"Flower" by Alexa Leilani

Another daycare art project by our darling Alexa. She is so talented, right? I know, I know, SO TALENTED! Our own little Picasso Baby. Now the question... Do I frame it? ;-)

"Footprints" by Alexa Leilani

Created on April 12. What a cute project! Of course, Alexa is a pro at footprints already. So it's no surprise that she did such a good job. In fact, I have to tell you that her footprints are much better than any of the footprints made by the other babies.

Hers are so authentic yet have an artistic touch that makes them very organic and extremely relevant. You might notice how the footprint on the bottom left is saturated in paint while the footprint on the top right is lighter in color. I believe she has hidden a secret message in this layout and color depiction that could reveal a key to immortality! If nothing else, it certainly shows an extremely elevated level of awareness on her part, not to mention an out of this world I.Q.!

My little doll!

Alexa loves playing with ALL of her toys, in her toy bin! What a cutie pie. She's my favorite toy! My little doll!

Welcome Annika and Anne!

Alexa is very excited for the arrival of two new girlfriends! Baby Annika Suzanne was born Sunday morning at 2:40 a.m., arriving early and weighing 5 pounds and 11 ounces. Then, baby Anne Elizabeth was born Monday night at 9:33 p.m., also early, weighing in at 3 pounds and 1 ounce. It's amazing to think that Alexa (7 pounds, 12 ounces) was a giant compared to them!

To the left is baby Annika, the daughter of our former downstairs neighbors Elizabeth and Kyle. What a cutie pie! Great name. We can't wait to meet her. Alexa has already offered to show her the ropes.

And below is my dear friend Libby with her husband and little baby Anne! It's amazing that after giving birth, Libby looks so good. What a glow. Alexa "met" baby Anne when she was still in Libby's tummy. She can't wait to meet her in person! But she really can't wait until baby Anne is big enough to play! We are sending all our love and best wishes that baby Anne will grow enough to go home from the hospital soon!

Yankees at the White House!

What fun. The Yankees were honored at the White House for their World Series win and both Daddy and I got to be there. I thought about trying to sneak Alexa in, but party crashing isn't her style. Besides, she's too young to really remember much. Once she is older, I'll have to see about trying to get her in to see the Yankees! Obviously I fully expect the Yankees to keep winning...

Daddy's coming home today! (video)

In honor of Daddy coming home today, Alexa put on a pretty new dress! See how cute she is? We also put the legs on her music table (not pictured) but she liked the box better...

Click HERE to see her having fun copying Mommy.

After dropping Grandma E off at the Metro, Alexa and I took a little walk and went to the park. I drank some coffee and she enjoyed the swing! Then we went to pick up Daddy at the airport! When we got home, we went for a walk around the 'hood!

Another great day with Grandma E!

Alexa woke up happy, and she was even happier when she got to practice pulling herself up! Look at that smile. What a cutie pie!

She continued the smiles as she downed her breakfast. Yum! She LOVES her teething biscuit, by the way. It's her new favorite thing.

Finally, we headed to Alexa's swim class! Alexa was still not sure what to make of all the water. But this is a great way to get used to it. That way, she'll be right at home in the pool when we visit Grandpa Tom and Grandma Lil!

After swim class, Grandma E and Alexa had a girls night while Mommy went to a baby shower and wedding reception. It was nice to get away, but I missed my Alexa!

Wonderful day with Grandma E!

Daddy is in Vegas, so Grandma E came down for a girls weekend! We met up with some of the women and babies from my mom's group for brunch -- and had cupcakes with Blythe and Avery!

Then, because it was such a nice day, Grandma E and I took a LONG walk while Alexa took a LONG nap! When she woke up, she was in a very happy and smiley mood. So we walked to a park and she had a ball in the swing!

When we got home, Alexa ate SO MUCH FOOD! She downed a 4 oz jar of winter squash followed by a 4 oz jar of Pears and some applesauce, which she gulped down while gumming a teething biscuit. Finally, she played in her bath before going to bed. Whew!

I took these photos on my Blackberry during the day and e-mailed them to Daddy so he could see what we were up to. He wrote back that he missed us!

I couldn't help it...

Check out this adorable polka dot onesie with a ruffle butt and matching jumpsuit. Can't you just see Alexa in this looking sooo adorable? Plus, the shoes... How can I hold back when I look at an outfit and see her face smiling back at me? Hmmm?

Wow... Forget diaper cakes, check this out!

It's a diaper SUSHI! How cute is this? A friend of mine made this and posted a photo. OMG, I love it! So creative!

Alexa is pulling up - on everything! (video)

Alexa started pulling up on her toy bin a few weeks ago... Here she is on Friday, April 2, pulling up to pick out toys. She was wobbly at first... But the more she practiced, the more stable she got!

Here she is a week later, on Saturday, April 10.

She crawls up to the bin and up she goes!

Click HERE to watch a video.

THEN... Last night... She did it. Pulled up in her crib! Oh dear. Luckily, we got her to sleep and it wasn't a huge disruption. Hoping it doesn't become one!

And so, it's not surprising that we got this nose from her daycare teacher today: "Today, Alexa pulled herself up to a standing position a lot and played with her chain links."

Daddy & Daughter Day! (video)

Awww... Look how cute Alexa is! Here she is playing with her Daddy in the morning as Mommy headed to work.

Daddy took Alexa out to lunch! And she sat in the high chair.

On the way home, Daddy took Alexa to a park to swing!

Click HERE to watch a video. So cute!

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's first swim class!

Wow, only one swim class and Alexa was already doing laps around the pool! Well, sort of. But first, she got dolled up in her adorable swim suit! And her green cover-up. What a cutie pie!

When we arrived at the pool, Alexa was a little nervous. She looked around at all the big kids and was a worried. What's going on? Why am I wearing this weird outfit and what is that big thing (pool) that looks like my bath tub?

We got into the pool and Alexa was still not sure what was going on. She was the youngest baby in the class, but that didn't matter to her! She loved it! Alexa's friend Brandon and his daddy are also in the class. Brandon is two months older, but Alexa tried hard to keep up!

We started out in the shallow part of the pool so the babies could walk around (with our help, of course). Then, we walked them to the deeper water so they could practice kicking. We helped them "jump" off a ledge and float on their back by laying them on our arms. Finally, they got to play with toys! Alexa loves to play with her duckie in her bath, so she went straight for the duckie in the pool!

What a great class. We have another one next weekend! Grandma E will be here, so maybe she'll swim with Alexa or take more pictures!