she wanted to put on auntie Rachel's hat. She also got a blue lollipop as a reward for being a good girl....which she LOVED of course.

Who's one? Meeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Blue lips, teeth, tongue..............mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good!

Grumpy faces............

And the finished product....side view.

And the view from the back.............oodles of curls.

Thanksgiving at Nana and Bop's

We spent Friday at Rick and Nancy's house and celebrated Thanksgiving for the second time with them. It was great. Rachel and Brian were down from Seattle and we all had a really nice time. Lexi was a bit of a bear yesterday with on and off tantrums....but I did manage to get a few photos of her looking happy and cute.

Nana scored this cool slide cube at a yard sale a few weeks ago for ten bucks and Lexi loves it! She's very proud of herself when she climbs up and slides down and wants everyone to acknowledge her achievements....as usual.

Lexi is getting more and more comfortable going up and down the stairs. It won't be long before she's climbing up and down all on her own.

Okay...so this is just a cute shot. Nothing more.

It's amazing how much this girl LOVES apples "ahpoos". She can eat an entire large apple in one sitting.

Wardrobe change.....Lexi playing with Bop and the yalmukes. This is a favorite pass time.

Fuzzy hat..........she so needs one of these.

I just climbed up the slide! Horray! I'm a big girl now! I feel the sudden urge to clap.

Graham Thanksgiving and Big Strong Daddy Push Ups

Seth, Lexi and I spent Thursday at Gini's house in Vancouver, WA. The entire Graham clan was there and we had a lovely time. Lexi discovered that she LOVED dipping carrots in ranch sauce and must have eaten 2 dozen carrots during our visit. Here's a photo of me catching her in the act.

And her scurrying away from the scene......

We were all surprised by James being there. He told everyone that the Army messed up his paperwork and that he wouldn't be able to come, but it was all a hoax and we were graced with his presence. It was great to see him and it's apparent that the Army has been good for him. He seems so much more grown up and mature. And he's in super duper shape. Boot camp has made him very physically fit....here he is doing push ups with Virginia on his back....this started a trend (see next photo).

Seth felt like he had to join in and Lexi LOVED it. She had a huge smile on her face the entire time. Seth said though that the push ups were harder for him that they appeared for James. :-)

Okay boys....look this way! Yeah, it does look easier for James than it does for Seth doesn't it? :-)

Portland Children's Museum

Last Tuesday we took Lexi to the Portland Children's museum and she had a ball! We had never been and the place was amazing! It was crawling with children and there were so many fun exhibits. It was a kid's dream for sure. Since we are entering the rainy season we decided to buy a membership so we have somewhere to take her on icky weather days. I'm sure there will be many fun times to be had there over the coming year.

They have a HUGE water exhibit which Lexi loved! Every time we'd go to a different part of the museum Lexi would want to go back and would ask "wawa?". We went back several times.

She also loved going in and out of this bus. Why is it that kids are so obsessed with buses? I guess that's a good thing because I'm sure someday she'll be riding one. You've gotta reduce that carbon footprint, ya know. :-)

President Obama!

We cannot even begin to tell you just how ecstatic we are about Obama winning the election. We are still floating on cloud 9! Nothing better could have happened for this country.

On election night Seth and I went to his parents house to watch the results. They had some of their friends over and we all celebrated. Here's a great photo of the group (with MSNBC in the background) just after Obama's win was announced. That was SUCH an awesome night!

Seth and I have been on the Obama bandwagon since the VERY beginning. In fact....we attended one of the first Obama rallies here in Portland on September 9th, 2007 when Lexi was only 6 months old. Seth actually shook his hand at this event and I remember us saying back then...."wouldn't it be cool if you could say that you once shook the president's hand?". Well, now he CAN actually say that! Pretty cool stuff!

Unfortunately I was unable to get a photo of he and Seth because there were too many people in the way....but I did get pretty close as you could see.

I LOVE Oregon! It's the BEST state in the union!

Potty Training!

So....we're starting to think about potty training. Right now Lexi is interested in sitting on her potty chair and seems to get excited about pulling down her pants and trying, but has not yet produced any real results. She does put some effort into it though....so much so that you can hear her tooting. :-) I'm sure she's going to hate me when she gets old enough to look back on these posts. :-)

This was the weekend before the election and Seth and I took Lexi out to run some errands. We of course decked her out in her "Vote for my Better Tomorrow" t-shirt complete with and Obama/Biden sticker on the back. How could we not?

This photo cracks me up! Lexi on the potty with her boa and a sultry look on her face. Hilarious!

Pasta Marinara a la Duck

Okay...so I admit it...I am a bit anal when it comes to Lexi getting her clothes dirty. I am especially anal when it comes to stains. I just want to keep her clothes looking nice for as long as possible, what's wrong with that? :-)

Anyhow...Lexi is going through a phase where she refuses to wear a bib and we were having pasta for dinner. That is a recipe for disaster! So I convinced her that it would be really cool to wear mommy's U of O t-shirt while she was eating. She loved it! Now every time she sees a t-shirt she gets all excited and says "tee shit" and wants to put it on. I'm not sure that was the best thing to teach her. :-)

Mmmmmm......good!

Don't you love the sticker on her face? It really adds to the whole package, doesn't it?

Friends in Fall

This has been one of the most beautful fall seasons I've ever experienced here in Oregon. It's been warm, dry (for the most part) and sooooo colorful.

The other day I pulled into our driveway after work and could not help but sit outside and play with Lexi in the leaves on our front lawn. The neighbor kids across the street took notice and decided to join us. That made for a fun afternoon.

Josiah lives across the street and LOVES Lexi. He just wants to hug and play with her all the time. It's cute but he can be a bit rough. Here he is hugging Lexi....I'm not 100% certain she liked it. :-)

Josiah's sister Hannah is only a few months older than Lexi. I'm guessing since they are so close in age and live across the street from each other, they will end up being good friends. Lexi is finally now starting to be interested in really playing with other kids. Here's a photo of Hannah chasing Lexi across the lawn. Looks like they're having fun to me!

Bicycle Riding with Bop

At the end of this past summer Nana and Bop bought a child's seat for Bop's bicycle.....and Lexi LOVES going for rides with Bop! She's been on several rides so far and each time asks for "moe" (aka more) when Bop comes to a stop. Watching them go up and down the street is precious. Lexi especially loves her hat (aka helmet) and wants to wear it even when they aren't riding on the bike. In fact...the other day, Lexi and I were at Target and we went down the bicycle helmet aisle and she kept pointing and saying "hat, hat, hat, hat". I don't know why, but that child is obsessed with hats!

As always...Big also goes along for the ride.