Stop!

Last night as I was going to bed I noticed the date on my alarm clock, March 22. Then it hit me that the next day was the 23rd. I didn't want to go to bed. If I went to bed today would come and Lexi would be 17 months old. I wanted time to stop. I enjoy my time with Lexi so much! She is at such a fun age and time is going by way too fast! She is my best buddy and I love her so much.

Hike #1 Fay's Canyon Arch

We have been enjoying spring like weather (high 50's) and have been anxious to enjoy the great outdoors. We decided to purchase a hiking carrier and a red rock season pass so we can do some hiking in Sedona. It's kind of ironic that we did this because on our first date I told Cole I hate hiking. Although it still isn't my favorite thing to do, I am learning to enjoy it. I think it is a really good family activity. I was worried that Lexi would throw a fit. She screamed at first when we put her in the carrier but once we got going she didn't make a sound. All in all it was a fun day and we will be doing it a lot more. Fay's canyon arch was pretty and we made it all the way to the top.

With the warmer weather Lexi has loved playing in the backyard.

I just had to throw this picture on here too. This is Lexi's best friend. She has so much fun playing with him and they laugh so hard when they are together.

Fancy Hair and Shoes

Lexi's hair is long enough that it needs to be done everyday or it is in her eyes. I cut off the mullet a few weeks ago so it looks really full in the back now. I've been getting sick of our usual hairstyles so we've been trying some new "fancier" ones.

She has been really good to let me do them. I put her in her bumbo with some treats on it and let her watch Curious George and she's in heaven. She only gets upset if I block her view of George in the process.

She found my high heals on Sunday and loved wearing them. She would walk around the house in them with a big grin on her face. Cole says that before you know it Lexi and I will be sharing shoes (at least sooner than most mothers and daughters with my small feet). She also found my snow boots and loved wearing them.

Independent

Yesterday for Cole's birthday my wonderful friend, Jen, offered to watch Lexi for us so we could go to dinner. Those of you who know me know I don't have people watch Lexi very often (like only twice). She has always had such a hard time when I leave that I can't enjoy my time away so I stopped doing it. Well, since Jen is one of the best Moms I know and Lexi loves her little boy I tried it. I was worried while we were gone and didn't know what I'd come back to. Well, when I got there to pick her up she was upstairs playing and didn't want anything to do with me. (No running to greet me with excitment) Not quite the reaction I was expecting. She was fine that I was gone. This is a good thing...right? Well that night I was feeling really sad but couldn't pin point why. Then it hit me. My little girl was becoming more independent and it kind of hurt. I've always wanted her to be able to do well when I'm away, but when it finally happened it made me feel bad. I know it's what needs to happen but I didn't know growing up would be so hard...on me:)

Cutie

Just some cute pictures of Lexi. She loves to play in cupboards.


She thought it was great when she figured out she could put her hands down her diaper.

I made this skirt for her. It was a lot of fun and she looked so cute in it.

Just being silly and cute!

16 months old

Lexi is now 16 months old. I have really learned to enjoy this stage and have so much fun with her. After she turned 15 months old (and I told the doctor that she wasn't a picky eater) she started spitting out everything we would give her. She only has about 6 foods she will eat right now so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I got a new calling and am now it Young Womens. This has been really good for me and also very challenging It has made me realize how rare this time I have with Lexi is right now and has helped me find a lot more joy in it. It has also made me fearful for the teenage years:) I was reading in Nephi about the tree of life and how Lehi saw two of his sons stray from the iron rod. It made me cry because now that I am a mother I can see how painful it must be when you have wayward children. I really hope Lexi can gain a testimony and make good choices. I love Lexi so much and am so grateful for her. I love being a Mom and have a lot of fun doing it. Lexi has a few new tricks:

-She signs more and can say more

-She tries to do the actions to the songs we sing

-She tries to jump and thinks she's so cool when she does it

-She knows when you say pray or amen she should fold her arms and loves it when we pray

-She likes to walk independently in stores and looks at all the other babies in the carts to brag.

-She loves shoes! She loves to put them on and gets really frustrated if she can't get them on. We went through some hand me downs I have for her and she would try on each pair and walk around the house to try them out. She loved it.

-She can walk around our entire block and loves it.

Visitors and Our House

A few weeks ago Cole's Grandparents came to visit us on their way to Mexico. It was so fun to have them stay with us. Lexi really warmed up to Grandma Bingham and giggled with her a lot.
The whole gang. Sorry it's blury

Since the house was nice and clean for our visitors I thought it would be a good time to take pictures of it.

Lexi's room

Upstairs Bathroom

Guest room/craft room

Downstairs bathroom

Kitchen/living room

Our bedroom (I didn't get a picture of our bathroom)

So that's it. Hopefully more of you will come visit so you can see it in person. We love visitors!