Alexa's 1st Birthday Party!!

After the morning photo shoot, Alexa went down for a nap and we broke out the balloons and started decorating and setting up for her party! Luckily, she slept for two hours, because we needed that time to transform our house into party central! Thanks to everyone's help, it was a cinch. How on earth can we throw a party without our party crew help next time? Here is the house, ready for a party!

And what a party it was! It went by so quickly, but it was so amazing to see all of our friends. Some old friends that we've known for a long time. Some new friends who we met recently when we moved to Bethesda. Alexa certainly enjoyed herself! She was a diva and loved being the center of attention!

Finally... The cake! Yum! Alexa was all smiles but not very interested in digging in. You'll see why soon. Stay tuned for photos from this morning's cake smash! In the meantime, check out how cute she is... She was loving the attention! What a great party!

Click on photos to enlarge!

First outdoor swim class & a walk to the park!

Today was HOT! Thankfully we had Alexa's first swim class at the outdoor Bethesda pool so we started the day off with a cool off. Alexa fussed a little when we first went in the water, but as she got used to the cold water, she relaxed and enjoyed it. Our little water baby!

We are taking the class with four other babies from my mom's group. Here we are with Avery & Brandon! Not pictured is Ella. We can't wait until next Saturday!

After a long nap following swim class, Alexa and I took a walk to a nearby park. Alexa played on the grass, played with my water bottle and loved being pushed in the swing!

Alexa and her friends at the Zoo!

Our friend Coleen and Drew are moving home to Las Vegas, so we took the day off to spend it one one last play date with all the babies! Today was supposed to be HOT so we all met up early, at 8:30 a.m. and strolled the Zoo before it got crowded in perfect 70-degree weather. It was a blast!

Click to enlarge!

We saw panda bears, elephants, a tiger, a lion and the highlight... Oruntangs swinging over our heads along cables! Alexa saw them and got quite a kick out of it. She also loved the elephants! She fell asleep by the time we reached the tiger and lion and took a nice nap in her stroller as we walked back to the car. What a great day!

Note: This was Alexa's 2nd trip to the Zoo. Click HERE to read about her 1st visit to the Zoo back in November and marvel at how much she's grown!

Great day at Norwood Park!

We discovered a great new park today! It's about 5 minutes from our house. We met a bunch of Alexa's baby friends -- Drew, Ezra and Brandon -- and their parents there for a play date. The babies were hilarious! They fought over the water bottles, drank from the wrong sippey cups, stole each others toys and crawled all over!

Drew even tried hitting on Alexa. But she crawled away! Go Alexa!

A wonderful day with friends in Bethesda

Today was a busy but wonderful day! We walked into town to meet Coleen, Andrew and their baby Drew for lunch. Blythe and Avery joined us as well! Alexa and Drew had wonderful time eating snacks in their high chairs. What good little babies!

After lunch, we walked to Bethesda Row for a street festival called Imagination Kids. At the festival, we ran into friends Mary Clare and Catherine! It's been a long time since Alexa has seen her old friend Catherine. Look how big she's grown!

What a wonderful day. It was hot, and so Alexa slept really well! Yay!

Our good little eater!

Alexa has really taken to food. At first, she didn't eat much and a lot of it came back out! It seems like over the past month, she's really started to get it. And to have favorites!

She has now finished the veggie started pack (carrots, sweet potatoes & peas) and fruit starter pack (pears, apple & banana). We just started her on Apple-Butternut Squash, and she loves it! Here she is after downing an entire 4 oz jar of it! Then she had some oatmeal... and peas...

Later on, Daddy fed her dinner and she ate a 4 oz jar of Sweet Potatoes, followed by ANOTHER 4 oz jar of Pears! Wow! In addition, we are experimenting with some finger foods. She tried some banana fruit puffs, which she's still not sure about. And, she had her first teething biscuit! See below. She LOVED it! (Note expression below right when I tried to take it away! Ha!)

Photos above taken at a mom's group brunch! Here are all of us moms with our babies and husbands at the brunch. It was great to see everyone!

Gear Note: Waterproof bibs that can be wiped clean, and that have a pocket at the bottom to catch things are the best for feeding. I really like the DexBaby bib that Alexa is wearing in the top photo. I also like these JJ Cole bibs and these Bumpkins bibs.

Alexa sees her first Cherry Blossoms!

