Birthday Festivities

It was fun to see how excited Alexis got about her birthday. I was up until 1 the night before getting things ready for her party and for her birthday. I was thinking that she would wake up early, but luckily she slept in, so I was able to get a little bit more sleep then I had thought I would. Here is a picture I snapped of her birthday table the night before, after I put it together.
When she finally woke up she ran straight downstairs to see her table.

In my family growing up, we were only allowed to open one present when we woke up. I tried to instill that same tradition in out little family but was quickly out voted!

This next picture is a little blurry, but I had to post it anyways. Alexis was so excited when she opened up a present from Levi and found three packs of Gomus (these little eraser things that come in all different kinds of shapes that come apart.) She immediately reached over the table to give Levi a hug. Lately these two always seem to be at each others throats so this was a pleasant sight to see =)

Alexis has really been wanting a locket, so she was thrilled when she opened a present and found a new jewelry box with a locket hanging inside.

I think it's so funny, some of the toys kids love these days. Here she is with her zhu zhu pet babies that Tori got her. She has been wanting some fore quite some time!

After opening presents and eating her cereal of choice (Cocoa Puffs) we quickly started finishing getting ready for her party. About a month ago, Tori went to a baking party, and I thought it was such a cute idea. I was glad that Alexis liked the idea just as much. I had a fun time planning it, and I think everyone had great time. As the girls arrived, we had a jar filled with little cookies (I forgot to get a picture) they each had to guess how many cookies were inside. The winner got to take the jar home. After that they each decorated a pot holder with puffy paint. They got really creative and used a lot of paint! Here are a few pictures of that, and a rare picture of Alexis with her new glasses on. She is still getting used to them, so she only will wear them for short periods of time before she needs a break.

While they were decorating the potholders I got the pizza making station ready.

Here they are making their own pizzas. You can see Brandon's mom in the background. She helped at the party, and was a real lifesaver. Everything ran so smoothly and I know it was because of her help. I wasn't expecting her to come over until later in the day, but as I was rushing around getting things ready she showed up, and said what can I do to help! Later on she told me that when she got up that morning she had the thought, I need to be over helping Diana. It was totally inspired I know! My mom was going to come help me with the party, when I asked her she said yes with no hesitation even though she was busy trying to get ready to go out of town. But when Jana showed up, I text her and told her that she didn't need to come over yet , and it turned out to be a blessing for her too, because she still needed to get a lot of things done for her trip. Just another one of those tender mercies! =)

OK, back to the party.....

While the pizzas were cooking the girls got to each juice a lemon for our homemade lemonade we were making. I have never made homemade lemonade before, and was a little nervous about how it would taste, but it actually turned out really good!

By the time the lemons were all juiced and the lemonade was made, the pizzas were ready, and it was time to eat! I was so pleased with how the pizzas turned out!

Next, we headed outside to decorate cupcakes, and decorate they did! I made enough cupcakes for them each to decorate four. They could choose from chocolate, strawberry and funfetti. They really got into decorating them, and made some pretty interesting concoctions. They each ate one and brought the rest home =)

I had another game planned after that. It was a smelling a tasting game where they had to be blindfolded and guess what they were tasting and smelling. I gave them the option of playing the game, or playing outside, and they opted to play outside. That was fine with me, because it gave me a chance to take a little breather. They had so much fun playing on our swing that Brandon made. I didn't get pictures though!! =(

Alexis was dying to open presents , so after a little while everyone headed back inside.
All of her friends got her such thoughtful presents. It was so fun to see Alexis open them. She was so excited about each one, and immediately gave each friend a hug after opening their present.

I had to throw in this picture, because it totally looks like Brandon is torturing poor Lisa, which he probably was! He had so much fun playing with the kids, and was a big help in keeping them entertained =)

Oh, I have to include this picture of Misty! Before the party started Alexis said she was going to get Misty in her party dress, and she came back dressed like this! LOL She fits perfectly in their Build a Bear outfits =) Misty was quite a hit at the party too, and luckily was a good sport about it!

Towards the end of the party Grandma and Grandpa and Michael stopped by to say happy birthday and give Alexis a great present! They signed her up for a sewing kids camp at Joanns. She will get to bring her sewing machine, and learn some basic sewing techniques, and then make a pillow case. Grandma is going to take her shopping before hand to pick out some fabric to bring. Alexis was so excited about this =)

Well that was the party in a nut shell. I was really worried about how things would come together, but I couldn't have asked for things to go any better. Alexis was so happy, and that makes all the planning and stressing worth it =)

I was so tired after the party, so I attempted to rest a little, but that was short lived, because Alexis was anxious to go to Build a Bear and use her gift certificates that we gave her to there. Her and I went, and had so much fun picking out a bunny, getting it stuffed, and then trying on (a ton) of outfits trying to find the perfect one. Once again, I didn't get pictures! darn it! Rest assured it was fun! =)

While we were gone, Brandon made her dinner of choice, spaghetti, and when we got home we ate it, and then she got to finally blow out her candles on her birthday cake.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!

