Fun in the kitchen

One of Alexa's favorite play stations is in the kitchen! As part of our baby proofing process, we removed items from shelves that she can pull up to and reach. We didn't want heavy cans of soup to fall on her head! We also didn't want her to cover herself in baking soda. So... We moved everything to higher shelves or cabinets. What's left on the lower shelves are things that are OK for her to touch and play with, like her favorite new toy... CUPS!

In case you haven't noticed...

Here are some close-up shots of Alexa's two teeth! She still has just two, on the bottom. We keep waiting for more, but so far that's all she has! It's funny because some of her friends who are the same age already have a full set of teeth, molars and everything! Oh well, we just get to enjoy her beautiful gummy smiles a little bit longer!

A nice day for brunch!

After several very hot and humid days, we were blessed with a beautiful summer day! To celebrate, Alexa and I got up early and went for a morning run with the jogging stroller. Then we headed to Bethesda for a nice brunch! Alexa had so much fun! She got excited when she saw two dogs and flashed huge smiles whenever we held up a cheddar crunchie, her new favorite snack... So cute!

And speaking of cuteness, look at our little darling... Here she is with Daddy and Grandma E.

One more picture... So cute I just want to squeeze her! My little doll!

Alexa & Avery rock out at swim class!

Alexa LOVED swim class today! She didn't even fuss when we got in the water. She was all smiles, splashed around, smiled and giggled when we helped her jump into the water, paddled after the toys... We had such a good time with her! Alexa's friend Avery, who shares her same birthday, was there with her parents. The girls were so cute! Here is Alexa at the start of class...

One of the things we do in class is set the babies on the edge of the pool and then help them "jump" into the water... Alexa and Avery loved it! Look at their expressions - classic.

Here are the girls again... So cute! They were sitting right next to each other and kept reaching out to hold hands.

At the end of class, the babies got some pool toys to paddle after. She loves the toys! No rubber ducks, but the frog and basketball were OK. What a fun class! Our last class is next Saturday.

After swim class, Alexa took a looooong nap. She slept for 3+ hours! We then walked into town for a late lunch and to check out the Bethesda Sidewalk Sale. After so much sleep, Alexa was in a fantastic mood! Here she is trying out our new high chair cover from Baby Ease. It was super easy to put on and definitely makes the chair more comfortable, not to mention cleaner. Of course, she was much more interested in the cardboard drink coasters...

Click photos to enlarge!

Alexa LOVES Challah! Yes she does!

Grandma E took the train down today for a visit, so we picked up some yummy Challah and lit the Shabbat candles. What a wonderful way to start the weekend! Alexa, as you might recall, LOVES Challah! She ate hers, grabbed at ours and had a ball. What a cutie!

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Happy Birthday, Aunt Jen!

Alexa wants to say a BIG Happy Birthday, Aunt Jen! Hope you had a good one in Spain and won that poker game! Alexa can't wait to see you in Bethesda on HER birthday! XOXOXO

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Howard!

Today marked a big milestone for Alexa's grandpa. Today, he's officially more than 70 times as old as Alexa is! We celebrated by taking him out to breakfast. Alexa was in a good mood. She loved smiling and playing with Grandpa, packages of jelly and Daddy's hat!

After a delicious breakfast (I had chocolate chip pancakes! Oh, yes, I did!), Grandpa took some amazing family photos of us on the beach... I love the one of us looking at the ocean with Alexa facing the camera. What a beautiful day!

Finally, here is Grandpa with his son and granddaughter... Three generations!

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Sand! Ocean! Water ice! Cats & Dogs! Oh my!

With a hot day expected, we headed to the beach early, at 9:30 am! Luckily, we had several umbrellas to keep Alexa shaded!

Cousin Samantha and Aunt Missy were in town for a visit and had fun playing with Alexa, who especially liked playing with her bath cups, a bottle of sunscreen and Aunt Missy's hat! 

Unlike our last visit, Alexa didn't shy away from the sand. In fact, she got plenty dirty and proceeded to get sand everywhere! And unlike our last visit, when the ocean waves upset her, this time she LOVED the ocean! The cold water shocked her at first, but then she was all smiles as she sat on my lap waiting for the waves. No pictures of the ocean, unfortunately, since I was busy playing with Alexa!

After a brief nap in my arms, we headed to Brown's for lunch, followed by some water ice! Alexa LOVED the water ice! She'll be a beach babe in no time...