What a great day! Alexa and I met up with the women from my mom's group for lunch. Then we all walked down the Capitol Crescent Trail to see the Cherry Blossoms at Kenwood. It was amazing, all the trees abloom. So beautiful!

The babies took a nap during the walk. Then, we all sat on blankets on the grass while the babies played. Alexa wore her sun hat and played with her plastic car keys. What a nice time!

Finally, a shot of Alexa and Mommy with the Cherry Blossom trees! What a great day!

Alexa had a great time. What a happy baby!

Babies! Holy cute babies!

Alexa and I started the day with a good Stroller Strides workout. Then we headed over to my friend Blythe's house for a mom's group get-together. Before we all left, we piled the babies onto the couch!

First, the girls! Anjali, Alexa and Ella. Check out how Alexa and Anjali are holding hands. They did that on their own. So cute!

All the babies in a row!

(L to R: Brandon, Avery, Anjali, Alexa, Ella and Drew)

Brandon & Drew hanging out with Ella & Alexa, then Drew pushes Alexa and Brandon aside and goes after Ella! So funny!

Then Ella went after Drew's hat! Brandon attempted to come to the rescue... But Alexa wasn't having any of it. Enough baby play! (Even when she cries, Alexa is so darn cute!)

Yay for a mom's group play date!

On Friday, Alexa and I met up with seven other moms and their babies from our PACE mom's group. Everyone brought snacks and we sat around at Coleen's talking about going back to work, pumping, rolling over, baby toys and anything else that came up. It was a nice and relaxing afternoon.

Here is Alexa all dolled up in her new Tea Collection tunic right before we headed over.

And here she is hanging out at our mom's meeting.

Back at home later that evening, Alexa wound down from the day by watching Countdown.

And sitting in her own green Bumbo chair!

Bumbo! We are soooo getting one!

Shhhhhh! Don't tell Alexa, but this is going to be her Christmas present from Mommy & Daddy! A bunch of the ladies from my mom's group got together today to hang out at one woman's house and Alexa got to try out her son's Bumbo seat! She loved it!

This seat, made from foam, was great because it allowed her to sit up. And she couldn't get out! Add the tray, to hold her toys, and it's a great place for her to "hang out." Love it! We are soooo getting one!

Babies! Lots of Babies! VIDEO LINKS BELOW!

Today was my LAST mom's group meeting! So sad. The group, called PACE, meets for eight weeks with the idea that we'll continue to meet after the formal session ends. We already have a play date set for this Friday and another in January! So, hopefully, we'll stay in touch.

Here are 9 of the 11 moms and babies who were in my group:

And here are the babies! Click HERE to watch a video!

More adorable pictures of the babies... Pictured below (left to right) is Ella, Alexa, her birthday twin Avery who was also born on 9-9-09, and the youngest in the group, Anjali.

Also today, my sister gave Alexa a bottle!

Then Alexa had dance time on her activity mat! Click HERE and HERE for videos of her dancing! She apparently likes Beyonce and is getting closer to turning over!

And then, we went for a walk...

And picked out a Christmas tree...

And lit more Hanukkah candles! Alexa got a beautiful silver snow globe from Grandma E!

Later, at home, Alexa relaxed on her chair.

Another mom's group meeting

Today was my weekly mom's group meeting! We meet at a nearby Temple, in a large room with two blankets spread out on the floor. Everyone sits around in a circle and brings their own blankets to put their babies on. Here is Alexa playing with one of her favorite toys!

Today's topic was finding your voice as a parent when you need to act in the best interest of your child... Such as asking friends to use hand sanitizer or wash their hands if they want to hold your baby or deciding not to go to a family gathering due to germs or your baby missing a critical nap. It was definitely stuff that hit close to home!

We also discussed setting limits... Such as what junk food to allow and how to control TV and, when they are older, deal with discipline. A lot of stuff to think about!

After our meeting, a bunch of us went out to lunch, as per our weekly tradition! Next week is our last group session. It's hard to believe it's almost over! Luckily, a bunch of us have signed up for Itsy Bitsy Yoga in January and February. I hope we can stay in touch as our babies grow!

Footprint fun!

We had a great time today with my mom's group at All Fired Up, a store in Bethesda where you can paint pottery and they will fire it!

Here is Colleen and baby Drew making Christmas Tree plates!

Basically, you paint your baby's foot with the (non-toxic) paint and then presto, you have a baby footprint stamp!

You can put it on anything! Alexa didn't like it at first, but then she must have gotten bored because she just fell asleep...

What a fun and artistic day!