Mother's Day

With Mother's Day approaching I've been thinking about motherhood a lot. I'll admit that this year I feel like Mother's Day is a big deal...and should be from here on out. Mothers, especially stay at home mothers, need a day of recognition (I know I'm tooting my own horn). They don't have a boss or co-workers that recognize their performance. They don't get a bonus based on a great review. They don't have work parties to go to. In general a lot of people don't recognize what they do as hard. I had my first experience with this the other day at the bank. The teller asked me if I had to work that day. I said no and that I am a stay at home mother. He gave me the most degrading look I'd ever seen. He had no respect for what I do and he thought that I just stayed at home doing nothing everyday. Although I don't "do" a lot each day I am mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted at the end of each day!

I have never fully appreciated my own mother until I became a mother. I think my appreciation will increase each year as I go through my own struggles with motherhood. I never realized how challenging it would be. I love my mom soooooo much! She is my best girlfriend in the whole world. I love that she validates me. She helps me feel like what I am going through and feeling is normal and acceptable. She can relate to me and understands me. I feel blessed to have that in my life. I know that not all mother/daughter relationships are ideal and feel so lucky that I have a good relationship with my mom. I hope that I can have a relationship like that with my own daughter.

My mom is fun! She can make me laugh harder than almost anyone. She is an amazing grandma. Lexi is so lucky to have a grandma that is so kind and loving. She goes out of her way to plan fun activities to do with her grandchildren. She is always trying to do something special for them. I don't know many grandma's that do as much for their grandchildren as my mom.

My mom is extremly forgving and patient. She always gives people the benefit of the doubt. My favorite thing to do with my mom is talk. Maybe it is because we are a lot alike. She is the perfect mother for me because she knows how to comfort me. Everyone comforts differently and everyone needs different types of comfort. I am lucky that my moms "comfort style" is perfect for me.

When I was little I was extremly afraid of fires. One night I had a nightmare that my moms sewing machine caught on fire. When I woke up I was terrified. I went into my moms bedroom to tell her. She got out of bed with me to go downstairs to check to make sure the sewing machine wasn't on fire. She loved me enough to get out of bed in the middle of the night to help relieve my fear so I could go back to bed. I've always remembered that and it means a lot to me.

Motherhood has been such a new experience for me. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster of emotions. One minute I'm loving it and want more and more children...the next minute I don't know how I'm going to make it another minute. I think it is easy to feel like a failure because you're used to being able to control things but you can't control your children. It is a hard lesson to learn. Even at such a young age they have agency and their own personalities. They come predisposed to certain things. You are constantly trying to teach them.

Lexi has changed my life forever. I am grateful my prayers were fianlly answered and she came into my life. I always refer to her as my gift. She is my special gift from Heavenly Father. He knew what I wanted...and needed and he sent her to me. I can't tell you how many prayers I prayed asking for her or how many tears I shed asking for her. I was thrilled when I found out she was a girl. I am so grateful for her smile. She is a good girl and lots of fun.

I am thankful for all of the women in my life. I am thankful for my Grandmas, Aunts, Mother in-law, and friends. They have all impacted my life and I love them and admire them. Happy Mother's Day!

Daddy's Girl

Lexi has really been liking her daddy since we got back from Hawaii. I think they bonded there and now she get really excited to see him. When he's at work we look at his picture and she smiles and gets excited. I can't blame her he's pretty fun...and handsome! Lexi's not a big giggler but her daddy can get some good giggles. (even during a diaper change)

Lexi has the best figure for shorts

Lexi's favorite place to play

6 months old

Lexi is now 6 months old. I can't believe how fast she's growing and changing. Her doctors appointment went well. She is 15 lbs 12 oz (47%), 25.5 in (42%), and her head is 42cm (38%) so she is still pretty proportional and average. She cried when they gave her the shots but once I picked her up she stopped...until the nurse looked at her again. She remembered who gave her the shots and held a grudge. Lexi loves rolling. She will roll across the entire room. She knows how to roll to her toys and is doing really well with her hand skills. If I leave the room for a minute I have to put her in the center of the room to make sure she will be okay. She loves to roll under our coffee table and chairs. She does pretty well until she decides to go on her tummy and lift her head...then she hits it on them.