After washing off all the sand, Alexa joined us for a wine and cheese happy hour. Well, not so much the wine and cheese. But she sure enjoyed the Ritz crackers! She also enjoyed Vicky the dog... When we first arrived, she started crying when the dog came over. But she eventually got over her fear and in fact started crawling after (chasing) the cat and reaching out to touch the dog! What a weekend of firsts for Alexa!

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Alexa's 3rd trip to Ocean City! (videos)

We had a nice drive up to New Jersey. Alexa slept most of the way, then had fun eating Saltine crackers! We stopped by Grandpa's store and went out to lunch and swung by a fruit and veggie stand to pick up some fresh Jersey corn, tomatoes and peaches! Yum! At the house, Alexa played in Mema's studio. before eating a hearty dinner and having fun in the bath. Photos and videos below... Actually, you'll notice a lot of videos today! Here's why.

And now, videos from our day! I plan to submit them for the July 24 "Life in a Day" documentary. Maybe they will choose us and Alexa will be a star!

Alexa has a special message for Grandma!

Behind the Scenes: We snapped this picture when we got home tonight. Alexa is usually very tired and fussy, but Daddy made funny faces and she cracked up! It was hard to get her to stay still, he wanted to climb the sofa and crawl everywhere! Unfortunately, when I tried to take the remote control away, she broke down and let loose the hugest tears ever! Oh no! Enough pictures... Time for dinner!

Alexa plays with her friends Evie and May!

Our friends came over today and brought their adorable daughters, Evie and May. Alexa was taking a nap when they arrived, much to the girls' dismay. They were so eager to play with her! Eventually she woke up. And she was in a very playful mood! Look how cute! Pictured below are Alexa and little May, age 4. Alexa, in case you can't tell, absolutely loved being the center of attention.

After eating, we all went outside and sat on a blanket so big sister Evie, age 8, could hold Alexa on her lap. The last time Evie held Alexa, she was not even a month old! So, needless to say, Alexa was MUCH smaller and not quite as active. Alexa loved playing with her friends and can't wait to see them again!

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Restaurant napkins are good for ... playing Peek-a-boo! (video)

Another hot day, but we wanted to get out! So we took Alexa out to lunch. She was such a cutie pie in her high chair... She had just woken up from a 2+ hour nap... Here she is!

After we finished eating, Alexa got ahold of Daddy's cloth napkin and started playing a game of peek-a-boo, or as we call it, Where's Alexa? She was cracking us up!

And now, video of Alexa playing peek-a-boo with the napkin! Note: The clip is about 60-seconds long and the cutest part is at the end, so make sure you watch the whole thing!

Earlier in the day, we took Alexa to swim class. She fussed a little in the beginning, but then had a ball playing with a cloth ball in the pool! When we put the ball out of reach, she paddled to it! She also smiled and laughed when we put he on the edge of the pool and helped her "jump" in. But I was so busy having fun with Alexa, that I only got this one picture! Doh! More next time... :-)

Holy Cute Summer Dresses!

Alexa got a package in the mail today from Grandma Lil -- A set of three reversible summer dresses! Look how CUTE! I was browsing Etsy when I saw this listing. I fell in love with this simple pinafore dress and mentioned it to my mom. Before I knew it, she was headed off to buy fabric so she could make Alexa her very own one-of-a-kind pinafore dresses! Of course Alexa had to model her new dresses immediately... Wow! Could she be any cuter?!

This one above is my favorite, a bright and bold orange print. I remember seeing a pretty turquoise bow at a store in Bethesda for $3. I bet it would look great with this dress!

The orange dress reverses into this darling, sun-drenched yellow outfit! I love it!

I also really like this simple print with birds, especially paired with hot pink bloomers. I'll have to add Alexa's hot pink hair bow and she'd be ready to go! (Look closely in the above picture, I snapped a couple of Alexa standing without holding on! She is so close to walking!)

This green print is on the other side! How darling!

The third dress is a little big for Alexa right now, but she'll wear it soon! This baby is gaining weight pretty fast as she continues to eat up a storm. Thanks, Grandma, for such a beautiful and thoughtful gift! Alexa can't wait to show off her new dresses!

Alexa loves music class!

Every Wednesday, Alexa's daycare teacher takes her to Music Class! The teacher of the class is a guy with a guitar named Dave. He started a blog to chronicle how the class is going. In a recent post, he gushed at how musical Alexa is! Here's what he said...

"Alexa is the heartbeat of the class when she hears a song she likes. She was very vocal today and moves constantly."

Click HERE to read more!