We love you Lexi! =)

Double Digits

Today, Alexis turns 10! Wow! She is so excited, but I am feeling a little bit sad, and nostalgic. I still remember clearly the day she was born. Brandon and I were so young. I was 19, he had just turned 21. We were so excited and anxious for her to arrive. We had no idea what to expect, but we were ready for anything. I remember starting to have contractions around 5:30 in the morning on Sunday June 10. I woke up Brandon, and we started timing them. Over the course of the morning they started getting stronger and stronger. I remember taking a shower so I could feel nice and clean when I went to the hospital. Around noon we decided to head to the hospital. But not before Brandon stopped at McDonald's to get some food! We stopped by Brandon's parents house first to see if they thought I was really in labor. Jana took one look at me and said, Oh yeah! When we got to the hospital we had to check in at the ER department because it was a Sunday. Although I had preregistered months before, they didn't have our information so we had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. After we were done they asked me if I wanted a wheel chair. I said no. I have no idea why! I would never turn down a wheelchair now! I remember walking through the hall towards labor and delivery and having to stop quite frequently because I was having a contraction. When we got there, they got us situated in a room and when they checked me I was at a 3. I was so excited!! I couldn't believe this was really happening! My labor progressed quickly at first and so we called our families and they all came down. They were there the whole day and late into the night until she finally arrived at 1:15 am on June 11th. At one point they thought that I might need a C-section because she wasn't progressing down the birth canal, and with every contraction her heart rate would go down. I was able to get a priesthood blessing and shortly after, she started to progress. It was a long and hard labor, and by the end Brandon and another nurse had to hold me up so I could push. After an hour and a half of pushing they decided she was going to need some help out and decided to use forceps. I didn't really know what that meant but all I knew was I wanted her out! When she was born she had a cut right next to her eye from the forceps. That really scared me to think that it was so close to her eye. I remember when they placed her on my stomach I could not believe how perfect she looked. She looked like a real person! And she came out of me! I remember thinking. It was so surreal. A few minutes later the huge group of family that had been sitting in the hall for hours, got to come and see our precious baby girl. Everyone was so excited to see her. When we finally got moved up to a room we were so exhausted. The nurse said that she would take Alexis to the nursery so that I could get some rest, and that they would bring her in when she needed to nurse. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 8:30 am. I wondered why they had never brought her back to me, and so I called the nurses station. They told me that shortly after she had come back to the nursery, she started turning blue and they had to rush her down to the nicu where she still was (why they didn't come get us when this happened still baffles us) Brandon rushed down there right away to find her hooked up to all sorts of tubes and machines. It turned out that she had some apnea and would need to be monitored closely until they could get her breathing under control. She ended up needing to stay in the hospital for 5 days. They were so nice to let me stay in a room on the nicu floor even after I was discharged from the hospital. It was a scary few days, and we were so excited when we finally got the OK to bring her home. That was the beginning of a whole new life. I remember when we got home from the hospital, sitting on the couch and having the thought that my life would never be the same, and it sure hasn't, but that is fine with me! Alexis has been such a joy, and we love her so much. As she turns 10 this year here are some things I want to remember about her:

~ She has a smile that will light up a room. Her teacher this past year told me that she looked forward every day to seeing Alexis's smiling face =)
~ Recently she is loving learning how to cook different things.
~ She loves to tell jokes. She knows a ton of really long ones =)
~ She loves to read, and is currently reading the Babysitters Club Little Sister books that her aunt Katie gave her.
~ She is my least picky eater.
~She is still just a teeny little thing. We keep telling her that it is a good thing and someday she will love it.
~She loves to ride her bike.
~She loves to listen to any kind of story that anyone wants to tell her.
~ She loves hugs, and will often come up and ask for a hug.
~She loves when we read the scriptures and comprehends them really well.
~She just got glasses and is very excited. She said everything looks so clear! She keeps pointing out all of the dirty spots all over the house that she never saw before, lol

~When she sees that I am stressed she asks what she can do to help (most of the time)

~She is loving her musical theatre class, and loves to sing.

~She is starting 5th grade in the fall, and so excited to start at a new school

~She loves animals and says when she grows up she wants to be a veterinarian

~She loves little stuffed animals

~She is so good with little kids. She is such a great helper to me when I am watching daycare kiddos and was great with Lyla when she was here visiting recently

~ She thinks about things really in deptly and has a lot of great insight

~She is always saying, "It's like....." and then going off on a huge tangent about something that might happen.

~She loves giving our little dog misty a bath.

~She is a great creative writer. She wrote some really good stories at school this past year.

~She is really good at spelling words backwards, which a lot of people can't do very easily.

~She loves playing games, and making up games

~She loves to sew, and loves making outfits for her stuffed animals

~We love her so much and can't imagine life without her!

Happy Birthday Alexis!!! =)