Lexi also loves her feet. Her socks are always wet from them being in her mouth. She's starting to giggle more. She is also making new sounds. She still grunts but now she makes high squealing sounds that are my favorite! She also reaches for anything within grabbing distance, including my glasses. Needless to say I wear my contacts a lot more now. She likes most of the solids we've tried. Her favorite food is sweet potatoes. Her least favorite is rice cereal so I have to disguise it in her other food. She's a really good girl but still has trouble sleeping. I feel blessed to be her mother and am so glad for her smiles and hugs. They make my day...everyday! Below are some pictures of Lexi over the last month.

Just hanging out in a cute out-fit


Lexi after eating sweet potatoes

Maui

We went with some of my family to Maui and had a great time. It was a last minute decision to join them and we are so glad we did. Lexi did really well on the plane and with the time change. She was a trooper.




Lexi's first time swimming. She didn't really like it the first time. The second time she liked it a little better and would kick her legs and splash. She didn't even mind when the water got in her face.




Lexi had so much fun playing with her darling cousin Jandi.




Enjoying a beautiful sunset




Dinner along the beach...lava flow drinks mmmm



Blow hole






We hiked through a bamboo forest to some waterfalls. It was by far my favorite thing we did. We had to cross a stream to get there which took me a while to get enough courage to do...and to send my baby across. It turned out to be very shallow and lots of fun.



We went whale watching and enjoyed seeing mother whales with their babies.

Grandma's house

Lexi and I had so much fun in Utah. She loved Grandma and Grandpa. I think Grandpa is her new boyfriend. The first time she saw him she giggled and grinned from ear to ear (which is unlike Lexi). We went shopping at the outlets and I got great deals on Lexi's summer clothing. I tried shorts on her for the first time and they looked so cute on her chubby legs. We went to my cousins wedding and saw a lot of my extended family. I loved seeing everyone and their reactions to Lexi. I also got to see some friends from High School and loved spending time with them. We did our family Easter egg hunt early because my mom is going to be out of town on Easter. My nieces and nephew loved it and it was fun to see them so excited. It was so nice to be around family and friends. When you live far away you learn to treasure the time with your family so much more because it is so rare and precious. It is hard when they're not around for the milestones in Lexi's life so I really appreciated getting to "show her off" and seeing my parents fuss over her and bond with her. She's a lucky little girl to have grandparents like them.
Easter festivities

Lexi and Grandpa

Lexi with her cousins

Going To Grandma's

Lexi and I get to go see Grandma tomorrow.


Lexi is pretty excited to go see Grandma. She's been helping me pack and is counting down the hours.

Lexi is starting to like her baths...finally. She's grown so much and this towel is getting too small for her already. I can't believe how fast time goes by. I feel so blessed to have her.

Thanks

My parents gave us outdoor solar lights for Christmas. I really wanted them and it was a great surprise. Flagstaff has a lot of rules about how much outdoor light you are allowed to have because they do a lot of astrology here. They discovered Pluto here. Our neighborhood doesn't have any street lights so it is very dark. (Surprisingly our neighborhood is extremely safe. We have 4 neighbors that are cops and 2 FBI agents) I am too cheap to leave the porch lights on so I wanted solar lights. Thank you Mom and Dad for them. We love them. The snow finally melted so we put them out this weekend and they look great. I also realized we've never posted a picture of our house. All the houses in Flagstaff are built like this. They don't use brick or stucco here so it is very different than Utah or Phoenix. We love our home and feel blessed to have it.





Cole had a fun weekend. He got to go play paintball with some guys from work and church. I was so glad he got to go do it. He's been wanting to for a long long time now. He had a lot of fun.


Today is Lexi's 5 month birthday. Happy Birthday cutie!